Serbian pin-up Ana Ivanovic said today she was more than capable of the winning the Australian Open, brushing aside questions about her dramatic slump in form.
Serbian pin-up Ana Ivanovic said today she was more than capable of the winning the Australian Open, brushing aside questions about her dramatic slump in form.
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The glamorous 21-year-old made the final of last year's tournament, losing to Maria Sharapova, then made her breakthrough by clinching the French Open.
But she crashed out of Wimbledon as the top seed in the third round then crashed to a qualifier at the US Open.
Despite the setbacks, Ivanovic insists she still has what it takes to win the big events.
"I still put expectations on myself and there are things I want to achieve. I learned a lot from last year," said the fifth seed.
"I feel like a girl who can actually win this Grand Slam.
"Like I said, I want to enjoy tennis and work myself into playing and competing. But pressure is always there and it's also what I expect of myself and what I know I can achieve."
Asked who she feared most at the Australian Open, she pointed to the Williams sisters and World No 1 Jelena Jankovic, among others.
"There are lots of girls playing very well at the moment," she said.
"It's the first Grand Slam of the year so everyone is kind of trying to get their form and to feel good about their game.
"The Williams sisters, Jelena, Dinara (Safina), (Elena) Dementieva, they're all playing well at the moment. It's going to be a very, very tough Grand Slam.
"I think it's what makes it interesting for us, as the players, also for spectators. They really can't pick a sure winner."
Despite being thumped 6-3, 6-2 by France's Amelie Mauresmo in the quarter-finals of her only warm-up event at the Brisbane International, the Serb said she was in her best shape ever.
"I had a couple matches in Brisbane, and I feel very confident. I feel very fit. I think actually it's the fittest I've been in my career so far," she said.
"Obviously, the last couple days I tried to play lot of points and try to implement things I was working on in match situations.
"But it's going to be different playing a real match again. But I'm sure I'll start well and try to work myself into the tournament."
She gets her Open underway against Germany's Julia Goerges and can count on strong support, with Australia-based relatives cheering her on in the stands and neutrals regarding her as a crowd favourite.
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