Mercury Isurance Open Draws

Ana is seeded fifth at the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad, close to San Diego, and receives a bye in round one. In the second round she will face eitherthis week's conqueror Ayumi Morita or Australian Jelena Dokic.

The Japanese's victory over Ana in Stanford this week squared their head-to-head series at one win apiece. Ana has a 1-0 historical advantage over Dokic.

In round three of the 56-player draw Ana could face Italian former top 10-ranked player Flavia Pennetta, while fourth seed Shuai Peng of China could await in the last eight.

Top seed and world No.3 Vera Zvonareva is a likely semi-final adversary.

The leading seeds in the bottom half of the draw, whom Ana cannot face until the final, are No.2 Andrea Petkovic, No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska, No.7 Julia Goerges and No.8 Daniela Hantuchova.

Ana From Her Facebook

Very disappointing loss in Stanford at the Bank of The West Classic but it’s all part of a process. I know it’s going to take time and I shouldn’t have expected so much from myself before the match. But I’m now in San Diego and looking forward to working more with my new team before the Mercury Insurance Open tournament starts on Monday.

Photo: @VictoriaHoe

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Ana Ivanovic : Beijing photo shoot 2010

Images from a short photo shoot Ana took part in prior to last year's China Open in Beijing

Photos by Gong Dehui.

Source: Official Website

Ivanovic nervous playing in front of new coach

In her first match under new coach Nigel Sears, former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic falls 6-3 7-5 to Ayumi Morita at Stanford. Ivanovic just began working with Sears last week. She also rehired her former fitness trainer, Scott Byrnes away from Victoria’s Azarenka's team after Wimbledon. During the grass court season, Ivanovic reached the semifinals of Birmingham and the third rounds of Eastbourne and Wimbledon.

"I just started with a new team and takes time for things to come into place and nerves played a part to impress the new coach, but that’s normal,” she said. "We spoke a lot about things we were working on, but [Nigel said] when you go out there I want you to trust your instincts, but I still thought too much about technical stuff. It’s matter of practicing and doing it over and over until it becomes automatic. A few times I was not aggressive enough and was thinking too much what I had to do."

The 23-year-old, who spent 10 days in at the beach in Spain relaxing with her brother and relatives after Wimbledon, said that she is not going to push herself to get immediate results.

"I know there are few tournaments coming up, I have to defend a lot of points, but for me now until the end of the year it's about getting the work done, consistency, getting the base built up again and getting comfortable with my game." she said. "Of course I'd like to see the results straight away and win tournaments, but sometimes that's how it goes and it takes time to get certain things into place. But I trust this team I have around me and I know good things are going to happen and it's just a matter of time. At the moment, I don't want to put pressure and think about results, just put the hard work in."

Source: Tennis.com

Ana Ivanovic in First Round Photos

Ana out in First Round in Stanford

Playing her first match since Wimbledon - and her first under the guidance of new coach Nigel Sears - Ana lost 6-3, 7-5 to Japan's Ayumi Morita in 79 minutes. The 23-year-old served nine double faults and looked decidely rusty following a month-long break.

Ana could only manage to hold four of her eleven service games and won just 29 per cent of the points on second delivery. Morita, on the other hand, converted all seven of her break point opportunities and played a highly accomplished match.

Ana lost her opening service game and was chasing the match thereafter. She leveled at 3-3, but could not find any fluidity: she was re-broken in the following game.

Facing set point in the ninth game, Ana hit her third double fault of the match and gifted the set to the Japanese.

Though lacking rhythm, the 23-year-old wasn't missing by huge margins. She staged something of a turnaround in the second set, despite falling 3-1 behind: the seventh seed broke back and broke again to lead 4-3, but loose serving allowed Morita back in, and she took full advantage.

Ana will now head to San Diego, where she will compete in the Mercury Insurance Open.

Ana Ivanovic with Scott Byrnes in Stanford

Ana Training in Stanford

Ana & the kids who attended the book reading for Peanut Harper's "Inches & Miles

Ana showed up to Kepler's books in Menlo Park to hear a book reading from inch and miles and do a short Q&A session afterwards about her definition of success, her family, and the pressures of being a tennis player. The event was packed out with both adults and kids to the point that Kepler's actually ran out of books. Heartening.

Here's video of her Q&A. Sorry it got shaky. I got a little cocky and tried to take video AND a pic on my BB. Multitasking multimedia, baby. I ain't good at it.

"Giving your best every day is all you can ask of yourself, and eventually it will bring out the best in you and your potential." Good stuff for kids to hear. Coach Wooden would be proud.

Ana Ivanovic Us open series

Ana is in Stanford ahead of the Bank of the West Classic, which begins on Monday. She is expected to kick-off her US Open Series campaign on Tuesday, with a first round match against Ayumi Morita.

Ana is making only her second appearance in Stanford, an attractive university town in California. "It's a lovely place to be," she said. "It's a relaxing environment."

Ana has won two titles in California: Los Angeles in 2007 and Indian Wells in 2008.

From Stanford the 23-year-old will head down the west coast of the United States to San Diego, or more specifically Carlsbad, for the Mercury Insurance Open presented by Tri-City Medical Center. Like Stanford, it is a $721,000 Premier event. However, its field of 56 players is twice the size.

Ana has competed at the La Costa tournament twice before, including last year.

The third tournament of a packed summer schedule sees Ana cross the border into Canada, for theRogers Cup presented by National Bank, which this year is staged in Toronto.

Ana skipped the event last year but won it in 2006. She has appeared in Canada a total of five times and has a 9-3 win-loss record at the event.

Toronto is one of two back-to-back Premier 5 events, with total prize money of $2.05million: it is followed by the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Last year's tournament in Mason, Ohio signalled something of a turnaround for Ana, after a poor first half of the season: she beat ninth seed Victoria Azarenka in the first round on her way to the semi-finals, where she retired injured after just three games.

Following four straight tournaments Ana is scheduled to have a week of training prior to the US Open, which begins in New York on 29 August.

"This is a very intense part of the season," said Ana. "The hard courts really take their toll on your body and you require great fitness to play to a high level each week.

"I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead."

Source: Official Website

Ana from her facebook

Great to be Tournament mode again . Stanford is a lovely place to be . It's a very relaxing environment.

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Stanford 2011 Draws

Ana will face Japan's Ayumi Morita in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic, which begins in Stanford on Monday.

It will be the second meeting between the pair, following Ana's 6-1, 6-2 victory over the 21-year-old in a Fed Cup tie two years ago.

The winner of the contest will meet a qualifier in round two, with third seed Marion Bartoli a possible quarter-final opponent. Top seed Victoria Azarenka is a possible adversary in the semi-finals.

The leading competitors in the bottom half of the draw, whom Ana cannot face until the final, are No.2 seed Maria Sharapova, No.4 Samantha Stosur and 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

Ana is seeded seventh in the 28-player draw. She is making her second appearance in Stanford, having reached the second round last year.

Book Reading with Appearance by Ana Ivanovic

Bring out the children and join us for a book reading of “Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success” featuring an appearance by former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic at Kepler’s bookstore on Sunday, July 24 at 3 pm. The book reading will include a shortened version of the story read by retired WTA player Peanut Harper, followed by a Q&A session with Ana Ivanovic where she will share her own personal definition of success.

“Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success” is an award winning children’s book written by legendary Coach John Wooden. The story follows two young characters, Inch and Miles, who embark on a journey to discover the Pyramid of Success and learn how to achieve their personal best along the way. Through the character’s experiences, Coach John Wooden illustrates important personal values and wisdom for all children to relate to.

The book called is Kepler's books

More information here