News Archive

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

  13.01.2006              

My training

Posted at: January 13, 2006  

I had some spare time (unfortunately! I would rather be playing in Sydney still) so thought I would write and let you know more about the work I did during off-season.

As well as our usual training, Zoltan and I spent an enormous amount of time working on tactics during the off-season. It is still a learning process, but the progress is evident and it will come with the experience. I have already established a high risk and sort of aggressive style. I like to be a dominant player on the court, I can describe myself more like a fighter than a defender even though I am aware that is not always the best option – a balance would be an ideal.

While we are talking about training, here is something about the work I do with Pierre Paganini. As some of you know, he is the fitness trainer for Roger Federer. Federer is mentioned during our workouts in the most positive and beneficial ways as a good example of achievements, but my work with Pierre is specifically designed for me. It is very individual, suiting my needs, my built, the age. As a professional, Pierre has the same attitude towards the players he is working with. I am very happy to have him as part of my team.

I will try and write to you again before the Australian Open starts.

Take care,

Ana               From Ana`s diary  www.anaivanovic.com

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

15.01.2006              
       

Ana has been drawn to face world no.130 Shenay Perry in the first round of the Australian Open, which begins here on Monday. The pair have never played before.

Should Ana overcome the 21-year-old American, who has won just four grand slam matches in her career, she will face the winner of the match between local favourite Samantha Stosur and Frenchwoman Severine Bremond (nйe Beltrame) in the second round.

Ana, the 21st seed, is seeded to meet Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy in the third round and a possible clash with fifth seed Mary Pierce awaits in round four. Second seed Kim Clijsters is also in Ana’s quarter of the draw and is a potential opponent in the last eight.

Were Ana to reach the semi-finals Amelie Mauresmo and Patty Schnyder would be potential opponents. Ana cannot face the likes of top seed Lindsay Davenport, Russians Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova, or either Williams sister, until the final because they are all in the opposite half of the draw.

By Gavin Versi  www.anaivanovic.com

Players Participate in Whirlpool Advertising Campaign

MELBOURNE, Australia - Six of the world's leading Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players took time out at the Australian Open to participate in a photo shoot for Whirlpool’s new advertising campaign. The player line-up included Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo, Nicole Vaidisova, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Anastasia Myskina and Ana Ivanovic. The ad shoot shows the players getting ready for a glamorous night out, as they wait for their clothes to be freshened up.

Whirlpool, premier sponsor of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, plans on using the players for a pan-European print advertising campaign to promote the innovative, award-winning Prêt-à-porter. Launched in 2005, Prêt-à-porter is an appliance that refreshes and revitalises clothes in minutes, due to the gentle power of steam.

I'm excited about the Australian Open

It’s nice to be back to Melbourne. I am excited about the Australian Open. I am familiar with the courts because I did a lot of training on them before Christmas and I hope that will help me during the tournament.

I am focusing only on my opponent in round one, Shenay Perry. There aren’t any easy matches in professional tennis, despite what some people say. You have to forget the other’s person’s ranking. If you do not concentrate fully on the match anyone can beat you.

The Australian Open is a fantastic tournament. It is very well run and popular not just with the players but with the media and fans. There is excitement here about the new season. I am also very happy that a lot of Serbians come to the tournament.

For me it is really good because I have family here. Family is very important to me and I prefer my mother to travel with me. She will accompany me to the tournaments this year and my father and brother will also come to some.

Me and my mother have an extremely good relationship and understanding. She is more like a fiend, mentor, shoulder to cry when I need it, a good companion. We discuss things to a great length, but decisions are purely mine. I consider myself very independent in many ways.

All the best,

Ana    From Ana`s diary  www.anaivanovic.com  

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

17.01.2006
       

A Plenty of the Serbian fans has come to support Ana in her first match on court of Melbourne. The impression was made, that she played in the native stadium, all sympathies of spectators were only on her party.
But at times it seemed, that it does not help, but only prevents Ana to show the best tennis. Ana Ivanovic played very nervously, with much of unforced errors (all them it was 30 for a match). Even her forehand has not worked, the ball gets to a net, or around the lines court. And in fact competitor Ana American Shenay Perry serious could not oppose with anything to she. The unique trump of the American - good powerful service, and the second service is not worse than the first.
     In the first set there was even a moment when Perry could win set. She leads with score 4:3 and 40-15 on the service. And only during this moment of match Ana Ana raised her level at just the right moment and a rifled forehand winner brought the packed Court Three crowd to life with chants of “Ana! Ana! Ana leads 5:4 and earned herself three set points courtesy of a sensational forehand service return that soared down the line and past Perry’s despairing dive. Though the American saved all three thanks to some crafty kick serves, Ana win first set 6:4.

The second set Ana has started to play more precisely, has made a break and has led with the score 3:0, but too has early calmed down. At the score 3:1 Ana unexpectedly has lost her service 0-60, and again due to own errors, and soon the score became 3:3. And Perry has unexpectedly grown bolder, began to leave to a net and forced Ana.
     But as well as in the first set Ana has won an end of set and has won a match 6:4 6:4. Now in the second round Ana will faced with Australian Samantha Stosur (61-st number in rating WTA). 

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

19.01.2006
        Stosur stops Ana in Second Round

Teenagers do love their sleep. The 11am start appeared to do Ana no favours as she failed to produce her best tennis on her way to a 6-3, 7-5 defeat to home favourite Samantha Stosur.
     “She’s a terrific player,” said Ana. “She always plays well here and she played really good today. She didn’t give me time to get into a rhythm. I made way too many mistakes and my serve didn’t work at all.”
     Stosur, the doubles world no.4 and reigning US Open doubles champion, attacked the net with ravaging enthusiasm and robbed Ana of time on her groundstrokes throughout the match, which lasted one hour and 26 minutes.
     The 18-year-old made a series of errors in the opening game, netting routine forehands with worrying regularity. Stosur immediately took advantage, breaking to lead 2-0.
     Though Ana broke immediately back she was put under further pressure and the athletic Stosur, diving all over the net, took her third break point opportunity in the sixth game to again forge ahead at 4-2.
     Tickets for Rod Laver Arena had sold out before Ana’s army of Serbian fans could get the chance to purchase any, which meant that the anticipated raucous support for Ana inside the main show court never materialised. Instead, Ana’s vociferous supporters were forced to watch the action unfold on the big screen in Garden Square.
     Back on Rod Laver Arena Stosur closed out the opening set with more aggressive net-rushing. “She served very good and put me under pressure,” said Ana. “It doesn’t allow you to get much rhythm because she’s rushing to the net also.”
     When Ana faced two break points in the first game of the second set it looked ominous. However, Ana saved the first with a searing cross court forehand and two unreturnable serves enabled her to close out the game.
     It was now that Ana finally awoke and raised her game. Several trademark one-two punches – a big serve followed by a mid-court forehand put-away – helped her build a 5-1 lead.
    However, those familiar unforced errors crept back into Ana’s game and Stosur roared back, reeling off six straight games to close out the match. “I was a little bit nervous and tightened up,” admitted Ana, who was playing in only her second Australian Open and just her fifth grand slam tournament.

     “I do actually prefer little bit later,” said Ana with a smile when asked about playing matches in the morning. “But as a professional you have to get used to different situations. "She played really good today. No one can win every match and you have some bad days.”

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

  20.01.2006         Mixed Doubles next for Ana

     Ana has the consolation of a Mixed Doubles match, alongside Novak Djokovic, to look forward to after losing to Samantha Stosur in the Second Round of the Australian Open. Ana and Novak have been handed a wildcard and will play their First Round match on Sunday.
     The teenage Serbians will face another young pairing, Russians Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko. The average age of the four players is just 19-and-a-half years, making Sunday's encounter one of the youngest Grand Slam Mixed Doubles matches of recent years.
     “We played Hopman Cup together and Novak asked me if I wanted to play again here,” said Ana. “Hopefully it will go well.”
     This will be Ana’s second appearance in the Mixed Doubles draw of a Grand Slam after she partnered fellow Serbian and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic at the French Open last year, where they withdrew after winning their First Round match. Ana has a 5-6 win-loss record in women’s doubles and is currently ranked no.145 in the world.
     Reflecting on her defeat to Stosur, Ana said: “She was playing very well. She served really good. She also has a lot of good spins on her forehand and backhand and she comes to the net. She was really mixing up her game. It was a hard match mentally.
     “Moving around I had a little bit of problems. I was a little bit nervous. That is a mistake you have to learn from and not make next time.”
     Most worrying for Ana’s fans was that she squandered a 5-1 lead in the second set. However, closing out sets is never easy. The opponent, assuming the set is lost, often takes a few more risks and if they pay off, the pressure is then firmly on the leading player.
     Certainly Stosur, who described the victory as one of her very best, raised her game when a third set looked on the cards. She explained some of the reasons behind the reversal.
     “I guess as soon as you break serve when someone is serving for the set, you know maybe they’re a little bit nervous and you can still get in there,” said the Australian.
     “After I broke the first time and held, I knew the pressure was back on her to serve it out at 5-3.”
     Ana, who will stay in Melbourne until the end of the tournament before flying to Tokyo for the Toray Pan Pacific Open, will not dwell on this loss for too long. “A defeat like this makes me more determined,” said the 18-year-old.
     “I know what I have to do, I have to work even harder now. There are so many things I still have to improve in my game. I am working hard on them and will see how far I can get.”

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com  

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

  22.01.2006            Mixed doubles win for Ana  

     Ana was back to her best – or at least something near it – as she and fellow Serb Novak Djokovic reached the second round of the Australian Open mixed doubles. They beat Russians Igor Andreev and Maria Kirilenko 6-7, 6-2, 10-4 in an entertaining encounter.
     In a match that started under floodlights at around 10pm local time on Court 7 – it was moved from the larger Margaret Court Arena due to its lateness – the Russians raced to a 3-0 lead as they broke the serves of both Serbs. Kirilenko, clearly the weakest server of the quartet, was then broken twice over the course of the opening set before the Russians took the tiebreak 7-4.
     Ana, dressed in a pink top and grey skirt with matching pink cutting, smiled broadly several times during the match, which was played against the magnificent backdrop of the Melbourne night time skyline. That smile turned to laughter midway through the second set when Kirilenko hit Andreev plumb in the back of the head as he stood at the net. It helped the Serbs gain a double break and Ana duly served out the set to take the match into a first-to-ten Super Tiebreak.
     Illustrating the good-humoured nature of the encounter, Djokovic did a humorous dance as he held serve to edge 2-1 ahead in the breaker. A huge forehand from Ana coupled with a Kirilenko double fault enabled the Serbs to seize a 4-1 lead and they never looked back, sealing a morale boosting victory after an hour and 25 minutes.
      The crowd of around 150 – including the Serbian players’ entourage, who wrapped white towels around themselves in order to keep warm as the heat of the day gave way to a temperate night time climate – enjoyed Ana’s sharp volleying and lethal forehand, which not only Kirilenko but Andreev struggled to cope with at times.
     Ana and Novak will face sixth seeds Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in the second round.

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com  

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

  24.01.2006        Last match for Ana  

     David caused Goliath to stumble a little bit in the late afternoon sun today but could not trip him up. Despite taking the opening set with a most polished performance, Ana and Novak Djokovic lost in three sets to doubles heavyweights Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in the second round of the Australian Open mixed doubles event.
     Between them, sixth seeds Nestor and Likhovtseva have played over 1500 competitive doubles matches. Ana and Novak have played just 16, but it was the young Serbians that showed the more accomplished form early on. Playing virtually error free tennis they immediately broke the Nestor serve and an ace by Ana in her opening service game ensured a surprise 3-0 lead.
     With both Serbs hovering around the baseline as they waited to receive first serves, they maintained the ascendancy and clinched the opening set 6-3, helped by some superb reflex volleying by Ana.
     Novak, who had faced just one break point on his serve in the first set, was broken in the second game of the second set as the illustrious Canadian-Russian duo began to stamp their authority on the match. The six feet, three inch tall Nestor started to dominate the net as Ana and Novak were almost inevitably unable to sustain their superb start to the match. The sixth seeds raced through the set 6-1.
     The couple of dozen Serbian supporters in the crowd, on a blustery Court Two, began chanting in an effort to inspire Ana and Novak to greater things in the Super Tiebreak, the first-to-ten shootout used to decide doubles matches that are tied at one set apiece.
     A lovely wrong-footing backhand pass by Djokovic raised their hopes as the Serbs took an early 2-0 advantage. However, too many sloppy mistakes at the wrong moments cost the teenagers and they went eventually down 3-6, 6-1, 10-5, despite a most credible performance.
 

Ana was encouraged by her form in the Australian Open mixed doubles competition, in which she and Novak Djokovic narrowly failed to reach the quarter-finals. They lost 3-6, 6-1, 10-5 to sixth seeds Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in round two yesterday.
     “I was pleased with my game in the doubles,” Ana said. “It gives me some more confidence. My volleys worked good. In the last few days I’ve been practising really good so I’m happy about that and looking forward to the next tournament.”
     Ana’s next destination is Tokyo. Her first round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, a lucrative tier I event, will take place either next Tuesday or Wednesday.
     Reflecting on her two matches in the mixed doubles, Ana said: “It was so much fun. I think we both really enjoyed it. I think we had chances in our last match. We’re still young and we don’t have so much experience – this was only our second tournament together.
     “The first round match against Kirilenko and Andreev was a good learning experience. It was very, very windy and under the lights, so it was difficult to play. You have to get used to it, especially because it could happen in your singles.”
     Both Ana and Novak stayed at the baseline when receiving first serves against their illustrious second round opponents, who between them hold three grand slam doubles titles. Ana explained the reasons behind this tactic. “We were trying out some things,” she said.
    “Nestor is a very tall guy so he has a good reach on the volleys. It was hard to return so we thought we’d have a better chance if we stayed back.”
     Novak was disappointed that he and Ana could not sustain their brilliant form in the first set of that match, which they won 6-3. He said: “We started well. We broke Daniel Nestor’s serve, which is the strongest of our opponent’s. Unfortunately in the second set we didn’t have enough concentration to hold onto our lead so they took their opportunity. They are playing very good mixed doubles.
     “When you get to the Super Tiebreak you never know because it’s unpredictable, anything can happen. We started it very well but we didn’t have luck and they played very good.”

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com  

   NEWS of  Australian Оpen

  26.01.2006
     

 Melbourne is my favourite city to visit

We are flying to Tokyo on Friday. Obviously the Australian Open didn’t go how I wanted but I don’t want to look back. Of course I will try to learn from what happened and try to become a better player. I am a very positive person and know that I am still young so there will be lots more opportunities.

Unfortunately this year I didn’t have a chance to go sightseeing in Melbourne. Last year I went on a boat in the Yarra river, which was a lot of fun, but this year I was busier. I did go to a hotel here with a lobby on one of the top floors. It was all glass so you could see almost the whole of the city. It was really beautiful, seeing all the lights.

Melbourne is actually my favourite city to visit. I have my uncle who lives in Menton, which is close by, and I have some friends too so we sometimes go out for coffee.

Something I else I did here was to go to the player’s party at the Hyatt hotel. There weren’t too many players there but it was very nice. The music was good. It was R & B, which is my favourite.

There was also a photo shoot I did with some other players for Whirlpool, one of the sponsors of women’s tennis. It was very much fun. I’m very flattered that they invited me to this happening. I think the pictures are going to appear in magazines so I am curious to see what they will look like.

I will try and write to you again when I get to Tokyo. Thank you again to everyone who supported me in Melbourne or at home!

Regards
Ana

From Ana`s diary    www.anaivanovic.com