Ana Ivanovic's Woes... Continue...
Ana Ivanovic, a former French Open Champion and Number One ranked player, is struggling to find her form after an extended break at the end of the 2009 season. Ivanovic lost early at the 2010 Australian Open and followed up that disappointing result with three losses in
the first round of the 2010 Federation Cup. Ivanovic lost singles matches to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova (currently ranked 29th to Ivanovic’s 21st).
Serbia’s opening round loss to Russia in Belgrade in Ana reunited with adidas team coach, Sven Groeneveld, who coached her when she won the French Open, during her off-season at the end of 2009. Unfortunately, so far the results have not improved. Clearly, when she is playing confidently, Ivanovic can challenge the best players with her attacking forehand and strong first serve. Ivanovic has also improved her fitness and quickness during the past couple seasons. However, Ana’s technique and toss on her serve are still an issue and it’s hard to manufacture confidence when you don’t play well or win matches. Other top players have suffered a drop in their rankings and managed to return to the very top, e.g. Serena Williams and Andre Agassi. However, as Maria Sharapova is also experiencing right now, it’s not easy to find that “mojo” once you lose at least part of it.
Ivanovic has several options in terms of how to structure her playing schedule in terms of singles and doubles (to gain extra match practice) with respect to whether she chooses to play some smaller tournaments to try to win some matches or continues plugging away in the big leagues. Watching her play, one senses that she could rekindle her confidence with only a couple satisfying wins, but only time will tell…
Serbia’s opening round loss to Russia in Belgrade in Ana reunited with adidas team coach, Sven Groeneveld, who coached her when she won the French Open, during her off-season at the end of 2009. Unfortunately, so far the results have not improved. Clearly, when she is playing confidently, Ivanovic can challenge the best players with her attacking forehand and strong first serve. Ivanovic has also improved her fitness and quickness during the past couple seasons. However, Ana’s technique and toss on her serve are still an issue and it’s hard to manufacture confidence when you don’t play well or win matches. Other top players have suffered a drop in their rankings and managed to return to the very top, e.g. Serena Williams and Andre Agassi. However, as Maria Sharapova is also experiencing right now, it’s not easy to find that “mojo” once you lose at least part of it.
Ivanovic has several options in terms of how to structure her playing schedule in terms of singles and doubles (to gain extra match practice) with respect to whether she chooses to play some smaller tournaments to try to win some matches or continues plugging away in the big leagues. Watching her play, one senses that she could rekindle her confidence with only a couple satisfying wins, but only time will tell…
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