Ana Ivanovic
Encyclopedia
Ana Ivanović (born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade
, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
) is a former world no. 1 Serbia
n tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings
. She beat Dinara Safina
to win the 2008 French Open
and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open
and the 2008 Australian Open
. Competing as a professional since 2003, she has won 11 WTA Tour singles titles. When on form, Ana is known for her aggressive style of play. In addition, she's popular for her amiable personality and is considered one of the most beautiful tennis players in the world.
, who at that time played for Yugoslavia.
On September 8, 2007, Ivanović became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia
, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević, Jelena Janković
and Emir Kusturica
. She takes a special interest in the fields of education and child protection. Ivanović visited a primary school in Serbia during her inauguration and said that she is "also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids."
, a fellow Yugoslav
, on television. She started her career after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an advertisement. At the time, she was forced to train during the morning to avoid bombardments. Later, she admitted that she trained in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanović spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat – the first that her new manager had watched. She thought that Dan Holzmann, the manager in question, would drop her, thinking that she was not good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed her manager to this day.
, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko
. In 2004, she went 26–0 on the ITF
circuit, and won all five events that she entered, two of them as a qualifier. As a qualifier in Zürich, she overcame a 5–1 third set deficit along with two match points to defeat world no. 29 Tatiana Golovin
7-5,6-7(2),7-6(3). She then debuted in the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam at the US Open, where she was defeated by Lioudmila Skavronskaia after winning the first set 6–1 and having two match points on 5-4 in 3rd set. She eventually fell to a close loss, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7. Her first professional breakthrough occurred in the next match, when she took Venus Williams
to two tiebreaks, before losing in straight sets in the second round of the Zürich Open
. She had held several set points in both sets. She followed up her run in Zürich with a quarterfinal showing at Luxembourg
the next week.
, Australia, after defeating Melinda Czink
in the final. Her ranking continued to rise after wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova
6-3,3-6,7-5 in Miami, Nadia Petrova
6-4,7-5 also in Miami 6-2,6-4 , and Vera Zvonareva
in Warsaw, all of whom were top-10 players. Ivanović lost to Amélie Mauresmo
at the Australian Open
in third round, Doha
in third round after Ivanović had 6-2,2-0 lead and in 3rd set had three break points for 5-2 lead, and Miami Masters
in quartefinals, before defeating her in the third round of the French Open
6-4,3-6,6-3. At that stage in her career it was arguably her biggest win. Ivanović eventually reached the quarterfinals of that tournament, where she lost to Petrova. Later in the year, Ivanović reached the semifinals of the Zurich Open
and Generali Ladies Linz
, losing to Patty Schnyder
in both tournaments.Ivanović finished the year as no. 16.
in Perth, Australia
with fellow Serbian Novak Djoković
, where the pair narrowly missed the final. To start off her WTA
year, she played at the Medibank International in Sydney where she once again defeated Amélie Mauresmo
, this time in straight sets 6-2,7-5, before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the quarterfinals 7-6(3),6-3 after having 5-2 lead in first set. A week later, she lost to Samantha Stosur
in the second round of the Australian Open
6-3,7-5.
Ivanović made it to the third round of the French Open
, before losing to Anastasia Myskina
. She progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon
, but lost to eventual champion and world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo
in straight sets 7-5,6-3 after beating no. 14 seed Dinara Safina
3-6,7-6(3),6-1.
Ivanović made her breakthrough in August when she defeated former world no. 1 Martina Hingis
6-2,6-3 in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal
before beating Jelena Janković
6-1,6-2, no. 14 seed Katarina Srebotnik
6-4,6-4 and top 10 player Dinara Safina
6-1,6-4. This ultimately led to her winning the United States Open Series
, ahead of Kim Clijsters
and Maria Sharapova
. At the US Open, she lost to Serena Williams
.
Ivanović also played nine tournaments in doubles in 2006, teaming up with Maria Kirilenko
and Sania Mirza
. Ivanović and Kirilenko made two semifinals and a final; they ended the year at number 17 in the annual race to the Championships
. Ivanović finished the year ranked world no. 14 in singles and world no. 51 in doubles.
were she beat no. 5 Nadia Petrova
but lost to Nicole Vaidišová
.Seeded 13th at the Australian Open
, Ivanović defeated Agnieszka Radwańska
6-2,3-6,6-2 in the second round, but lost in the third round to Vera Zvonareva
after she missed some opportunities. Immediately after this tournament, she announced that she had split with her coach David Taylor.Ivanović then played 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open
, in quatrefinals she beat no. 10 Jelena Janković
3-6,6-4,6-2, in semifinals she beat no. 1 Maria Sharapova
in straight sets losing just 1 game, but lost in Final to Martina Hingis
.
At the Tier I Pacific Life Open
in Indian Wells, California
, she was defeated in the fourth round by Sybille Bammer
6-7(6),6-0,3-6 after easy wins over Vania King
and Alicia Molik
. Yaroslava Shvedova
then defeated Ivanović in the second round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami Masters
.Then she played tournament in Amelia Island were she lost in semifinals to no. 19 and eventual champion Tatiana Golovin
4-6,6-3,4-6 after Ivanović had break points in all games of serve for Tatiana.It was first win for her in seven meetings.After she lost in semifinals she won no. 9 Jelena Janković
7-5,6-3 in quartefinals.
Ivanović then returned to Europe to play two clay-court tournaments in preparation for the French Open. In Berlin at the Qatar Telecom German Open
, she won her first Tier I clay court title, defeating world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the final 3-6,6-4,7-6(4).It was very long and interesting match, in first set Kuznetsova was leading 5-1 and she officially won the set 6-3.In second set Ivanović had 2-0 lead, after Kuznetsova equalized on 2-2, Ivanović again broke for 4-2, but Kuznetsova equalized on 4-4 and Ivanović officially won the second set 6-4.Third set was the longest one, Kuznetsova first broke Ana's serve for 2-1 lead, but Ana was strong and pulled for 5-3, even then the match wasn't finished because Ivanović needed tie-break to finally finish the match.However, Ivanović injured her ankle during the final, which forced her to withdraw from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia
in Rome. The win in Berlin propelled her into the top ten of the WTA Rankings for the first time, at world no. 8.
Ivanović had a six-match winning streak heading into the French Open
and increased this streak to twelve by reaching the final. She won her first three matches with the loss of only nine games. In her second career quarterfinal at Roland Garros, Ivanović defeated world no. 3 Kuznetsova 6-0,3-6,6-1, and she then beat world no. 2 Sharapova 6-2,6-1 in less then one hour in the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović attempted to win her first Grand Slam
singles title and complete a sweep of the top three players in the world. However, world no. 1 and two-time defending champion Justine Henin won the match. Later on, Ivanović admitted that the idea of being in the final of a Grand Slam tournament had overwhelmed her.
At Wimbledon
, Ivanović defeated world no. 9 Nadia Petrova
6-1,2-6,6-4 in the fourth round, and saved three match points to defeat Nicole Vaidišová
4-6,6-2,7-5 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, three-time former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams
defeated Ivanović 6-2,6-4 after Ivanović had a break of lead in the second set.
A persistent knee injury sustained at Wimbledon caused Ivanović to withdraw from Serbian Fed Cup
competition against Slovakia
and two lead-up events to the US Open. She returned to the tour at the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California
, saving two match points in the semifinals with huge winner before defeating no. 3 Janković 4-6,6-3,7-5 in trilling match. In the final, Ivanović defeated top 10 player Petrova to win the fourth singles title of her career, which raised her ranking to a career-high of world no. 4.
In Ivanović's first three matches at the US Open
, she lost only 10 games. Venus Williams
then eliminated her for the second consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament.
Ivanović returned to Europe for three tournaments. At the Tier II Luxembourg Championships
, Ivanović qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships
by virtue of reaching the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović rallied from 6–3, 3–0 down to defeat Daniela Hantuchová
3-6,6-4,6-3 in two hours and 25 minutes. This was her fifth career title.In quatrefinals and semiinals she beat Tatiana Golovin
6-1,6-2 and Vera Zvonareva
6-4,6-2.
To end the year, Ivanović played the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid
, Spain. Seeded fourth and assigned to the Red Group during the round-robin phase, she defeated world no. 2 Kuznetsova 6-1,4-6,7-5, after she had 4-0 and three break points for 5-0 in third set she eventually won the set 7-5 and Hantuchová in straight sets 6-2,7-6.She qualified to semifinals and then Sharapova defeated Ivanović in the final match of the round-robin stage. Because she finished second in her group, Ivanović played world no. 1 Henin in the semifinals, in which the Belgian won 6-4,6-4.
Ivanović finished the year with a career-high ranking of world no. 4.
were she beat top 20 player, but she lost to world no. 1 Henin 2-6,6-2,4-6 after had break points on 4-4 in third set.It was great chance for Ivanović to win Henin for the first time.As the fourth seed at the Australian Open
, Ivanović defeated top 20 players Katarina Srebotnik
6-3,6-4 and Caroline Wozniacki
6-1,7-6(2) and 8th seed Venus Williams
for the first time in her career by beating her in straight sets 7-6(3),6-4. Later in the semifinals, she was down 0–6, 0–2 before she defeated Daniela Hantuchová
0-6,6-3,6-4. She lost to 5th seed Maria Sharapova
7-5,6-3 in the final. Her ranking rose to world no. 2 as a result of her performance at the tournament, the highest of her career at the time.
In Serbia's Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I D round-robin tie against Poland
in Budapest
, Ivanović defeated Urszula Radwańska
in straight sets 6-3,6-1. In Serbia's second round-robin tie against Romania, Ivanović defeated Monica Niculescu
5-7,6-4,7-5 and then teamed with Jelena Janković
to win the deciding doubles rubber against the Romanian team 2-6,7-6(2),7-6(4) after Janković lost her singles match. In the promotion playoff, Ivanović beat Renée Reinhard 6-2,3-6,6-3 of the Netherlands, as Serbia advanced to the World Group II
playoffs in April.
In Doha and Dubai she finished in quatrefinals after she withdrew from Doha, and lost in Dubai to Elena Dementieva
7-5,3-6,3-6 after having 3-1 lead and 2 game points in second set before easy win over top 10 player Nicole Vaidisova 6-4,6-0 in second round.
In March, Ivanović defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
6-4,6-3 before wins over top 15 players Francesca Schiavone
2-6,7-5,6-2 and Vera Zvonareva
6-1,6-4 and world no. 4 Jelena Janković
7-6(3),6-3 in the semifinals.In firts set against Jelena she had 5-3 lead and even some set points on 6-5, but eventually won the set 7-6. She was very tired after the tournament so she lost to Lindsay Davenport
in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami the following week.
Ivanović started her clay-court season as defending champion at the Qatar Telecom German Open
in Berlin. She lost to Elena Dementieva
6-2,7-5 for the fourth time in four meetings in the semifinals after beating no. 9 Ágnes Szávay 3-6,6-4,6-3 in the quatrefinals. Ivanović was seeded second at the 2008 French Open
, where she defeated Petra Cetkovská
6-0,6-0 in fourth round, world no. 10 Patty Schnyder
6-3,6-2 in quatrefinals and world no. 3 Jelena Janković
in a thrilling encounter in the semifinals 6-4,3-6,6-4. First Jelena had 4-2 lead, then Ivanović was very near to winning match after 6-4,3-1 lead, then Janković had 4-6,6-3,3-1 after Ana came for 3-3 in third set and again lost her serve, but was able to win the set 6-4.The win guaranteed Ivanović's ascent to world no. 1 the following week, regardless of her performance in the final. Nonetheless, she went on to defeat Dinara Safina
in straight sets 6-4,6-3 in the final, winning her first (and to date, only) Grand Slam
singles title.
At Wimbledon
, Ivanović had quick work of her first round match 6-1,6-2, only to encounter an inspired Nathalie Dechy
in the second round. Ivanović looked to be headed for a straight-sets win afte having 5-3 lead in first set, before Dechy eventually launched a comeback that saw her produce two match points, before Ivanović finally advanced to the third round with 6-7(2),7-6(3),10-8 win. Here, she lost to unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie
of China in straight sets. At the time, Zheng was ranked world no. 133 but was playing incredible tennis and even had great chance to appear in the final.
Ivanović started the summer hard-court season with a third-round loss at the Rogers Cup
in Montreal
to Tamira Paszek
2-6,6-1,2-6. Ivanović, bothered by a sore thumb sustained during practice two weeks before Montreal, withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Her withdrawal saw her lose the world no. 1 ranking to Janković. The thumb injury also caused her to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Beijing
, which Ivanović described as "one of the worst moments of her career." Ivanović, having reclaimed her world no. 1 ranking on August 18, was the top-seeded player at the US Open
, but lost to Julie Coin
3-6,6-4,3-6 in very exciting and high-quality second round match. The loss was the earliest defeat of the top-seeded player at the US Open since the 1973 tournament.
In her first match after the US Open, at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo, Ivanović was defeated by Nadia Petrova
1-6,6-1,2-6 of Russia in three sets, bringing her win-loss record since the French Open to 4–4. Ivanović later told the press that she was "just happy to be back injury-free" and that she needed to "play more matches get back into rhythm." Ivanović then played in Bejing and after two great results she lost to Zheng Jie
6-7(6),6-2,4-6 match after having a break in first and third set and winning 16 more points than her opponent.
Then she came back to Europe to play three more tournaments, first in Moscow where she lost to Dominika Cibulkova
6-2,2-6,7-6(5) after having two match points.In Zurich open she lost in semifinal to Venus Williams
6-4,3-6,4-6 after leading 3-1 in third set before two easy wins over Marion Bartoli
6-2,6-4 and Petra Kvitova
6-1,6-4.Ivanović played the Generali Ladies Linz
in Linz
torunament and was the top seed. She won the tournament by crushing top 10 players Vera Zvonareva
6-2,6-1 and Agnieszka Radwańska
6-2,3-6,7-5 in final and semifinal.
At the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, Ivanović was seeded fourth. In her first round-robin match, she was defeated by world no. 1 Janković after she won the best point of the year, hot shot. Her next match was against Zvonareva, to whom she also lost in three exciting sets. She withdrew from her final match against Kuznetsova because of a virus.
in the third round.
Ivanović took part in Serbia
's Fed Cup
win in the World Group II
tie against Japan
. She defeated Ai Sugiyama
and Ayumi Morita
to help Serbia to a 4–1 win. At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
, a Premier 5
event, she lost to Serena Williams
in the quarterfinals. Around this time, Ivanović began working with her new coach Craig Kardon, after parting with former coach Sven Groeneveld.
At the BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells, California
, where she was defending champion, Ivanović advanced to the finals, before losing to Vera Zvonareva
. In Miami
, Ivanović lost in the third round to Ágnes Szávay
. In April, Ivanović took part in Serbia's Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
against Spain
. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues
to help Serbia gain promotion to the World Group with a 4–0 win.
At the 2009 French Open
, Ivanović won her first three matches in straight sets, before losing to Victoria Azarenka
in the fourth round. This early loss caused Ivanović to fall out of the top ten for the first time since May, 2007. After the loss, Ivanović announced that she would cease working with Craig Kardon, and would be participating in the adidas Player Development Program, where she would be coached by Sven Groeneveld, Darren Cahill
, Mats Merkel and Gil Reyes
.
At Wimbledon, Ivanović was seeded 13th. She faced two match points against Lucie Hradecká
, before prevailing. She then took down Sara Errani
and 18th seed Samantha Stosur
in the second and third rounds in straight sets, before retiring against third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams
.
At the U.S. Open, Ivanović lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career by succumbing to Kateryna Bondarenko
. After the match, former Wimbledon
champion Pat Cash
criticized Ivanović's new service motion, stating that watching it was a "painful experience" and that it "[weakened] her threat." He also felt that Ivanović was "over-analysing" her game and that her main problem was "her lack of confidence."
At the Premier 5 Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo, Ivanović suffered her third successive defeat by losing to Lucie Šafářová
in the first round. Citing an upper respiratory tract
infection, Ivanović pulled out of the China Open
and announced on her website that she was taking the rest of the year off.
She finished the year with a 24–14 match record, her worst since she turned pro, and did not win any titles. Ivanović only reached three quarterfinals, one semifinal, and one final, and only won back-to-back matches six times. Ivanović ended the year ranked 21, the first time she had been ranked outside the top 20 since July 2005.
. Seeded third, Ivanović reached her first semifinal since Indian Wells
in 2009. She eventually bowed out to wildcard Justine Henin in Henin's first tournament since her return from retirement. Ivanović was seeded 20th at the 2010 Australian Open
, but lost to Gisela Dulko
in the second round in three sets.
Ivanović then participated in the opening round of the 2010 Fed Cup
in Serbia's tie against Russia. She went 0–2 in her singles matches, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova
and Alisa Kleybanova
, both in straight sets. She partnered with Jelena Janković
in the deciding doubles match, but they fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Ivanović then withdrew from Dubai
with shoulder tendinitis.
Ivanović announced that she would be working with Steffi Graf
's former coach Heinz Gunthardt
on a trial basis during the spring North American hard-court season, suspending her relationship with the Adidas Player Development Program indefinitely. In her first match as Gunthardt's pupil, a one-set semifinal against reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters
in the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup
at Madison Square Garden
, Ivanović lost in a tiebreak, despite having held match point. After the match, Ivanović stated that she had noted improvements in her game.
Despite her improvements reflected in the BNP Paribas Showdown, Ivanović lost her opening match to world no. 63 Anastasija Sevastova
at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
. Never before had she suffered four consecutive losses. By also losing a huge number of ranking points, Ivanović dropped out of the top 50 for the first time since March 2005. Seeded 25th at the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami, Ivanović won her first match since the Australian Open, but then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska
in the third round.
In her first clay-court event of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart
, Ivanović suffered a second consecutive loss to Radwańska. In her first doubles match since June 2009, partnering Andrea Petkovic
, she lost to Borwell
and Kops-Jones
.
Unseeded at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, Ivanović had her best week of tennis in nearly two years. She stunned top-10 players Victoria Azarenka
and Elena Dementieva
, and top-20 player Nadia Petrova
, all in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion María José Martínez Sánchez
in the semifinals. She was granted a wildcard into the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
in Madrid, and received a bye in the first round due to her semifinal appearance at the Italian Open. She was the first unseeded wildcard to receive a first-round bye in the history of the WTA Tour. She lost in the second round to Jelena Janković
, despite leading by a set and a break. Ivanović entered the 2010 French Open
unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2005. She fell to Alisa Kleybanova
in the second round.
In the UNICEF Open, Ivanović fell to seventh-seeded German Andrea Petkovic
in the second round. Ivanović was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by 13th seed Shahar Pe'er
, and as a consequence saw her ranking drop to world no. 64.
In the opening round of the Bank of the West Classic
at Stanford University
, Ivanović avenged her 2009 Australian Open
and 2010 French Open
defeats to Alisa Kleybanova
, before losing in the next round to Marion Bartoli
in straight sets. At the Mercury Insurance Open, Ivanović once again suffered a first-round loss to Shahar Pe'er
. At the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open, she rallied from a set and a break down to beat Victoria Azarenka
in three sets. Ivanović retired against Kim Clijsters
in the semifinals due to a foot injury. Her ranking dramatically improved to world no. 39. The injury caused her to withdraw from the Pilot Pen tournament held in New Haven.
Unseeded at the 2010 US Open
, Ivanović breezed into the fourth round with straight-set victories, before losing to defending and eventual champion Kim Clijsters
.
Ivanović went into the Hansol Korea Open as the seventh seed, but lost her opener to Vera Dushevina
. Ivanović then defeated Kleybanova, the Korea Open champion, in the first round of the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
, before again losing to Bartoli in straight sets. Ivanović avenged her losses to Bartoli at the 2010 China Open
, beating the Frenchwoman in straight sets in the first round. On her way to the quarterfinals, Ivanović scored another top-10 victory by defeating Elena Dementieva
for the second time in 2010. Ana fell to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
. By virtue of her quarterfinal finish, Ivanović re-entered the top 30.
Entering the 2010 Generali Ladies Linz
as a wildcard, Ivanović defeated Patty Schnyder
in the finals, 6–1, 6–2, in just 47 minutes of play. Ana headed to the 2010 BGL Luxembourg Open
as the fourth seed, where she breezed right through to the quarterfinals, before falling to eighth seed Julia Görges
. Meanwhile, after making the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament with Yanina Wickmayer
, they fell to fourth seeds Lucie Hradecká
and Renata Voráčová
.
Ivanović revealed that she had ended her coaching relationship with Swiss star Heinz Gunthardt, because Gunthardt mixed his interest in tennis with being a Swiss television commentator.
By virtue of her title in Linz, Ivanović qualified for the last tournament of the season, the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
. She made it to the finals, where she defeated Russian Alisa Kleybanova
for her tenth career title and her second of the year. With her title in Bali, Ivanović achieved a year-end ranking of no. 17, her fifth finish in the top 20.
in Perth
, Australia. She competed along with Novak Djokovic
under the Serbian flag. Ana and Djokovic swept their first two ties against Kazakhstan
and Australia
, 3–0, but fell against Belgium
, 1–2. They did qualify for the final, but due to an injury sustained during Ivanović's match against Justine Henin, Serbia was forced to withdraw. Along with the Hopman Cup, Ivanović also withdrew from Sydney.
Ivanović was seeded 19th at the 2011 Australian Open
, where she lost to Ekaterina Makarova
, 6–3, 4–6, 8–10, in the first round in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Ivanović then played in the PTT Pattaya Open, where she fell in the quarterfinals to fifth seed Roberta Vinci
in straight sets, 5–7, 3–6. She headed to Dubai
as the 14th seed, where she lost against Patty Schnyder
in three sets. She stated the loss was in part because of the abdominal injury sustained in the beginning of the season, and she subsequently withdrew from Doha
.
Ivanović then headed to Indian Wells
, where she was seeded 19th. After losing her doubles match with Petkovic
in a tight three-setter, she lost to Marion Bartoli
in the quarterfinals.
Ivanović then played in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
, where she was seeded 19th. She lost against defending champion Kim Clijsters
in her fourth-round match, despite having a 5–1, 40–0 lead in the third set and having five match points. She partnered with Petkovic
in doubles where, after scoring a first round win, they stunned sixth-seeded Benesova
and Zahlavova Strycova. They withdrew from the doubles competition after Ivanovic lost to Clijsters.
Ivanović withdrew from the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
tournament to better prepare herself for the upcoming clay-court season. However, she joined Serbia
in the 2011 Fed Cup
event. Ivanović scored a point for Serbia by beating Daniela Hantuchová
in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, but had to retire in her next match against Dominika Cibulková
, as she renewed an injury from the beginning of the season. Despite that, Serbia beat Slovakia in the deciding doubles rubber, 3–2.
Ivanović's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was seeded 15th. After her early exit in the first round, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ivanović headed to 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, where she was 13th seed. Ivanović lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer
in three sets. Ivanović withdrew from Strasbourg due to a minor wrist injury. Ana then lost to Johanna Larsson, 6–7(3), 6–0, 2–6, in her first round match at the 2011 French Open
. Ivanović had a slight resurgence in Birmingham, reaching the semifinals, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová
in three sets. Ivanović lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Eastbourne.
She beat Melanie Oudin
in the first round at Wimbledon
in straight sets. After her win over Eleni Daniilidou
in the second round, also in straight sets, she fell in the third round. She was beaten by Petra Cetkovská
who had beaten 13th seed Agnieszka Radwańska
in round two. After Wimbledon, Ivanovic hired Nigel Sears, the head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association
, as her coach.In Stanford
, Ivanović fell against Japan's Ayumi Morita
in her opening match, 3–6, 5–7. As the fifth seed in Carlsbad
, she received a first-round bye. In round two, she avenged the previous week's loss by beating Ayumi Morita, 6–1, 7–65, despite trailing 0–5 in the second set. In the third round, Ana cruised past Alberta Brianti
of Italy, 6–1, 6–2. Ivanović then took on Shuai Peng in the quarterfinals and won in two sets. In the semifinals, she lost against top seed Vera Zvonareva
, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. After losing to Roberta Vinci
in her third round match at the Roger's Cup
, Ana, who teamed with Andrea Petkovic
, had to withdraw in the middle of her doubles match while playing against fourth-seeded Azarenka
and Kirilenko
. At the US Open
, Ivanović defeated Ksenia Pervak
of Russia in the first round. She received a walkover from Petra Cetkovská
and advanced to the third round. In the third round, Ivanovic defeated Sloane Stephens
, 6–3, 6–4, to advance to the fourth round, where she faced Serena Williams
, losing in straight sets 3–6, 4–6, in just 74 minutes. She also played alongside fellow countryman Nenad Zimonjic
in the mixed doubles competition for the first time, but fell against Mariusz Fyrstenberg
and Yung-jan Chan, 3–6, 4–6.
During the Toray Pan Pacific Open
Ivanovic recorded victories in straight sets over Anastasia Rodionova and wildcard Laura Robson
, before losing to Maria Kirilenko
in the third round.
At the China Open
Ivanovic defeated Kimiko Date Krumm and Svetlana Kuznetsova
in straights to reach the third round, where she beat third seed and world no. 4 Vera Zvonareva
, 6–2, 6–1. She then faced Agnieszka Radwańska
in the quarter-finals. She lost the first set 3–6 and was down 2–3 when she had to retire because of a back injury. Ivanovic received a wild card to play in the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
, which she won last year. In her first round she played Italy's Roberta Vinci
and defeated her 6–3 6–3. In the semi-finals she beat Russian Nadia Petrova
6-1, 7-5. In the final she faced Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues
and won 6–3, 6–0.
apparel and shoes at the beginning of her professional career, but at the beginning of 2006 switched to rival Adidas
. Ivanovic then signed a lifetime contract with the company. Ivanovic will become an Ambassador for Adidas once she retires from competitive tennis. She is believed to be the youngest athlete, male or female, to sign a contract of such longevity. She started with the Wilson
racquets, eventually using the nCode nBlade. Since the beginning of 2008, Ivanović has used Yonex
racquets. She previously used the RQiS 1 Tour XL 95, but at the beginning of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open 2010 in Cincinnati switched to a prototype version of a new Yonex racket. Ivanovic plays with the Yonex EZONE 100 model.
and becoming no. 1, Ivanović endured a decline in form. Many critics attributed this to lack of confidence. At the 2010 Australian Open
, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova commented that, "while she has absolutely no confidence in herself, she still fights till the last point." She has since made some improvements to her playing style after appointing a new coach in 2010. As a result, she started to play with more confidence and won matches more consistently. Recently, however, an inexplicable loss of form and increased injury has sent Ivanovic back to the drawing board.
Ivanović's serve is a powerful weapon. She hit a 124.9 mi/h serve at the French Open in 2007, the fifth fastest serve of all time on the WTA Tour. As of late, however, her serve has become unreliable, mostly due to technical issues with her ball toss. The success of her ball toss is directly associated with her nerves. During the French Open final in 2007, Ivanović was overcome with nerves and her toss went astray. During Ivanović's slump in play in 2009, her serve became gradually less effective as her confidence diminished. Ana is now confident she has rectified these problems.
, released in 2007, Virtua Tennis 2009
, released in 2009, Grand Slam Tennis for Wii, also released in 2009, Top Spin 4
and Virtua Tennis 4
both schedule to released in 2011. She stars, among others, alongside Roger Federer
, Rafael Nadal
, Lindsay Davenport
, Anna Chakvetadze
, Venus Williams
and Maria Sharapova
.
Filip Filipi
and Collie Buddz
.
Also, she appeared on a number of international magazines like FHM
(Germany, United Kingdom, Australia), Cosmopolitan (Serbia), Vanidades
(Mexico), Grazia
(Serbia), The Best Shop (Serbia), Sports Illustrated (South Africa) and others.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
) is a former world no. 1 Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
. She beat Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
to win the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
and the 2008 Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
. Competing as a professional since 2003, she has won 11 WTA Tour singles titles. When on form, Ana is known for her aggressive style of play. In addition, she's popular for her amiable personality and is considered one of the most beautiful tennis players in the world.
Early life
Ivanović's mother Dragana (Драгана), a lawyer, supports her daughter during most of her matches. Her father Miroslav (Мирослав), a self-employed businessman, attends as many events as he possibly can. Ana has a younger brother, Miloš (Милош), with whom she loves to play basketball.Personal life
Aside from her tennis career, Ivanović also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time. Her inspiration to begin playing was Monika SelešMonica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
, who at that time played for Yugoslavia.
On September 8, 2007, Ivanović became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević, Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
and Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
. She takes a special interest in the fields of education and child protection. Ivanović visited a primary school in Serbia during her inauguration and said that she is "also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids."
Career
Ivanović picked up a racket at the age of five after watching Monica SelesMonica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
, a fellow Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, on television. She started her career after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an advertisement. At the time, she was forced to train during the morning to avoid bombardments. Later, she admitted that she trained in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanović spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat – the first that her new manager had watched. She thought that Dan Holzmann, the manager in question, would drop her, thinking that she was not good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed her manager to this day.
2004
Ivanović reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in 20042004 Wimbledon Championships
List of the 2004 Wimbledon Champions:-Men's Singles: Roger Federer def. Andy Roddick, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6, 6–4*It was Federer's sixth title of the year, and his 17th overall. It was his third career Grand Slam title, and his 2nd at Wimbledon....
, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
. In 2004, she went 26–0 on the ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
circuit, and won all five events that she entered, two of them as a qualifier. As a qualifier in Zürich, she overcame a 5–1 third set deficit along with two match points to defeat world no. 29 Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
7-5,6-7(2),7-6(3). She then debuted in the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam at the US Open, where she was defeated by Lioudmila Skavronskaia after winning the first set 6–1 and having two match points on 5-4 in 3rd set. She eventually fell to a close loss, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7. Her first professional breakthrough occurred in the next match, when she took Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
to two tiebreaks, before losing in straight sets in the second round of the Zürich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
. She had held several set points in both sets. She followed up her run in Zürich with a quarterfinal showing at Luxembourg
Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The BGL Luxembourg Open is a tennis tournament held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Held since 1991, the tournament was an exhibition event until 1995. After that, it became a WTA Tier III tournament, which it remained until 2004. In 2005, it was promoted to Tier II, marking the first such...
the next week.
2005
Ivanović won her first career singles title, as a qualifier, in CanberraRichard Luton Properties Canberra International
The Richard Luton Properties Canberra International was a women's tennis tournament held in Canberra, Australia. The event was affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association , and was classed variously as a Tier III , a Tier V , and a Tier IV on the WTA Tour. It was competed on outdoor hardcourts...
, Australia, after defeating Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink is a Hungarian professional female tennis player. On September 21, 2009 Czink reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 37....
in the final. Her ranking continued to rise after wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
6-3,3-6,7-5 in Miami, Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
6-4,7-5 also in Miami 6-2,6-4 , and Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
in Warsaw, all of whom were top-10 players. Ivanović lost to Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
at the Australian Open
2005 Australian Open
The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005.-Men's Singles: Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4...
in third round, Doha
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
in third round after Ivanović had 6-2,2-0 lead and in 3rd set had three break points for 5-2 lead, and Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
in quartefinals, before defeating her in the third round of the French Open
2005 French Open - Women's Singles
Anastasia Myskina was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Maria Sánchez Lorenzo. Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed the title, defeating home player Mary Pierce in the final, 6–1, 6–1...
6-4,3-6,6-3. At that stage in her career it was arguably her biggest win. Ivanović eventually reached the quarterfinals of that tournament, where she lost to Petrova. Later in the year, Ivanović reached the semifinals of the Zurich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
and Generali Ladies Linz
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
, losing to Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in both tournaments.Ivanović finished the year as no. 16.
2006
Ivanović started the year at the Hopman CupHopman Cup
The Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis...
in Perth, Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
with fellow Serbian Novak Djoković
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, where the pair narrowly missed the final. To start off her WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
year, she played at the Medibank International in Sydney where she once again defeated Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
, this time in straight sets 6-2,7-5, before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the quarterfinals 7-6(3),6-3 after having 5-2 lead in first set. A week later, she lost to Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
in the second round of the Australian Open
2006 Australian Open
The 2006 Australian Open was played between 16 and 29 January 2006.- Leadup :Several leading men's players declined to attend the Open due to injury, including Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Marat Safin....
6-3,7-5.
2006 French Open
The 2006 French Open was held in Paris, France from May 28 to June 11, 2006. Both defending champions, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained their titles. It is one of the four tennis Grand Slams. This edition made history as it became the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a...
, before losing to Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasiya Andreyevna Myskina is a professional tennis player from Russia. She won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian female tennis player to win a Grand Slam main draw singles title. Subsequent to this victory she rose to number 3 on the WTA ranking, becoming the first...
. She progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon
2006 Wimbledon Championships
The 2006 Wimbledon Championships began on 26 June and finished on 9 July 2006.-Gentlemen's singles: Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3-Ladies' singles: Amélie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6 6-3 6-4...
, but lost to eventual champion and world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in straight sets 7-5,6-3 after beating no. 14 seed Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
3-6,7-6(3),6-1.
Ivanović made her breakthrough in August when she defeated former world no. 1 Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
6-2,6-3 in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
before beating Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
6-1,6-2, no. 14 seed Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
6-4,6-4 and top 10 player Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
6-1,6-4. This ultimately led to her winning the United States Open Series
United States Open Series
The US Open Series is the six-week summer tennis season linking 10 ATP World Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments together. The Series leads to the US Open. It is often referred to as the U.S. or North American hard court season....
, ahead of Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
and Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
. At the US Open, she lost to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
.
Ivanović also played nine tournaments in doubles in 2006, teaming up with Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
and Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is a professional Indian tennis player. She began her tennis career in 2003 and is well known for her powerful forehand ground strokes. She is the first ever Indian to break into the top 30 WTA rankings...
. Ivanović and Kirilenko made two semifinals and a final; they ended the year at number 17 in the annual race to the Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
. Ivanović finished the year ranked world no. 14 in singles and world no. 51 in doubles.
2007
Ivanović started the year at the 2007 Medibank International2007 Medibank International
The 2007 Medibank International is the 2007 tournament of the annually-held Medibank International tennis tournament.The event was notable as being the last tournament Kim Clijsters won, before her retirement from the sport....
were she beat no. 5 Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
but lost to Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
.Seeded 13th at the Australian Open
2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...
, Ivanović defeated Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
6-2,3-6,6-2 in the second round, but lost in the third round to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
after she missed some opportunities. Immediately after this tournament, she announced that she had split with her coach David Taylor.Ivanović then played 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, from January 27 through February 4,...
, in quatrefinals she beat no. 10 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
3-6,6-4,6-2, in semifinals she beat no. 1 Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in straight sets losing just 1 game, but lost in Final to Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
.
At the Tier I Pacific Life Open
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, she was defeated in the fourth round by Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
6-7(6),6-0,3-6 after easy wins over Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
and Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
. Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
then defeated Ivanović in the second round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
.Then she played tournament in Amelia Island were she lost in semifinals to no. 19 and eventual champion Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
4-6,6-3,4-6 after Ivanović had break points in all games of serve for Tatiana.It was first win for her in seven meetings.After she lost in semifinals she won no. 9 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
7-5,6-3 in quartefinals.
Ivanović then returned to Europe to play two clay-court tournaments in preparation for the French Open. In Berlin at the Qatar Telecom German Open
Qatar Telecom German Open
The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
, she won her first Tier I clay court title, defeating world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the final 3-6,6-4,7-6(4).It was very long and interesting match, in first set Kuznetsova was leading 5-1 and she officially won the set 6-3.In second set Ivanović had 2-0 lead, after Kuznetsova equalized on 2-2, Ivanović again broke for 4-2, but Kuznetsova equalized on 4-4 and Ivanović officially won the second set 6-4.Third set was the longest one, Kuznetsova first broke Ana's serve for 2-1 lead, but Ana was strong and pulled for 5-3, even then the match wasn't finished because Ivanović needed tie-break to finally finish the match.However, Ivanović injured her ankle during the final, which forced her to withdraw from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Rome Masters
The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
in Rome. The win in Berlin propelled her into the top ten of the WTA Rankings for the first time, at world no. 8.
Ivanović had a six-match winning streak heading into the French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
and increased this streak to twelve by reaching the final. She won her first three matches with the loss of only nine games. In her second career quarterfinal at Roland Garros, Ivanović defeated world no. 3 Kuznetsova 6-0,3-6,6-1, and she then beat world no. 2 Sharapova 6-2,6-1 in less then one hour in the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović attempted to win her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles title and complete a sweep of the top three players in the world. However, world no. 1 and two-time defending champion Justine Henin won the match. Later on, Ivanović admitted that the idea of being in the final of a Grand Slam tournament had overwhelmed her.
At Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, Ivanović defeated world no. 9 Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
6-1,2-6,6-4 in the fourth round, and saved three match points to defeat Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
4-6,6-2,7-5 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, three-time former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
defeated Ivanović 6-2,6-4 after Ivanović had a break of lead in the second set.
Serbia Fed Cup team
The Serbian Fed Cup team represents Serbia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Serbia Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:-Before 1992:...
competition against Slovakia
Slovakia Fed Cup team
The Slovakia Fed Cup team represents Slovakia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Slovak Tennis Association. They currently compete in the World Group II.-History:Slovakia competed in its first Fed Cup in 1994...
and two lead-up events to the US Open. She returned to the tour at the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, saving two match points in the semifinals with huge winner before defeating no. 3 Janković 4-6,6-3,7-5 in trilling match. In the final, Ivanović defeated top 10 player Petrova to win the fourth singles title of her career, which raised her ranking to a career-high of world no. 4.
In Ivanović's first three matches at the US Open
2007 U.S. Open (tennis)
The 2007 US Open was held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City....
, she lost only 10 games. Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
then eliminated her for the second consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament.
Ivanović returned to Europe for three tournaments. At the Tier II Luxembourg Championships
Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The BGL Luxembourg Open is a tennis tournament held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Held since 1991, the tournament was an exhibition event until 1995. After that, it became a WTA Tier III tournament, which it remained until 2004. In 2005, it was promoted to Tier II, marking the first such...
, Ivanović qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships
2007 WTA Tour Championships
The 2007 WTA Tour Championships, officially Sony Ericsson Championships, is the thirty seventh season-ending WTA Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the eight best female tennis players in singles, and four teams in doubles, on the 2007 WTA Tour...
by virtue of reaching the semifinals. In the final, Ivanović rallied from 6–3, 3–0 down to defeat Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
3-6,6-4,6-3 in two hours and 25 minutes. This was her fifth career title.In quatrefinals and semiinals she beat Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
6-1,6-2 and Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
6-4,6-2.
To end the year, Ivanović played the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain. Seeded fourth and assigned to the Red Group during the round-robin phase, she defeated world no. 2 Kuznetsova 6-1,4-6,7-5, after she had 4-0 and three break points for 5-0 in third set she eventually won the set 7-5 and Hantuchová in straight sets 6-2,7-6.She qualified to semifinals and then Sharapova defeated Ivanović in the final match of the round-robin stage. Because she finished second in her group, Ivanović played world no. 1 Henin in the semifinals, in which the Belgian won 6-4,6-4.
Ivanović finished the year with a career-high ranking of world no. 4.
2008
Ivanović started the year at the 2008 Medibank International2008 Medibank International
The 2008 Medibank International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
were she beat top 20 player, but she lost to world no. 1 Henin 2-6,6-2,4-6 after had break points on 4-4 in third set.It was great chance for Ivanović to win Henin for the first time.As the fourth seed at the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, Ivanović defeated top 20 players Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
6-3,6-4 and Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
6-1,7-6(2) and 8th seed Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
for the first time in her career by beating her in straight sets 7-6(3),6-4. Later in the semifinals, she was down 0–6, 0–2 before she defeated Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
0-6,6-3,6-4. She lost to 5th seed Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
7-5,6-3 in the final. Her ranking rose to world no. 2 as a result of her performance at the tournament, the highest of her career at the time.
Poland Fed Cup team
The Poland Fed Cup team represents Poland in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Polski Związek Tenisowy. They currently compete in the World Group II.-Current Team:* Agnieszka Radwańska * Marta Domachowska...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Ivanović defeated Urszula Radwańska
Urszula Radwanska
Urszula Radwańska is a Polish tennis player and a younger sister of Agnieszka Radwańska. She reached her career high ranking of World No. 62 on 10 August 2009.-Tennis career:...
in straight sets 6-3,6-1. In Serbia's second round-robin tie against Romania, Ivanović defeated Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
5-7,6-4,7-5 and then teamed with Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
to win the deciding doubles rubber against the Romanian team 2-6,7-6(2),7-6(4) after Janković lost her singles match. In the promotion playoff, Ivanović beat Renée Reinhard 6-2,3-6,6-3 of the Netherlands, as Serbia advanced to the World Group II
Fed Cup structure
The Fed Cup tennis competition is structured around a number of groups, with promotion and relegation between them.At the top is the World Group I, which competes in a knockout competition. Below that it becomes World Group II. Below the World Group II are the regional zones, with an American Zone,...
playoffs in April.
In Doha and Dubai she finished in quatrefinals after she withdrew from Doha, and lost in Dubai to Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
7-5,3-6,3-6 after having 3-1 lead and 2 game points in second set before easy win over top 10 player Nicole Vaidisova 6-4,6-0 in second round.
In March, Ivanović defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
6-4,6-3 before wins over top 15 players Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
2-6,7-5,6-2 and Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
6-1,6-4 and world no. 4 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
7-6(3),6-3 in the semifinals.In firts set against Jelena she had 5-3 lead and even some set points on 6-5, but eventually won the set 7-6. She was very tired after the tournament so she lost to Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami the following week.
Ivanović started her clay-court season as defending champion at the Qatar Telecom German Open
Qatar Telecom German Open
The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
in Berlin. She lost to Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
6-2,7-5 for the fourth time in four meetings in the semifinals after beating no. 9 Ágnes Szávay 3-6,6-4,6-3 in the quatrefinals. Ivanović was seeded second at the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
, where she defeated Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
6-0,6-0 in fourth round, world no. 10 Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
6-3,6-2 in quatrefinals and world no. 3 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
in a thrilling encounter in the semifinals 6-4,3-6,6-4. First Jelena had 4-2 lead, then Ivanović was very near to winning match after 6-4,3-1 lead, then Janković had 4-6,6-3,3-1 after Ana came for 3-3 in third set and again lost her serve, but was able to win the set 6-4.The win guaranteed Ivanović's ascent to world no. 1 the following week, regardless of her performance in the final. Nonetheless, she went on to defeat Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in straight sets 6-4,6-3 in the final, winning her first (and to date, only) Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles title.
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, Ivanović had quick work of her first round match 6-1,6-2, only to encounter an inspired Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...
in the second round. Ivanović looked to be headed for a straight-sets win afte having 5-3 lead in first set, before Dechy eventually launched a comeback that saw her produce two match points, before Ivanović finally advanced to the third round with 6-7(2),7-6(3),10-8 win. Here, she lost to unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
of China in straight sets. At the time, Zheng was ranked world no. 133 but was playing incredible tennis and even had great chance to appear in the final.
Ivanović started the summer hard-court season with a third-round loss at the Rogers Cup
Canada Masters
The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
to Tamira Paszek
Tamira Paszek
Tamira Shelah Paszek is a professional tennis player from Austria. As of July 4, 2011, she is the no.1 ranked tennis player from Austria in the WTA ranking, at No. 41....
2-6,6-1,2-6. Ivanović, bothered by a sore thumb sustained during practice two weeks before Montreal, withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Her withdrawal saw her lose the world no. 1 ranking to Janković. The thumb injury also caused her to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Beijing
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, which Ivanović described as "one of the worst moments of her career." Ivanović, having reclaimed her world no. 1 ranking on August 18, was the top-seeded player at the US Open
2008 U.S. Open (tennis)
The 2008 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 128th edition of the US Open, and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year...
, but lost to Julie Coin
Julie Coin
Julie Coin is a professional French tennis player. Coin recorded the largest victory of her career by defeating the world's #1 ranked female singles player, and #1 seed, Ana Ivanović at the 2008 US Open. Her career high singles ranking is World No. 60, achieved on 27 July 2009. Her career high...
3-6,6-4,3-6 in very exciting and high-quality second round match. The loss was the earliest defeat of the top-seeded player at the US Open since the 1973 tournament.
In her first match after the US Open, at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
2008 Toray Pan Pacific Open - Singles
Martina Hingis was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on November 1, 2007.Dinara Safina won in the final 6–1, 6–3, against Svetlana Kuznetsova.-Seeds:The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Jelena Janković ...
in Tokyo, Ivanović was defeated by Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
1-6,6-1,2-6 of Russia in three sets, bringing her win-loss record since the French Open to 4–4. Ivanović later told the press that she was "just happy to be back injury-free" and that she needed to "play more matches get back into rhythm." Ivanović then played in Bejing and after two great results she lost to Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
6-7(6),6-2,4-6 match after having a break in first and third set and winning 16 more points than her opponent.
Then she came back to Europe to play three more tournaments, first in Moscow where she lost to Dominika Cibulkova
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
6-2,2-6,7-6(5) after having two match points.In Zurich open she lost in semifinal to Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
6-4,3-6,4-6 after leading 3-1 in third set before two easy wins over Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
6-2,6-4 and Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
6-1,6-4.Ivanović played the Generali Ladies Linz
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
torunament and was the top seed. She won the tournament by crushing top 10 players Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
6-2,6-1 and Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
6-2,3-6,7-5 in final and semifinal.
At the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, Ivanović was seeded fourth. In her first round-robin match, she was defeated by world no. 1 Janković after she won the best point of the year, hot shot. Her next match was against Zvonareva, to whom she also lost in three exciting sets. She withdrew from her final match against Kuznetsova because of a virus.
2009
At the Australian Open, Ivanović was seeded fifth and won her first two matches in straight sets before losing to 29th seed Russian Alisa KleybanovaAlisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
in the third round.
Ivanović took part in Serbia
Serbia Fed Cup team
The Serbian Fed Cup team represents Serbia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Serbia Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:-Before 1992:...
's Fed Cup
2009 Fed Cup
The 2009 Fed Cup was the 47th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
win in the World Group II
2009 Fed Cup World Group II
The World Group II is the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2009. Winners will advance to the World Group Play-offs, and loser will play in the World Group II Play-offs.-Slovakia vs. Belgium:-Switzerland vs. Germany:-Serbia vs. Japan:...
tie against Japan
Japan Fed Cup team
The Japan Fed Cup team represents Japan in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Japan Tennis Association. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:*Kimiko Date Krumm *Ayumi Morita *Rika Fujiwara...
. She defeated Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
and Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...
to help Serbia to a 4–1 win. At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
2009 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2009 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2009 WTA Tour. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, a Premier 5
WTA Premier tournaments
Premier Tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments in the Women's Tennis Association tour.Premier events include:*Four "Premier Mandatory" events in Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Madrid, and Beijing with prize money of $4.5 million....
event, she lost to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the quarterfinals. Around this time, Ivanović began working with her new coach Craig Kardon, after parting with former coach Sven Groeneveld.
At the BNP Paribas Open
2009 BNP Paribas Open
The 2009 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the event, known that year as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, where she was defending champion, Ivanović advanced to the finals, before losing to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
. In Miami
2009 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2009 Sony Ericsson Open was a men's and women's tennis tournament held from March 23 to April 5, 2009. It was the 25th edition of the Miami Masters event and was played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
, Ivanović lost in the third round to Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
. In April, Ivanović took part in Serbia's Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
2009 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
The World Group Play-offs are the main play-offs of 2009 Fed Cup. Winners will advance to the World Group, and loser will play in the World Group II.-Spain vs. Serbia:-France vs. Slovakia:-Germany vs. China:-Argentina vs. Ukraine:...
against Spain
Spain Fed Cup team
The Spain Fed Cup team represents Spain in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Real Federación Española de Tenis. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:* María José Martínez Sánchez...
. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
to help Serbia gain promotion to the World Group with a 4–0 win.
At the 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, Ivanović won her first three matches in straight sets, before losing to Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
in the fourth round. This early loss caused Ivanović to fall out of the top ten for the first time since May, 2007. After the loss, Ivanović announced that she would cease working with Craig Kardon, and would be participating in the adidas Player Development Program, where she would be coached by Sven Groeneveld, Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia.Nicknamed "Killer", Cahill turned professional in 1984...
, Mats Merkel and Gil Reyes
Gil Reyes
Gilberto Reyes is a professional boxer.Reyes, whose nickname is "Sugar", fights out of Miami, Florida. He has been featured numerous times on ESPN2 and Telemundo. In February 2005, Reyes beat Carlos Gonzalez for the vacant WBA Fedecentro Title...
.
At Wimbledon, Ivanović was seeded 13th. She faced two match points against Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. In her career, Hradecká has won ten WTA doubles titles. This total includes the 2011 French Open, in which she won her first Grand Slam title.-Career:...
, before prevailing. She then took down Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
and 18th seed Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
in the second and third rounds in straight sets, before retiring against third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
.
At the U.S. Open, Ivanović lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career by succumbing to Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
. After the match, former Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
champion Pat Cash
Pat Cash
Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...
criticized Ivanović's new service motion, stating that watching it was a "painful experience" and that it "[weakened] her threat." He also felt that Ivanović was "over-analysing" her game and that her main problem was "her lack of confidence."
At the Premier 5 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Tokyo, Ivanović suffered her third successive defeat by losing to Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
in the first round. Citing an upper respiratory tract
Upper respiratory tract
The upper respiratory tract or upper airway primarily refers to the parts of the respiratory system lying outside of the thorax or above the sternal angle. Another definition commomly used in medicine is the airway above the glottis or vocal cords...
infection, Ivanović pulled out of the China Open
2009 China Open - Women's Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but lost in the second round against Peng Shuai.Svetlana Kuznetsova won in the final 6–2, 6–4, against Agnieszka Radwańska....
and announced on her website that she was taking the rest of the year off.
She finished the year with a 24–14 match record, her worst since she turned pro, and did not win any titles. Ivanović only reached three quarterfinals, one semifinal, and one final, and only won back-to-back matches six times. Ivanović ended the year ranked 21, the first time she had been ranked outside the top 20 since July 2005.
2010
Ivanović started the year at the 2010 Brisbane International2010 Brisbane International
The 2010 Brisbane International was a joint ATP and WTA tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 2nd edition of the tournament and was played at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson, Brisbane. The centre court, Pat Rafter Arena is named in honour of Australian tennis hero...
. Seeded third, Ivanović reached her first semifinal since Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
in 2009. She eventually bowed out to wildcard Justine Henin in Henin's first tournament since her return from retirement. Ivanović was seeded 20th at the 2010 Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
, but lost to Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
in the second round in three sets.
Ivanović then participated in the opening round of the 2010 Fed Cup
2010 Fed Cup
The 2010 Fed Cup was the 48th edition of the tournament between national teams in women's tennis. The final took place on 6–7 November in San Diego, United States. Italy successfully defended their title, in a rematch of the 2009 final against the United States...
in Serbia's tie against Russia. She went 0–2 in her singles matches, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
and Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
, both in straight sets. She partnered with Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
in the deciding doubles match, but they fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Ivanović then withdrew from Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
with shoulder tendinitis.
Ivanović announced that she would be working with Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
's former coach Heinz Gunthardt
Heinz Günthardt
Heinz Peter Günthardt is a former tennis player from Switzerland, who won five singles titles during his professional career, including the Rotterdam WCT in 1980....
on a trial basis during the spring North American hard-court season, suspending her relationship with the Adidas Player Development Program indefinitely. In her first match as Gunthardt's pupil, a one-set semifinal against reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup
Billie Jean King Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup is a one-night tennis exhibition that features the four Grand Slam winners from the previous year to compete each March at Madison Square Garden in New York City....
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, Ivanović lost in a tiebreak, despite having held match point. After the match, Ivanović stated that she had noted improvements in her game.
Despite her improvements reflected in the BNP Paribas Showdown, Ivanović lost her opening match to world no. 63 Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova is a Latvian tennis player. On January 31, 2011, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 36. On August 31, 2009, she claimed her highest Doubles rank of No. 195...
at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
. Never before had she suffered four consecutive losses. By also losing a huge number of ranking points, Ivanović dropped out of the top 50 for the first time since March 2005. Seeded 25th at the Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
in Miami, Ivanović won her first match since the Australian Open, but then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in the third round.
In her first clay-court event of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Ivanović suffered a second consecutive loss to Radwańska. In her first doubles match since June 2009, partnering Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
, she lost to Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...
and Kops-Jones
Raquel Kops-Jones
Raquel Kops-Jones is a professional tennis player from the United States of America. She made her debut in professional competition in 2000, aged 17, at an ITF tournament in Boca Raton....
.
Unseeded at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour...
, Ivanović had her best week of tennis in nearly two years. She stunned top-10 players Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
and Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
, and top-20 player Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
, all in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
in the semifinals. She was granted a wildcard into the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The 2010 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from May 7 – May 16. It was the 9th edition of the event on the ATP and 2nd on the WTA...
in Madrid, and received a bye in the first round due to her semifinal appearance at the Italian Open. She was the first unseeded wildcard to receive a first-round bye in the history of the WTA Tour. She lost in the second round to Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
, despite leading by a set and a break. Ivanović entered the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2005. She fell to Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
in the second round.
In the UNICEF Open, Ivanović fell to seventh-seeded German Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in the second round. Ivanović was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by 13th seed Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
, and as a consequence saw her ranking drop to world no. 64.
In the opening round of the Bank of the West Classic
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Ivanović avenged her 2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
and 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
defeats to Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
, before losing in the next round to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in straight sets. At the Mercury Insurance Open, Ivanović once again suffered a first-round loss to Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
. At the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open, she rallied from a set and a break down to beat Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
in three sets. Ivanović retired against Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the semifinals due to a foot injury. Her ranking dramatically improved to world no. 39. The injury caused her to withdraw from the Pilot Pen tournament held in New Haven.
Unseeded at the 2010 US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
, Ivanović breezed into the fourth round with straight-set victories, before losing to defending and eventual champion Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
.
Ivanović went into the Hansol Korea Open as the seventh seed, but lost her opener to Vera Dushevina
Vera Dushevina
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian professional female tennis player. She was born in Moscow but now resides in Khimki, Russia. In 2006, she privately amended the presentation of her surname so as to be more English language friendly, adopting Dushevina in place of Douchevina which is a...
. Ivanović then defeated Kleybanova, the Korea Open champion, in the first round of the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 27th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, before again losing to Bartoli in straight sets. Ivanović avenged her losses to Bartoli at the 2010 China Open
2010 China Open (tennis)
The 2010 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 12th edition of the China Open, and is part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, beating the Frenchwoman in straight sets in the first round. On her way to the quarterfinals, Ivanović scored another top-10 victory by defeating Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
for the second time in 2010. Ana fell to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
. By virtue of her quarterfinal finish, Ivanović re-entered the top 30.
Entering the 2010 Generali Ladies Linz
2010 Generali Ladies Linz
The 2010 Generali Ladies Linz was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Generali Ladies Linz, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
as a wildcard, Ivanović defeated Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the finals, 6–1, 6–2, in just 47 minutes of play. Ana headed to the 2010 BGL Luxembourg Open
2010 BGL Luxembourg Open
The 2010 BGL Luxembourg Open was a tennis tournament on indoor hard courts. It was the 15th edition of the Fortis Championships Luxembourg, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
as the fourth seed, where she breezed right through to the quarterfinals, before falling to eighth seed Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
. Meanwhile, after making the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament with Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
, they fell to fourth seeds Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká
Lucie Hradecká is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. In her career, Hradecká has won ten WTA doubles titles. This total includes the 2011 French Open, in which she won her first Grand Slam title.-Career:...
and Renata Voráčová
Renata Vorácová
Renata Voráčová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her career high singles ranking is No...
.
Ivanović revealed that she had ended her coaching relationship with Swiss star Heinz Gunthardt, because Gunthardt mixed his interest in tennis with being a Swiss television commentator.
By virtue of her title in Linz, Ivanović qualified for the last tournament of the season, the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
The 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament and was part of the 2010 WTA Tour...
. She made it to the finals, where she defeated Russian Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
for her tenth career title and her second of the year. With her title in Bali, Ivanović achieved a year-end ranking of no. 17, her fifth finish in the top 20.
2011
Ivanović started the year with the 2011 Hopman Cup2011 Hopman Cup
-Serbia vs. Kazakhstan: -Belgium vs. Kazakhstan: -Serbia vs. Australia: -Australia vs. Kazakhstan: -Serbia vs. Belgium: -Standings:...
in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Australia. She competed along with Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
under the Serbian flag. Ana and Djokovic swept their first two ties against Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 3–0, but fell against Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, 1–2. They did qualify for the final, but due to an injury sustained during Ivanović's match against Justine Henin, Serbia was forced to withdraw. Along with the Hopman Cup, Ivanović also withdrew from Sydney.
Ivanović was seeded 19th at the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, where she lost to Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova is a professional Russian tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of number 29 on June 6, 2011.-Career:...
, 6–3, 4–6, 8–10, in the first round in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Ivanović then played in the PTT Pattaya Open, where she fell in the quarterfinals to fifth seed Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
in straight sets, 5–7, 3–6. She headed to Dubai
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, but withdrew before the tournament started due to injury.1st seed Caroline Wozniacki won this tournament...
as the 14th seed, where she lost against Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in three sets. She stated the loss was in part because of the abdominal injury sustained in the beginning of the season, and she subsequently withdrew from Doha
2011 Qatar Ladies Open – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the last champion of the event in 2008, but chose not to compete.Vera Zvonareva won the final against Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–4.-Seeds:The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.# Caroline Wozniacki ...
.
Ivanović then headed to Indian Wells
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
, where she was seeded 19th. After losing her doubles match with Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in a tight three-setter, she lost to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in the quarterfinals.
Ivanović then played in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
, where she was seeded 19th. She lost against defending champion Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in her fourth-round match, despite having a 5–1, 40–0 lead in the third set and having five match points. She partnered with Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in doubles where, after scoring a first round win, they stunned sixth-seeded Benesova
Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová is a professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.-2006–2008:In the 2006 Australian...
and Zahlavova Strycova. They withdrew from the doubles competition after Ivanovic lost to Clijsters.
Ivanović withdrew from the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
The 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 3rd edition of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, and an International-level tournament of the 2011 WTA Tour. The event took place at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain, from April 2...
tournament to better prepare herself for the upcoming clay-court season. However, she joined Serbia
Serbia Fed Cup team
The Serbian Fed Cup team represents Serbia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Serbia Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:-Before 1992:...
in the 2011 Fed Cup
2011 Fed Cup
The 2011 Fed Cup is the 49th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
event. Ivanović scored a point for Serbia by beating Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, but had to retire in her next match against Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
, as she renewed an injury from the beginning of the season. Despite that, Serbia beat Slovakia in the deciding doubles rubber, 3–2.
Ivanović's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was seeded 15th. After her early exit in the first round, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ivanović headed to 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
, where she was 13th seed. Ivanović lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
in three sets. Ivanović withdrew from Strasbourg due to a minor wrist injury. Ana then lost to Johanna Larsson, 6–7(3), 6–0, 2–6, in her first round match at the 2011 French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
. Ivanović had a slight resurgence in Birmingham, reaching the semifinals, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
in three sets. Ivanović lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Eastbourne.
She beat Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 31, which she achieved on April 19, 2010...
in the first round at Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
in straight sets. After her win over Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou is a Greek tennis player born in Chania, on the island of Crete.As of 2011, she has won five WTA singles titles and three doubles titles. In 2003, she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final. Her highest singles ranking has been 14th...
in the second round, also in straight sets, she fell in the third round. She was beaten by Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
who had beaten 13th seed Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in round two. After Wimbledon, Ivanovic hired Nigel Sears, the head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association
Lawn Tennis Association
The Lawn Tennis Association is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.As the governing body, the LTA is responsible for the coaching and development of junior players, offering courses and qualifications on coaching, as well as the...
, as her coach.In Stanford
2011 Bank of the West Classic – Singles
Victoria Azarenka was the defending champion, but lost to qualifier Marina Erakovic in the second round.In just her third tournament back after a year of injuries, Serena Williams won the title, defeating Marion Bartoli 7–5, 6–1 in the final.-Seeds:...
, Ivanović fell against Japan's Ayumi Morita
Ayumi Morita
is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 42nd in the world on June 6, 2011 and is currently the highest ranked Japanese player in the world at World No. 46, the seventh overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.Morita is known for...
in her opening match, 3–6, 5–7. As the fifth seed in Carlsbad
2011 Mercury Insurance Open – Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but withdrew due to a groin strain.Agnieszka Radwańska won the title, defeating Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round....
, she received a first-round bye. In round two, she avenged the previous week's loss by beating Ayumi Morita, 6–1, 7–65, despite trailing 0–5 in the second set. In the third round, Ana cruised past Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti
Alberta Brianti is a professional female tennis player from Italy.On June 13, 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55...
of Italy, 6–1, 6–2. Ivanović then took on Shuai Peng in the quarterfinals and won in two sets. In the semifinals, she lost against top seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. After losing to Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
in her third round match at the Roger's Cup
2011 Rogers Cup – Women's Singles
Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion, but lost to Roberta Vinci in the second round. Serena Williams won the title by beating Samantha Stosur 6–4, 6–2 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, Ana, who teamed with Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
, had to withdraw in the middle of her doubles match while playing against fourth-seeded Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
and Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
. At the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, Ivanović defeated Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Yuryevna Pervak is a professional left-handed Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 37th, which she reached on 19 September 2011...
of Russia in the first round. She received a walkover from Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
and advanced to the third round. In the third round, Ivanovic defeated Sloane Stephens
Sloane Stephens
-Personal life:Stephens was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Sybil Smith and John Stephens, a professional American football player...
, 6–3, 6–4, to advance to the fourth round, where she faced Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, losing in straight sets 3–6, 4–6, in just 74 minutes. She also played alongside fellow countryman Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
in the mixed doubles competition for the first time, but fell against Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003....
and Yung-jan Chan, 3–6, 4–6.
During the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
Ivanovic recorded victories in straight sets over Anastasia Rodionova and wildcard Laura Robson
Laura Robson
Laura Robson is a British tennis player. She debuted on the International Tennis Federation junior tour in 2007, and a year later won the Wimbledon Junior Girls' Championship at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached the final of the Australian Open, in 2009 and 2010. She won her...
, before losing to Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
in the third round.
At the China Open
2011 China Open (tennis)
The 2011 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
Ivanovic defeated Kimiko Date Krumm and Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in straights to reach the third round, where she beat third seed and world no. 4 Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 6–2, 6–1. She then faced Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in the quarter-finals. She lost the first set 3–6 and was down 2–3 when she had to retire because of a back injury. Ivanovic received a wild card to play in the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
The 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament that was be played on indoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament and was part of the 2011 WTA Tour. It was held at the Bali International Convention Centre in Bali, Indonesia from November 3...
, which she won last year. In her first round she played Italy's Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
and defeated her 6–3 6–3. In the semi-finals she beat Russian Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
6-1, 7-5. In the final she faced Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
and won 6–3, 6–0.
Equipment
Ivanović endorsed NikeNike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
apparel and shoes at the beginning of her professional career, but at the beginning of 2006 switched to rival Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
. Ivanovic then signed a lifetime contract with the company. Ivanovic will become an Ambassador for Adidas once she retires from competitive tennis. She is believed to be the youngest athlete, male or female, to sign a contract of such longevity. She started with the Wilson
Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....
racquets, eventually using the nCode nBlade. Since the beginning of 2008, Ivanović has used Yonex
Yonex
is a Japanese manufacturer of sporting equipment for badminton, golf and tennis, producing racquets, clubs, shoes, shuttlecocks, and other equipment for those sports.-History:...
racquets. She previously used the RQiS 1 Tour XL 95, but at the beginning of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open 2010 in Cincinnati switched to a prototype version of a new Yonex racket. Ivanovic plays with the Yonex EZONE 100 model.
Playing style
Ivanović is an offensive baseliner who is notable for her aggressive play. In 2007 and 2008, Ivanović was regarded as one of the best competitors on the women's tour. After winning the 2008 French Open2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
and becoming no. 1, Ivanović endured a decline in form. Many critics attributed this to lack of confidence. At the 2010 Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova commented that, "while she has absolutely no confidence in herself, she still fights till the last point." She has since made some improvements to her playing style after appointing a new coach in 2010. As a result, she started to play with more confidence and won matches more consistently. Recently, however, an inexplicable loss of form and increased injury has sent Ivanovic back to the drawing board.
Serve
Groundstokes
Another one of Ivanović's strengths is her powerful forehand. A flat stroke, hit with not a lot of topspin which gives it its power, it has been considered to be one of the best forehands in the game. Ivanović tends to hit more winners of this wing. Her backhand, although not as big as her forehand, has improved over the years. Ivanović's movement and net play were once considered to be her weaknesses, but they have both improved over the years. She is considered now to be considerably faster than when she started playing professional tennis.Surfaces
Ivanović's best surface is the clay court, where her height allows her to strike clean winners off of high-bouncing balls. Nonetheless, she is capable of performing well on hard and grass courts as well. When she launched her re-branded site during 2010, she stated in her bio that she likes all surfaces.Awards
Ivanović has won the following awards:- Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2005)
- Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2007)
- Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award (2007)
- Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Diamond ACES Award (2008)
- Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award (2009)
- Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award (2007)
- Michael Westphal Award (2008)
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 2003 2003 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2004 2004 WTA Tour The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events.... | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 2007 WTA Tour The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also... | 2008 2008 WTA Tour The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No... | 2009 2009 WTA Tour The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events.... | 2010 2010 WTA Tour The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end... | 2011 2011 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA... | SR | W–L | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 3R 2005 Australian Open - Women's Singles Defending champion Justine Henin was not competing, and thus did not defend her title. Instead, seventh-seeded Serena Williams of the United States defeated top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, also of the United States, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0, to win the Women's Singles title at the 2005 Australian... |
2R 2006 Australian Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Daniela Hantuchová.Amélie Mauresmo, the third seed, ultimately won the tournament, her first major championship. Her finals opponent, eighth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, retired down 2–0 in the second set, already down a... |
3R 2007 Australian Open - Women's Singles -Seeds:# Maria Sharapova # Amélie Mauresmo # Svetlana Kuznetsova # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova # Martina Hingis # Elena Dementieva ... |
F 2008 Australian Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Jelena Janković.Maria Sharapova won in the final 7–5, 6–3, against Ana Ivanović to win her third Grand Slam title and her first at the Australian Open. She was also the first Russian woman to win this tournament... |
3R 2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ... |
2R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 14–7 | ||||
| French Open | A | A | QF 2005 French Open - Women's Singles Anastasia Myskina was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Maria Sánchez Lorenzo. Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed the title, defeating home player Mary Pierce in the final, 6–1, 6–1... |
3R 2006 French Open - Women's Singles Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, and she defended her title by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–4, 6–4.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova ... |
F 2007 French Open - Women's Singles The two-time defending champion was Justine Henin. She captured her 4th and 3rd consecutive French Open title after defeating Ana Ivanović of Serbia 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match... |
W 2008 French Open - Women's Singles Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.Ana Ivanović won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Dinara Safina. This is Ivanovic's Third Grand Slam Final, Second French Open Final, and her First Grand Slam Singles Title... |
4R | 2R | 1R | 1 / 7 | 23–6 | ||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | 3R 2005 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but she was defeated by Venus Williams in the semifinals.Williams won the title, defeating compatriot and World No... |
4R 2006 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Results of the Ladies' Singles at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Justine Henin-Hardenne # Maria Sharapova ... |
SF 2007 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion but was knocked out in the fourth round by Nicole Vaidišová.23rd seed Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli in the final, 6–4, 6–1... |
3R 2008 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Venus Williams was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against her sister Serena Williams.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Jelena Janković # Maria Sharapova ... |
4R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 7 | 17–7 | ||||
| US Open | A | LQ | 2R | 3R | 4R | 2R | 1R 2009 US Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters.Clijsters won in the final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki to win her 2nd US Open title... |
4R 2010 US Open – Women's Singles Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, and successfully defended her 2009 title, after she won 6–2, 6–1, against Vera Zvonareva in the final. This match lasted only one hour.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ... |
4R 2011 US Open – Women's Singles Kim Clijsters was the two-time defending champion, but withdrew due to an abdominal injury.Ninth seed Samantha Stosur won her first Grand Slam championship, defeating the favourite Serena Williams, a three-time US Open champion and the 28th seed, 6–2, 6–3 in the final... |
0 / 8 | 13–8 | ||||
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 9–4 | 8–4 | 16–4 | 16–3 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 1 / 29 | 66–28 | ||||
| Year-End Championship | |||||||||||||||
| WTA Tour Championships WTA Tour Championships The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972... |
A | A | A | A | SF | RR | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–4 | ||||
| Tournament of Champions Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions The Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions is a tennis tournament and it debuted at the Bali International Convention Centre on November 4–8 and was a part of the 2009 WTA Tour... |
Not Held | A | W 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions The 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament and was part of the 2010 WTA Tour... |
W 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions The 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament that was be played on indoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament and was part of the 2011 WTA Tour. It was held at the Bali International Convention Centre in Bali, Indonesia from November 3... |
2 / 2 | 6–0 | |||||||||
| Career Statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | N/A | 11–15 | ||||
| Overall Win–Loss | 12–5 | 37–5 | 40–14 | 35–18 | 51–18 | 38–15 | 24–14 | 33–20 | 32–20 | N/A | 302–126 | ||||
| Year End Ranking | 705 | 97 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 17 | 22 | – | |||||
Video games
Ivanović has appeared as a character in Smash Court Tennis 3Smash Court Tennis 3
Smash Court Tennis 3 is a tennis video game for the PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360 by Namco Bandai Games. The game features world class tennis players such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin. The Xbox 360 version of the game featured updated graphics and new gameplay elements such...
, released in 2007, Virtua Tennis 2009
Virtua Tennis 2009
Virtua Tennis 2009 is a 2009 video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It is part of the Virtua Tennis series, following Virtua Tennis 3.-Overview:...
, released in 2009, Grand Slam Tennis for Wii, also released in 2009, Top Spin 4
Top Spin 4
Top Spin 4 is the fourth title in the Top Spin series of tennis video games. developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K Sports released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles. It is the fourth game in the Top Spin series. The game features licensed professional players, venues and equipment...
and Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4 is the third sequel to Sega's tennis game franchise, Virtua Tennis. It was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii. A Playstation Vita version is under development...
both schedule to released in 2011. She stars, among others, alongside Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
, Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
, Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
.
Other ventures
Ana has appeared in a song called "Hurricane Ana," produced by Serbian rapperHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
Filip Filipi
Filip Filipi
Filip Filipi , formally known by his stage name Sin is a Serbian rapper, producer, song writer and the creator of The Cartel Argentina clothing line...
and Collie Buddz
Collie Buddz
Collie Buddz is a Bermudian reggae and dancehall artist best known for his single "Come Around". Although born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was raised in Bermuda. He performed on Shaggy's 2007 album Intoxication on the track "Mad Mad World". In 2008, he performed the song "SOS" on WWE The Music,...
.
Also, she appeared on a number of international magazines like FHM
FHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
(Germany, United Kingdom, Australia), Cosmopolitan (Serbia), Vanidades
Vanidades
Vanidades is one of the most popular Spanish language women's magazines. Published by Editorial Televisa across the United States and Hispanic America, it was launched in Cuba in 1931 as a humor magazine, but eventually became a women's magazine in the early 1940s. When Fidel Castro took the...
(Mexico), Grazia
Grazia
Grazia is an Italian weekly women's fashion and celebrity gossip magazine, with international editions printed in France, Serbia, Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Japan, the Netherlands, India, Bulgaria and Germany....
(Serbia), The Best Shop (Serbia), Sports Illustrated (South Africa) and others.
See also
- Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)This article presents in a tabular form the career tennis Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships and Olympic singles results of every woman who has reached the singles final of at least one Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships or Olympic tournament during her career...
- Serbia Fed Cup teamSerbia Fed Cup teamThe Serbian Fed Cup team represents Serbia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Serbia Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:-Before 1992:...
- List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
- List of WTA number 1 ranked players