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- published: 29 Aug 2013
- views: 496
Hyper! Hyper!
Is everybody on the floor?
We put some energy into this place!
I want to ask you something... are you ready for the sound of Scooter!?
I want to see you sweat!
I said... I want to see you sweat!
Yeeah.
Hyper! Hyper!
Hyper! Hyper!
Hyper! Hyper!
Excuse me! Where is the bass drum?
We need the bass drum!
Come on!
Hyper! Hyper!
Hyper! Hyper!
It's so beautiful to see your hands in the air!
Put your hands in the air!
Come on!
This is Scooter!
We want to sing a big shout to US, and to all ravers in the world!
...And to Westbam, Marusha, Steve Mason, The Mystic Man, DJ Dick, Carl Cox, The Hooligan, Cosmic,
Kid Paul, Dag, Mike VanDike, Jens Lissat, Lenny D., Sven Vath, Mark Spoon, Marco Zaffarano,... Hell,
Paul Elstac, Mate Galic, Roland Casper, Sylvie, Miss Djax, Jens Mahlstedt, Tanith, Laurent Garnier,
Special, Pascal F.E.O.S., Gary D., Scotty, Gizmo,... and to all DJs all over the World!
Keep the Vibes...
Hyper! Hyper!
Hyper! Hyper!
Hyper! Hyper!
I'll have to ask you again... do you like it hardcore!?
Do you like it hardcore!?
We need the hardcore!
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Hyper! Hyper!
Stuttgart | |
Stuttgart Schlossplatz (Castle square) | |
Coordinates | 48°46′43″N 9°10′46″E / 48.77861°N 9.17944°E / 48.77861; 9.17944Coordinates: 48°46′43″N 9°10′46″E / 48.77861°N 9.17944°E / 48.77861; 9.17944 |
Administration | |
Country | Germany |
State | Baden-Württemberg |
Admin. region | Stuttgart |
District | Urban district |
City subdivisions | 23 districts |
Lord Mayor | Wolfgang Schuster (CDU) |
Basic statistics | |
Area | 207.36 km2 (80.06 sq mi) |
Elevation | 245 m (804 ft) |
Population | 606,588 (31 December 2010)[1] |
- Density | 2,925 /km2 (7,576 /sq mi) |
Founded | 10th century |
Other information | |
Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
Licence plate | S |
Postal codes | 70173–70619 |
Area code | 0711 |
Website | stuttgart.de |
Stuttgart ( /ˈʃtʊtɡɑrt/; German pronunciation: [ˈʃtʊtɡaɐ̯t] ( listen)) is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 (December 2008) while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million (2008).[2] The city lies at the centre of a densely populated area, surrounded by a ring of smaller towns. This area called Stuttgart Region has a population of 2.7 million.[3] Stuttgart's urban area has a population of roughly 1.8 million, making it Germany's seventh largest. With over 5 million inhabitants, the greater Stuttgart Metropolitan Region is the fourth-biggest in Germany after the Rhine-Ruhr area, Berlin/Brandenburg and Frankfurt/Rhine-Main.
Stuttgart is spread across a variety of hills (some of them vineyards), valleys and parks – unusual for a German city[4] and often a source of surprise to visitors who primarily associate the city with its industrial reputation as the 'cradle of the automobile'. Stuttgart has the status of Stadtkreis, a type of self-administrating urban county. It is also the seat of the state legislature, the regional parliament, local council and the Protestant State Church in Württemberg as well as one of the two co-seats of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.
The city of Stuttgart ranked 30 globally in Mercer's 2010 liveability rankings, and 7th in Germany behind top-ranked cities such as Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Munich. For economic and social innovation the city was ranked 11 globally, 2nd in Germany after Hamburg and 7th in Europe in 2009 out of 256 cities.[5][6]
The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), in March 2008 the city unveiled a new logo and slogan, describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new heart of Europe").[7] For business it describes itself as "Standort Zukunft", "Where business meets the future"). In 2007 the Bürgermeister marketed Stuttgart to foreign investors as "The creative power of Germany". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.[8]
Stuttgart is nicknamed the Schwabenmetropole (Swabian metropolis), because of the city's location in the centre of Swabia, and as a reference to the Swabian dialect spoken by its (autochthonous) inhabitants. In that dialect, the city's name is pronounced Schtugert or Schtuagerd. However, many non-Swabian Germans have emigrated to Stuttgart for economic reasons and 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five are of foreign immigrant background.[9]
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Stuttgart's coat of arms shows a black horse on its hind legs on a yellow background. It was first used in its current format in 1938; prior to this various designs and colours had been used, often with two horses. The canting seal pictured here reflects the origin of the name 'Stuttgart'. The name in Old High German was 'stuotengarten', with 'stuoten' meaning mare, later cognate with the Old English term 'stod' (Modern English: 'stud', relating to the breeding of horses). The Old High German term 'garten' referred to the compound on the site of the original settlement. (compare English "garden")[10] The logo of the Porsche automobile company features a modified version of Stuttgart's coat of arms at its centre.[11]
Stuttgart lies about an hour from the Black Forest and a similar distance from the Swabian Jura. The city center lies in a lush valley, nestling between vineyards and thick woodland close by, but not on the River Neckar. Thus, the city is often described as lying "zwischen Wald und Reben", between forest and vines. In the hot summer months, local residents refer to this area as the Stuttgarter Kessel, or Stuttgart cauldron, for its hot and humid climate which is frequently warmer than the surrounding countryside of Württemberg.
Stuttgart covers an area of 207 km2 (80 sq mi). The elevation ranges from 207 m (679 ft) above sea level by the Neckar river to 549 m (1,801 ft) on Bernhartshöhe hill. As a result there are more than 400 flights of stairs around the city (called "Stäffele" in local dialect), equivalent to approximately 20 km (12 mi) of steps. Many originate from the time when vineyards lined the entire valley. Even today there are vineyards less than 500 m (1,640 ft) from the Main Station.
The city of Stuttgart is subdivided into a total of 23 city districts, 5 inner districts and 18 outer districts.
The inner districts are: Central Stuttgart (German: Stuttgart-Mitte), Stuttgart North (Stuttgart-Nord), Stuttgart East (Stuttgart-Ost), Stuttgart South (Stuttgart-Süd), and Stuttgart West (Stuttgart-West).
The outer districts are:
Stuttgart's agglomeration (the political entity 'Stuttgart Region') consists of the nearby towns of Ludwigsburg with its enormous baroque palace, Böblingen, the old Free Imperial City of Esslingen, Waiblingen, Göppingen and their respective homonymous rural districts (Landkreise, the exception being the Waiblingen district, called Rems-Murr-Kreis).
The Stuttgart Metropolitan Region is a wider regional concept, that, in addition to the districts of the Stuttgart Region, encompasses most of North, Central, and East Württemberg, consisting of the cities of Heilbronn/Schwäbisch Hall, Reutlingen/Tübingen as well as Aalen/Schwäbisch Gmünd and their respective districts and regions, i.e. Heilbronn-Franken, Neckar-Alb and Ostwürttemberg.
Stuttgart experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). In the summer months, the nearby Black Forest and Swabian Alb hills act as a shield from harsh weather but the city can also be subject to thunderstorms in the summer months, and periods of snow lasting several days in the winter. The center of the city, referred to by locals as the "Kessel" (kettle) experiences more severe heat in the summer and less snow in the winter than the suburbs. Lying as it does at the center of the European continent, the temperature range between day and night or summer and winter can be extreme. On average Stuttgart enjoys 1693 hours of sunshine per year.[16]
Winters last from December to March. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of 0 °C (32 °F). Snow cover tends to last no longer than a few days although it has been known to last several weeks at a time as recently as 2010. The summers are warm with an average temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) in the hottest months of July and August. The summers last from May until September.
Climate data for Stuttgart | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 3 (37) |
4 (40) |
9 (49) |
12 (54) |
17 (63) |
20.5 (69) |
24 (75) |
23 (73) |
19 (66) |
14 (57) |
8 (46) |
4 (40) |
13 (56) |
Average low °C (°F) | −3 (27) |
−3 (27) |
0.5 (33) |
3 (37) |
7 (45) |
10.5 (45) |
13 (56) |
12 (54) |
8 (49) |
5 (41) |
0.5 (33) |
−2 (29) |
4 (40) |
Precipitation cm (inches) | 4.8 (1.9) |
4.6 (1.8) |
4.3 (1.7) |
6.1 (2.4) |
8.6 (3.4) |
8.6 (3.4) |
7.4 (2.9) |
8.6 (3.4) |
5.8 (2.3) |
4.6 (1.8) |
4.6 (1.8) |
5.1 (2.0) |
73.4 (28.9) |
Source: Weatherbase [17] |
The first known settlement of Stuttgart was around the end of the 1st century AD with the establishment of a Roman fort in the modern district of Cannstatt on the banks of the river Neckar. Early in the 3rd century the Romans were pushed by the Alamanni back past the Rhine and the Danube. Although nothing is known about Cannstatt during the period of Barbarian Invasion it is believed that the area remained inhabited as it is mentioned in Abbey of St. Gall archives dating back to 700 AD.[18]
Stuttgart itself was probably founded around 950 AD shortly before the Battle of Lechfeld by Duke Liudolf of Swabia, one of the sons of Holy Roman Emperor Otto I the Great. The town was used for breeding cavalry horses in fertile meadows at the very centre of today's city, although recent archaeological excavations indicate that this area was already home to Merovingian farmers.[19]
A gift registry from Hirsau Abbey dated around 1160 mentioned 'Hugo de Stuokarten', confirmation of the existence of the Stuttgart of today.
Between this time and the 14th century, the settlement was owned by the Margraves of Baden and the Württemberg towns of Backnang and Besigheim.
Around 1300, Stuttgart became the residence of the Counts of Württemberg, who expanded the growing settlement into the capital of their territory (Territorialstaat). Stuttgart was elevated to the status of city in 1321 when it became the official royal residence. The territory around Stuttgart was known as the County of Württemberg before the counts were elevated to dukes by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1495, when Stuttgart became the Duchy capital and Ducal residence.
The name Württemberg originates from a steep hill in Stuttgart, formerly known as Wirtemberg.
In the 18th century, Stuttgart temporarily surrendered its residence status after Eberhard Ludwig founded Ludwigsburg to the north of the city. In 1775, Karl Eugen requested a return to Stuttgart, ordering the construction of the New Castle.
In 1803, Stuttgart was proclaimed capital of Württemberg Kurfürstentum (ruled by a Prince-elector) until Napoleon Bonaparte's break-up of the Holy Roman Empire in 1805 when Stuttgart became capital of the Kingdom of Württemberg. The royal residence was expanded under Frederick I of Württemberg although many of Stuttgart's most important buildings, including the Wilhelm Palace, Katharina Hospital, the State Gallery, the Villa Berg and the Königsbau were built under the reign of King Wilhelm I.[20] The jubilee column (erected between 1841 and 1846) on the Schlossplatz (Stuttgart) is located on the orthodromic distance line from the church of St. Michael in Roeselare over the Kokino observatory to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Stuttgart's development as a city was impeded in the 19th century by its location. It was not until the opening of the Main Station in 1846 that the city underwent an economic revival. The population at the time was around 50,000.[21]
During the revolution of 1848/1849, a democratic pan-German national parliament (Frankfurt Parliament) was formed in Frankfurt to overcome the division of Germany. After long discussions, the parliament decided to offer the title of the German emperor to King Frederick William IV of Prussia. As the democratic movement became weaker, the German princes regained control of their independent states. Finally, the Prussian king declined the revolutionaries' offer. The members of parliament were driven out of Frankfurt and the most radical members (who wanted to establish a republic) fled to Stuttgart. A short while later, this rump parliament was dissolved by the Württemberg military.[22]
By 1871 Stuttgart boasted 91,000 inhabitants, and by the time Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile in a small workshop in Cannstatt, the population had risen rapidly to 176,000.[23]
In 1871, as an autonomous kingdom, Württemberg joined the German Empire created by Otto von Bismarck, Prime Minister of Prussia, during the unification of Germany.
At the end of the First World War the Württemberg monarchy broke down: William II of Württemberg refused the crown – but also refused to abdicate – under pressure from revolutionaries who stormed the Wilhelm Palace.[24] The Free State of Württemberg was established, as a part of the Weimar Republic. Stuttgart was proclaimed the capital.
In 1920 Stuttgart became the seat of the German National Government (after the administration fled from Berlin, see Kapp Putsch).
Under the Nazi regime, Stuttgart began the deportation of its Jewish inhabitants in 1939. Around sixty percent of the German Jewish population had fled by the time restrictions on their movement were imposed on 1 October 1941, at which point Jews living in Württemberg were forced to live in 'Jewish apartments' before being 'concentrated' on the former Trade Fair grounds in Killesberg. On 1 December 1941 the first deportation trains were organised to Riga. Only 180 Jews from Württemberg held in concentration camps survived.[18]
During the period of Nazi rule, Stuttgart held the "honorary title" Stadt der Auslandsdeutschen(City of the Germans living outside of the Reich).[25]
During World War II, the centre of Stuttgart was almost completely destroyed in Allied air raids. Some of the most severe bombing took place in 1944 carried out by Anglo-American bombers. The heaviest raid took place on 12 September 1944 when the Royal Air Force bombed the old town of Stuttgart dropping over 184,000 bombs including 75 blockbusters. More than 1000 people perished in the resulting firestorm. In total Stuttgart was subjected to 53 bombing raids, resulting in the destruction of 68% of all buildings and the deaths of 4477 people.
The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Stuttgart in April 1945. The French 5th Armored Division, French 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division and French 3rd Algerian Infantry Division, began their drive on Stuttgart on 18 April 1945. Two days later, the French forces coordinated with the US Seventh Army for the employment of US VI Corps heavy artillery to barrage the city. The French 5th Armored Division then captured Stuttgart on 21 April 1945, encountering little resistance.[27] The French army occupied Stuttgart until the city was transferred to the American military occupation zone in 1946.
An early concept of the Marshall Plan aimed at supporting reconstruction and economic/political recovery across Europe was presented during a speech given by US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes at the Stuttgart Opera House. His speech led directly to the unification of the British and American occupation zones, resulting in the 'bi-zone' (later the 'tri-zone' including the French). When the Federal Republic of Germany was founded on 23 May 1949, Stuttgart, like Frankfurt, was a serious contender to become the federal capital, but finally Bonn succeeded.
Parts of the former German States of Baden and Württemberg were merged in 1952 leading to the founding of the new state of Baden-Württemberg, now Germany's third largest state.
In the late 1970s, the district of Stammheim was centre stage to one of the most controversial periods of German post-war history during the trial of Red Army Faction members at Stammheim high-security court. After the trial, Ulrike Meinhof, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe committed suicide in Stammheim. Several attempts were made to free the terrorists by force or blackmail during the 'German Autumn' of 1977, culminating in the abduction and murder of the German industrialist and President of the German Employers' Association Hanns Martin Schleyer as well as the hijacking of Lufthansa flight LH181.
In 1978 Stuttgart's suburban railway came into operation.
Since shortly after the end of World War II there has been a US military presence in Stuttgart that remains to this day.
In March 1946 the US Army established a unit of the US Constabulary and a Headquarters at Kurmärker Kaserne (later renamed Patch Barracks) in Stuttgart. These units of soldiers retrained in patrol and policing provided the law and order in the American zone of occupied Germany until the civilian German police forces could be re-established.[28] In 1948 the Headquarters for all Constabulary forces was moved to Stuttgart. [29]In 2008 a memorial to the US Constabulary was installed and dedicated at Patch Barracks. [30]The US Constabulary headquarters was disbanded in 1950 and most of the force was merged into the newly organized 7th Army. As the Cold War developed US Army VII Corps was re-formed in July 1950 and assigned to Hellenen Kaserne (later renamed Kelley Barracks] where the headquarters was to remain throughout the Cold War.
In 1990 VII Corps was deployed directly from Germany to Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to include many of the VII Corps troops stationed in and around Stuttgart. After returning from the Middle East, VII Corps was re-assigned to the United States and deactivated. The withdrawal of VII Corps caused a large reduction in the US military presence in the city and region and led to the closure of the majority of US installations in and around Stuttgart which resulted in the layoff of many local civilians who had been career employees of the US Army. [31]
Since 1967, Patch Barracks in Stuttgart has been home to the US EUCOM. In 2007 AFRICOM was established as a cell within EUCOM and in 2008 established as the US Unified Combatant Command responsible for most of Africa headquartered at Kelley Barracks. [32] Due to these 2 major headquarters, Stuttgart has ben identified as one of the few "enduring communities" where the United States forces will continue to operate in Germany.[33]The remaining U.S. bases around Stuttgart are organized into US Army Garrison Stuttgart and include Patch Barracks, Robinson Barracks, Panzer Kaserne and Kelley Barracks.[34] From the end of World War II until the early 1990's these installations excepting Patch were almost exclusively Army, but have become increasingly "Purple"-as in joint service-since the end of the Cold War as they are host to United States Department of Defense Unified Commands and supporting activities. [35].
At the centre of Stuttgart lies its main square, Schlossplatz. As well as being the largest square in Stuttgart, it stands at the crossover point between the city's shopping area, Schlossgarten park which runs down to the river Neckar, Stuttgart's two central castles and major museums and residential areas to the south west. Königstraße, Stuttgart's most important shopping street which runs along the northwestern edge of Schlossplatz, claims to be the longest pedestrianised street in Germany.[36]
Although the city centre was heavily damaged during World War II,[36] many historic buildings have been reconstructed[36] and the city boasts some fine pieces of modern post-war architecture. Buildings and squares of note in the inner city include:
A number of significant castles stand in Stuttgart's suburbs and beyond as reminders of the city's royal past. These include:
Other landmarks in and around Stuttgart include (see also museums below):
At the center of Stuttgart lies a series of gardens which are popular with families and cyclists. Because of its shape on a map, the locals refer to it as the Green U. The Green U starts with the old Schlossgarten, castle gardens first mentioned in records in 1350. The modern park stretches down to the river Neckar and is divided into the upper garden (bordering the Old Castle, the Main Station, the State Theater and the State Parliament building), and the middle and lower gardens – a total of 61 hectares. The park also houses Stuttgart planetarium.
At the far end of Schlossgarten lies the second Green U park, the larger Rosensteinpark which borders Stuttgart's Wilhelma zoo and botanical gardens. Planted by King William I of Württemberg, it contains many old trees and open areas and counts as the largest English-style garden in southern Germany. In the grounds of the park stands the former Rosenstein castle, now the Rosenstein museum.
Beyond bridges over an adjacent main road lies the final Green U park, Killesbergpark or 'Höhenpark' which is a former quarry that was converted for the Third Reich garden show of 1939 (and was used as a collection point for Jews awaiting transportation to concentration camps). The park has been used to stage many gardening shows since the 1950s, including the Bundesgartenschau and 1993 International Gardening Show, and runs miniature trains all around the park in the summer months for children and adults. The viewing tower (Killesbergturm) offers unique views across to the north east of Stuttgart.
On the northern edge of the Rosensteinpark is the famous 'Wilhelma', Germany's only combined zoological and botanical garden. The whole compound, with its ornate pavilions, greenhouses, walls and gardens was built around 1850 as a summer palace in moorish style for King Wilhelm I of Württemberg. It currently houses around 8000 animals and some 5000 plant species and contains the biggest magnolia grove in Europe.
Other parks in Stuttgart include the historic Botanischer Garten der Universität Hohenheim and Landesarboretum Baden-Württemberg at Castle Hohenheim (which date back to 1776 and are still used to catalogue and research plant species), Uhlandshöhe hill (between the city centre, Bad Cannstatt and Frauenkopf, and home to Stuttgart observatory), the Weißenburgpark (a five hectare park in the Bopser area of Stuttgart South which dates back to 1834 and is now home to a 'tea house' and the 'marble room' and offers a relaxing view across the city centre), the Birkenkopf a Schuttberg (at 511 metres (1,677 ft) the highest point in central Stuttgart, where many ruins were laid to commemorate the Second World War), the Eichenhain park in Sillenbuch (declared a nature reserve in 1958 and home to 200 oak trees, many 300–400 years old).
There are a number of natural and artificial lakes and ponds in Stuttgart. The largest is the Max-Eyth-See which was created in 1935 by reclaiming a former quarry and is now an official nature reserve. It is surrounded by an expansive open area overlooked by vineyards on the banks of the river Neckar near Mühlhausen. There are expansive areas of woodland to the west and south west of Stuttgart which are popular with walkers, families, cyclists and ramblers. The most frequented lakes form a 3 km (1.9 mi) trio made up of the Bärensee, Neuer See and Pfaffensee. The lakes are also used for local water supplies.
In the Feuersee area in the west of Stuttgart lies one of two 'Feuersee's (literally fire lakes), striking for its views of the Johanneskirche (St.Johns) church across the lake, surrounded by nearby houses and offices. The other Feuersee can be found in Vaihingen.
Cemeteries in Stuttgart include:
The city boasts the largest mineral water deposits in Europe after Budapest,[36][38] with over 250 springs within the urban area.[38]
Stuttgart is known for its rich cultural heritage, in particular its State Theatre (Staatstheater) and State Gallery (Staatsgalerie). The Staatstheater is home to the State opera and three smaller theatres and it regularly stages opera, ballet and theatre productions as well as concerts. The Staatstheater was named Germany/Austria/Switzerland 'Theatre of the year' in 2006; the Stuttgart Opera has won the 'Opera of the year' award six times.[39] Stuttgart Ballet is connected to names like John Cranko and Marcia Haydée.
Stuttgart is also home to one of Germany's most prestigious symphony orchestras, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, with famous English conductor Sir Roger Norrington, who developed a distinct sound of that orchestra, known as the Stuttgart Sound. They mostly perform in the Liederhalle concert hall.
The city offers two broadway-style musical theatres, the Apollo and the Palladium Theater (each approx. 1800 seats). Ludwigsburg Palace in the nearby town of Ludwigsburg is also used throughout the year as a venue for concerts and cultural events.
The Schleyerhalle sports arena is regularly used to stage rock and pop concerts with major international stars on European tour.
Stuttgart's Swabian cuisine, beer and wine have been produced in the area since the 17th century and are now famous throughout Germany and beyond.[40] For example, Gaisburger Marsch is a stew that was invented in Stuttgart's Gaisburg area of Stuttgart East.
In October 2009 the Stuttgart Ministry of Agriculture announced that the European Union was to officially recognise the pasta dish Maultaschen as a "regional speciality", thus marking its significance to the cultural heritage of Baden-Württemberg.[41]
In 1993 Stuttgart hosted the International Garden Show in the suburb of Killesberg. In 2006 it was also one of the host cities of the Football World Cup. In 2007, Stuttgart hosted the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. In 2008 it was host to the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships.
Regular events that take place in Stuttgart:
Stuttgart is home to five of the eleven state museums in Baden-Württemberg. The foremost of these is the in the Stuttgart district of Bad Cannstatt]]old State Gallery (opened in 1843, extended in 1984) which holds art dating from the 14th to 19th century including works by Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne and Beuys. Next door to the Old State Gallery is the New State Gallery (1980) with its controversial modern architecture. Among others, this gallery houses works from Max Beckmann, Dalí, Matisse, Miró, Picasso, Klee, Chagall and Kandinsky.
The Old Castle is also home to the State Museum of Württemberg which was founded in 1862 by William I of Württemberg. The museum traces the rich history of Württemberg with many artefacts from the its dukes, counts and kings, as well as earlier remants dating back to the stone age. On the Karlsplatz side of the Old Castle is a museum dedicated to the memory of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, former resident of Stuttgart who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.
Other leading museums in Stuttgart include:
Stuttgart is the seat of a Protestant bishop (Protestant State Church in Württemberg) and one of the two co-seats of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. The Stuttgart-based Pentecostal Biblische Glaubens-Gemeinde is the largest place of worship (megachurch) in Germany.[47]
The population of Stuttgart declined steadily between 1960 (637,539) and 2000 (586,978). Then low levels of unemployment and attractive secondary education opportunities led to renewed population growth, fuelled especially by young adults from the former East Germany.[48] For the first time in decades, in 2006 there were also more births in the city than deaths. In April 2008 there were 590,720 inhabitants in the city.[49]
More than half of the population today is not of Swabian background, as many non-Swabian Germans have moved here due to the employment situation, which is far better than in most areas of Germany. Since the 1960s, many foreigners have also immigrated to Stuttgart to work here (as part of the "Gastarbeiter" program); another wave of immigrants came as refugees from the Wars in Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Thus, 40% of the city's population is of foreign background. In 2000, 22.8% of the population did not hold German citizenship, in 2006 this had reduced to 21.7%. The largest groups of foreign nationals were Turks (22,025), Greeks (14,341), Italians (13,978), Croats (12,985), Serbs (11,547) followed by immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Portugal, Poland, Austria, and France. 39% of foreign nationals come from the European Union (mostly Italy, Greece, and Poland).
The religious landscape in Stuttgart changed in 1534 as a direct result of the Reformation.[50] Since this time Baden-Württemberg has been predominantly Protestant. However since 1975 the number of Protestants in Stuttgart has dropped from around 300,000 to 200,000. In 2000, 33.7% of inhabitants were Protestant and 27.4% were Roman Catholic. 39% of the population fall into 'other' categories: Muslims, Jews and those who either follow no religion or follow a religion not accounted for in official statistics.
Unemployment in the Stuttgart Region is above average within Baden-Württemberg, but very low compared to other metropolitan areas in Germany. In November 2008, before the annual winter rise, unemployment in the Stuttgart Region stood at 3.8%, 0.1% lower than the rate for Baden-Württemberg, in February 2009 it was 4.7%. Unemployment in the actual city of Stuttgart during the same periods stood at 5.2% and 6.0% (8 Nov and 9 Feb respectively). By comparison: unemployment for the whole of Germany stood at 7.1% (8 Nov) and 8.5% (9 Feb).[51][52]
Stuttgart ranks as one of the safest cities in Germany. In 2003, 8535 crimes were committed in Stuttgart for every 100,000 inhabitants (versus the average for all German cities of 12,751).[53] Figures for 2006 indicate that Stuttgart ranked second behind Munich.[54] 60% of Stuttgart crimes were solved in 2003, ranking second behind Nuremberg.
Stuttgart's current Bürgermeister (mayor) is Wolfgang Schuster of the conservative CDU party (Christian Democratic Union of Germany).
When Stuttgart was run as a county (or within the Duchy of Württemberg), it was governed by a type of protectorate called a Vogt appointed by the Duke. After 1811 this role was fulfilled by a City Director or 'Stadtdirektor'. After 1819 the community elected its own community mayor or 'Schultheiß'. Since 1930 the title of Oberbürgermeister (the nearest equivalent of which would be an executive form of Lord Mayor in English) has applied to Stuttgart and all other Württemberg towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants.
At the end of the Second World War, French administrators appointed the independent politician Arnulf Klett as Burgomaster, a role he fulfilled without interruption until his death in 1974. Since this time Stuttgart has been governed by the CDU. The previous mayor was Manfred Rommel (son of perhaps the most famous German field marshal of World War II, Erwin Rommel).
As the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart is an important political centre in Germany and the seat of the State Parliament, or Landtag as well as all Baden-Württemberg state departments.
In June 2009, for the first time the Greens gained the most seats in a German city with more than 500,000 inhabitants, effectively changing the balance of power in the city council. For the first time since 1972 the CDU no longer held the most seats, toppling its absolute majority shared with the Independent Party and the FDP. According to the German newspaper Die Welt, the main reason for the Greens' victory was disgruntlement with the controversial Stuttgart 21 rail project.[55]
Party Year |
Regional 1999 |
European 1999 |
State 2001 |
National German parliament 2002 |
Regional 2004 |
European 2004 |
City Council 2009 (seats) |
National German parliament 2005 |
European 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CDU | 42.5 % | 42.9 % | 37.1 % | 35.1 % | 35.6 % | 37.4 % | 24.2 % (15) | 32.7 % | 29,1% |
SPD | 24.5 % | 27.6 % | 36.3 % | 35.7 % | 24.4 % | 21.2 % | 17.0 % (10) | 32.0 % | 18,0% |
FDP | 5.5 % | 6.2 % | 9.2 % | 8.5 % | 5.3 % | 7.7 % | 10.9 % (7) | 12.8 % | 14,5% |
Green Party | 14.1 % | 14.3 % | 11.5 % | 16.2 % | 17.2 % | 22.1 % | 25.3 % (16) | 15.0 % | 25,0% |
Independent | 5.6 % | – | – | – | 8.5 % | – | 10.3 % (6) | – | 1,2% |
Republicans | 3.6 % | 3.6 % | 4.7 % | 1.0 % | 4.0 % | 3.3 % | 2.5 % (1) | 0.8 % | 2,0% |
The Left | – | – | – | 1.4 % | 1.7 % | 1.9 % | 4.5 % (2) | 4.4 % | 4,5% |
SÖS | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4.6 % (3) | – | – |
Others | 1.5 % | 5.4 % | 1.2% | 2.1 % | 3.4 % | 6.5 % | 0.7 % (0) | 2.3 % | 6,7 % |
Election turnout | 59.1 % | 46.6 % | 65.5 % | 81.0 % | 54.0 % | 51.9 % | 48.7 % | 79.1 % | 52,3% |
Source=Stuttgart election results[56]
Until 1811 a Stadtoberamtmann reigned the town. Between 1811 and 1819 he held the title of “Stadtdirektor” and between 1819 and 1929 “Stadtschultheiß”. Since 1930 the title of the mayor is called “Oberbürgermeister”.
The Stuttgart area is known for its high-tech industry. Some of its most prominent companies include Daimler AG, Porsche, Bosch, Celesio, Hewlett-Packard and IBM – all of whom have their world or European headquarters here.
Stuttgart is home to Germany's ninth biggest exhibition centre, Stuttgart Trade Fair which lies on the city outskirts next to Stuttgart Airport. Hundreds of SMEs are still based in Stuttgart (often termed Mittelstand), many still in family ownership with strong ties to the automotive, electronics, engineering and high-tech industry. Contact Air, a regional airline and Lufthansa subsidiary, is headquartered in Stuttgart.[58]
Stuttgart has the highest general standard of prosperity of any city in Germany.[59] Its nominal GDP per capita is €57,100 and GDP purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita is €55,400. Total GDP of Stuttgart is €33.9 billion, of which service sector contributes around 65.3%, industry 34.5%, and agriculture 0.2%.[citation needed]
The automobile and motorcycle were invented in Stuttgart (by Karl Benz and subsequently industrialised in 1887 by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach at the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft). As a result it is considered by many to be the starting point of the worldwide automotive industry and is sometimes referred to as "The cradle of the automobile". Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Maybach are all produced in Stuttgart and nearby towns.[11] The very first prototypes of the VW Beetle were manufactured in Stuttgart based on a design by Ferdinand Porsche. Also automotive parts giants Bosch and Mahle are based in the city.[11] A number of auto-enthusiast magazines are published in Stuttgart.[11]
The region currently has Germany's highest density of scientific, academic and research organisations. No other region in Germany registers so many patents and designs as Stuttgart.[60] Almost 45% of Baden-Württemberg scientists involved in R&D are based directly in the Swabian capital. More than 11% of all German R&D costs are invested in the Stuttgart Region (approximately 4.3 billion euros per year). In addition to several universities and colleges (e.g. University of Stuttgart, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart Institute of Management and Technology[61] and several Stuttgart Universities of Applied Sciences), the area is home to six Fraunhofer institutes, four institutes of collaborative industrial research at local universities, two Max-Planck institutes and a major establishment of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
The Stuttgart Stock Exchange is the second largest in Germany (after Frankfurt). Many leading companies in the financial services sector are headquartered in Stuttgart with around 100 credit institutes in total (e.g. LBBW Bank, Wüstenrot & Württembergische, Allianz Life Assurance).
Stuttgart is the only city in Germany where wine is grown within the urban area, mainly in the districts of Rotenberg, Uhlbach and Untertürkheim.
Wine-growing in the area dates back to 1108 when, according to State archives, Blaubeuren Abbey was given vineyards in Stuttgart as a gift from 'Monk Ulrich'. In the 17th century the city was the third largest German wine-growing community in the Holy Roman Empire. Wine remained Stuttgart's leading source of income well into the 19th century.
Stuttgart is still one of Germany's largest wine-growing cities with more than 400 hectares of vine area, thanks in main to its location at the centre of Germany's fourth largest wine region, the Württemberg wine growing area which covers 11,522 hectares (28,470 acres) and is one of only 13 official areas captured under German Wine law. The continuing importance of wine to the local economy is marked every year at the annual wine festival ('Weindorf').
Stuttgart also has several famous breweries such as Stuttgarter Hofbräu, Dinkelacker, and Schwaben Bräu.
Stuttgart and its region have been home to some significant figures of German thought and literature, the most important ones being Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Hölderlin.
The city, in its engineering tradition as the cradle of the automobile, has also always been a fruitful place of research and innovation. Stuttgart has Germany's second-highest number of institutions (six) of applied research of the Fraunhofer Society (after Dresden).
The city is not considered a traditional university city, but nevertheless has a variety of institutions of higher education. The most significant of them are:
Historically, an elite military academy existed in Stuttgart in the late 18th century (1770–1794), the Hohe Karlsschule, at Solitude Castle. Friedrich Schiller and the city's most famous Classicist architect, Nikolaus Friedrich von Thouret, were among its many esteemed alumni.
The first Waldorf School (also known as Rudolf Steiner School) was founded here in 1919 by the director of the Waldorf Astoria tobacco factory, Emil Molt, and Austrian social thinker Rudolf Steiner, a comprehensive school following Steiner's educational principles of anthroposophy and humanistic ideals. Today, three of these schools are located in Stuttgart.
Since 1985 Stuttgart is home to the International School of Stuttgart [62], one of less than 100 schools worldwide that offer all three International Baccalaureate programs- the IB Primary Years (Early Learning to Grade 5), IB Middle Years (Grade 6 to 10), IB Diploma (grades 11-12).[63] The International School of Stuttgart is accredited by both the Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. [64].
One of the headquarters of the public Südwestrundfunk (SWR; Southwest Broadcasting) channels (several radio and one TV channel; regional focus on the southwestern German States of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate) is located in Stuttgart (the other ones being Baden-Baden and Mainz). It also has a Landesmedienzentrum, a State media centre.
Furthermore, the city is a significant centre of publishing and specialist printing, with renowned houses such as Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, Ernst Klett Verlag (schoolbooks), Kohlhammer Verlag, Metzler Verlag and Motor Presse having their head offices there. The Reclam Verlag is located in nearby Ditzingen.
The newspapers Stuttgarter Zeitung (StZ; regional, with significant supra-regional, national and international sections) and Stuttgarter Nachrichten (StN; regional) are published here as well as a number of smaller, local papers such as Cannstatter Zeitung.
Following the suit of other German cities such as Berlin, Cologne and Hanover, on 1 March 2008 a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) came into effect in Stuttgart with the aim of improving air quality. This affects all vehicles entering the Stuttgart 'Environmental zone' (Umweltzone), including vehicles from abroad.[65][66]
Stuttgart has a light rail system known as the Stuttgart Stadtbahn. In the city centre and densely built-up areas, the Stadtbahn runs underground. Stations are signposted with a 'U' symbol, which stands for Unabhängig (independent).[67] Until 2007, Stuttgart also operated regular trams. Stuttgart also has a large bus network. Stadtbahn lines and buses are operated by the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB). The outlying suburbs of Stuttgart and nearby towns are served by a suburban railway system called the Stuttgart S-Bahn, using tracks supplied by the national Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG).
A peculiarity of Stuttgart is the Zahnradbahn, a rack railway that is powered by electricity and operates between Marienplatz in the southern inner-city district of the city and the district of Degerloch. It is the only urban rack railway in Germany. Stuttgart also has a Standseilbahn, a funicular railway that operates in the Heslach area and the forest cemetery (Waldfriedhof). In Killesberg Park, on a prominent hill overlooking the city, there is the miniature railway run by diesel (and on weekends with steam).
Stuttgart is a hub in the InterCityExpress and InterCity networks of Deutsche Bahn AG (DBAG), with through services to most other major German cities. It also operates international services to Strasbourg, Vienna, Zurich and Paris (four times a day, journey time 3 hours 40 minutes[18]).
Long distance trains stop at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, the city's main line terminus which is also used by regional DBAG RegionalExpress and RegionalBahn for services to stations in the Stuttgart metropolitan area. The local rail networks (see above) operate underneath the terminus.[18]
Stuttgart also has its own rail freight centre with marshalling yards and a container terminal in the Obertürkheim area of Hedelfingen.[18]
After years of political debate and controversy, plans were approved in October 2007 to convert the existing above-ground main train station to an underground through station. The Stuttgart 21 project will include the rebuilding of surface and underground lines connecting the station in Stuttgart’s enclosed central valley with existing railway and underground lines. Building work started in 2010 with controversial modifications to the Hauptbanhof and should be completed in 2020.
Stuttgart is served by Stuttgart Airport (German: Flughafen Stuttgart, IATA airport code STR), an international airport approximately 13 km (8 mi) south of the city centre on land belonging mainly to neighbouring towns. It takes 30 minutes to reach the airport from the city centre using S-Bahn lines S2 or S3. Stuttgart airport is Germany's only international airport with one runway. Despite protests and local initiatives, surveys are currently underway to assess the impact of a second runway.[68]
Stuttgart is served by Autobahn A8, that runs east-west from Karlsruhe to Munich, and Autobahn A81 that runs north-south from Würzburg to Singen. The Autobahn A831 is a short spur entering the southern side of Stuttgart.
Besides these Autobahns, Stuttgart is served by a large number of expressways, many of which are built to Autobahn standards, and were once intended to carry an A-number. Important expressways like B10, B14, B27 and B29 connect Stuttgart with its suburbs. Due to the hilly surroundings, there are many road tunnels in and around Stuttgart. There are also a number of road tunnels under intersections in the centre of Stuttgart.
Stuttgart has an inland port in Hedelfingen on the River Neckar.[18]
As in the rest of Germany, football is the most popular sport in Stuttgart which is home to 'The Reds' and 'The Blues'. 'The Reds', VfB Stuttgart, are the most famous and popular local club. An established team in the German Bundesliga, VfB was founded in 1893 and has won five German titles since 1950, most recently in 1992 and 2007. VfB is based at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Bad Cannstatt.
'The Blues', Stuttgarter Kickers, are the second most important football team. They currently play in the Regionalliga Süd (fourth division) at the smaller Gazi Stadium close to the TV tower in Degerloch.
Other lower-division football teams are Sportfreunde Stuttgart – most famous for taking part in the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1908, considered the first World Cup[69] – and FV Zuffenhausen.
Stuttgart is home to VfL Pfullingen/Stuttgart, a local handball team that played in the national league from 2001 to 2006 in the Schleyerhalle. Its three-times German champion women's volleyball team, CJD Feuerbach, has now stopped playing for financial reasons but there is now Stuttgart Volleyball Club with a women's team in the 2nd southern league.
Stuttgart's ice hockey team, Stuttgarter EC, plays at the Waldau ice rink in Degerloch. The strongest local water polo team is SV Cannstatt, which won the German championship in 2006.
Stuttgart has two American Football teams, the Stuttgart Nighthawks American football team, who play in the Western Europe Pro League and Stuttgart Scorpions, who play in Stuttgarter Kickers' Gazi Stadium.
Australian Football is practiced by the Stuttgart Emus – one of only six active teams in Germany. It participates in the Australian Football League Germany when they play their home games in the Eberhard-Bauer-Stadion
TC Weissenhof is a Stuttgart-based women's tennis team that has won the German championship four times. Another women's team is TEC Waldau Stuttgart (German champions in 2006).
HTC Stuttgarter Kickers is one of the most successful field hockey clubs in Germany, having won the German championship in 2005 and a European title in 2006.
Stuttgart has a reputation for staging major events, including the FIFA World Cup 1974, the UEFA Euro 1988, and the World Championships in Athletics 1993. It was also one of the twelve host cities of the FIFA World Cup 2006. Six matches, three of them second round matches, including the 3rd and 4th place playoff, were played at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium (today Mercedes-Benz Arena). Stuttgart was also 2007 'European Capital of Sports',[70] hosting events such as the UCI World Cycling Championships Road Race and the IAAF World Athletics Final.
Other famous sports venues are the Weissenhof tennis courts, where the annual Mercedes Cup tennis tournament is played, the Porsche Arena (hosting tennis, basketball and handball) and the Schleyerhalle (boxing, equestrianism/show jumping, gymnastics, track cycling etc.), Scharrena Stuttgart.
Stuttgart is twinned with the following cities:[71]
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Stuttgart also has ‘special friendships’ with the following cities:[74]
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Famous people born in or associated with Stuttgart are
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stuttgart |
Mannheim | Heilbronn | Nuremberg | ||
Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden | Aalen | |||
Stuttgart East | ||||
Freiburg | Tübingen, Reutlingen | Ulm, Augsburg, Munich |
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Country | Russia |
---|---|
Residence | Bradenton, Florida, United States |
Born | (1987-04-19) April 19, 1987 (age 25) Nyagan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] |
Weight | 59 kilograms (130 lb)[1] |
Turned pro | April 19, 2001 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $ 19,323,417[2] |
Singles | |
Career record | 441–109 |
Career titles | 26 WTA, 4 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (August 30, 2005) |
Current ranking | No. 2 (May 28, 2012)[3] |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | W (2008) |
French Open | SF (2007, 2011) |
Wimbledon | W (2004) |
US Open | W (2006) |
Other tournaments | |
Championships | W (2004) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 23–17 |
Career titles | 3 WTA |
Highest ranking | 41 (January 30, 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2003, 2004) |
US Open | 2R (2003) |
Last updated on: May 28, 2012. |
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (Russian: Мария Юрьевна Шарапова [mɐˈrʲijə ˈjurʲjɪvnə ʂɐˈrapəvə] ( listen), US: /ʃɑrəˈpoʊvə/, UK: /ʃærəˈpoʊvə/; born April 19, 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player and former world no. 1. A United States resident since 1994,[4] Sharapova has won 26 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open. She has also won the year-end WTA Tour Championships in 2004. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked Sharapova world no. 1 in singles on four separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on August 22, 2005, and last regained the ranking for the fourth time on May 19, 2008. As of May 28, 2012, Sharapova is ranked world no. 2. She has been in six Grand Slam finals with the final record 3–3.
Sharapova made her professional breakthrough in 2004 at age 17, when she defeated two-time defending champion and top seed Serena Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final for her first Grand Slam singles title. She entered the top 10 of the WTA Rankings with the win. Despite not winning a major in 2005, Sharapova briefly held the no. 1 ranking, and reached three Grand Slam semifinals, losing to the eventual champion each time. She won her second major at the 2006 US Open defeating then-world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo in the semifinals and world no. 2 Justine Henin in the final.
Sharapova's 2007 season was plagued with a chronic shoulder injury and saw her ranking fall out of the top 5 for the first time in two years. She won her third Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open, defeating Henin in the quarterfinals and Ana Ivanović in the final. After reclaiming the no. 1 ranking in May 2008, Sharapova's shoulder problems re-surfaced, requiring surgery in October and forcing her out of the game for 10 months. Sharapova returned in May 2009 and was ranked no. 126 in the world due to her extensive lay-off. Since her comeback, Sharapova has won seven singles titles (bringing her career total to 26) and improved her ranking to no. 2 in the world.
Sharapova has been featured in a number of modeling assignments, including a feature in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She has been featured in many advertisements, including for Nike, Prince and Canon, and is the face of several fashion houses, most notably Cole Haan. Sharapova was the most searched-for athlete on Yahoo! in 2005 and 2008.[5][6][7] Since February 2007, she has been a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador, concerned specifically with the Chernobyl Recovery and Development Programme. In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.[8]
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Maria Sharapova's parents, Yuri and Elena, are from Gomel, Belarus. Concerned about the regional effects of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, they left their homeland shortly before Sharapova was born.[9] When Sharapova was two, the family moved to Sochi. There her father befriended Aleksandr Kafelnikov, whose son Yevgeny would go on to win two Grand Slam singles titles and became Russia's first no. 1 world-ranked tennis player. Aleksandr gave Sharapova her first tennis racket at the age of four, whereupon she began practicing regularly with her father at a local park.[10] She took her first tennis lessons with veteran Russian coach Yuri Yutkin, who was instantly impressed when he saw her play, noting her "exceptional hand-eye coordination."[11]
At the age of seven, Sharapova attended a tennis clinic in Moscow run by Martina Navratilova, who recommended professional training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, which had previously trained players such as Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, and Anna Kournikova.[10] With money tight, Yuri was forced to borrow the sum that would allow him and his daughter, neither of whom could speak English, to travel to United States, which they finally did in 1994.[11] Visa restrictions prevented Sharapova's mother from joining them for two years.[9] Arriving in Florida with savings of US$700,[11] Sharapova's father took various low-paying jobs, including dish-washing, to fund her lessons until she was old enough to be admitted to the academy. In 1995, she was signed by IMG, who agreed to pay the annual tuition fee of $35,000 for Sharapova to stay at the academy, allowing her to finally enroll at the age of 9.[10]
Sharapova first gained attention on the tennis scene in November 2000, when she won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in the girls' 16 division at the age of just 13.[12] She was then given a special award, the Rising Star Award, which is awarded only to players of exceptional promise.[13] She made her professional debut in 2001 on her birthday on April 19, and played her first WTA tournament at the Pacific Life Open in 2002, winning a match before losing to Monica Seles. Due to restrictions on how many professional events she could play, Sharapova went to hone her game in junior tournaments, where she reached the finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2002. She was the youngest girl ever to reach the final of the Australian Open junior championship at 14 years and 9 months.[14]
From 2003, Sharapova played a full season, and made a rapid climb into the top 50 by the end of the year.[15] She made her debuts at both the Australian Open and the French Open, but failed to win a match in either.[16] It was not until the grass season that she began to fulfill her promise, beating a top-20 player for the first time and reaching her first semifinal at the WTA level. Then, as a wildcard at Wimbledon, she defeated 11th seed Jelena Dokić to reach the fourth round, where she lost in three sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova.[16]
By the end of September, Sharapova had already captured her first WTA title at a smaller event, the Japan Open Tennis Championships, before winning her second in her final tournament of the season, the Bell Challenge. To cap off her first full season as a professional, she was awarded the WTA Newcomer of the Year honor.
Sharapova was defeated in the third round of the Australian Open by seventh seed Anastasia Myskina.[17] The highlight of the remainder of her spring hard-court season was a run to the semifinals at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, where she ultimately lost to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva.[17]
During the spring clay-court season, Sharapova entered the top 20 on the WTA world rankings as a result of reaching the third round of the Qatar Telecom German Open[17] and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, both of which were Tier I events.[17] At the latter event, she defeated a player ranked in the top 10 for the first time with a straight-sets win over world no. 10 and 2004 French Open finalist Elena Dementieva. Later that clay-court season, she went on to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the French Open, losing there to Paola Suárez.
Sharapova won the third title of her career at the Wimbledon warm-up DFS Classic, defeating Tatiana Golovin in the final.[17] Seeded 13th and aged 17 at Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Ai Sugiyama. There, she came back from a 6–2, 3–1 deficit to defeat fifth seed and former champion Lindsay Davenport. In the final, Sharapova upset top seed and defending champion Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles title, and become the third youngest woman to win the Wimbledon title, behind only Lottie Dod and Martina Hingis. Sharapova also became the second Russian woman (after Anastasia Myskina had won the year's previous major at Roland Garros) to win a Grand Slam singles title. The victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset in memory",[18] with other writers commenting on her arrival as a serious challenger to the Williams' dominance at Wimbledon.[19] She entered the top 10 in the rankings for the first time as a result of the win.[17]
Following her Wimbledon win, attention and interest in Sharapova in the media greatly increased, a rise in popularity dubbed as "Maria Mania."[20] However, on court, she was struggling to achieve results, winning just three of six matches in her preparations for the US Open. At the US Open itself, she reached the third round, before being eliminated by Mary Pierce. In order to regain confidence, Sharapova played and won consecutive titles in Asia in the fall, the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships and the Japan Open Tennis Championships.
In October, Sharapova defeated Venus Williams en route to making the final of a Tier I event for the first time at the Zurich Open, losing in the final to Alicia Molik. She then made her debut at the year-ending WTA Tour Championships. There, she won two of her three round-robin matches (including a win over US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova) in order to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Myskina. In the final, she defeated Serena Williams, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, after trailing 4–0 in the final set.[17]
Sharapova started the year at the Australian Open, where she defeated fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. Sharapova held match points in the third set of her semifinal match, before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams.[21] In February, Sharapova won back-to-back tournaments, the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Qatar Total Open,[21] allowing her to reach the top 3 in the world rankings for the first time.
In the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open, Sharapova was defeated by Lindsay Davenport, 0–6, 0–6, the first time she had failed to win a game in a match.[21][22] The following fortnight, she defeated former world no. 1 players Justine Henin and Venus Williams to reach the final at the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open, where she lost to Kim Clijsters.[21]
Sharapova made the semifinals of a clay-court tournament for the first time at the Italian Open, where she lost to Patty Schnyder.[21] Sharapova would have become world no. 1 for the first time had she won the tournament.[23] Sharapova then reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, before losing to eventual champion Henin.[21] On grass, Sharapova won her third title of the year when she successfully defended her title at the DFS Classic, defeating Jelena Janković in the final. As the defending champion at Wimbledon, Sharapova reached the semifinals without dropping a set and losing a service game just once, extending her winning streak on grass to 24 matches. However, she was then beaten by eventual champion Venus Williams.[21]
A back injury sustained by world no. 1 Davenport at Wimbledon prevented her from playing tournaments during the summer hard-court season, which meant she could not earn new ranking points to replace those that were expiring from the previous year. Sharapova, although also injured for much of this time, had far fewer points to defend, and so she became the first Russian woman to hold the world no. 1 ranking on August 22, 2005.[24] Her reign lasted only one week, however, as Davenport reclaimed the top ranking after winning the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament.[24]
As the top seed at the US Open, Sharapova lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters, meaning she had lost to the eventual champion in every Grand Slam of the season. However, she once again leapfrogged Davenport to take the world no. 1 ranking on September 12, 2005. She retained it for six weeks, but after playing few tournaments while injured, she again relinquished the ranking to Davenport.[24] To conclude the year, Sharapova failed to defend her title at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Los Angeles, defeating Davenport in one of her round-robin matches, but ultimately losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Amélie Mauresmo.[21]
Sharapova started 2006 by losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open in three sets to Henin,[25] also losing a rematch several weeks later at the Dubai Tennis Championships, having defeated former world no. 1 Martina Hingis and world no. 3 Lindsay Davenport in earlier rounds of the tournament.[25] Sharapova claimed her first title in nine months at the Tier I tournament in Indian Wells, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and Elena Dementieva in the final.[25] The following fortnight, she reached the final in Miami before losing to Kuznetsova.[25]
Missing the entire clay-court season with injury, Sharapova returned for the French Open. There, after saving match points in defeating Mashona Washington in the first round, she was eliminated by Dinara Safina in the fourth round.[25]
On grass, Sharapova was unsuccessful in her attempt to win in Birmingham for the third consecutive year, losing in the semifinals to Jamea Jackson.[25] Despite that, she was among the title favorites at Wimbledon, where the eventual champion Mauresmo ended up beating her in the semifinals.[25]
Sharapova claimed her second title of the year at the Tier I Acura Classic, defeating Clijsters for the first time in the final.[25] As the third seed at the US Open, Sharapova defeated top seed Mauresmo for the first time in the semifinals, and then followed up by beating second seed Justine Henin[25] in order to win her second Grand Slam singles title.[25]
That autumn, Sharapova won titles in back-to-back weeks at the Zurich Open and the Generali Ladies Linz.[25] By winning all three of her round-robin matches at the WTA Tour Championships, she extended her win streak to 19 matches, before it was snapped in the semifinals by eventual champion Henin.[25] Sharapova would have finished the season as world no. 1 had she won the event. As it was, she finished ranked world no. 2, her best year-end finish yet.
Sharapova was the top seed at the Australian Open due to top-ranked Justine Henin's withdrawal. After being two points away from defeat in the first round against Camille Pin, rallying for a 6–3, 4–6, 9–7 victory, she went on to reach the final of the tournament for the first time, but was routed there by Serena Williams, 1–6, 2–6, ranked world no. 81 at the time.[26] After reaching the final, Sharapova recaptured the world no. 1 ranking.[24] She held it for seven weeks, surrendering it back to Henin after failing to defend her title at the Pacific Life Open, instead losing in the fourth round to Vera Zvonareva after struggling with a hamstring injury. The following fortnight, she defeated Venus Williams in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open, before suffering another defeat, 1–6, 1–6, to Serena Williams.
A shoulder injury forced Sharapova to miss most of the clay-court season for the second consecutive year, resulting in her only tune-up for the French Open being the Istanbul Cup, where she lost in the semifinals to Aravane Rezaï.[26] Despite her lack of preparation, she reached the semifinals of the French Open for the first time in her career (having saved match points against Patty Schnyder in the fourth round), before losing to Ana Ivanović.[26]
On grass, Sharapova was runner-up to Jelena Janković at the DFS Classic.[26] Following that, she experienced her earliest Wimbledon loss since 2003 by losing in the fourth round to eventual champion Venus Williams.[26]
Sharapova clinched the US Open Series by defending her title at the Acura Classic, her only championship of the year, and reaching the semifinals in Los Angeles.[24] In her US Open title defense, Sharapova was upset in her third round match to 30th seed Agnieszka Radwańska,[27] making it her earliest exit at a Grand Slam singles tournament since the 2004 US Open, where she lost in the same round.[24]
Following the US Open loss, Sharapova did not play again until the Kremlin Cup in October, where she lost her opening match to Victoria Azarenka.[26] Shortly after this, she fell out of the top 5 in the world rankings for the first time since 2004. She qualified for the eight-woman year-end Sony Ericsson Championships due to a withdrawal by Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.[24] Despite having not previously won a match in two months, Sharapova topped her round-robin group at the tournament, after winning all three of her matches, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanović, and Daniela Hantuchová. She then defeated Anna Chakvetadze in the semifinals.[26] In the final, she lost to world no. 1 Henin in a match that lasted 3 hours and 24 minutes. Sharapova reached the top five again to end the year.
===2008=== Shoulder Injury Sharapova was seeded fifth at the Australian Open,[28] but was not considered a favorite. Nevertheless, she defeated former world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the second round, and then world no. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals,[29] ending the latter's 32-match winning streak.[30] She proceeded to the finals by defeating Jelena Janković in the semifinals, where she defeated Ana Ivanović to win her third Grand Slam title,[31] having not dropped a set all tournament.
After the Australian Open, Sharapova extended her winning streak to 18 matches.[31] This run encompassed two wins in singles rubbers when making her debut for Russia in the Fed Cup[32] against Israel[31] and victory at the Tier I Qatar Total Open.[31] Her winning streak was ended in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open by Kuznetsova.[31] In April, Sharapova won the Bausch & Lomb Championships, having survived her longest-ever match, at 3 hours and 26 minutes long, in the third round against Anabel Medina Garrigues.[33][34] The following week, at the Family Circle Cup, she lost in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams, her fourth consecutive loss to the American.[35]
In May, Sharapova regained the world no. 1 ranking because of Henin's sudden retirement from professional tennis and request to the WTA that her own ranking be removed immediately.[36] As the top-seeded player at the French Open[31] Sharapova was within two points[37] of being knocked out by Evgeniya Rodina in the first round, before eventually winning.[38] As a result of losing to eventual finalist Dinara Safina in the fourth round (after serving for the match),[39] she relinquished her no. 1 ranking.[40] Her dip in form continued at Wimbledon, where she lost in the second round to world no. 154 Alla Kudryavtseva.[31] This was her earliest loss ever at Wimbledon, and at any Grand Slam in almost five years.[41]
Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Cup tournament in August due to a shoulder injury.[42][43] An MRI scan revealed that she had been suffering from a rotator cuff tear since April, forcing her out of all tournaments for the rest of the season, including the Beijing Olympics, the US Open, and the WTA Tour Championships. In spite of that, she still finished the year ranked world no. 9.[44] In October, after a failed attempt to rehabilitate the shoulder, Sharapova had surgery to repair the tear.
Sharapova did not attempt to defend her Australian Open title, as she continued to recover from surgery.[45][46] She returned to the sport in March, in the doubles tournament at the BNP Paribas Open, but she and partner Elena Vesnina lost in the first round. After this, Sharapova withdrew from further singles tournaments, resulting in her standing in the world rankings being severely affected. She dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in six years in May, the nadir being world no. 126.
Playing her first singles tournament in nearly ten months, Sharapova made the quarterfinals of the clay-court Warsaw Open in May, losing to finalist Alona Bondarenko. The following week, in the first Grand Slam appearance since her surgery, she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, before her run was ended by Dominika Cibulková.
During the summer grass-court season, Sharapova played in Birmingham, losing in the semifinals. Sharapova then played at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships as the 24th seed. She was upset in the second round by Gisela Dulko in three sets.
Sharapova enjoyed considerable success in the summer months, reaching the quarterfinals at the Bank of the West Classic, the semifinals at the LA Women's Tennis Championships, and finishing runner-up at the Rogers Cup to Elena Dementieva. At the 2009 US Open, Sharapova was seeded 29th. She entered her way into the third round defeating Tsvetana Pironkova and Christina McHale all in straight sets. She was stunned in the third round by American teenager Melanie Oudin 3–6, 6–4, 7–5. It was the first time in Sharapova's career that she lost to a teenager at a Grand Slam event. The devastating loss made Sharapova's ranking go down to no. 32.
The final stretch of the season brought Sharapova her first title of the year in Tokyo, after opponent Jelena Janković retired after being down 2–5 to Sharapova in the final. By virtue of that result, she was the recipient of a bye at the China Open, but failed to capitalize on it, losing to Peng Shuai in the third round. She ultimately finished the season at world no. 14, having improved from no. 126 when she starting her comeback from injury.
After playing two exhibition tournaments in Asia, Sharapova officially began her season at the Australian Open, where she was upset in her first-round match against Maria Kirilenko. The loss meant that for the first time since 2003, Sharapova had lost her opening match at a Grand Slam event.[47] She then rebounded by winning a smaller American event, the Cellular South Cup, her 21st career WTA title and first of the year.[48]
At the BNP Paribas Open, Sharapova lost in the third round to Zheng Jie, aggravating a bruised bone on her right elbow in the process, which resulted in her eventual withdrawal from the Sony Ericsson Open[49] and the Family Circle Cup.[50]
Returning at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Sharapova lost in the first round to Lucie Šafářová. She continued her French Open preparation at the Internationaux de Strasbourg as a wildcard, advancing to the final, where she beat Kristina Barrois. This was her first title on red clay and 22nd overall title.[51] At the French Open, Sharapova's brief clay season culminated with a third-round loss to four-time champion Justine Henin.
Sharapova began her preparations for Wimbledon at the AEGON Classic. She advanced to the final for the fourth time, where she lost to Li Na. As the 16th seed at Wimbledon, Sharapova lost in the fourth round to world no. 1 and eventual champion Serena Williams, 6–7, 4–6, despite having three set points in the opening set.[52] The match was seen as another encouraging performance for Sharapova, with some stating their belief that she was approaching the form that would see her contending for Grand Slams once more,[53] and Sharapova herself that stating she felt that she was "in a much better spot than I was last year."[54]
During the US Open Series, Sharapova made two straight finals, losing to Victoria Azarenka at the Bank of the West Classic, and to Kim Clijsters at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open. In the latter match, Sharapova held three match points while leading 5–3 on Clijsters's serve late in the second set, but could not convert them.
At the U.S. Open, Sharapova was the 14th seed. She made it to the fourth round, where she played top seed and 2009 finalist Caroline Wozniacki and lost, 3–6, 4–6.
Sharapova's last two tournaments of the season ended in disappointment. She played in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was upset in the first round by 39-year-old former world no. 4 Kimiko Date-Krumm.[55] Her last tournament of the year was the China Open, where she lost in the second round to fellow Russian Elena Vesnina.[56] Days later, she announced the end of her 2010 season.[57] She ended the year at number 18 in the world.[58]
It was announced that Sharapova would bring in Thomas Hogstedt as a coach for the 2011 season, joining Michael Joyce.[59] On December 5, Sharapova played an exhibition match against world no. 2 Vera Zvonareva in Monterrey, Mexico. She won the match 6–1, 7–5.[60] It was also announced that Maria would start endorsing the Head YOUTEK IG Instinct Racquet range. This ended her career long use of Prince racquets.
In Sharapova's first ever official Australian Open warm-up tournament at the 2011 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, she was seeded 1st. She lost to the Hungarian veteran and eventual champion Gréta Arn 2–6, 5–7 in the quarterfinals. After the ASB Classic, Sharapova decided to take a hiatus from Joyce's coaching, despite having worked together for a number of years, including during her successful years where she became a multiple Grand Slam champion.[61]
Sharapova participated in the first Grand Slam of the season at the Australian Open, where she was the 14th seed, but lost to Andrea Petkovic, 2–6, 3–6 in the fourth round.[62]
Sharapova's next appearance was at the 2011 Fed Cup tie against France, which she lost to Virginie Razzano, 3–6, 4–6. She then withdrew from the 2011 Open GDF Suez in Paris because of viral illness.[63] She also had to pull out of the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships and 2011 Qatar Ladies Open due to an ear infection.
Sharapova returned to the tour in March by taking part in the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, where she was seeded 16th. She defeated former world No. 1 Dinara Safina, 6–2, 6–0, in the fourth round en route to the semifinal, where she lost to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 2–6. With this result, Sharapova returned to the top 10 for the first time since February 2009.
At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Sharapova upset fourth seed Samantha Stosur in the fourth round. She then defeated 26th seed Alexandra Dulgheru 3–6, 7–66, 7–65 in the quarterfinals in a match that lasted 3 hours and 28 minutes, the longest match of her career. In the semifinals, Sharapova took her Australian Open reprisal on Germany's Andrea Petkovic by defeating her 3–6, 6–0, 6–2. In the final, she was defeated by Victoria Azarenka, 1–6, 4–6, despite a late comeback in the second set.
During the clay-court season, Sharapova participated in 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she lost to Dominika Cibulková 5–7, 4–6, in the third round and the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she was seeded seventh. She defeated top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and sixth seed Samantha Stosur, 6–2, 6–4, in the final to take home the title, marking her biggest clay-court victory to date.[64]
At the 2011 French Open, Sharapova was seeded seventh. She defeated French wildcard Caroline Garcia in the second round, despite trailing 3–6, 1–4, before winning the last 11 games of the match. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 15th seed Andrea Petkovic, 6–0, 6–3, marking her first Grand Slam semifinal since her comeback from the career-threatening shoulder injury. She then lost to sixth seed and eventual champion Li Na, 4–6, 5–7, in the semifinals, ending her clay season with a win-loss record of 12–2.[65] This marks her most successful clay season to date.
At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Sharapova had not dropped a set entering the final, before losing to eighth seed Petra Kvitová in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6.[66] This marked her first final in over three years at a Grand Slam event.
Sharapova started her summer hard court season at the 2011 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, USA. In a highly anticipated match, Sharapova lost to the eventual champion Serena Williams 1–6, 3–6, in the quarterfinals.[67] In her next event at 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada, Sharapova lost to Galina Voskoboeva in the third round, marking her 100th career loss.[68]
Sharapova then contested at the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio. As the fourth seed, she received a bye into the second round. On the way to her fourth final of the year, she beat Anastasia Rodionova, 6–1, 6–3,[69] 14th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–2, 6–3,[70] 10th seed Samantha Stosur, 6–3, 6–2,[71] and 2nd seed Vera Zvonareva 2–6, 6–3, 6–3.[72] In the final, she defeated fellow former world no. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3, in 2 hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final of the year.[73] She subsequently moved up to world no. 4, her highest ranking since August 2008 and the highest since her comeback from her shoulder injury.[74]
Sharapova entered the US Open in fine form, where she was seeded third. She beat British up-and-comer Heather Watson, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, and Anastasiya Yakimova, 6–1, 6–1, to reach the third round. She was then upset by Flavia Pennetta, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. However, because of the fall of Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva in the rankings, Sharapova climbed to world no. 2.[75]
Sharapova's next tournament was the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan. As second seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she beat Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6–2, 7–5. She then beat 13th seed Julia Goerges 7–6, 7–6, before retiring against Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinal, 3–4, after slipping on the baseline, suffering an ankle injury. This also forced her to withdraw from the 2011 China Open the following week. Sharapova then flew to Istanbul to prepare for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, her first time qualifying since 2007. During the WTA Tour Championships, Sharapova withdrew during the round-robin stage after defeats against Samantha Stosur, 1–6, 5–7, and Li Na, 6–7, 4–6, due to the ankle injury she had suffered in Tokyo.
Sharapova ended the year as number 4 in the world, her first top-10 finish since 2008 and first top-5 finish since 2007.
Sharapova withdrew from the 2012 Brisbane International because of her ongoing ankle injury.[76] Her first tournament of the season was the 2012 Australian Open, where she was seeded fourth. Sharapova advanced to the fourth round conceding just five games, defeating Gisela Dulko, Jamie Hampton and the 30th seed Angelique Kerber en route. In the fourth round, Sharapova defeated the fourteenth seed, Sabine Lisicki in three sets, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 to reach her first hardcourt Grand Slam quarterfinal in 4 years. She then defeated compatriot, Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets, 6–2, 6–3 to reach the semifinals. There she defeated the world no. 2 Petra Kvitová, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4 to reach her third Australian Open final, and her sixth grand slam singles final overall. She lost to Victoria Azarenka in the final 3–6, 0–6. As a result her ranking improved to world no. 3.
In February, Sharapova aided Russia to a 3–2 victory over Spain during the 2012 Fed Cup quarterfinal with a 6–2, 6–1 win over Silvia Soler-Espinosa.[77] She then played in Paris, where she lost in the quarterfinal to eventual champion Angelique Kerber 4–6, 4–6. As a result her ranking improved to World No. 2. At Indian Wells, Sharapova faced Gisela Dulko in the first round and won 6–2, 6–0. Sharapova defeated Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci en route to reaching the quarterfinals. After battling for over 3 hours, she defeated compatriot Maria Kirilenko 3–6 7–5 6–2, to set up a semifinal meeting with Ana Ivanovic. Sharapova won the first set 6–4 and advanced to the final after Ivanovic retired due to a hip injury. In the final she played world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka in a rematch of the Australian Open final, but lost again 2–6, 3–6.
Sharapova's next tournament was the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded 2nd. She received a bye to the second round where she faced Shahar Peer and won in three sets 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. Her next opponent was Sloane Stephens. Sharapova won in straight sets 6–4, 6–2. In the fourth round she won in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6 against countrywoman Ekaterina Makarova and advanced to the quarterfinals where she faced Li Na, whom she beat 6–3, 6–0. Her semifinal opponent was fellow former world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. After an inconsistent first set, Sharapova won the match 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. In the final, Maria lost in straight sets to 5th seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 7–5, 6–4. This was her third loss of the year in finals out of four tournaments played so far. Sharapova's next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she was seeded second. She had a bye in the first round, and advanced to the third round after Alize Cornet retired in the second set. In the quarterfinal, she defeated No. 5 Samantha Stosur 6–75, 7–65, 7–5 after saving a match point in the second set, and advanced to the final with a 6–4, 7–63 win over No. 3 Petra Kvitova. She won her first title of the year in Stuttgart after defeating world number one Victoria Azarenka 6–1, 6–4. In doing so, Sharapova defeated three current Grand Slam title holders to win the tournament. It was also her first win against Azarenka in five finals, and the third of such this season.
Sharapova's next tournament was a premier mandatory event, the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open. She eased through the first round in straight sets against Irina-Camelia Begu 6–0, 6–3. In the next round she faced Klara Zakopalova and also won in straight sets with 6–4, 6–3. In the third round Sharapova's opponent Lucie Safarova was unable to compete and with drew from the tournament, earning Sharapova a walkover into the quarter finals. She was then beaten by eventual champion Serena Williams in straight sets 6–1, 6–3.
As the defending champion and number two seed at the Italian Open, Sharapova had a bye in the first round. She battled through the first round against 20 year-old Christina McHale and prevailed 7–5, 7–5. She then faced thirteenth seed Ana Ivanovic and won 7–64, 6–3 in 1 hour 47 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals. Sharapova then defeated former world no. 1 Venus Williams 6–4, 6–3, meaning that Sharapova has reached the quarterfinals or better in all nine tournaments she has played this year. In the semifinals, Sharapova avenged her defeat to Angelique Kerber in Paris earlier in the year by beating her 6–3, 6–4 to advance to the final for the second year in a row. In the final, Maria saved match point for a 2 hour 52 minute, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(5) win over Li Na for her 26th career title.[78] This marked the fourth time Sharapova had successfully defended a title.
Sharapova's currently in action at the French Open, where she is seeded 2nd. She moved through to the second round by defeating Alexandra Cadantu 6-0, 6-0 in 48 minutes. She defeated Ayumi Morita 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round, where she will face Peng Shuai.
Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven, but retains her Russian citizenship, and is therefore eligible to play in the Fed Cup for Russia.[79] However, the behavior of Sharapova's father during her matches on the WTA Tour, combined with a perceived lack of commitment by her to the Fed Cup, has made her selection for the Russian Fed Cup team cause controversy in the past.
After Sharapova had beaten fellow Russian Anastasia Myskina at the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, Myskina criticized Sharapova's father, saying: "He was just yelling and screaming instructions to her and I thought he just might jump right on the court at one point in the match." At the Fed Cup semi-finals two weeks later, Myskina stated she would stop playing for Russia if Sharapova joined the Russian team the following season: "If she joins our team next season you won't see me there for sure. His behaviour is totally incorrect, simply rude. I don't want to be around people like him." Larisa Neiland, assistant to Russia Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev, added: "Her father's behaviour (at the WTA Tour Championships) was simply outrageous. I just don't see how he could work with the rest of us." However Tarpishchev himself played down the problem, insisting: "I feel that things will calm down soon and we'll have Myskina, Sharapova, Kuznetsova and everyone else playing for Russia."[80]
At the end of 2005, Sharapova stated she was now keen to make her Fed Cup debut[81] and was set to play against Belgium in April 2006, but withdrew.[82] She later withdrew from ties against Spain in April 2007[83] and against the United States in July 2007 because of injuries.[84] The latter withdrawal led to Russia's captain saying she would be "ineligible for selection" for the Fed Cup final in September.[85] However, Sharapova attended the final, cheering from the sidelines and acting as a "hitting partner" in practices, resulting in some of her Russian teammates implying that she was attending only to enable her to play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (rules state that players must have "shown commitment" to Fed Cup in order to play). Svetlana Kuznetsova said, "She said she wanted to be our practice partner but if you can't play how then can you practice?"[86]
Sharapova finally made her Fed Cup debut in February 2008, in Russia's quarterfinal tie against Israel.[32] She won both her singles rubbers, against Tzipora Obziler and Shahar Pe'er, helping Russia to a 4–1 victory.[87] For the semifinals, she was given permission to skip the tie, with Tarpishchev announcing that she will be on the team for the final.[88] However, the date of the final coincided with the lay-off from her shoulder injury, and thus she did not play.[89]
In the 2011 first round tie, Maria played Virginie Razzano of France and lost. Maria was supposed to play Alize Cornet, but Sharapova was suffering from a viral illness. So teammate, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova played instead of Sharapova where she would go to help Russia come back from their 0–2 deficit by beating Alize Cornet 3–6 6–3 6–2 and secure the win for Russia against France 3–2. Maria continued to participate in 2012 and helped Russia to a 3–2 win against Spain in the first round tie. Sharapova defeated Silver Soler Espinosa in the first rubber, but was unable o play her second rubber due to illness.
Sharapova is an aggressive baseliner, with power, depth, and angles on her forehand and backhand.[90] She is one of the few players on the WTA who uses the reverse forehand a lot. Instead of using a traditional volley or overhead smash, she often prefers to hit a powerful "swinging" volley when approaching the net or attacking lobs.[91] Sharapova is thought to have good speed around the court, especially considering her height.[90] At the beginning of 2008, some observers noted that Sharapova had developed her game, showing improved movement and footwork and the addition of a drop shot and sliced backhand to her repertoire of shots.[92][93] Despite her powerful game, Sharapova's greatest asset is considered to be her mental toughness and competitive spirit, with Nick Bollettieri stating that she is "tough as nails". Hall-of-famer John McEnroe said of Sharapova, "she's one of the best competitors in the history of the sport."[94] Sharapova is known for on-court "grunting", which reached a recorded 101 decibels during a match at Wimbledon in 2005.[95] During her second round match in Birmingham in 2003, Sharapova was asked to tone down the level of her grunt after opponent Nathalie Dechy complained to the umpire, with Sharapova's response saying that her grunting was "a natural instinct."[96] Monica Seles suggested that grunting is involuntary and a part of tennis.[97] When questioned by the media about her grunting, Sharapova urged the media to "just watch the match."[98] Her defensive game has been worked on by her new coach, and this has reflected in her results, making consecutive semi-finals at premier mandatory events on the tour.
Early in her career Sharapova's first and second serves were regarded as powerful,[90] and she was believed to possess one of the best deliveries on the Tour.[99] Since the beginning of 2007, however, problems with her shoulder have reduced the effectiveness of her serve.[99] The shoulder injury not only resulted in her inconsistent first serves, but also her hitting high numbers of double faults.[100] Two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin believes that Sharapova often loses confidence in the rest of her game when she experiences problems with her serve and consequently produces more unforced errors and generally plays more tentatively,[101] while tennis writer Joel Drucker remarked that her serve was the "catalyst for her entire game", and that her struggles with it left her "unmasked."[99]
In her return from layoff in 2008 to 2009, she used an abbreviated motion, which was somewhat less powerful, and though producing aces also gave a very high number of double faults. After her early loss at the 2009 US Open, Sharapova returned to a more elongated motion, similar to her pre-surgery serve. She has since been able to produce speeds greater than before, including a 121 mph serve hit at the Birmingham tournament in 2010 – the fastest serve of her career.[102]
However since her shoulder operation Sharapova has been unable to control her serve. This has led to numerous faults, as she can't feel how much power she is generating.[103] The new action led to an elbow injury, but under Thomas Hogstedt it has improved but can still be erratic.[104]
Because she predicates her game on power, Sharapova's preferred surfaces are the fast-playing hard and grass courts, as evident through her 24 victories on hard court and grass court. This is most notable when she won the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 U.S. Open and 2008 Australian Open crowns, where she had her career breakthrough and played her peak tennis level, respectively.
Sharapova, however, is not as well-suited to the slower clay courts as she is on hard and grass courts. Sharapova has admitted that she is not as comfortable with her movement on clay compared with other court surfaces and once described herself as like a "cow on ice" after a match on clay,[105] due to her inability to slide. Despite this, she has shown improvement on this surface with respect to experience, as evident with her first WTA red clay title at the 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg, 7 years since playing on the WTA circuit. Less than a year later, she won her biggest red clay title at the Tier I 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Sharapova is still showing rapid improvement on clay courts as evident by winning the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and then a month later being able to successfully defend her 2011 title in Rome, by winning the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, these results are making Sharapova an obvious favourite for the 2012 French Open.
Sharapova is also known for her phenomenally accurate and powerful groundstrokes. She has a powerful forehand which tends to set up points and create successful winners. Sharapova occasionally utilizes a reverse follow-through on her forehand, similar to that of Lindsay Davenport and Rafael Nadal, which allows her to hit the ball later than normal and add top-spin, while it can also lead to timing issues resulting in errors. The backhand, although not as dominant in setting points up, is her more reliable shot with many tennis analysts[who?] considering this to be her best asset, and one of tennis' great shots. Her net play is good when on the attack, often she will choose to drive the volley instead of slice volleys, but this is not seen as a strength—this seems to be continually worked on.
Sharapova has lived in the United States since moving there at the age of seven. She has a residence in Manhattan Beach, California and in Netanya, Israel.[106][107] Sharapova is engaged to Slovenian professional basketball player Sasha Vujačić, who plays for the Anadolu Efes S.K. in Istanbul, Turkey.[108][109] The two have been dating since 2009.[110] In 2011, Sharapova was named in Forbes Celebrity 100. This lists her as one of the top 100 most powerful celebrities of the year.[111] Sharapova has made varying remarks on how long she intends to maintain her tennis career. Following the retirement of 25-year-old Justine Henin in 2008, Sharapova said, "If I was 25 and I'd won so many Grand Slams, I'd quit too."[112] In an interview after the 2008 Australian Open, she balked at the idea of playing for another ten years, saying that she hoped to have a "nice husband and a few kids" by then.[113] However in an interview before her 2012 Australian Open semifinal, Sharapova changed her stance, claiming she intended to continue playing tennis for as long as she enjoyed playing the game. Sharapova stated "I'm sure when I was 17 years old and someone said, you'll be playing for another eight years, it would be like, you're not going to see me at a press conference at 25 years old. But years go on. I missed a year in my career—I didn't play that year. I've said this, just before the tournament, a few weeks before, I woke up and I was just so happy to be going back on the court. I felt so fresh, full of energy, just with a really good perspective. Times change, obviously. I see myself playing this sport for many more years because it's something that gives me the most pleasure in my life. I think it helps when you know you're good at something, and you can always improve it. It obviously helps with the encouragement."[114]
At the 2004 US Open, Sharapova, along with several other Russian female tennis players, wore a black ribbon in observance of the tragedy after the Beslan school hostage crisis, which took place only days before.[115] In 2005, she donated around US$50,000 to those affected by the crisis.[24] On February 14, 2007, Sharapova was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donated US$210,000 to UNDP Chernobyl-recovery projects. She stated at the time that she was planning to travel back to the area after Wimbledon in 2008,[116] though it didn't happen as she had to travel back to the US because of shoulder injury.[117] She fulfilled the trip in late June – early July 2010. Sharapova has helped to promote the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.[118] In addition, with Angela Haynes, Maria Kirilenko, Nicole Vaidišová, Rennae Stubbs, Governor Jeb Bush and Jennifer Capriati, Sharapova participated in an exhibition in Tampa in December 2004, raising money for the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund.[119] In July 2008, Sharapova sent a message on DVD to the memorial service of Emily Bailes, who had performed the coin toss ahead of the 2004 Wimbledon final that Sharapova had gone on to win.[120]
Sharapova's tennis success and appearance have enabled her to secure commercial endorsements that greatly exceed the value of her tournament winnings.[121][122] In March 2006, Forbes magazine listed her as the highest-paid female athlete in the world, with annual earnings of over US $18 million,[123] the majority of which was from endorsements and sponsorships. She has topped that list every year since, even after her 2007 shoulder injury.[124][125][126] In April 2005, People named her one of the 50 most beautiful celebrities in the world.[127] In 2006, Maxim ranked Sharapova the hottest athlete in the world for the fourth consecutive year. She posed in a six-page bikini photoshoot spread in the 2006 Valentine's Day issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, alongside 25 supermodels.[128] In a poll run by Britain's FHM magazine, she was voted the seventh most eligible bachelorette,[129] based on both "wealth and looks."
Immediately after her win at the 2004 Wimbledon Championship, mobile phone company Motorola signed Sharapova to endorse their mobile phone line.[130] Additionally, she appeared in commercials for Land Rover and Canon, as well as approved of namesake items by watch brand Tag Heuer and jeweller Tiffany.[130] Tiffany also provides Sharapova with earrings from the "Tiffany for Maria Sharapova" collection at the four major events, that are also retailed globally.[131] She also starred in an award winning campaign for the sports clothing brand Nike, "Pretty", in the summer of 2006. She signed a sponsorship deal in January 2007 with Gatorade and Tropicana.[132] In 2007, Sharapova was featured in a number of Canon USA's commercials for the PowerShot.[133] Sharapova has also been depicted in many tennis-related video games. Some of the titles include the Top Spin series, Virtua Tennis series, and Grand Slam Tennis series. During the layoff due to her shoulder surgery, sensing the fleeting nature of a professional athlete's career, Sharapova decided to focus on developing her name as a brand, beginning with meeting with her sponsors more extensively to further her brand.[130] In January 2010, it was announced that Sharapova had renewed her contract with Nike, signing an 8 year deal for $70 million. This is the most lucrative deal ever for a sportswoman, dwarfing the previous record, which was Venus Williams' $43 million deal with Reebok.[134]
Following in the footsteps of tennis players who started clothing lines such as Fred Perry and René Lacoste, Sharapova launched her own tennis apparel line, the "Nike Maria Sharapova Collection", in 2010. The collection includes dresses that she designed for all the major tournaments, in collaboration with Nike and Cole Haan.[135] She had previously found that the outfits given to her by Nike did not suit her frame and were worn by too many other players.[130] She comes up with design ideas and sketches in a process that begins 18 months before the event[135] and receives royalties from the sale of the collection, of which the corresponding dresses are coordinated to be available simultaneously with the corresponding major tournament.[130] The collection is worn by other WTA players, including Sofia Arvidsson, Kai-Chen Chang, Andrea Hlavackova, Madison Keys, Anastasia Pivovarova as well as junior players such as Indy De Vroome.[135] Sharapova had earlier collaborated with Nike on the "little black dress" that she wore for her night matches at the 2006 US Open.[130] The dress featured a round crystal studded collar and was inspired by Audrey Hepburn[130] The dress was well publicized and received but was not mass produced.[130][135][136] Additionally, she designs shoes and handbags for Cole Haan, for which her signature ballerina flats are one of the biggest sellers of the entire brand.[130]
Sharapova used the Prince Triple Threat Hornet for part of 2003 and then used several different Prince racquets until the US Open. She gave the racquet she used in the 2004 Wimbledon final to Regis Philbin when taping Live with Regis and Kelly. Sharapova began using the Prince Shark OS at that tournament and had a major part in the production of the Shark racquet.[citation needed] She then switched to the Prince O3 White racquet in January 2006. She switched to the Prince O3 Speedport Black in July 2008.[137][138] After being with Prince for ten years,[139] Sharapova began endorsing Head racquets in 2011 and uses the Head YOUTEK IG Instinct.[140][141]
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2004 | Wimbledon | Grass | Serena Williams | 6–1, 6–4 |
Winner | 2006 | US Open | Hard | Justine Henin | 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2007 | Australian Open | Hard | Serena Williams | 1–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | Ana Ivanović | 7–5, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | Petra Kvitová | 3–6, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2012 | Australian Open | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 3–6, 0–6 |
Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 3R | SF | SF | F | W | A | 1R | 4R | F | 1 / 8 | 34–8 | 81% |
French Open | A | A | 1R | QF | QF | 4R | SF | 4R | QF | 3R | SF | 0 / 9 | 30–9 | 77% | |
Wimbledon | A | A | 4R | W | SF | SF | 4R | 2R | 2R | 4R | F | 1 / 9 | 34–8 | 81% | |
US Open | A | A | 2R | 3R | SF | W | 3R | A | 3R | 4R | 3R | 1 / 8 | 24–7 | 77% | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–4 | 15–3 | 19–4 | 20–3 | 16–4 | 11–2 | 7–3 | 8–4 | 16–4 | 6–1 | 3 / 34 | 122–32 | 79% |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maria Sharapova |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Sharapova, Maria Yuryevna |
Alternative names | Шара́пова; Мари́я Ю́рьевна |
Short description | Russian tennis player |
Date of birth | April 19, 1987 |
Place of birth | Nyagan', Siberia, Russia |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Ivanovic at the 2011 Hopman Cup. |
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Country | Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) Serbia (2006–present) |
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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.
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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]
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]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) |
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
Ivanovic has won the following awards:[10]
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
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).
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | F | 3R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 0 / 8 | 17–8 | ||||||
French Open | A | A | QF | 3R | F | W | 4R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1 / 8 | 25–7 | ||||||
Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 4R | SF | 3R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 7 | 17–7 | |||||||
US Open | A | LQ | 2R | 3R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 0 / 8 | 13–8 | |||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 9–4 | 8–4 | 16–4 | 16–3 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–2 | 1 / 31 | 71–30 | ||||||
Year-End Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
WTA Tour Championships | A | A | A | A | SF | RR | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–4 | |||||||
Tournament of Champions | Not Held | A | W | W | 2 / 2 | 6–0 | ||||||||||||
Career Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | N/A | 11–15 | ||||||
Overall Win–Loss | 12–5 | 37–5 | 40–14 | 35–18 | 51–18 | 38–15 | 24–14 | 33–20 | 32–20 | 20–12 | N/A | 322–141 | ||||||
Year End Ranking | 705 | 97 | 16 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 17 | 22 | – |
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.
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.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ana Ivanović |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Ivanovic, Ana |
Alternative names | Ивановић, Ана |
Short description | Serbian tennis player |
Date of birth | November 6, 1987 |
Place of birth | Belgrade, Serbia |
Date of death | |
Place of death |