Wednesday 15 October 2014

Singapore player focus: Ana Ivanovic


Season highlights

Ivanovic has the most wins of all the players this year, winning 4 titles including 2 Premier ones. This is a remarkable improvement compared to her last 5 years, where she seemed to stall in the top 20. It seems that Ana is finally back to her 2008 form which brought her her first Grand Slam and number 1 ranking. As successful as she is this year, she came short in the slams, getting to the quarter-finals only once. If she had performed better in the big events, she could have easily entered the top 5. 

Playing style

Ana dominates play with her monstrous forehand. The Serbian's first serve is also big, which sets up easy put aways for her. Her weaker backhand has improved substantially this year, and Ana has showed great eagerness to end points at the net. All these improvements are not as important as her strides made in her mental game. Ivanovic does not lose her concentration as much as last time, and she has finally fixed that wayward toss of hers. 

Chances of winning Singapore: 65%

Ana has beaten Serena in Australia, snapping her winning streak, and upset Sharapova on clay, giving her the only loss on the red surface. It will be silly to write her off since she's not part of the top seeds. Her advancement will depend a lot on whether she's drawn in the same group as Kvitova really. Poor Ana hasnt found a solution to the Czech puzzle, so she will hope to avoid the hard hitting world number 3. Whether she makes it to the semi-finals or not, I believe Ana won't leave Singapore winless. 

Prediction: Semi-finals

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