All sports: ana ivanovic Serbian tennis player pictures and gallery

Early life
Ivanović's mother Dragana, a lawyer, supports her daughter during most of her matches. Her father Miroslav, a self-employed businessman, attends as many events as he possibly can. Ana has a younger brother, Milos, with whom she loves to play basketball.
Personal life
Aside from her tennis career, Ivanović also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time.Her inspiration to begin playing was Monika Seleš, who at that time played for Yugoslavia.
On September 8, 2007, Ivanović became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, alongside Aleksandar Đorđević, Jelena Janković and Emir Kusturica. She takes a special interest in the fields of education and child protection. Ivanović visited a primary school in Serbia during her inauguration and said that she is "also looking forward to going into the classroom and meeting many kids."
Ivanović picked up a racket at the age of five after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslav, on television. She started her career after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an advertisement. At the time, she was forced to train during the morning to avoid bombardments. Later, she admitted that she trained in an abandoned swimming pool in the winter, as there were no other facilities. When she was 15, Ivanović spent four hours in the locker room crying after a defeat – the first that her new manager had watched. She thought that Dan Holzmann, the manager in question, would drop her, thinking that she was not good enough to become a professional tennis player. He has stayed her manager to this day.
2004
Ivanović reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in 2004, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko.[10] In 2004, she went 26–0 on the ITF circuit, and won all five events that she entered, two of them as a qualifier. As a qualifier in Zürich, she overcame a 5–1 third set deficit along with two match points to defeat World no. 29 Tatiana Golovin. She then debuted in the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam at the 2004 US Open, where she was defeated by Lioudmila Skavronskaia after winning the first set 6–1. She eventually fell to a close loss, 6–1, 4–6, 5–7. Her first professional breakthrough occurred in the next match, when she took Venus Williams to two tiebreaks before losing in straight sets in the second round of the Zürich Open. She had held several set points in both sets. She followed up her run in Zürich with a quarterfinal showing at Luxembourg the next week.
2005
Ivanović won her first career singles title, as a qualifier, in Canberra, Australia, after defeating Melinda Czink in the final. Her ranking continued to rise after wins over Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, and Vera Zvonareva, all of whom were top 10 players. Ivanović lost to Amélie Mauresmo at the Australian Open, Doha, and Miami Masters, before defeating her in the third round of the French Open. At that stage in her career it was arguably her biggest win.[11] Ivanović eventually reached the quarterfinals of that tournament, where she lost to Petrova.[12] Later in the year, Ivanović reached the semifinals of the Zurich Open and Generali Ladies Linz, losing to Patty Schnyder in both tournaments.
2011
Ivanović started the year off with the 2011 Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. She competed with Novak Djokovic under the Serbian Flag. Ana and Novak swept their first two ties against Kazakhstan and Australia, 3–0, though fell against Belgium, 1–2. They did qualify for the final, but due to an injury sustained during Ivanović's match against Justine Henin, Serbia was forced to withdraw. Along with the Hopman Cup, Ivanović also withdrew from Sydney.
Ivanović was seeded 19th at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost to Ekaterina Makarova, 6–3, 4–6, 8–10, in the first round in 2 hours and 47 minutes. Ivanović then played in the PTT Pattaya Open, where she fell in the quarterfinals to 5th seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets, 5–7, 3–6. She headed over to Dubai as the 14th seed, where she lost against Patty Schnyder in three sets. She stated the loss was in part because of the abdominal injury sustained in the beginning of the season and subsequently, she withdrew from Doha.
Ivanović then headed to Indian Wells, where she was seeded 19th. After losing her doubles match with Petkovic in a tight three-setter, she lost to Marion Bartoli of France in the quarterfinals.
Ivanović then played in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 19th. She then lost against defending champion Kim Clijsters in her 4th round match, despite having a 5–1, 40–0 lead in the third set, and having five match points. She partnered with Petkovic in doubles, where after scoring a first round win, stunned sixth seeded team Benesova & Zahlavova Strycova. Petkovic withdrew from the doubles competition right after Ivanovic lost to Clijsters, due to "exhaustion."
Ivanović withdrew from the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament, in order to better prepare herself for the incoming clay court season.[citation needed] However, she joined Serbia on the 2011 Fed Cup event. Ivanović scored a point for Serbia beating Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, but in her next match against Dominika Cibulková she renewed an injury from the beginning of the season, so she had to retire. But despite that, Serbia beat Slovakia in deciding double rubber, 3–2 as a final score.[citation needed]
Ivanović's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was seeded 15th. After her early exit in the 1st round, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ivanović headed to 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia where she was 13th seed. Ivanović lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets. Ivanović withdrew from Strasbourg due to a minor wrist injury. Ivanović lost to Johanna Larsson, 6–7(3), 6–0, 2–6 in Roland Garros in the 1st round. Ivanović had a slight resurgence in Birmingham but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. Ivanović lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Eastbourne. She beat Melanie Oudin in 1st round of 2011 Wimbledon Championships, in straight sets. After her win over Eleni Daniilidou in 2nd round, also in straight sets, she fell in 3rd round. She was beaten by Petra Cetkovská who had beaten the 13th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in round 2. After Wimbledon, Ivanovic hired Nigel Sears the head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association as her coach.
Equipment
Ivanović endorsed Nike apparel and shoes at the beginning of her professional career,[26] but at the beginning of 2006 switched to rival Adidas.[27] Ivanovic then signed a lifetime contract with the company. Ivanovic will become an Ambassador for Adidas once she retires from competitive tennis. She is believed to be the youngest athlete, male or female, to sign a contract of such longevity.She started with the Wilson racquets, eventually using the nCode nBlade.Since the beginning of 2008, Ivanović has used Yonex racquets. She previously used the RQiS 1 Tour XL 95, but at the beginning of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open 2010 in Cincinnati switched to a prototype version of a new Yonex racket.Ivanovic plays with the Yonex EZONE 100 model.
Playing style
Ivanović is an offensive baseliner who is notable for her aggressive play. In 2007 and 2008, Ivanović was regarded as one of the best competitors on the women's tour. After winning the 2008 French Open and becoming #1, Ivanović has endured a significant slump in form. Many critics attribute her loss in form to her lack of confidence and self-belief. At the 2010 Australian Open, Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova commented that, "while she has absolutely no confidence in herself, she still fights till the last point." Currently, she has made some improvements to her playing style since appointing a new coach in 2010. As a result, she had started to play with more confidence and was winning matches more consistently. Recently, however, an inexplicable loss of form and increased injury has sent Ivanovic back to the drawing board.