Born in Basel, Switzerland in 1987, Ana Ivanovic is a 6′1 star of tennis. When she was just 5 years old, Ana fell in love with tennis after watching Monica Seles on television. She pleaded with her parents to allow her to take tennis lessons, to which they agreed and bought her a tennis racquet for her birthday. Her training years were less than ideal due to NATO bombings in 1999. She starting having practices in the morning to help avoid the chaos and even started training in an abandoned swimming pool during the winter months due to a lack of facilities. Ana turned pro in August of 2003, debuting on the ITF Circuit. In 2004, she finished in the Top 100, making the largest ranking jump of any player that year. She also reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in that same year. Her first break through performance occurred when she took Venus Williams to two tie breaks, until eventually losing in the Zurich Open in Switzerland.
Brief Tournament History
Ana won her first career singles title in 2005, playing in Canberra Australia. She continue her wins after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, Vera Zvonareva, and Nadia Petrova who were all considered top 10 players. She reached the quarter finals of the French open in that same year, losing to Petrova. Moving on, Ivanovic reached the semifinals of the 2005 Zurich Open and Generali Ladies Linz, both tournaments she lost to Patty Schnyder. In 2006, Ivanovic played tournaments in Australia, Warsaw, and Berlin. She also progressed to the third round of the French Open and the fourth at 2006 Wimbledon. After suffering several defeats in 2006, Ivanovic made a breakthrough win when she defeated Martina Hingis, a former World Number 1, in the final of the Montreal Rogers Cup. She went on to win the United States Open series ahead of Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijisters. She lost the US Open to Serena Williams.
Shortly after playing the US Open, she had to recuperate from a recurring injury affecting her right shoulder. Her return happened in Linz and she made it to the quarterfinals before she lost to Sharapova.
Ana also played nine additional tournaments in doubles, teaming up with Maria Kirileno and Sania Mirza. Ana ended 2006 placing at World Number14 in rankings herself and at World Number 51 in doubles. Ivanovic started 2007 with three tournaments in Australia, being defeated in all three. Shortly after the losses, Ana fired her coach David Taylor. As the year progress, she went into the French Open with a 6 match winning streak, ultimately being defeated. She was later forced to withdraw from the Serbian Fed Cup and the US Open due to a knee injury she sustained at Wimbledon. Upon her return she played and won the East West Bank Classic in California and increased her ranking to a career high World Number 4. It was in 2008 that Ana finally defeated Venus Williams for the first time in her career. Ultimately, she was defeated by Sharapova but her ranking rose to World Number 2 during the tournament performance.
In recent months, Ana has been once again plagued by an injury, this time a tear in her thigh, which isn't thought to keep her out of the next series of tournaments. As a player, Ana likes to play on all surfaces and her best shot is considered to be her forehand. Personally, she admires Federer for his professionalism both in and out of the game. She is also superstitious in that she will not walk on the lines of the court and she will dine at the same restaurants during her tournament stays. Ana is fluent in Serbian, English, and some Spanish.
Ivanovic's Additional Awards
Junior Wimbledon runner-up 2004
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2005
US Open Series champion 2006
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2007
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportmanship Award 2007
UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia
Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award
AIPS Women's Tennis Player of the Year 2008
German Tennis Magazine Michael Westphal Award 2008
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Diamond ACES Award 2008
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award 2009
