Ana Ivanovic to play Sydney International in 2011
Ana Ivanovic will complete her Australian Open preparations at the Sydney International, where she’ll join a field including US Open champion Kim Clijsters and world No. 6 Samantha Stosur.
The former world No. 1 will be returning to the tournament for the first time since 2008, where as a star on the rise she reached the semi-finals before going one better at the Australian Open, where she finished as runner-up to Maria Sharapova.
By the end of that year, Ivanovic had been crowned the French Open champion and ascended to the top ranking but that was followed by a prolonged form slump that saw her ranking slip to a long-time low of world No. 65 earlier this year.
The Serb has now turned the corner, winning her first title in two years at the Generali Ladies Linz this autumn and following that with victory at Bali’s Tournament of Champions, to bounce back to a current ranking of world No. 17.
Ivanovic and that booming forehand are back, and the 23-year-old has understandably set her sights on claiming the ultimate prize in the Harbour City.
“I have had some good results there in the past, when I reached the semi-finals in 2008. Hopefully I can go on and win the title in 2011,” Ivanovic said in a statement on the tournament’s website.
Ivanovic’s commitment to play in Sydney sets in stone her January schedule, which will see her team up with Serbia’s men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Hopman Cup in Perth from January 1st to 8th. The pair have been named as the top seeds for the tournament, ahead of the USA’s Serena Williams and John Isner.
Serena, who was runner-up to the now retired Elena Dementieva in Sydney this year, is yet to confirm her place in the draw for 2011.
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