User:Avatar5991/Ana Ivanovic's run at the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open

The 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open was best known for Ana Ivanovic's run throughout the tournament. It is this run which revived Ana Ivanovic's career after a slump in form saw her plummet from World No. 11 in August 2009 to World No. 65 in July 2010.

Background edit

Ana Ivanovic during the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She was defeated by Agnieszka Radwańska at this tournament.

Ana Ivanovic's coach Heinz Günthardt talks to the Serb during practice at Stanford

Ana Ivanovic was seeded 11th at the 2009 US Open and with only second round points to defend from 2008, she was a chance of returning into the Top 10. However, the Serb was upset in her first round match against Kateryna Bondarenko after losing a match point in a third-set tiebreak. It is widely believed that this result triggered her loss of confidence and form, and that she never recovered from this defeat. Ivanovic called it at the time "the toughest loss in her career". Subsequently, after losing in the first round of the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Ivanovic decided to end her season early and she finished 2009 as the World No. 22, outside the Top 20 for the first time since 2006. She won 24 matches and lost 14 in 2009, her worst season on record.

Following the extended time off the tennis court, Ana Ivanovic did not win a match for four-and-a-half months. She returned in 2010 and it appeared as though the time off may have settled her mental demons, when she reached the semi-finals of the 2010 Brisbane International, losing to Justine Henin in straight sets. Seeded 20th at the Australian Open, Ivanovic won her first round match against Shenay Perry, before being upset in the second round by Gisela Dulko in three sets. Shortly after, Ivanovic suffered a right shoulder injury which ruled her out of Dubai. Heinz Günthardt was appointed to her coaching staff.

A long period of poor results would follow, with a second round defeat to Anastasija Sevastova at Indian Wells and a third round defeat to Agnieszka Radwańska at Miami sending her ranking plummeting down from World No. 28 to World No. 58, out of the Top 50 for the first time since early 2005. Ivanovic would then try to turn her fortunes around at the Rome Masters, where she was able to produce some stunning tennis which claimed three Top 20 victims: Victoria Azarenka in the second round, Elena Dementieva in the third round and Nadia Petrova in the quarter-finals, before losing to the eventual champion María José Martínez Sánchez in the semi-finals. Ivanovic re-entered the Top 50 following her run in Rome, but this would prove to be short-lived as she was thrashed in the second round of the French Open by Alisa Kleybanova, suffering a 6–3, 6–0 defeat.

Ivanovic then endured an unsuccessful grass court season, exiting in the second round of the AEGON Classic to Andrea Petkovic and in the first round of Wimbledon to 13th seed Shahar Pe'er. Shortly after the latter loss, Ivanovic dropped to a lowly World No. 65 in the rankings list released on 12 July 2010, unbelievable for someone who was World No. 1 just two years ago.^[1]

Marija Lojanica was later appointed to Ana Ivanovic's coaching staff, and brought with her a new approach which allowed Ivanovic to finally enjoy playing tennis again whilst at the same time enjoying some social activities. Ivanovic said about Lojanica:

"It's been also a lot fun working out with a girl and just having fun and throwing in a dance or whatever. You know, just actually enjoying it. She's a girl, so we can go shopping together, watch movies, do our nails. It just keeps your mind off tennis.

"In the past I was with male coaches, and you do a job and go back to the room. I really like to read and it was sort of relaxing.

"But then after all, you find you have spent all day in a room, and it gets kind of depressing. So it's good to go out and just do a fun girly stuff."

Ana's next two tournaments resulted in two more early defeats: to Marion Bartoli in Stanford and to Shahar Pe'er in San Diego. After the latter defeat, Ana's 2010 season record was 12 wins and 14 losses, half the number of wins she had enjoyed last year.

2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open edit

Ana Ivanovic entered the Cincinnati tournament with only second round points from 2009 to defend. She was drawn against recent Stanford titlist and World No. 12 Victoria Azarenka in the first round and was given no chance of beating the Belorussian, despite having beaten her in Rome earlier in the year.

Below is the summary of Ana Ivanovic's run in Cincinnati.

	Ana Ivanovic
Round	Opponent	Score
1R	Victoria Azarenka	2–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–2
2R	Yaroslava Shvedova	6–1, 7–5
3R	Elena Vesnina	6–0, 6–3
QF	Akgul Amanmuradova	6–1, 6–3
SF	Kim Clijsters	1–2 ret.

Round 1 vs. Victoria Azarenka edit

Victoria Azarenka was Ana Ivanovic's first round opponent. She is seen here training ahead of the Stanford tournament which she won prior to entering Cincinnati

Ana Ivanovic entered this first round match having split her career meetings against the Belorussian, losing a fourth round match to her at Roland Garros in 2009 and winning the aforementioned second round match in Rome. Azarenka had just won the Stanford title two weeks prior to the match when she defeated Maria Sharapova in the final and was the ninth seed entering the tournament.

After Azarenka took the first set 6–2, and had led 5–2 in the second set, Ivanovic appeared set for yet another early loss at the tournament, however the Serb would rally to force a tiebreak which she would take 8–6. Azarenka was broken twice trying to serve out the match and was within two points of victory three times also in that second set. Ivanovic then held her nerve to win the final set 6–2, and record her second victory over Azarenka this season.

Reaction:

After the match, Ivanovic said:

"The crowd helps helped me so much. They were a lot behind me. It was so great to see a lot of young kids and so on, and it kind of got me pumped. She was serving so well in the first set but I knew I just had to hang in there and compete, and eventually things would turn around. I managed to improve my return of serve and I feel like my defence was also good.

"There were a lot of changes of momentum in this match. It definitely felt like two different matches. For the first half I just had to keep fighting and keeping believe, then towards the end I felt I was on top. I've been working very hard and playing so well in practice, and it's a great feeling to be able to finally take some of that into a match. I'm very happy with this victory.

"It's my biggest win since Rome. Rome was a great week for me, but this victory means a lot. She just came off a title, but also the way the match was progressing, the last few weeks I was losing matches like this. It’s good to see that hanging in there gives the good results."

Azarenka defended her performance, saying:

"I'm sure I can come up with better tennis, because today was a little bit of a disaster. I have to improve. I have another tournament before the Open and I’m definitely going to work hard to bring my A-game there. I wish Ana good luck the rest of the tournament."

Match reports:

Round 2 vs. Yaroslava Shvedova edit

Ana Ivanovic entered this match having lost one previous match against Yaroslava Shvedova, at Miami back in 2007. Shvedova came into the match having beaten qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva in straight sets, 7–5, 6–4. Ivanovic was able to back up her win against Azarenka by recording her first career victory over Shvedova, by a score of 6–1, 7–5. This marked the first time Ivanovic had won consecutive matches since her run in Rome in May.

Reaction and Rogers Cup controversy:

Shortly after her second round win against Shvedova, it was revealed that Ivanovic had been offered a wildcard to enter the upcoming Rogers Cup tournament in Montreal, however, following comments from the tournament director which allegedly offended the Serb, she declined it. She had asked for the wildcard three weeks earlier, but was instead asked to play in the qualifying rounds due to her lowly ranking (the Serb was World No. 65 at the time).

The Rogers Cup tournament director, Eugene Lapierre, later explained his decision:

"The way I analyzed it was that, yes, she's a player who has done a lot for our tournament - almost saved it one year. She has a lot of charisma. Everyone likes her. But the fact is that she hasn't demonstrated (with her play) that she deserves a wild card.

"It's not the same as a player who has been injured and away for a while. She is the one who dropped down to No. 65, not because of an injury."

However, after Ivanovic's second round win in Cincinnati, Lapierre considered changing his mind:

"There’s still a chance. Especially now that she's showing us she still plays like a top-10. We're looking at it and there should be developments soon."

Ivanovic responded:

"I would have loved to have played in Montreal, but I was quite hurt by the comments of Mr Lapierre that I was shown in The Montreal Gazette recently.

"I don't think his comments were necessary, and they contradicted everything he had told my management previously: that I was not getting a wild card because I am not Canadian.

"The fact that my original request was turned down isn't really an issue: I would have been happy to play qualifying, but I felt that they kind of stepped over the line with this interview, making public our correspondence and even misrepresenting it. Unfortunately I don't feel welcome at this tournament.

"Anyway, I am playing New Haven in a week or so, and I am currently at my third straight event (Cincinnati). Even though I haven't played many matches, the training and travel take their toll, and I think this is the right decision to make, for several reasons.

"I'm sorry to anyone who was hoping to see me play in Canada this year. I'd like to thank the fans in Montreal who supported me during the two times I played there. I really enjoyed it."

Match reports:

Round 3 vs. Elena Vesnina edit

Elena Vesnina was Ana Ivanovic's third round opponent

Ana Ivanovic entered this match having already beaten her next opponent, Elena Vesnina, in Rome earlier in the year. Vesnina came into the match having upset the fifth seed and French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the second round. Ivanovic was able to attack Vesnina in the first set, not facing a break point and scoring a first set bagel (6–0). The Serb was later challenged in the second set but was able to save all the break points she faced, and won the second set 6–3, to score her third consecutive victory and move into the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time.

Reaction:

After the match, Ana commented on the importance of enjoying herself whilst practising on the tennis court at the same time:

"It's a great fun actually to work with a female coach as you can enjoy every bit of your training, cracking jokes and dancing. Since she is also a woman, so we do a lot of stuff together, we go for shopping, watch films apart from our training sessions which really refreshes my mind to a great deal of extent.

"I have worked with male coaches in the past which was kind of boring at times as the moment you are done with your training sessions; you simply go back to your rooms. And spending the entire day in a single room all alone was at times quite depressing as well. Therefore, being with a female coach is a fun in itself as we enjoy a lot once our training sessions are over."

"I am feeling hundred percent fit at the moment and so I play more confidently on the court now. I hit the ball with greater force now and hurt my opponents more often than ever. And it’s because of my teaming up with Marija."

Ana was also optimistic about her chances of returning to the top of the rankings, saying:

"In some ways I think I am a better player now as compared to the past in spite of the fact that my world rankings were higher at that time. I have developed my game and play more attackingly now and of course I am more experienced in contrast to some four years back. I am a more professional and mature player now which I was not in the past."

Match reports:

Quarter-final vs. Akgul Amanmuradova edit

Entering her first quarter-final since Rome, Ana Ivanovic held a 1–0 head-to-head advantage over her next opponent, Akgul Amanmuradova, who had just come off an upset victory over the defending champion and No. 1 seed Jelena Janković in her third round match. In a match which proved to be a fizzer, lasting just 57 minutes, Ivanovic blasted Amanmuradova off the park with an easy 6–1, 6–3 victory, not facing a break point and serving imperiously all match. This result sent her into her third semi-final of the year, where she would face Kim Clijsters.

Reaction:

Ana Ivanovic once again alluded her new found confidence to her new female coach, Marija Lojanica, who had known the Serb since she was 13, but only joined her coaching staff shortly after Wimbledon. She was also happy about her performance, even before the match ended just short of the hour mark:

"But it was a tough match, she’s serving really well and had full confidence after yesterday’s win. The crowd was amazing again, I felt lot of support today and the whole week, so thank you all."

Match reports:

With this victory, Ana Ivanovic was guaranteed to return to the Top 40.

Semi-final vs. Kim Clijsters edit

Ana Ivanovic entered her third semi-final of the year having lost her only previous match against Kim Clijsters, back in 2007. Clijsters came into the match having beaten Italian Flavia Pennetta in her quarter-final match. This was seen as a good opportunity for Ivanovic to defeat Clijsters for the first time and she said she was looking forward to the match. However, disaster struck, and Ivanovic suffered a foot injury whilst returning Clijsters' serve, having been broken in her second service game to fall behind 1–2. Ivanovic was then forced to concede the match after just twelve minutes and only 24 points played. Clijsters had just served the first (and only) ace of the match, a shot Ivanovic never challenged.

Reaction:

Ana Ivanovic was audibly devastated when she was asked to recall her injury in the match:

"I was very scared. All of a sudden on that one shot, I felt something crack a little bit. Just on that one forehand when I went to step around it, I just felt like pain all of a sudden, so much pain in my foot and I couldn't step on it anymore."

Ivanovic had been looking forward to this match, this being her first real challenge of the tournament since upsetting Victoria Azarenka in the first round:

"I tried [a] bit of tape, but I could not put any weight on it and there was no point in me continuing. I played some really great tennis and I was very excited about this match."

Clijsters was as equally devastated about the Serb's injury, but was happy to see Ivanovic do so well after a wretched run of poor form throughout the year. She also said her movement in the shortened match was effective:

"It sounds very similar to what I had with my left foot. I hope it's not that bad.

"I was really into it. I felt I was moving well, really well. My contact with the ball was better than in previous matches.

"Yeah, no, I mean it's a shame that, you know, a match like this, especially for her, has to end like that. I mean, it was nice to see her do well this week and to play with some more confidence again, and then something like that happens.

"I saw her after the match, and she's obviously upset. Her injury sounds very similar to what I recently had with my left foot. She's gonna have more tests later, and hopefully it's not that bad."

Clijsters was later asked what Ana Ivanovic told her of her injury:

"She felt something crack. Just you know, not even with a wide shot, but she ran around her backhand and she hit a forehand. As she pushed off to the inside, she felt something crack. Obviously to me it sounded very similar to what I had happen to me in Fed Cup. So I hope it's not that bad. But if it is, you know, it's not a good timing. It never is, but obviously now that is she's doing so well, it's a shame it has to happen."

Match reports:

Clijsters then went on to win the title, defeating Maria Sharapova in a rain-interrupted match whilst saving several championship points in the process.

Aftermath edit

The injury-enforced retirement was a bitter end to what had otherwise been a promising week for Ana Ivanovic. The foot injury subsequently forced her to withdraw from New Haven, but she was able to recover in time for the US Open. Following her impressive run in Cincinnati, Ivanovic's world ranking subsequently rose to World No. 40 in the rankings list released on 16 August 2010, up 22 places from the previous rankings list.

Despite the injury, Ivanovic was able to maintain this form and momentum at the US Open, where she had suffered that heartbreaking first round defeat last year. Unseeded, she was able to defeat Ekaterina Makarova, Zheng Jie and Virginie Razzano in the first three rounds, all in straight sets, before losing a lopsided fourth round match against the defending and eventual champion Kim Clijsters 6–2, 6–1. Ivanovic's run at the US Open saw her end a run of four consecutive Slams in which she failed to reach the second round and equal her then-best showing at the tournament, reaching the fourth round. In the process, she picked up 275 rankings points and entrenched herself inside the Top 40.

This was a sign of better things to come for Ana Ivanovic. She reached the quarter-finals at the China Open and received a wild-card entry into Linz after Serena Williams withdrew due to injury. Taking advantage of this, Ivanovic was able to win her first title in two years, and re-entered the Top 30 after winning the tournament.^[2] This result saw her qualify for the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, where she was able to capture the title by defeating Alisa Kleybanova in the final and re-enter the WTA's Top 20 for the first time in over a year.^[3] Ivanovic ended the 2010 season with 33 wins and 20 losses, and with a WTA rank of World No. 17, something that seemed improbable after at one stage being World No. 65 and winning only 12 of her first 26 matches of the year.

References edit

Category:Cincinnati Masters Category:2010 US Open Series Category:2010 WTA Tour

[1] Ana Ivanovic - Heading Back to the Top? | DW on Sport

[2] Ivanovic ends title drought in Linz - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

[3] Ivanovic completes turnaround with Bali title - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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