Ana Ivanovic - Wimbledon Ladies’ Tennis Player

Serb, Ana Ivanovic has had an impressive start to her four-year professional career. The 20-year-old has ended the 2007 season ranked as the number four in the world, behind compatriot Jelena Jankovic, Russian, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Belgium’s Justine Henin.

She caught the eye of the tennis world as early as 2004 when she pushed the inimitable Venus Williams to two tie breaks at the Zurich Open before losing the match, 7-6(11) 7-6(6).

A year later saw her rack up impressive wins against the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova and Vera Zvonareva. She knocked French Open hopeful, Amelie Mauresmo out in the third round and went as far as the quarterfinals where she was undone by Russian, Nadia Petrova.

She went on to make the semi-finals at the Zurich Open and in Linz and ended the year with a ranking of 16 on the WTA world ranking.

She had an average 2006 defeating Mauresmo again in straight sets in Sydney, only to lose to Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. She subdued the legendary Martini Hingis in the final of the Canada Masters 6-2, 6-3 and ended the year with an improved ranking of 14.

In 2007 Ana Ivanovic, Wimbled ladies’ tennis player, came into her own in a big way:

• She went to the Australian Open as the 13^th seed and reached the third round defeating American, Vania King and Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska, but lost to Vera Zvonareva.
• In Tokyo she defeated top ten players Jelena Jankovic and Maria Sharapova but lost to Martina Hingis in the final.
• She lifted her first title in Berlin, defeating Patty Schnyder in the semi-finals and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 3-6 6-4 7-6(4). What was so pleasing about the win was that she was arguably in the best form of her career.
• At the French Open she reached the final with Justine Henin, beating Kuznetsova and Sharapova to the top prize. She was totally overwhelmed by reaching the final and did not perform at her best. She had an error-strewn match, and was trounced 6-1 6-2 by the world number one and three-time champion at Roland Garros.
• Her form continued into Wimbledon where she beat, amongst others, the world no.9 Nadia Petrova in a rain-interrupted match, 6-1 6-4. She got as far as the semi-finals but Venus Williams dashed her All England hopes by defeating her with ease, 6-4 6-2.
• At the US Open she made it as far as the fourth round, but was again robbed by Venus Williams, 6-4 6-2.

Her massive improvement on the circuit saw her qualify for the end of year WTA Championships. She went on to win two of her round robin matches and made it to the semi-finals of the tournament, only to fall to the might and finesse of Justine Henin. She ended the season ranked fourth with a win/loss record of 51-18.

It will only be a matter of time before Ivanovic reaches the very top of the world rankings. She is an offensive baseliner who displays immense power, depth and placement, and her playing style is suitable to all court surfaces. Her only weak link is that she battles to adapt her game plan when things do not go according to plan, but with experience she will learn to adapt or fail!