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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2008

Ana Ivanovic

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How was the feeling of your second Grand Slam final compared to your first?
ANA IVANOVIC: It was definitely a better experience. I won more games. It's a little bit disappointing because I thought I had a lot of chances in that first set but didn't use them.
But, you know, still, it's a learning experience for me. I fought hard, you know. I just felt a little bit let down with my forehand, made some big mistakes in crucial moments.
So, you know, that wasn't something I was hoping for. But, still, she played well and she had a great tournament.

Q. Was anxiety and nerves ever a factor out there?
ANA IVANOVIC: No, not really. I really felt comfortable out there. I wasn't too nervous at all.
Obviously in the beginning, like everyone other match, but I managed to hold my nerves really well out there today. I was serving quite well, and on some occasions I would a little bit drop.
But she's a tough opponent and she saw, you know, when I had troubles with my serve or with my forehand and she used that well.

Q. Did you think she played well today?
ANA IVANOVIC: I think she played well. She was a little bit nervous, I would say. She had also chances in the beginning of the first set. She was a break up, and then I broke her back.
Yeah, and then I still had some chances on my own, and she still fought hard and played some good tennis and managed to win that first set, and I'm sure that gave her confidence.

Q. Was the heat on center court, did that have any effect on you at all?
ANA IVANOVIC: Not at all. I practiced hard in Sydney in December, and it was really hot. Today on the court was much warmer than any other day, but still, you know, I enjoyed it. It wasn't bothering me at all.

Q. You said all tournament you haven't really played your best tennis here in the last few weeks. Was that the case again today? If so, what do you need to work on?
ANA IVANOVIC: No, I felt I played some good tennis in these two weeks. You know, that gave me a lot of confidence. Today, you know, just in some important moments I, you know, miss-hit a lot.
You know, I knew I had to be aggressive, and that type of game will obviously cause more mistakes. That was the case, and I just made maybe few too many mistakes.
But, you know, it's definitely a great experience for me. This position I was in, you know, it was my second final, Grand Slam final. So it's something, you know, I can learn from, and this experience helped me. She was in this situation more times than I was.

Q. Her serve was outrageous today, barely losing a point.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it was a little bit disappointing for me because she was serving so well. It was hard for me to control the returns. I tried to focus on my serve, and I managed to hold my serve most of the times.
But, you know, it's very hard because I didn't get many chances on her serve, so it was a little disappointing for me.

Q. Did you regret the dropshot most of all?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, it hurts, I can tell you that (laughter). Yeah, it was a little bit poor shot selection, I would say.

Q. Sometimes in sport you need to have a loss like this to give you incentive for the next time, maybe like Maria had last year. Will you build on this one now and work on next year?
ANA IVANOVIC: For sure. I already felt much better, you know, in today's final than I felt in the French Open final. So it's something very positive.
And obviously I was emotional out there and I was really disappointed I couldn't take these chances I had. But, you know, at the other hand, I'm still young and I still think I have a lot of Grand Slam finals in front of me. So it's just a learning experience and learning process.
And, as I said, I wasn't in these situations many times. Only last year was that I had opportunity to play against top players in the big occasions, so this was one of them. It's definitely -- you know, it hurts a bit now, but I'm sure I can learn from it.

Q. Did Novak get a chance to speak to you before you went out to play today?
ANA IVANOVIC: No. No, I haven't seen him at all. I mean, he had great win last night. He played some good tennis. You know, he has good chance in the final. Tsonga is also playing very well. I'm sure it's going to be very interesting. But I hope he can take title for Serbia.

Q. Will you stay to watch it?
ANA IVANOVIC: Unfortunately I have to leave tomorrow afternoon because I have to play Fed Cup.

Q. Can you see more Grand Slam final encounters with Maria?
ANA IVANOVIC: I'm almost certain of that. We had already quite a few matches against each other. She's a great competitor. I'm sure she will do well in the future, as well.
You know, I really feel I'm also improving my game and I'm learning how to be a top player. These situations help me.
So I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to play against each other in the final of a Grand Slam.

Q. You're going to play Fed Cup. It will be the first time?
ANA IVANOVIC: No, I played Fed Cup two years ago. We were also in a group in Bulgaria. Yeah, I think it's just a pity that we have such a good team with Jelena and myself. I think we can get out of that group and get into the World Group. I think we deserve place in it (smiling). So hopefully this year we can get out.

Q. Do you enjoy this Grand Slam more than any other one you've played in yet?
ANA IVANOVIC: Every Grand Slam is very special. It's very hard to pick one.
But I love Australia. I have relatives here so, you know, I just feel very comfortable here. And I feel sort of, you know, playing in front of Aussie crowd is like playing in front of home crowd. So I think that's the biggest difference between all other Grand Slams.

Q. What does Australia Day at Mentone hold for the rest of the night? Barbecue out the back?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes. How did you know (laughter)? Yeah, because as I already mentioned before, my uncle has a birthday and it's Australia Day. We gonna go to their place. I think they're already preparing some barbecue.
Yeah, I really hope they won't mention much about the match today because I don't know how happy I will be to talk about it.
But, you know, still we gonna try to have fun. It was great two weeks for me, so we can celebrate something.

End of FastScripts

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