The 'tennis lolita' competes with Sharapova (from swiss newspaper)

from  www.wtatour.com. December 2005

BIEL - Hardly 18 years old and already on the way to become a superstar. The tennis beauty has a spiralling rise behind her and an end isn't foreseeable. Now she ought to be a big antagonist of Maria Sharapova (18).


At the swiss tennis in Biel Ana is surrounded by her whole team. Mother Dragana, coach Zoltan Kuharszky, manager Dan Holzmann and fitness coach Pierre Paganini. For two weeks the talanted tennis player is in Biel for mainly improving her condition. Ana says: " I feel better every time" . Anna who has an appartement in Basel, has since a short time the swiss "b-allocation ". At the end of 2003 she was #705, at the end of 2004 #97 and now she is #16. " Actually the top 50 has been my goal for 2005, but after the victory in Canberra I knew that I can go further. "

She doesn't work together with Paganini for prestige reasons, bur reather because "he gives me the feeling that he is good". But the working together with one of the most demanded fitness coach of the world isn't easy. " He is tough, but I like to work." For reaching her next goal: the TOP 10, she has to work on her biggest weak point: the physis. " She has a top game", says Kuharzasky, " but she has to get fit." As she is far away from the maximum, but that doesn't come over night. Her trainer talks about impressive technical potential and about great timing. For example does Sharapova need twice as much energie as Ana does. He wants to make Ana more variable who he describes as friendly, ambitious and disciplined. "But in prinicple everything is possible, even #1!" For reaching the TOP 10, her tournament schedule ought to extend to 20 tournaments a year. But that is enough, because "we don't want to 'burn' her."

That is the same point of her manager, Dan Holzmann. He works together with Ana since 3 years. "Ana is like a jackpot", he says. He invested 600 000 francs in Ana's future - for coaches, voyages and pocket money. " But she paid it already back with her price money, we are squared."

He just signed a multi million deal with Adidas. " Ana is a role model. We want her to be a Sharapova rival. She is attracitve, plays well and has a big and great personality."

She would do a good figure as the rival of the russian tennnis beauty. In Serbia Ana barely can go on the streets, because the teenager is so popular in her homeland. Holzmann thinks her worth is about 50 million dollars, but he hopes for 100 millions. If she plays for Swiss in the future? "Who knows", says Hazmann, "that is all open."