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WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2007

Ana Ivanovic

LONDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Could have gone pretty much either way right till the end.
ANA IVANOVIC: It could really. It was very tough match today, especially with so many stop and gos. It was very, very tough out there.
In the first set I played some really good tennis. I was doing everything right. I was hardly making any mistakes. We had to stop. When I came back, I lost little bit concentration and I felt little bit empty inside, not so in the fighting spirit.
But then that stop we had in the third set, it helped me a lot to calm down, come back on the court and try to fight through it. My shots and my serve were not working as well today, but sometimes you have to win when you don't play your best tennis.
That was a little bit key today so I'm happy to get through.

Q. Tough to finish when you're three points from the match?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it was very tough. I felt the momentum going when I broke her on 4-All, then we had to stop. So it was another tough time.
But I was mentally quite strong to come back and play some good tennis in that last game and served out well.

Q. Was that one of the toughest Grand Slam matches you played, if you take into account the weather, your opponent?
ANA IVANOVIC: Definitely. Not so much physically as mentally. It was very tough. As I said, with lots of stops, up and downs in my game, I had to fight for every point because I didn't feel on the top of my game today.
But sometimes you have to win these matches, and hopefully tomorrow I have chance to play better again.

Q. It's 15-All, the rain comes. What do you do?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I was a little bit nervous. I went out there on 5-4 to serve and I looked at the sky. It was all dark. I was like, Is it going to hold this game? I made a good first serve. I was 15-Love up, thought maybe we can finish the game. But then on 15-All it started pouring down so we had to stop.
I was obviously a little bit nervous. But also she was quite upset, so she started going for her shots. So maybe again that was a good thing, to stop. Yeah, she could also calm down.
I was definitely in a better situation continuing the match.

Q. When did you first play on grass?
ANA IVANOVIC: First time, I believe it was 2001, for a junior tournament here.

Q. What did you think of it then?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, even before I came, everybody was telling me that I'm going to do well there. They were like, You have such a powerful game. You have a good serve. You're going to do very well there. I was like, Okay, if you say so, I'll try.
Then since I came here, I really enjoy playing on grass. It's different. It's different kind of tennis, but it's faster, which I enjoy. Yeah, my serve helps me a lot.

Q. Where was that first time?
ANA IVANOVIC: First time here in Roehampton when I played junior tournament.

Q. How have you been enjoying London?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, I still haven't had chance to go to the city much. But the other day I went to a concert in Wembley and it was really nice experience. I was there for couple of hours. It was amazing. I enjoyed it a lot. Hopefully I will have chance to see some concerts soon again.

Q. Did you meet anyone there?
ANA IVANOVIC: I saw David Beckham. He was sitting quite close to us. That was exciting. And also Kiefer Sutherland. We just pass by him on the way to our box. I was exciting because I follow 24 closely, so it was exciting to see him.

Q. Were you nervous at all?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, I was nervous. I wanted to have picture with him. But we were going different direction. I was like, No, I want to go, I want a picture. I have to have better reaction next time.

Q. Did people recognize you there?
ANA IVANOVIC: A couple of people asked for picture and autographs. I was really surprised because it didn't happen much before in my career. So that was pretty exciting.

Q. Who did you go with?
ANA IVANOVIC: We went with Djokovic and his manager and my brother went with us.

Q. Are you hearing a lot from Belgrade wanting radio interviews or things like that?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, lot of people actually. French Open and here we have much more journalists coming here, are coming for tournament, and that's very good for us as well.
It's also nice to have someone from your country. It's amazing. They really follow us a lot. Every time I go back there, I'm surprised how many people support us. And it helps us a lot because we can hear that they're supporting us. That helps a lot.

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