News Archive

   NEWS of  NASDAQ-100 Open

 23.03.2006
          Ana wins Most Improved Player award!

Ana was named the Most Improved Player of 2005 at “Stars For Stars”, the Official Awards Party of Professional Tennis. The 18-year-old beat fellow youngsters Anna Chakvetadze, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Maria Kirilenko and Nicole Vaidisova to the prestigious accolade during a glittering ceremony in Miami last night.
     "Wow!" said Ana. "I am very, very grateful for this honour. Thank you so much for this award. I am working hard and I hope I can continue improving."
     The award is testament to an extremely successful year for Ana, during which she climbed 81 places in the rankings to end 2005 at No.16. It was the biggest leap of any player within the top 100.
     Other highlights of Ana’s first full season on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour included her maiden professional title at the Richard Luton Properties Canberra Women’s Classic, a quarter-final appearance in the French Open, where she toppled third seed Amelie Mauresmo, and a semi-final showing at the Swisscom Challenge, a Tier I event in Zurich. Her win-loss record of 40-14 (74 per cent, including qualification) was the 12th best on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
    Other winners at the star-studded event included Kim Clijsters (Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship award and Fans’ Favourite) and Roger Federer (Player of the Year and Fans’ Favourite Award Presented by Ricoh).
    Though Ana managed to pull two games back it was too late and Dementieva, the world No.8, sealed a place in the quarter-finals on her third match point when Ana netted a backhand.
   
       From  www.anaivanovic.com 

   NEWS of  NASDAQ-100 Open

25.03.2006
          Ana reached the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open with a hard fought victory over world No.43 Iveta Benesova. She triumphed 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 in a tense encounter that lasted one hour and 56 minutes.
     “I was really happy that I could stay focused and win,” said Ana. “Even if the score had been different I was really happy with the way I played. I was attacking a lot and I felt the ball very good.”
     The match began at a remarkable pace as both players dominated on serve. In fact, the first 14 points were all won on serve and the first six games were completed in a frantic 14 minutes. “I think that serve was very important,” Ana said.
     The 18-year-old, who wore her red and white two-piece adidas outfit, began the seventh game with a double fault and an unforced error, which aided the Czech and she achieved the first break of the match.
     23 year-old Benesova’s first serve percentage was a sky-high 85 during her opening three games and she had lost just one point on her serve. However, Ana began to press and a crushing forehand drive got the teenager to 15-30. The Serbian then stepped to her left and unleashed an equally bombastic backhand drive that flew past her opponent. Benesova saved both break points but Ana earned a third and sealed it thanks largely to some good defensive play.
     Despite Ana gaining her first break, there was little to separate the two players. Benesova was doing damage with her crosscourt topspin forehand that, because she is left-handed, was hit to Ana’s backhand.
     “It’s definitely more difficult to play left-handers because you’re used to playing much more against right-handed players,” said Ana, echoing the views of most players. “But as a professional athlete you must adapt to all players. The serve was strange – it was coming to from angles, completely different directions.”
     Ana could well have done with the use of Hawk-Eye, the electronic line calling system (it is only installed on the main Stadium court here. She recomposed herself and served out to lead 5-4. Though she then spurned two set points she eventually took the opener on a tiebreak, winning it 7-1.
    However, Ana’s first serve percentage dropped to a lowly 38 per cent in the second set and Bensova capitalised, winning it 6-3. “My serve went a little bit down in the second set,” conceded Ana.
     When Benesova broke at the beginning of the deciding set Ana looked to be in trouble but she reeled off three straight games to lead 3-1. The Czech broke back but Ana again broke to love in the next game courtesy of a deft drop-volley and some deep, punishing groundstrokes.
    The Serbian, stepping into the court to pile pressure on her opponent’s second serves, added another break to seal victory, hitting a forehand service return winner on match point before turning to her mother and coach to celebrate.
    “I started feeling the ball much better in the third set,” said Ana. “I was moving really well. I’m really pleased with this.”

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com 

   NEWS of  NASDAQ-100 Open

  26.03.2006
          It was a mixed performance by Ana, but she is through to the fourth round of the Nasdaq-100 Open after beating world No.95 Alona Bondarenko 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in one hour and 42 minutes.
     “I don’t think this was a good performance from both of us,” said Ana. “I’m pleased I took my opportunities in the end.”  “I just think I could have played much better, but I wasn’t moving well. At some important points my serve was coming and I’m really happy that I took the opportunities I had.”
     Ana made a fast start to the match, carving out three break points in the opening game but Bondarenko saved them all. The Ukrainian was unable to resist Ana’s aggression in her next service game and the 18-year-old broke to lead 2-1 only to make several unforced errors in the next game – a pattern that continued throughout the match on Court One.
     “Backhand was really shaky,” admitted Ana. “I was also hitting my forehand quite a lot with the frame. I’m really happy I could stay focussed at the important moments and win the important points.”
     Some positive play by Ana, who often moved into the court to attack the Bondarenko serve, in game seven saw her break to love. She held serve then broke again to seal opening set 6-3 even though she was far from her best.
     Bondarenko capitalised on this and broke Ana four times during an error-packed second set, which she won 7-5. Ana refused to blame the early start – she has admitted she is not a fan of early matches in the past – as an excuse for her sub-par performance.
     “That’s not the best!” she said about early starts. “But you have to adapt. So many times I will be in this position again.”
    To give Bondarenko credit, she grew in confidence as the match progressed and returned well throughout. But Ana always looked the more likely winner. She regrouped well after dropping the second set to surge 5-1 ahead in the decider.
    Though she wobbled a little as she neared the finish line, Ana sealed an indifferent three set win with a successful excursion to the net. In fact, Ana was successful on 17 of her 22 visits to the net, a winning percentage of 77.
     “So many times you will not perform to your best level but still you have to go through and win matches,” said Ana. “I’m just happy that I won this match because I am sure I will play much better tomorrow.”

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com 

   NEWS of  NASDAQ-100 Open

27.03.2006
          There was the occasional glimpse of why one day she may hold the top ranking herself, but Ana could not repeat her heroics of past victories against world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo. The 18-year-old lost 7-5, 6-2 in a fourth round match that lasted 82 minutes.
     “I don’t think I played a great match today,” said Ana, who had won her last two matches agaunst Mauresmo. “At times I think my forehand worked really well but I didn’t serve good and I made some mistakes on the important points.”
     Ana made a rather lacklustre start to the match. She dropped her first service game as both players struggled to find any consistency. The majority of points were decided by unforced errors with Ana producing the bulk of them.
     While she waited to receive serve at 3-2 behind, Ana looked especially purposeful. She jumped onto the Frenchwoman’s deliveries, overwhelming the 26-year-old from the baseline to earn her first break. Though she herself was broken in the next game, Ana showed more aggression in the tenth game as Mauresmo served for the set. The 18-year-old levelled the match at 5-5 with some more crushing drives.
    In the 11th game, as the set neared its conclusion, Ana received a significant piece of misfortune. Having failed to put away a straightforward volley, a bounce-smash she hit at 30-30, which was heading for a winner, clipped the top of the net and landed in the tramlines. Though Ana saved the break point, Mauresmo exerted further pressure and eventually she broke, then held, to clinch the first set.
     “I think I should have finished with the first one,” said Ana, referring to the tentative volley. “I didn’t have any doubts, I wanted to smash this. I think it was just a little bit bad luck.”
     In the second set Mauresmo demonstrated why she is the world No.1. She continued to produce excellent defence, retrieving most of Ana’s heavy groundstrokes and showing a greater level of consistency than the Serbian.
    “She played some good tennis when it was important,” said Ana about the Frenchwoman. “She has a really good backhand slice and she puts the ball really deep.”
    She broke Ana in the first and third games and, aided by a 100 per cent success rate on net approaches, the Frenchwoman sealed the second set 6-2 to wrap up what in the end turned out to be a comprehensive victory.

By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com 

   NEWS of  NASDAQ-100 Open

 30.03.2006
          Ana’s Nasdaq-100 Open is over after she and Sania Mirza lost 7-5, 6-0 to eighth seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Shinobu Asagoe in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles competition.
     The teenage pair, who have a combined doubles ranking of 136 versus their opponents’ 83, got off to a poor start. Despite Ana serving an ace on the opening point of the match, the Slovenian-Japanese team surged to a 3-0 lead as Asagoe made several crafty interceptions at the net.
    However, the youngsters’ confidence grew and they reeled off four games in a row to lead 4-3. Another turnaround ensued when the more experienced Srebotnik and Asagoe began to dominate net exchanges. They won 10 of the next 11 games to complete victory in 64 minutes.
    “I don’t think it was a really great match,” said Ana. “We had some chances in the first set, we came back. But then we made quite a few unforced errors.”
     Mirza agreed: “We were playing well in patches. The problem was we weren’t playing well together – either she was playing well or I was playing well. That doesn’t work in doubles. But this was the first time we’ve played together and we had a couple of great matches [in the previous rounds].”
     Despite the defeat Ana will be content with her performances in the team event here. She has played only eight doubles tournaments on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and this competition marks only her third ever appearance in a women’s doubles quarter-final.
    
   By Gavin Versi    www.anaivanovic.com

01.04.2006
          From Ana`s diary:

On Saturday we are flying straight to Switzerland (unless flight is cancelled!). I am going there for a week of conditioning work. I will then go to Belgrade for a week of training on clay before Fed Cup in Bulgaria. I am looking forward to playing Fed Cup very much. It will be the first time for me and I am very excited.

I’m pretty happy with my game during this month in America. In Indian Wells I think I played some really good matches and I had chances against Dementieva in the quarter-finals. In Miami I didn’t play quite as well but I also had some opportunities against Mauresmo in the first set.

I lost to two really great players in those tournaments. Overall I think it was a good effort. There is a lot to learn from this experience and there is a lot to improve on. I am looking forward to doing this over the next few months.

I had a great time in Miami. I am already looking forward to coming back next year! Because we couldn’t get flights to Switzerland on Friday we went shopping! I bought a nice skirt and a few other things. I hadn't been shopping properly for some time so I really enjoyed it.

Something else I enjoyed very much in Miami was going to restaurants. I went with some of the staff of the Tour one night, which really nice. We went to this very famous Japanese restaurant called Nobu. I like Asian food very much so I was happy we went there!

One thing that me, my mum and Zoltan planned do but didn’t have chance in the end was to visit an island for a picnic. We got stuck in traffic on our way there! So we just drove around Miami and saw a few beaches, then went to a seafood restaurant. Hopefully next year we can visit the island.
    
      www.anaivanovic.com