Now the time is right to open a new thread about one of my favourite players... ANA IVANOVIC



As we all noticed she won the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles yesterday and is the new No. 4 in the world.
But to keep this position she has to defend her title in Toronto at the Rogers Cup. This could be a very hard task because it is very likely that Justine Henin will wait for her in the Semis. The h2h looks not so promising for Ana since she is down 0-2.
Anyway, Ana is playing a great season. Entering the Top10 at the beginning of the year and rising continuously.
Besides that she made history by being the first serbian tennis player to reach a Grand Slam Final.
For being just 19 years old she achieved more than some other tennis professionals dream of.
I hope she will continue to improve and be able to win a Grand Slam in the near future. Cos she is not just a great player but also a very nice person; very humble and a little bit shy.

Jubilant Ana reflects on win
August 13, 2007 / Los Angeles

After beating Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the East West Bank Classic, Ana said that her good friend Novak Djokovic’s victory over world No.1 Roger Federer earlier in the day had given her extra motivation to take the title.

“It was an amazing day for us,” said Ana about Djokovic's capturing of the Masters Series title in Montreal. “I knew right before I went on the court and there was a little bit of pressure on me. I watched some of his match and he played so well. He had an amazing win and I’m very happy for him. He deserves all the credit because he beat the world's top three players.”

The world No.5, who first met Djokovic when they were four, revealed: “We used to play hide and seek when we were smaller. We would play tennis and then we would play hide and seek. I hated when I had to search for him because I was scared."

Despite her victory, Ana wasn’t entirely happy with her performance. “I started quite slow – at least it felt like that,” she said. “I had some muscle pain from yesterday and it was tough for me to get going.

“She played well, especially with her serve. She had some chances but luckily I was able to save most of the break points.”

The tournament win – the fourth of her short career – sets Ana up perfectly for the defence of her Rogers Cup crown in Toronto this week. It also means that she has an outside chance of retaining her US Open Series title.

“I could not ask for a better start,” said Ana about her first tournament of the North American hard court season. “Coming into his tournament they gave me a wild card and I was very happy with that. Coming here I tried to take it step by step and that is how I got the best results.

“At the moment in women’s tennis, anyone can beat anyone. This is probably the best time in my career and I am trying to get the most out of it. I am trying to enjoy. I am having lots of fun on the court. I enjoy being on the court and I try to show that. I feel great and want to show that.”

Ana was interviewed on-court after the match by ESPN's Pam Shriver. Click here to watch

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(video opens in your default media player or right-click and "Save Target As" to download).
The video begins with ESPN's Shot of the Day - a fabulous running forehand from Ana

i've watched the last games of the ana - JJ match which was very nice to look at!! also the final against petrova, where i was able to catch the end of the 1st and the beginnign of the 2nd set

i like ana's attitude on court, especially when she's cheering up big point winners. she's a really kind girl and i like to listen to or read her interviews :D

thanks, nastek, for those stat infos and the article!!

Nice girl and player! I don't know much about her as I have to admit I haven't had the chance to see important matches with her yet, but I will look forward to! Where is she from? Serbia?

Thanks foppapicci !

ana is the best new talent the wta offers she has such a fantastic beautiful flowing game watch out wta !!

a new diary entry by ana! enjoy reading

New York update / August 23, 2007
I feel at home already in New York. I've been here a week already, and the tournament doesn't even start for another four days.

We had a nightmare trip from Toronto: our flight was delayed by around seven hours. We were on the plane and about to depart, then they told us to get off, then eventually we were able to take another flight late in the evening. Of course, our bags got lost! It's usual - it's happening to us almost every trip these days!

They arrived yesterday, but at least it gave me an excuse to do some shopping. New York definitely has some of the best shops in the world and it was nice that I had some free time to buy a few things.

The weather has been frustrating, but now it's improved. Yesterday I hit for 45 minutes with Safarova during light rain, so we had to be careful not to run. Today I had a light hitting session with Sven. I had some interviews in the morning, so it was a busy day.

As always, I'm just looking forward to the tournament to start. There are some fun activities before then, though, like a player party and also Kids Day on Saturday. I am scheduled to play mixed doubles with some celebrities, so hopefully the weather will be okay and it doesn't get cancelled. I wonder who my partner will be...

The draw was made yesterday. I can understand why people get excited about draws and talk about who can play who, but really for me as a player, I don't even want to see the draw! I just want to know who I am playing in the first round, and that's it.

But it's not easy! I met just a few people yesterday and two of them wanted to tell me my potential opponents in later rounds; then today one of the interviewers told me more than I wanted to know about potential opponents!

If I can do what I did at the French Open and Wimbledon, just take it match by match and not think too far ahead, then I'm confident I can do well again. I've never reached the second week here, so that has to be one of my goals. But the biggest goal at the moment is just to win my first round match.

Love
Ana

thx nastek
that artcle was really nice i really hope she does well at the us open
glad she got her bags back lol

Ana won against Nakamura 6:1 6:1 yesterday
here is a little interview she gave after the match....

An interview with: Ana Ivanovic
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Transcribed Interview

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Nice to get off to an easy start?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I was really happy with my performance today. It's never easy first round. Especially last year we had the tough one.
I was really focused from first point on, played some good tennis. I'm really happy to be through.

Q. Are you staying with your mother here in New York?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah. Actually my dad is here from Australia here as well this week.

Q. How often are they both able to be at tournaments for you?
ANA IVANOVIC: My mom and my dad you mean?

Q. Yes.
ANA IVANOVIC: It's very rarely. My father and my brother, they come in Paris and Wimbledon because it's kind of close and they have some break also in that time. But usually just my mom travels.

Q. Are you taking a bus into this tournament every day?
ANA IVANOVIC: No. We have a car luckily, so it makes it much easier.

Q. Less the 40% on your first serve. Does it worry you?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, it's first match. You always need some time to get into the match. But I think my serve was much faster than it was before. And my second serve was also getting a lot stronger. So that gave me a lot of confidence.
Sometimes I was looking for too much on my first serve. I was just trying to figure out what works the best for me.
So tomorrow I'm going to get some time to work on it, so hopefully for next match I'll have a high percentage. But I think I was serving quite well at some moments. It didn't really bother me much. I'm sure I can improve it for the next matches.

Q. How do you feel about the energy in the stadium?
ANA IVANOVIC: First two matches they took a while, but it was great atmosphere. I practice a couple times on that court through last week. I found that I enjoyed it the most of all. So I was really happy when I saw schedule, when I was scheduled to play on that court.
I really enjoyed. The crowd was great. Hopefully they can support me like this through whole two weeks.

Q. Is there a television network in Serbia so people can see your matches and Djokovic's matches and Jelena's matches?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, I think they broadcast all our matches because also lucky for us we are playing on big courts, which are televised so they can also show it back home. I think they have Serbian Eurosport and also Avala TV they broadcast our matches.

Q. If it comes to pass that you and Jankovic play each other, how many television sets would be tuned into that match?
ANA IVANOVIC: Definitely it would be very exciting because we played each other plenty of time in the past years, but never on Grand Slam. So that would be very exciting match for sure for Serbian TV. At least we'll have one player for sure in the semis if that would happen.

Q. What do you think it meant to the country, the big celebration in Belgrade after Roland Garros?
ANA IVANOVIC: It was amazing because they never actually did that celebration for individual player. It was always for a group, for a team sport. So it was amazing for us as players to be on the terrace.
Also for the country, I think tennis is now becoming one of the major sports back home. So I think many people were happy that they organized that for us.

Q. Is it important to you to show some sort of a nice face of Serbia as a tennis player?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it's a great honor to be representing my country because I grew up there and I know that it's a great country, that we have a great potential. But just it was tough because we were at the war couple times.
I don't know how good image we had in the other countries, in the world. But I think tennis, what Jankovic, Novak, also Zimonjic and also other players, Tipsarevic, what we are showing to the world, it's different side of our country. That's great honor for us.

Q. Is it true the government is now building a tennis center in Belgrade?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I don't spend much time home, so I didn't really hear anything about it. But I really hope it's true because we definitely need some facilities. There is many, many kids now playing tennis. It would be great if that's true.
And also for us, that we can go back to Belgrade and spend some more time there.

Q. There's a report that the Djokovic family is trying to build a tennis center.
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, that would be great. I think the more we can invest in our tennis, the better it is. Because, as I said, tennis is becoming such a popular sport right now. We need definitely facilities.
We have maybe one or two clubs in whole Serbia that they have gym and tennis courts in the same place. So that would be great if something new is happening.

Q. How was Nakamura from the last time you played her?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, last year we had quite tough match here, so I was expecting tough match again. From first point on, I tried to focus and tried to play the best I can. I just think I was trying to play more aggressive and don't give her much time because she likes to run and she likes to defend. So I try to get that away from her, and it worked well for me today.

Q. You've had a very fine season. In your mind, do you believe you can win a Grand Slam?
ANA IVANOVIC: I definitely believe so. I think at the moment anyone can beat anyone in woman's tennis. It's definitely something I want to achieve. It's just that I don't want to put that kind of pressure on myself.
I just want to take it step by step and try to enjoy each match. If I start thinking emotionally if I'm going to win a Grand Slam or not, then the journey is becoming much more difficult.
But just focusing on my game, that's the only way I can achieve that goal.

Q. We know what happened at the French Open final, but what's your assessment to what happened to you at Wimbledon?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, Wimbledon, Venus played unbelievable good match. She was serving amazingly. It was for me tough to hold my serve. So she was in a great shape.
I think if I would be more aggressive and maybe my serve percentage would have gone up I would have more chance. But definitely she didn't give me much.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

nice interview thx nastek

nice to see her mom travels with her and her dad is there this week
hopefully she will do well ..

Newsroom

September 15, 2007

Ana Ivanovic

© Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Ivanovic Inaugurated as UNICEF Ambassador

BELGRADE, Serbia - At a ceremony held at a Belgrade primary school Friday, September 15, Ana Ivanovic was inaugurated as a National Ambassador for UNICEF in Serbia.

"This is very emotional and one of the most beautiful days in my life," Ivanovic said. "My motivation to join UNICEF and to give my humble contribution comes from my wish to help children, especially those children whose rights are endangered in any way."

Addressing the audience, UNICEF Acting Representative Ms. Maria-Luisa Fornara said that Ivanovic, in her role of UNICEF National Ambassador, "will lend her star power and energies to UNICEF in its battle to protect children and give them a good quality basic education. She will now serve as a voice for those who frequently have no voice - the children."

Ivanovic spent over an hour in conversation and play with excited children in the gym of the Vladimir Rolovic school. She told the youngsters, many of whom are aspiring young sportspeople: "You should not be afraid to lose. Learn from such an experience. That is how you build self-esteem."

As the first token of her commitment to work for the cause of children, Ivanovic donated CAD$11,000 - payment from The Sports Network for a commercial she shot for them last month at the Rogers Cup in Toronto - to support the UNICEF-supported "Schools without Violence" programme.

Several among the packed audience looked tearful as Ivanovic delivered her heartfelt speech. National broadcaster B92, who interviewed Ivanovic after she had made a secondary visit to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, described the day as one of the most memorable in its history.

The 19-year-old said: "I am here with you today thanks to the love and support I have received from my parents, family, friends, coach and teachers. I loved to go to school as much as I loved to play tennis. I felt safe in school.

"Unfortunately, for so many children this is not the case. UNICEF research in Serbian primary schools shows that two thirds of children have been exposed to some sort of violence and bullying at school. We have to do something about it."

Ivanovic made a public call to Serbian businessmen and companies to join in and donate for the "Schools Without Violence" programme.

"This is not just a question of money. This is about how to solve the problems of kids," Ivanovic continued. "I am asking you to think about children. I am asking you to ask children whether they are happy in school. Let us please do everything we can to help each other."

/span>

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check the "related video" out !!

you may as well look at the tennis quiz too lol

WTA Tour - Ivanovic up to world number two

Eurosport - Mon, 28 Jan 20:20:00 2008

Australian Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic has reached a career-high second in the WTA world rankings behind Justine Henin of Belgium.

The 20-year-old Serb moves clear of Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia with her Serbian compatriot Jelena Jankovic staying in fourth and the winner in Melbourne, Maria Sharapova, remaining at fifth.

Venus Williams meanwhile moves back ahead of younger sister Serena standing four places ahead at sixth