News Archive

   NEWS OF  US Open

  26.08.2005

    Ana has been seeded 18th for the US Open which starts on Monday.

Ana is in the top half of the draw, together with number 1 seed Maria Sharapova, current champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, and past champions, who already won a slam this year, sisters Serena and Venus Williams.
Ana, seeded 18th, will play her first round match against Lindsay Lee-Waters, ranked 99th on the WTA Rankings. This will be the first time for Ana to play against the 22 year old American, who has never won a tournament.
In the 2nd round, Ana could meet either Sanda Mamic or Maria Vento Kabchi.

   NEWS OF  US Open

    29.08.2005

Playing in her first ever women’s US Open, Ana moved into the second round with a patchy 7-6, 6-3 win over American Lindsay Lee-Waters. In her first match back after a pectoral muscle strain Ana didn’t get close to playing her best tennis but got the job done.
    “It wasn’t a high quality match but at the end of the day I’m happy I took my opportunities,” said Ana. “I was a bit nervous at the beginning, especially because of my shoulder injury last week. I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. I didn’t want to risk anything.”
     The first set was a rather insipid affair with neither player able to string together more than half a dozen strokes. Lee-Waters, ranked 101 in the world, showed she wasn’t scared of Ana’s huge delivery – she stood well inside the baseline to receive serve and seized control of a number of rallies but her consistency let her down.
     However, Ana struggled to find her own rhythm and lost the first break of the match in her second service game. She levelled at 3-3, breaking to love thanks to a superb backhand drive-forehand drop shot combination. Serve matched serve until the tiebreak, when Ana showed her class by stepping up and racing into a 6-2 lead. She eventually took the set on her fourth set point.
     Ana said: “In a match like this it’s important to take your opportunities. I knew I could win that set and knew that if I lost that tiebreak the match would be a lot longer and of course more exhausting on a day like this. I knew I had to take every chance I had.”
     The second set was a more brisk affair – both players served well but Ana grabbed control of the contest when she broke in the fifth game. She didn’t look back and was saved the task of having to serve out the match when she broke to seal a 7-6, 6-3 victory.

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com

Next round Ana will play against Maria Vento-Kabchi (VEN). 

   NEWS OF  US Open

    30.08.2005

Despite dropping only one game in their only previous meeting, Ana says she won’t be taking Maria Vento-Kabchi lightly. Ana faces her in round two after a solid 7-6, 6-3 win over Lindsay Lee-Waters.
     “I played very good that match,” said Ana about her 6-1, 6-0 victory over the 72nd-ranked Venezuelan. “I know her a little bit. I have to concentrate on my footwork in order to get into the court and make the game. I mustn’t let her do that. Every opponent, if you let them play they might be dangerous.”
     Ana wasn’t quite on her game in the first round and admits she was tentative because of her the pectoral muscle injury she sustained in Toronto two weeks ago. “I was afraid of forcing too much because of my shoulder so I don’t think my serve worked too well,” she said. “Now I know that I can play a match without any problems, so I’m really looking forward to the next match.”
     The injury also affected Ana’s preparation. She said: “The first few days I had off so I started slowly. Definitely I was concerned about that a little because I couldn’t practice 100% or do all the things I wanted to do to prepare for the tournament.”
     Though she is not feeling the effects of the ailment physically, she is careful not to aggravate her shoulder and will be taking it easy in practice today. “It is how it is,” she said. “I just have to concentrate on my tennis. I played some good tennis [against Lee-Waters] and I can do that again.”
     Off-court Ana is enjoying her time in New York. She attended the Women’s Tennis Association players’ party on Friday and is planning on going to see the Phantom of the Opera musical once the tournament is over.
“I’m really enjoy my time here,” said Ana, who is in New York with her mother, Dragana. “I think it’s one of the best events.”

 By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com

   NEWS OF  US Open

    31.08.2005

Ana’s US Open campaign ended in the most frustrating circumstances when a shoulder injury contributed to her 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 defeat to Venezuelan Maria Vento-Kabchi in round two.  “It was so tough for me to serve,” said Ana. “Every time I had a high forehand I was thinking about the shoulder.”
     Ana began the match well. While there were signs that she was holding back on her serve so as not to risk aggravating her shoulder problem, she hit several winners early on and bossed the opening exchanges. She raced into a 3-0 lead and, though she lost her advantage, continued her solid play and took the opener set 6-3. “I tried to get into the court to make her move and not give her a chance,” said Ana.
     At the beginning of the second set the signs were positive that Ana would continue to dominate but she spurned two break points in the third game. As is so often the case in professional tennis, Ana was broken immediately after she failed to take those chances.
     Ana said: “In the second and third set she started to play much better. She put me under pressure. She was hitting the ball deep and didn’t give me much chance. Probably I had to step into the court more and come into the net and volley more.”
     At 4-1 down she was able stabilise her game and drew level but a lapse in concentration when serving to stay in the set cost her. She saved one set point when serving at 5-6 but netted a simple forehand volley to take the match into a deciding set.
     At 1-2 on serve in the third set Ana called for the trainer and it was downhill thereafter. Her movement restricted, Ana was unable to compete with Vento-Kabchi and the result became inevitable. “The third set was too difficult,” said Ana.
     “I didn’t use my chances I had in the second set. I could have won that set so I’m a little bit upset.”

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com