Ana Ivanovic: All Set for a Comeback
On Sunday, Serbian professional tennis player Ana Ivanovic made a long overdue comeback at the Generali Ladies Linz, winning her first trophy in two years. The player suffered a highly debilitating run of form in the past two years, falling from her one-time
position as World Number 1 on the WTA to as low as Number 63. However, since she began training under Steffi Graf’s former coach, Heinz Gunthardt, Ivanovic has been improving one match at a time. She has chalked up victories against World Number 11 Marion
Bartoli and World Number 7 Elena Dementieva.
However, the 22 year old ended her trophy famine in two sets against Patty Schnyder with a score of 6-1, 6-2, winning the 2010 Generali Ladies Linz. She was almost never in danger during the match, breaking Schnyder’s serve six times and winning 13 of 18
points from Schnyder’s service in the first set. She conquered the second set with the same speed, racing to a 5-0 lead, before being broken while serving. However, after this she quickly constructed three match points, before taking the match with a forehand
winner.
Ivanovic is now determined to once again reach the top of the tennis world, after her comeback at Linz. She has now moved up to World Number 26 after this victory, and seemed set on making it to the top.
The 2008 French Open victor told CNN, “I think I deserve a position at the top and I think I have the ability to win another grand slam. I am very keen to get back there, and I am putting everything into it. I really want it to happen soon.” The Serbian
player won her last WTA Tour final at the same Austrian court in 2008.
The tennis player says her ninth career title, this time at Austria, has contributed significantly to her confidence, commenting, “I feel great. It really means a lot for me because I have put a lot of hard work in. I'm thrilled to have finally won a title
again.”
After she fell from the World Number 20, critics blamed her lack of focus on court and the endorsement deals she signed with companies, as well as her distraction due to the media’s obsession with her looks. However, Ivanovic denies these claims, saying
her slump was because of injuries rather than a lack of interest or motivation in the sport that she has been playing since the age of five.
She says, “Once I became number one I started working even harder. I changed my technique but injuries started creeping in -- it was a big mistake as I was doing something right to get to that spot in the first place. I had a few little injuries and then
I lost matches I should have won. It affects your confidence -- it's like a circle that is hard to break.”
The Belgrad-born player is seeded fourth at this week’s Luxembourg Open. Ivanovic says, “I am working very hard. I know it's going to be a process, but I am ready to give it my all and come back to the top.”
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