Ana Ivanovic had her best season since 2008. The Serbian Beauty finished the 2014 as the deserving world no.5 after winning 4 tournaments (Auckland, Monterrey, Birmingham and Tokyo) and reaching 2 finals (Stuttgart and Cincinnati)
Ivanovic: Tokyo was the best experience of the year…
Ana said that winning Tokyo was special because “I had a really tough draw, playing only top 15-ranked players from round one onwards. To win the tournament without dropping a set, especially as I had never had great results at that venue in Tokyo, was very special.”
…changing coaching was a winning move…
Then Ivanovic talked about changing coach (Nemanja Kontic ) in July after she had a great start of the season “It wasn’t an easy decision to make because I had some good success in the first half of the year. But things weren’t ideal with my old coach and I feel that I needed someone to take me to another level. I felt that we were approaching a plateau,”
“What was missing in the first half of the year was victories over the top players, with the exception of beating Serena in Melbourne, of course. I felt that Dejan’s composure [the new coach] would be very helpful in preparing me for matches against the top players, and in the first couple of months I beat Sharapova and had one of my best ever tournaments, in Tokyo, beating four high-ranked players in a row. The end of season I had, and finishing fifth, was vindication for that tough decision.”
… now I am a better player
Then she concluded “I definitely feel like I’m a better player since 2008, but so are all the other girls. The game moves on quickly. My game is a lot more mature. I’m more astute tactically and I have more variety.
My backhand has definitely improved and I can judge when to come to the net much better than I used to.”
Ana will kick start the new season playing in Brisbane instead of competing in the Hopman Cup. She is hungry for more.
| ANA TWEETS AFTER WINNING TOKYO |
|
