In January 2008, Ana Ivanovic fought her way to the finals of the Australian Open. There she lost to Maria Sharapova: 7-5 and 6-3. Five months later, Ana Ivanovic is in the finals of the French Open with even an improved game:

“…The match had also been a straight fight for the world No 1 ranking, so Ivanovic, a 20-year-old who learnt to play at the bottom of a drained swimming pool and whose later training sessions in Belgrade had to fit around Nato’s bombing raids on the city, became the first Serbian to reach the top of the rankings, and is more than likely to go into Wimbledon as the world No 1.”

link: Ana Ivanovic climbs to top of the world by reaching final against Dinara Safina

It is obvious that Ana Ivanovic has improved since that last match in Australia against Maria Sharapova. What is noticeable is that Ana Ivanovic does not become rattled when she runs into a rough spot in her game. In her match with Jelena Jankovic, for example, she lost seven consecutive game but maintained her composure and won the match. Ms Ivanovic has benefited from her appearances in finals matches. She is able to refocus and pull her game back together. She will go into the finals with the expectation of winning. Ms Ivanovic is playing with confidence and her opponents know that she is very dangerous.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
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