Ana Ivanovic denied Montreal wildcard
There was a time when tournament organisers would have been clamouring to add Ana Ivanovic’s name to their draws, and advertising her presence as a major draw card to the event, but that time may well have passed.
The former world No. 1, whose ranking has fallen to 63rd in the world as a result of her extended form slump, has been denied her request for a wildcard into the main draw of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, it has been revealed on Ivanovic’s website.
It’s a turn of events that means that to play in the tournament, at which Ivanovic won the title in 2006, the Serb will need to win her way through qualifying, a proposition that creates dual problems for the 22-year-old.
Her form is obviously an issue, although there were some encouraging signs that Ivanovic might be on the cusp of recapturing the confidence and probing ground strokes that took her to the French Open title in 2008 during the spring clay-court season, where she reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open in Rome (defeating two top-10 ranked players along the way) before imploding in her second-round loss to 28th seed Alisa Kleybanova in the second round at Roland Garros.
A tough draw at Wimbledon, where Ivanovic faced 13th seed Shahar Peer in the first round, ensured her stay at the All England Club was brief, but a return to the hard courts should suit Ivanovic more than the lawns of SW19.
The other difficulty Ivanovic faces in securing a place in the Montreal draw is that if coach Heinz Gunthardt, who was appointed to the role earlier this year, has made some further headway with his charge ahead of the US Open she may still be involved in the action at Cincinnati (where, according to her website, she’s been offered a wildcard if she needs it) when qualifying for Montreal gets underway.
Although given the fact the last time Ivanovic reached a WTA final was at Indian Wells in early 2009, and that since then even semi-final appearances have been few and far between, it’s not a scenario that appears too likely to unfold. However, it's a turn of events that would, at least, indicate things were moving in the right direction for a player who only two years ago appeared to have the world at her feet, but who has fallen off the pace over the past 18 months.
While Ivanovic’s place in the Montreal draw is uncertain, and injury has forced Serena Williams and Justine Henin to withdraw from the event, players including Jelena Jankovic, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Elena Dementieva, Kim Clijsters, Francesca Schiavone and Maria Sharapova are all set to descend on the Canadian city when the tournament begins on August 16th.
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