Brunette’s do it better: Tennis’ Ana Ivanović
Formerly ranked number one in the world, Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic is one of the most talented tennis sportswomen in today’s times. The twenty two year old Serb currently has one grand slam title to her name. However, the professional makes regular appearances in all four of the major tennis championships.
In the year 2006, Ivanovic defeated Swiss legend, Martina Hingis at the Rogers Cup Women’s singles final. Hingis lost an embarrassing 2-6, 3-6 to the Serbian novice.
The following year, the sportsperson defeated Ukraine’s Julia Vakulenko at the 2007 German Open semi-finals. Ana faced Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Women’s singles final. Kuznetsova took the first set 6-3. Much to everyone’s surprise, the Serb made a remarkable come back and bagged the remaining two sets of the match.
Svetlana was defeated 6-4 and 7-6 in the second and third set of the final. The professional hooked her first Women’s Tennis Association title that year.
On the 8th of September 2007, the professional became Serbia's National Ambassador for Unicef, amidst Aleksandar Dordevic, Emir Kusturica and Jelena Janković. Ivanovic takes a keen interest in child protection and education.
Ana made it to her first ever grand slam final in 2007 at the French Open. The sportswoman eliminated Russia’s Maria Sharapova by winning the semi-final 6-2 and 6-1, to proceed to the final. Unfortunately, Belgium’s Justine Henin brought the final to a close with a 6-1, 6-2 win against the Serb.
That same year, the professional made it to the 2007 Wimbledon Championship semi-finals. Nevertheless, she was knocked out by America’s Venus Williams. Williams took the first set 6-2 and the second set 6-4 to secure a place for herself at the finals.
In the year 2008, Ivanovic participated in the French Open Women’s singles category. Upon performing well in the initial few rounds, Ana proceeded to the quarterfinals. The athlete was challenged by fellow country-woman, Jelena Jankovic. Jankovic was taken down 6-4 in the first set and 6-4 in the third set, in spite of winning the third set 6-3.
Ivanovic proceeded to the 2008 French Open Women’s final where she came head to head with Russia’s Dinara Safina. The athlete annihilated the Russian by defeating her 6-4 and 6-3, two sets in a row. This was her first ever Grand Slam singles title.
“It's taken a lot of work. I've practised very hard the last few months, and I'm pretty happy to see the results so fast. Now I'm going to practise even harder to continue to improve my game”; says Ivanovic.
Prior to Ana’s Roland Garros win, the professional defeated Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchová at the 2008 Australian Open semi-finals. The Serb lost the first set 0-6. However, she bounced back in the second set with a 6-2 win, only to take the third set 6-4.
As Ivanovic cruised through to the Women’s singles final, she was opposed by former world no. 1, Maria Sharapova. Sadly though, Sharapova thrashed Ana 7-5 and 6-3 in two sets to take the Championship title.
The Serbian also made an appearance at the 2008 Pacific Life Open. She defeated companion, Jelena Jancovic 7-6 and 6-3 in the semi-finals. Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova lost four games to six in the first set. Even though the Russian tried her level best to level up with Ana, she lost the second set three games to six.
Ivanovic has five International Tennis Federation titles to her name. Out of which, she won three finals in straight sets. Apart from which, the Serb has won five Women’s Tennis Association awards, inclusive of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award. In 2007, Ana was also nominated for the U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award.
Even though the aggressive all-court player is known to perform better on clay courts, she is more than capable of doing well on hard surfaced courts as well. Trustfully, the professional will prove able at the upcoming 2010 U.S. Open.
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