Secret to success

Dubai: Skill, physical fitness, mental toughness and a bit of luck are the ingredients needed to make it big in women's tennis, according to former world number one Jelena Jankovic.

"Anything can happen nowadays in women's tennis. You've got to have a combination of a few things — obviously skill, be physically fit, healthy, mentally tough, and have some luck here and there," Jankovic told media at a post-match conference this week.

"And you need a strong belief, to believe you can do it no matter what and hang in there, especially during the tough moments."

Jankovic has been revitalising her tennis career after more than two years of slipping down the rankings. And now that she has stayed mostly healthy, the Serbian feels she is in a better position to compete against the best in women's tennis, especially at Grand Slams.

"I have to improve on a lot of these aspects and I have a long way to go to be able to stay for those two weeks and really be focused and really be mentally triggered for those seven matches. It takes a lot out of you physically and mentally and it's not easy to do," she admitted.

"It's not easy to do that. I think I would have won a lot of Grand Slams if it was only five matches. But seven? Two weeks sometimes are very difficult to stay there physically and mentally and win seven matches against great players."

Anything is possible

However, the Serb — at 26 considered one of the veterans on the WTA — hopes she can use her experience to benefit her cause.

"I think there's kind of been a change in generation. Some of the girls I played in the past that I used to compete with week in, week out, they retired or they're not playing or they're getting older. There have been a lot of young girls coming up on the tour. But I am one of the veterans now," she said.

"Anything is possible. Nowadays there is really not a dominant player that's winning everything or that is always a favourite to win. So anything can happen. With strong belief, with hard work, I think I can achieve a lot of good things."

Meanwhile, it's not Mothering Sunday in the UK until March 13, and Mothers Day in the US is two months later, but Jankovic paid the perfect compliment to her mum this week. "My mom is always supporting and my mom is always the one who knows me the best. No coach will ever know me as good as my mom. That's the truth and the reality," Jankovic said after her quarter-final win against Samantha Stosur on Thursday.

Jankovic's mother Snezana is considered a model parent on the WTA for the role she has played in modeling her daughter's career. She normally travels with her daughter to tournaments and has, in the past, referred to Jelena as a "spoilt child".

But that is the bond the two share. "She knows just by looking at my face or body language how I feel and what I'm going through at the moment, whereas a coach that comes on board cannot know that, especially a new one, without spending a lot of the time with you and really knowing you as a person and then as a player," Jelena said.