Tennis Wonder

Ana named tennis player of the year

Ana has been named Women's Tennis Player of the Year 2008 by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), the organisation that is made up of the world's leading sports writers.

“I feel very honoured to receive this award and the recognition by the International Sports Press Association," said Ana.

New Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal was named Men's Player of the Year, whle Boris Becker won the Men’s Contribution to the Game of Tennis award.

AIPS consists of 9,100 journalists who report on sport all year round, from over 150 countries across the world.

The award is the latest in a long line of accolades for the world No.1: only four months ago at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour awards she won the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship award, and at the same time she was named Most Improved Player 2007.

About Ana Ivanovic

ResidenceBasel, Switzerland

Date of BirthNovember 6, 1987

BirthplaceBelgrade, Serbia

Height6'1 (1.86 m)

Weight152 lbs. (69 kg)

PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)

StatusPro (August 2003)

Career Highlights

SINGLES

Winner (7): 2008 - Indian Wells, Roland Garros; 2007 - Berlin, Los Angeles, Luxembourg; 2006 - Montreal; 2005 - Canberra; 2004 - ITF/Mallorca 2-ESP, ITF/Gifu-JPN, ITF/***uoka-JPN, ITF/Fano-ITA, ITF/Batumi-GEO.

Finalist (3): 2008 - Australian Open; 2007 - Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Roland Garros 2007

Semifinalist: (8): 2008 - Sydney, Berlin; 2007 - Amelia Island, Wimbledon, Year-End Championships; 2005 - Warsaw, Zurich, Linz.

Quarterfinalist (15): 2008 - Dubai; 2007 - Gold Coast, Sydney, Antwerp, s‘Hertogenbosch

2006 - Sydney, Indian Wells, Warsaw, s'Hertogenbosch; Los Angeles; Linz, Hasselt

2005 - Miami, Roland Garros; 2004 - Luxembourg.

DOUBLES

Finalist (1): 2006 - 's-Hertogenbosch (w/Kirilenko).

Semifinalist (2): 2006 - Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Warsaw (both w/Kirilenko).

Personal Information

Began working with Scott Byrnes (strength and conditioning coach) in July 2006 ... Started playing tennis at age 5 after watching it on TV (in particular Monica Seles), remembering the phone number to a local tennis school and begging her parents to take her; was given a racquet for her fifth birthday and immediately fell in love with the game ... Mother, Dragana, is a lawyer; father, Miroslav, is a businessman; brother, Milos, is four years Ana's junior, and likes playing basketball; all the family likes sports, but none played tennis before Ana ... Trained in a disused swimming pool at the Jedanaesti April 11 sports center in Belgrade ... Best shot is forehand; likes all surfaces ... Likes watching movies (especially thrillers) either at the cinema or on DVD at home; also likes to read (especially about history) and to listen to music (pop and R&B) ... Loves the TV shows 24, Lost and Prison Break ... Enjoys shopping, fashion ... Favorite food is sushi ... Favorite drink is water, fresh orange juice ... In September 2007 began studying finance at a private university that allows her to take exams online ... Admires Federer for his professionalism on and off the court ... Superstitions are to not walk on lines of the court, and at some tournaments to eat at the same restaurant each night ... Sometimes prepares for matches by playing Sudoku or backgammon in locker room ... Favorite places to visit are Melbourne, where she has some family, London and Paris ... Self-described as strong-willed, sensitive, determined and extremely competitive ... Most admires her family for all the support they give her ... Speaks fluent English, Serbian and some Spanish ... One of her off-court goals is to learn how to surf ... Most memorable experiences to date are reaching 2007 Roland Garros final and playing a charity match against Agassi.

Awards, etc

Junior Wimbledon runner-up 2004

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2005

US Open Series champion 2006

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2007

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportmanship Award 2007

UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia

Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award

Trivia

Most embarrassing moment in tennis is when she took another player's racket bag onto court after mistaking it for her own

The President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, attended her 20th birthday party

Was featured on a Serbian postage stamp during the run-up to the 2008 Olympics

One of her proudest achievements is winning 16 matches in 15 days as she captured back-to-back titles on the ITF Women's Cicuit when she was 16

Has won the tennisreporters.net Sexiest Female Player award for the last three years

Finished 23rd on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2008 list

Named the best-looking tennis player of all-time by The Age newspaper

Has the most-visited website of any sportswoman

Some Q and A

These are real Q and A, Answered by Ana her self (just to let u know)

Ana what do you think it takes to become a top professional player?

A lot of hard work, believing in yourself, the support of your family, and most importantly a love for tennis!

Just wondering if you have any plans to celebrate your 21st birthday. If so, would you have a big party and what would your ideal birthday present be?

I haven't really thought about it. Last year we had a big party in Belgrade, but I'm not sure about this year. Hopefully for my birthday itself I will be playing the Championships in Doha.

I just want to ask... when you have a match, how do you define your strategy? Did you plan the moves before the match? Or did you decide your moves during the match?

Good preparation is important, and I always think about how my opponent will play, and talk to my coaches about how I should approach it. But it's more important to play your own game and only worry about your side of the court. And it's also very important to be completely focussed, so you can think about your tactics during the match.

What do you think is your greatest quality?

I'm a very loyal person.

Are you good chess player? Do you like table games?

I barely know the rules for chess. But I am pretty good at backgammon. I enjoy some card games too.

How do you keep up your mental focus throughout all the tournaments? I guess it's very hard, but are there any procedures that make it easier to keep up a good focus?

It's not easy to keep focus throughout a tournament but routine plays an important part. It's all about finding the right balance of practice, rest time and recovery. Tennis can be very tiring mentally, so it's important to be able to relax as much as you can during a tournament, so you can really use your mental energy on the court.

Will you be doing another karaoke performance at the French Open?

We’ll see! I enjoyed doing it last year. But I’m not even sure if they’re doing them this year…

What's the hardest part of being a tennis player?

For me, I find it difficult to be away from my family for so much. It’s great when they can come to visit me at tournaments (they are all here in Miami), but I do miss the normal family life, and having a proper base.