Portal:Serbia/Selected bio/March

Ana Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Ана Ивановић, born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade) is a Serbian professional tennis player. She is currently ranked World No. 2 and is the top ranked Serbian player, just in front of compatriot Jelena Janković. At the 2007 French Open, Ivanović reached her first Grand Slam singles final, losing to Justine Henin. She also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the Women's Tennis Association Tour Championships in 2007. At the 2008 Australian Open final, she was defeated by Maria Sharapova.

Ivanović is an offensive baseliner. Her game relies heavily on the power, depth and placement of her forehand strokes, producing lots of winners through penetrating, flat shots, with the occasional spice of topspin. Her net play is not used as often, but her volleys are generally well executed, as are her drop shots.

Ivanović picked up a racket at the age of 5 after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Serbian, at Roland Garros on television. She started her promising career at the age of 5, after memorizing the number of a local tennis clinic from an ad on TV. During her training she encountered the NATO bombings in 1999, where she would have to train in the morning to avoid them.