Ana Ivanovic
Ана Ивановић

Ivanovic at the 2011 Hopman Cup.
Country	Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)  Serbia (2006–present)
Residence	Basel, Switzerland
Born	(1987-11-06) November 6, 1987 (age 24) Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)[1][2]
Weight	69 kg (150 lb)
Turned pro	August 17, 2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$ 9,205,362
Singles
Career record	320 – 140 (69,8%)
Career titles	11 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 1 (June 9, 2008)
Current ranking	No. 14 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	F (2008)
French Open	W (2008)
Wimbledon	SF (2007)
US Open	4R (2007, 2010, 2011)
Other tournaments
Championships	SF (2007)
Doubles
Career record	25–30
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 50 (September 25, 2006)
Current ranking	No. 239 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	1R (2005, 2007)
Wimbledon	3R (2005)
US Open	3R (2006)
Last updated on: May 28, 2012.

Ana Ivanovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Ана Ивановић, Ana Ivanović^[3][4]; Serbian pronunciation: [âna iʋǎːnoʋitɕ] ( listen)) (born November 6, 1987, in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of May 28, 2012, she is ranked 14th on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.^[5] She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open^[6] and the 2008 Australian Open.^[7] Competing as a professional since 2003, she has won 11 WTA Tour singles titles. When on form, Ivanovic is known for her aggressive style of play.

Early life[link]

Ivanovic's mother Dragana (Драгана), a lawyer, supports her daughter during most of her matches. Her father Miroslav (Мирослав), a self-employed businessman, attends as many events as he possibly can. Ana has a younger brother, Miloš (Милош), with whom she loves to play basketball.^[8]

Personal life[link]

Aside from her tennis career, Ivanovic also studies finance at a university in Belgrade and Spanish in her spare time.^[9] Her inspiration to begin playing was Monica Seles, who at that time played for Yugoslavia.^[10]

On September 8, 2007, Ivanovic 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. Ivanovic 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."^[11]

Career[link]

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Ivanovic picked up a racket at the age of five after watching Monica Seles, a fellow Yugoslav, on television.^[2] 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, Ivanovic 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[link]

Ivanovic reached the final of the Junior Wimbledon tournament in 2004, losing to Kateryna Bondarenko.^[12] 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 7–5,6–7,7–6. She then debuted in the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam at the US Open, where she was defeated by Lioudmila Skavronskaia after winning the first set 6–1 and having two match points on 5–4 in 3rd set. 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[link]

Ivanovic 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 6–3,3–6,7–5 in Miami, Nadia Petrova 6–4,7–5 also in Miami 6–2,6–4, and Vera Zvonareva in Warsaw, all of whom were top-10 players. Ivanovic lost to Amélie Mauresmo at the Australian Open in third round, Doha in third round after Ivanovic had 6–2,2–0 lead and in 3rd set had three break points for 5–2 lead, and Miami Masters in quarterfinals, before defeating her in the third round of the French Open 6–4,3–6,6–3. At that stage in her career it was arguably her biggest win.^[13] Ivanovic eventually reached the quarterfinals of that tournament, where she lost to Petrova.^[14] Later in the year, Ivanovic reached the semifinals of the Zurich Open and Generali Ladies Linz, losing to Patty Schnyder in both tournaments.Ivanovic finished the year as no. 16.

2006[link]

Ivanovic started the year at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia with fellow Serbian Novak Djoković, where the pair narrowly missed the final.^[15] To start off her WTA year, she played at the Medibank International in Sydney where she once again defeated Amélie Mauresmo, this time in straight sets 6–2,7–5, before falling to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals 7–6,6–3 after having 5–2 lead in first set. A week later, she lost to Samantha Stosur in the second round of the Australian Open 6–3,7–5.

Ivanovic at the 2006 US Open.

Ivanovic made it to the third round of the French Open, before losing to Anastasia Myskina. She progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon, but lost to eventual champion and world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo in straight sets 7–5,6–3 after beating no. 14 seed Dinara Safina 3–6,7–6,6–1.

Ivanovic made her breakthrough in August when she defeated former world no. 1 Martina Hingis 6–2,6–3 in the final of the Rogers Cup in Montreal before beating Jelena Janković 6–1,6–2, no. 14 seed Katarina Srebotnik 6–4,6–4 and top 10 player Dinara Safina 6–1,6–4. This ultimately led to her winning the United States Open Series, ahead of Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova. At the US Open, she lost to Serena Williams.

Ivanovic also played nine tournaments in doubles in 2006, teaming up with Maria Kirilenko and Sania Mirza. Ivanovic and Kirilenko made two semifinals and a final; they ended the year at number 17 in the annual race to the Championships. Ivanovic finished the year ranked world no. 14 in singles and world no. 51 in doubles.

2007[link]

Ivanovic started the year at the 2007 Medibank International where she beat no. 5 Nadia Petrova but lost to Nicole Vaidišová. Seeded 13th at the Australian Open, Ivanovic defeated Agnieszka Radwańska 6–2,3–6,6–2 in the second round, but later lost in the third round to Vera Zvonareva after she missed some opportunities. Immediately after this tournament, she announced that she had split with her coach David Taylor. Ivanovic then played in the 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open. In the quarterfinals she beat no. 10 Jelena Janković 3–6,6–4,6–2, and in the semifinals she beat No. 1 Maria Sharapova 6–1, 0–1 when Sharapova was forced to retire, but she lost in the Final to Martina Hingis 4–6, 2–6.

At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, she was defeated in the fourth round by Sybille Bammer 6–7,6–0,3–6 after easy wins over Vania King and Alicia Molik. Yaroslava Shvedova then defeated Ivanovic in the second round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami Masters. Later she played a tournament at Amelia Island where she lost in the semifinals to no. 19 and eventual champion Tatiana Golovin 4–6,6–3,4–6 after Ivanovic had break points in all games of serve for Tatiana. It was the first win for her in seven meetings. After she lost in the semifinals she won no. 9 Jelena Janković 7–5,6–3 in quarterfinals.

Ivanovic then returned to Europe to play two clay-court tournaments in preparation for the French Open. In Berlin at the Qatar Telecom German Open, she won her first Tier I clay court title, defeating world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final 3–6,6–4,7–6.It was very long and interesting match, in first set Kuznetsova was leading 5–1 and she officially won the set 6–3.In second set Ivanovic had 2–0 lead, after Kuznetsova equalized on 2–2, Ivanovic again broke for 4–2, but Kuznetsova equalized on 4–4 and Ivanovic officially won the second set 6–4.Third set was the longest one, Kuznetsova first broke Ana's serve for 2–1 lead, but Ana was strong and pulled for 5–3, even then the match wasn't finished because Ivanovic needed tie-break to finally finish the match.However, Ivanovic injured her ankle during the final, which forced her to withdraw from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The win in Berlin propelled her into the top ten of the WTA Rankings for the first time, at world no. 8.

Ivanovic had a six-match winning streak heading into the French Open and increased this streak to twelve by reaching the final. She won her first three matches with the loss of only nine games. In her second career quarterfinal at Roland Garros, Ivanovic defeated world no. 3 Kuznetsova 6–0,3–6,6–1, and she then beat world no. 2 Sharapova 6–2,6–1 in less than one hour in the semifinals. In the final, Ivanovic attempted to win her first Grand Slam singles title and complete a sweep of the top three players in the world. However, world no. 1 and two-time defending champion Justine Henin won the match.

At Wimbledon, Ivanovic defeated world no. 9 Nadia Petrova 6–1,2–6,6–4 in the fourth round, and saved three match points to defeat Nicole Vaidišová 4–6,6–2,7–5 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, three-time former Wimbledon champion Venus Williams defeated Ivanovic 6–2,6–4 after Ivanovic had a break of lead in the second set.

Warming up at the 2007 US Open

A persistent knee injury sustained at Wimbledon caused Ivanovic to withdraw from Serbian Fed Cup competition against Slovakia and two lead-up events to the US Open.^[16] She returned to the tour at the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California, saving two match points in the semifinals with huge winner before defeating no. 3 Janković 4–6,6–3,7–5 in trilling match. In the final, Ivanovic defeated top 10 player Petrova to win the fourth singles title of her career, which raised her ranking to a career-high of world no. 4.

In Ivanovic's first three matches at the US Open, she lost only 10 games. Venus Williams then eliminated her for the second consecutive time at a Grand Slam tournament.

Ivanovic returned to Europe for three tournaments. At the Tier II Luxembourg Championships, Ivanovic qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships by virtue of reaching the semifinals. In the final, Ivanovic rallied from 6–3, 3–0 down to defeat Daniela Hantuchová 3–6,6–4,6–3 in two hours and 25 minutes. This was her fifth career title. In the quarterfinals and semifinals she beat Tatiana Golovin 6–1,6–2 and Vera Zvonareva 6–4,6–2.

To end the year, Ivanovic played in the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Spain. Seeded fourth and assigned to the Red Group during the round-robin phase, she defeated world no. 2 Kuznetsova 6–1,4–6,7–5, after she had 4–0 and three break points for 5–0 in the third set she eventually won the set 7–5 and Hantuchová in straight sets 6–2,7–6.She qualified to semifinals and then Sharapova defeated Ivanovic in the final match of the round-robin stage. Because she finished second in her group, Ivanovic played world no. 1 Henin in the semifinals, in which the Belgian won 6–4,6–4.

Ivanovic finished the year with a career-high ranking of world no. 4.

2008[link]

Ivanovic started the year at the 2008 Medibank International where she made the quarterfinals, eventually losing to world no. 1 Justine Henin 2–6,6–2,4–6 despite having had break points on 4–4 in third set.As the fourth seed at the Australian Open, Ivanovic made it all the way to the finals, beating top 10 players Venus Williams for the first time in her career, 7–6,6–4, and coming back from a 0–6, 0–2 deficit against Daniela Hantuchova, eventually winning 0–6, 6–3, 6–4. She fell against world no.5 Maria Sharapova in a tight match 7–5,6–3 in the final. Her ranking rose to world no. 3 as a result of her performance at the tournament, the highest of her career at the time.

Ivanovic at the 2008 Australian Open

In Serbia's Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I D round-robin tie against Poland in Budapest, Ivanovic defeated Urszula Radwańska in straight sets 6–3,6–1. In Serbia's second round-robin tie against Romania, Ivanovic defeated Monica Niculescu 5–7,6–4,7–5 and then teamed with Jelena Janković to win the deciding doubles rubber against the Romanian team 2–6,7–6,7–6, after Janković lost her singles match. In the promotion playoff, Ivanovic beat Renée Reinhard 6–2,3–6,6–3 of the Netherlands, as Serbia advanced to the World Group II playoffs in April.

In March, Ivanovic defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California 6–4,6–3 before wins over top 15 players Francesca Schiavone 2–6,7–5,6–2 and Vera Zvonareva 6–1,6–4 and world no. 4 Jelena Janković 7–6,6–3 in the semifinals.In first set against Jelena she had 5–3 lead and even some set points on 6–5, but eventually won the set 7–6. She lost to Lindsay Davenport in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami the following week in straight sets 6–4, 7–6

Ivanovic started her clay-court season as defending champion at the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. She lost to Elena Dementieva 6–2,7–5 for the fourth time in four meetings in the semifinals after beating no. 9 Ágnes Szávay 3–6,6–4,6–3 in the quarterfinals. Ivanovic was seeded second at the 2008 French Open, where she defeated Petra Cetkovská 6–0,6–0 in fourth round, world no. 10 Patty Schnyder 6–3,6–2 in quatrefinals and world no. 3 Jelena Janković in a thrilling encounter in the semifinals 6–4,3–6,6–4. First Jelena had 4–2 lead, then Ivanovic was very near to winning match after 6–4,3–1 lead, then Janković had 4–6,6–3,3–1 after Ana came for 3–3 in third set and again lost her serve, but was able to win the set 6–4.The win guaranteed Ivanovic's ascent to world no. 1 the following week, regardless of her performance in the final. Nonetheless, she went on to defeat Dinara Safina in straight sets 6–4,6–3 in the final, winning her first (and to date, only) Grand Slam singles title.

Venus Williams serving to Ivanovic in their semifinal match at the Zurich Open

At Wimbledon, Ivanovic had quick work of her first round match 6–1,6–2, only to encounter an inspired Nathalie Dechy in the second round. Ivanovic looked to be headed for a straight-sets win after having a 5–3 lead in first set, before Dechy eventually launched a comeback that saw her produce two match points, Ivanovic swept the first away, then saved the second matchpoint with a netcord ball, eventually prevailing 6–7,7–6,10–8. She fell against unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie of China in straight sets.

Ivanovic started the summer hard-court season with a third-round loss at the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Tamira Paszek 2–6,6–1,2–6. Ivanovic, bothered by a sore thumb sustained during practice two weeks before Montreal,^[17] withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Her withdrawal saw her lose the world no. 1 ranking to Janković. The thumb injury also caused her to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which Ivanovic described as "one of the worst moments of her career."^[18] Ivanovic, having reclaimed her world no. 1 ranking on August 18, was the top-seeded player at the US Open,^[19] but lost to Julie Coin 3–6,6–4,3–6 in very exciting and high-quality second round match. The loss was the earliest defeat of the top-seeded player at the US Open since the 1973 tournament.^[20]

In her first match after the US Open, at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanovic was defeated by Nadia Petrova 1–6,6–1,2–6 of Russia in three sets, bringing her win-loss record since the French Open to 4–4. Ivanovic later told the press that she was "just happy to be back injury-free" and that she needed to "play more matches get back into rhythm."^[21] Ivanovic then played in Beijing and after two great results she lost to Zheng Jie 6–7(6),6–2,4–6 match after having a break in first and third set and winning 16 more points than her opponent.

Then she came back to Europe to play three more tournaments, first in Moscow where she lost to Dominika Cibulkova 6–2,2–6,7–6 after having two match points.In Zurich open she lost in semifinal to Venus Williams 6–4,3–6,4–6 after leading 3–1 in third set before two easy wins over Marion Bartoli 6–2,6–4 and Petra Kvitova 6–1,6–4.Ivanovic played the Generali Ladies Linz in Linz torunament and was the top seed. She won the tournament by crushing top 10 players Vera Zvonareva 6–2,6–1 and Agnieszka Radwańska 6–2,3–6,7–5 in final and semifinal.

At the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, Ivanovic was seeded fourth. In her first round-robin match, she was defeated by world no. 1 Janković after she won the best point of the year^{[citation needed]}, hot shot. Her next match was against Zvonareva, to whom she also lost in three exciting sets. She withdrew from her final match against Kuznetsova because of a virus.^[22]

2009[link]

Ivanovic during the 2009 French Open

At the Australian Open, Ivanovic was seeded fifth and won her first two matches in straight sets before losing to 29th seed Russian Alisa Kleybanova in the third round.

Ivanovic took part in Serbia's Fed Cup win in the World Group II tie against Japan. She defeated Ai Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita to help Serbia to a 4–1 win. At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier 5 event, she lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. Around this time, Ivanovic began working with her new coach Craig Kardon, after parting with former coach Sven Groeneveld.^[23]

At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, where she was defending champion, Ivanovic advanced to the finals, before losing to Vera Zvonareva. In Miami, Ivanovic lost in the third round to Ágnes Szávay. In April, Ivanovic took part in Serbia's Fed Cup World Group Play-offs against Spain. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues to help Serbia gain promotion to the World Group with a 4–0 win.

At the 2009 French Open, Ivanovic won her first three matches in straight sets, before losing to Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round. This early loss caused Ivanovic to fall out of the top ten for the first time since May, 2007. After the loss, Ivanovic announced that she would cease working with Craig Kardon, and would be participating in the adidas Player Development Program, where she would be coached by Sven Groeneveld, Darren Cahill, Mats Merkel and Gil Reyes.^[24]

At Wimbledon, Ivanovic was seeded 13th. She faced two match points against Lucie Hradecká, before prevailing. She then took down Sara Errani and 18th seed Samantha Stosur in the second and third rounds in straight sets, before retiring against third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams.

At the U.S. Open, Ivanovic lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career by succumbing to Kateryna Bondarenko. After the match, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash criticized Ivanovic's new service motion, stating that watching it was a "painful experience" and that it "[weakened] her threat." He also felt that Ivanovic was "over-analysing" her game and that her main problem was "her lack of confidence."^[25]

At the Premier 5 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Ivanovic suffered her third successive defeat by losing to Lucie Šafářová in the first round. Citing an upper respiratory tract infection, Ivanovic pulled out of the China Open and announced on her website that she was taking the rest of the year off.

She finished the year with a 24–14 match record, her worst since she turned pro, and did not win any titles. Ivanovic only reached three quarterfinals, one semifinal, and one final, and only won back-to-back matches six times. Ivanovic ended the year ranked 21, the first time she had been ranked outside the top 20 since July 2005.

2010[link]

Ivanovic serving

Ivanovic started the year at the 2010 Brisbane International. Seeded third, Ivanovic reached her first semifinal since Indian Wells in 2009. She eventually bowed out to wildcard Justine Henin in Henin's first tournament since her return from retirement. Ivanovic was seeded 20th at the 2010 Australian Open, but lost to Gisela Dulko in the second round in three sets.

Ivanovic then participated in the opening round of the 2010 Fed Cup in Serbia's tie against Russia. She went 0–2 in her singles matches, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alisa Kleybanova, both in straight sets. She partnered with Jelena Janković in the deciding doubles match, but they fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Ivanovic then withdrew from Dubai with shoulder tendinitis.

Ivanovic announced that she would be working with Steffi Graf's former coach Heinz Gunthardt on a trial basis during the spring North American hard-court season, suspending her relationship with the Adidas Player Development Program indefinitely. In her first match as Gunthardt's pupil, a one-set semifinal against reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters in the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden, Ivanovic lost in a tiebreak, despite having held match point. After the match, Ivanovic stated that she had noted improvements in her game.

Despite her improvements reflected in the BNP Paribas Showdown, Ivanovic lost her opening match to world no. 63 Anastasija Sevastova at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. Never before had she suffered four consecutive losses. By also losing a huge number of ranking points, Ivanovic dropped out of the top 50 for the first time since March 2005. Seeded 25th at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Ivanovic won her first match since the Australian Open, but then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the third round.

In her first clay-court event of the year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Ivanovic suffered a second consecutive loss to Radwańska. In her first doubles match since June 2009, partnering Andrea Petkovic, she lost to Borwell and Kops-Jones.

Günthardt and Ivanovic during practice at the 2010 Bank of the West Classic.

Unseeded at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Ivanovic had her best week of tennis in nearly two years. She stunned top-10 players Victoria Azarenka and Elena Dementieva, and top-20 player Nadia Petrova, all in straight sets, before losing to eventual champion María José Martínez Sánchez in the semifinals. She was granted a wildcard into the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, and received a bye in the first round due to her semifinal appearance at the Italian Open. She was the first unseeded wildcard to receive a first-round bye in the history of the WTA Tour. She lost in the second round to Jelena Janković, despite leading by a set and a break. Ivanovic entered the 2010 French Open unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2005. She fell to Alisa Kleybanova in the second round.

In the UNICEF Open, Ivanovic fell to seventh-seeded German Andrea Petkovic in the second round. Ivanovic was defeated in the first round of Wimbledon by 13th seed Shahar Pe'er, and as a consequence saw her ranking drop to world no. 64.

In the opening round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford University, Ivanovic avenged her 2009 Australian Open and 2010 French Open defeats to Alisa Kleybanova, before losing in the next round to Marion Bartoli in straight sets. At the Mercury Insurance Open, Ivanovic once again suffered a first-round loss to Shahar Pe'er. At the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open, she rallied from a set and a break down to beat Victoria Azarenka in three sets. Ivanovic retired against Kim Clijsters in the semifinals due to a foot injury. Her ranking dramatically improved to world no. 39. The injury caused her to withdraw from the Pilot Pen tournament held in New Haven.

Unseeded at the 2010 US Open, Ivanovic breezed into the fourth round with straight-set victories, before losing to defending and eventual champion Kim Clijsters.

Ivanovic went into the Hansol Korea Open as the seventh seed, but lost her opener to Vera Dushevina. Ivanovic then defeated Kleybanova, the Korea Open champion, in the first round of the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open, before again losing to Bartoli in straight sets. Ivanovic avenged her losses to Bartoli at the 2010 China Open, beating the Frenchwoman in straight sets in the first round. On her way to the quarterfinals, Ivanovic scored another top-10 victory by defeating Elena Dementieva for the second time in 2010. Ana fell to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. By virtue of her quarterfinal finish, Ivanovic re-entered the top 30.

Entering the 2010 Generali Ladies Linz as a wildcard, Ivanovic defeated Patty Schnyder in the finals, 6–1, 6–2, in just 47 minutes of play. Ana headed to the 2010 BGL Luxembourg Open as the fourth seed, where she breezed right through to the quarterfinals, before falling to eighth seed Julia Görges. Meanwhile, after making the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament with Yanina Wickmayer, they fell to fourth seeds Lucie Hradecká and Renata Voráčová.

Ivanovic revealed that she had ended her coaching relationship with Swiss star Heinz Gunthardt, because Gunthardt mixed his interest in tennis with being a Swiss television commentator.

By virtue of her title in Linz, Ivanovic qualified for the last tournament of the season, the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions. She made it to the finals, where she defeated Russian Alisa Kleybanova for her tenth career title and her second of the year. With her title in Bali, Ivanovic achieved a year-end ranking of no. 17, her fifth finish in the top 20.

2011[link]

Ivanovic started the year with the 2011 Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. She competed along with Novak Djokovic under the Serbian flag. Ana and Djokovic swept their first two ties against Kazakhstan and Australia, 3–0, but fell against Belgium, 1–2. They did qualify for the final, but due to an injury sustained during Ivanovic's match against Justine Henin, Serbia was forced to withdraw. Along with the Hopman Cup, Ivanovic also withdrew from Sydney.

Ivanovic celebrating Djokovic's win at the 2011 Australian Open

Ivanovic 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. Ivanovic then played in the PTT Pattaya Open, where she fell in the quarterfinals to fifth seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets, 5–7, 3–6. She headed 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 she subsequently withdrew from Doha.

Ivanovic 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 in the quarterfinals.

Ivanovic then played in the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 19th. She lost against defending champion Kim Clijsters in her fourth-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, they stunned sixth-seeded Benesova and Zahlavova Strycova. They withdrew from the doubles competition after Ivanovic lost to Clijsters.

Ivanovic withdrew from the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience tournament to better prepare herself for the upcoming clay-court season.^{[citation needed]} However, she joined Serbia in the 2011 Fed Cup event. Ivanovic scored a point for Serbia by beating Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4, but had to retire in her next match against Dominika Cibulková, as she renewed an injury from the beginning of the season. Despite that, Serbia beat Slovakia in the deciding doubles rubber, 3–2.^{[citation needed]}

Ivanovic's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was seeded 15th. After her early exit in the first round, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ivanovic headed to 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she was 13th seed. Ivanovic lost in the second round to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets. Ivanovic withdrew from Strasbourg due to a minor wrist injury. Ana then lost to Johanna Larsson, 6–7, 6–0, 2–6, in her first round match at the 2011 French Open. Ivanovic had a slight resurgence in Birmingham, reaching the semifinals, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in three sets. Ivanovic lost to Venus Williams in the second round at Eastbourne.

She beat Melanie Oudin in the first round at Wimbledon in straight sets. After her win over Eleni Daniilidou in the second round, also in straight sets, she fell in the third round. She was beaten by Petra Cetkovská who had beaten 13th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in round two. After Wimbledon, Ivanovic hired Nigel Sears, the head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association, as her coach.^[26] In Stanford, Ivanovic fell against Japan's Ayumi Morita in her opening match, 3–6, 5–7. As the fifth seed in Carlsbad, she received a first-round bye. In round two, she avenged the previous week's loss by beating Ayumi Morita, 6–1, 7–6, despite trailing 0–5 in the second set. In the third round, Ana cruised past Alberta Brianti of Italy, 6–1, 6–2. Ivanovic then took on Shuai Peng in the quarterfinals and won in two sets. In the semifinals, she lost against top seed Vera Zvonareva, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. After losing to Roberta Vinci in her third round match at the Roger's Cup, Ana, who teamed with Andrea Petkovic, had to withdraw in the middle of her doubles match while playing against fourth-seeded Azarenka and Kirilenko. At the US Open, Ivanovic defeated Ksenia Pervak of Russia in the first round. She received a walkover from Petra Cetkovská and advanced to the third round. In the third round, Ivanovic defeated Sloane Stephens, 6–3, 6–4, to advance to the fourth round, where she faced Serena Williams, losing in straight sets 3–6, 4–6, in just 74 minutes. She also played alongside fellow countryman Nenad Zimonjic in the mixed doubles competition for the first time, but fell against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Yung-jan Chan, 3–6, 4–6.

During the Toray Pan Pacific Open Ivanovic recorded victories in straight sets over Anastasia Rodionova and wildcard Laura Robson, before losing to Maria Kirilenko in the third round.

At the China Open Ivanovic defeated Kimiko Date-Krumm and Svetlana Kuznetsova in straights to reach the third round, where she beat third seed and world no. 4 Vera Zvonareva, 6–2, 6–1. She then faced Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarter-finals. She lost the first set 3–6 and was down 2–3 when she had to retire because of a back injury. Ivanovic received a wild card to play in the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, which she won last year. In her first round she played Italy's Roberta Vinci and defeated her 6–3 6–3. In the semi-finals she beat Russian Nadia Petrova 6–1, 7–5. In the final, she captured her 11 WTA title by beating Anabel Medina Garrigues in straights sets, 6–3, 6–0. This is the first time she had ever defended her title in a tournament.

2012[link]

Ivanovic began her season at the 2012 Brisbane International where she was defeated in the second round by fifth seed Kim Clijsters in three sets, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6 despite leading 3–0 in the final set. Ivanovic's next event was the Apia International Sydney but she lost in the first round to Lucie Šafářová in straight sets, 6–7, 2–6.

Ana then headed over to the 2012 Australian Open where she was seeded 21st. She did not drop a set en route to the fourth round, defeating Lourdes Domínguez Lino, Michaella Krajicek and Vania King along the way. Ana lost in straight sets to World No. 2 Petra Kvitová, 6–2, 7–6 in the fourth round. She cracked the Top 20 after her Round of 16 run.

Ivanovic's next tournament was the 2012 Qatar Total Open. She fell in the second round to Petra Cetkovska in straight sets. Ana then went on unseeded in Dubai, where she upset Francesca Schiavone, and beat Maria Kirilenko, before falling to 3rd seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Ana went over to the 2012 BNP Paribas Open as the 15th seed. She was able to make a run all the way to the semifinals, posting victories over Caroline Wozniacki and Marion Bartoli, who were both in the Top 7. She fell against Maria Sharapova, retiring after being down 4–6, 1–0 in the semifinals. This caused her to enter the Top 10 for the race to the 2012 WTA Tour Championships. She then headed over to Miami, for the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open as the 15th seed, where she made it to the Round of 16, beating Daniela Hantuchova and Vania King in straight sets en route, before eventually falling to seven-time grand slam champion Venus Williams, despite holding a one set lead. She still cracked the Top 15 for the first time since 2009 and became Serbian No.1 for the first time since 2008, this time placing 14th after Miami.

She will now head over to Moscow for the 2012 Fed Cup semifinals, before resuming her 2012 season at the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. During the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix she fell to Mona Barthel in two tight sets. She than headed over to the newly blue clayed Madrid where she defeated qualifier Mathilde Johannson 6–4 6–1 in the first round. Next up is Russia's Nadia Petrova.

In Roland Garros 2012, she defeated Lara Arruabarrena Vecino (6-1, 6-1) in straight sets in first round and defeated Shahar Peer in the second round.

Equipment[link]

Ivanovic endorsed Nike apparel and shoes at the beginning of her professional career,^[27] but at the beginning of 2006 switched to rival Adidas.^[28] 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.^[29] She started with the Wilson racquets, eventually using the nCode nBlade.^[30] Since the beginning of 2008, Ivanovic 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.^[31] Ivanovic plays with the Yonex EZONE 100 model.

Playing style[link]

Ivanovic is an offensive baseliner who is notable for her aggressive play. In 2007 and 2008, Ivanovic was regarded as one of the best competitors on the women's tour.^{[citation needed]} After winning the 2008 French Open and becoming no. 1, Ivanovic endured a decline in form. Many critics attributed this to lack of confidence. 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." She has since made some improvements to her playing style after appointing a new coach in 2010. As a result, she started to play with more confidence and won matches more consistently.

Serve[link]

Ivanovic serving at Indian Wells

Ivanovic's serve is a powerful weapon. She hit a 124.9 mph (201.0 km/h) serve at the French Open in 2007, the fifth fastest serve of all time on the WTA Tour.^[32] As of late, however, her serve has become unreliable, mostly due to technical issues with her ball toss. The success of her ball toss is directly associated with her nerves. During the French Open final in 2007, Ivanovic was overcome with nerves and her toss went astray. During Ivanovic's slump in play in 2009, her serve became gradually less effective as her confidence diminished. Ana indicated in 2010 she is confident she has rectified these problems.^[33]

Groundstrokes[link]

Another one of Ivanovic's strengths is her powerful forehand. A flat stroke, hit with not a lot of topspin which gives it its power,^[34] it has been considered to be one of the best forehands in the game.^[35] Ivanovic tends to hit more winners of this wing. Her backhand, although not as big as her forehand, has improved over the years. Ivanovic's movement and net play were once considered to be her weaknesses, but they have both improved over the years. She is considered now to be considerably faster than when she started playing professional tennis.^{[citation needed]}

Surfaces[link]

Ivanovic's best surface is the clay court, where her height allows her to strike clean winners off of high-bouncing balls. Nonetheless, she is capable of performing well on hard and grass courts as well. When she launched her re-branded site during 2010, she stated in her bio that she likes all surfaces.^[10]

Awards[link]

Ivanovic has won the following awards:^[10]

• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2005)
• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour most Improved player (2007)
• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award (2007)
• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Diamond ACES Award (2008)
• Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award (2009)
• Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State's 2007 International Women of Courage Award (2007)
• Michael Westphal Award (2008)

Singles performance timeline[link]

Key

Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).

Career statistics[link]

Video games[link]

Ivanovic has appeared as a character in Smash Court Tennis 3, released in 2007, Virtua Tennis 2009, released in 2009, Grand Slam Tennis for Wii, also released in 2009, Top Spin 4 and Virtua Tennis 4 both released in 2011. She is also featured in Grand Slam Tennis 2, released in 2012.^[36] She stars, among others, alongside Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Lindsay Davenport, Anna Chakvetadze, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Other ventures[link]

Ana has appeared in a song called "Hurricane Ana," produced by Serbian rapper Filip Filipi and Collie Buddz.^[37] Also, she appeared on a number of international magazines like FHM (Germany, United Kingdom, Australia), Cosmopolitan (Serbia), Vanidades (Mexico), Grazia (Serbia), The Best Shop (Serbia), Sports Illustrated (South Africa) and others.

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)
• Serbia Fed Cup team
• List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
• List of WTA number 1 ranked players

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ana Ivanović

• Official website
• Ana Ivanovic at the Women's Tennis Association
• Ana Ivanovic at the International Tennis Federation
• Ana Ivanovic at the Fed Cup

Ana Ivanovic (Achievement precedessor & successor) Sporting positions Preceded by Maria Sharapova Jelena Janković World No. 1 June 9, 2008 - August 10, 2008 August 18, 2008 - September 7, 2008 Succeeded by Jelena Janković Serena Williams Preceded by Kim Clijsters US Open Series Champion 2006 Succeeded by Maria Sharapova Awards Preceded by Maria Sharapova Jelena Janković WTA Most Improved Player 2005 2007 Succeeded by Jelena Janković Dinara Safina Preceded by Kim Clijsters Karen Krantczke Sportsmanship Award 2007 Succeeded by Elena Dementieva Preceded by Jelena Janković WTA Diamond Aces 2008 Succeeded by Elena Dementieva

v t e Women's Tennis Association: Top ten Serbian female singles tennis players as of 7 May 2012 Ana Ivanovic (15 ) Jelena Janković (18 1) Bojana Jovanovski (107 8) Vesna Dolonc (169 1) Aleksandra Krunić (199 4) Milana Špremo (406 18) Jovana Jakšić (446 3) Doroteja Erić (446 2) Tamara Čurović (479 4) Natalija Kostić (502 6)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

Fernando Verdasco

Verdasco at the 2008 US Open
Country	Spain
Residence	Madrid, Spain
Born	(1983-11-15) 15 November 1983 (age 28) Madrid, Spain
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro	2001
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$8,070,775
Singles
Career record	317–217
Career titles	5
Highest ranking	No. 7 (20 April 2009)
Current ranking	No. 16 (14 May 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (2009)
French Open	4R (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Wimbledon	4R (2006, 2008, 2009)
US Open	QF (2009, 2010)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2009)
Doubles
Career record	68–77
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 31 (2 February 2009)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2009)
French Open	2R (2007)
Wimbledon	3R (2008)
US Open	QF (2004, 2008)
Last updated on: 26 January 2010.

Fernando Verdasco Carmona (born 15 November 1983 in Madrid, Spain) is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 19 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight. As of 2009, Verdasco has been working in Las Vegas with Andre Agassi and his team, including Darren Cahill (Agassi's former coach) and Gil Reyes (Agassi's fitness coach).^[1] Verdasco has aided Spain in winning three Davis Cup titles, winning the deciding match in both 2008 and 2009, he was part of the winning team in 2011 as well. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, where he lost to compatriot and eventual champion Rafael Nadal in five sets in what was the second-longest match in Australian Open history (next to Australian Open 2012 Final).^[2]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

He turned professional in 2001, finishing as world no. 464. 2002 was a good year for him, as he won his first Futures category title in Spain F1 and was runner-up in Spain F3. He played his second career challenger in Segovia, where he reached the final after beating Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov in the semifinals. He then reached two additional Challenger semifinals in Kiev and in Eckental, finishing the year in the top 200 at no. 173. 2002 also finished strongly off the court, as Fernando finished runner-up in a closely contested Best Abs in Castilla La Mancha contest..

2003[link]

In 2003, Verdasco played his first Masters Series tournament (Miami Masters). He joined the main draw as a qualifier, and after defeating Karol Kučera and Max Mirnyi, he lost to countryman Carlos Moyà in the third round. After this good performance, he had a poor season on clay, and then he lost in the first round at Wimbledon against Finn Jarkko Nieminen in five sets. Then Verdasco played in Cincinnati, where he lost to Andy Roddick in straight sets. He reached the third round at the U.S. Open, where he lost to Thai Paradorn Srichaphan, after defeating countryman Tommy Robredo in the first round and Italian Davide Sanguinetti in the second round.

2004[link]

After finishing 2003 as no. 109 in the world (with a 15–8 record in Challengers), he had a breakthrough in 2004 when he won his first ATP title in Valencia. He defeated defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semifinals and Albert Montañés in the final. He also reached the final in Acapulco, losing to Carlos Moyà, and the quarterfinals in Halle and in 's-Hertogenbosch on grass. He reached the third round in two Masters Series tournaments: the Hamburg Masters and the Madrid Masters. He reached the quarterfinals in Stockholm and the semifinals in Kitzbühel, and won a doubles title in Stockholm (with countryman Feliciano López), ending the year ranked no. 36 in the world.

2005[link]

In 2005, he defeated Andy Roddick twice, in Miami and in Rome. In Rome, the match was famous for Roddick being matchpoint up on Verdasco's serve and having the match end with a double fault from Verdasco, but Roddick claimed that the serve wasn't out and the match went on, with Verdasco winning. He also reached the quarterfinals in Valencia (where he was defending the title), Rome, and New Haven; the semifinals of Saint Petersburg; and was finalist in Kitzbühel, where he lost to Argentine Gastón Gaudio. Verdasco reached his first Grand Slam fourth round at the U.S. Open, where he lost to Jarkko Nieminen, after defeating Novak Djoković. His year-end ranking improved slightly to no. 32 in the world.

2006[link]

Fernando reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, after beating Vince Spadea and German Benjamin Becker, and also upsetting third seed and former runner-up David Nalbandián in straight sets in the third round. Verdasco then lost to Czech Radek Štěpánek in five sets. At the U.S. Open, Fernando reached the third round, but lost to eventual runner-up Andy Roddick in five sets. In previous rounds, Fernando defeated Fabrice Santoro in four sets and Thiago Alves in three. Fernando then lost in the quarterfinals of Palermo to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo, and then he lost to Ramírez Hidalgo again the following week in the first round at Metz. Verdasco did not win a match the rest of year. He lost to Italian Daniele Bracciali in Moscow, and then in the last two Masters Series tournaments of the year, he lost to Tim Henman in the Madrid Masters and to Michaël Llodra in the Paris Masters. Verdasco finished the year ranked no. 35.

2007[link]

In 2007, Verdasco lost in the first round in the three Masters Series tournaments on clay. He lost to Frenchman Richard Gasquet in both Monte Carlo Masters and Rome Masters, and to Czech Tomáš Berdych in the Hamburg Masters. He lost to Novak Đjoković in the fourth round of the French Open. In the previous rounds, he beat Jérôme Haehnel in the first round, Dmitry Tursunov in the second round, and David Ferrer in the third round. In the grass season, he lost in the first round in Queen's, and he reached the third round at Wimbledon, where he lost to third seed Andy Roddick after beating Bobby Reynolds in the first round and Italian Andreas Seppi in the second round. At the Madrid Masters, Verdasco cruised through to the second round with a win over Albert Montañés, beating him in straight sets. However, in the second round he faced third seed Novak Đoković and after winning the first set, the Serb player won the second and the third sets by the same score: 6–3. At the St. Petersburg Open, Verdasco played some brilliant tennis to reach the final without losing a single set. En route to this final, he defeated Marin Čilić, who defeated Nikolay Davydenko early on, in the semifinal. However, his quest to win the title ended with a 6–2, 6–3 defeat by Scot Andy Murray. Still, this solid performance raised Verdasco's position in the ATP rankings to 27 the next week.^{[citation needed]}

2008[link]

Fernando entered the Australian Open as the 25th seed. He won his opening match with a strong performance against Thierry Ascione 6–4, 6–0, 6–3. He lost his second round match in a close battle with Serbian Janko Tipsarević, who later went on to take Roger Federer to 5 sets. Fernando entered the Dubai Tennis Championships with a possible second round opponent of either Roger Federer or Andy Murray, his opponent would be Murray after he beat Federer in three sets. Fernando managed to take Murray to three sets but after a good performance he lost the match 3–6, 6–3, 6–7. In Berlin, Fernando and doubles partner Feliciano López clinched Spain's spot in the Davis Cup semifinals after defeating Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber and Philipp Petzschner in a four hour and 45 minute marathon match, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 2–6, 12–10. At the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco Fernando lost to Gaël Monfils in straight sets in the first round. In Barcelona the following week he also lost his first round match in straight sets to Nicolás Lapentti. His form improved dramatically for the Rome Masters where he reached the third round, en-route he got the better of Carlos Moyà and Nicolás Lapentti (who had beaten him the week earlier) before losing in a thriller to James Blake. Fernando continued his run of excellent form into the Hamburg Masters where he beat Mikhail Youzhny in the first round 6–2, 6–3. In the second round he beat Michaël Llodra 6–2, 6–0. Verdasco then went on to record a remarkable win against compatriot David Ferrer in straight sets, 7–6, 6–2. His run ended when he met the world number 1 Roger Federer, losing 6–3, 6–3. At the French Open Verdasco was seeded No. 22 and enjoyed a good run, ending with a loss to Rafael Nadal in the last 16.^{[citation needed]}

Verdasco at the US Open

On 9 June Fernando achieved his career high ranking of No. 20, as a result of his run at the French Open. He reached the final of the Nottingham Open raising his ranking to a career high of No. 18. At Wimbledon, he lost to Mario Ančić in a five set thriller in which the last set lasted over 90 minutes and ended 13–11, in the fourth round. His performance at The Wimbledon Championships brought his world ranking up to No. 13. His most recent ATP victory was in Umag (Studena Croatian Open Umag), Croatia where he defeated Igor Andreev. Afterwards, he again improved in the rankings to 11th place. Verdasco was the 13th seed at the US Open in 2008, and lost to the 23rd seed Andreev in the third round.^{[citation needed]}

On 23 November, Verdasco won the fourth rubber of Spain's Davis Cup final match against Argentina, defeating José Acasuso. This was enough to ensure the team of victory; Verdasco had also played in the doubles match of the previous day and won, partnering Feliciano López.^{[citation needed]}

2009[link]

Verdasco training ahead of the 2009 French Open

Verdasco started his season by reaching the final of the Brisbane International losing to Radek Štěpánek in three sets. Partnering Mischa Zverev, he was also the runner-up in the doubles final. At the Australian Open, in his first appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal, Verdasco defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2. Verdasco then lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal 7–6, 4–6, 6–7, 7–6, 4–6 in the longest match in Australian Open history, lasting 5 hours, 14 minutes.^[3] Verdasco's semi-final run earned him No. 9 ranking, lifting the Spaniard into the top 10 for the first time.

After being sidelined by injury since the Australian Open, he reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, where he lost to Roger Federer 6–3, 7–6. At the 2009 Miami Masters, Verdasco recorded his 200th ATP match win by defeating qualifier Benjamin Becker in the second round. He would go on to reach the quarterfinals, losing to Andy Murray 6–1, 6–2.^[4] His run at this tournament earned him a further career-high ranking of No. 8.

During the clay court season, Verdasco again reached quarterfinal stage, where he lost to Novak Djokovic 2–6, 6–4, 3–6. Following this tournament, his ranking rose further to No. 7. In Barcelona, he lost in the quarter-finals to Fernando González 3–6, 6–4, 4–6. At the 2009 Rome Masters, he advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Rafael Nadal 6–3, 6–3. At the 2009 Madrid Masters, Verdasco reached the quarterfinals, Verdasco again lost to Nadal for the ninth time 6–4, 7–5. Competing as the 8th seed at the 2009 French Open, Verdasco lost in the fourth round to 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko 6–2, 6–4, 6–4.

On his first tournament on grass that season, Verdasco lost in the first round of the 2009 Gerry Weber Open to Philipp Petzschner. At the 2009 Ordina Open, he lost in the second round to eventual title winner Benjamin Becker 7–5, 7–6. At the third Grand Slam of the year, Wimbledon, he matched his best result at that tournament by reaching the fourth round, where he was ousted by the big-serving Croat, Ivo Karlović 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6.

Verdasco competed in the Swedish Open as the top seed, advancing to the quarterfinals where he retired against Juan Mónaco. After a small break he played in the Rogers Cup and was defeated by Andy Roddick in the third round 7–6, 4–6, 7–6. He was then upset by compatriot Guillermo García-López in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters in two tiebreaks. In New Haven, Verdasco defeated Igor Andreev in two tiebreak sets in the semi-finals. Due to rain delays in the previous days, Verdasco returned later the same day for the final against Sam Querrey, winning in straight sets. He did not lose a set in the entire tournament. He was seeded 10th at the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam, losing in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic 7–6,1–6, 7–5, 6–2.

Verdasco volley in winning match against Isner at 2009 US Open

Verdasco's first indoor tournament of the season was the 2009 Malaysian Open, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets in the final. At the China Open, Verdasco was seeded fifth, losing to Djokovic in the quarterfinals for the third time in that year. In Shanghai, a Masters 1000 tournament, he lost his opening match to Ivan Ljubičić 6–4, 7–6.

He next competed at the Valencia Open 500. He advanced to the semifinals where he lost to top seed Andy Murray 6–3, 2–6, 6–3.

He next competed at the Paris Masters as the seventh seed. In the third round, Verdasco lost to Marin Čilić 6–3, 3–6, 4–6. His bid in qualifying for the ATP World Tour finals depended on the results of other players because of this loss. However, Robin Söderling and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga failed to pass the quarterfinals, allowing Verdasco to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup for the first time in his career.

At the ATP Tour Finals, Verdasco lost to Roger Federer in his first Round Robin match 6–4, 5–7, 1–6 and to Juan Martín del Potro 4–6, 6–3, 6–7 in his second match. He then lost his third match against Andy Murray in the round robin 4–6, 7–6, 6–7 hence ending his run at the tournament. Verdasco finished 2009 with a 52–25 record in singles, his best record to date, and finished the year at No. 9, the first time he has finished the year in the top 10.

To close 2009, Verdasco partnered Feliciano López in the 2009 Davis Cup Final doubles match against the Czech Republic. Playing against Radek Štěpánek and Tomáš Berdych, Verdasco and Lopez saved a set point to win the first set, and eventually the match 7–6, 7–5, 6–2. This victory retained the Davis Cup for Spain, and was a fitting end to Verdasco's most successful season on the tour so far.

2010[link]

Verdasco started his 2010 season at the exhibition tournament AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, in preparation for the upcoming Australian Open. He beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final 7–5, 6–3. His first official tournament for the year was in the Australian Open. As the 9th seed, he lost in the fourth round against Nikolay Davydenko in a five set match, 2–6, 5–7, 6–4, 7–6, 3–6.

His next tournament was the SAP Open in San Jose, California. Before his first round match, he won an exhibition match against Pete Sampras in straight sets 6–3, 7–6. In the tournament final, he defeated Andy Roddick 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 to capture his fourth ATP singles title. This was his first win over a Top 10 ranked player since the 2009 Australian Open. He arrived late at the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, and as a result, he was ousted in the opening round 6–7, 3–6 by Jérémy Chardy.

Verdasco's next tournament was the Acapulco where he lost to Juan Mónaco in the quarter-finals 7–5, 6–3.

Seeded 10th (and as a result, receiving a bye into the second round) at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells where, in the third round, he lost to Tomáš Berdych 6–0, 6–3. At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, after receiving an opening round bye, he lost to Berdych 4–6, 7–6, 6–4 in the quarterfinals.

At the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, as the sixth seed, he defeated the number 1 seed Novak Djokovic 6–2, 6–2 to reach his first ever Masters 1000 final, to meet five-time defending champion Rafael Nadal. It was the first all-Spanish final of a Masters 1000 event since Monte Carlo in 2002. However, he was defeated by Rafael Nadal, 6–0, 6–1. Despite the lopsided final, Verdasco had done enough to ensure a return to the Top 10, at number nine.^{[citation needed]}

The following week, Verdasco played at the 2010 Barcelona Open as the fifth seed, where he defeated Robin Söderling 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 to win his fifth career singles title.

In the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where he played in his second semi-final appearance at the Masters 1000 level, he faced David Ferrer and lost 7–5, 6–3. Verdasco's next tournament was the Madrid Open, where he was seeded sixth. After receiving a bye in the first round, he defeated Ivo Karlović 7–6, 6–3 before falling to Jürgen Melzer 7–5, 6–3.

Then, a week before the French Open, he reached his fourth final of the year at Nice by beating Leonardo Mayer in the semifinals. He then lost to Richard Gasquet 6–3, 5–7, 7–6 in the final. During the third set, he was captured by a microphone yelling profanities about the crowd and was seen to sarcastically wave at them, after which the crowd booed him. He apologised after the match and before the French Open to everyone and stated that two fans had agitated him.^[5]

Verdasco was the seventh seed at the 2010 French Open where, in the fourth round, he lost to Nicolás Almagro. In an upset, Verdasco then lost in the opening round of Wimbledon to Fabio Fognini 7–6, 6–2, 6–7. 6–4.^[6]

After losing in the quarterfinals in Båstad, Verdasco then travelled to the U.S.A to begin his preparations for the US Open. At the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, Verdasco lost to Marcos Bagdatis 6–7, 4–6 in the second round.

At the 2010 US Open, Verdasco came back from two sets down in the round of 16 to defeat compatriot David Ferrer in five sets 5-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6. However he lost to top seed Rafael Nadal in the next round, 5–7, 3–6, 4–6, increasing Nadal's lead over the career head-to-head 11–0.

Verdasco at the 2011 Australian Open

He next played at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open, losing to Benjamin Becker 4–6, 4–6 in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. He then traveled to China for the 2010 China Open in Beijing, losing 2–6, 5–7 to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany there, and to Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands 6–7, 5–7 at the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters. In the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, he lost to Gaël Monfils in three sets despite holding two match points at 5–4 in the decider. Verdasco finished the year with the same ranking he ended with in 2009, which was No. 9.

2011[link]

Verdasco started the year losing in the first round of the Brisbane International to Benjamin Becker 1–6, 7–6, 3–6. He then failed to defend his title at the exhibition tournament, the 2011 Kooyong Classic, losing to Gaël Monfils in the first round 6–4, 6–7, 4–6.

Seeded 9th at the 2011 Australian Open, Verdasco lost in the fourth round to sixth seed Tomáš Berdych 4–6, 2–6, 3–6, saying after the match he had a long-time injury in his foot. He had MRI scans on his foot and is confirmed that he had a fractured foot (where a broken bone was detected). He has claimed he has sustained this since late 2009.

His next tournament was the SAP Open in San Jose, California where was defending champion and top seed. He advanced to the final without losing a set against Rajeev Ram, Ivo Karlović, Denis Istomin and Juan Martín del Potro. His opponent in the final was young Canadian first-time finalist Milos Raonic. Verdasco held held four set points in a first-set tiebreak but lost the next six points and the set 6–7. He eventually lost the match 6–7, 6–7.

Verdasco faced off against Raonic in the first round of Memphis. For the second time in two weeks, he lost to Raonic, this time in a third set tiebreak. He then travelled to Mexico, where he was seeded second. Again, he lost in the first round, this time to Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.

Verdasco and his Spanish teammates next played Davis Cup against Belgium. Verdasco won both of his rubbers in singles and doubles and helped Spain to a 4–1 victory.

At Indian Wells, Verdasco snapped his losing streak in ATP tour events when his second round opponent Ričardas Berankis had to retire after Verdasco led 7–5, 2–0. But he then lost to Sam Querrey in the third round 5–7, 4–6. At Miami, he again received a first-round bye but lost to Pablo Andujar 6–3, 6–7, 4–6, committing three double faults in his service game at 4–4 in the third.

At the Monte Carlo Masters, he lost to Tommy Robredo in the second round, 4–6, 3–6, after a first-round bye.

At the Estoril Open Verdasco reached the finals, defeating Frederico Gil, Kevin Anderson and was aided by the retirement of Milos Raonic in the semifinals. In the final, he lost to Juan Martin del Potro 2–6 2–6. Then at the Madrid Masters, his home-town, Verdasco lost in the second round after a first round bye to Lu Yen-hsun 6–7, 5–7 which was only Lu's second victory on clay courts in his decade-long career. Verdasco reached the third round of the French Open as the 16 seed where he lost to Ivan Ljubicic.

Beginning his grass season at the 2011 AEGON Championships as the 7th seed, he defeated Nicolas Mahut and David Nalbandian in straight sets before losing to Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals 2–6 2–6. At Wimbledon, as the 21st seed, he defeated Radek Stepanek in the first round in a long five set match, before succumbing to Dutchman Robin Haase in the second round.

2012[link]

Verdasco started the year with a first time participation at the Hopman Cup partnering Anabel Medina Garrigues representing Spain. Verdasco lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Australian Bernard Tomic, with Tomic winning 4-6 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 7-5.

Playing style and equipment[link]

Verdasco is an offensive baseliner who is comfortable on all surfaces, with fast hard courts being his best.^[7] Verdasco considers his best shot to be his forehand,^[8] a shot that commentator Brad Gilbert often refers to as his "Fearhand". His serve is characteristic of a left-handed player predominantly using slice to create a lot of spin, and is capable of speeds exceeding 230 km/h.^[9] He is known for rivaling compatriot Rafael Nadal with the amount of topspin he can put on a ball.^[10][11] which partly explains his improved results since 2009, but still struggles with his nerves when facing the best players in the world. He is endorsed by adidas (he wears the Edge Group and Barricade V ) and recently switched to Dunlop Sport^[12] for racquets, after having played with Tecnifibre for the majority of his career (and with Yonex for a very short time in 2010). He is currently using the Dunlop Biomimetic 300.

Personal life[link]

Verdasco began playing tennis when he was four years old, practicing with his father on the two hard courts in the backyard of their family home. He stopped school years at the age of 11, soon after practising with his father who then took his son into the academy's hands. His parents, José and Olga, who are of Latin American descent, own a restaurant in Madrid. He has two younger sisters, Sara and Ana.^[13] Verdasco was diagnosed with ADHD when he was a child, but did not receive treatment in order to not have problems with doping.^[14]

Major finals[link]

ATP Masters Series finals[link]

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	2010	Monte Carlo	Clay	Rafael Nadal	0–6, 1–6

ATP Career Finals[link]

Singles: 17 (5–12)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	02004-03-077 March 2004	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	Carlos Moyá	3–6, 0–6
Winner	1.	02004-04-1212 April 2004	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Albert Montañés	7–6(7–5), 6–3
Runner-up	2.	02005-07-3030 July 2005	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	6–2, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	3.	02007-10-2727 October 2007	St. Petersburg, Russia	Hard (i)	Andy Murray	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	4.	02008-06-2222 June 2008	Nottingham, United Kingdom	Grass	Ivo Karlović	5–7, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(8–10)
Winner	2.	02008-07-2020 July 2008	Umag, Croatia	Clay	Igor Andreev	3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up	5.	02009-01-055 January 2009	Brisbane, Australia	Hard	Radek Štěpánek	6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Winner	3.	02009-08-2929 August 2009	New Haven, United States	Hard	Sam Querrey	6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Runner-up	6.	02009-10-044 October 2009	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Hard (i)	Nikolay Davydenko	4–6, 5–7
Winner	4.	02010-02-1414 February 2010	San José, United States	Hard (i)	Andy Roddick	3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	7.	02010-04-1818 April 2010	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Rafael Nadal	0–6, 1–6
Winner	5.	02010-04-2525 April 2010	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Robin Söderling	6–3, 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up	8.	02010-05-2222 May 2010	Nice, France	Clay	Richard Gasquet	3–6, 7–5, 6–7(5–7)
Runner-up	9.	02011-02-1313 February 2011	San José, United States	Hard (i)	Milos Raonic	6–7(6–8), 6–7(5–7)
Runner-up	10.	02011-05-011 May 2011	Estoril, Portugal	Clay	Juan Martin del Potro	2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	11.	02011-07-3131 July 2011	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Marcel Granollers	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up	12.	02012-03-044 March 2012	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	David Ferrer	1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 5 (3–2)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	1 November 2004	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Feliciano López	Wayne Arthurs Paul Hanley	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	22 July 2007	Stuttgart, Germany	Clay	Guillermo García López	František Čermák Leoš Friedl	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	2.	10 January 2009	Brisbane, Australia	Hard	Mischa Zverev	Marc Gicquel Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	6–4, 6–3
Winner	2.	25 February 2012	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	David Marrero	Michal Mertiňák André Sá	6–4, 6–4
Winner	3.	3 March 2012	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	David Marrero	Marcel Granollers Marc López	6–3, 6–4