Ana Ivanovic: News Archive

Safina was also forced to dig deep, rallying from 3-5 down in the opening set before closing out her fifth win against the Italian from five matches.

The 24-year-old, now ranked 35 and yet to make a semi-final this season after returning from a back injury that sidelined her for three months, will next face Belgian Kim Clijsters.

Israeli Shahar Peer advanced after Olga Govortsova of Belarus retired when trailing 6-3 4-1, while France’s Marion Bartoli thrashed Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-4 6-0.

Bartoli’s compatriot Aravane Rezai was not so fortunate, however, being dumped out by Serb qualifier Bojana Jovanovski 4-6 6-3 6-4.

FHM Magazine: 100 Sexiest Women for 2010

The former No. 1 player, currently ranked No. 63, her lowest in five years, was awarded a wildcard into the event. She took advantage of it.

Third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska needed three sets to beat South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers, 7-4, 4-6, 6-3 in her first-round match.

The 11th-ranked Polish star recorded both of her aces in the third set and won both of her break points. Radwanska, who reached the semifinals at Dubai and Indian Wells, and the fourth round at Wimbledon, has won four of her last five matches after winning four of her previous 10.

Scheepers, ranked 91st, had a nice run at the French Open earlier this year, reaching the fourth round as a qualifier and making her debut in the top 100 on June 7.

FHM Magazine: 100 Sexiest Women for 2010

Former champion Ivanovic loses at French Open

Ivanovic taking baby steps back to game's pinnacle

The Serb’s fall from the top has been alarming.

She lifted her only slam here in 2008 and soon after grabbed the number one ranking before a collapse in form, confidence and a series of niggling injuries saw her slump to 58th in the WTA standings earlier this year before recovering to her current 42nd.

She reached the semi-finals in Rome this month and made a fine start to her Roland Garros campaign by defeating Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen 6-3 6-3 on Monday.

“I love playing on clay. I grew up on this surface. It’s always fun coming back here, and then the crowd, it’s amazing. They always give me so much support,” she told reporters.

“It’s a lot of fun and a lot of emotions playing here, so I just try to actually take it one step at a time. But I do have high expectations for myself.”

The 22-year-old has been training with Heinz Gunthardt, Steffi Graf’s former coach, since March and Ivanovic believes the arrangement is paying off.

“I think I’m a completely different player than I was a couple of years ago,” she said.

“And also, there are more aspects in my game that I actually added. Some days it’s a little bit harder for it to fall all together into place.

“And other days it’s much, much easier. The improvements are immense.”

Ivanovic explained that she is now more consistent on the court, having rubbed out a few imperfections.

“Since I started working with Heinz, every day I could see improvement,” she said. “We worked a lot on my serve and just also on my groundstrokes to be more free and actually swing through the ball better.

“It’s just making me feel more comfortable in the court, and I do. I feel also I’m becoming more and more consistent, which was the thing that I always tried to do.”

Next in line for the resurgent Ivanovic is Russian Alisa Kleybanova, the 28th seed.

Tough run has left Ivanovic fearless of defeat

The 22-year-old Ivanovic has won just one Tier II tournament since her breakthrough grand slam victory at the French Open in 2008, falling to number 58 in the world, but she showed promising signs by reaching the last four at the Italian Open this week.

“From all the experiences I’ve had, losing doesn’t seem so scary any more because I’m really having fun on the court again,” Ivanovic told Reuters.

“It (the refusal to quit) is very much a testament to my character. There were times when it was really tough and I was wondering ‘what am I doing?’ as I’d been putting in all this hard work but there were no results.

“I was doubting myself. There was lots of doubt and lots of fear. But just trying to be persistent and trying to work hard eventually gives results.”

Ivanovic said she is confident she is now “back on track” after beating Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva in Rome for her first wins over top 10 opponents in 18 months.

The Serb, who has been working with Steffi Graf’s former coach Heinz Guenthardt since February, credited her wins to the improvements she has made in her previously malfunctioning serve.

“I think serve is a big part of it,” said Ivanovic, who lost in the semi-finals on Friday in straight sets to Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. “Just swinging freely and getting more confidence (is important) because what I think happened is that once my serve was gone I felt so much pressure on other parts of my game because I felt I had to do more with them.

“Then obviously you make some mistakes and your confidence goes, and I lost confidence in all of my shots. That has kind of come back.”

And most importantly for Ivanovic is having fun on court, which she said has helped her regain her love of the game.

“When I started with Heinz, the first thing he got me to do was swing freely because I’d been kind of pushing the ball and you cannot really play that way,” she said.

“The most important thing for me now is just to enjoy myself. I’d been really putting so much pressure on myself and being so stressed about whether I was going to win or lose.

“Now it’s just going out there and competing again and it’s just fun to do that.”

Ivanovic targets return to top 10

The 22-year-old Serb briefly held the No. 1 spot in 2008 after winning the French Open, her one and only grand slam title, but is currently ranked 58th after a slump in form.

She says her goal is “to get back into the top 10 this year and I hope to reach No. 1 again.”

Ivanovic was speaking at the official presentation of this year’s Madrid Open, which will be held May 7-16 and offers 7.2 million euros ($9.8 million) in prize money. Ivanovic will be a wild card at the clay court event.

New social media site for women's tennis

The WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson announced the launch Wednesday of WTASuperFans.com, a social media site that provides an Internet hub for tour players. The site gathers content generated by players on Twitter and Facebook, including videos and photos.

The tour says Sharapova and the Williams sisters have nearly 5 million combined followers on the Internet, with Sharapova the most-followed female athlete in the world.

Ivanovic pulls out of Serbia's Fed Cup tie with Slovakia

Ivanovic, who won the French Open in 2008 to reach the top spot, has plummeted to 58th in the rankings after suffering a series of morale-crushing defeats.

“I spoke with captain Dejan Vranjes and the president of the (Serbian tennis) federation Slobodan Zivojinovic and together we decided that under these circumstances it’s not the right time for me to be part of the team,” Ivanovic said on her official website (www.anaivanovic.com) on Monday.

“Despite my non-presence I believe we have a good team led by Jelena (Jankovic) and this is a great opportunity for one of the young, upcoming players to play on the biggest stage.

“I know that Serbia will put up a performance of great commitment and passion as always while I will continue to make all the necessary steps to find my form.”

Although she lost both her singles in a 3-2 first round defeat to Russia in Belgrade, Ivanovic’s absence will seriously dent Serbia’s hopes of staying in the World Group.

With only a handful of young prospects in support, world number eight Jankovic faces a mammoth task of winning both her singles and the doubles in the home tie.

Since her 2008 French Open success, Ivanovic has made a string of early exits, including at the last two grand slam events, and has not won a tournament for 16 months.

Ivanovic wins 1st-round match in Key Biscayne

The Serbian’s win over the 106th-ranked Parmentier ended her four-match losing streak, the longest stretch of matches she’s lost since turning professional in 2003.

The 58th-ranked Ivanovic dropped out of the top 50 this week. The former No. 1 has struggled with injuries since winning the 2008 French Open.

She had 15 winners, 31 unforced errors and seven double-faults. Parmentier had six winners and 23 unforced errors.

Ivanovic will play sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the third round. Radwanska defeated Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 7-5, 6-0 in a second-round match.

Sightings

Ana Ivanovic to play in Billie Jean King Cup

Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, also played in the one-night exhibition event last year at Madison Square Garden.

“I feel honored to have the opportunity to come back to New York,” Ivanovic said on a conference call from San Diego where she is preparing for next month’s Indian Wells tournament in California.

“It’s definitely an exciting city to play in,” she said. “The crowd is amazing. I remember it last year, it was exciting.”

Ivanovic was announced as a replacement last week for Serena Williams. The 12-time Grand Slam singles champion had to pull out of the event because of a left leg injury. The leg injury has also forced Williams to miss tournaments in Paris and Dubai.

Ivanovic will face Kim Clijsters in the four-player field and Svetlana Kuznetsova will play Venus Williams in the other match.

“It’s going to be a great match,” Ivanovic said of facing Clijsters, who won the U.S. Open last year after a brief retirement. “Seeing her come back to win a Grand Slam was a great achievement.”

Ivanovic recently hired Steffi Graf’s former coach, Heinz Gunthardt, to help end a slump. She said the Billie Jean King Cup is a chance to work with Gunthardt.

“It’s a great opportunity.” she said.

Ivanovic is ranked No. 26 and was knocked out in the second round of the Australian Open last month.

Ivanovic hopes new coach can end slump

Ivanovic said on her website Monday that Gunthardt, who helped Graf win 12 Grand Slam singles titles, will accompany her to the BNP Paribas Showdown in New York next week. Ivanovic has replaced the injured American Serena Williams in the exhibition event.

Ivanovic has fallen from No. 1 in the rankings in 2008, when she won the French Open, to No. 23 and was knocked out in the second round of the Australian Open last month.

Injured Serena Williams out of MSG exhibition

Williams announced her withdrawal from the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup on Thursday. She’ll be replaced in the four-player field by former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.

The 12-time Grand Slam singles champion was to face Kim Clijsters on March 1 in what would have been their first meeting since Williams’ infamous tirade during the semifinals at the 2009 U.S. Open that drew a record $82,500 fine.

The leg injury has forced Williams to miss tournaments in Paris and Dubai.

Williams’ sister, Venus, will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in the other semifinal at the one-night event in New York.

Ivanovic vs. Kuznetsova in opening Fed Cup match

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova beat Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4.

The Russians trailed 2-4 in the second set, but both Ivanovic and Jankovic dropped their serves and Kuznetsova sealed the victory with a volley.

“We are really happy after this hard-fought victory,” Kuznetsova said. “We played the crucial doubles like real partners. Alisa was really good although she’s a singles player.”

Russia, which has won four of the last six Fed Cup titles, will meet the US in April for a place in the final after the American team trounced France 4-1.

Serbia, playing for the first time in the World Group, will now have to win a playoff to remain in the elite team competition.

Earlier Sunday, Jankovic gave Serbia a 2-1 lead with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Kuznetsova, but Kleybanova leveled the tie going into the crucial doubles match by beating Ivanovic 6-2, 6-3.

“We should have ended the series before the doubles,” Jankovic said. “Both Ana and myself are primarily singles players who rarely play the doubles.”

Ivanovic, the former No. 1 who has dropped to 23rd in the WTA rankings after a string of poor results since winning the French Open in 2008, again struggled on her serve against the 31st-ranked Kleybanova and committed 51 unforced errors.

“I tried to play more aggressively, but I’m struggling psychologically,” a teary-eyed Ivanovic said.

Jankovic secured the decisive break against Kuznetsova in the seventh game of the third set, but then failed to convert four match points before Kuznetsova sent a forehand wide. Kuznetsova, ranked 4th, struggled on her serve, and had nine double faults.

“I was very nervous going into the match, but managed to concentrate and give my best for the victory,” the 8th-ranked Jankovic said.

Kuznetsova said her poor return on Jankovic’s serve was crucial.

“Two or three points decided the match,” Kuznetsova said. “Jankovic was more stable in the decisive moments in the third set.”

Ivanovic vs. Kuznetsova in opening Fed Cup match

The draw Friday also pitted Serbia’s eighth-ranked Jelena Jankovic against No. 31 Alisa Kleybanova of Russia in the second match on the indoor hard court at Belgrade Arena.

The reverse singles will be held Sunday before the final doubles match featuring Ivanovic and Jankovic against Vera Dushevina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The Russians have won four of the last six Fed Cup titles, but are without many of their top players. Second-ranked Dinara Safina, former No. 1 Maria Sharapova and No. 7 Elena Dementieva are out with injuries or other problems.

“I feel great and can’t wait for the match to start,” Kuznetsova said.

Kuznetsova said that despite the Serbs’ recent slump in the WTA rankings because of a string of poor results, Ivanovic and Jankovic will be tough to beat.

“They play in different styles, but both are great opponents,” Kuznetsova said.

Serbia is playing in the Fed Cup World Group for the first time.

“I’m happy that I’m opening the series,” said Ivanovic, the former No. 1 and the French Open Champion in 2008. “My form is on the rise and a victory would boost my self-confidence that has deserted me recently.”

Ivanovic dropped to No. 23 in the WTA rankings.

Jankovic, who in 2008 was also No. 1, joined the Serbia team at the last moment, after contemplating whether to play with a back injury she suffered during the Australian Open.

“I’m feeling better, but I hope my back will hold,” Jankovic said.

The winner of the best of five series will play either the United States or France in the semifinals.

Ivanovic working on improving mental game

That’s a strange statement from the woman who has slumped from No. 1 in the world in 2008 to No. 21 and who fell out in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The 22-year-old Ivanovic, who made the final here two years ago, said one of her problems is wasting mental energy on court rather than playing by instinct.

“I think I’m striking the ball better now than I did in 2008 or any previous years,” she said after her 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 loss to Argentina’s Gisela Dulko.

“Also, you know, my movement is getting there. It’s just that expectation that sometimes I put on myself, and it’s very overwhelming. I use so much energy,” she said. “And then when it counts the most, I’m behind. So I just have to find that balance.”

The Serbian was a rising star in 2007, runner-up at the French Open and a semifinalist at Wimbledon.

After losing the 2008 Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova, she made her Grand Slam breakthrough by winning the French Open, confirming her talent and enhancing glamorous image.

Ivanovic hasn’t made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam since, and and did not win a tournament at all in 2009.

She went out in the third round of last year’s Australian Open, then later succumbed to her first-ever first-round loss at a major at the U.S. Open. She finished outside the top 20 after struggling late in the season with injuries.

“I had heaps of little injuries that constantly kept showing up, so I really couldn’t work consistently on anything,” Ivanovic said, ruling a line under the 2009 season. “It was always a few days on court and then off the court.”

Ivanovic wants to return to the top 10, and knows the loss to Dulko is a setback.

“It hurts, I must say, but it’s a process,” she said. “I just have to be patient. It will take some time. I do feel better on the court. I feel like my old self. There are still some areas that are not there for me to rely on.”

Dulko twice served for the match in the third set but Ivanovic rallied, breaking her twice to get back on serve at 5-4 down, needing to hold to stay in the match.

She couldn’t. Two double-faults in the last game didn’t help Ivanovic’s cause, and Dulko finally converted on her sixth match point.

Ivanovic said she needs to keep her focus when she’s playing well.

“I start well and I play good. I just go out there to enjoy,” she said. “Then I think I can play like this all the time. Then I get tense and I start making mistakes because I want to play like that.”

Ivanovic didn’t seem too upset by the loss, insisting she is improving her game even as she has become aware of the importance of relaxing off the court.

Between seasons, Ivanovic spent time in Australia with golfer Adam Scott, who has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world but had a rough season in ’09 before winning the Australian Open in December, ending a title drought.

Ivanovic was only half joking ahead of the tennis version of the Australian Open when she said she wanted to replicate that feat.

Before coming to Australia, she’d taken weeks off to spend time with family and friends in Belgrade, and investigate hobbies.

“I still have to find things that’s going to make me relax. I really like reading and watching movies but sometimes I spend too much time in the room; that’s not good either,” she laughed. “Just find something, go for a walk, just to keep your mind off of tennis, surround yourself with positive people.”

Ivanovic out of Australian Open

Former No. 1-ranked Ivanovic, seeded 20th this year at Melbourne Park after a mediocre 2009, lost the 2008 Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova.

Dulko twice served for the match in the third set but was broken, and Ivanovic was broken on her serve at 4-5 while serving to stay in the match. Dulko won on her sixth match point.

Ivanovic takes small step on long trek back to top

Her 6-2 6-3 victory over American Shenay Perry came as no real surprise but there was no mistaking the sense of relief as she eased into the second round at Melbourne Park.

“It was very good, I was pleased with the way I played,” she said.

“The conditions were very tough. It was very cold and windy and a lot different than Brisbane or what I been used to.

“But I just tried to work my way through, just taking time, try to stay composed. I thought I played well and served good.”

At her most recent grand slam appearance, last year’s U.S. Open, Ivanovic was bundled out in the first round. It was her worst performance at any of the majors and epitomised her freefall down the world rankings.

She had climbed to the very top in 2008 when she made the final of the Australian Open then won the French, but her game quickly started spiraling downward.

Since her breakthrough victory at Paris, Ivanovic has won just one tournament, a Tier II event at Linz in 2008, and failed to make it past the fourth round at any of the grand slams.

However, she has started 2010 with renewed hope, enlisting the help of coach Darren Cahill, who guided Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt, and making the semi-finals at the Brisbane International.

There were some familiar problems in her match against Perry and she struggled to hold serve in the swirling conditions but the 20th seed kept her cool to complete a confidence-boosting win.

“I’m very happy to have victory, because she had lot of matches already. She’s a dangerous opponent,” added Ivanovic.

“She likes to come in and serve and volley and doesn’t give you much rhythm or time.”

Australia Open women's draw

2010 Australian Open women's seeds

Henin through to Brisbane final

The former world number one needed just 66 minutes to defeat Ivanovic in a surprisingly one-sided match on the Pat Rafter centre court.

Playing her fourth match in five days after 20 months away from the game, a ruthless Henin showed no signs of weariness in an ominous sign of her intentions for this month’s Australian Open.

The 27-year-old will face either U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters or Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in Saturday’s final.

Ivanovic into Brisbane semifinals

The 2008 French Open champion, playing her first tournament since September, led by a set and 4-0 before her serve misfired and her unforced errors mounted.

Pavlyuchenkova, an 18-year-old Russian who is ranked No. 40, won six of the next seven games but was broken while serving for the set, a double-fault forcing the tiebreaker.

She raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker and had set point at 6-5, but committed errors on the next three points to surrender the match.

Third-seeded Ivanovic, who had work through tough three-set matches in the earlier rounds, was relieved to get through in straight sets.

“Yeah, I like to do that to myself!” Ivanovic joked about her lapses in the second set. “I played really well from the first game and was up a couple of breaks in the second, and I relaxed a little bit. Intensity dropped.

“She picked it up … I just had to stay tough and just stay in that second set. I’m happy to pull through that, and win in two.”

Fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia went out in straight sets, losing 6-4, 6-2 to 20-year-old German Andrea Petkovic in another quarterfinal.

The 22-year-old Ivanovic credited boyfriend Adam Scott, who has been as high as No. 3 in the world golf rankings, for helping her learn to keep calm.

“I get very emotional on court and I have highs and lows. That’s something I’ve learned from him, to be more patient and just to be more in control of what’s happening out there.

“Still, I get excited. There’s a lot of adrenalin when it’s close. And when it’s second set, tiebreaker. I just let myself go sometimes.”

Henin was to play seventh-seeded Melinda Czink on Thursday, with the winner meeting Ivanovic in the semis.

This is Henin’s first official tournament in her comeback. She retired in May 2008 when she held the No. 1 ranking, so is playing in Brisbane and Sydney on wild-card entries ahead of the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 18.

The 27-year-old Henin announced her comeback in September, soon after fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open only three tournaments into a comeback from retirement.

The Belgians could meet in the Brisbane final, with Clijsters playing a quarterfinal against Czech player Lucie Safarova on Thursday night. The winner of that will play Petkovic in the semis.

Ivanovic advances at Brisbane International

The third-seeded Ivanovic, a former top-ranked player, converted her second match point when Dokic dumped a forehand into the net.

Ivanovic, from Serbia, hadn’t played since a first-round exit at Tokyo in September, which followed a disappointing first-round loss at the U.S. Open.

Ivanovic to join Clijsters at Brisbane tournament

Ivanovic, who took top spot in the rankings after winning the 2008 French Open but has now slipped to 12th, would join U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters and Australia’s Jelena Dokic in the women’s draw at the Jan. 3-10 event, tournament director Steve Ayles said.

“I am very excited to go back to Brisbane,” Ivanovic said in a statement. “I really enjoyed playing there and I love competing in Australia.

“I have relatives in Melbourne so every year I look forward to it. It is one of my favourite parts of the year going Down Under.”

Dokic, who spent three years in the tennis wilderness battling weight problems and self confidence issues, used the Brisbane event earlier this year as preparation for the Australian Open, where she embarked on a fairytale run to the quarter-finals.

“I loved the stadium (in Brisbane) … and I played a really nice match (against Amelie Mauresmo), so I am looking forward to going back there and playing hopefully at that stadium for my first match,” Dokic said.

“I think it will be a great way to start the year.”

France’s Gael Monfils and American James Blake were also confirmed for the men’s draw, joining Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick for the tournament that is one of the traditional hardcourt warm up events for the year’s opening grand slam.

The Australian Open runs from Jan. 18-31.

Ivanovic sidelined for Beijing

Ivanovic said in a statement Saturday that it has been a very disappointing season.

The 21-year-old Serbian said her body was “quite fragile” following a combination of too much training and not enough recuperation.

Ivanovic, who won the French Open in 2008 and has reached two other Grand Slam finals, said she had to rework her serve after Wimbledon to accommodate a sore shoulder.

She was 24-13 in 2009, reaching only one final—losing to Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in March. She made the round of 16 at the French Open and Wimbledon, but lost in the first round at the U.S. Open.

Safarova defeats Ivanovic at Toray Pan Pacific

The 10th-seeded Ivanovic double-faulted 11 times on Sunday and connected on just 41 percent of her first serves against the unseeded Safarova.

Top-ranked Dinara Safina of Russia, the defending champion, and No. 2-seeded Venus Williams have first-round byes.

Ivanovic falls further, drops opener to Bondarenko

Last year, Ivanovic lost in the second round, the earliest a top-seeded woman has ever been eliminated at the U.S. Open.

The 2008 French Open winner came to Flushing Meadows this year slumping, seeded 11th, and wound up with an even worse result. She lost Tuesday to Bondarenko, a Ukrainian ranked 52nd in the world.

Ivanovic had a match point, but leading 6-5 in the tiebreaker, she netted an easy forehand. Bondarenko double-faulted on her first match point, but won the next two points, wrapping it up when Ivanovic hit another forehand into the net — her 50th unforced error.

U.S.Open women's singles draw

The tournament runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13.

First quarter 1-Dinara Safina (Russia) v Olivia Rogowska (Australia) Urszula Radwanska (Poland) v Kristina Barrois (Germany) Tathiana Garbin (Italy) v Mallory Cecil (U.S.) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) v 27-Alisa Kleybanova (Russia) 19-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) v Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) Sara Errani (Italy) v Arantxa Rus (Netherlands) Shuai Peng (China) v Jarmila Groth (Australia) Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) v 16-Virginie Razzano (France) 11-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) v Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) Qualifier v Monica Niculescu (Romania) Qualifier v Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Spain) Aravane Rezai (France) v 23-Sabine Lisicki (Germany) 30-Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) v Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) Gisela Dulko (Argentina) v Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) v Masa Zec Peskiric (Slovenia) Roberta Vinci (Italy) v 5-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)

Second quarter 4-Elena Dementieva (Russia) v Qualifier Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) v Melanie Oudin (U.S.) Polona Hercog (Slovenia) v Christina McHale (U.S.) Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) v 29-Maria Sharapova (Russia) 21-Zheng Jie (China) v Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) Alize Cornet (France) v Qualifier Qualifier v Julie Coin (France) Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) v 13-Nadia Petrova (Russia) 9-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) v Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) Qualifier v Severine Bremond Beltrame (France) Kristina Mladenovic (France) v Stephanie Dubois (Canada) Ayumi Morita (Japan) v 24-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 32-Agnes Szavay (Hungary) v Shahar Peer (Israel) Varvara Lepchenko (U.S.) v Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) v Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) Julia Goerges (Germany) v 6-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)

Third quarter 8-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) v Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) Qualifier v Qualifier Alberta Brianti (Italy) v Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) Qualifier v 26-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 18-Li Na (China) v Ioana Raluca Olaru (Romania) Michelle Larcher de Brito (Portugal) v Mathilde Johansson (France) Maria Kirilenko (Russia) v Qualifier Patricia Mayr (Austria) v 12-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 14-Marion Bartoli (France) v Rossana de los Rios (Paraguay) Viktoriya Kutuzova (Ukraine) v Kim Clijsters (Belgium) Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) v Jelena Dokic (Australia) Gail Brodsky (U.S.) v 20-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 25-Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) v Qualifier Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) v Qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) v Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) Vera Dushevina (Russia) v 3-Venus Williams (U.S.)

Fourth quarter 7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) v Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) Qualifier v Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) Qualifier v Jill Craybas (U.S.) Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) v 31-Elena Vesnina (Russia) 17-Amelie Mauresmo (France) v Tatjana Malek (Germany) Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) v Laura Granville (U.S.) Olga Govortsova (Belarus) v Sania Mirza (India) Edina Gallovits (Romania) v 10-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 15-Samantha Stosur (Australia) v Ai Sugiyama (Japan) Vania King (U.S.) v Anastasiya Yakimova (Belarus) Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) v Qualifier Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) v 22-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 28-Sybille Bammer (Austria) v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) Qualifier v Andrea Petkovic (Germany) Melinda Czink (Hungary) v Maria Elena Camerin (Italy) Alexa Glatch (U.S.) v 2-Serena Williams (U.S.)

Ivanovic looking for spark

Jankovic, who ended last year at the top of the rankings, struggled for the first half of this year but by winning the Cincinnati Open earlier this month the world number five feels her game is back on track.

“I’m recharged,” the 24-year-old, who overcame world number one Dinara Safina in the final to claim her second title of the year after victory in Marbella in April, told Reuters.

“I know I can play and move well and compete with the top players as good as I was, if not better. The U.S. Open is my main goal.”

Jankovic has blamed her sluggish start to the year on an off-season training programme where she put on an extra 15 pounds of muscle, which she said had slowed her down.

“Every year I was making improvement and last year finished strong and I was beating all the top players and I was starting to dominate women’s tennis,” she said.

“I could hit harder but I lost explosiveness and in tennis, that’s the most important thing.”

She consequently struggled at the grand slams, falling in the fourth round in Australia and France and being knocked out in the Wimbledon third round by qualifier Melanie Oudin.

“I was playing without enjoyment and I had no passion and if you aren’t passionate and having fun it’s not the same,” she said.

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

Fellow Serb Ivanovic has had a similarly lacklustre year but has not yet shown the same signs of recovery as Jankovic.

The 21-year-old has not won a tournament since October 2008 and she said she had not been happy with her play since she reached the final at Indian Wells in March.

Her French Open defence ended in the fourth round in May and she retired injured at the same stage at Wimbledon in June, while her U.S. Open preparations have been shaky as she suffered early exits at the Cincinnati Open and Toronto Cup.

“I maybe made a little mistake because when, all of the sudden, I wasn’t doing as well, I started looking for answers in all the wrong places,” the world number 11 told Reuters in an interview arranged by WTA Tour sponsors Sony Ericsson.

After hiring coach Craig Kardon for four months, Ivanovic parted ways with the American in June and is now working once again with Sven Groenefeld, who helped her during the 2008 season, as well as Andre Agassi’s former coach Darren Cahill.

“I want everything to be perfect, but it can’t happen,” said Ivanovic, who has never gone beyond the U.S. Open fourth round.

“When I try to go toward perfection I think I can stop myself now.”

An inconsistent serve and her inability to consistently impose herself on opponents with her big forehand have troubled Ivanovic.

Ivanovic would like to reach the second week of the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 31, but is focused on a road towards long-term success.

“I found the path that I want to take,” she said. “There are lots of new things in my game that I found work well for me, and have full confidence in this.”

Ivanovic into Rogers Cup 2nd round

Ivanovic, the 11th seed, rallied from a sluggish start to win the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 21-year-old, still seeking her first WTA Tour title of the season, overcame seven double faults in the win over Rybarikova, ranked 47th in the world.

"I felt my movement, my shots, everything was working well, but I was trying to play a little too safe, I think," said Ivanovic, who will meet Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the second round. "She's a good player, and she was playing really aggressive and dominant.

"So then I tried to change a little bit and be more ... patient, but still agressive, and hit the way I was practising. And it worked really well."

Ivanovic discovers cure for serving yips

When the Serb reached the top of the world rankings last year after winning the French Open she did so on the back of a huge forehand and one of the best serves in the women’s game.

Over the past year the 21-year-old has struggled with her serve, however, particularly with her ball-toss, and has tinkered with her action several times.

Her latest solution involves a curtailed take-back, a la Maria Sharapova.

Ivanovic hit nine double faults in her 2-6 6-1 6-1 victory over American teenager Melanie Oudin but only three of them came after the first set.

“I am just taking some pressure off (her shoulder) and the serve feels a lot better,” she said.

“Actually it’s faster than it was so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Ivanovic confessed she wished she had began making adjustments to her serve.

“I started changing it and I started making a big issue out of it,” she said. “The more I thought about it, the more pressure I put on myself trying to hit the perfect serve.

“Instead of just relaxing… it went down the pipe pretty far.”

Ivanovic joked: “I’m so confused right now it doesn’t matter. In the past two months, I changed it five or six times, trying to figure out what feels most natural.

The Serb believes she is close to fixing the problem with the shorter swing.

“Hopefully I found what is going to give me the most power and most consistency,” she said. “I just tried it in practice the other day and it felt pretty good straightaway, so hopefully it will stay that way.”

Stosur beats Ivanovic in LA

Stosur, seeded 13th, needed 62 minutes to overcome the 2007 tournament champion and No. 6 seed.

Stosur broke Ivanovic’s serve in the eighth game of the opening set and three times in the second set and controlled the match.

Ivanovic defeated Stosur 7-5, 6-2, in the round of 32 at Wimbledon. But Thursday she struggled with her ball toss on serve throughout the match and said Stosur was “putting a lot of pressure on my serve. I think that was the big difference today because once we got into rallies it was pretty close.”

Stosur, a 25-year-old Australian has won 22 titles and is No. 5 in the world in doubles. Stosur and Rennae Stubbs are the top seeds this week, but she’s still looking for her first singles championship.

She’s been a runner-up four times and last week was a semifinalist at Stanford, where she beat Serena Williams. Stosur called the match with Ivanovic “a benchmark to see how quickly you can turn things around” after the loss at Wimbledon.

“I think it’s an accumulation of all the years I’ve been training for singles,” Stosur said of her recent success. “I’m playing a lot better, and more consistently as well, and matches like today’s certainly give me a little more confidence. I came out and started pretty well and played better and better as it went on.”

The win moved Stosur into Friday’s quarterfinals against the winner of Thursday night’s match between top seed and No. 1 Dinara Safina and No. 14 Zheng Jie.

Second seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia was a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 winner over Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium and will face No. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta, who beat fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova 6-3, 6-3. Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, the No. 8 seed, ousted Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 6-3, 6-2, and was joined in the quarterfinals by younger sister Urszula Radwanska, who advanced when No. 12 seed Li Na of China withdrew due to a right ankle injury.

Maria Sharapova was taking on Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine and Sabine Lisicki of Germany was to face Sorana Cirstea of Romania in later matches.

Ivanovic castles King in LA opener, Zvonareva advances

The sixth seeded Serb was joined in the last 16 by second ranked Vera Zvonareva, who was pushed all the way in the night match before edging out China's Shuai Peng 3-6 6-3 7-6 in two hours, 19 minutes.

Seeking her first title since October 2008, Ivanovic struggled with King's relentless counterpunching in the first two sets but in the final set, last year's French Open champion was able to overpower her plucky opponent.

"I felt happy with the way I was moving and playing," said Ivanovic, on court for the first time since a thigh injury forced her to retire from a Wimbledon fourth round match against Venus Williams in late June.

"It's just the first match and I have the ability to improve. I had an opportunity a few times to put the ball away but had a little doubt in my mind as to which shot to take."

King, who grew up in nearby Long Beach, was frustrated with her inability to trust her shots in the latter stages of her tussle with the 2007 champion.

"I was nervous," King said. "It's something I've struggled with, getting a mental block because they're in the top 10, but I think I'm doing a much better job of staying mentally tough."

There were no upsets in the day's first round matches, as 12th seed Li Na of China advanced when Japan's Ayumi Morita retired while trailing 6-0 2-0 and 13th seed Samantha Stosur of Australia eased past Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-1 6-2.

Chinese 14th seed Zheng Jie defeated Olga Savchuk of the Ukraine 7-5 1-6 6-2 and 17th seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany battled past Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm 7-6 2-6 7-5.

World number one Dinara Safina will kick off her title defence against Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova in the second round on Wednesday, while three-times grand slam champion Maria Sharapova will play third seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Ivanovic asked to rest after muscle tear

The 13th-seeded Serb left the court in tears following one game in the second set after dropping the first set 6-1 to defending champion Venus Williams.

“The 21-year-old has a micro-tear in her left thigh muscle and must rest for the next one to two weeks,” a statement on her website (www.anaivanovic.com) said.

“Although highly painful, the injury is not serious and, considering that her next planned tournament is not until 3 August, it is not expected to affect her playing schedule.”

Ivanovic retirement hands Venus last-eight spot

Venus, chasing her third straight title here and sixth overall, was making a mockery of Ivanovic’s former world number one ranking by storming to the first set 6-1 when the Serb called for the trainer in the opening game of the second.

Former French Open champion Ivanovic received treatment to her hip and then held her serve to go 1-0 up in the second before tearfully informing the umpire she could not carry on. Williams will play Polish 11th seed Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the semi-finals.

Steady Ivanovic reaches 4th round at Wimbledon

Ivanovic has fallen to No. 12 after a number of mediocre result, but showed no sign of the nerves and self doubt that has crept into her game lately during a 7-5, 6-2 win over the Australian.

Instead, she pumped her fist with excitement and yelled encouragement to herself after winning big points on a sun-drenched Court 2.

“I played really well and I’m very happy that my tactics and my game plan prevailed over my emotions,” Ivanovic said.

Now she comes up against perhaps the toughest test in tennis—playing five-time champion Venus Williams on the grass at Wimbledon. Williams advanced by defeating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-4. Williams is trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf (1991-93) to win three Wimbledon titles in a row.

Ivanovic seemed quite pleased with getting the chance to stop Williams.

“She’s very dangerous opponent, but I think I have a great chance and I feel very comfortable going into that match,” Ivanovic said. “I’m very excited. Two years ago I played her in the semifinal here, so I can take a lot from that match.”

The Serb’s ranking plummeted after she took over the No. 1 spot following her title at Roland Garros last year, as she struggled to deal with her new status. The top seed at Wimbledon last year, Ivanovic lost in the third round. She looked tentative and tense during her first-round win this week over Lucie Hradecka, needing to save two match points.

“To come back and win another couple of matches and play better each match, it definitely gives me confidence,” she said.

On Saturday, she only committed nine unforced errors to go with 21 winners. Stosur saved a match point when trailing 5-2, but Ivanovic wrapped it up in the next game with a service winner.

The 18th-seeded Stosur said Ivanovic was able to punish her mistakes.

“Losing serve with two double-faults, you can’t afford to do that against many players, let alone someone of Ana’s standard,” she said. “That’s where the game slipped away from me.”

Ivanovic went so far as to say she’s playing better now than when she won the French Open.

“I think my game is probably even better than it was,” she said. “I feel also much more experienced and much more mature in some way. I went through a lot over past year, you know, being No. 1, having some disappointing losses and some tough times. I think that made me stronger.”

After reaching the summit of women’s tennis, she said, the question gnawing at her was “What next?”

“I didn’t know how to deal with it because there is no higher position than the No. 1,” she said. “So obviously it’s going to be setbacks, and you’re going to drop your ranking. Then some doubt crept in and that’s something that I didn’t really know how to deal with, so I sort of started pulling back instead of just doing the same things I’ve been doing.”

Ivanovic happy to be one of the crowd

A year after competing at Wimbledon as top seed, she is now just one of the crowd, ranked 12th in the world, but she could not be happier.

“Up until last year, my career was always going up, and my rankings were always improving. Then once I got to the top position, I had some setbacks,” said the 21-year-old after her 7-5 6-1 second-round win over Italy’s Sara Errani on Thursday.

“It was a little bit hard for me to accept it. I just thought it’s always going to be up the hill and it’s always going to be better and better. But it’s not always the case.

“You learn how to accept some losses, and it makes you stronger and makes you appreciate wins even more.”

She has had to come to terms with a lot of defeats in recent months as she has yet to win a title in 2009.

The Serb tried to revive her fortunes by hiring coach Craig Kardon, who had previously worked with Martina Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati, but terminated that partnership after just four months.

Before the start of Wimbledon, she returned to work with her sponsor’s elite coaching staff and since the set-up includes her former mentor Sven Groeneveld, she has started to enjoy her time out on court again.

“Seeing Sven, it’s really good. I think from all the coaches, he knows my game the best. We spent a couple of years working together,” said Ivanovic, who was beaten in the fourth round of the French Open last month.

“We went through a lot together, so he knows not only my game but also he can tell in my face expression how I’m feeling.

“It really feels good to have someone in the crowd that I can look to and he can just be supportive. It already means a lot to me, and it makes me calm.

“I’m very happy on the court at the moment. That’s what made the big difference because there was a time when I was not really happy being out there because I didn’t feel confident and I felt I didn’t have the tools to deal with certain things.”

Ivanovic holds on to advance at Wimbledon

Ivanovic rallied from a poor start to win 5-7, 6-2, 8-6 Tuesday. The former No. 1 from Serbia broke to lead 5-4 in the final set but failed to serve out the match on her first attempt. In her next service game, she saved two match points before holding with an ace.

She then broke at love for a 7-6 lead and sealed the win when Hradecka’s return went wide.

Wimbledon Women's singles draw

First quarter 1-Dinara Safina (Russia) v Lourdes Dominguez Lino (Spain) Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) v Rossana De Los Rios (Paraguay) Elena Baltacha (Britain) v Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine) Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) v 30-Agnes Szavay (Hungary) 17-Amelie Mauresmo (France) v Melinda Czink (Hungary) Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) v Aiko Nakamura (Japan) Vania King (U.S.) v Mariya Koryttseva (Ukraine) Nuria Llagostera Vives (Spain) v 15-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 9-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) v Kimiko Date Krumm (Japan) Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) v Maria Kirilenko (Russia) Alberta Brianti (Italy) v Tathiana Garbin (Italy) Marta Domachowska (Poland) v 20-Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain) 32-Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) v Sabine Lisicki (Germany) Patricia Mayr (Austria) v Anne Keothavong (Britain) Pauline Parmentier (France) v Akgul Amanmuradova (Uzbekistan) Akiko Morigami (Japan) v 5-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)

Second quarter 3-Venus Williams (U.S.) v Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) v Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukraine) Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Czech Republic) Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) v 25-Kaia Kanepi (Estonia) 18-Samantha Stosur (Australia) v Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) Jelena Dokic (Australia) v Tatjana Malek (Germany) Sara Errani (Italy) v Stephanie Dubois (Canada) Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) v 13-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 11-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) Alexa Glatch (U.S.) v Shuai Peng (China) Olga Govortsova (Belarus) v Tatiana Perebiynis (Ukraine) Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) v 19-Li Na (China) 29-Sybille Bammer (Austria) v Melanie Oudin (U.S.) Monica Niculescu (Romania) v Yaroslava Shvedova (Kazakhstan) Katie O’Brien (Britain) v Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) Julia Goerges (Germany) v 6-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)

Third quarter 7-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) v Georgie Stoop (Britain) Melanie South (Britain) v Mathilde Johansson (France) Jill Craybas (U.S.) v Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) Tamira Paszek (Austria) v 26-Virginie Razzano (France) 23-Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) v Francesca Schiavone (Italy) Michelle Larcher De Brito (Portugal) v Klara Zakopalova (Czech Republic) Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) v Vesna Manasieva (Russia) Chan Yung-jan (Tawain) v 12-Marion Bartoli (France) 14-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) v Julie Coin (France) Masa Zec Peskiric (Slovenia) v Urszula Radwanska (Poland) Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) v Elena Vesnina (Russia) Vera Dushevina (Russia) v 22-Alize Cornet (France) 27-Alisa Kleybanova (Russia) v Sesil Karatantcheva (Kazakhstan) Karolina Sprem (Croatia) v Regina Kulikova (Russia) Aravane Rezai (France) v Ayumi Morita (Japan) Alla Kudryavtseva (Russia) v 4-Elena Dementieva (Russia)

Fourth quarter 8-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) v Severine Bremond Beltrame (France) Nathalie Dechy (France) v Ioana Raluca Olaru (Romania) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) v Sania Mirza (India) Edina Gallovits (Romania) v 28-Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 24-Maria Sharapova (Russia) v Viktoriya Kutuzova (Ukraine) Gisela Dulko (Argentina) v Stephanie Foretz (France) Maria Elena Camerin (Italy) v Shahar Peer (Israel) Anastasiya Yakimova (Belarus) v 10-Nadia Petrova (Russia) 16-Zheng Jie (China) v Kristina Barrois (Germany) Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) v Laura Robson (Britain) Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) v Arantxa Parra Santonja (Spain) Ai Sugiyama (Japan) v 21-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 31-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) v Petra Cetkovska (Czech Republic) Roberta Vinci (Italy) v Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) v Jarmila Groth (Australia) Neuza Silva (Portugal) v 2-Serena Williams (U.S.)

List of top 16 seeds for 2009 Wimbledon championships

Men 1. Rafael Nadal, Spain 2. Roger Federer Switzerland 3. Andy Murray, Britain 4. Novak Djokovic, Serbia 5. Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina 6. Andy Roddick, U.S. 7. Fernando Verdasco, Spain 8. Gilles Simon, France 9. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France 10. Fernando Gonzalez, Chile 11. Marin Cilic, Croatia 12. Nikolay Davydenko, Russia 13. Robin Soderling, Sweden 14. Gael Monfils, France 15. Marat Safin, Russia 16. Tommy Robredo, Spain

Women 1. Dinara Safina, Russia 2. Serena Williams, U.S. 3. Venus Williams, U.S. 4. Elena Dementieva, Russia 5. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia 6. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia 7. Vera Zvonareva, Russia 8. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus 9. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark 10. Nadia Petrova, Russia 11. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland 12. Marion Bartoli, France 13. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia 14. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia 15. Flavia Pennetta, Italy 16. Zheng Jie, China

Ana Ivanovic splits with coach Craig Kardon

Ivanovic eliminated from French Open in 4th round

Ivanovic was eliminated at Roland Garros in the fourth round, losing to ninth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3.

“I started really well, and I felt really good in the beginning,” said the eighth-seeded Ivanovic, who won her only Grand Slam title at last year’s French Open. “In the fourth game, I just suddenly started feeling so dizzy, and I completely lost my balance.

“Ever since then it was really hard. I struggled with looking up. I started feeling very dizzy, and I was struggling a little bit to find my balance.”

It soon got even worse for the former No. 1-ranked player. She called for a trainer to look at her neck before the final game of the first set, but it still was unclear what the problem was. Azarenka then held in the next game to win the set, and broke Ivanovic’s serve in the first and third games of the second to take a 4-0 lead.

“It’s never easy to lose, and especially (because) I was feeling my game really well,” Ivanovic said. “So I’m very disappointed with today.”

It didn’t help Ivanovic that she came up against a player that was having a great day, making only seven unforced errors to the Serb’s 20.

“I was very consistent today and very aggressive,” said the 19-year-old Azarenka, who lost in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year. “I didn’t let her play her game, which she normally does. I was just being too aggressive.”

When she came one point away from eliminating last year’s champion—and reaching her first career major quarterfinal—Azarenka managed to stay calm.

“I was playing point-by-point,” Azarenka said. “I didn’t look at it as it was a match point. I just looked at it as it was another point that I had to win.”

Ivanovic also struggled in her opening match, being stretched to a tiebreaker by Sara Errani of Italy. But she easily moved through the next two rounds, losing only five games in those two matches.

“I wasn’t really looking for any outcome or looking too much into the tournament. I just wanted to enjoy,” Ivanovic said. “I was really proud of my efforts the first week. I was really feeling good out there.

“Even today and in the beginning I felt great. I was hitting, striking the ball, and executing really well. That’s why it’s really hard.”

It’s also hard getting old, if you believe the 21-year-old Ivanovic, who is only two years older than Azarenka.

“She’s young, so she has really good potential,” Ivanovic said of Azarenka before being reminded she isn’t exactly over the hill herself. “I feel a little bit older now. With all these young players coming up, I start to feel a little bit old.”

Impressive Ivanovic storms into last 16

The Serbian eighth seed needed just over an hour to set up a meeting with either ninth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, seeded 22nd.

“I feel physically fit and ready to handle any kind of opponent,” said Ivanovic.

Even before the start of the second week of these championships, Ivanovic was looking ahead at a possible rematch with world number one Dinara Safina.

Twelve months after beating the Russian in the final to claim her maiden grand slam title, Ivanovic could face her Russian rival in the last eight.

“Obviously these kind of matches help you for the tough matches over to the second week,” said the Serb.

“I hope I play her (Safina). I still have another match before playing against her, possibly. I think it’s going to be great match and she’s playing really well at the moment,” added Ivanovic, who looks to have recovered from a knee injury.

“I feel my game is coming back and I feel more confident and more comfortable on the court. I just feel content about my fitness level, as well. Just trying to enjoy basically and compete.”

“Competing” was a bit of a strong word as Ivanovic saw off two break points in the opening game before bulldozing through the first set in 23 minutes.

Benesova, seeded 32nd, then picked up her game but Ivanovic was simply too good, wrapping up victory on her first match point with a forehand winner.

Ivanovic advances to 3rd round at French Open

Ivanovic barely wins French opener

The eighth-seeded Serb converted only five of the 20 break points she earned against her opponent. Errani broke three times and even served for the first set at 5-4.

"I knew I had to work hard for my points today, and I'm very happy I did that," Ivanovic said. "And I kept my composure."

Ivanovic, who beat Dinara Safina in last year's final, pulled out of this month's Madrid Open with a knee injury, and her right knee was taped Sunday at Roland Garros. She finished the match with seven double-faults and six aces, while the 44th-ranked Errani did a good job of moving her around the court.

"Even though I had some time off during the Madrid tournament, I feel like it takes only few days to get back in shape," Ivanovic said. "I feel very fit."

Both Ivanovic and Errani questioned calls on the red clay, but Ivanovic was on the winning side of a crucial challenge in the tiebreaker. At 1-1 with Errani serving, the Italian hit a ball wide that Ivanovic returned. Errani then sent a winner to the other side of the court on her next shot and believed she had taken the lead, but Ivanovic called for the chair umpire, who checked the previous mark and overruled the call.

Errani stood at the net and complained, but the call stood and Ivanovic won the next two points on serve to take a 4-1 lead.

The 21-year-old Ivanovic also reached the final at Roland Garros in 2007, and last year's Australian Open final. She was the world's top-ranked player for 12 weeks in 2008 but has dropped to No. 8.

"I just have to keep my head down and work tough through the matches," Ivanovic said about her chances at this year's French Open. "There (are) no easy points."

Queen of Paris Ivanovic starts with Kings of Leon

The eighth-seeded Serb will open on Centre Court on an action-packed first day with British third seed Andy Murray, former world number one Marat Safin and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco also on the programme.

Last year, Ivanovic listened to Pink’s “Cuz I can” and she said she was tempted to do so again on Sunday.

“I thought of Pink again this year, but it will definitely be Kings of Leon,” Ivanovic told reporters on Saturday.

“I like to come to a tournament with a specific playlist that I can listen to before going on the court. I like five or 10 minutes just for myself.”

The 21-year-old, returning after a knee injury, has won only two matches on clay this season.

Errani, the world number 44, has won three encounters on the red dust although no top player is among her conquests.

Murray, who has dramatically improved on the slow surface this season, meets Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela on the Suzanne Lenglen court.

Murray reached the semi-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters last month and the quarter-finals at the Madrid Masters last week.

Serena, Ivanovic happy to hobble into Paris

World number two Williams hobbled out of her opening match in Madrid last week having failed to recover from a knee injury which played a large part in earlier, successive defeats in Marbella and Rome.

It means she hasn't won a match on clay since last year's French Open when she was knocked out in the third round by Katarina Srebotnik.

"I feel fine now. I don't have any regrets about playing in Madrid," said 27-year-old Williams who called it quits in the Spanish capital after losing the first set to Italy's Francesca Schiavone.

She had also taken the opportunity to criticise the WTA's policy on playing commitments, insisting that she would still have to go on to court even 'if I was dead'.

Williams, the winner of 10 Grand Slam titles, believes her injury problems could work in her favour in Paris.

"I don't think I am the favourite. It is what it is. Now I feel I want to make all my memories this year.

"I am more confident than I was a couple of weeks ago so that's a step in the right direction."

Williams starts her ninth French Open against the Czech Republic's Klara Zakopalova, the woman who put her out in the first round in Marbella.

Ivanovic, a popular winner in 2008 before a brief spell as the world nunber one, is looking for a repeat of the Roland Garros magic.

The Serbian, who is seeded eight this year, skipped the Madrid Open because of a knee injury but said she is back to full fitness as she looks ahead to a first round clash with Italy's Sara Errani.

"I'm fine. I had a few problems in Rome with my knee. I had some scans and saw the doctors. I feel 100 percent now. I have an osteopath with me here and we are still working on it. I feel healthy again."

Ivanovic is also aware of the potential dangers posed by the Williams sisters in what many believe will be one of the most open Roland Garros tournaments in recent years.

"If Serena is playing, I'm sure she will be at 100 percent and that she's ready to compete," she said.

"Both Williams are great champions and always perform well at the big events."

Ivanovic battling fitness to defend French Open title

The Serb pulled out of the Madrid Open earlier this month with the recurring injury, which worsened after her country’s Fed Cup win over Spain in April.

The 21-year-old from Belgrade vowed to be fit for her French defence but coach Craig Cardon was recently quoted by the tennis channel website (www.tennischannel.com) as saying her appearance there was doubtful.

“I am not sure she is even going to be able to play at the French Open because of this knee injury,” Cardon said, although he added: “I know her confidence is still pretty high and her level of play is good enough for Ana to win it again.”

Even if she plays, the world number eight will need more than confidence to retain her Roland Garros crown after plummeting down the WTA rankings from the number one spot she grabbed after taking last year’s title.

She has since won only the Linz Open last October. After another dip in form she was knocked out by unheralded Russian Alisa Kleybanova in the third round of the Australian Open.

If she does miss the French open, Ivanovic will almost certainly drop out of the top 10—a severe setback after becoming the first Serb to climb to the WTA summit.

JANKOVIC DESPAIR

Fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic, who ended 2008 as the world number one without ever winning a grand slam title, has had to battle her own problems in a disappointing season.

Her lightning reflexes, stamina and speed around the court, qualities that powered her consistent rise in 2008, disappeared after she gained weight during the Christmas break after building up extra muscle and strength.

Jankovic made a fourth-round exit from the Australian Open and her Madrid quarter-final defeat by Swiss Patty Schnyder has made her drop to fifth in the WTA rankings.

“I expected a lot more of myself in Madrid, but it’s history and I now have to raise my game for the French Open,” Jankovic was quoted as saying by Serbian media after the loss.

“I know where I have to improve and I also have to make radical changes to be number one again.”

Ivanovic out of Madrid Open with knee injury

Ivanovic upbeat despite Italian Open loss

The world number seven lost 6-1 3-6 6-4 to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Rome tournament, which is played on clay like the French Open, after being 4-0 up in the deciding set.

“I feel really good,” Ivanovic, who beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-4 in the second round on Tuesday, told reporters when asked about her claycourt form before the French Open.

“Yesterday I played an unbelievable match and that gave me a lot of confidence. My serve is getting much better. I feel power in it. It’s back,” she added.

“I just have to stick with the things I’ve been doing. I’ve been working really hard and obviously I haven’t played too many matches on clay courts. I feel confident.”

The 21-year paid also tribute to her opponent.

“After I was four love up she didn’t give me many opportunities,” she said. “I think I should have mixed my serve up a little more when I was a couple of breaks up. But she played extremely well and hardly made any errors.”

Jankovic, Ivanovic lead Serbia 2-0 over Spain

Jankovic beat Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3, 6-4, and Ivanovic rallied to beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 to leave Serbia one win away from reaching the World Group for the first time.

“I cannot tell you I played good tennis, but I did enough to win,” said Jankovic, who had a cold. “This morning when I woke up I felt, ‘Oh God, I cannot move.’ But it’s a special occasion.”

Medina Garrigues will need to beat the fourth-ranked Jankovic in reverse singles Sunday to keep Spain from dropping out of the World Group for the first time.

Ivanovic overcame an error-strewn first set to improve to 13-2 in Fed Cup singles matches. Spain is without its top player Carla Suarez Navarro.

“I had completely the wrong tactics, I was going for my shots way too early,” Ivanovic said. “It took me a little time to adjust to the tactics I needed. But I did that really well in the second set and the third set.”

Safina, Ivanovic join Jankovic on Miami scrap heap

Stosur, ranked 42nd in the world, advanced to the round of 16 with the upset, booking a date with the winner of a later match between Italy's Flavia Pennetta and France's Amelie Mauresmo.

Serbia's Ivanovic, a finalist one week ago at Indian Wells, was ousted from the nine million-dollar event by Hungary's Agnes Szavay 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

One night earlier, Serbian third seed Jelena Jankovic was eliminated by Argentina's Gisela Dulko.

Szavay, seeded 25th, will next meet 11th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who ousted Russia's Anna Chakvetadze 6-1, 6-4.

Russian seeds Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced. Dementieva, the fourth seed, defeated Spain's Carla Suarez 6-1, 6-2 while eighth seed Kuznetsova beat Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-1, 6-4.

Former world number one Andy Roddick powered into the fourth round by defeating Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.

The fifth-seeded American, who won the title here in 2004, will face either French ninth seed Gael Monfils of Russia's Marat Safin in the round of 16 after withstanding ill winds blowing throughout the match.

"The wind was gusting but it wasn't consistent, so it was tough to really commit to any shot," Roddick said. "From one end it was basically like playing downhill.

"I was trying to mix up paces a little bit… on the bigger points, that helped me out a little bit."

Later matches will feature world number two Roger Federer plus Serena and Venus Williams, the star sisters who could meet in a Miami semi-final.

Zvonareva clinches WTA title at Indian Wells

Playing more consistently in difficult gusting winds at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Zvonareva reeled off six games in a row in the second set to wrap up victory in just under two hours.

“Thanks to all of you for coming out today and staying with us in this crazy weather,” a smiling Zvonareva, 24, said in a courtside interview.

Both players, battling with service tosses, were broken twice in the opening set. The Russian saved three set points in the 12th game before holding serve and taking the tiebreak 7-5 after fifth-seeded Ivanovic netted a forehand.

Although the elegant Serb hit a rasping backhand winner down the line to break Zvonareva in the first game of the second set before holding serve to lead 2-0, her resistance quickly folded.

The Russian world number six broke Ivanovic in the fourth, sixth and eighth games to clinch her ninth WTA singles title one day after claiming the women’s doubles crown here with Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Although Zvonareva hit only five winners in the windy conditions, she limited her unforced errors to 23.

Ivanovic, who hammered Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 6-3 in last year’s final, struggled throughout the match, piling up 46 unforced errors and five double faults.

“Honestly, it was the toughest conditions I ever played in,” the Serb told reporters. “It was very, very windy and it wasn’t much about the game and a game plan today.

“It was just who can handle the conditions better and who can stay mentally tougher through it. Today she did. She played really well.

“It was very hard to control the ball,” the former world number one said. “Some points I just didn’t believe. I tried to go for some shots but it was very hard to adjust to all the wind.

“So many times I just didn’t make enough steps to move forward; then the other times I was too much forward and had to move back. It was just very hard to judge where the ball would bounce and where the ball will end up.”

Ivanovic seeks second straight Indian Wells crown

Ivanovic beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final last season, then went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.

She held the number one ranking for a total of 12 weeks in 2008, but the 21-year-old has been inconsistent since her French Open triumph with her last title coming at Linz in October.

She said the recent improvements she has seen in practice are finally starting to translate to success in matches.

"I just feel much more confident overall with my game, with my aggressive game and stepping forward, coming to the net often," said Ivanovic, who teamed up with coach Craig Kardon last month in a bid to turn things around.

"Before I had lots of chances to come in and finish points with the volley, but I wasn't committing enough. Now I feel more confident to do that.

"That's something that's been the biggest difference since the French Open."

Ivanovic admitted that she felt a letdown after the excitement of winning her first Grand Slam title.

"It took me a while to actually understand what was happening - the French Open and for the number one position to sink in and realize these kind of things," she said.

"At Wimbledon I was really emotionally flat, and it was very hard for me to bring myself to that high level like I was at the French Open."

Like Ivanovic, Zvonareva goes into the final seeking her ninth career title.

Ivanovic leads their career series 4-3, but lost their last encounter at the year-ending Tour Championships when she was slowed by illness.

Prior to that, Ivanovic had beaten the Russian three straight times.

Zvonareva, a semi-finalist at the Australian Open who claimed her eighth career title at Pattaya this year, would move from sixth to fifth in the world rankings with a victory.

She captured the doubles title here on Saturday with partner Victoria Azarenka - a day after ousting the Belarussian from the singles semi-finals.

Ivanovic moves on via walkover at Indian Wells

The fifth-seeded Serb booked her spot among the final four at the $4.5 million hardcourt event when No. 23 Sybille Bammer of Austria withdrew prior to the match with a left shoulder injury.

“I am very disappointed that I am not able to play this quarterfinal match,” Bammer said. “I normally play very well here, and it is a place I really enjoy. I felt that I was playing better and better every round and had a good feeling about today’s match. Unfortunately, my shoulder injury is making it impossible for me to play.”

While Ivanovic is the defending champion here, she has struggled since winning her first Grand Slam title at the French Open last year.

After her triumph at Roland Garros, the 21-year-old went 11-9 over the remainder of the season and endured several baffling upsets, including a loss to French qualifier Julie Coin in the second round of the U.S. Open.

Ivanovic, who held the No. 1 ranking for 12 weeks last season, will make her first semifinal appearance of 2009 against an unlikely opponent.

Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova continued her surprise run by advancing to her first WTA semifinal with a 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 victory over No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

“I’m very excited now, and more and more every day because I keep winning,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “And it’s really big achievement for me this week. I beat some really good players.”

The 17-year-old Pavlyuchenkova sent shockwaves through the draw with her second-round upset of No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and kept rolling Thursday, capturing the win in 1 hour, 35 minutes.

First prize is $700,000.

Ivanovic finding her game at Indian Wells

The fifth-seeded Serb will attempt to book her spot in the semifinals of the $4.5 million hardcourt event Thursday when she faces No. 23 Sybille Bammer of Austria.

While Ivanovic is the defending champion here, she has struggled since winning her first Grand Slam title at the French Open last year.

After her triumph at Roland Garros, the 21-year-old went 11-9 over the remainder of the season and endured several baffling upsets, including a loss to French qualifier Julie Coin in the second round of the U.S. Open.

Ivanovic, who held the No. 1 ranking for 12 weeks last season, has yet to breakthrough this year as a win Thursday would mark her first semifinal appearance of 2009.

The winner of that encounter will face either No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland or tournament surprise Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

A 17-year-old Russian, Pavlyuchenkova sent shockwaves through the draw with her second-round upset of No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and is a win away from her first WTA semifinal.

First prize is $700,000.

Safina, Ivanovic advance in Indian Wells

The Russian again struggled for top form but saw Craybas in two tight sets to advance to a quarter-final against eighth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.

Ana Ivanovic scrambled past 12th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4 4-6 6-4, while Vera Zvonareva (seeded four) and Caroline Wozniacki (nine) will meet in another quarter-final.

Craybas had upset Serbian Jelena Dokic and 16th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain on her way to the fourth round and showed plenty of spirit against Safina.

The Russian, who will replace Serena Williams at the top of the rankings if she reaches the final, let slip an early lead but broke in the 11th game and served out for the opening set.

In the second, Craybas recovered an early break to level at 4-4, but Safina broke in the next game and then held her nerve to take her place in the last eight.

Safina said she would need to play well to get the better of Azarenka, who edged Israeli Shahar Peer 7-5 6-4.

“We played three times last year and I won three times (but) she’s playing her best tennis,” the top seed said.

“I think she’s playing great. I really want to play against her, to show my best. We’ll see who’s going to end up stronger tomorrow.”

Zvonareva continued her smooth progress with a 6-4 6-4 win over China’s Li Na.

Ninth seed Wozniacki overcame Urszula Radwanska of Poland 7-5 6-3 to set up the clash with Zvonareva, who has not dropped a set during the tournament.

“There are going to be some mistakes and I’m going to make them probably over and over again,” she said.

“It’s tennis. It’s the game. But I accept this and I’m just trying to concentrate on the next point and try and take it one point at a time.”

Fifth seed Ivanovic had to battle past Pennetta and the French Open champion will now play Austrian Sybille Bammer, who crushed Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-2.

Holder Ivanovic reaches fourth round in Indian Wells

The Serbian fifth seed was not totally convincing but did enough to set up a clash with Italian 12th seed Flavia Pennetta.

With Ivanovic making too many errors early on, 31st seed Dulko broke to lead 3-2 in the opening set.

Ivanovic quickly pulled her game together, however, reeling off four straight games for the set before easing through the second to clinch victory.

Pennetta beat American qualifier Angela Haynes 4-6 6-4 6-1 while seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland and Hungary’s 22nd seed Agnes Szavay also advanced to the last 16.

Ivanovic rolls at Indian Wells

Ivanovic won, 6-4, 6-3, in 1 hour, 24 minutes in a match that oddly featured no aces.

The fifth-seeded Serb won this $4.5 million hardcourt event last season and went on to capture her first Grand Slam title later in the year at the French Open.

Ivanovic’s play since that triumph at Roland Garros - which also earned her the No. 1 ranking - has been erratic.

She went 11-9 over the remainder of the season and endured several baffling upsets, including a loss to French qualifier Julie Coin in the second round of the U.S. Open.

Ivanovic has yet to break out of her funk this season, compiling a 7-3 mark that includes a loss to Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova in the third round of the Australian Open.

Third-seeded Elena Dementieva came into the tournament playing strong tennis. However, she was shocked by Petra Cetkovska, as the qualifier from the Czech Republic downed her Russian foe, 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-1, in 2 hours, 1 minute.

Dementieva was her own worst enemy, serving 14 double-faults and losing 50 percent of her first-serve points (18-of-36). She also won only 19 of 52 points on her second serve (37 percent).

Neither player was strong on their serve as Dementieva and Cetkovska each were broken eight times.

A finalist here in 2006, Dementieva is 21-4 this season with two titles and was a runner-up in Paris.

Former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, the second seed, opens against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

First prize is $700,000.

New coach gives rejuvenated Ivanovic fresh hope

The 21-year-old Serb, armed with a new coach, has returned to Indian Wells to defend her WTA title and is confident she can reverse a recent slide down the world rankings.

“I had a great 2008 and, despite the last six months, I still rate it as the best year of my career,” world number seven Ivanovic told Reuters on Wednesday.

“I won my first grand slam and I became the number one in the world. I learned a lot about myself, even though the last six months were very frustrating and very disappointing for me.

“I learned a lot about my game and I learned it’s not all about rising.

“It’s also about learning how to fall and learning how to lose without being truly defeated and that’s something that I want to take as a positive from last year and try to build up.”

Ivanovic, who became world number one for the first time after beating compatriot Jelena Jankovic in last year’s French Open semi-finals, was confident she could recapture her best form.

“I have been working really hard ever since I recovered from injury and the results were not there. I know that good results are just around the corner for me.”

GLAMOUR FIGURES

One of the glamour figures on the women’s circuit, Ivanovic was hampered by a right thumb injury midway through last year before ending her campaign with an eighth WTA singles title at Linz in October.

Last month she linked up with American coach Craig Kardon, who worked with Martina Navratilova during her most successful period, and has already begun to reap the benefits.

“I am really enjoying working with Craig,” said Ivanovic, who hammered Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 6-3 in last year’s final at Indian Wells. “We both have the same view about my game, just being more aggressive and more consistent.

“Just having a couple of weeks with him gave me so much more confidence, being more clear about my game and also having the security. For the past six to eight months, I was deciding myself about practices, what I should do and exercises.

“Finally I have a coach I trust who can do that so I don’t have to think about it and I can really focus on my game,” added the Serb, who has been seeded fifth for her title defence at Indian Wells. “It’s been a great step forward for me.”

Ivanovic among top players on hand at Indian Wells

Ivanovic won this high-profile $4.5 million hardcourt event last season when she defeated Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.

It was the biggest win of the 21-year-old Serb's career, until she hoisted her first Grand Slam title later in the season at Roland Garros.

Ivanovic is plugged in as the No. 6 at this two-week event - which kicks off Wednesday - and has received a first-round bye as one of the top 32 seeds.

Second-ranked Russian Dinara Safina is the top seed in a competitive field that also includes No. 2 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia.

The powerful Russian contingent here also includes three seed Elena Dementieva (21-3 with two titles this season), No. 4 Vera Zvonareva and Kuznetsova.

Two notable absentees here are world No. 1 Serena Williams and her older sister Venus, currently ranked fifth.

The Americans have refused to play here since 2001, when Venus withdrew from a semifinal against her sister due to injury.

The Williams family endured racial comments and insults from other spectators at the event as a result the withdrawal, and Serena and Venus have not played here since.

The new WTA schedule lists this event as a premier tournament - mandatory for all players who qualify.

Both Serena and Venus, however, have told the WTA that they will fulfill publicity requirements for the event, thus avoiding a potential suspension.

Former No. 1 Maria Sharapova will play doubles here, marking her return to the WTA. The Russian has been out since last summer due to a right shoulder injury.

We Hear...

Ivanovic confident new coach can stop rankings slump

Since winning at Roland Garros last year and becoming world number one, the Serbian has struggled with injury and a slump in form that has seen her slip to eighth in the world after claiming just one title in Linz in October.

She has teamed up with American coach Craig Kardon, who worked with Martina Navratilova during her most successful period, as well as Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.

“We are getting to know each other but having spent a couple of practices it has been going really well,” Ivanovic told a news conference on Sunday ahead of her opening match at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

“We have a firm view of how my game should develop and which direction my game is going to go. I feel very confident it’s going to be good.

“I feel very good at the moment and I played some really good tennis in the Fed Cup last week. I’m very happy to be here and having the potential to compete again and am looking forward to tomorrow’s match.”

The 21-year-old Ivanovic faces Russian Alisa Kleybanova, who dumped her out of last month’s Australian Open in the third round.

Italy’s Sara Errani earned a second round meeting with top seed Serena Williams by beating Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan 6-4 6-4, and Austria’s Sybille Bammer set up a clash with fourth seed Elena Dementieva with a 6-1 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva.

Zheng Jie of China, seeded 13, swept aside Russian qualifier Anastasia Rodionova 6-1 6-1 while 16th seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia recovered to defeat Austrian qualifier Tamira Paszek 2-6 6-2 6-0.

Israel’s Shahar Peer, who was due to play 15th-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze but was denied an entry visa to the United Arab Emirates, has been replaced in the draw by Ayumi Morita of Japan.

The top eight seeds, which include Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic have a bye into the second round.

Ivanovic picks Kardon as new coach

Ivanovic will start working with Kardon at the Dubai Tennis Championships next week, the Serb said on her Web site. The 47-year-old Kardon was the former coach of Martina Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport, Mary Pierce and Jennifer Capriati.

Ivanovic parted ways with her former mentor Sven Groeneveld.

The 21-year-old Ivanovic won the 2008 French Open and held the No. 1 ranking for nine weeks before Serena Williams reclaimed it.

Ivanovic is No. 8 after an early exit from the Australian Open.

Jankovic, Ivanovic seek home comforts

World number three and team captain Jankovic said the World Group II tie against Japan, which is expected to attract crowds bigger than any of the top-tier matches, was an important stepping stone.

“We are a small country with a very young tennis tradition but now that we are at full strength, our objective is to reach the top level of the Fed Cup and win it,” she told a news conference on Thursday.

“I will be honoured to lead the team in our first Fed Cup match in Serbia and I am very excited about it.

“This time, we are playing for neither the lucrative prize money nor WTA points, we are going out there to perform for our country and the fans, who wake up in the middle of the night to watch us in grand slam events across the world.”

“This really means a great deal to me, I was a very young girl the last time I played here,” said 23-year old Jankovic.

World number eight Ivanovic, who has struggled on the WTA tour since winning last year’s French Open, said she might have stage fright in front of what the organisers expect to be a packed Belgrade Arena with 18,000 seats.

“It is a strange feeling because I’ve never played a competitive match in my hometown and I am a bit nervous, but I will be more relaxed once the tie is underway,” she said.

“I am overjoyed that we finally have the opportunity to play in front of our friends, families and supporters, who I expect to turn up in droves to create an electrifying atmosphere.”

“Now, I need a good night’s sleep to get the butterflies out of my stomach and when the tie is over, I will visit my grandparents as I haven’t seen them for a long time.”

Serbia has struggled in the Fed Cup with either Jankovic or Ivanovic unavailable due to injuries, fatigue or preparations for WTA tournaments.

Last year, they joined forces for the first time when Serbia advanced to World Group II from the Europe/Africa zone.

Mistakes cost Ivanovic Down Under

With 19-year-old Kleybanova constantly aggressive, the fifth-ranked Ivanovic lost her serve nine times and finished with 50 unforced errors to just 23 winners.

When it was over, Kleybanova dropped to both knees, pumped her fists and blew kisses at the crowd. Ivanovic appeared to be nearly in tears as she walked off court.

Ivanovic welcomes advice from Federer

The 21-year-old Serbian, who advanced to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, said she draws on her friend Roger Federer’s experience about dealing with pressure on and off the court.

“He always gives me … nice advice,” she said. “There is so many things I can learn from him, from his experience. He’s been … in all positions you can imagine on a court, dealing with so much pressure, being in the position of No. 1.”

The second-seeded Federer is trying to equal Pete Sampras’s record 14 Grand Slam singles titles. Ivanovic won her first major at the French Open last year, after losing the Australian Open final.

So, what was Federer’s best advice?

“He said that you just basically have to enjoy and try (not to) think too much,” Ivanovic said. Ivanovic used to stress about the time wasted in travel and traffic until Federer told her, “You can’t change that. You just have to basically accept it.”

It was advice she’d heard before, she said, “but when you hear it from someone like him, it gets stuck much more.”

Ivanovic grinds down Brianti to reach third round

Ivanovic, who also failed to dazzle in her victory over Julia Goerges on Monday, produced a similar effort on Rod Laver Arena to set up a third-round match with either Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova or France’s Stephanie Cohen-Aloro.

The 21-year-old Serb, beaten finalist at Melbourne Park last year, established an early lead and while Brianti dragged out the eighth game with eight deuces to hold serve, Ivanovic sealed the set on the next game.

Brianti was forced to take a medical time out for treatment on a back injury after Ivanovic jumped out to a 3-0 second set lead and the break had the initial impact of helping her take the next two games.

However, Ivanovic wrestled back control of the contest to complete victory in 92 minutes.

Ivanovic slips through but fails to sparkle

The 21-year-old Serb, runner-up at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, struggled with her serve, had difficulty finding her range on groundstrokes and was generally given the runaround by her 107th-ranked opponent before squeaking through in 102 minutes.

If the mark of a champion is to win when playing poorly, the former world number one could be stamping her name on the Open trophy in a little under two weeks’ time.

Goerges had been making her main draw Australian Open debut but was in no way cowed by the experience.

Moving well and hitting the ball sweetly, she had fifth seed Ivanovic on the back foot early on before allowing herself to be reeled in.

In the final analysis it was her inability to close out the big points which cost her dearly—the 20-year-old German converted just two of seven break points in the contest.

Ivanovic, who suffered a stomach illness during her warm-up tournament in Brisbane, will next meet Italy’s Alberta Brianti.

Surfer Woman

She arrived Down Under in late December, and based herself on the subtropical Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane in Queensland state. While there, she often fitted some surfing in and around her training sessions.

Now that Ivanovic, who lost last year’s Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova, is in Melbourne, the closest surf beach is about 90 minutes away.

“I would love to, maybe after the tournament,” Ivanovic said Saturday.

One thing holding her back is concern over three shark attacks on Australia’s east coast in the past 10 days.

“All these shark attacks got me a little bit scared,” she said.

Russians and Serbians chase Williams sisters

The Russian has been off the circuit since August with a shoulder injury and opted not to defend her crown because she was not fit enough to last the distance with one of the hottest fields ever assembled at Melbourne Park.

Bookmakers have installed the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, as joint favourites to win the title but the Americans are being chased by a pack of rivals brimming with all the confidence and athleticism of youth.

There are two Serbians, world number one Jelena Jankovic and last year’s runner-up Ana Ivanovic, among the top five seeds, and four Russians in the top eight.

“This year is a very unique situation,” Russian Elena Dementieva told Reuters. “You could say it’s the most open Open for a long time.”

Serena has already captured the Australian Open three times, in 2003, 2005 and 2007, and is confident that her winning sequence will continue in 2009.

She won the U.S. Open last year and showed her insatiable fighting spirit by saving a total of seven match points, in two separate matches, to reach the semi-finals of the Sydney International.

“I don’t care if I was (ranked) 1,000 in the world, I would still feel like I was the best,” Serena said.

“That’s just me trying to be positive with myself…but you have to believe you’re the best if you want to be the best.”

List of seeds for 2009 Australian Open

1. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)
2. Serena Williams (U.S.)
3. Dinara Safina (Russia)
4. Elena Dementieva (Russia)
5. Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)
6. Venus Williams (U.S.)
7. Vera Zvonareva (Russia)
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
9. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
10. Nadia Petrova (Russia)
11. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
12. Flavia Pennetta (Italy)
13. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
14. Patty Schnyder (Switzerland)
15. Alize Cornet (France)
16. Marion Bartoli (France)
17. Anna Chakvetadze (Russia)
18. Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)
19. Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia)
20. Amelie Mauresmo (France)
21. Anabel Medina Garrigues (Spain)
22. Zheng Jie (China)
23. Agnes Szavay (Hungary)
24. Sybille Bammer (Austria)
25. Kaia Kanepi (Estonia)
26. Ai Sugiyama (Japan)
27. Maria Kirilenko (Russia)
28. Francesca Schiavone (Italy)
29. Alisa Kleybanova (Russia)
30. Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada)
31. Alona Bondarenko (Ukraine)
32. Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand)

ATP and WTA to stream live tennis

The men's and women's professional tours announced the creation of TennisTV.com on Tuesday, offering streaming video from 41 events, including the Masters series and the season-ending championships but excluding the four Grand Slam tournaments.

Not everyone around the world, however, will be able to purchase a pass to the site. The WTA is excluding users in all European countries and some others, while the ATP is not offering the live service in Brazil, according to the website.

The men's and women's finals of this year's Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., will also be blacked out in the United States.

Where it is available, subscribers will be charged US$129.95 for a full-access pass to the season. A men's pass runs $84.95, and a women's pass costs $69.95. Viewers can also purchase day or tournament-specific passes for lower prices.

"This is an incredibly exciting time for the future of tennis viewing," WTA president Stacey Allaster said in a statement. "For the first time we will be able to deliver live broadcast quality matches from both tours' top-level tournaments to online audiences around the world."

Overall, the two tours plan to provide eligible fans with access to about 700 live streaming matches, interviews and matches on demand. Coverage will start with this week's Sydney International in Australia.

Last year, the WTA Tour's website broadcast a live women's match -- in select countries -- for free for the first time. The live feed of the Pacific Life Open final was not available to users in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia or any country in Europe.

Besides Europe, WTA matches on TennisTV.com will also be excluded from viewers in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia. Also, the Sydney International won't be shown in Australia.

Despite charging to watch live matches in 2009, TennisTV.com will offer highlights from both tours for free.

"Tennis fans are changing the way they view the sport and we need to ensure we change with them," ATP media CEO Steve Plasto said. "This is the place to watch live and on demand tennis online."

Ivanovic declares herself fit, ready for Australian Open

The 21-year-old Serbian, runner-up to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open 12 months ago, slumped out of last week’s Brisbane International to Amelie Mauresmo after suffering a stomach illness.

Sharapova announced on Sunday she would not be able to defend her title when the championships get begin in Melbourne next week due to her slow recovery from shoulder surgery.

World No. 5 Ivanovic, however, declared herself ready to go.

“I’m feeling well, I’ve had some time to rest over the weekend and now I’m back practicing and enjoying Melbourne,” Ivanovic said during a conference call to promote a March 2 exhibition tournament at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

“I’m happy to be back here in Melbourne and I have great memories from last year, so I’m taking my time and trying to stay healthy in order to play a good grand slam in Melbourne. I definitely feel able to play (next week). I feel healthy and optimistic that I’m the fittest I’ve ever been actually. That’s very important going into next week’s tournament.”

Ivanovic said her confidence was also high because she is returning to a venue at which she has garnered success.

“I have great memories coming back here and playing at (the) Rod Laver (Arena),” she said. “It’s a great feeling having played so well last year, but it’s obviously a new year and I try to approach it every year as a new event and tournament that I want to win rather than for something that I did last year.”

Ivanovic’s appearance in the Australian final, followed by the first Grand Slam success of her career in the French Open at Roland Garros, elevated her to the world No. 1 spot last summer, a ranking she held for 12 weeks.

She will be in New York on March 2 alongside fellow 2008 Grand Slam winners Serena Williams and Venus Williams and world No. 1 and fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic for a one-night only singles event - the “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup”.

The Serb said the Williams sisters would be among the favorites in Melbourne in the absence of Sharapova.

“They’re both very tough opponents. They are very competitive, they both hit hard and are very dangerous,” she said. “Every game you play here is tough, but against them, it’s always very different and they are definitely going to be contenders.”

Mauresmo routs Ivanovic at Brisbane

Mauresmo, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion in 2006, dropped serve only once while breaking Ivanovic five times to advance to the semifinals 6-3, 6-2.

Ivanovic, the 21-year-old Serb who spent 12 weeks at No. 1 last season while making the Australian Open final and winning the French, frequently followed stinging forehands with unforced errors.

Both had struggled into the quarter-finals, having to save match points in the second round. But while 29-year-old Mauresmo lifted her tempo, Ivanovic's game was erratic.

Mauresmo converted her first breakpoint chance in the seventh game, then held for a 5-3 lead.

She set up two set points with a lob that had Ivanovic leaping and swinging but missing, then wrapped it up when her rival put a forehand long.

She broke again and led 3-1 in the second set before Ivanovic broke back, setting up breakpoint with a rifling forehand that just caught the line.

But Mauresmo recovered to win the next four games, getting match point with another stunning lob and clinching it on her second match point when Ivanovic hit a backhand into the net.

Mauresmo skipped into the net to celebrate her sixth win in eight matches against Ivanovic.

Each had tough three-set matches in the second-round, with Ivanovic having to save two match points en route to a 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-1 over the 82nd-ranked Roberta Vinci.

Mauresmo endured a 3-hour, 14-minute marathon -- her longest match in 13 seasons on tour -- and saved three match points before winning 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (11) over fellow Frenchwoman Julie Coin.

Fifth-seeded Mauresmo, whose ranking slipped to No. 23 after a 2008 curtailed by injuries, next plays the winner of the later quarter-final between third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France and Italy's Tathiana Garbin.

Ivanovic avoids upset in Brisbane

The top-seeded Serb escaped with a 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-1 victory over Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci at the Brisbane International on Wednesday.

Ivanovic, the world No. 5, committed five double faults and faced five break points, saving four, in the opening set as Vinci claimed the early advantage.

Despite another shaky set, the 21-year-old managed to even the match before blitzing the 82nd-ranked Vinci in the third to book her spot in the quarterfinals.

Awaiting Ivanovic is fifth-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, who survived a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (13-11) marathon against compatriot Julie Coin.

The encounter took just under 3 hours, 15 minutes to complete - the longest match in Mauresmo’s career.

“I’m just glad that I won it because it would have really been the ‘missed-occasions match’ if I didn’t,” said Mauresmo, 29. “That’s the good and positive point for today. Other than that it was a lot of ups and downs and frustration.”

Italian Sara Errani also advanced to the round of eight with a 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.

Errani advanced to face Olga Govortsova of Belarus, a 6-0, 5-7, 7-5 winner against Bulgarian qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva.

First prize is $37,000.

Ivanovic off to strong start in Brisbane

The 21-year-old Serbian, who enjoyed a stretch at the top of the rankings in 2008 before ending the year fifth, was too strong for her Czech opponent and posted a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win.

“I had to fight for each point and you know that’s good, especially in the first match,” Ivanovic said. “You want to get into your rhythm and you want to stay tough for each point.

“The end of last season was a bit of a disappointment for me so I was looking forward to a good start.”

Daniela Hantuchova was one of three seeds to crash out after losing to Italy’s Sara Errani.

The fourth-seeded Slovakian started well, but then collapsed to a 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 6-0 defeat.

Eighth seed Francesca Schiavone and ninth seed Ai Sugiyama also lost, with Schiavone going down 7-5, 6-2 to Olga Govortsova from Belarus and Sugiyama falling 6-2, 6-3 to home favorite Sam Stosur.

Stosur, ranked 52nd in the world, was due to play Russian Maria Kirilenko in the opening round before the seventh seed withdrew due to illness.

The Queenslander is aiming to get back to full fitness after suffering from Lyme disease and viral meningitis in 2007 which saw her ranking slip from a career-high 27.

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo is through although she was pushed all the way by the returning Jelena Dokic.

Dokic, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2000, battled hard but the Frenchwoman prevailed 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-5).

“I’m proud, but it hurts knowing I had those chances against her,” said Dokic. “If you’d said six months ago I’d be this close, I’d have said you’re crazy. But maybe if I got blown away it wouldn’t hurt so much.”

There were also wins Monday for Tathiana Garbin and Lucie Safarova.

Ivanovic's focus on tennis, not men

Rumours of a love match between her and Fernando Verdasco started when the 24-year-old Spanish star joined Ivanovic's entourage to watch her matches and practice at the end of last season.

Both have said they're friends, but not elaborated much beyond that.

They were playing back-to-back night matches Monday at Pat Rafter Arena, with top-seeded Ivanovic beating Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2 to open her season in the first night match.

Third-seeded Verdasco, who finished last season at No. 16 in the men's rankings, beat local wild-card entry Bernard Tomic with the same scoreline in the subsequent match.

At a news conference under the arena while Verdasco was on court, Ivanovic was asked if she planned to go back and watch Verdasco's match.

"I have a couple more things I have to do. Afterwards, maybe," the Serbian star said. "But also, it's a late night so I have to do some recovery -- and tennis comes first."

Verdasco, who rallied from an early break to beat 16-year-old Tomic, left little doubt what choice he'd have made if the match schedule had been reversed.

"I was watching her match because I was on after. But if I had to play tomorrow and she was playing (after) tonight, I would be at the hotel resting," he said.

"Here we're doing our jobs. We will have time to be together after the Australian Open. For now, it's time to play tennis and to be focussed on it."

Ivanovic, who reached the Australian Open final last season and had the No. 1 ranking for part of the year after winning the French, will next play Italy's Roberta Vinci. Vinci beat Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld 0-6, 6-3, 6-1.

At the end of Monday's match, Ivanovic waved and blew kisses to the vocal, pro-Serbian crowd.

"It is always tough," she said. "I had to fight for each point. It's good, especially in a first match."

Ivanovic ended last season at No. 5 in the rankings, recovering to win a title at Linz after missing the Beijing Olympics with an injured right thumb.

"The end of last season was a little disappointing for me so I was looking forward to a good start," she said. "I put lots of hard work in off-season and it's nice to see it working on court and resulting in a victory."

France's Amelie Mauresmo, whose ranking has slipped to No. 24 from a high of No. 1 in 2006, fended off two set points in the first before beating Australia's Jelena Dokic 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5).

Mauresmo has been working with new coach Hugo Lecoq since failing to finish in the top 20 last year for the first time in a decade. She said her serve was improved but she'd had mixed success putting minor technique and tactical changes into play.

"It was a tough first match -- she was playing some good tennis and gave me a bit of trouble," Mauresmo said. "But there were good things. Physically I felt good on the court. That's a key point for me."

Dokic, who has fallen to 177th after reaching a career-high No. 4 in 2002, is making another attempted comeback to the top level and relied on a wild-card entry for Brisbane.

"It's disappointing because I had a chance ... but I'm proud," Dokic said. "I had two tight sets against a girl in the top 20. If you'd said six months ago I'd be this close, I'd have said you're crazy."

Three seeded players were knocked out of the women's draw.

Italy's Sara Errani beat fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-0; Olga Govortsova of Belarus ousted No. 8 Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-5, 6-2; and Australian Samantha Stosur beat No. 9 Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-2, 6-3.

The Brisbane International, being played for the first time, is a joint ATP-WTA event and is one of several tune-up tournaments for the Australian Open which begins Jan. 19.

WTA agrees to more byes to ease concerns over calendar

Several players were worried they were being asked to play two high-intensity events in succession, with no byes meaning there was no opportunity to rest between tournaments.

“There were several concerns expressed by our top players,” WTA chief executive Larry Scott told reporters after conducting talks with players at the end-of-season event championships in Doha. “Their concerns related to two issues, primarily. One, a concern that there wasn’t enough break between some of our big tournaments, which were back-to-back, primarily players playing in Rome right up against Madrid next year.

“Rome is a 56-draw tournament followed by Madrid which is a 64-draw tournament (beginning) on Saturday.

“Similarly in the fall, Tokyo is a 56-draw tournament followed by Beijing, which is a 64-draw tournament. Those tournaments overlapped very closely. Players were concerned it was too many matches in too few days.”

The solution was to re-introduce byes for the semi-finalists in Rome and Tokyo.

“Specifically, what we’ve agreed is that we are going to award four byes to the semi-finalists in Rome, into the Madrid tournament, and four byes to the semi-finalists from Tokyo into the Beijing tournament,” said Scott.

“Therefore, for those players that have to play the most matches in Rome and Tokyo respectively, they can start later and have one less match in a subsequent event.

“On the second issue, there was concern that players might be denied entry into some of what we call our Premier 700 tournaments.

“We’ve made some adjustments and Paris (Indoors), Charleston, Stuttgart, Stanford, and Los Angeles, we’ve removed the prohibition on players being able to get into the two tournaments of their choice. Every player will be able to play at least two of those.”

WTA Championships winner Venus Williams said the discussions were very positive.

“We all worked together this week really hard and I think everyone’s pleased,” said Williams. “I think the good part of it all is that next year if we feel that something isn’t working we’ve all learnt to come together and work together.”

Ivanovic withdraws from WTA Championships

The French Open champion had no chance of advancing to the semifinals after losing her first two matches in the group stage.

Svetlana Kuznetsova, her scheduled opponent, had also lost two matches and had no chance of advancing to the elimination rounds.

“It’s obviously very hard for me,” said Ivanovic, who turned 21 on Thursday. “Yesterday I didn’t feel good and today, even worse.”

Ivanovic picked up $100,000 despite her disappointing results. Kuznetsova won $200,000.

The tournament features eight players divided into two groups, with the top two in each group advancing to the elimination stage.

Zvonareva defeats Ivanovic at WTA Championships

The Russian won on her third match point when Ivanovic, who took a medical timeout in the first set, hit a forehand into the net.

The French Open champion had a virus, the WTA said.

The ninth-ranked Zvonareva has won two group matches while Ivanovic has lost two. They have one more round-robin match.

The top eight players are divided into two round-robin groups, with the top two in each group advancing to an elimination stage.

Later Wednesday, Venus Williams played Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams faced Dinara Safina.

Jankovic and Williams make flying starts in Doha

In the same group eighth seed Vera Zvonareva downed fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2 6-3 while American Venus Williams defeated second-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 7-5 6-3 in the Maroon Group.

“It was a pretty strong performance,” Jankovic told reporters after beating her fellow Serb for only the second time in eight meetings. “It was very windy and not easy to play but I was strong today and very focused.

“Since the last time we played, at the French Open, I have improved so much. My game has gone to another level.”

The two Serbs, playing outdoors for the first time since the U.S. Open in September, often produced good quality but also showed a lot of inconsistency particularly in the early stages.

Ivanovic’s forehand was especially potent, with some of her strokes taking the breath away.

The less erratic Jankovic played aggressively from the baseline and was also successful on her occasional forays to the net.

BETTER START

Jankovic made the better start, breaking for 2-0 and holding a break point for 4-0 before Ivanovic settled.

A fine crosscourt forehand gave Ivanovic a break in the fifth game but her opponent stopped her in her tracks by forcing a backhand error to break for 4-2.

Jankovic then broke to love to begin the second set. This time Ivanovic levelled at 3-3 before the world number one replied with another break.

That was enough to effectively end the contest although there was drama before the end.

At 5-3 Ivanovic suddenly stopped in mid-rally and leaned on her knees as if in pain before returning to her chair for medical attention.

She resumed, held serve by winning the next two points before Jankovic served out the match.

“I just started feeling dizzy a little,” said Ivanovic. “I think it’s maybe humidity and I was probably dehydrated.

“I just felt so weak. I had to stop.”

Stars arrive in Qatar for WTA Champ.

Once again, there is no clear favourite with two Serbs, two Americans and four Russians vying for the title.

The women's game lacks the drama of the men's side, where the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer reached a peak at the Wimbledon final with a Nadal victory that was hailed as one of the greatest matches in history.

But the Women's Tennis Association says broad parity and a tight race for No. 1 draw fans even after the abrupt retirement of top-ranked Justine Henin in May at the age of 25.

"In the beginning ... there was a spot open for everybody," top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia said Monday. "I'm really proud of myself that, you know, I could cope with all the pressure, and I could get all the points and secure my No. 1 ranking for the rest of the year."

Five players have held the top ranking this year, but only three of them will play in the US$4.55 million Sony Ericsson Championships that start with a round-robin format on Tuesday at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. Henin is out of the rankings, and a shoulder injury has sidelined Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova.

That leaves Jankovic, who has won four titles but no major; third-ranked Serena Williams of the United States, who won the U.S. Open for her ninth major; and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who won her first major at the French Open, but slid to No. 4 after a string of losses linked to thigh and thumb injuries, as well as self-doubt.

"I think we're all a little bit tired and we have a long season behind us," said Ivanovic, who returned to form last month with a title win at Linz, Austria, her first since Roland Garros in June. "I feel my game is back on a level before my injury."

The other elite contenders are Wimbledon winner Venus Williams and the Russian contingent of second-ranked Dinara Safina, former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, Olympic gold medallist Elena Dementieva and world No. 9 Vera Zvonareva.

"I'm ready to get off the blocks fast," said Venus Williams, who welcomed WTA plans to reduce the number of compulsory tournaments for top players during a shorter 2009 season. Some events will be mandatory with possible suspensions in the event of non-compliance, but the goals are to generate commercial success and curb the burnout and injury that often come with a heavy playing schedule.

"It creates a stronger business model for not only the players but the tournaments," Venus Williams said. "I feel like the (WTA) road map is a great thing."

The championships were held in Madrid in 2006 and 2007, with Henin winning both times. Prior to Spain, they were mostly held in the United States. The transfer of the event to the Gulf partly reflects the lure of commercial backing from the energy-rich region, even if its tennis culture is not as developed as in the West.

Qatar will host the WTA season-ending tournament for three years, after which the championships will shift to Istanbul, Turkey.

The Doha tournament's White Group includes Jankovic and Ivanovic, along with Kuznetsova and Zvonareva. The American Williams sisters, as well as Safina and Dementieva, are in the Maroon Group. The top two players in each advance to elimination rounds. In addition, a doubles tournament will feature the world's top four teams.

On Tuesday, Kuznetsova plays Zvonareva, Jankovic faces Ivanovic, and Safina takes on Venus Williams.

Although the WTA championships lack the stature and fan interest of the four majors, Serena Williams said she was committed to a strong performance in Doha, with the winner collecting as much as $1.34 million.

"I need the money," joked Williams, who won the championship in 2001.

Ivanovic takes title at Linz

The top-seeded Serb won her third title of the year Sunday with a 6-2, 6-1 rout of No. 2 Vera Zvonareva in the final of the $600,000 Generali Ladies Linz.

Contesting her first final since winning the French Open in June, Ivanovic hardly had to break a sweat as she needed just 51 minutes to dispose of her Russian foe.

“It’s great to be in the final and win again,” Ivanovic. “I’m very, very happy. I’ve started to feel my game again and I’ve been playing better and better each match.

“Before, I was too stressed about injury and wanted to win so much, but now I’ve started to enjoy playing and competing again.”

Ivanovic, who had been just 7-7 entering this hardcourt tournament, faced just one break point in a final that was a complete mismatch. Meanwhile, she managed to break Zvonareva six times in an otherwise dominant performance.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic, who improved to 4-2 lifetime against Zvonareva, won her eighth title overall.

It was another disappointing showing for Zvonareva, who fell to just 3-12 against top-10 players this year. She was contesting her seventh final of the year.

“She played very good and I probably paid the price today for playing seven weeks in row,” Zvonareva said. “I couldn’t keep my concentration on a single point today so it was very difficult.”

Ivanovic advances to Linz championship

The top-seeded Serb advanced to the championship of the Generali Ladies Linz on Saturday with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 victory over No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

Ivanovic will be contesting her first final since winning the French Open in June when she clashes with second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva on Sunday.

“It was a really tough match,” said Ivanovic, who improved to 3-0 against Radwanska. “I started well in the first set. The second set wasn’t as good.

“The third set was a bit up and down, I rushed serving for the match at 5-3 and made some bad mistakes, but I stayed calm and worked hard and managed to go on and win. It was a really emotional third set. I felt energetic and was really pumped up.”

Since winning at Roland Garros and taking over the No. 1 ranking as a result, Ivanovic had been slumping as she was just 7-7 entering this hardcourt event.

The 20-year-old was the top seed at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open but failed to reach the fourth round at either event and has dropped to fourth in the rankings.

Both Ivanovic and Zvonareva, who is 2-3 against the Serb, will be seeking their third title of the season and eighth overall when they meet for the sixth time.

“Vera has been playing well the last couple of weeks, finishing runner-up at Moscow and qualifying for the (Sony Ericsson Championships), so it will be a tough match,” said Ivanovic, who needed more than two hours to get past Radwanska. “My semifinal obviously took longer than hers but tennis is also a mental game, and this match gives me confidence.”

Zvonareva needed just 52 minutes to brush aside sixth-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, 6-0, 6-1, and reach her seventh final of the year.

The world No. 9, Zvonareva has piled up 61 wins this season but is just 3-11 against top-10 players.

First prize is $95,000.

Ivanovic advances to semis at Linz

The top-seeded Serb moved within a victory of changing that Friday with a 6-4, 6-4, triumph over No. 7 Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies Linz tennis tournament.

Looking to break out of a slump that dates back to June, Ivanovic is on the verge of reaching her first WTA final since winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Standing in her way Saturday will be third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over No. 5 Nadia Petrova of Russia.

Since winning at Roland Garros and taking over the No. 1 ranking as a result, Ivanovic is just 9-7.

The 20-year-old was the top seed at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but failed to reach the fourth round at either event and has dropped to fourth in the rankings.

Ivanovic holds 2-0 edge in the series with Radwanska, who is enjoying a career season with three titles and a 53-19 record.

The 19-year-old Pole also was struggling coming into this event as she was just 8-6 over her last six tournaments and without a semifinal appearance since early August.

Second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva continued the march toward her seventh final of the year, reaching the semis with a 7-5, 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet.

The world No. 8 and a two-time champion this season, Zvonareva awaits the winner of the match between No. 6 Marion Bartoli of France and unseeded Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko.

First prize is $95,000.

Ivanovic reaches quarterfinals at Linz

The top-seeded Serb took her first step toward doing just that on Thursday, topping Austria’s Sybille Bammer, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals of the hardcourt event.

Since winning her first Grand Slam at the French Open and taking over the No. 1 ranking as a result, Ivanovic has posted a mediocre 8-7 record and reached only one semifinal.

The 20-year-old was the top seed at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but failed to reach the fourth round at either event and has dropped to fourth in the rankings.

Up next for Ivanovic is seventh-seeded Flavia Pennetta, who reached the 50-win plateau for the first time in her career with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.

It was the second straight day that the Italian made short work of her opponent, having brushed aside Agnes Szavay, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round.

Pennetta comes into this event fresh off an impressive showing in Zurich, where she upset world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic before falling to Venus Williams in Sunday’s final. As a result of that performance, the 26-year-old has reached a career-high ranking of 14th.

Second seed Vera Zvonareva also had a relatively easy time advancing the round of eight, ousting Spain’s Nuria Llagostera Vives, 6-2, 6-0, in 54 minutes.

The Russian has to be pleased that Jankovic is not participating here, considering three of her last four tournaments have ended with loses to the top-ranked Serb.

A two-time champion this season, Zvonareva will attempt to move a step closer to her seventh final of the year when she faces No. 8 Alize Cornet of France in the quarters.

Another Frenchwoman, No. 6 Marion Bartoli booked her spot in the round of eight Thursday with a 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 6-3 win over Petra Kvitova.

Fourth seed Patty Schnyder, the runner-up last year, and No. 5 Nadia Petrova will attempt to move into the quarterfinals later.

First prize is $95,000.

Unrest over 2009 WTA playing commitments

Although part of the WTA’s new Roadmap is designed to reduce the number of tournaments and shorten the season, it also dictates that top 10 players must compete in at least 10 of the 20 Premier events - previously known as Tier 1 and 2 tournaments - and the four grand slams. All of the top 10 players must play the tournaments held at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing.

“We do have our voice and we have to come together,” Ivanovic said at the Linz Open. “The changes were made in the middle of the season and when you’re playing grand slams you don’t really want to think about next year’s schedule.

“Many players probably didn’t look deep into it and kind of let it go, and all of a sudden you’re there with the change so it’s a little bit hard. We’re all in the same position so we have to talk more between us.

“I do believe it’s going to be a lot of tournaments we have to commit to and it’s maybe going to be a little bit harder in that sense. We don’t have much opportunity to choose, and at the end of the day it might be that we play more matches than we did in previous years.

“I think it’s good that tournaments will have guaranteed players and week after week have top players competing against each other. I think that’s good for women’s tennis. But on us individually it’s tough to say what impact it’s going to have.”

Radwanska is particularly unhappy that she will not be allowed to play the smaller tournaments, previously known as Tier 3 and 4 events and now re-named as the International series.

“After the new rules with the WTA I don’t want to be top 10 because the rules are so bad and everything is for the WTA,” she protested. “I cannot play the small tournaments and it’s quite bad. I hate these rules. I can play just two small tournaments a year.

“We’re all saying this, but the WTA is doing everything for themselves, for the sponsors, but they don’t realise we have to choose where we want to play and not want to play.”

Venus Williams beats Ana Ivanovic in Zurich semis

“Obviously winning is fun but winning close matches (is) rewarding,” Williams said.

Williams will face Flavia Pennetta in Sunday’s final, after the Italian beat Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 7-6 (6) in an earlier match.

Pennetta is 3-1 against the 28-year-old American and beat her in Moscow last week.

Williams said her game plan Sunday will be to cut out mistakes.

"I made so many errors in Moscow,” she said. “I think she has played well all the times we have played.”

Pennetta said it did not matter that she beat Williams last time.

“Here it is another tournament,” Pennetta said. “Last week I lost against (Jelena) Jankovic and this week I won so everything can happen.”

The third-seeded Williams is looking for her second singles title of the year, after winning Wimbledon, as she tries to secure a place in the season-ending WTA Tour championship in Doha, Qatar, next month.

Williams said Ivanovic was an aggressive opponent.

“When she plays me she is going for everything,” Williams said. “Sometimes it is tough to get a rhythm.”

Williams struggled with her serve in the first set and double-faulted to give Ivanovic a break to go up 4-3.

In the decisive set, Williams broke to go up 4-3 when Ivanovic netted a forehand.

The American missed three match points during her opponent’s next service game—with Ivanovic’s forehand volley rolling on the net cord before dropping in on the third.

Williams served out the match in the next game.

Pennetta, who upset the top-ranked Jankovic in the second round Thursday, reached her fourth final of the year.

She was trailing 3-1 in the first set, then won five straight games, including three breaks of serve, to take the set.

Medina Garrigues, ranked 30th, led 3-1 again in the second but Pennetta broke to even the set at 3-3.

Pennetta survived a set point in the tiebreaker and converted her first match point as Medina Garrigues hit a driving forehand volley long.

The 26-year-old Italian has won two tournaments this year, at Vina Del Mar, Chile, in February and Acapulco, Mexico, in March.

Venus to play Ivanovic in Zurich semis

Williams, seeded third, won this tournament in 1999. She next faces second-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who defeated Czech teenager Petra Kvitova 6-1, 6-4.

Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain also advanced and will meet in the semifinals Saturday. Pennetta was coming off an upset of top-ranked Jelena Jankovic.

Williams improved to 5-0 against Schiavone, a semifinalist last year.

“She is a good competitor,” Williams said. “She went for a lot out there today, sometimes maybe a little too much. I think I played more consistent than in my first match.”

After trading five straight breaks, Williams served at 5-3 and held to love to win the first set. When she faced three break points while up 4-3 in the second set, Williams reeled off two service winners, a forehand volley at the net and two aces to win the game and soon the match.

Ivanovic reached her first semifinal since winning the French Open in June. Injuries have limited her to seven wins since. The Serb has a 1-4 record against Williams, but beat the American in their last match in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Pennetta defeated Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik 7-5, 6-2. A two-time winner on tour this year, Penetta broke Srebotnik at 5-5 with a backhand service return, then converted her first set point with an ace. She then broke Srebotnik to open the second set, again in the seventh game, and sealed the win with a backhand.

Medina Garrigues advanced when Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired with a shoulder injury after they split the first two sets 4-6, 6-3.

Ivanovic loses to Cibulkova, Dementieva advances

The fourth-seeded Ivanovic, who won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June, failed to convert two match points in the 10th game of the deciding set.

Defending champion Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2) to advance to the quarterfinals, along with fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, who defeated Italian qualifier Sara Errani 7-6 (0), 6-1.

Serving for the match at 6-5, Cibulkova was broken at love by Ivanovic, now ranked fifth in the world. The 20th-ranked Slovak went 6-4 ahead in a tiebreaker and won on her first match point when Ivanovic returned wide.

“I had a bad first set because I was playing too defensively,” Cibulkova said. “I got more aggressive, I began to serve better and return better. I knew I had to play more aggressively in the tiebreaker which I did and I’m happy to beat a player of that ranking.”

Dementieva, who won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing, had two breaks to win the first set against Srebotnik. Srebotnik won the next set and saved a break point in the fourth game of the decider before forcing a tiebreaker.

Dementieva won five straight points in the tiebreaker, serving two aces to close the match.

“It took time to adjust to the surface here,” Dementieva said. “It wasn’t easy to win today.”

Srebotnik beat the Russian in straight sets in Tokyo in September.

In first-round action, Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki beat eighth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze of Russia 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

In the men’s event of the dual ATP and WTA tournament, Teimuraz Gabashvili upset third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (1) in an all-Russian match.

Ivanovic upset at China Open

Local favorite Zheng Jie forged a 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4 upset of the second-seeded Serbian during their quarterfinal match at the $600,000 China Open.

Playing on home soil, Zheng forced 19 break points and converted five to earn her second victory against Ivanovic this season. Zheng also ousted the fourth-ranked Ivanovic earlier this year at Wimbledon en route to becoming the first player from China to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.

“I was defending a lot,” Ivanovic said. “It was like running a marathon out there. She was really aggressive and was dominating a lot. I didn’t even realize how much I was running out there. I should have been more aggressive.”

Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open and subsequently became the new world No. 1, but is just 5-5 since and has not reached a semifinal during the slump.

The 25-year-old Zheng, who missed the final seven months of 2007 due to a serious ankle injury, has surged from 133rd to 30th in the rankings over the past three months and is seeking her first title since winning her third at Stockholm in August 2006.

“This is a good win for me,” said Zheng, who reached a career-high ranking of 27th in 2006. “It was in China in front of my home crowd and there were lots of fans supporting me, which gave me even more motivation. … I’m excited to be in the semifinals for the first time at the China Open. It is very important to me because I think my ranking will be at its highest.”

Zheng next will face fourth-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

Kuznetsova’s compatriot, No. 5 seed Vera Zvonareva also booked a place in the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-1 rout of Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues.

A winner last week in Guangzhou, Zvonareva will be tested in the semifinals when she faces top-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic, a 7-5, 6-1 winner over No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.

Though she’s won two titles and has been to five finals this season, Zvonareva only has six victories over top-20 players and she’s just 2-8 against top-10 foes.

However, one of those victories came against the second-ranked Jankovic earlier this year in the Miami semifinals and their all-time series is knotted at 3-all.

Jankovic, a runner-up here last season, has just one title this season despite the fact that she has reached the quarterfinals or better in 17 of 18 tournaments played this year.

First prize is $95,500.

Ivanovic eases into quarter finals in Beijing

The 20-year-old Serb needed only 30 minutes to close out the first set against Cornet and broke early in the second to race to a 3-1 lead.

The 18-year-old Frenchwoman broke Ivanovic’s serve twice to fight her way back into the match but ultimately wilted under pressure when serving for the set at 6-5.

Ivanovic attacked Cornet’s serve furiously to break back and then steam-rolled the world number 19 in the tie-break 7-1.

She faces a quarter-final meeting with Zheng, who knocked her out of Wimbledon this year on the way to becoming the first Chinese to make a grand slam singles semi-final.

“I think I can play better this time,” Ivanovic told reporters.

“I didn’t prepare in particular for (Zheng) but I think it should be a tough match.”

Zheng trounced Sugiyama 6-1 6-2 to the delight of the small but vocal home crowd, a match she had brooded on for four years after being beaten by the Japanese 33-year-old at the Athens Olympic Games.

“It was a shame to lose at Athens … I said to myself I’m definitely going to beat her next time,” said 25-year-old Zheng.

Russia’s Vera Zvonareva advanced to a quarter-final against Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain after beating Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-6 6-2.

Slovak Dominika Cibulkova, who upset eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze 6-3 6-2 on Thursday, will face fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the last eight.

Ivanovic upset in Tokyo

The second-seeded Serbian continued to struggle on Thursday, suffering a 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 loss to Russia’s Nadia Petrova in the second round of the Pacific Open.

Ivanovic became the No. 1 player in the world following her impressive run at Roland Garros, but the 20-year-old has gone just 4-4 since that triumph, dropping to third in the rankings.

The runner-up to Lindsay Davenport at this hardcourt event last year, Ivanovic received an opening-round bye and was playing her first match since a stunning second-round loss to Julie Coin at the U.S. Open.

Ivanovic had been bothered by a thumb injury in recent months, but appeared to be simply rusty in the early going against Petrova, who cruised to a first-set victory with three breaks of serve.

The second set saw Ivanovic return to form. She didn’t faced a break point and outplayed the world No. 20 to force a decisive third set.

However, Ivanovic’s service game in the final set was ineffective, as she won just 6-of-11 (55 percent) points on her first serve and 7-of-12 (58 percent) on second serve, allowing Petrova to break her twice.

Petrova, who never faced a break point in the third set against Ivanovic, moved into the quarterfinals against sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who topped unseeded Marion Bartoli, 6-2, 6-3.

Top seed and U.S. Open finalist Jelena Jankovic had no trouble booking her place in the round of eight as the Serb thrashed Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, 6-2, 6-1, in 62 minutes.

Despite only one title to her credit in 2008, Jankovic improved to 51-15 this season and has reached the quarterfinals in 15 of 16 events played.

Awaiting her in the quarterfinals is No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, who needed only 46 minutes to dispatch Japanese wild card Ayumi Morita. The Russian has turned in a solid season as well, reaching three finals and posting a 37-14 record, but has not won a championship since August 2007 in New Haven.

Olympic gold medalist and third seed Elena Dementieva also posted a routine victory, claiming a 6-0, 6-3 win over France’s Alize Cornet.

The Russian No. 1, who has advanced to the semifinals in six of her last eight tournaments, will clash with Slovenian qualifier Katarina Srebotnik in the quarters.

Kaia Kanepi was the last player to reach the quarters Thursday, knocking off Frenchwomen Virginie Razzano, 6-4, 6-2. Up next for the Estonian qualifier is fourth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina, who advanced Wednesday.

First prize is $196,900.

Jankovic, Ivanovic headline Tokyo tournament

The world No. 2 and the runner-up at this month’s U.S. Open, Jankovic is the top seed at this hardcourt event. The Serb was one victory away from claiming her first career major title eight days ago before losing to Serena Williams in the final at Flushing Meadows.

Jankovic, 23, has won only one tournament this season - the claycourt event in Rome in May. However, she has put together an outstanding campaign and enters this Tier I event with a 50-15 record.

Jankovic was ousted here last year by Ivanovic, who rallied from an early deficit to post a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over her countrywoman in the quarterfinals.

Seeded second this year, Ivanovic hopes to bounce back from a disappointing performance at the U.S. Open, where she suffered a second-round upset to Julie Coin.

Ivanovic, the world’s third-ranked player, reached the final of this tournament last year before losing in straight sets to Martina Hingis.

Russians Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina are seeded third and fourth, respectively. The world’s fourth- and fifth-ranked players, respectively, Dementieva and Safina both were semifinalists at the U.S. Open.

Jankovic, Ivanovic, Dementieva and Safina all received first-round byes.

World No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is seeded fifth while Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska received the sixth seed. Radwanska will face Japanese wild card Aiko Nakamura on Monday.

Also is action Monday is eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who will face Kaia Kanepi of Estonia.

First prize is $196,900.

Ivanovic puts grand slam glory above ranking

The 20-year-old reached the pinnacle of women’s tennis after winning her maiden grand slam at this year’s French Open but has since slipped down to third after a thumb injury affected her form since that triumph in Paris.

Forced to skip August’s Beijing Olympics, Ivanovic crashed out of the U.S. Open in the second round but insisted she was pain-free ahead of this week’s Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

“Finally, for the last two weeks I have no pain,” Ivanovic told Reuters on Monday.

“It was very tough (losing the number one ranking) so quickly.

“I really struggled to accept it because that was my dream for a long time and just as I achieved it this thing happened. I have been number one so I believe I can be there again.

“Being number one is a great reward but if you asked me at this moment what I would rather do, it’s win another grand slam before I become number one again.”

Serena Williams returned to the summit of the women’s rankings after a five-year gap following her triumph at the U.S. Open.

Ivanovic’s fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic, the beaten finalist in New York, is the current number two and top seed in Tokyo, where six of the world’s top 10 are appearing.

Russia’s Olympic champion Elena Dementieva and compatriot Dinara Safina round out a closely bunched top-five players on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

World number seven Svetlana Kuznetsova is the third Russian top-10 player in the draw for this week’s $1.34 million tournament.

“It’s exciting for women’s tennis,” Ivanovic said. “I think Serena’s a great champion and it will be very tough to return to the top… but it’s a great challenge.”

Having already beaten Jankovic to a grand slam title, Ivanovic admitted there was added incentive in getting one over her countrywoman.

“I can’t say we are friends,” Ivanovic added. “Girls in general don’t become very close on the tour but we motivate each other. If you see the other one winning you want to win too.”

Ivanovic admits she did not play like a number one

“This was very, very disappointing loss for me,” Ivanovic told a news conference after her 6-3 4-6 6-3 defeat by 188th-ranked Frenchwoman Julie Coin.

Ivanovic said she was not bothered by pain from a recent injury to her right thumb, attributing her poor performance more to lack of match practice.

The 20-year-old Serbian withdrew from the Olympics because of the injury and has played little since her third-round exit at Wimbledon, struggling to retain the form that won her the French Open in June.

“I really struggled and made too many unforced errors and my serve was not working really well,” said Ivanovic. “Obviously, it’s very frustrating because I know I can play so much better.”

Asked if she had been feeling the pressure of being the top ranked player, she replied: “No, I think I deserve that position. I won a grand slam and I was playing really well.

“Obviously if you would ask me at the moment if I’m playing like number one, probably not, but I can’t judge too much on that because I really haven’t had (a) chance to practice.

“This kind of loss I had today is just incentive to work harder, to go back on the court and to keep working hard and practising and improving.”

Ivanovic, who flew to Australia before coming to New York to get treatment on her thumb, said she had totally recovered from the injury.

“Today I didn’t feel it, and also (the) last match was good. So I’m just happy to be back on track without pain. Now all I have to do is put some hard yards on the court and go back out there and work hard.”

Ivanovic’s defeat was the earliest exit by a women’s top seed at the U.S. Open since tennis turned professional in 1968.

The top players in the WTA ranking are so close on points that Ivanovic could still keep the top spot after her early exit, depending on how the other players do in the tournament. The four women with a chance of ousting her are Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.

Ivanovic toppled by unknown Frenchwoman

Julie Coin set alight the Arthur Ashe Stadium court when she produced the match of her life to shatter the world number one’s title hopes in the second round 6-3 4-6 6-3.

That she had never played a match on the WTA Tour, let alone at a grand slam, before this week failed to faze the 188th-ranked qualifier and she sealed the Serbian’s fate after one hour 57 minutes of nerve-shredding drama.

As Coin celebrated her moment of triumph by slamming a ball high into the stands and holding her arms aloft to lap up the applause from the hollering fans, a dejected Ivanovic was left to dwell on the worst showing by a women’s top seed at the U.S. Open since 1966.

“This was a very, very disappointing loss for me but it’s something that I have to accept,” said Ivanovic, who had been troubled by a sore right thumb in the run-up to the tournament.

Ivanovic would perhaps be best to wipe out memories of her 2008 New York jaunt but if she ever chooses to read up on it, it will make for grim reading.

In two matches she piled up an astonishing 74 unforced errors—certainly not the kind of statistics a world number one would be proud of.

“I don’t realise yet that I beat the number one in the world. I don’t realise I played on a big court. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep tonight,” grinned Coin before adding she had contemplated giving up the sport just two weeks ago.

Coin’s compatriot Severine Bremond and Italy’s Tathiana Garbin continued a day of upsets. Bremond secured a 7-5 6-3 win over 20th seed Nicole Vaidisova and Garbin beat Hungarian 13th seed Agnes Szavay 5-7 6-2 6-3.

Like Ivanovic, men’s world number one Rafael Nadal faced a grand slam debutant. Unlike Ivanovic, though, Nadal emerged unscathed in a 6-1 6-2 6-4 demolition of American qualifier Ryler DeHeart.

The fading memory of her two title-winning runs at Flushing Meadows spurred Venus Williams to hit top gear on Thursday.

Williams looked set to hand Paraguay’s Rossana De Los Rios the dreaded whitewash after bagging the first seven games but eventually cantered to a 6-0 6-3 win.

In her two matches so far, she has dropped only eight games and is determined to maintain her ruthless streak as she bids to pick up the trophy for a third time following her triumphs in 2000 and 2001.

“I’d like to have a more recent memory, as of like ‘08. I guess, (I’m) kind of overdue. So that’s pretty much the goal,” said Williams, who won her fifth Wimbledon title in July.

Her potential quarter-final opponent, sister Serena, also enjoyed an easy ride. She beat Russian Elena Vesnina 6-1 6-1.

Dinara Safina appeared to be in a hurry to reach the last 32 and had it not been for lapses in concentration, the sixth seed would have beaten Italy’s Roberta Vinci more emphatically than suggested by the final 6-4 6-3 scoreline.

Ivanovic labours past Dushevina to advance at US Open tennis

Ivanovic struggled but held on to beat Vera Dushevina 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on day two of the 20.6 million dollar event at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.

Olympic silver medallist Dinara Safina, who is trying to put a fitting exclamation point on a superb season, defeated Kristie Ahn 6-3, 6-4.

The 22-year-old Safina, of Russia, has won three titles in 2008 but hasn't made it past the quarter-finals in the US Open.

China's Peng Shui launched her tournament by dominating Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, 6-0 and Ai Sugiyama of Japan advanced to the second round after Andreja Klepac retired in the third set with Sugiyama ahead 4-6, 6-3, 4-2.

Ivanovic and Safina are two of a half dozen players who could hold the title of World No. 1 if they reach the final in Flushing Meadows. The other four comprise, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva.

Ivanovic had to overcome some anxious moments in the third set as she double faulted on her first match point. She clinched the victory on her second match point.

The 20-year-old Serbian top seed finished with three double faults and 40 unforced errors but played better on the big points than her Russian opponent, converting four of eight break point chances.

She moves through the second round where she will face either Australian Casey Dellacqua or Julie Coin of France.

World No. 57 Dushevina is making her sixth straight appearance in the US Open but she has had a limited campaign this year due to an injury.

Ivanovic has also been nursing injuries including a leg strain before Wimbledon where she lost in the third round and a right thumb injury which forced her to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics.

Her nine-week reign at No. 1 was interrupted for a week earlier this month by Jankovic, but she has since regained the top spot in the WTA rankings.

Safina hammered five aces and fired 20 winners to just eight for qualifier Ahn in the one hour, 24 minute match.

It would be a windfall victory for Safina if she breaks through and wins the US Open.

She placed first the US Open Series leading up to the final Grand Slam of the season which means she will receive a one million dollar bonus in addition to the 1.5 million dollars in first place prize money.

She advances to the second round where she will face the winner of a match between Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan and Stephanie Cohen-Aloro of France.

Safina reached the final at the Beijing Olympics but had to settle for silver after losing to Russian compatriot Dementieva.

At the French Open she made it to her first Grand Slam championship where she lost to Ivanovic. She was eliminated in the third round at Wimbledon.

Qualifier Ahn was making her debut appearance in the US Open in just her fourth tournament since turning pro.

In early men's action, American Sam Querrey, Croatian Ivo Karlovic and Florent Serra of France won their opening matches.

Taking the court later in the day is world number two Roger Federer, along with Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

Ivanovic, Williams sisters set for U.S. Open run

Ivanovic, who recently reclaimed the top spot in the women’s rankings from fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic, will face Vera Dushevina of Russia in the first round of the year’s final Grand Slam.

The 2008 French Open champion, Ivanovic pulled out of the Beijing Olympics with a thumb injury but less-than-spectacular performances by Jankovic and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova propelled her back to world No. 1 after a one week absence.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic is one of three players - along with Jankovic and Russian Maria Sharapova - to hold the top spot since Justine Henin retired in May.

Ivanovic, who has had three different stints at the top of the rankings totaling 11 weeks, has not enjoyed much success at the U.S. Open. She is yet to make it past the fourth round and owns just a 6-4 record at the hard-court event.

Serena and Venus Williams cannot sympathize with Ivanovic’s struggles here as they dominated this event from 1999-2002 with one of them winning in each of those four years. Serena won in 1999 and 2002, while Venus took the crown in back-to-back years, 2000 and 2001.

Seeking her ninth Grand Slam singles title, the fourth-seeded Serena’s bid starts with Ukraine’s Keteryna Bondarenko. Venus, the seventh seed, will take on Australian Samantha Stosur later Tuesday.

Since winning the U.S. Open in 2002, Serena has failed make it past the quarterfinals. She still holds an impressive 40-7 record during her career in the tournament, though.

The other Williams sister, Venus has enjoyed some success at this venue since her consecutive titles to start the decade, sporting a 47-7 record. She lost to her sister in the 2001 finals and made it to the semis in 2007.

Nine other seed players will be in action Tuesday, including No. 11 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Hantuchova meets Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

U.S. Open women's revised draw

U.S. Open women's draw

Nadal's US Open campaign starts against qualifier

The 22-year-old Mallorcan, who ascended to the number one position on Monday, ending Roger Federer's reign of four and a half years on top of the men's rankings, is looking to clinch his third Grand Slam tournament this season.

Nadal reigned supreme for the fourth consecutive time at Roland Garros in July and stripped Federer of a sixth Wimbledon crown after an epic final.

The Spaniard could meet big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, the number 13 seed, in the third-round with a potential quarter-final clash with David Nalbandian. In the semis he could face Spain's David Ferrer, the number four seed.

Second seed Federer, gunning for his fifth straight title, is up against 114th-ranked Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina.

Awaiting the Swiss in the last four is Serbian Novak Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion and a runner-up finish in Flushing Meadows last year.

In the first round, Djokovic, the number three seed, drew Frenchman Arnaud Clement, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July.

"It could not have been worse, Clement said. "I usually fare well at the US Open. But I'll have my hands full. That's for sure."

On the women's side, top seed and world number one Ana Ivanovic of Serbia takes on Russian Vera Dushevina.

In the quarter-finals, she could face another Russian the red-hot Dinara Safina, the 2008 Roland-Garros runner-up and Olympic silver medallist.

In the semi-finals, the Serbian brunette could be pitted against one of the Williams sisters. Venus and Serena should meet in the quarter-finals for a repeat of their Wimbledon final this year.

Second-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic opens up against American wild-card Coco Vandeweghe. She could meet number eight seed Vera Zvonareva in the last eight.

In the bottom half of the draw, the number three seed, Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 US Open champion and runner-up in New York last year, could face fellow Russian Elena Dementieva, the reigning Olympic champion, in the quarter-finals.

Defending US Open champion Justine Henin is not competing at this year's event. The former Belgium world number one announced her retirement from professional tennis in May.

And the U.S. Open winner is...

I’m not going to go as far as to fill out a bracket (you people know who you are), but I am willing to offer some predictions.

While there are usually a few surprises at the Grand Slams, I’m confident that no player seeded higher than 10th in either draw will be hoisting the trophy in Flushing Meadows this year.

Therefore, we will deal only with the top 10 seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws.

The list below is not based on seeding, but on who has the best chance to win, from worst to best.

The men’s draw:

10. STANISLAS WAWRINKA - Earned a gold medal for Switzerland in doubles at the Olympics with Roger Federer. Doesn’t have much in common with Federer beyond that.

9. DAVID NALBANDIAN - Hasn’t been past the fourth round of a Grand Slam since the French Open in 2006.

8. DAVID FERRER - He somehow defeated Rafael Nadal to reach the semifinals a year ago, but is just 12-9 on hardcourts this season.

7. JAMES BLAKE - The 28-year-old has played in 26 career majors and has yet to reach a semifinal.

6. NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO - Is 1-15 lifetime against Federer and Nadal - end of story.

5. ANDY RODDICK - The American No. 1 and 2003 champion will give the partisan fans some excitement, but he hasn’t been healthy and his play has suffered.

4. ANDY MURRAY - Has won 12 of his last 14 ATP matches, losing only to Nadal. Reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon and seems ready to take the next step.

3. ROGER FEDERER - It’s one thing to lose to Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but Ivo Karlovic and Mardy Fish? Let’s face it, it’s just not his year.

2. RAFAEL NADAL - There’s no doubt he’s the best player in the world and he now has the ranking to back that up. Though he grabbed gold at the Olympics, he’s never made it to a hardcourt Grand Slam final and hasn’t made it past the quarters at the U.S. Open.

And the winner is …

1. NOVAK DJOKOVIC - The reigning Australian Open champ has not won since May and is due. He had to suffer the indignity of getting slapped around by Nadal during the claycourt season, and this is the perfect stage for him to get revenge.

The women’s draw …

10. VERA ZVONAREVA - Only six of her 43 victories have come against top-20 players, and she’s just 2-8 against top-10 opponents.

9. ANNA CHAKVETADZE - Showed her prowess on hardcourt last year, reaching the U.S. Open semifinals, but has been struggling for most of this year.

8. AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA - The 19-year-old has three titles this season, but is still a year or so away from making a big splash at a major.

7. JELENA JANKOVIC - She one of game’s top players, but just can’t seem to reach a Grand Slam final.

6. ANA IVANOVIC - I know, no respect for the world No. 1. But she’s been dealing with an assortment of injuries since winning the French Open, and her third-round loss at Wimbledon was ugly.

5. VENUS WILLIAMS - She still has it on grasscourts, as evidenced by her Wimbledon victory. But she hasn’t been to the final of a hardcourt major since the 2003 Australian Open.

4. ELENA DEMENTIEVA - Won the gold medal in the Olympics singles event and has reached the semifinals or better in eight of 12 tournaments this year. Dementieva is playing some great tennis at the moment, but she’s played in 39 majors during her career and reached just one final (2004, U.S. Open).

3. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA - Is the 2004 champion and last year’s runner-up, but is just 1-4 against Serena and hasn’t been able to beat Dinara Safina this year.

2. SERENA WILLIAMS - The eight-time Grand Slam champion has reached the quarterfinals or better in nine of 10 events played and is coming off a runner-up effort at Wimbledon. Continues to have her sights set on regaining the No. 1 ranking.

And the winner is …

1. DINARA SAFINA - She’s never won a major, but has been the hottest player in the game since May, winning three titles, posting a 32-4 record and reaching the final in six of seven events played. She became the first player in history to beat three different reigning No. 1s in the same season last week when she topped Jankovic in the Olympic quarterfinals. Playing that well for that long is no fluke.

So there you go. And when Nadal and Serena prove me wrong, I’m sure someone will be there to remind me that I got it wrong.

QUIZ: Roger Federer is going for his fifth straight title at the U.S. Open this year. Can you name the four players he has beaten to win the championship during his current run? Answer later.

“JANK’ED” AWAY: So much for Jankovic’s reign as the world No. 1. The Serbian held the honor for seven days before Ivanovic regained the top spot on Monday. Ivanovic had held the top spot for nine weeks after winning the French Open, but fell behind Jankovic by a mere 112 ranking points on August 11. Get used to the shuffle at the top, there’s more to come in 2008.

VERBAL VOLLEY: This week’s comment comes from Thomas in Cincinnati …

“I can understand that Andy Roddick has been hurting and wants to concentrate on winning another U.S. Open title, but it was disappointing that he decided not to represent America at the Olympics.

“No disrespect to James Blake, but Roddick is the best men’s player the United States has and it would have been nice to see him compete.

“I’ve heard Roddick takes his Davis Cup responsibilities very seriously, so I can’t figure out why he didn’t think the trip to Beijing was just as important.”

MAKING A MOVE: Juan Martin del Potro creeped up another two places to 17th this week after winning his fourth consecutive tournament played at Washington.

The 19-year-old Argentine became the only player to win the first four titles of his career in as many events, having claimed his maiden championship in Stuttgart last month.

Del Potro will carry a 19-match win streak into the U.S. Open and many observers believe he’s on the fast track to becoming a top-five player.

It hard not to like what we’ve seen from del Potro, but it’s fair to point out that he’s beaten only two top-30 players during his impressive streak.

The U.S. Open will be a better measure of exactly where del Potro stands.

QUIZ ANSWER: Federer has defeated the following players in the U.S. Open final - Novak Djokovic (2007), Andy Roddick (2006), Andre Agassi (2005) and Lyeton Hewitt (2004).

QUOTABLE: “All the Russians were playing well. It’s amazing we all were able to do so well, to get three medals for our country … Russian tennis is at a great level. It’s at the highest level.” - Russia’s Vera Zvonareva, who won the bronze medal at the Olympics while countrywomen Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina took gold and silver, respectively.

Nadal, Ivanovic named top seeds for U.S. Open

It is the first time that Spaniard Nadal, who replaced Roger Federer at the top of the men’s rankings on Monday, has been the top seed at a grand-slam tournament.

Federer, who has won the U.S. Open in each of the past four years, is seeded second, the first time he has not been the top seed in a grand slam since the Australian Open of 2004.

Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion and runner-up to Federer last year in New York, is seeded third, with Spaniard David Ferrer fourth.

French Open champion Ivanovic, chasing her first U.S. Open title, heads the women’s list for the first time, with fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic at number two.

Former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is seeded three, ahead of American Serena Williams.

Olympic champion Elena Dementieva is seeded fifth, with French Open and Olympic Games runner-up Dinara Safina sixth and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams at seven.

The draws for the final grand-slam event of the year will be made on Thursday.

Ivanovic moves back atop women's tennis rankings

When the WTA Tour rankings come out officially Monday, Ivanovic will be back on top—a place she will hold for at least two weeks. The 20-year old Serb, who held the No. 1 ranking for nine weeks from June 9-Aug. 11, moved past compatriot Jelena Jankovic.

Nadal, who captured the men’s singles gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics, will also become No. 1 Monday—snapping Federer’s 4 1/2 -year reign atop the rankings.

Entering the Olympics, three women had a chance to be No. 1 by the end of the tournament—Ivanovic, Jankovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Both Jankovic and Kuznetsova could have grabbed the top spot by reaching the finals in Beijing, but an opening-round loss to China’s Li Na ended Kuznetsova’s bid. Jankovic was eliminated by silver medalist Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals.

Ivanovic moved up despite being forced to withdraw from the Olympics due to a thumb injury. She has won two titles this year, including her first career Grand Slam championship at the French Open.

She also defeated Jankovic and Kuznetsova on the way to capturing the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Ivanovic, who has compiled a 30-8 record, was runner-up to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in January and a semifinalist at two other WTA Tour stops in Sydney and in Berlin.

Ivanovic has already secured a place in the singles competition for the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, scheduled for Doha, Qatar, from Nov. 4-9.

Her season-ending ranking has improved from No. 705 in 2003, to No. 97 in 2004, to No. 16 a year later, to No. 14 in 2006 and No. 4 last year.

Since Justine Henin retired and immediately took her name off the rankings, Ivanovic, Jankovic and Sharapova have been No. 1.

Ivanovic withdraws at Olympics

Ivanovic said she hasn’t been able to practice because of the injury, which began to bother her last month. She was expected to play her first-round match for Serbia on Monday, but after consulting with a doctor, she said she needs more rest.

“It’s one of the hardest moments in my career,” Ivanovic said. “I’m very, very disappointed.”

Ivanovic said the injury may take two weeks to heal, and she still hopes to play in the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 25.

She was already assured of losing the top spot in the women’s rankings Monday to No. 2 Jelena Jankovic. Ivanovic has led the rankings since June 9, the day after winning the French Open.

Ivanovic to avoid Djokovic

Ivanovic, 20, grew up close to men's world number three Djokovic in Belgrade and their families were close friends.

As soon as they began playing tennis they began bumping into each other at the same competitions and knocking up together.

"We played once. We warmed up for a competition I think it was under 10 or under 12 and we hit together for a warm-up," she said.

"I tried to hit so good to impress him that I was tired and I couldn't play my match so I lost.

"I don't want to play with him."

Since then they have both enjoyed remarkable rises to the top of their sport.

Ivanovic won the French Open in June and 21-year-old Djokovic began the year in style with his first grand slam title at the Australian Open.

With Jelena Jankovic, who will oust Ivanovic from the world number one spot on Monday, and Janko Tipsarevic in the men's singles draw Serbia have plenty of medal opportunities.

Ivanovic has suffered a slump in from since winning the French Open and is taking nothing for granted against first round opponent Mariya Koryttseva of Ukraine.

"I don't know much about her, we never played so I just want to try to find my feet for my first match and try to perform the best I can," she said.

Djokovic plays Robby Ginepri of the United States in the first round of the men's singles.

Ivanovic to headline 2009 Brisbane International tennis event

The event, which replaces the women's Gold Coast tournament and the men's Adelaide International, will be held in the northeastern Australian city from January 4-11.

Ivanovic, who made the final of the Australian Open last January and is set to compete at the Olympics in Beijing, said she was expecting a high-quality field, excellent weather and a great venue in Brisbane.

"It will be the perfect launching pad for my preparation for the Australian Open," the 20-year-old Serb said in a statement.

Tournament director Steve Ayles said Ivanovic's appearance was "the ultimate endorsement for the event and the city."

"We plan to put on one of the best events in world tennis and now we can showcase the talent of the number one ranked female on the planet," he said.

Ivanovic in same half as Serena

The world number one is in the easier half of the draw where her sternest test looks to be a possible semi-final match-up with Serena Williams.

Second seed Jelena Jankovic, meanwhile, opens against Cara Black of Zimbabwe but will keep close tabs on Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, her potential semi-final opponent.

Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and fellow Russian Dinara Safina also lurk in the bottom half of the draw.

Jie Zheng and Yan Zi, chasing China's second consecutive women's doubles gold, are in line for a daunting second-round assignment against Russian top seeds Safina and Kuznetsova.

Chinese women's singles hopes also received a setback when Li Na was handed an opener against Russian third seed Kuznetsova, while Wimbledon semi-finalist Jie has her work cut out against 11th-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay.

"Both the men's and women's fields are excellent, definitely the best ever and we look forward to an exciting tournament," said Juan Margets, executive vice-president of the International Tennis Federation.

The Olympic tennis tournament starts on Sunday and finishes a week later on August 17.

Ivanovic draws Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva

Rafael Nadal, who will replace Federer atop the rankings in the week after the Olympic tournament, drew Italy’s Potito Starace in the first round and could meet either former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt or Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden in the second round.

No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic faces American Robby Ginepri and James Blake is against Chris Guccione of Australia.

On the women’s side, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia drew Ukraine’s Mariya Koryttseva and No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on China’s hope, Li Na.

Bjorkman and Koryttseva were among the 12 players granted special places in the Olympic tournament by the International Tennis Federation.

Ivanovic loses at Rogers Cup, No. 1 status at risk

Paszek, a 17-year-old Austrian ranked 94th in the world, won 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 over Ivanovic, who was playing with a sore right thumb she injured two weeks ago while practicing. The thumb was taped for the match against Paszek.

“You know what, it’s definitely very, very disappointing,” Ivanovic said of Jankovic possibly passing her in the world rankings. “Not really so much the fact that I might lose it; just the fact that I couldn’t perform the best I could here without the pain.”

Ivanovic had an MRI on the thumb, which did not show any damage.

“Now obviously I’m a little bit scared, because the MRI shows nothing, but I still have pain,” she said. “They say it’s going to go away, but it’s already there for 10 days. So I’m going to try and see the doctor now and try to get it out.”

Ivanovic’s original plan was to leave for the Beijing Olympics from Montreal, but she will now go back to Europe to visit with doctors.

Jankovic, a Serbian compatriot of Ivanovic, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Stephanie Dubois, the last Canadian left in the tournament.

Jankovic next will face 19-year-old Dominika Cibulkova, who upset 12th-seeded Nadia Petrova 7-6 (2), 6-2. The 31st-ranked Cibulkova has steadily climbed the rankings. Last week, she defeated Petrova at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif.

Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Larcher de Brito, a qualifier from Portugal, was ahead 5-4 in the first set before Kuznetsova rallied to win three straight games. Larcher de Brito took a 4-1 lead and cruised in the second set. But the fourth-ranked Kuznetsova broke her serve three times in the third.

“It was a really tough match,” said the 169th-ranked Larcher de Brito. “It was a fun match, actually. I enjoyed myself. It was a good fight.”

Ivanovic labors to reach third round in Montreal

Playing her first event since a shock third round exit at Wimbledon, the French Open champion arrived in Montreal with her number one ranking under threat from compatriot Jelena Jankovic.

Ivanovic’s first competitive match in nearly a month showed predictable signs of rust. She served six break points in her opening two service games none of which Kvitova was able to convert.

The Serb hurt her own cause with nine double faults helping Kvitova claim the second set but rebounded by sweeping the opening five games of third before struggling to close out a rickety performance.

Jankovic and world number three Maria Sharapova, who can also reclaim top spot in the rankings this week, make their first appearances on court at the Montreal Cup later on Wednesday.

Local hope Stephanie Dubois and 15-year-old Portuguese qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito pulled off a pair of second-round shocks by knocking out seeded opponents.

Dubois, who grew up in nearby Laval, had the support of raucous crowd at Jarry tennis centre as she rallied for a 6-2 2-6 7-6 win over 13th seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia.

Brito, who reached the third round in Miami and Stanford, underlined her credentials as one of the WTA’s rising talents, as she moved within a win of her first quarter-final after outlasting 15th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-3 0-6 6-3.

Sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze blasted American Jill Craybas 6-2 7-5 to lead a Russian charge into the third round with seventh seed Dinara Safina, 12th seed Nadia Petrova all advancing with straight sets wins.

Safina, riding the momentum from her title win on Sunday in Los Angeles, eased past compatriot Anastasia Rodionova 6-2 6-4 while Petrova downed Thailand’s Tarmarine Tanasugarn 6-3 6-2.

Swiss ninth seed Patty Schnyder toppled Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-1 7-5 while Belarusian 11th seed Victoria Azarenka breezed past Austria’s Sybille Bammer 6-2 6-2.

Road Map sends WTA tour in new direction

Road Map 2010, the WTA’s masterplan to bring order to the sport’s structure and schedule, will be formally unveiled at the U.S. Open next month.

But WTA president Stacey Allaster, during a visit to the Montreal Cup on Tuesday, revealed details of the ambitious overhaul which will be rolled out next season, a year earlier than planned.

“The 2006 season was a disaster,” Allaster told reporters. “We failed to deliver on our player commitment to any of our top 10 events. We just felt something needed to be done now.

“We’re trying to change a culture, where it’s not an option but a commitment when you enter a top level event.

“The top players will be doing the heavy lifting so they should share in more of the rewards, more prize money, more bonus pool money, more ranking points.”

Tour prize money will rise from $63.6 million in 2006 to $84.4 million next season but it will come at a price with a more regimented system and greater accountability.

Under Road Map 2010, 26 Tier One and Tier Two events will be combined into 20 Premiere tournaments with players committed to play in at least 10.

Four $4.5 million tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing will be mandatory for all players who qualify.

MANDATORY EVENTS

Below the mandatory events will be five $2 million stops in Canada, Dubai, Rome, Cincinnati and Tokyo, of which the top-ranked players must play at least four. The WTA has committed to having at least seven of the world’s top 10 players at each of these events.

Players will complete their schedules by playing in at least one or two $700,000 events.

“They asked to put the best events in the right dates and we’ve done all of that,” Allaster said. “We’ve given them breaks.

“Now we’re saying, there’s going to be a little less flexibility on where you play and if you don’t play, then there’s going to be really significant ramifications.”

The WTA also laid out a list of penalties designed to hurt players were it matters most, in the pocket and the rankings.

There will be zero tolerance for withdrawals from tournaments players have committed to.

If a player does pull out, even due to injury, she will forfeit bonus money ($5 million available to the top 10 ranked players) and receive zero ranking points for that event.

Maria Sharapova, one of the WTA’s biggest draw cards, was a late withdrawal from last year’s Montreal Cup and lost $125,000 in bonus pool money and was fined $20,000.

Montreal Cup could produce rankings shake-up

Russian Maria Sharapova, the former world number one, also sits only 202 points back and is ready to pounce if both Serbs falter.

Play was slow to get underway on Monday with rain causing five suspensions but action is sure to heat up later in the week when the top eight seeds enter the fray after first-round byes.

Jankovic, working her way back to full fitness from a knee injury, had an opportunity to nudge Ivanovic out of top spot last week by taking the title in Los Angeles but she lost in the semi-finals to Dinara Safina.

She will get a second chance this week on the Canadian hard courts and is confident her time at top will come.

“I am motivated,” Jankovic told reporters on Monday. “Hopefully, my time will come.

“If it’s meant to happen, it will happen. If you deserve it, you will get it.

“If you work hard, that hard work will pay off sooner or later. I want to become number one and I want to win a grand slam. Those are my goals.”

Jankovic will be counting on Ivanovic being a little rusty as she plays her first event since a third-round exit at Wimbledon.

But the French Open champion will be returning to a place that holds good memories having won the Canadian title two years ago in Montreal.

“I got injured in Wimbledon and couldn’t practise for more than two weeks,” said Jankovic, who has a knee injury. “I only had a chance to train for four days before Los Angeles, which is not enough.

“At the moment I am just trying to get fit again and get in form. I am healthy at the moment but I need time.”

WTA suspends on-court coaching experiment

“It’s been suspended. The Tour will evaluate the results of the testing period and make a decision as to whether to adopt on-court coaching or not,” WTA spokesman Andrew Walker said. “A specific timeframe for this decision has not been set.”

The WTA Player Council attempted at this year’s Wimbledon to organize a vote on the experiment but the players were divided in their opinions.

“I’m for it but they wanted more opinions,” Player Council representative Patty Schnyder told Reuters at the Los Angles Classic. “The results weren’t convincing enough and some of the younger players don’t know what they want, so we need more time to see how they feel.”

The controversial initiative, which was never tried out at the grand slam tournaments, provoked strong reactions from the players.

Some think that as an individual sport which encourages players to think for themselves tennis should never allow coaches on court to give advice.

Others believe it would add entertainment value to the game as it would make coaches more visible to fans when they are called on court in between sets.

MIXED FEELINGS

Experienced Russian Nadia Petrova has mixed feelings.

“It’s a little distracting when you have coaches walking on court and most of them are parents, that’s what I didn’t like about it,” Petrova said.

“On the other hand it worked perfectly for me. I just started working with my coach and he would come on court and give me advice. But now that it’s over it’s fine. Many players just use as a safeguard because they don’t know what to do so their coach tells them. You have to use their head in matches.”

Switzerland’s Schnyder does not believe coaches can decide matches tactically but thinks they can have an important emotional influence.

“If the person supports is making you feel better and it helps the game’s appeal overall, it’s better,” said Schnyder, who is coached by her husband Rainer Hoffman.

The Player Council will re-visit the issue at the tour championships in Doha in November.

Ivanovic little troubled by De Los Rios

French Open champion Ivanovic, who reached the semi-finals here last year, had far too much power for her 103rd-ranked opponent, belting winners at will from the back of the court.

Ivanovic, 20, saw off her 32-year-old opponent in under an hour and will next face France’s Nathalie Dechy.

Ivanovic gets favorable draw at Wimbledon

The top-seeded Serb, who became the new world No. 1 with her win at Roland Garros, has just one top-10 player in her quarter of the the draw. That player is eighth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who has struggled this year and has just one semifinal appearance over her last 10 events.

Ivanovic will open the grasscourt major against Rossana De Los Rios of Paraguay.

Things could get a bit more tricky for Ivanovic in the semifinals where she faces a potential matchup with either No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia or sixth-seeded American Serena Williams, who is 25-3 this season and has two Wimbledon titles to her credit (2002-03).

With defending champion Venus Williams on the opposite side of the draw, there is the chance an all-Williams championship.

Venus, 28, is the seventh seed in this edition of the tournament, which she also won in 2000, 2001 and 2005. Her biggest challenge en route to the round of four could come in the quarters against second-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic, a semifinalist at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year.

The remaining quarter of the draw includes three of the best Russian players in the game at the moment.

Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova is the three seed, French Open runner-up Dinara Safina is the No. 9 and Elena Dementieva is seeded fifth.

Safina made a name for herself at Roland Garros when she rallied from a set and 5-2 down against both Sharapova and Dementieva.

The hot-handed 22-year-old, who has reached the final of her last three tournaments played, could face Dementieva in the fourth round and Sharapova in the quarters.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport, also is located in that portion of the draw as the 25th seed, will open play against Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic.

The 32-year-old American has not played on the WTA Tour since early April and withdrew from this week’s event in Eastbourne due to a knee problem.

The odds of Davenport reaching another major championship appear slim as she faces the prospect of playing Dementieva in the third round, Safina in the fourth round and Sharapova in the quarters.

Wimbledon women's draw

Wimbledon draws up brackets

Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, was drawn into Federer's half of the bracket Friday for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament that begins Monday.

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who lost to Federer in the past two finals, is in the other half of the draw. He could face two-time runner-up Andy Roddick in the semifinals.

In the women's draw, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and two-time champion Serena Williams are in the same top half. No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams, the defending champion and four-time winner, are in the other half of the draw.

Federer, who has won 59 straight matches on grass, will open play on Centre Court on Monday against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. Hrbaty, who reached a ranking of No. 12 in 2004, has dropped to No. 272.

Federer could face a third-round match against Gael Monfils, whom he beat in the French Open semifinals, and either 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt -- the last man to win Wimbledon before Federer-- or Fernando Gonzalez in the fourth. His projected quarter-final opponent is Spain's fifth-seeded David Ferrer.

Nadal, coming off his fourth straight French Open victory and first grass-court title at Queen's Club, will open against German qualifier Andreas Beck. Nadal could face Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round, Britain's Andy Murray or 2007 semifinalist Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals and either No. 4 Nikolay Davydekno or No. 6 Roddick in the semis.

Roddick has a possible fourth-round encounter against fellow American James Blake.

Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in the Queen's final, has a first-round match against Michael Berrer of Germany and could face a tough second-round matchup with Russia's Marat Safin, a former No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam winner. Djokovic could meet 2002 finalist David Nalbandian in the quarter-finals before a potential showdown with Federer.

The 21-year-old Serbian believes Federer is vulnerable after his lopsided defeat to Nadal in the French Open final and lack of a Grand Slam title this year.

"Some things are changing. I think he's a little bit shaken with that loss and mentally he has been struggling in the last couple of months," Djokovic said earlier this week in London. "New names are coming, fresh talented players who believe more they can win against him and I am one of them. Suddenly he is worried a little bit."

Venus Williams, seeded No. 7, will open defence of the women's title against British wild card entry Naomi Cavaday.

Williams could meet Sania Mirza in the third round, Daniela Hantuchova in the fourth, Jankovic in the quarters and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.

The Williams sisters could meet in the final.

Ivanovic, who took over the No. 1 ranking after winning the French Open for her first major title, faces Rossana De Los Rio of Paraguay in the first round. She could face Anna Chakvetadze in the quarter-finals and either Serena Williams or No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetzova in the semis.

Serena Williams could face 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round and either Kuznetsova or last year's runner-up, Marion Bartoli, in the quarters.

Ivanovic to show crown fits perfectly at Wimbledon

The Serb emerged imperiously from the struggle for the top ranking at the French Open earlier this month and showed she was the natural heir to Henin, the livewire Belgian who stunned tennis by announcing her retirement at the age of 25 last month.

The 20-year-old from Belgrade left Roland Garros with her first grand slam title, the world’s top ranking and knowledge she has the power, timing and movement to dominate the game.

“You just have to make sure you keep doing the right things on the court and play your matches and the rankings, they take care of themselves,” Ivanovic said after beating Russia’s Dinara Safina in the Roland Garros final.

“I think I have a good chance (of winning Wimbledon),” said Ivanovic, who lost to eventual champion Venus Williams in the semi-finals last year. “I’ve been working really hard and this hard work gives results.”

There are fewer loose cannons in the women’s game to shock Ivanovic, who missed the warm-up event at Eastbourne this week to rest an abductor muscle strain, in the early rounds. No Ivo Karlovic or Mario Ancic-like threats lurk in the women’s draw and she should progress to the quarter-finals with ease.

GRASS DANGERS

There she could meet one of the Williams sisters, so dangerous on grass even if they looked a shadow of their former selves in Paris.

Venus, who has just turned 28 and is seeded seventh, will be playing her 12th Wimbledon, has a 51-7 win-loss record and has won the major four times.

Both she and sixth-seeded sister Serena, 26 and twice a champion here, have the experience, power and guile on grass to break the eastern European cartel.

Should she overcome that hurdle Ivanovic is seeded to face Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova or Maria Sharapova before a showdown with second-ranked Serbian rival Jelena Jankovic.

Questions have to be asked about Jankovic’s temperament after her grand slam semi-final record slumped to 0-4 with the defeat by Ivanovic in Paris. Kuznetsova, never past the last eight in London, generally gets found out by the more fleet of foot on the slick surface.

Sharapova, winner in 2004, looked anything but a world number one in Paris, giving away almost 11 games in double faults and complaining of a shoulder injury, until Safina finally put her out of her misery in round four.

But she has experience of lifting the Rosewater Dish and the hurt of loss to the bludgeoning Safina and with it her top ranking, will undoubtedly spur her on.

“My chances are just as good as everybody’s, it’s all about who takes their chances,” said Sharapova, who has chosen to stay away from the warm-up events before her Wimbledon tilt.

France’s Amelie Mauresmo is a shadow of the player who lifted the title in 2006 and is labouring with a leg injury.

Ivanovic said in Paris winning a grand slam was something she had dreamt about “since I was a little kid.”

“It’s my incentive to keep working hard and win more of these trophies.”

Few would bet against her work failing to pay off on Centre Court on July 5.

Wimbledon Countdown: Women to watch

The newly crowned French Open champion and world number one is quickly filling the power vacuum left by Justine Henin's sudden retirement. Having claimed her first Grand Slam title in Paris at the start of the month, Ivanovic will look to improve on a semi-finals appearance at Wimbledon one year ago. Serbia's 20-year-old superstar withdrew from Eastbourne with a muscle injury, but that was likely just a precautionary measure as she is certain to be ready in time for the All England Club.

The also ran: Jelena Jankovic

A disappointing 2007 singles campaign has caused the Serbian and world number two to abandon her mixed doubles title defence with home favourite Jamie Murray in the hopes of securing greater solo spoils. The decision should help Jankovic improve on her fourth round showing at the All England Club. But unlike her younger compatriot, and despite her world number two ranking, the 23-year-old has yet to truly crack into the big time, falling four times in Grand Slam semi-finals in the past two years. Whether or not she's able to make that final breakthrough in such an open and dangerous field is a matter of debate.

The champion: Venus Williams

The six-time finalist and current holder came out of absolutely nowhere in 2005 and 2007 to storm to two of her four Wimbledon trophies. The American will have to do the same again after going well under the radar in 2008. Her disappointing French Open result was not surprising, and though she has yet to win a title this year Venus is perfectly capable of usurping the form sheet yet again.

Will she or wont she: Serena Williams

Still viewed as the more likely of the legendary sisters to find her form and swoop to a third All England title, Serena will also come into this year's tournaments with a host of questions. Is she fit, is she focused enough on her tennis, will she actually perform to her brilliant abilities? The American number one is still capable of greatness, as she proved at last year's Australian Open and at the start of this year's campaign when she won three consecutive titles. But will that potential shine through on the grassy centre court at SW19?

The girl named Maria: Maria Sharapova

The Russian superstar started the 2008 season in equally spectacular fashion as she ended her 2007 campaign - winning a third career Grand Slam title with her first Australian Open triumph. But the world number three has once again tapered off, crashing out of the French in the last 16 to eventual runner-up Dinara Safina and losing her number one ranking to Ana Ivanovic just one tournament after taking it from the retired Justine Henin. Still, the 2004 champion is a threat in any Grand Slam and a definite title contender.

The sleeper part two: Dinara Safina

The shock French Open finalist had a brilliant claycourt season, earning astonishing come-from-behind upsets of Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva at Roland Garros and beating Justine Henin in the Belgian's last-ever match in Berlin. But Marat's hot-headed lil' sis has never been able to translate her game to grass, with a third-round performance her best ever result at the All England Club. The Russian will likely have to wait until Flushing Meadows if she's to make another sleeper run through a Grand Slam draw.

Ms. Consistency: Svetlana Kuznetsova

The three-time quarter-finalist has never been spectacular on this surface, but is solid enough to make a run at any Grand Slam. A devastating 6-3 6-2 loss to Russian compatriot Safina in the French semis won't likely affect the tough-minded 22-year-old's morale ahead of Wimbledon.

Ms. Inconsistency: Elena Dementieva

If she can hold her nerve and serve, Dementieva could be a true contender at every major. But her capitulation to Safina while leading by a set and 5-2 in the second set, though exactly similar to Sharapova's loss against Safina, is more indicative of mental weakness in Dementieva than it is in the three-time Grand Slam champion. Where her head is at when she comes to SW19 will have a major impact on her game and could have a big effect on the tournament.

The star in waiting: Agnieszka Radwanska

The Polish teenager is coming to age at just the right time, with several notable retirements, including Justine Henin and Martina Hingis, opening the door for a new generation of stars. Though her upset of then defending champion Maria Sharapova at Flushing Meadows last year was a shock, nobody should be surprised by Radwanska now. A big-hitter in the mould of Sharapova and a former Junior champion at the All England Club, the world number 14 certainly has what it takes to one day become a Wimbledon star.

The fallen finalist: Marion Bartoli

Last year's runner-up overcame Jankovic and Henin on her way to a shock final appearance last year. But the Frenchwoman has struggled horribly since, and her recent second-round exit after receiving a bye at Birmingham does not bode well for her chances in Southwest London.

The rest: Former champions Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo have struggled to overcome injuries, but could have a part to play. Nicole Vaidisova reached the quarter-finals last year, as did Michaella Krajicek but neither has performed well this season. Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Vera Zvonareva could take advantage of high seeds, as could Hungarian number one Daniela Hantuchova, while French teenager Alize Cornet is very well suited for grass.

Ivanovic, Federer top Wimbledon seeds

There were no big surprises when the All England Club announced the seedings for the grass-court Grand Slam, which opens Monday.

Wimbledon stuck closely to the world rankings, particularly among the women, in determining the seeding lists for the two-week tournament.

The top seven spots in the men's list follow the rankings -- headed by Federer, who is going for his sixth straight Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam championship.

Next up is No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain, runner-up at Wimbledon the past two years, and No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the Australian Open champion. They are followed by No. 4 Russian Nikolay Davydenko, No. 5 David Ferrer of Spain, No. 6 and two-time finalist Andy Roddick of the U.S., and No. 7 David Nalbandian of Argentina.

Richard Gasquet and James Blake swap spots, with the Frenchman at No. 8 ahead of the American at No. 9.

The biggest change involves Marcos Baghdatis, who is seeded at No. 10 -- 15 spots above his world ranking.

The Cypriot player reached the semifinals in 2006 and the quarters last year.

Among the women, Wimbledon kept to the rankings all the way through the first 20 seeded players.

The list is headed by Ivanovic, who won the French Open for her first Grand Slam title and took over as No. 1.

She is followed by fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic at No. 2, former champion Maria Sharapova of Russia at No. 3, No. 4 Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 5 Elena Dementieva, also of Russia, No. 6 and two-time winner Serena Williams of the U.S., and defending champion and four-time winner Venus Williams at No. 7.

The draw for the tournament will be held Friday.

Ivanovic withdraws from Wimbledon warmup

Ivanovic assumed the No. 1 ranking by winning the French Open last week.

“I have a problem with my abductor. I am also mentally exhausted after the French Open—I am not ready to compete so soon after winning my first Grand Slam,” the 20-year-old Serbian player said. “I have taken this decision with some regret.”

Ivanovic officially takes over at No. 1

Ivanovic is the 17th woman, and first representing Serbia, to be No. 1.

She entered the French Open at a career-high No. 2, but overtook Sharapova, who lost in the fourth round.

“Being No. 1 now holds more pressure,” Ivanovic said after beating Dinara Safina in straight sets in Saturday’s championship match. “But you’re also a professional athlete, and if you want to achieve your goals, you have to learn how to handle the pressure.”

Safina rose from No. 14 to No. 9, matching her career high.

Sharapova is now No. 2, followed by the losing semifinalists at Roland Garros, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Jankovic would have risen to No. 1 if she had beaten Ivanovic in their semifinal.

Elena Dementieva rose from No. 8 to No. 5. Serena Williams slipped one spot to No. 6, and Venus Williams stayed at No. 7. Both Williams sisters lost in the third round at Roland Garros.

There was no change in any of the top six spots in the ATP rankings, with French Open champion Rafael Nadal staying at No. 2 for the 151st consecutive week. The man he beat 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 in Sunday’s championship match, Roger Federer, remains at No. 1, extending his record by sitting atop the rankings for the 228th consecutive week.

Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who lost to Nadal in the French Open semifinals, is still No. 3, followed by Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer and No. 6 Andy Roddick.

James Blake moved up one spot to No. 7, with David Nalbandian falling to No. 8. Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet round out the top 10.

Beaming Ivanovic achieves lifetime goal in Paris

The 20-year-old, beaten in the final last year and runner-up at the Australian Open in January, defeated Russian Dinara Safina 6-4 6-3 to become the first grand slam singles winner representing Serbia.

“I feel so happy, I have no words to describe that,” Ivanovic told reporters between smiles. “Winning a grand slam title is something I dreamed of since I was a little kid, so achieving that goal, it’s very thrilling.

“You work so hard, off the court, on the court, and you put so much effort into it. I love the game and I enjoy playing, so this is the best reward I can get.”

Twelve months ago, Ivanovic was overcome by nerves as she folded in the final at Roland Garros against Justine Henin.

In January, she again struggled to cope in the final of the Australian Open when she was beaten by Maria Sharapova.

On Saturday, though, Ivanovic held her nerve when Safina threatened to wrest the first set from her grasp after recovering from 4-1 down to level at 4-4.

After pinching the first set, the Serbian kept her cool to ease to victory.

TOUGH LOSS

She said the experience of losing in Paris and Melbourne had helped her to win this time.

“(Australia) was a very tough loss for me and I had a few sleepless nights after that, honestly,” Ivanovic said.

“But it’s something I learned from. So this time I really tried not to think about that at all and just focus on my game.

Ivanovic, who will be confirmed as the new world number one when the rankings are released on Monday, was presented with the trophy by Henin after the Belgian watched the match from the stands.

That, Ivanovic said, was the icing on the cake.

“Seeing her today in the crowd made me feel really, really good,” Ivanovic said. “I thought ‘maybe I can be like her, I can win a title’. So it was really thrilling when she also handed me the trophy.

“This title is very important for me, because that was my dream for a long time. Reaching number one before I played this match in the final was a great award. But when you’re on the court you have to play your game, and rankings speak for themselves.”

Ivanovic said she was now looking forward to Wimbledon, starting on June 23. When asked if she would be able to handle the pressure that comes with being world number one and a grand slam winner, she had a simple response.

“The future comes soon enough, so why worry about it,” she said.

Second time is a charm

Showing no sign of the nerves that afflicted her a year ago, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by beating Russian Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3.

By reaching the final, Ivanovic had already assured herself of being ranked No. 1 for the first time next week. And the Serb's performance was No. 1-calibre against Safina.

"I'm just so happy I kept my composure until the end," Ivanovic said during the trophy ceremony. "Last year's final was a great learning experience."

A shaky Ivanovic played in her first major at Roland Garros in 2007 and won only three games from Belgian's Justine Henin. But against Safina she was as cool as the 18 C weather, showing hardly a bead of perspiration even as she sprinted from corner to corner retrieving shots.

Ivanovic, 20, slugged winners from both sides, feasted on Safina's sometimes shaky serve and scurried to extend points, which led to plenty of entertaining rallies. Ivanovic won most of them, including one frantic exchange that she finished off with a delicate drop shot and ferocious fist pump.

Ivanovic won match point with a backhand up the line, then dropped her racket, collapsed into a crouch and covered her face. After blowing kisses to the crowd, she used a chair to climb into the stands and share hugs with family and friends.

"This was amazing," Ivanovic said. "I still don't realize what happened.

"As a kid, when I used to go by bike to practice, I used to dream of this."

Henin, a four-time French Open champion who retired last month while ranked No. 1, applauded from the front row.

For the third consecutive year Sunday, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Spain's Rafael Nadal will meet in the men's final. The top-ranked Federer will again try for the only Grand Slam title to elude him, and Nadal will attempt to become the first player since Sweden's Bjorn Borg in 1981 to win a fourth consecutive French Open title.

Ivanovic's worst moment came serving at 4-3 in the first set, when she squandered a 40-love lead by losing the next five points. She quickly regrouped and won five of the next six games to take command.

First-time Grand Slam finalist Safina fended off a match point in consecutive rounds this week, rallying each time after she lost the first set and trailed 5-2 in the second. But the Russian ran out of comebacks.

She needed 20 points to hold for 3-4 in the second set, and from 15-all in the next game, Ivanovic swept the last seven points.

"I hope I can come back next year again," Safina said.

Seeded 13th, Safina was trying to join her brother, two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, in winning a major title. They're the first sister and brother to reach a Grand Slam final.

The final was the third in the past five major tournaments for Ivanovic. She was runner-up at this year's Australian Open to Russian Maria Sharapova, who will be supplanted in the No. 1 ranking next week by Ivanovic.

Ivanovic eager to face never-say-die Safina

The second seed, last year’s runner-up, is assured of the world number one ranking whatever happens against the 13th-seeded Safina, who knocked out previous incumbent Maria Sharapova in the fourth round at Roland Garros.

For the first time in three grand slam final appearances, Ivanovic will be expected to win.

“The other day someone asked me, ‘Are you going to forget the (last year’s) final and play a different one? No, because it was a great learning experience,” said Ivanovic, who lost 6-1 6-2 to the now retired Justine Henin in the 2007 final.

“I learned a lot from Justine and the emotions I was feeling going on the court. So I really hope I can work hard on it and play different this year.

“Obviously I feel like a different player coming into this French Open. A lot of experience I gain from that final and the final in Australia, so I really hope I can step up this time and make one more step.”

She suffered heavy defeats to Henin and to Sharapova in the Australian Open final in January, but against the world number 14, she is the undoubted favorite.

However, Safina is a tough nut to crack, as Sharapova, Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova can vouch.

ROLLING OVER

Marat Safin’s younger sister, who admits she still cries when she watches her brother’s 2005 Australian Open semi-final victory over Roger Federer, twice came back from match point down to advance.

Against Sharapova and Dementieva, she was a set and 5-2 down before staving off a match point on her serve, rallying back and rolling over her compatriots.

Kuznetsova, who had been tipped by Henin as a potential winner in Paris this year, was helpless in the semi-final, losing 6-3 6-2.

Safina, nicknamed ‘Marata’ because of her tendency to lose her temper like her brother, is ready to give her all to clinch her first slam title.

“If I have to die, I will have to die on the court, because there is no more point in saving energy for nothing, so I have to give all my energy,” she said.

Safina was quick to put the pressure on her opponent.

Asked ahead of Thursday’s semi-final between Ivanovic and third seed Jelena Jankovic if there was a chance she would feel tense, she said: “Pressure, no. I mean, they’re the ones who are better ranked and better players, so all the pressure has to be on them. They have to prove.”

Safina, who won the German Open last month, is 2-1 down in her meetings with Ivanovic but her only win came on the Berlin clay three years ago.

And Safina has the game it takes to bother Ivanovic on the red dirt.

Her top-spin is probably one of the best weapons against the flat-hitting Ivanovic, who recorded 43 winners but also 45 unforced errors in her 6-4 3-6 6-4 defeat of compatriot Jankovic.

French Open women's finalists at a glance

No. 2 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia vs. No. 13 Dinara Safina of Russia:

Ivanovic:
Right-handed, 20, born in Belgrade, Serbia, and lives in Basel, Switzerland. … Playing the French Open for the fourth time; best result before this year was reaching the 2007 final, where she lost 6-1, 6-2 to Justine Henin. … Saturday’s match will be her third Grand Slam final; lost to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open championship match in January. … A semifinalist or better at four of the past five majors.Has lost one set and 34 games at the French Open this year. … Beat Sofia Arvidsson, Lucie Safarova, No. 30 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 10 Patty Schnyder, No. 3 Jelena Jankovic. … Has won six career singles titles, one this year. … 26-6 this season. … Will move up to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time Monday, regardless of how she does in the Roland Garros final. … Twice honored as tour’s most improved player, for her 2005 and 2007 seasons. … First player to represent Serbia in a Grand Slam singles final. … Coached by Sven Groeneveld.

Safina:
Right-handed, 22, born in Moscow, Russia, and lives in Monte Carlo, Monaco. … Playing the French Open for the sixth time; best result before this year was reaching the quarterfinals in 2006. … Will be playing in her first Grand Slam final. … Has dropped two sets and 44 games at the French Open this year. … Beat Kateryna Bondarenko, Magdalena Rybarikova, Zheng Jie, No. 1 Maria Sharapova, No. 7 Elena Dementieva, No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova. … Was one point from losing against both Sharapova and Dementieva, and trailed by a set and 5-2 in the second in each of those matches. … Could become the first woman to win a Grand Slam title after having saved a match point in two matches at the tournament … Has won six career singles titles, one this year. … 23-10 this season. … Will reach No. 9 in Monday’s rankings, tying her career high. … Younger sister of Marat Safin, who won the 2000 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open. … Coached by Raouza Islanova (her mother) and Zeljko Krajan.

Ivanovic dislodges Sharapova to secure top ranking

The 20-year-old Serb dislodged Russia’s Maria Sharapova from the top when she defeated compatriot Jelena Jankovic to reach the final of the French Open on Thursday.

“Being number one is a dream come true for me,” said Ivanovic, who will face Russian Dinara Safina in the Roland Garros showpiece on Saturday.

“It was a big surprise because I was so focused on the tournament. This is a great achievement and something that I’m very proud of. It hasn’t exactly hit me yet because it won’t be official until Monday. I’m sure we’ll have a big celebration then.”

Ivanovic had been in a four-way race with Jankovic and Russians Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova to secure the top spot at the end of the claycourt grand slam.

But the defeats of her three main rivals before Saturday’s final means Ivanovic clinched the ranking early.

Sharapova’s latest stint at the top spot would have lasted for only three weeks as she took over as world number one after Justine Henin requested to be removed from the standings following her retirement last month.

The Serbian is the 17th player to claim the top spot since its inception in the mid 1970s.

“We have all witnessed the dramatic rise in Serbian tennis during the last few years and on Monday that will reach a new pinnacle when Ana Ivanovic is recognised as the WTA Tour’s new number one player,” WTA Tour chief Larry Scott said in a statement.

“Ana is both a remarkable player and person, and no doubt the best is still yet to come in her still young career. It is inspiring to see Ana’s years of hard work and determination being rewarded.”

Ivanovic has enjoyed a remarkable 12 months, which includes reaching two French Open finals and a runner-up finish at the Australian Open in January.

Ivanovic hangs tough to set up Safina date

Ana Ivanovic produced a scrappy, brittle and erratic performance but that did not stop her from ascending to the top of the women’s rankings following a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic.

Ivanovic may have fulfilled one of her childhood dreams by ending Maria Sharapova’s reign as world number one but she will be aware that top spot will count for little if she fails to win the claycourt crown at Roland Garros on Saturday.

“It was a tough match, there were lots of ups and down. I was just so happy to stay strong in the end and win the match, but it was a very tough one,” said Ivanovic, a finalist here 12 months ago and at the Australian Open in January.

Asked what her plans would be for the night after she blew a 3-1 lead in the final set, Jankovic joked: “Kill myself?”

While Jankovic tried to comprehend another semi-final flop at a major, Ivanovic will be hoping it will be third time lucky.

To win the title Ivanovic will have to break the indomitable spirit of Safina, who reached her first grand slam final by overpowering fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3 6-2.

The younger sister of Marat Safin had staged two successive great escapes, coming from a set and match points down to beat Sharapova and seventh seed Elena Dementieva, to reach the semis.

It led to fourth seed Kuznetsova declaring: “She has too many lives, so I have to be careful with her.”

But the 2004 U.S. Open champion failed to heed her own words and became the third top-10 seed to fall under Safina’s spell.

“It was pretty horrible,” said a disgusted Kuznetsova, whom Justine Henin had picked as her successor to the title.

“I felt pretty bad out there, I could not give her fight because I was fighting first against myself and I cannot go further than that.”

HOT HEAD

Playing a hot-headed rival who had spent almost 5-1/2 hours on court in her last two matches, Kuznetsova would have been expected to wear down Safina.

She had no such luck, however, and her normally reliable forehand crumbled. No matter what she tried, she shanked forehands wide, behind the baseline, and even into her own half of the court.

After the first set, which featured five breaks, Kuznetsova suddenly exploded in the fifth game of the second when she was down 0-15. She blasted the ball 12 rows deep into the stands, incurring a warning.

Such outbursts would normally be expected from Safina rather than her opponent but not on Thursday. The 13th-seeded Russian kept a lid on her emotions and sealed the greatest triumph of her career when Kuznetsova ballooned yet another forehand wide.

“At 5-2 I got a little bit tight but I thought no, no, no, otherwise I will go home. It feels amazing,” grinned Safina.

“But I’m still here. I won in straight sets so that’s strange for me. I didn’t expect I could get into the final. The less you expect, the more you get.”

The win also gave the Safin family a unique place in the record books. With Marat owning two grand slam trophies, Safina’s win on Thursday means Saturday’s final will mark the first time a brother and sister have appeared in grand slam singles finals.

Ivanovic had shimmied into the last four, dropping only 20 games en route. But her contest against Jankovic, in which the number one ranking was also on the line, was plain ugly.

Both players had honed their skills in a drained swimming pool back home in Belgrade but they might as well have been playing in a pool of water as they struggled to stay afloat.

Error after error was followed by break point after break point. With neither being able to assert her authority, both became tetchy and tested the umpire’s patience by dragging him down from his chair time and again to inspect the mark on the close line calls.

In the end, the statistics told their own story. With at least 30 break points in the match and 13 of them being converted, the first all-Serb grand slam semi-final will not be remembered as a classic.

Open-All or nothing attitude key to win, says Ivanovic

Having squandered a set and 3-1 lead to fall 3-1 down in the deciding set against fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic, she stormed back to win 6-4 3-6 6-4 thanks to a series of winners, putting her into the final against Russian Dinara Safina.

“Today I felt, especially in the second set when I had some break point chances, I started to be too defensive and not stepping up and being dominant,” Ivanovic said.

“Obviously I had a great tournament and great preparation, so that gives me confidence in these key moments to believe and to step up.

“She’s a player that if you give her chances she can use them. She loves to defend and to run, so you just have to take these kind of risks and believe. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.”

Ivanovic was typically emotional in the semi-final, pumping her fist in delight at her winners and looking up to her support group in the stands after every mistake.

There were plenty of mistakes in the second set as Jankovic levelled the match and then moved ahead 3-1 in the decider, but Ivanovic pulled herself together in the nick of time before roaring back for victory.

“There was a little bit of anxiety built up, because I had my chances in the second set and didn’t use them,” she said.

“She started playing really well, and I was too passive at times. I tried to step up a little bit more and then made some unforced errors, so I had to go back to basics.

“I found it hard at the time, but towards the end of the set I managed to calm down and step up.”

Ivanovic will replace Maria Sharapova at the top of the world rankings when the new list is issued on Monday, but the Serbian said she had not been aware, before starting her semi-final, that victory would take her to the top.

“I’m very, very thrilled,” she said. “I didn’t know going on to court today. Afterwards, in the locker room, the woman told me. I was obviously very excited.

“But still, on the other hand, the tournament hasn’t ended and the rankings are coming after the tournament. Obviously every tournament you play you want to win, so that still hasn’t changed.”

Ivanovic, Jankovic to meet in semis

Second seed Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic advanced at the claycourt major Tuesday to set up an all-Serbian semifinal in the bottom of the draw.

Both players are attempting to win their first Grand Slam title and also would become the new world No. 1 with a victory here in Roland Garros.

Ivanovic continued the push toward her second straight French Open final with a 6-3, 6-2 win over 10th-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

The second seeded Serb - a runner-up to former No. 1 Justine Henin here last season - showed good form once again as she needed just 77 minutes to oust Schnyder at the claycourt major.

Ivanovic also reached the championship match at the Australian Open in January, but current No. 1 Maria Sharapova denied her what would have been her first Grand Slam title.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic has yet to drop a set in five matches here and has won 61 of 81 games played.

Jankovic had few problems claiming a 6-3, 6-2 win over Spanish qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

The-23-year-old Jankovic is trying to reach her first Grand Slam final.

The quarterfinals in the top of the draw, to be played Wednesday, will pit No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi and No. 7 Elena Dementieva vs. 13th seed Dinara Safina in an all-Russian encounter.

Ivanovic strolls into semi-finals in Paris

The 20-year-old Serb will have to get past either third-seeded compatriot Jelena Jankovic or Spanish qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro if she is to play her second consecutive final at Roland Garros.

“Patty is an opponent that doesn’t give you many free points, so I had to adjust to that a little bit and be more patient,” said Ivanovic, who prevailed on her third match point after 76 minutes.

“I am really happy the way I’m playing at the moment, so that’s something I want to keep focused on.

“I expect tough matches so I will keep working hard and enjoy myself.”

Schnyder admitted there was not much she could have done against Ivanovic, who will take over from Maria Sharapova at the top of the world rankings if she wins her first grand slam.

“She’s so tall and has more power than me. In those conditions, it’s really tough for me to win,” said the Swiss.

“She played smart. She didn’t go for too much, and so it was the way she won today.”

Wearing a candy pink dress contrasting with Schnyder’s turquoise, Ivanovic opened with a series of forehand winners.

After winning the first game to love, she broke in the second but Schnyder, a claycourt specialist, broke back and leveled to 2-2.

The Swiss could not match her opponent’s power, however, and Ivanovic stole her serve for a 4-2 lead, going on to claim the opening set after 37 minutes.

Schnyder mixed it up in the second set, trying out some drop shots to trouble Ivanovic’s well-oiled baseline game.

But she was too clumsy and Ivanovic broke twice again, holding serve throughout.

She threw away two match points, one with a double fault, but sealed the win when Schnyder returned a forehand wide.

Ivanovic, who lost her first four matches against Schnyder, has now won their last four meetings.

Ivanovic rolls into quarters

The second-seeded Serb stormed into the quarterfinals at the claycourt Grand Slam on Sunday with a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Petra Cetkovska.

The runner-up last year, Ivanovic needed just over 54 minutes on center court to dispose of Cetkovska.

Ivanovic lost the first two points of the match, then dominated the rest of the way as she recorded the second love result of the women’s tournament, and her first since 2005.

“It was much tougher than it probably looked, or the results indicate” Ivanovic said. “I had to work really hard, and I played almost without mistake today.”

Ivanovic, who has yet to lose a set in the tournament, next will meet No. 10 Patty Schnyder, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Katarina Srebotnik.

“I was really happy the way I performed all these matches so far,” said Ivanovic, a finalist at the Australian Open. “I had fun out there today. I want to keep the hard work and keep grinding on the clay.”

Ranked 77th in the world, Cetkovska was playing in just her third Grand Slam tournament.

“I put too much pressure on me, and I tried to do too much,” Cetkovska said. “But then, of course, she played very well.”

Third-seeded Jelena Jankovic booked her spot in the quarters, overcoming an injury in a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory over No. 14 Agnieszka Radwanska.

Holding a 6-3, 2-1 lead, Jankovic was forced to the sidelines where she had her neck and shoulder worked on by a trainer. She then squandered a 5-1 lead before winning in the tiebreak.

“I made it a lot harder work than it should be,” Jankovic. “I should have finished the match earlier, but I let her come back.”

Jankovic also was treated for a wrist injury in her second-round match. The Serb took the court Sunday with her wrist heavily taped, an injury she admitted she struggled with at times.

“I started to feel the pain in the beginning of the second set and since then it’s been pain, pain, pain,” the 23-year-old said.

A semifinalist here last year, Jankovic next will meet unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Flavia Pennetta.

Pennetta, who had eliminated Venus Williams in the third round, committed 37 unforced errors against the 19-year-old Suarez Navarro.

“I thought the match would probably be a bit more difficult,” said Suarez Navarro, a debutant at the French Open.

Having lost in the fourth round in each of the last three years, Schnyder finally made it back to the quarters. The Swiss native took advantage of a break in the ninth game, then served out the match en route to reaching the round of eight for the first time since 1998.

Srebotnik, who committed 30 unforced errors, was unable to build on a surprising third-round win over fifth-seeded American Serena Williams.

Ivanovic overcomes wobble to reach last 16

The Serb, a finalist at Roland Garros last year, will meet Petra Cetkovska for a quarter-final spot after the Czech beat compatriot Iveta Benesova 6-3 6-3.

Initially it looked like Ivanovic would roll over the 30th seed when she broke in the first game but the Serb was also struggling on her serve.

Despite dropping serve twice in the opener, the second seed took command of the contest after 52 minutes by breaking for the third time in the set.

Ivanovic showed signs of frustration on Centre Court but relied on her sharp forehand to break Wozniacki’s resilience.

Once the world number two broke the Dane’s serve in the third game of the second set, she never looked back.

Ivanovic piled on the pressure from then on, breaking again with one of her 19 forehand winners, before wrapping up victory on her first match point after 89 minutes.

Ivanovic’s path to the semis was also made easier on Friday when fifth seed Serena Williams, the only former women’s champion in Paris, was knocked out by Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik.

Merciless Ivanovic rolls over Safarova

The Serbian second seed basked in the sunshine on the bullring Court One as she smothered her Czech opponent in a quickfire 55 minutes.

Safarova made it through to the fourth round last year, claiming the scalp of local darling Amelie Mauresmo en route, but there was to be no repeat.

The left-handed Safarova has a reputation for bludgeoning groundstrokes off both wings but on Wednesday she had barely settled in when she saw the first five games flash by her.

Safarova briefly managed to break the rut by getting her name on the scoreboard but Ivanovic responded by reeling off another five games to move 6-1 4-0 ahead.

The Serb ended Safarova’s brief stay at this year’s championships by punching a forehand winner down the line on her first match point.

“I expected a very tough match, so to win with a score like this, it’s definitely a great, great proof that I played good today,” said Ivanovic.

“I prepared myself that I have to work hard for every point and that’s what I did out there.

“I put a lot of pressure on her but she made mistakes when I didn’t expect it.”

The 20-year-old, runner-up in last year’s final to the retired Justine Henin, will next face Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

Ivanovic opens in Paris as Kuerten prepares farewell

Last year’s runner-up Ivanovic thrashed her Swedish opponent 6-2 6-0 and will expect something close to a repeat when the year’s second Grand Slam event gets under way.

Fellow Serb Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, will be next on Centre Court against Germany’s Denis Gremelmayr, a semi-finalist in Barcelona earlier this month.

The French Open romantics, however, will focus on the third match on Centre Court where Brazil’s three-times champion Gustavo Kuerten faces French 18th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu.

“Probably tomorrow will be my last match,” the champion in 1997, 2000 and 2001, who has been ravaged by hip injuries, told reporters on Saturday.

“I’m sure here’s going to be my last tournament. I was trying to get a chance also at the Olympics but it’s been very hard for me this month.”

Sixth seed David Nalbandian, twice a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, will open his account on Court Suzanne Lenglen against fellow Argentine Carlos Berlocq.

American fifth seed Serena Williams, the only past winner in the women’s draw following Justine Henin’s retirement earlier this month, will face compatriot Ashley Harkleroad after Britain’s Andy Murray takes on French teenager Jonathan Eysseric.

The rain poured down on Saturday’s practice sessions and forecasters predict more of the same on Sunday.

French Open Capsule

Major Titles: 0—Best: Finalist, at French in ‘07, Australian in ‘08

Last 5 French Opens: ‘07-F, ‘06-3rd, ‘05-QF, ‘04-Did Not Play, ‘03-DNP

Topspin: After making it past the fourth round only once in her first nine career majors, has been at least to the semifinals at three of the four since. … Arrives at Roland Garros on a two-match losing streak.

Henin exit opens door for Sharapova, Serbs

Henin has won four of the last five grand slams at Roland Garros and her shock retirement has left the field as open as if Roger Federer hung up his strings a fortnight before Wimbledon.

For, unless Serena Williams produces the kind of cavalier run that saw her emerge from the depths of the draw at the Australian Open last year, there will be a new champion’s name inscribed on the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on June 7.

With Henin gone, Williams, victor over sister Venus in the 2002 final, is the only former champion in the 128-strong field, and form and history point elsewhere for the successor to the diminutive Belgian’s crown.

The closest Sharapova, 21, has come to winning on the red dust in Paris was last year, but a crushing 6-2 6-1 loss to Ana Ivanovic in the semis suggested she may never win a slam away from the faster courts of Flushing Meadow and Wimbledon.

Sharapova exacted sweet revenge when she beat Ivanovic in the Australian Open final in January and victory in the season-ending Tour Championships in Madrid two months earlier suggested a steelier resolve than previously shown.

Despite a niggling calf injury she looks well set to break her Paris duck.

“Last year I basically played without a shoulder and I got to the semi-final,” Sharapova said after her withdrawal from the Italian Open earlier this month.

FOLDED MISERABLY

“At a grand slam stage you are going to do whatever it takes,” said Sharapova, who has added titles at Doha and Amelia Island since her Melbourne Park triumph.

The form of Ivanovic, who scorched her way through the draw at Roland Garros last year only to fold miserably in the final against Henin, continues to ebb between brilliant and modest.

She reached the final in Melbourne and waltzed to the title in Indian Wells in March only to exit meekly from her two appearances on clay this season in Berlin and Rome.

“I’m very excited to be going back,” the world number two told Reuters. “I have really nice memories from last year and it was a great achievement for me.

“It was also kind of unexpected so this year for sure I’m looking forward to taking one more step and maybe winning the title but it is going to be very hard.”

Ivanovic will be more aware than anyone of the threat to her Paris aspirations posed by Serbian rival Jelena Jankovic.

Unlike the top two seeds, Jankovic has a clay title under her belt this season (Rome) although she had never passed the third round at Roland Garros until last year when she seemed destined to challenge before a walloping from Henin in the last four.

“Now she’s (Henin) not playing, I have a bigger chance. I am playing well at the moment, I think I have a big opportunity to do well at the French Open,” she said.

The loose cannon as ever is Serena Williams and, as she proved in Melbourne last year, is at her very best when written off.

Her 17-match winning streak came to an end in Berlin only at the start of this month, beating Jankovic, Sharapova and Henin in the process while picking up titles at Bangalore, Miami and Charleston.

She pulled out of the Italian Open quarter-finals with a back injury this month, but she said: “I don’t expect this to cause any problems with my preparation for the French. I feel like I am going to be good going into Roland Garros.

“I am in really good form, so I’m going to be going in there with a couple of wins under my belt.”

French Open - Women to watch

Back on top: Maria Sharapova
After struggling with a back injury throughout a 2007 season that was dominated by Henin, the scintillating Siberian returned to form at the end of last year with a brilliant performance that nearly saw her past the world number one in the WTA Championships. In Melbourne, Sharapova illustrated why 2008 is likely going to be the year of Maria as she crushed Henin, Jelena Jankovic and Ivanovic in successive matches to lift the Australian Open trophy. With Henin now out of the picture, look for Sharapova to improve on last year's best-ever Roland Garros appearance by reaching her fifth career Grand Slam final.

The ex-champion: Serena Williams
With Henin's surprise retirement this month, the American is now the only woman left in the field to have won the title. Her 2002 triumph over sister Venus may seem like ages ago, but the knowledge that Serena's arch-rival will not be in the field to trip her up again has to be reassuring. Her season has been typically solid with 23 wins, two losses and three titles. The only real spot of worry for the eight-time Grand Slam champion was her withdrawal from the Rome quarter-finals with a back injury, which the fifth seed says willl not affect her Paris campaign.

The rock: Jelena Jankovic
In what should be one of most open Grand Slam tournaments in a decade, the Serbian number two and world number three is a solid contender to improve on her semi-final appearance in Paris last season and reach her first major final. For the past year and a half she has been one of the most consistent players on Tour and remains a top player on clay. To make matters better, Jankovic again comes into the French Open on a high after defending her Italian Open title in Rome.

The underachiever: Elena Dementieva
One of the two in-form Russians this clay season, Dementieva has not been a factor in a Grand Slam tournament since 2006 due mostly to her proclivity to botch her serve in pressure situations. Still, the site of her only Grand Slam final appearance is the perfect setting for the 2004 runner-up to undergo a major revival. With a runner-up performance in Berlin, including victories over Ivanovic and Jankovic, and a semi-finals showing in Charleston, Dementieva heads into Paris on very solid footing.

The sleeper: Dinara Safina
The other form Russian, Safina's place on this list was earned in one tournament. Marat's lil' sis' was in impeccable form in the German capital this month when she stunned Henin, in what ended up being the Belgian's final professional match, before going on to upset Serena Williams and Dementieva en route to the title. Safina should replicate or improve upon her quarter-finals showing of two years ago and is serious outside bet to reach the final.

The spoiler: Vera Zvonareva
The 23-year-old Russian has started to re-realize the potential that saw her stun Venus Williams to reach the quarter-finals in Paris in 2003 and crack into the top-10 in 2004. Zvonareva has compiled a 33-8 record this year after reaching four finals, including one on the green clay of Charleston, and winning a European claycourt title in Prague. Zvonareva could very easily surprise one of the favourites in one of the later rounds.

The future of the French: Alize Cornet
The 18-year-old French up-and-comer had hoped for a break-out performance at last year's Roland Garros, but was dealt an extremely tough draw and crashed out to Venus Williams in the opening round. Cornet consoled herself and the French public by winning the girls' singles title and signalling what has come in a superb 2008 spring campaign. In five claycourt tournaments this season, Cornet has reached two finals and two semi-finals. With a top-20 seed coming, the Nice native could hand the desperate French public a memorable Parisian run.

The X-Factor: Svetlana Kuznetsova
The 2006 runner-up has been a virtual ghost this claycourt season, dropping out quietly in the third round of her two appearances at Rome and Berlin. Kuznetsova could also be unceremoniously dumped out in the third round in the French capital. But she could just as easily reach the final. Due to her enormous comfort level on Paris' clay and brilliant court movement, we have to consider thee three-time Grand Slam finalist amongst the challengers.

And the rest: Along with the Australian Open, Roland Garros has been the most vexing Grand Slam for Venus Williams, but the American is still one of the biggest threats on tour. Anna Chakvetadze reached the quarter-finals last year, but has struggled in 2008. Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder has put together some good results this year, while Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues has played well but will be burdened by her low seed. As she showed against Ivanovic, Tsvetana Pironkova is perfectly capable of causing an early surprise.

Shock favourite Ivanovic toughens up for French

Ivanovic lost to Justine Henin in last year’s final after succumbing to an attack of nerves and yet she suddenly finds herself the favourite to win the title on June 7 after the Belgian’s shock decision to retire from the sport.

To prepare for this year’s assault on Roland Garros, where action begins on Sunday, Ivanovic has concentrated on the physical challenges of playing long gruelling matches on clay.

“I’ve been working a lot on my specific movement on clay,” she told Reuters in an interview at the Sony Ericsson WTA tour event in Berlin, in the week prior to Henin’s announcement.

“The important thing has been fitness, trying to slide and this kind of thing because that’s something that’s going to help me. Movement on clay is a lot different to the hard courts.”

To get ready for the change in style on clay, that has meant a lot of work with her fitness instructor.

“You have to be very strong in your core and your adductor muscles and that’s something my fitness coach is taking care of. We’re working hard,” she said.

Ivanovic was speaking before she had played her first match of the season on clay.

She went on to lose in the semi-finals in Berlin to Elena Dementieva and then lost her first match in Rome 6-4 5-7 6-2 to the Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.

QUICKLY FADED

If she can recapture her form from last year’s French Open she will be a worthy favourite but if she is to get her hands on the trophy, she will have to get her head straight as well.

Ivanovic played so well in six games at last year’s French Open, particularly in her victory over Maria Sharapova, only for her form to desert her in the final against Henin.

At times she seemed scarcely able to toss the ball up for her serve and quickly faded to a 6-1 6-2 defeat but still, her good memories from Paris far outweigh the bad.

“I’m very excited to be going back,” she said. “I have really nice memories from last year and it was great achievement for me.

“It was also kind of unexpected so this year for sure I’m looking forward to taking one more step and maybe winning the title but it’s going to be very hard and I’m ready for that and I’ve been working really hard so hopefully I can achieve my goals.”

Looking further ahead, Ivanovic said one of her other main goals from the season was to do well at the Olympics in Beijing and learn from her first experience of the Games.

“I’m going, yes,” Ivanovic told Reuters. “The Olympics are very important and also I feel very thrilled to have the opportunity to participate and represent my country in such an event.

“I’m very excited about the challenge and experiencing it for the first time. I’ll stay in the athletes’ village and I’m looking forward to that, just to see the other athletes and see how they practise and I think it’s going to be very exciting.”

Ivanovic gunning to take tennis world crown from Henin

The Serbian was just 19 when she won her third WTA title in Berlin last year despite being seeded 12th.

Significantly, the win saw her break into the top-ten rankings for the first time and she has barely looked back since. Ivanovic has climbed up to her present lofty position with a string of impressive results since May 2007.

She immediately backed up last year's Berlin win with a place in the Roland Garros final a few weeks later and went on to make the semi-finals at Wimbledon later that summer.

And her 2007 success meant she was laughing all the way to the bank.

Last year, she cruised past both the two million dollar and three million dollar marks for her career earnings and over 60 per cent of the total prize money she has won in her tennis career, since her 2003 debut, came last year alone.

Now a confident 20-year-old, Ivanovic usurped Maria Sharapova to take second place behind Justine Henin in the WTA rankings in January after reaching the Australian Open final.

And now she is gunning for her seventh WTA singles title in the German capital.

"I am happy to be here, this is a good opportunity for me as I did well here last year," she told AFP ahead of her opening match here on Wednesday.

"It was one of the turning points of my career, because it was where I felt I found my game and I feel like I have played like a different player ever since.

"I have learned to be far more patient and not force shots if they are not really there."

But she has gone from 12th seed to second in the space of a year and now no one will be caught by surprise when she unleashes her impressive service game.

"I now take my time far more, especially against the top players and it has given me confidence," she said.

"I feel I am better able to handle the pressure now."

And with world number one Henin attempting to recover some of her lost form after her shock defeat by Serena Williams in Miami earlier this year, Ivanovic has ambitions to rule the tennis world.

"My biggest goal is to be the world number one, I am really lucky to have people around me who push me to work harder.

"They keep me on my toes."

But showing maturity beyond her years - few other players list "history and Greek mythology" as their favourite reading material - Ivanovic signed up for a part-time finance degree last September at a Belgrade university.

"It's quite hard to keep up the studies because we travel a lot and I can't take my classes, sometimes I have to cram books into my bag and take them with me," she said.

"It's not always easy to find time to study, but it's an important part of my life.

"I won't finish the degree as fast as I would have liked, but I want to earn my degree."

Ivanovic is not alone in hitting the books, fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic has also signed up for a degree at a university in Belgrade.

And with Henin also suggesting she wants to finish her education when she retires, Ivanovic is taking her example from the best.

But for Henin dreams of studying and ski-ing holidays can wait until her retirement, right now she has the small matter of holding onto her title of best in the world with Ivanovic hard on her heels.

Davenport crushes Ivanovic in Miami

Ivanovic, who arrived in Miami after her Pacific Life Open title win in Indian Wells, appeared to have no answer against the aggressive game world number 33 Davenport brought to the court.

Ivanovic is the second top 10 player Davenport has beaten since returning to the tour last September after giving birth to her first child last June.

Davenport won 13 of 14 points at the net and cancelled out her 20 unforced errors with 20 winners.

Davenport led 6-4 3-0 when it appeared Ivanovic might fight back when she broke serve in the fourth game, but Davenport recouped the service break in the very next game and went ahead 5-1.

Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova saved a match point before beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 1-6 7-5 6-0 in the third round.

Serving for the match at 6-1 5-3, the world number 27 Azarenka missed her opportunity to create an upset when she sailed a backhand long.

Azarenka ended up double faulting away her serve in that ninth game, which provided the third-seeded Kuznetsova a new lease of life in the match.

Ivanovic coasts past Loit in Miami

The second-seeded Serbian, one of the 32 seeded players to receive a first-round bye, opened play at the $3.77 million hardcourt event with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over unseeded Frenchwoman Emilie Loit.

Ivanovic, 20, rolled over the 28-year-old Loit in just 45 minutes. She won 80 percent (12-of-15) of her first serves and did not face a break point. In their only other previous meeting (2006), Loit won just two games.

Last week, Ivanovic captured her sixth career title and first since September with a straight-sets win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Pacific Life Open final.

“It’s like a new tournament. Obviously, the time difference is a little bit hard. So you need some time to adjust as well,” Ivanovic said. “It’s completely different feeling here. So I really approach it like a new tournament. I want to focus on each match separately, and try to keep the level up.”

Saturday’s lopsided victory by Ivanovic sets up an intriguing match in the third round with No. 32 Lindsay Davenport, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Frenchwoman Camille Pin on Saturday.

“I knew that I would be in control of a lot of points and she’d run down a lot of balls,” said Davenport of Pin. “I know she got injured, and I don’t think she ran down as many balls as she normally does. … But happy to get off the court relatively fast and pretty efficient.”

Davenport, whose success since returning to the court last year has been one of the WTA Tour’s better stories, will be facing Ivanovic for the first time.

Following an 11-month absence to give birth to her first child, the 31-year-old American returned in September and went 13-1 in three singles events, including wins in Bali and Quebec City.

The former No. 1 and 55-time champion is 16-3 to start this season and already has claimed championships at Auckland and Memphis.

“It’s going to be a very tough match,” Ivanovic said. “Growing up I saw her winning in Grand Slams and she’s such a great player and great champion, so I expect a very tough match tomorrow.”

First on the WTA’s all-time earnings list with just under $22 million, Davenport reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells last week, but was forced to retire from her match with Jelena Jankovic due to a lower back injury.

Jankovic, who is the fourth seed here, made a spectacular comeback to defeat Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson, 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 7-6 (11-9), in Saturday’s late match.

After leveling the match, Jankovic fell behind in the third set, 5-1, but battled back for force the marathon tiebreak and eventually close out the match in 2 1/2 hours.

Jankovic converted just 6-of-14 break points against her opportunistic opponent, who was successful on 4-of-5 break chances.

Three other top-10 seeds won in straight sets Saturday.

No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze of Russia ousted Austria’s Tamira Paszek, 6-3, 6-2, while No. 7 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia overpowered Venezuelan Milagros Sequera, 6-2, 6-1.

Russian Elena Dementieva, the 10th seed, breezed past the Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko, 6-0, 6-4.

However, 12th seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic suffered her second straight early exit, falling to Russian qualifier Alisa Kleybanova, 6-4, 6-0.

Unseeded Jie Zheng of China posted a mild upset when No. 14 Nadia Petrova retired from their match with a right leg strain.

Top seed Justine Henin advanced to the third round in the top of the draw Friday, as did defending champion and eighth seed Serena Williams.

Ivanovic returns to action in Miami

The second-seeded Serbian, one of the 32 seeded players to receive a first-round bye, opens play at the $3.77 million hardcourt event against unseeded Frenchwoman Emilie Loit.

Ivanovic, 20, captured her sixth career title and first since September on Sunday with a straight sets win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Pacific Life Open final.

The Australian Open runner-up, Ivanovic rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 win over the 28-year-old Loit in their only previous meeting in 2006.

Should Ivanovic continue her winning ways, it will set up an intriguing match in the third round with No. 32 Lindsay Davenport, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Frenchwoman Camille Pin.

Davenport, whose success since returning to the court last year has been one of the WTA Tour’s better stories, would be facing Ivanovic for the first time.

Following an 11-month absence to give birth to her first child, the 31-year-old American returned in September and went 13-1 in three singles events, including wins in Bali and Quebec City.

The former No. 1 and 55-time champion is 16-3 to start this season and already has claimed championships at Auckland and Memphis.

First on the WTA’s all-time earnings list with just under $22 million, Davenport reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells last week, but was forced to retire from her match with Jelena Jankovic due to a lower back injury.

Jankovic is the fourth seed here and will face Sofia Arvidsson in one of 16 second-round matches scheduled in the bottom of the draw Saturday.

Other top 10 seeds in action are No. 5 Anna Chakvetadze and seventh-seed Daniela Hantuchova.

Top seed Justine Henin advanced to the third round in the top of the draw Friday as did defending champion and eighth seed Serena Williams.

Ivanovic put nerves behind her, set sights on grand slams

Playing aggressively, the 20-year-old from Belgrade brushed aside second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 6-3 to raise her hopes for this year’s grand slams and Olympic Games.

Ivanovic, the world number two, has also set her sights on the top spot in the rankings.

“I was a little bit nervous coming into this tournament because it hasn’t happened to me that many times,” the elegant Serb told reporters after capturing the first Masters Series event of the year.

“It’s such a strong field and still I’m No. 1 seeded, so obviously more pressure comes into the play.

“In the first few matches, I was more nervous but then I just started to focus and not even think about who I play against, just do what I have been doing in practice.

“I’ve been practising really well and working hard on my fitness,” added Ivanovic, who lost to Russian Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final in January.

THINKING TECHNICALLY

“That’s something I tried to focus on when I was on the court so I was thinking technically what I had to do and, as the tournament went on and on, I played better.”

Ivanovic played her first grand slam final at last year’s French Open, losing to Belgium’s Justine Henin, and has already turned her thoughts to Wimbledon and the Beijing Games in August.

“Wimbledon is very traditional and I feel my game can fit very well on grass if I keep working on my volleys like I’ve been doing,” said the Serb, who reached the last four at Wimbledon for the first time last year.

“But on the other hand, the Olympics are very special and you have the opportunity to play them only once in four years, so it would be really special to win a medal there.”

Looking further ahead, Ivanovic would dearly love to become the game’s leading player.

“That’s my big goal, to make it one more step in the rankings and to become No. 1,” she said. “But it’s very tough competition and there are many, many players who are really close in achieving that.”

Ivanonic crushes Kuznetsova for Indian Wells win

The 20-year-old from Belgrade broke Kuznetsova, the second seed, three times in the second set to wrap up victory in one hour 21 minutes at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

After dominating a first set of quality shot-making, Ivanovic held the edge in an error-prone second before sealing the title by hitting a forehand service return winner.

It was the sixth WTA success of Ivanovic’s career and the third loss by Kuznetsova in a final this season, following earlier disappointments in Sydney and Doha.

On a sun-drenched afternoon, the opening set went with serve until the ninth game when a crunching forehand by Ivanovic forced an error off Kuznetsova’s backhand for the Serb to lead 30-40.

Ivanovic, runner-up at the Australian Open in January, coolly clinched the breakpoint with a whipping topspin forehand winner to edge ahead 5-4.

The elegant Serb then served out to take the opening set in 40 minutes, clinching the final point when the Russian hit a forehand long.

Ivanovic took early control in the second set, breaking in the third game when Kuznetsova pushed a backhand wide to lead 2-1.

However, the Serb surprisingly failed to hold serve in the fourth, trailing 0-40 before being broken after a backhand flew wide.

Kuznetsova, increasingly vulnerable on her serve, was again broken in the seventh game when she netted a forehand before Ivanovic held to lead 5-3.

Serving to stay in the match, the 22-year-old Russian double-faulted to trail 0-30 before Ivanovic then unleashed a crunching backhand winner for 0-40.

The Serb claimed the opening Masters Series event of the year with a service return winner.

Ivanovic, Kuznetsova set for showdown

The top-seeded Ivanovic is making here second championship match appearance of the season, having finished as runner-up to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open.

This is the third final of the year for the second-seeded Kuznetsova, who was a finalist at Sydney and Dubai.

Kuznetsova posted her biggest win of the year Friday when she defeated Sharapova, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, in the semifinals of this hardcourt event. The fourth seed, Sharapova had been a perfect 18-0 this year prior to losing to her Russian compatriot.

Ivanovic booked her place in the final with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 triumph over fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic, the third seed.

The 20-year-old Ivanovic holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series with Kuznetsova, including a surprising win last May in the Berlin final. Ivanovic trailed 5-3 in the third set of that match before rallying for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory.

Championship match losses are nothing new for Kuznetsova, who has lost seven of her last eight finals. The 22-year-old’s lone win during that span came in August at New Haven when a back injury forced Agnes Szavay to retire while holding a 6-4, 0-3 lead.

Kuznetsova is seeking her 10th career title while Ivanovic is after her sixth championship, which would be her fourth in 11 months.

First prize is $332,000.

Kuznetsova, Ivanovic reach Indian Wells final

Sharapova suffered her first defeat of the year, falling to second-seeded compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, in an all-Russian semifinal Friday at the $2.1 million Pacific Life Open.

The 22-year-old Kuznetsova advanced to the final at this hardcourt event for the second consecutive year. A loser to Daniela Hantuchova in 2007, she will face top-seeded Ana Ivanovic for the championship.

“For me it’s very important because I’ve been to the finals and I know what’s (it is) to play it,” Kuznetsova said. “I think this time I can get it better. I will need to put myself out there and play my game. Not think about something else.”

Ivanovic gain her berth in the final by ousting No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, in an all-Serbian semifinal.

The fourth-seeded Sharapova fell to 18-1 on the season and had her 11-match winning streak against her countrywomen snapped.

Kuznetsova and Sharapova now have split eight lifetime matches, although Sharapova had won two in a row and four of the previous five.

Taking advantage of Sharapova’s shaky serving, Kuznetsova overcame a double fault on set point to storm through the decisive third set.

Kuznetsova broke Sharapova in the first and fifth games to go ahead, 4-1, and won the match with a flourish, winning the final game at love.

“There were a couple important points that could have changed the match, and she ended up winning them,” Sharapova said. “I think from that she gained confidence and kind of steamrolled after that in the third set.”

Sharapova committed eight double faults and had just one ace - in the third set - while facing 12 break points.

Kuznetsova has not won on tour since New Haven in August but is in her third final this year, having reached the championship match in Sydney and Dubai.

The top seeds advanced to the semifinals for the first time in the history of this event.

In Friday’s other semifinal, Ivanovic took control of the match in the first-set tiebreaker to beat Jankovic for the fourth straight time and improve to 5-1 lifetime against her countrywoman.

“Every final you make, it’s always very special,” said the 20-year-old Ivanovic, who has a 5-3 record in tour finals. “This is a big tournament. I’m really proud the way I played this week. I’m definitely very excited to be in final and looking forward to that match.”

After the players traded early breaks of serve, world No. 2 Ivanovic ripped off the first six points in the tiebreak. Jankovic gamely battled back within 6-3 before Ivanovic closed out the set.

Ivanovic also earned an early break in the second set to take a 2-1 lead. Jankovic’s last chance to get back in the match came in the eighth game, but Ivanovic fought back from love-30 on her serve to take a 5-3 lead.

The top seed then broke Jankovic to end it, punctuating the win with a cross-court winner on match point.

“I think it was a difficult match,” Jankovic said. “I think the main strokes for me, the serve and the return, I wasn’t able to do very well. When we started the rally I felt like I had the control, but unfortunately in the tiebreak I made a lot of errors and just let that go.”

Ivanovic holds a 4-1 edge over Kuznetsova, with all her wins coming in three sets - including all three meetings in 2007.

First prize is $332,000.

Top seed Ivanovic reaches Indian Wells tennis semi-finals

Ivanovic, whose runner-up finish at the Australian Open propelled her to number two in the world rankings, took 66 minutes to complete a 6-1, 6-4 victory over the 21st-ranked Russian.

Despite her ascent in the rankings, Ivanovic is seeking her first WTA title since Luxembourg last September.

She awaits the winner of Thursday afternoon's match between third-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic and US veteran Lindsay Davenport.

Davenport, 31 and enjoying a resurgence after taking off nearly a year to have a baby, has won this title two times, in 1997 and 2000. The former world number one is also a four-time runner-up, her most recent finals appearance coming in 2005.

Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, the fourth seed, and second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova both won on Wednesday to book an all-Russian semi-final.

Ivanovic advances at Indian Wells

Nadal beat his 18-year-old American opponent 6-1, 6-3. Blake took a methodical 6-3, 6-4 victory over Moya.

Two-time women's title winner Lindsay Davenport bounced back from a second-set loss to defeat Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Ana Ivanovic, ranked No. 2 and the top seed since Justine Henin is skipping the tournament, advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Tathiana Garbin.

The 21-year-old Nadal, second in the rankings to Roger Federer, benefited from Young's inconsistency.

Although he was able to match Nadal stroke-for-stroke in some rallies and also hit several hard winners that brought roars from the crowd, Young's inexperience was evident at other times.

After hitting a routine forehand out to end a long rally in the second set, Young slammed his racket to the ground in frustration. Soon after, he banged an overhead volley into the net, shaking his head at missing the easy shot.

Young won just seven of 17 points when he went to the net and Nadal was 6-of-7. Young made 38 unforced errors, 13 more than his Spanish opponent.

Although just some three years older than Young, three-time French Open champion Nadal obviously has a huge edge in experience.

"Well, I think he's young," Nadal said, describing how the match went. "I think he started very nervous. So I tried to score in the beginning, and he had some mistakes."

Young agreed.

"Obviously I was really nervous," he said. "It's not the first time I played in front of a lot of people, but it's the first time I played No. 2 in the world."

Asked if his nerves had calmed down by the second set, Young said, "Yeah, losing 6-1, I think they go away. But overall, it was pretty decent."

Young had scored the biggest victory of his career two days earlier at Indian Wells, beating No. 32 Feliciano Lopez in three sets.

The 28-year-old Blake, at No. 9 the highest-ranking U.S. player remaining in the tournament since No. 6 Andy Roddick was eliminated a day earlier, won for the sixth time in 12 career meetings against Moya, the former No. 1 now ranked 19th.

"We know each other's games really well," Blake said. "I've had a lot of tough matches with him. So I was really happy with getting through it in two sets, and either way, just getting the win was something I was proud of."

Moya, a 31-year-old from Spain, had been the oldest player left in the men's side of the tournament.

Davenport often seemed her own worst enemy in the match against Chan. The 31-year-old Davenport, a former No. 1, had to overcome 48 unforced errors, 20 more than her 18-year-old opponent from Taipei.

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, the women's No. 3 seed, romped to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Japan's Ai Sugiyama.

Top seed Ivanovic masters emotions to win

Ivanovic mastered her emotions to post a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 victory over Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru in the second round of the 5.7 million-dollar Pacific Life Open - which does double duty as an ATP Masters Series tournament and a prestigious WTA tier one event.

Ivanovic appeared to be on her way to an easy victory against 77th-ranked Olaru, winning the opening set in 27 minutes.

But the 20-year-old Serb, who was runner-up to Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in January, ran into trouble in the second set.

After going up a break, she surrendered the advantage and ended up dropping the set, which took 61 minutes to play.

Ivanovic rebounded, however, and made short work of the third set to wrap up the victory in 1hr 55min.

"I was very upset and very emotional in the second set and in the third set I just did what I should have done, you know, from the beginning," Ivanovic said. "Just being aggressive and staying low and moving around the ball."

Ivanovic, who became the first Serbian to reach a Grand Slam final when she finished runner-up to world number one Justine Henin at the French Open last year, said her ability to regroup was a key improvement in her game.

"I think so," she said. "And especially second half of 2007 and now beginning of 2008, I feel that's the area where I improved the most.

"Obviously that gives me a lot of confidence and something that I know I can fall back on."

Ivanovic admitted she was still adjusting to life as one of the game's top-ranked players.

"Now I feel that a lot of players are motivated to play against me much more than before," she said. "They go out there and they have nothing to lose. They go for their shots, and many times they play good matches.

"Obviously there comes more pressure, but it's just important to recognize the pressure, and see it for what it is.

"Most of the time it's just reflection of your own ambition and what you want to achieve.

"I'm working hard on that, to handle that kind of pressure, and I just want to enjoy each match I play," she said.

Ivanovic's first WTA outing as a top seed ended disappointingly when she withdrew after just one match with a sprained ankle at Doha in February.

The injury forced her to skip the Dubai Open and Ivanovic said she was feeling the lack of matches on Saturday when she opened her campaign after a first-round bye.

"Obviously I haven't played so many matches lately, so I was really looking forward to getting into the tournament slowly," said Ivanovic, who next faces Italian Tathiana Garbin, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over US wild card Vania King.

"That was a little bit missing for me today, but I'm just happy to win these kind of matches."

Ivanovic tops Indian Wells field

The 20-year-old Serbian enjoyed a breakout season last year, winning titles in Berlin, Los Angeles, Luxembourg, and has gotten off to a solid start in 2008 as well.

While she has yet to win a title this year, Ivanovic did reach the final of the Australian Open, where she lost to Russian Maria Sharapova, 7-5, 6-3.

Ivanovic, the top seed here, is joined by three of the world’s top-five ranked players, including countrywoman Jelena Jankovic, the No. 3 seed.

Among the top-five seeds are two Russians - No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 4 Sharapova - and No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, the defending champion.

Hantuchova captured her second Pacific Life Open title last year, beating Kuznetsova in the final. She also won here in 2002.

The top American entered is No. 24 seed Lindsay Davenport, who is participating in one of her favorite tournaments, having won it twice.

A three-time Grand Slam winner, the 31-year-old Davenport is enjoying a renaissance after being off the tour from late September 2006 to mid September of last year.

She already has posted two titles this year while logging a 12-2 match record. One of those defeats came to Sharapova in the Australian Open.

Fellow American Serena Williams is not entered in the event after claiming her 29th career title and first of the year last week at Bangalore.

Also skipping the tournament is world No. 1 Justine Henin of Belgium, who lost in the quartefinals a week ago at Dubai.

Completing the top seeds are No. 6 Marion Bartoli of France, No. 7 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic and No. 8 Dinara Safina of Russia. The top 32 seeds received byes into the second round.

First prize is $332,000.

Ivanovic, Mauresmo reach quarterfinals at Dubai

In an enthralling match that lasted exactly three hours, Henin beat Dubai-based Srebotnik to remain perfect at the Aviation Club. The four-time defending champion, who had a first-round bye, improved to 17-0 in Dubai. Henin will next face Italian Francesca Schiavone.

Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised past Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2 and will meet unseeded Amelie Mauresmo, the 2002 champion and last year’s runner-up. Kuznetsova upset Mauresmo in the 2006 quarterfinals.

Mauresmo, showing why she’s no longer in the top 25, struggled past lucky loser Akiko Morigami of Japan 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

No. 3 Ana Ivanovic, the Australian Open runner-up, showed no sign of the ankle injury that forced her out of last week’s Qatar Open when she dominated Czech Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 6-0 in her Dubai debut. No. 4 Jelena Jankovic, a former finalist, beat Indian wild card Sania Mirza 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Russians Anna Chakvetadze and Elena Dementieva, seeded No. 6 and 8, also won. Chakvetadze overcame compatriot Dinara Safina 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3, and Dementieva beat Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-1.

Henin, winner of 10 titles in 2007, saw a bright spot in her hard-fought win.

“It always seems I get a tough first match in Dubai. But I kind of expected it as Srebotnik is a very good player and she played very well,” said Henin, already a winner in Sydney and Antwerp this season.

“I knew it won’t be easy because I am just coming from playing indoors in Antwerp. So a tough first match is good for me to get used to the conditions. But still, I thought the third set was the best I played for a long time. … So, even if it was not perfect, I will gladly take the win. The most important thing is that I am in the quarterfinals now.”

Jankovic struggled with her serve and the enthusiastic Mirza supporters throughout, and it was only a slew of errors by her opponent that kept the Serbian alive. Mirza had three break points to go 5-3 up in the final set, but blew each one of them.

“At 15-40 in the eighth game of the final set, I thought I was in trouble,” Jankovic said. “But when she made those mistakes, I thought maybe she is a bit nervous or something. But I was just glad to take the opportunity. She played really well and she was hitting the ball solid.”

Jankovic plays Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals Thursday, and Ivanovic meets Dementieva.

Injured Ivanovic confident of competing in Dubai

The Australian Open runner-up withdrew from the Qatar Open last week after falling during her second round match. However, after intensive treatment, the Serb was ready to take to the practice court on Monday.

“It’s much better. Now I can walk without any pain and that’s definitely a bonus,” Ivanovic told reporters. “I had lots of treatment and lots of sleepless nights. I had to keep waking up to ice it through the night, but it definitely helped my foot to recover faster.

“Yesterday in the morning it was not so good, but suddenly in the afternoon it rapidly started getting much better. So my chances of playing are over 50 percent.”

Third seed Ivanovic has a bye into the second round where she will face either Czech Nicole Vaidisova or a qualifier.

In the first round, eighth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia saved two set points before overcoming Swiss left-hander Patty Schnyder 7-5 6-0.

Russian Dinara Safina beat Tunisian wild card Selima Sfar 6-1 6-3 but her compatriot Maria Kirilenko fell 3-6 6-3 6-2 to Australian Open doubles champion Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.

Top-seeded Ivanovic pulls out of Qatar Open after injuring left ankle

The Australian Open finalist twisted her ankle after falling toward the end of her 6-3, 6-1 second-round win over Olga Govortsova of Belarus on Wednesday.

Agnieszka Radwanska was due to play Ivanovic later Thursday. The Polish teen advances to the quarterfinals.

“I am disappointed to go out like this,” Ivanovic said. “I was shaping up really well. I just came back from the hospital—there is no fracture. It is hard for me to say how long I will take to recover.”

Ivanovic had been scheduled to play at the Dubai Championships starting Monday.

“I will stay in Doha for a few days,” Ivanovic said. “I am not sure about Dubai. I am glad there is no major tear in the ankle.”

Injured Ivanovic in doubt for Qatar Open third round

The Serbian, who reached last month's Australian Open final, was just two points from victory against Olga Govortsova of Belarus when she slipped on the baseline and collapsed in agony.

Ivanovic was able to continue after her left ankle was taped and, from 30-30, she held off a game point and won the last three points to claim a 6-3 6-1 second round victory.

But after the match she was clearly in pain, was unable to walk properly and was doubtful she would be able to play her next match against Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.

"It definitely hurts a lot and I have difficulty to step on it," Ivanovic told Reuters.

"They think it might be a strain. I have to wait and see how it reacts overnight. But honestly it's very questionable for tomorrow. But I'll try to recover as best I can and see if I can go on court.

"I was a little bit scared and thought I couldn't finish the match. I just took my chances and don't know how I managed to finish. I knew I had to go for my shots because I couldn't run or go into deep rallies."

Strong winds meant that many players found it difficult to establish a rhythm or execute a game plan.

Second seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova struggled against Nathalie Dechy of France, edging the first set and then having to twice recover from a break down in the second to win 7-5 7-5.

"It was very, very difficult," Kuznetsova said. "I have not played with wind like this for ages. It's crazy, because you cannot really control the ball, you cannot do tactics much.

"It's easy to get irritated and very hard to stay calm. There's an easy ball and I cannot make it, and you just have to calm down and stay focused and adjust and move your feet a lot.

"I'm happy to get through it because it was a tough match."

Fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze was defeated 7-6 6-4 by Li Na of China after twice serving for the first set.

Govortsova handed Ivanovic clash

Govortsova, the world number 50, lost the opening set 6-4 and saved two match points in the second before taking it 7-5 in a tiebreak.

She went 3-2 up in the third when Mirza called a halt to the match.

"I felt it in my left calf and it was the worst time because I had just broken her and I was serving for the match," Mirza, who first felt the problem at 4-4 in the second, said.

"Then my left hamstring started going, then my groin and right calf and I couldn't move. I couldn't go down on my serve anymore because my calf wouldn't let me."

Marion Bartoli, seeded eight, suffered a 6-2 6-3 defeat by 17-year old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the second round, continuing her run of indifferent results since she reached the 2007 Wimbledon final.

Agnes Szavay of Hungary, seeded 13, was beaten 7-6 6-0 by Japan's Ai Sugiyama in the first round.

There were first-round victories for ninth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who beat Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek 6-4 6-0, and 11th-seeded Russian Dinara Safina, who defeated Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-2 6-4.

Ivanovic a top seed for first time at Doha

The Serb heads the field for the first Tier I tournament of the 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season, the $2.5-million Qatar Total Open, which began play on Monday.

Ivanovic has gotten off to a strong start this season, beginning with a semifinal finish at Sydney and a run to the final of the Australian Open, her second career major final.

After her runner-up finish in the season's first major, Ivanovic rose to a career-high of No. 2 in the world, behind only Belgium's Justine Henin, the defending champion of this event who is not entered this year.

In her first stint as a No. 1 seed, Ivanovic heads a strong field which includes eight of the world's top 10 players. All eight of those players, including Ivanovic, received first-round byes for the hardcourt event.

Ivanovic faces the winner of the first-round match between India's Sania Mirza and Olga Govortsova.

Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the runner-up here to Henin last year, is the second seed and opens against either China's Shuai Peng or France's Nathalie Dechy.

No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia opens against Russia's Yaroslava Shvedova, who outlasted China's Jie Zheng, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, during Monday's opening-round action.

Fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova arguably has had the best start to the season, winning her third career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, beating Ivanovic in the final. She hasn't even dropped a set this year, including two Fed Cup wins in Russia's first round tie with Israel.

The Russian opens play here against countrywoman Galina Voskoboeva who, beat Greece's Eleni Daniilidou, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6), on Monday.

Four other top-10 players received byes, including No. 5 seed and recent Paris champion Anna Chakvetadze and sixth-seeded and reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams. The seventh and eighth seeds are Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova and France's Marion Bartoli.

Another threat is former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France, who posted a opened 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 first-round victory over Germany's Sabine Lisicki.

The lone seeded player to fall on Monday was No. 10 Nadia Petrova who was leading Spain's Anabel Medina Garrgiues, 6-2, 1-2, before retiring with gastritis.

Also on Monday, No. 12 Shahar Peer of Israel advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Slovak Andreja Klepac. She now faces France's Virginie Razzano, who defeated China's Tiantian Sun, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3.

Austrian Sybille Bammer, the 15th seed, beat Japan's Aiko Nakamura, 6-1, 6-3, and next meets Romanian Monica Niculescu, who eliminated American Julie Ditty, 6-1, 6-4.

Also on Monday, No. 16 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Japan's Akiko Morigami, 7-5, 6-0, and Russian Vera Zvonareva beat countrywoman Anastasia Rodionova, 6-0, 6-3.

First prize is $414,000.