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FLUSHING MEADOWS, NY, USA
Having
been one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's most promising
future stars throughout the last few years, Ana Ivanovic
recently announced her arrival among the game's current
elite with a resounding triumph at the Tier I Rogers Cup
in Montréal. Coming into the US Open as the US
Open Series champion, she had a solid tournament,
reaching the third round in both singles (falling to
Serena Williams) and doubles (partnering Maria Kirilenko,
falling to Martina Navratilova and Nadia Petrova). Read
all about Ana's Flushing Meadows fortnight in the latest
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Blog.
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Wednesday,
September 6, 2006
The
tournament is over for me. Today's doubles defeat was
pretty disappointing. I definitely didn't play my best
tennis, but because Maria played so well we still came
quite close to winning. Navratilova and Petrova are very
experienced players and that probably made the
difference - they were so solid on the break points. But
on another day I think we would have won this match.
We're
leaving New York tomorrow. It's always a rush when I
leave a tournament. You want to get to the next one as
soon as possible, to give yourself maximum time to
prepare, so you hurry. Something funny happened in Montréal
because of this: my mom forgot to check-out of our hotel!
When the trophy presentation ended, she went back to the
hotel to pack our bags. She came down into the lobby
just as David and I were arriving from the club. We were
so excited about the win, and that the flight was soon
leaving, that we called her over to the car. About 10
minutes before we got to the airport she realized she
had not paid the bill, so she called them. Fortunately
they had her credit card number, otherwise we might have
been in trouble!
Again
I am leaving a tournament without doing the things I
planned to do. I was hoping to watch a musical on
Broadway. Maybe next year. I say that a lot - I guess I
will have to visit all these places again when I have
retired so I can do some sightseeing!
One
thing there was time for was a bit of shopping today,
but not much. I just bought a pair of jeans. Tomorrow we
are flying to Bali in the afternoon. It is a very long
trip. We have two stops, one in Los Angeles and another
in Singapore. We won't arrive in Bali until Saturday!
It
was tough to find things to write about during the rain
delays but I hope you still enjoyed reading my blog!
Love
Ana
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Visit
Ana's official Web site at www.anaivanovic.com.
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Tuesday,
September 5, 2006
I'm
afraid to say it was another boring day because of the
weather. It is ironic that tennis players earn their
money for being athletes and exerting themselves both on
the court and in the gym, but one of the most important
qualities is actually patience, because you are idle for
much of the time when it rains.
Maria
and I were supposed to play doubles in the afternoon,
but it got cancelled. We were really looking forward to
playing Navratilova and Petrova and felt that we had
some good momentum after our win yesterday. I just hope
that we can continue our good form when the rain
eventually stops.
It's
a slightly unusual situation because my coach David
Taylor used to be the coach of Maria. So this helps when
we are preparing for doubles matches, because he knows
her game really well too. Practicing for doubles can be
a little bit more difficult than for singles, because
usually there are two coaches on the court and obviously
they can have different ideas.
The
coach's job involves a lot more than just giving
instruction. David helps me with things like getting my
racquets restrung. He also customized my new racquet,
the Wilson nBlade, which I changed to soon after I
started working with him.
And
he also books the practice courts and arranges practice
partners. Often I practice with Maria, but it is good to
play against a variety of players and learn more about
their styles.
I
am hoping it does not rain tomorrow!
Love
Ana
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Monday,
September 4, 2006
I
really enjoyed today's doubles match. Of course, I might
not be saying this if we had lost, but the match
featured many exciting rallies. It was fun to take part
in, and it was one of our best ever doubles wins –
Groenefeld and Shaughnessy were the fifth seeds. We were
very motivated. Even though in doubles you tend to have
more fun and smile more than you probably do in singles,
it's important to take it seriously. Maria and I did
this, so we were able to maintain a high standard of
tennis.
Doubles
can be a lot of fun, especially because of the quick
points at the net. Playing doubles helps me improve my
volleys, which will become an important part of my
singles game in the future. Today there was one fast
point with many volleys that ended with me falling on
the court! Overall, today was very positive. I felt back
in a good rhythm, serving well and playing aggressively.
This
morning I was woken up by the housekeeper. Even though I
put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door, she still
rang the bell! Often they do this in hotels, which is
pretty annoying when you want to sleep!
Our
hotel is in a good location. It's close to Radio City
and there are many nice restaurants close by. But
compared to some of the hotels we stayed in during the
other tournaments in North America, my room is very
small.
One
thing that is cute about the hotel is that they play
cartoons in the elevators: Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry and
another that I cannot remember right now. So you can
choose which elevator to take depending on which cartoon
you want to watch! They also serve a famous hamburger in
one of the restaurants. I see many office workers come
to the hotel at lunchtime to queue so they can eat this
hamburger. It's a little strange – I can't believe a
hamburger can be THAT good!
Tomorrow
Maria and I play Martina Navratilova and Nadia Petrova.
We played a great match against Navratilova and Liezel
Huber, when they were the top seeds in Warsaw, so we
have confidence. But it is going to be another tough
challenge.
Love
Ana
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Sunday,
September 3, 2006
After
all these days of waiting around and doing nothing, so
much happened today! First of all there was Agassi's
last ever match, then I had matches in both singles and
doubles.
Unfortunately
I didn't have the chance to watch much of Agassi's match.
On a day of your match you have to be kind of selfish
about your own tennis. Part of you wants to watch other
matches, especially when there are momentous events like
today, but you cannot allow yourself to lose focus. This
is still something I am learning about and I admit that
I found the rain delays here a little bit difficult.
Agassi
is definitely one of the all-time greats. There are so
many things that he brought to the sport and everyone in
tennis admires him so much. The last few years, we have
been lucky to have had Agassi and also Federer, who is
another of the best players ever.
Today
was my first time playing on the Arthur Ashe court and
it felt a little bit strange. It's smaller than it looks
on television. There were also many empty seats, which
affected the atmosphere. I do like the noisiness of
tennis in America, for example the music they play at
the change of ends.
Serena
played really well. I give her all the credit. You don't
realize just how fast she plays until you are on the
court with her. I wasn't very happy about my own game,
but I am still very young and have a lot to improve.
I
see my career almost like a map. There are many places I
will have to go through to get to where I want to go,
and a lot of things I will have to experience to become
a better player. So I don't really get too upset about
losses. As long as I can learn from every defeat, that
is the most important thing.
Doubles
is also a good way to get over a singles defeat and I
was back on court around 45 minutes after I had lost to
Serena. Maria and I played very well. Resuming a match
after a rain delay is never easy but I was surprised by
how straightforward things went. Our games really
clicked together and we even tried a few new things,
which can help us in future matches.
Tomorrow
we have a very tough match against the fifth seeds, but
we take confidence from our performances during the
North American hard court season. For example, we played
a really great set against the Olympic champions, Li
Ting and Sun Tiantian, in Montréal. We won it 6-0
and if we can play that kind of tennis again then we
have a good chance.
Love
Ana
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Saturday,
September 2, 2006
Everyone's
joking that we're at Wimbledon because there's so much
rain! Not one ball was hit today and we couldn't
practice either. The players' lounge was packed; I saw
many people sitting on the floor, a lot of them with
their laptops.
The
organisers actually brought more games into the lounge
to keep the players amused. They set up table tennis and
also those basketball games, where you try to shoot as
many foul shots as possible. There are a few
PlayStations and also a mini golf game. Novak Djokovic
and I played table tennis against each other. It was
doubles with some people that we didn't know and I'm
pleased to say that my partner and I won. It's not the
first time I have beaten Novak – I won a one-set
tennis match against him in Belgrade last year!
But
unfortunately he got his revenge by beating me at table
football. Shortly after, I was asked to go and do a very
small photoshoot. I stood outside Arthur Ashe stadium
holding an umbrella while it rained and they took a
couple of pictures.
To
be honest, so little happened today that I don't really
know what to write about, so here is a list of the songs
I am currently listening to on my iPod:
Nelly
Furtado – Maneater
Nelly Furtado – Promiscuous
Pink – Who Knew
Robbie Williams – Sin Sin Sin
Maroon 5 – Harder To Breathe
Pussycat Dolls – Beep
Pussycat Dolls – Buttons
Shakira – Hips Don’t Lie
These
songs can help motivate me before matches. Sometimes I
listen to Serbian songs before matches, but I haven't
got any on my playlist at the moment.
As
soon as they cancelled my match, we – me, my mum, my
manager, my coach and his wife – went back to our
hotel. We went to an Asian restaurant called Koi for
dinner. I had the black cod, which is one of my
favourite dishes.
Sorry
there wasn't anything more interesting to write about!
Hopefully tomorrow there won't be any rain so I can play
Serena – I am still very excited about this match. It
will be on the biggest court here, which means that we
will be able to use Hawk-Eye. I wish they had this
technology on all the courts.
Love
Ana
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Friday,
September 1, 2006
Late
last night I went to the MTV awards party. I could only
stay for an hour, because of course we are in the middle
of a very important tournament! I'm not really a party
person but this was quite fun. There were many
celebrities there: I saw Paris Hilton, 50 Cent and Venus
Williams.
It
was held at a restaurant close to our hotel. I got back
at 12.45am and went straight to bed. This morning was
the same as usual – fitness work then breakfast. But I
did do one thing a little different when I arrived at
the club – I had a haircut. It was just a trim,
nothing radical!
After
the haircut I had a one-hour practice session. I am
extra careful about picking up my racquet bag when I go
for practice and also when I am heading onto court for a
match. This is because the locker room and the players'
lounge can be like the luggage conveyor belt at the
airport – many people have the same bags. Two years
ago when I was playing a junior tournament in Canada, I
was almost late for my match so I was rushing and I
picked up someone else's bag! As soon as I realized, I
ran back to the locker room and returned it. I was very
embarrassed!
Speaking
about airports, there was one time when the airline lost
my luggage. It was when I was travelling to Mallorca for
some practice a couple of years ago with my dad. They
didn't lose my racquet bag, but our suitcases with all
our clothes in. We called my clothing sponsor and they
kindly sent me some new things to wear, but my dad had
to buy everything new! Two months later they found the
luggage and mailed it to us. It had never left the
airport!
I'm
pleased to say that our air travel recently has gone
smoothly. Even in this time of heightened security, we
have not had any long delays. The only thing delaying
everyone at the moment is the weather! Again it rained
today and my doubles match with Maria Kirilenko was
suspended during the first set.
It
kept raining during the match and the court staff had to
dry the courts with towels. But then it rained harder so
we left the court and eventually play was cancelled for
the day.
Tomorrow
I am scheduled to play in the evening against Serena
Williams. It will be on the main stadium and I am very
excited about it. I am always very eager to test myself
against the best players and Serena has won so many
Grand Slams, so it will be a very tough match. I just
hope it doesn't rain again, but the forecast is not good.
:(
Love
Ana
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Thursday,
August 31, 2006
It
was a long day. My match was scheduled fourth, which
always makes things difficult because you do not know
when you will play. Sometimes you look at the matches
before yours and try to predict how long they will last,
but really you never know. The match didn’t start
until about 6.30pm.
I
woke up at 10am and did my daily fitness work. Breakfast
was the same as usual – oatmeal with honey and lots of
fresh fruit. The fruit dish is a mixture – gala and
honeydew melon, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries and
pineapple. But I don’t like pineapple so I give it to
my mom!
After
breakfast my mom and I went for a walk close to our
hotel. New York is a unique place full of some very,
shall we say, 'interesting' characters! There are many
entertainers and we saw the best one today – a human
robot dressed all in silver. He was very impressive. I
looked closely at him, he barely had a pulse!
Then,
I came back to the hotel and chatted to my friend in
Belgrade using Skype. Actually we chatted for a little
bit but then I called her – it's a great program that
allows you to use the internet to make really cheap
phone calls. It's perfect for me, because I am away from
my family and friends so much.
I
had practice shortly after arriving at the club in the
afternoon, then I began preparing for my match. I often
play some games in the locker room before my match.
Today it was Sudoku, but sometimes I will play a
computerized backgammon game.
All
the waiting around probably affected my concentration. I
started the match against Aiko Nakamura badly, but once
I settled I played okay. I was happy that I came back
from 2-5 down in the first set, and that I won in two
sets. I play Serena Williams in the next round, a match
I am looking forward to very much.
There
were quite a lot of interviews to do and I didn’t get
to dinner until about 9.30pm. They were closing the
restaurant but I got my food (salad and pasta again)
just in time!
Friday
could be another long day because my doubles match with
Maria Kirilenko is scheduled late. I will write to you
again after!
Love
Ana
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Wednesday,
August 30, 2006
I
played my first round match today. It definitely wasn't
my best tennis but I am pleased to go through to the
next round. I'm always a little bit nervous before first
round matches and today was no different. I think
something would be wrong if you weren't a little bit
nervous for the first round of a Grand Slam, because it
means so much to a player.
I
arrived at the club at 8am. The US Open is the
tournament where we stay furthest from the venue. It can
take around 45 minutes to get from the hotel in
Manhattan to the site, which is in Queen's. So I had to
get up quite early today – 6.15am. I must admit, I do
like to sleep a little bit, so I prefer not to play
early! But of course being a professional is about
dealing with these situations.
Since
working with my new team I have actually been getting up
earlier anyway, to do some fitness work. I often see
players running around the city in the evenings, but
personally I prefer to use the gym in the hotel for
fitness work and I do it in the mornings.
I
had practice scheduled for 9am but it was raining, so I
just did some stretching in the players' lounge. I
didn't think the match would begin on time because of
the wet weather, but after the rain stopped they dried
the court very quickly, and it started only a few
minutes late.
I
started the match well but then I stopped being so
aggressive and it became very close. I knew it would be
tough, because Vera Dushevina has beaten me twice in the
past.
Even
though I am maybe a bit of a perfectionist on the court,
I have learnt that I am not going to play my best tennis
every day. It's important that I was able to win when
not playing so well, and it motivates me even more to
train hard and prepare properly for my next match, which
is against Aiko Nakamura tomorrow.
I
will write to you again after!
Love
Ana
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Tuesday,
August 29, 2006
There
is one opponent in tennis that is simply unbeatable -
the rain! The wet weather made it a pretty frustrating
day and I didn't get to play my first match.
Of
course, today was the first day since they renamed the
site. It is now called the USTA Billie Jean King
National Tennis Center. It's quite a long name, so maybe
they can call it the USTABJKNTC for short. Just joking!
Seriously,
I really support this decision. What Billie Jean did for
women's tennis is unbelievable. Many, many things in the
sport would be different if it were not for her and I
think all the players are so grateful to her.
My
match was scheduled for the afternoon - third on
Armstrong. I arrived at 11am and had practice scheduled
for 12pm but it was raining so I went for lunch.
The
rain continued so there was not really much to do,
except wait in the players' lounge. Often in this
situation I will read a book, but today I spent time
with Novak Djokovic and his fitness trainer. Novak and I
have known each other since we were three - it's an
unbelievable coincidence. It's been great to have had
someone to kind of grow up with in tennis.
I
also spent the time with my coach David. I was so
desperate to get on the court and hit that we actually
practiced for half an hour in the rain. It was too
dangerous to run around and play properly, so I just
stood on the baseline and hit groundstrokes. It was the
best we could do.
Then
at about 5.30pm they cancelled my match, so I went to
the gym and did quite an intense 30-minute workout. Then
I went back to the hotel.
As
long as there is no more rain my match will take place
on Wednesday at 11am on the Grandstand court. Let's keep
our fingers crossed!
Love
Ana
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Monday,
August 28, 2006
I
must admit, I got a little bit bored today. I am quite
an excitable person and I want so much to play. I love
competing on the court, and am very much looking forward
to my first round match tomorrow. I always get a bit
restless on the first day of a tournament if I'm not
playing!
I
had practice in the early afternoon, then I had to wait
for Andy Roddick's match to finish, because there was a
small presentation for us in the interview room for our
US Open Series wins. It's not something I thought about
during Montréal, but now when I think that I won
it, I feel very proud.
I
am visiting Starbucks a lot! It's a little expensive
considering it's just coffee, but it's my favourite
coffee in America. Probably most players agree because
it is like a second players' lounge! I see so many
players there.
Sometimes
I'm asked which players I'm friends with. There are many
girls that I'm friends with, for example Daniela
Hantuchova and my doubles partner Maria Kirilenko, but I
can't say that I am really close friends with any
players, and I think that most players would say the
same. The tennis world is obviously very competitive,
and it's probably best that you do not become too close
to someone, considering that you will have to play them
soon.
My
best friends live in Belgrade. The toughest part of
being a tennis player is that, because of all the
travelling, I don't see my friends or family very often
– apart from my mum, who travels with me. When I do
visit them every few months, it is very special.
I
will write to you again after my first round match.
Love
Ana
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Sunday,
August 27, 2006
Finally,
the tournament is about to begin! It's been a very busy
week. Probably because of my Montréal win there
have been a lot more interviews to do. I find this very
flattering. It is always nice when people recognize your
achievements.
The
longest interview I did was with ESPN. I first spoke to
them on the phone, then I spent about an hour at the
Midtown Tennis Club in Manhattan, where they filmed it.
It was a little bit different, because instead of just
asking me questions, we played some tennis – I served
against the presenter of the show. It's surprising how
long it takes to film footage that is probably only
going to be shown for a few minutes. Before I became a
professional tennis player I never thought about this.
It can be a little bit tiring, but usually it's fun too.
Yesterday
there was a mandatory players' meeting. I am not allowed
to tell you what we talked about because it is
confidential!
Today's
practice was a little disrupted by the rain. Afterwards
I went back to my hotel to relax. Usually I like to
watch fun movies during tournaments, but this time I
watched a really powerful film called North Country
starring Charlize Theron. It was very emotional.
I
have a different feeling coming into this Grand Slam.
The win in Montréal has given me a lot of
confidence. I have very high goals and have always
believed that I will achieve them. This was an important
step. At the same time, I am still very young and more
important than the results is that I keep improving.
Regards,
Ana
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