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Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic, 19 and 20, Threaten to Up-End U.S. Open; McEnroe Says He’s Better Than Roddick; She’s Already the Hottest
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The Observatory
Ana Ivanovic, the modest 19-year-old Serbian tennis player, spent this past weekend traveling between the players’ hotel, at the Le Méridien on 57th Street, and the U.S. Open Tennis Center in Queens on a bus that departs once an hour. She is sharing a room with her mom. She’ll be in bed by 10:30, reading The Secret, the best-selling Rhonda Byrne self-help book.
“I want to go to Abercrombie and Fitch,” she said. “I want to get jeans. Their jeans fit me best.”
If she has time, she said, she’ll go to Macy’s too.
Some female tennis stars crave the chance to land high-end endorsement deals, to dress in Prada, to start their own fashion lines. Ana Ivanovic is not one of them. At a time when women’s tennis has been ravaged by indifference, injuries and shameless self-promotion, she may be just the player the Women’s Tennis Association desperately needs. She’s humble, smart, hungry and ridiculously attractive. Oh—and she has perhaps the best forehand in tennis.
Starting Aug. 27, when the three-week U.S. Open kicks off, she’ll be a star.
[Power Serbs: Novak Djokovic, 20, Has Beaten the Best]
On Aug. 19, eight days before the start of the tournament, she strolled into the players’ lounge on the second floor at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She’s got an athletic shape, at 6-foot-1 and 159 pounds. She has almond-shaped brown eyes and a deep brown tan. She wore a pink Adidas T-shirt, and her hair in a ponytail and looked, despite the fact that she had just spent the previous 90 minutes hitting tennis balls, completely fresh.
She arrived accompanied only by her mother, who speaks little English and quickly excused herself from the room.
“I’m sorry for being late,” she said. (She was less than 10 minutes late.) “I was practicing.”
Ivanovic talks in long, unpunctuated sentences full of false starts (“I think, you know, so, yeah …”) but her English, which she learned nine years ago, is fantastically—refreshingly—expressive in a way that the language of the hyper-media-trained players from America and Western Europe rarely is.
She discussed her game, where in the last year she’s made a steady climb from 16th to No. 4 in the world, the youngest player in the top 10.
“For quite a long time I was around 20th, and I obviously wanted to make this step and break in the top 10,” she said. “I just needed more confidence and more consistency in my game so I would win against top players more often.”
She’s done exactly that. This year, she’s 5-0 against Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, the No. 2 and No. 3 players in the world, respectively. And she landed in the French Open final and the Wimbledon semifinals, her best-ever finishes in Grand Slams.
When it comes to tennis fundamentals, Ivanovic’s most powerful strength is her forehand. She begins the stroke with her arm turned at a high-arching angle that she whips down to smash through the ball in a style reminiscent of Steffi Graf. She learned it when she was 11.
“Since I was young they always told me I had a powerful forehand,” she said. “Really, growing up I realized that’s my biggest weapon, so I want to use it as much as I can.”
She’s also dramatically improved her movement on the court—helping her to move up 12 spots in the world tennis rankings in the past year—and she’s working on an increasingly powerful serve. Next Page >
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New Yorkers are going to love this girl. She's gorgeous, she fights for every point, and she hits the hell of out of her forehand. What else can a tennis fan, admiring male observers in particular, ask for? This star is about to explode!
She's a great player and has a lot of potential. And, she's only 19. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about her however, is her personality. She always seems very humble and composed, and tennis needs more players like that. Good luck to her at the US open.
Early in the year at tokyo i watched ivanovic play for the first time. My first observation was that this girl has
potential. Next, was that she would break top ten in the next
couple of months. In Los Angeles i predicted she would win
the tournament. Invanovic did not make a liar out of me.
Her game is powerful and fresh. U. S. Open here she comes!!!!
I consider myself a big fan of Ana. First time I saw her playing was against Maria Sharapova at the semis of Roland Garros. As usually I turned on the TV to see Maria but in less than a minute I was caught by the Ana's charming, powerful and graceful way of playing tennis. She doesn´t screem despite the strenght of her hitting as if she was a little shy to exposed herself that way. A wonderful mixture of feminility and power. Since then I follow her career and keep expecting always the best for this special girl. I am sure she will win a Grand Slam tournament soon and become the number 1. For the fact to be such a fan I think I can make an observation about the cover: the picture that is on cover is a reproduction of a photo, the best I ever seen of Ana, in which a good observer may found everything I told about her before. If you don´t mind please show it to every body.
My wife met her at the Miami tournament in March and said that Ana was the sweetest and nicest girl you could imagine. She has a tremendous appreciation for her fans and if there ever was a role model for teenage girls-----she is it.
We have been foolwing Ana activities for a year.Like everyone said " Ana has;- look, personality , sportmanship,and talents". Me and my family just wish her to go slowly to avoid injury that go with a lot of good tennis players and their future. If Ana is in the great shape now, I see no reason for her not to win the USOPEN this year.
Wishes Ana all the Best...Thai Fans
Lot's have been said about this unusual gem of Woman Tennis. But let me just add more: Her game and her personality made me an instant fan the first time I saw her at Roland Garros.
She's a breath of fresh air..., so differently honest and humble than the regular top 20 players I've seen...If she's healthy and the nerve is not in the way, she can beat anyone on the draw today..., what's more, her game is not fully develop yet, watch out, I truly believe she is going to be a Legend...
I hope, that she would stay focus and humble...and not becoming the next Kournikova...
There is no way Ana will turn into the next Kournikova
why? well firstly Ivanovic is a better player than Kournikova ever was.
Also she is far to determined to go of the road of tennis.
Followed her since Wimbledon 2006 and was amazed at how good a 18yr old was and then she backed that up with the French Open Final and the semis at wimbledon this year the overall thing that made here break into the top 5 is now her fitness/speed levels are much higher and what is so great you would have thought she may have developed a certain arrogance but no shes stayed humble and charming which is backed up by her grace on the court.
She will be no.1 i dont really doubt that but the challange for her is to become a remebered no1 and this can be for many reasons. Superb talent ie. won lots of grandslams (federer) or be one that wins lots of grand slams with immense charm that goes with it. I feel she will be the latter.
Ana for the US Open!!!!! Cmon Ana!!!!!!
I started to be serious fan of her after French open. She definitely fights for every point. Those who had watched the recent match against Vadisova would not that better.
I am bit worried about her game against opponents like Venus William whom she is supposed to meet at fourth round.
Wish her all the best to overcome and live the expectations of her fans.
Die hard Ivanovic Fan here. I must say that this article has been one of the best I've read about Ana and I hope she can produce some magic on and off court to charm the people of New York :D
The doctored picture on the front page is more an artists PROJECTION of what Ana Ivanovic MAY LOOK LIKE when she is double her age at 38. Its purpose may have been to support the title of POWER SERBS. In reality none of them give the impression of physical power. Djokovic is and looks fairly skinny. Ana is quite tall and well built but gives the impression of a rather shy, nice and not particularly tall girl. She appears quite non-threatening and I have not seen her get angry or frown yet. It hence comes over as a quite a surprise when this “nice” girl lets rip a forehand drive or hits a clean ace past her opponent. Just about any photo of her (see www.anaivanovic.com) confirms the nice girl image. It particularly comes through interviews. The artist’s impression may be right however when it comes to how she may appear to her opponents rather than those watching.
I've been a fan of Ana since 2004, when she defeated Tatiana Golovin in Zurich and then lost 76 76 to Venus Williams, after missing out 7 set points in both sets combined.
I think she will be number 1 someday and she'll win the Grand Slam. She just has to learn how to control her emotions better. She's doing pretty good at the moment. She has a tough draw at this year's Us Open but to be the best you have to beat the best, right? She can do it.
Great article about a great person and athlete. Good luck for the Us Open Ana.
Oh Yeh, best article ever I have read about a greatly gifted and extremely gorgeous athlete that Anna is. Needless to say I am also a die-hard fan of Miss Ivanovic and have been since 2004. She is a pleasure to watch and I have predicted she would be in the top ten this year for a while. You GO ANA, the No.1 position is up for grabs!!!
If u want to see the angriest Ana ever got go on Ivanovic vs umpire on Youtube it is quite funny as she seems slightly distressed but never agressive
watch it by this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24tMD0Z1MtQ
It was from the first round of Wimbledon this year
Ana for the US Open!!! Cmon Ana!!!
Big Up England Bruv
I have been a fan of Ana ever since she beat Martina Hingis in Toronto. In fact, she has replaced Hingis as my favorite WYA player. I hope I get to see her play at the US Open. I also hope that she is not changed by the hype about her looks, which will eventually happen. She has played into this already, with some revealing photos in a European publication. This is something she should not do. Once she improves her mobility, she will be THE FORCE in women's tennis. Can't wait to see her play more.
I would love to see Ana win the US Open. She is capable of it but I don't think it will happen this year. She may not be ready to step up to that big a plate; nerves may do her in. I think she needs more experience in the slams. It will happen, I am certain, if injuries don't get in her way.
This is good article, and makes us-Serbs so proud.I like Ana and her game... can't wait the US open.Big kiss for Ana, Novak & Jelena. Cmon Serbs!!!
What can we possibly say about our Serbian gem?
If some of you haven't seen the Welcome to Belgarde after Roland Garros videos on www.youtube.com please go and check it out! The whole country came out that night to congratulate Ana, Jelena Jankovic and to Novak Djokovic!What nation supports in such a way their fans???
We all wish you well!
Power Serbs, welcome!!! We`ll enjoy in their performance...
Go Ana and Novak! We love you! Greetings from Srebia!
M N O G O S M O J A K I !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ana sure is a very cute girl, but my personal impression isn’t that she is shy but that she might be a little slow ... It happens a lot with grate athletes as they spend most of their time training so that’s all they’ll know ... Personally – I’m huge Jelena Jankovic fan, as she seems much smarter and ‘lively’ ... Also, JJ is a great fighter and a has a great game! If any Serbian gets to the top it’s going to be her, you’ll see! Also , huge Novak Djokovic fan , he’s already no. 1 , just has a disadvantage of playing pro tennis for less time than Nadal and Federer , so he just needs time to get ATP points ! Finally, real roll models for youngsters all around the world!
Hello lovely American people. Your newspapers are full of praise for the young Serbian tennis players. In the most posts above mine people are saying how humble and sweet Ana is. In other articles written in the world of tennis you will find similar statements about Novak and Jelena. Do you ever stop to think why these stars are the way they are. I will tell you. In Serbian mentality kids are raised to be humble, respect their elders and especially their family values. These 3 wiz-kids are best examples of that. You should use your realisation of how nice this trio is to stop judging Serbian people and stop believing the junk your government are feeding you about Serbs in general and them being blood hungry and aggressive.
Novk Đoković is the best!
Ana,Nole,Jelena SVI U NAPAD,AJMO,AJDE!!!
Ana really is favored to at least reach the semi's at this year's tournament. Her powerful, flat, groundstrokes work well on the hardcourt. And I think Novak will become a major pain for Federer in the near future. Sure, Federer didn't play as usual in the Roger's thing in Canada but part of the reason for that was because of Djokovic's athleticism, smart play, and exceptional shot selection.
Plus I'm also glad that my heritage country finally gets some positive recognition for something. Now Serbia can add tennis talent to basketball talent, a mining history in Montana, Nikola Tesla, and a couple of Belgrade's in the U.S. to the list of noteworthy things which makes people realize that Serbia is a country...not cheese.
Like a Serb, I must be really proud when reading all these comments but at the same time I want to say that I am happy that ordinary Americans at last can get the picture how really ordinary Serbs look like. When I say ordinary Serbs, I mean that Ivanovic, Djokovic and Jankovic behave like people you can meet every day in the streets of Belgrade and other towns in Serbia. As for their huge tennis potential, that is the other story because they are really powerful and with great future. Still, I think that all these three great players and many other successful Serbs are best proof that propaganda which has been spread out by many American and European medias about wild and blood hungry people in Serbia eventually will fail because the facts speak themselves. Serbia is not what the State Department would like to present and Ivanovic, Djokovic,Jankovic, Divac, Stojakovic and many more humble and hardworking Serbs in the States prove that every day. Have a nice day.
mislim sta reci......VOLIM VAS NAJJACI STE
So watch and enjoy serbian tennis players...they have a lot to show and present!go novan ana and jelena!
Simply the best! Ana Ivanovic, Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic! SVAKA CAST! SAMO NAPRED!