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Serbia set for Russian test


June 03, 2009 /

Serbia has been drawn against holders and No.1 seeds Russia in the
World Group First Round of the 2010 Fed Cup competition. The tie will
take place in Belgrade during 6-7 February.

Russia has been indisputedly the strongest nation in women's tennis in
recent years. They have won the Fed Cup four times in the last five
years and they boast five of the world's current top 11, in addition to
three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova.

Serbia, who won through to the premier stage of the World Group thanks
to a 4-0 victory over Spain in April, has never before played against
Russia in its current incarnation. However, the former Yugoslavia faced
the old Soviet Union two times, with the Soviet Union winning on both
occasions.

Ana is likely to be joined by world No.5 Jelena Jankovic for the tie,
which will take place one week after the conclusion of the Australian
Open.

"This is a very exciting tie," said Ana. "Russia are for sure the
toughest team we could have drawn, but I'm really happy to be playing
at home.

"We have such a great crowd and I'm sure it's going to be an amazing
atmosphere. I'm already looking forward to this tie in Belgrade."

Ana reached 90th place on forbs top 100 Celebrities. That makes her first Serbian who got on the list. The interesting fact is that Ana earned five times more money that USA president Obama (Ana earned 10 000 000$ and president Obama earned 2 000 000$).

Coaching update


June 09, 2009 /

Ana today
announced her active participation in the adidas Player Development
Programme during the forthcoming grass court season. She will be
trained on a part-time basis by adidas’ elite coaching staff during the
Eastbourne and Wimbledon tournaments.

The adidas Player Development Programme consists of Darren Cahill, Sven Groeneveld, Gil Reyes and Mats Merkel.

Meanwhile, Ana has ceased working with coach Craig Kardon. Scott Byrnes
will continue his role as Ana’s full-time strength and conditioning
coach.

"I'd like to thank Craig for all his hard work", said Ana. "He’s a great guy and I enjoyed working with him."

Ana hails Federer win


June 10, 2009 /

Ana spoke of her joy at watching Switzerland's Roger Federer historic
triumph at the French Open title on Sunday. With his victory in the
final over Robin Soderling, Federer equalled Pete Sampras' record of 14
Grand Slam wins and completed his collection of all four major trophies.

"I was so happy for him," said Ana who, like Federer, is a resident of
the city of Basel. "I was taking a flight on Sunday and I just arrived
at the departure lounge during the final game. I saw the the last few
points and then the trophy presentation.

"It was a very touching moment. I was crying a little bit even. I was so pleased for him."

Debate about whether Federer is the greatest of all-time will rage on
for eternity, with Australian Rod Laver another contender, considering
that he twice won all four Grand Slam titles in a single season and was
ineligible to compete in major tournaments for several years.

Asked to comment on Federer's credentials for that particular accolade,
Ana said: "It's still very hard to compare different eras, but there's
no question that he's one of the best of all-time."

Here's Ana's Wimbledon and US Open outfits...What do u think?

US OPEn







Wimbledon

Ana takes part in UNICEF event


June 12, 2009 /

Ana met children from schools around Serbia as part of a special UNICEF
event in Belgrade last week. The youngsters were representatives from
educational institutions in the "School without Violence" programme,
which Ana spearheads.

In a private, relaxed setting, Ana spoke with the children about the
progress of the campaign, to which she has donated personally over the
past two years.

“It is important that you are persistent and never give up in your
efforts to fight violence and bullying, in creating a friendly and
non-violent atmosphere in school," said Ana.

"When you see some advancement, keep going, because true results can be achieved only with persistent and continuous work“.

Ana also recorded some key messages for future UNICEF campaigns that will take place in Serbia, and posed for photos.

The 21-year-old is pictured here with children from peer teams within
the School without Violence programme. She is wearing one of the
limited edition, adidas-made t-shirts that will go on sale shortly to
benefit UNICEF.

Ana falls to Petrova


June 15, 2009 / Eastbourne, England

Ana lost a sea-saw encounter 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to Russian world No.10 Nadia Petrova in the first round of the AEGON International.

The 21-year-old began poorly and was broken in her opening service game. Petrova was dominant and she added a further break.

Ana got herself on the scoreboard in the fifth game, but by then she
was already a double-break down. Petrova consumately served out the set.

When they last faced each other, in Tokyo last autumn, Ana was
convincingly beaten in the opening set but stormed back to take the
second. Once again, she improved dramatically in the second set,
especially on serve and return of serve.

She spurned two break points early on but she scored the decisive break
in the ninth game and then held serve to level the match.

Petrova became increasingly frustrated. She swore, berated officials
and hit balls in anger. Ana took advantage of the Russian's mental
blow-out by breaking her twice to lead 4-1 in the final set.

Ana looked set to complete a highly satisfying opening win of the grass
court season but she became tentative and Petrova hit back. She broke
Ana twice and a third break, as the 21-year-old was serving to stay in
the match, proved fatal.

"I think I could have played a lot better and that is why I was a
little bit disappointed because I was practising really well," she said.

"Petrova played well, but I definitely had my chances and that makes it tougher to take."

Ana will be in doubles action alongside Germany's Sabine Lisicki on
Wednesday. The young duo take on top seeds and world No.1s Cara Black
and Liezel Huber.

Wimbledon begins on Monday.

Ana draws Hradecka at Wimbledon


June 19, 2009 / London, England

Ana has been drawn to face world No.57 Lucie Hradecka in the first
round of the Championships, which begin at Wimbledon on Monday. The
pair have never met before.

If she overcomes the 24-year-old Czech, Ana will face either Italian
Sara Errani or Stephanie Dubois of Canada in the second round. She
faces a potential third round clash with Australian world No.18
Samantha Stosur.

Defending champion and five-time winner Venus Williams is Ana's most
likely adversary in the fourth round. According to Wimbledon tradition
the defending ladies champion plays her opening round match on the
first Tuesday of the tournament: because Ana is in the same half as the
American, she too will play her first match on Tuesday, weather
permitting.

Possible opponents for Ana in the quarter-finals include compatriot
Jelena Jankovic and Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska. French Open champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova or Russian world No.1 Dinara Safina could await in
the last four.

No.2 Serena Williams, No.4 Elena Dementieva, No.7 Vera Zvonareva and
No.8 Victoria Azarenka are the leading seeds in the bottom half of the
draw and cannot face Ana, who is seeded 13th, until the final.

Click here for the full draw.

London calling / June 22, 2009

I’ve been in England for almost
two weeks already. I practised at Roehampton before playing Eastbourne.
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so good to begin with, so I wasn’t
able to practise on grass as much as I had planned.

Eastbourne is a cute place. I love the sea, so I enjoyed being so close
to it during this tournament. The Devonshire Park club is also very
nice and the quality of the grass there is fantastic. It’s a shame I
couldn’t stay longer.

On the positive side, losing early in Eastbourne meant that I could
attend the big player party on Thursday, which is hosted by Sir Richard
Branson in Kensington. But I had quite a stressful time beforehand,
because I didn’t have anything to wear!

This is every girl’s nightmare! I had no choice but to run around
London looking for a suitable dress, and shoes too, just a few hours
before the party. In the end I found a Dolce & Gabbana dress that I
liked, and everything worked out well – although I was a little late!

Aside from attending the party I haven’t been up to much. I went to
collect my clothing from adidas’ hotel on Friday morning, then we drove
to my house in Wimbledon.

I practised with Svetlana Kuznetsova yesterday and now I’m just looking
forward to getting onto the court and competing. I don’t know much
about my first round opponent Lucie Hradecka, but my coaches will watch
her practice and give me some advice on how she plays.

It’s always good to have some idea about your opponent’s style of play,
but at the same time you should focus more on your own game: if I can
play aggressively and impose my game onto my opponent, I have a good
chance.

Love
Ana

Ana's Wimbledon first round match against Lucie Hradecka is
scheduled as the fourth of the day on Tuesday. It is expected to begin
sometime after 5pm local time (6pm Central European Time; 12pm Eastern
Time). Click here for live point-by-point scoring from the All England Club.

Ana survives Wimbledon rollercoaster ride


June 23, 2009 / London, England

Ana won a massively dramatic first round match at the Championships
against world No.58 Lucie Hradecka. The 21-year-old saved two match
points and showed tremendous fighting spirit as she prevailed 5-7, 6-2,
8-6 in two hours and 13 minutes.

Ana remains the only player in the world's top 30, other than American
Serena Williams, who has never lost in the opening match at a Grand
Slam tournament. What's more, she has now triumphed from match point
down three years in a row here.

The 13th seed took the first significant advantage of the match, as she
converted the only break point opportunity she had in the first set to
lead 4-3. However, she lost her own serve in the following game as
Hradecka, who hits double-handed on both wings, exhibited some powerful
groundstrokes and sound consistency.

The 2007 semi-finalist was within two points of getting the chance to
serve for the first set, when Hradecka served at 5-5 and 15-30. The
24-year-old blonde Czech, who reached the final of Strasbourg last
month, showed a strong forehand and considerable grit to overcome the
difficult situation, and an overwhelmingly pro-Ana crowd on Court Four,
as she took the opening set.

Ana was far from her best form, but she composed herself and managed to
break Hradecka's serve to take a 3-2 lead. The 21-year-old had to save
three non-consecutive break points to go 4-2 up, following one of the
best retrievals of her career when she chased down a Hradecka smash and
eventually won the point.

That hard-fought sixth game was the key passage of play that Ana, who
won 77 per cent of points she played at the net, badly needed. She
broke once more for a 5-2 advantage and closed out the second set
without facing any break points.

Both players were effective at holding serve, especially when the first
one was in (Ana scored a 75 per cent winning ratio of the points played
with the first serve).

The former world No.1 broke to lead 5-4 but failed to serve out the
match on her first attempt. In her next service game, she saved two
non-consecutive match points at 5-6 before holding with an ace. The
worst moment had passed. It was time for her to show the ranking
difference between the two.

She brilliantly did so, putting pressure on Hradecka's serve and taking
the 13th game. She eventually closed out the match when Hradecka sailed
a forehand wide. Ana, and her legion of supporters at the All England
Club, rejoiced.

The circumstances of her victory mean that Ana may have set a new Grand
Slam record: while it has not yet been verified, she is believed to be
only player in Grand Slam history to have won matches having faced
match points in three successive years at the same event: in 2007 she
saved three match points in the quarter-finals before beating another
Czech, Nicole Vaidisova, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5; last year she beat France's
Nathalie Dechy after saving two match points en route to a 6-7, 7-6,
10-8 win.

The resilient Ana moves on to face Italy's Sara Errani, whom she defeated in the first round of the French Open a month ago.

I knew she can do it...

Pleasing victory / June 24, 2009

I’ve had a lot of tough,
close matches in my career and yesterday’s was definitely one of them.
It’s always extra satisfying to win a match when you have been match
point down.

I’ve done it quite a few times in my career, and a few times here
actually. The most important thing in this situation is to try and play
without emotions. If you think, “I must win this point” or “I must
break her here” then you are putting extra pressure on yourself and
that’s never a good thing. Instead, you have to concentrate on your
tactics: what you have to do technically to win the point.

At the same time, emotions can be a good thing, and they can actually
help get you through a match like that. The crowd was great yesterday
and I could really feel the energy around the court. That gave me extra
motivation to keep fighting and it definitely helped me win the match.

My opponent, Lucie Hradecka, was playing extremely well. She wasn’t
making many mistakes and she put me under a lot of pressure. To come
through this kind of match is good for your confidence.

It doesn’t get any easier: my next opponent, Sara Errani, is very
talented and she gave me a tough match in Paris last month. If I can
improve in some of the areas I wasn’t so good in yesterday, such as my
serve, then I am confident I can come through and really get into this
tournament.

Love
Ana

Ana marches on

June 25, 2009

Ana moved into the third round of the Championships thanks to a solid 7-5, 6-1 victory over world No.39 Sara Errani of Italy. The 21-year-old trailed 5-3 in the opening set but reeled off 10 of the next 11 games to seal a satisfying win.

Superb Ana moves into round four

June 27, 2009 / London, England

Ana reached the second week of Wimbledon thanks to a brilliant 7-5, 6-2 win over 18th seed Samantha Stosur of Australia. The 21-year-old took just 70 minutes to beat the French Open semi-finalist on the new Court 2 in stunning conditions.

As it had happened in her previous match against Italy’s Sara Errani, the first set proved to be the key to the encounter but unlike the second round match, Ana began superbly.

A deep down-the-line backhand return from Ana forced Stosur’s forehand error and gave the 13th seed the first break of the match in the opening game. Karlovic-like, she served out three aces in the following game to take a 2-0 lead.

The serve-forehand combo was an unstoppable weapon for Ana throughout the match and she hit her groundstrokes – not least her passing shots – with unerring accuracy.

The former world No.1 had only lost three points on her first three service turns when she had to face her first break point. Stosur’s heavy forehand return was difficult to handle and the Australian broke back to level the score at 4-4.

A tie-break seemed a likely conclusion for the opening set, but Stosur unexpectedly collaborated with two consecutive double-faults in order to give Ana a new break of serve and a 6-5 lead. The 21-year-old comfortably won the next game at 15, when Stosur netted a sliced backhand.

The second set started just as positively as the first one, as the 2007 semi-finalist confidently broke serve in the opening game and added another break of serve to take a 3-0 lead.

Stosur’s frustration was visible and Ana did not hesitate at any moment. She kept on adding games to her quest and got the first match point when the Australian served 1-5, but the ball took a bad bounce and Ana missed a low forehand.

After the change of ends, Ana came back to seal the match with a smart wide serve that forced Stosur’s forehand error. The victorious Ana ended up losing just 15 points on serve, delivered five aces and, while she added 21 winners, committed only nine unforced errors.

“I played really well,” said Ana with a smile afterwards. “I think my tactics and my game plan prevailed over my emotions. That's something I'm really happy about.

“I stuck with my plan and I just kept playing the best I could every point.”

About the new Court 2, which has been built on the site of the old Court 13, Ana said: “It's just so strange: I used to look at it as a Court 13, and now it's Court 2. It’s a very, very nice court. I enjoyed it. I think it's great they have [Hawk-Eye] challenges there too.”

The middle Sunday of Wimbledon is traditionally a rest day for all players, with all of them in action on Monday.

Ana will face one of the toughest challenges of her career as she takes on five-time champion Venus Williams in the fourth round. The American former world No.1 has won 29 consecutive sets at this event.