LAST   NEWS

16.02.2007 

   Ana lost 6-2, 6-1 to former world No.1 Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals of the Proximus Diamond Games. Contesting her fourth quarter-final of 2007, Ana was simply outplayed by the Belgian, who was on top form throughout the 55-minute match.
    Clijsters was in outstanding form from the word “play”. She hit 35 winners and just 15 unforced errors and she served at 70 per cent. Conversely, Ana never fully settled in the partisan atmosphere, created by a 14,000-strong home crowd that savoured the Belgian’s last ever appearance in Antwerp.
    Despite doing her best Guillermo Coria impression – she served two doubles faults in the opening game – Clijsters held then immediately applied pressure on Ana’s opening service game. Cracking a swathe of heavy crosscourt forehands, the world No.4 quickly opened up a 5-0 lead.
    Ana appeared somewhat shaken and struggled with her timing, though she did at least attempt to vary her play; she approached the net on several occasions, but Clijsters was simply too good.
    The 19-year-old got her name on the scoreboard and even broke the Belgian to get back to 2-5, but Clijsters added a third break to wrap up the opening set in 28 minutes.
    It was a similar pattern in the second set with the No.2 seed again opening up a 5-0 lead. At this point Ana was in grave danger of losing her record of being the only player in the current top 20 who has never lost a professional set 6-0, not least when she faced match points on her own serve.
   She saved them both and prevented a ‘bagel’ set but had no answer in the following game as Clijsters, timing the ball so well she would even hit virtual half-volley forehands from the baseline, served out a most impressive victory. It was all over when Ana hit a forehand wide.
    Though Ana was far from her best today, few players would have handled Clijsters in this form.

from   www.anaivanovic.com      

 NEWS

15.02.2007 

   Ana beat world No.54 Nathalie Dechy 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 in the second round of the Proximus Diamond Games. It was a somewhat lacklustre performance by the 19-year-old, but she goes on to face second seed Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
    Dechy, who has been ranked as high as 11th, made a poor start. Despite serving four double faults in her opening two service games, Ana raced into a 3-0 lead.
Ana saved a couple of break points early on, the second of them with an intelligent kick-serve, while a down-the-line backhand winner helped her add another break. She led 5-0 and the Frenchwoman had won only one point on her own serve.
    Dechy got her name on the scoreboard with a love service game, then an overrule on what Ana thought was an ace in the following game helped Dechy gets back one of the breaks. With neither player showing their best form, Ana took the opening set 6-3.
    The Frenchwoman called her coach onto court, as per the continuation of on-court coaching on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, but neither he nor Dechy could do anything as Ana hit a brief purple match. She made a brilliant start to the second set, hitting deep groundstrokes and winning the opening two games to love. There were no more breaks until Ana served at 4-3; her ground game began to break down and Dechy took advantage.
   ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees was played during the changeover after Ana had broken for 6-5. It proved to be an appropriate soundtrack because Dechy broke as the 19-year-old served for the match. Errors by Ana in the tiebreak allowed the French player to win it 7-2.
    Ana, who was never behind in the match, showed admirable composure. She made a succession of successful net approaches in the deciding set and scored a crucial break in the fourth game, crowned with a cross court forehand winner.
    She saved several break points when serving at 3-1 and never looked back. The teenager added another break thanks to some sharp net play and eventually sealed victory when Dechy hit a forehand wide. That she found a way to win while not playing her best will be encouraging for the 19-year-old.

   Clijsters is the only player in the top 20 whom Ana has not yet played. Their quarter-final will take place on Friday at 7.30pm Central European Time (1.30pm Eastern Time).

from   www.anaivanovic.com      

 NEWS

14.02.2007 

   Ana beat world No.58 Anastasia Yakimova 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Proximus Diamond Games. Ana hit 29 winners during the 58-minute match as she set up a round two meeting with Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.
   Ana made a slow start. She struggled with her rhythm, both with her serve and groundstrokes, and two double faults helped the Belarusian move 3-1 ahead.
   The 19-year-old managed to cut out some of the unforced errors and several successful net approaches helped Ana reel off five straight games. A deft drop volley set up three set points and Ana clinched the first set when Yakimova netted a backhand.
    It was a similar pattern in the second set. The 20-year-old Yakimova looked badly off-form, but the opening four games all went with serve. Ana became more consistent from the baseline and duly won the final four games to complete a comfortable victory.
    Ana, seeded eighth here, has played Dechy once before, winning 7-6, 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the J&S Cup in Warsaw two years ago. World No.54 Dechy is in good form, having thrashed Julia Schruff 6-1, 6-1 in the first round.

from   www.anaivanovic.com      

 NEWS

13.02.2007 

   Ana has been handed a very tricky draw in the Proximus Diamond Games, a Tier II event that begins in Belgium on Monday. She will meet world No.32 Lucie Safarova in the opening round.
    But she`s lucky. Lucie Safarova has pulled out of the event. Ana will now face 58th-ranked Anastasia Yakimova in the first round on Wednesday.  Yakimova, a 20-year-old lucky loser from Belarus, has never before played Ana.
    If she can overcome Safarova, Ana will meet either world No.53 Nathalie Dechy or a qualifier in the second round. Second seed and former champion Kim Clijsters, the only player in the top 20 who Ana is yet to face, is Ana's seeded quarter-final opponent.

from   www.anaivanovic.com      

14

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  16.02.2007   
Ivanovic - Clijsters
2:6 1:6

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