"Ana Ivanovic"

Ana Ivanovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Ана Ивановић, Ana Ivanović, Serbian pronunciation: [âna iʋǎːnoʋitɕ] (born November 6, 1987) is a Serbian tennis player who was once world no. 1. As of September 24, 2012, she is ranked 12th on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open. Competing as a professional since 2003, she has won 11 WTA Tour singles titles, including one Grand Slam singles title. When on form, Ivanovic is known for her aggressive style of play. By reaching the quarter-finals of the 2012 US Open, Ivanovic not only ended a record 17 consecutive Grand Slams without a quarter-final appearance by a former Grand Slam champion but has also reached at least the quarter-final stage of each Grand Slam.

As of 2012, Ivanovic has earned over 9.6 million USD since turning pro in August 2003.

Ivanovic was born in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia.

Ivanovic's mother Dragana, a lawyer, supports her daughter during most of her matches. Her father Miroslav, a self-employed businessman, attends as many events as he possibly can. Ana has a younger brother, Miloš, with whom she loves to play basketball.

Aside from her tennis career, Ivanovic also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time. Her inspiration to begin playing was Monica Seles, who at that time played for Yugoslavia.

On September 8, 2007, Ivanovic became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević, Jelena Janković and Emir Kusturica. She takes a special interest in the fields of education and child protection. Ivanovic visited a primary school in Serbia during her inauguration and said that she is "also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids."

Ivanovic picked up a racket at the age of five after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslav, on television. She started her career after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an advertisement. At the time, she was forced to train during the morning to avoid bombardments. Later, she admitted that she trained in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanovic spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat – the first that her new manager had watched. She thought that Dan Holzmann, the manager in question, would drop her, thinking that she was not good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed her manager to this day.

Ivanovic started the year with the 2011 Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. She competed along with Novak Djokovic under the Serbian flag. Ana and Djokovic swept their first two ties against Kazakhstan and Australia, 3–0, but fell against Belgium, 1–2. They did qualify for the final, but due to an injury sustained during Ivanovic's match against Justine Henin, Serbia was forced to withdraw. Along with the Hopman Cup, Ivanovic also withdrew from Sydney.
Ivanovic celebrating Djokovic's win at the 2011 Australian Open

Ivanovic was seeded 19th at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost to Ekaterina Makarova, 6–3, 4–6, 8–10, in the first round in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Ivanovic then played in the PTT Pattaya Open, where she fell in the quarterfinals to fifth seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets, 5–7, 3–6. She headed to Dubai as the 14th seed, where she lost against Patty Schnyder in three sets. She stated the loss was in part because of the abdominal injury sustained in the beginning of the season, and she subsequently withdrew from Doha.

Ivanovic then headed to Indian Wells, where she was seeded 19th. After losing her doubles match with Petkovic in a tight three-setter, she lost to Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals.

Ivanovic then played in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 19th. She lost against defending champion Kim Clijsters in her fourth-round match, despite having a 5–1, 40–0 lead in the third set and having five match points. She partnered with Petkovic in doubles where, after scoring a first round win, they stunned sixth-seeded Benesova and Zahlavova Strycova. They withdrew from the doubles competition after Ivanovic lost to Clijsters.

Ivanovic withdrew from the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament to better prepare herself for the upcoming clay-court season. However, she joined Serbia in the 2011 Fed Cup event. Ivanovic scored a point for Serbia by beating Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, but had to retire in her next match against Dominika Cibulková, as she renewed an injury from the beginning of the season. Despite that, Serbia beat Slovakia in the deciding doubles rubber, 3–2.

Ivanovic's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was seeded 15th. After her early exit in the first round, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ivanovic headed to 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she was 13th seed. Ivanovic lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets. Ivanovic withdrew from Strasbourg due to a minor wrist injury. Ana then lost to Johanna Larsson, 6–7, 6–0, 2–6, in her first round match at the 2011 French Open. Ivanovic had a slight resurgence in Birmingham, reaching the semifinals, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. Ivanovic lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Eastbourne.

Seeded 18th at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Ana defeated Melanie Oudin and Eleni Daniilidou before falling to Petra Cetkovská who had beaten 13th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in round two. After Wimbledon, Ivanovic hired Nigel Sears, the head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association, as her coach. In Stanford, Ivanovic fell against Japan's Ayumi Morita in her opening match, 3–6, 5–7. Seeded 5th in Carlsbad, she received a first-round bye. In round two, she avenged the previous week's loss by beating Ayumi Morita, 6–1, 7–6, despite trailing 0–5 in the second set. Ana the cruised past both Alberta Brianti and 4th seed Shuai Peng to reach the semifinals. She eventually fell against top seed Vera Zvonareva, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. After losing to Roberta Vinci in her third round match at the Roger's Cup, Ana, who teamed with Andrea Petkovic, had to withdraw in the middle of her doubles match while playing against fourth-seeded Azarenka and Kirilenko. Seeded 16th at the 2012 US Open Championships, Ivanovic defeated Ksenia Pervak of Russia in the first round. After receiving a walkover from Petra Cetkovská, she beat Sloane Stephens in straight sets before falling to eventual finalist Serena Williams, losing in straight sets 3–6, 4–6, in just 74 minutes. She also played alongside fellow countryman Nenad Zimonjic in the mixed doubles competition for the first time, but fell against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Yung-jan Chan, 3–6, 4–6.

During the Toray Pan Pacific Open Ivanovic recorded victories in straight sets over Anastasia Rodionova and wildcard Laura Robson, before losing to Maria Kirilenko in the third round.

At the China Open Ivanovic defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm and Svetlana Kuznetsova in straights to reach the third round, where she beat third seed and then world no. 4 Vera Zvonareva, 6–2, 6–1. She then faced Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarter-finals where she retired after being down 3–6, 2–3 due to a back injury. Ivanovic received a wild card to play in the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, which she won last year. In her first round she played Italy's Roberta Vinci and defeated her 6–3 6–3. In the semi-finals she beat Russian Nadia Petrova 6–1, 7–5. In the final, she captured her 11 WTA title by beating Anabel Medina Garrigues in straights sets, 6–3, 6–0. This is the first time she had ever defended her title in a tournament.

Ivanovic began her season at the 2012 Brisbane International where she was defeated in the second round by fifth seed Kim Clijsters in three sets, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6 despite leading 3–0 in the final set. Ivanovic's next event was the Apia International Sydney but she lost in the first round to Lucie Šafářová in straight sets, 6–7, 2–6.

Ivanovic then headed over to the 2012 Australian Open where she was seeded 21st. She did not drop a set en route to the fourth round, defeating Lourdes Domínguez Lino, Michaella Krajicek and Vania King along the way. Ana lost in straight sets to World No. 2 and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová, 6–2, 7–6 in the fourth round. She cracked the Top 20 after her Round of 16 run.

Ivanovic's next tournament was the 2012 Qatar Total Open. She fell in the second round to Petra Cetkovska in straight sets. Ana then went on unseeded in Dubai, where she upset Francesca Schiavone, and beat Maria Kirilenko, before falling to 3rd seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Ivanovic went over to the 2012 BNP Paribas Open as the 15th seed. She was able to make a run all the way to the semifinals, posting victories over Caroline Wozniacki and Marion Bartoli, who were both in the Top 7. She fell against Maria Sharapova, retiring after being down 4–6, 1–0 in the semifinals. This caused her to enter the Top 10 for the race to the 2012 WTA Tour Championships. She then headed over to Miami, for the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open as the 15th seed, where she made it to the Round of 16, beating Daniela Hantuchova and Vania King in straight sets en route, before eventually falling to seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams, despite holding a one set lead. She still cracked the Top 15 for the first time since 2009 and became Serbian No.1 for the first time since 2008, this time placing 14th after Miami.

Ivanovic then headed to Moscow for the 2012 Fed Cup semifinals, where after losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three tight sets, recovered, and beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3–6, 6–0, 6–3 to put Serbia ahead, 2–1. Fellow countrywoman Jelena Jankovic then closed out the tie for Serbia (3–2), sending the country into the Fed Cup finals for the first time in history.

Ivanovic resumed tour action in Stuttgart, where she fell to Mona Barthel in two tight sets. She then headed over to the newly blue-clayed Madrid where she breezed past Mathilde Johansson, and Nadia Petrova, before falling in straights to then world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka, despite leading 4–1 in the first set. Ana then headed over to Rome for her last event before Roland Garros. Seeded 13th, she eased past Kuznetsova, and Soler Espinosa, before falling against then world no.2 Maria Sharapova in straight sets, despite serving for the first set, at 5–3.

Seeded 13th at Roland Garros, Ivanovic defeated Lara Arruabarrena Vecino and Shahar Peer in straight sets. before losing to 21st seed, and eventual finalist Sara Errani, 6–1, 5–7, 3–6 in the third round.

Ivanovic withdrew from the 2012 AEGON International in Eastbourne before the tournament began due to a hip injury. Seeded 14th at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, she worked for victories over María José Martínez Sánchez 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 and Kateryna Bondarenko, 6–3, 7–6. Ana then beat 22nd seed Julia Goerges, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 to reach the round of 16, her best result there since reaching the round of 16 in 2009. She then suffered her worst defeat in her entire playing career, losing to 2nd seed Victoria Azarenka 6–1, 6–0 in the fourth round;she won three games in each of her previous worst performances. Despite the loss, her run caused her ranking to rise at No.12 in the WTA rankings the following week.

She made her Olympics debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, participating in both the Women's Singles and Mixed Doubles with Nenad Zimonjić. Seeded 11th in singles, she defeated then world no. 26 Christina Mchale and local Elena Baltacha in straight sets, before falling to 4-time Grand Slam Champion Kim Clijsters in the Round of 16. She teamed up with Zimonjić for the mixed doubles competition, where they fell against India's Mirza and Paes in the opening round.

At the 2012 Roger's Cup, Ivanovic got double bageled by Roberta Vinci 6–0, 6–0 in the 2nd round, becoming the 3rd World No. 1 to have been double bageled (Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina), the second after having achieved her No. 1 ranking (Dinara Safina) and the first to have been double bageled by a non former World No. 1 (Sharapova lost to Lindsay Davenport and Safina to Kim Clijsters).

At the US Open, Ivanovic defeated Ukranian Qualifier Elina Svitolina in the first round, 6–1, 6–2. In the second round, she defeated Sofia Arvidsson, 6–2, 6–2. For the second year straight, she played young American Sloane Stephens in the third round, but overcame her 6–7, 6–4, 6–2. She then beat Tsvetana Pironkova in the fourth round 6–0 6–4 to reach her first grand slam quarter-final since 2008 and her first ever US Open quarter-final. In the quartfinals Ivanovic was soundly defeated by Serena Williams 6–1 6–3.

Ivanovic endorsed Nike apparel and shoes at the beginning of her professional career, but at the beginning of 2006 switched to rival Adidas. Ivanovic then signed a lifetime contract with the company. Ivanovic will become an Ambassador for Adidas once she retires from competitive tennis. She is believed to be the youngest athlete, male or female, to sign a contract of such longevity. She started with the Wilson racquets, eventually using the nCode nBlade. Since the beginning of 2008, Ivanovic has used Yonex racquets. She previously used the RQiS 1 Tour XL 95, but at the beginning of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open 2010 in Cincinnati switched to a prototype version of a new Yonex racket. Ivanovic plays with the Yonex EZONE 100 model.

Ivanovic is an offensive baseliner who is notable for her aggressive play. In 2007 and 2008, Ivanovic was regarded as one of the best competitors on the women's tour.  After winning the 2008 French Open and becoming no. 1, Ivanovic endured a decline in form. Many critics attributed this to lack of confidence. At the 2010 Australian Open, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova commented that, "while she has absolutely no confidence in herself, she still fights till the last point." She has since made some improvements to her playing style after appointing a new coach in 2010. As a result, she started to play with more confidence and won matches more consistently.

Ivanovic's serve is a powerful weapon. She hit a 124.9 mph (201.0 km/h) serve at the French Open in 2007, the fifth fastest serve of all time on the WTA Tour. However, her serve has become unreliable, mostly because of problems with her toss of the ball. The success of her ball toss is directly associated with her nerves. During the French Open final in 2007, Ivanovic was overcome with nerves and her toss went astray. During Ivanovic's slump in play in 2009, her serve became gradually less effective as her confidence diminished. Ana said in 2010 that she is confident she has rectified these problems.

Another one of Ivanovic's strengths is her powerful forehand. A flat stroke, hit with not a lot of topspin which gives it its power, it has been considered to be one of the best forehands in the game. Ivanovic tends to hit more winners of this wing. Her backhand, although not as big as her forehand, has improved over the years. Ivanovic's movement and net play were once considered to be her weaknesses, but they have both improved over the years. She is considered now to be considerably faster than when she started playing professional tennis.

vanovic's best surface is the clay court, where her height allows her to strike clean winners off of high-bouncing balls. Nonetheless, she is capable of performing well on hard and grass courts as well. When she launched her re-branded site during 2010, she stated in her bio that she likes all surfaces.

Awards

Ivanovic has won the following awards:

    Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2005)
    Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2007)
    Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award (2007)
    Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Diamond ACES Award (2008)
    Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award (2009)
    Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award 
    (2007)
    Michael Westphal Award (2008)

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org