Two comfortable wins on her way to the third round is a positive start to Australian Open 2012, but it’s a little premature to declare that Ana Ivanovic is back. However, the former world No.1 is beginning to show the consistency that vaulted her to the top of the sport back in 2008, the last and only time she won a Grand Slam title, at Roland Garros.
The cornerstone of Ivanovic’s game – the blistering forehand – was well grooved today throughout her 63-minute hit-out against Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek. So too was her serve, often a liability but today not even made to face a break point as she advanced 6-2, 6-3 over the world No.91.
When Ivanovic won that French Open title, almost four years ago, she had for a while been consistently going deep in tournaments. A runner-up finish at Melbourne Park in 2008 was followed by a run to the title in Indian Wells, and shortly after that she banished all competition on the Parisian red clay. But as the story has been told many times, she crashed back to earth in a big way, and has never fully recovered.
There have been flashes of brilliance since that major win. But every time the Serbian made a push, or scored a significant victory, it was inevitably followed by another slump. Not helping the situation has been the constant hiring, firing and re-shuffling within her entourage over the past few seasons. Now working with credentialled British coach Nigel Sears, Ivanovic believes getting “back to basics” has been the biggest positive for her during her recent renaissance.
“I feel really comfortable in the environment I have now. I think that's been the biggest change. It was tough one. It was kind of radical because you always have so many people on your team,” she said.
“But I really feel it's helped my game a lot, and my mental side as well. It's been great.”
Sears has been crucial in introducing that simplicity back into her game. A notoriously anxious and highly-strung player, Ivanovic publicly admitted that she was thinking too much on the court and her mind clouded with indecision, rather than just letting her big baseline game flow.
At the Brisbane International two weeks ago, Sears came onto court several times during Ivanovic’s matches, reminding her to stay true to her aggressive game and simply focus on one or two tactics during the match. While the Serbian does not have the luxury of on-court consultations during Grand Slam play, she believes in the game-plan she discusses with Sears prior to her matches and takes it with her onto the court.
“I worked a lot on my game in the off‑season. When I'm out there I really know what I have to do and I stay with it. I'm more persistent and confident in that because I know that's what's going to give me results and help me to play better,” she revealed.
“It might not work on a given day and I try to adjust. In the long run, in the big picture, that's what's going to get me back to the top.”
It was certainly evident against Krajicek on Hisense Arena on Thursday. By far the more consistent player, Ivanovic raced through the opening set. Surviving some ball-toss wobbles when serving for it in the eighth game, she nonetheless continued to hit out and was rewarded with a one-set lead in just 22 minutes.
Despite the second set being a tighter affair, Ivanovic was still in control. The Serb frequently came out on top of lengthy rallies, and showed off some impressive footwork and court movement in scrambling for several of Krajicek’s balls, often drawing errors from the Dutchwoman’s racquet. Krajicek finished with 23 errors (and just 14 winners), and her normally dominant serve was off-colour – she landed less than half of her first serves and dished up seven double faults.
Ivanovic by contrast posted an exemplary stat sheet, striking 17 winners, keeping her unforced errors to 11, and winning eight of 11 points at net. Impressively, she has not dropped serve all tournament. And in good news for her fans, she believes she can still improve.
“Today at times I felt maybe I was a little too passive. I could have been more aggressive,” Ivanovic reflected.
“(But) I really tried to pick the right ball to come in and be aggressive. That's something I worked a lot also on my spin, on my forehand, so I don't play as flat as I used to. It's working really well. I can sort of push opponents around the court.”
She’s already done far better than in her previous Australian Open campaign, where she crashed out in the first round to little-known Russian Ekaterina Makarova. But if Ivanovic is to really be considered as being “back”, she needs to start producing her early round form against the game’s big guns.
Lately, she’s only infrequently played against the game’s elite. In 2011 she faced a top 10 opponent just four times, and went an underwhelming 2-2. Throwing in matches against Serena and Venus – not top 10 at the time but greats of the game nonetheless – her record slips to 2-4.
But there’s no doubt she’s getting close. In Brisbane, Ivanovic had Kim Clijsters on the ropes and successfully traded blows with the defending Australian Open champ before falling 6-3 in the third, having led 3-0. With her next opponent projected to be 15th seed and rapidly rising talent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – should the Russian come through her match later today – Ivanovic will get an opportunity to test her improved game and mentality against tougher opposition.
“There are no easy matches. Next round again is going to be tough one. But I feel like I'm getting into the tournament,” she said.
“It's nice to get some wins and be in contention to play against top players.”
