Dubai: After spending more than a decade on the WTA Tour, former world number one Ana Ivanovic is surprised with her evolution both as a person and player.
Ivanovic’s struggles following her French Open success in 2008 have been well documented. The Serbian failed to make even a quarter final at any of the Grand Slams after that, dropping down from the world’s best player to No. 65 in the rankings.
However, things started taking a turn for the better last year as Ivanovic qualified for the year-end WTA Tour Championships held in Singapore to eventually finish 2014 at No.5. “It took me some time to get used to that feeling of losing. When I started, I really found it hard taking the losses, but then you learn that in tennis you cannot win every week and you just have to try and do your best,” Ivanovic said.
“And this is a thing that I really still have to understand – that you have to try your best. That’s the most you can do; sometimes it doesn’t work out your way and sometimes it does. You want to peak for the biggest tournaments and this is something I felt I was lacking a little bit last season. I had a great leads-up and then a few disappointments in the big events, and I really want to improve that. Obviously, it’s a process but I am just enjoying [being able] to compete again, to do what I love. You really just have to keep fighting,” she added.
As a 20-year-old, Ivanovic burst onto the women’s stage after reaching the final of the French Open. But a year later, she was the losing finalist at the Australian Open and later in the summer went on to claim her first and so far only Grand Slam at Roland Garros. In 2008, Ivanovic claimed the world number one spot. Despite all these achievements, the Serb feels she prefers the present Ivanovic to the one of old.
“I think I like the one that is present. I think through some experiences, you learn so much about yourself and you mature in many different ways. You learn what is important and what is less important. I achieved so much at such a young age and I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to do so, but I feel like I am a more complete person now. I have a lot of fun competing and playing, and I still think I can achieve a lot of things on the court and this is what drives me,” she said.
With one important goal achieved, Ivanovic is already looking forward much more optimistically to the new season. “I would love to compete in Singapore again and to finish the year in top-5 again. That would be a really big goal for me,” she related.
“I do believe I can do it and that’s why I am here. I still love what I do and I love to go out there, work hard and compete. I really believe I can achieve great things at big events and grand slams are still my goals, but I do not want to put too much pressure and think too much ahead. It’s one week at a time,” she smiled.
