World No. 2 and 2007 Roland Garros finalist Ana Ivanovic may be the player most likely to assume Justine Henin’s crown, but the twenty-year old Serbian is content to take the French Open one round at a time.
Speaking on Sunday after her first round victory over Sofia Arvidsson, Ivanovic said that after a rough start to her clay court season, she feels that her game is back.
Q. So what can you say about your first match here, and more specifically about the second set? It was a little bit harder.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes. First of all, I’m very happy with the victory. It was very nice to come back here to Paris and go out there and play again, you know.
It was the first match of the tournament, so it was the first time experience for me. But I really enjoyed it out there. She gave me a tough match, especially in the second set.
I let my intensity go down for a bit, dropped for a bit, and she used it and she started playing much better. But towards the end I’m happy that I found back my game and managed to break her back, and win the second set.
Q. Congratulations, first. Who do you see as your biggest rival to reach the final and win Roland Garros this year? And do you think you have a better chance to actually win the final when you compare to last year when you’ve lost to Justine Henin?
ANA IVANOVIC: It’s very hard to talk about the rivals, because I know it sounds cliché, but it is like that. We take match by match. Every opponent can be dangerous if you let them play, so I really don’t–I didn’t even see the draw, who I play against. So in the future just step by step, basically. That’s what helps me to play my best and perform the best I can.
But your other question was about the final. In the case I play final again, for sure I will–I think I will perform much, much better than I did last year.
But last year was a great experience, you know, and, yeah, don’t regret it.
Q. This is the best time of your career, but you didn’t play as well as last year on clay. Can you explain exactly why?
ANA IVANOVIC: Uhm, yeah. This year it’s–I’m in different position than I was last year. Last year I just broke into top 10, and, you know, I had much less pressure, honestly speaking.
Now I’m No. 2, and obviously I have more expectations for myself. So that’s something I’m still learning how to deal with it. And this year, I had to play tournaments that I had to defend the title, so it was a new experience but, you know, I’m still learning.
I’m only 20, so I really tried to enjoy every match. I think I’m doing a good job. Obviously it was a little bit hard last few weeks, but now I feel I have my game back.
To read Ana Ivanovic’s complete interview on May 25, 2008, please visit the Roland Garros website.
