Ana Ivanovic retires proving that champions can be made of grace and charm and not just ruthlessness
The Serb never missed a Grand Slam event since her debut in 2005
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Your support makes all the difference.After her French Open triumph in 2008, the world appeared to be at Ana Ivanovic’s feet. The 20-year-old Serb and new world No 1 had played in three of the previous five Grand Slam finals and was being talked about as the next great superstar of women’s tennis.
Larry Scott, the then chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association, pointedly referred to Ivanovic as a “very glamorous, stylish and personable figure”. There was speculation that she might even supplant Maria Sharapova as the most marketable player on the women’s tour.
It was not to be. Although Ivanovic has remained one of the WTA’s greatest attractions, her popular appeal has not been reflected in her results. Following that French Open victory in 2008, Ivanovic played in the next 34 Grand Slam tournaments in succession but never reached another final.
Indeed, between the Wimbledons of 2008 and 2012 Ivanovic never even reached another Grand Slam quarter-final. There was to be only one more Grand Slam semi-final appearance in her career, at Roland Garros last year, when a glorious opportunity passed her by when she was beaten by Lucie Safarova.
In the circumstances, 29-year-old Ivanovic’s decision to quit is no great surprise. In her retirement statement she said she had been “hampered by injury” and felt she could no longer “perform up to my own high standards”.
A recurring wrist problem had already forced her to cut her 2016 season short, but even before the run of five successive defeats at the end of her year there were signs that Ivanovic was a fading force. Ranked No 16 in the world at the end of 2015, she had dropped to No 63 in this year’s end-of-season charts.
In some respects Ivanovic was not cut out for international fame. Naturally shy, she never appeared entirely comfortable on centre stage.
She was always delightful company away from the court when the cameras and microphones were turned off, but you sometimes wondered whether the perennial problems she suffered with her ball toss were evidence of some inner turmoil whenever she was under the spotlight. Her magnificent forehand could be a formidable weapon in the middle of a tense rally, but when she had time to think about her ball toss as she prepared to serve, there was no knowing what might be going through her mind.
Even Ivanovic’s modest fist pumps in celebration of winning shots did not appear to be entirely in keeping with her gentle character. You never sensed the steeliness of a Sharapova or a Serena Williams in those softly clenched fists, though that should not be taken as any indication of a lack of commitment or resolve.
Through the ups and downs of her 13-year professional career Ivanovic always gave her best. One of her greatest achievements was the way she fought back to win back her place in the world’s top 10 in 2014 after several years of struggle. She won four titles that year and beat Williams in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Ivanovic had her fair share of injuries over the years - her forehand was never quite the same after a thumb injury forced a change in her technique - but she did not miss a Grand Slam event between her debut in 2005 and what proved to be her swansong at the 2016 US Open. In five successive Grand Slam tournaments when at her peak in 2007 and 2008 she was runner-up at the French Open, semi-finalist at Wimbledon, reached the fourth round of the US Open and was runner-up at the Australian Open before she completed her only Grand Slam triumph at Roland Garros.
Ivanovic, who married the Manchester United footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger earlier this year, won 15 titles in total, which, as she put it, was “not bad for a tiny slip of a girl from Serbia”. She was part of a remarkable era for Serbian tennis alongside Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic and Janko Tipsarevic.
Growing up in Belgrade, Ivanovic remembers having to schedule her training routine around Nato bombing raids on the city. In the winter she practised on an improvised court inside an emptied swimming pool, where players were forbidden to hit the ball cross-court because the lines were so near the walls.
Fortunately for Ivanovic, her talent was recognised by a Swiss businessman, Dan Holzmann, who sponsored her and gave her the opportunity to train away from her home country. It proved to be a major turning point in her life as she quickly started to realise her potential. She won her first senior title at the age of just 16.
Ivanovic, who is the only Serbian woman to have won a Grand Slam singles title, retired with 15 tournament victories to her name and $15.51m (about £12.3m) in prize money, but she will be remembered for more than just her on-court achievements. She proved that champions can be made of grace and charm as well as ruthlessness.
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