The Rapid Rise of Ana Ivanovic
   10-04-2005   www.wtatour.com/

Ana Ivanovic has come along way in a short period of time - a very short period of time.

Two years ago, the 17-year-old Belgrade, Serbia native hadn't even played in a professional tournament. In fact, that pro debut didn't come until August of 2003 when she reached the semifinals at the ITF Women's Circuit event in Bucharest, Romania.

A little over a year later, Ivanovic had already reached the Top 100 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and she still hasn't slowed her rapid rise in women's tennis. She captured her first career title in January at Canberra, making her run to the title as a qualifier.

Two months later, Ivanovic had already reached the Top 50 on the rankings and the tennis world began to take notice of the game's rising star.

"It is a little strange because everything in my professional career has happened very fast," Ivanovic said.

In the span of just 19 months, Ivanovic went from an unranked hopeful to one of the Top 50 players in the world, something that surprised even Ivanovic.

"It definitley came pretty fast," Ivanovic said. "But I worked hard in the last few months, so I am happy to see improvement."

Ivanovic's biggest breakthrough may have come just a few weeks ago at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. After an earlier victory against world No.12 Nadia Petrova, Ivanovic defeated a Top 10 player for the first time with a three-set victory against world No.7 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

"I felt a little nervous, but I believed all the time that I could win that match," Ivanovic said. "For me, the most important thing is to stay calm and that it is not important who is the opponent."

Ivanovic's love and interest in the sport of tennis began at an early age and started by watching the game played on television, in particular Monica Seles. She asked her parents to take her to a local tennis school where her game started to come together.

"I started playing tennis because of Monica Seles," Ivanovic said. "I watched her to TV and I really liked it. Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to meet her, but I would be very pleased to see her."

Ivanovic hopes she can serve as a role model for the younger players in Serbia & Montenegro - much like how Seles played a large role in her early tennis years.

"I can imagine that some young people who are watching me playing tennis see me as their idol in a way that I liked to watch Monica Seles and dreamed to become such a good tennis player as well," Ivanovic said.

She recently launched her official Web site (http://www.anaivanovic.com/) - something she hopes her fans can enjoy and

"That was something new for me and it was fun," said Ana on putting the site together. "It is great to have your own Web site.

"(The fans) can get all the information about my activities, results at tournaments, plans for the next period and also have a chance to get the know me better by asking questions."

Along with monitoring her new Internet destination, Ivanovic said she currently practices about three hours a day, in additional to some specific physical activities to help her game and fitness.

The extra hours spent in the gym and on the practice court should help Ana on the Tour - especially since she has no plans to slow down anytime soon.

"I would like to be Top 20 by the end of the year," Ivanovic said. "Even more important for me is to improve the level of my game and also to work on my serve."