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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2009

Ana Ivanovic

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

A. IVANOVIC/A. Brianti
6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Apart from the win, what pleased you most about the match?
ANA IVANOVIC: I think I improved a lot since last match, you know, in my game. I was committing much more, coming to the net more often. That's something I was very pleased to see.

Q. Nice score line to have in the second round?
ANA IVANOVIC: She's not easy opponent. She can be very dangerous. Like I said, I was moving in much more, putting a lot of pressure on her. Also I had feeling I could do a lot on returns, and that's what I did. That gave me confidence.

Q. Do you feel you're still a bit away from your best tennis? What do you need to keep improving to have a run like last year?
ANA IVANOVIC: You know, I think I improved a lot since my first match. I'm very pleased with that.
But, you know, there is still some areas I have to work on and improve. As you progress through the tournament you come against tougher opponents, so, you know, you automatically raise your level.
I think I still have to work a little bit on my serve. It was much better today, but it's still something I need to improve.

Q. How do you like your new schedule this year?
ANA IVANOVIC: There is lots of changes in this year's calendar. I think they're working very hard on making it easier for us. But there is lots more tournaments that we have to commit to.
I think we just have to wait and see how it's gonna play and how players are going to react on these changes.

Q. Comparing your performance in Brisbane, how are you feeling on court now? Do you feel you've improved?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, every match you play you feel you're playing better and better. In Brisbane, it was sort of first time on a court after such a long break, off-season.
Now it's like, Oh, I've been doing this for all my life; I can go out there and compete. It just feels like I already played so many matches. So that's good feeling.

Q. Do you feel a lot more pressure this year compared to last year?
ANA IVANOVIC: Not really, because I was in this situation before French Open last year, you know, coming into the tournament as pretty serious finalist. That experience will help me a lot to approach this year's Australian Open.

Q. Do you feel like the sort of form you're in you'll be able to come up against one of the top players, Serena or Jelena, and beat them at this tournament? Is that something you feel confident about?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, that's my aim. I have to work hard. Like I said, I'm very pleased I played better this match. Next match I hope I can still raise my level.
Like I spoke before, when you come against top players or high-ranked players, you automatically raise your level and your consistency. That's something that I can do.
I know there is still lots of room for improvement. So that gives me confidence.

Q. Is it harder to get yourself mentally ready to play against a lesser opponent?
ANA IVANOVIC: No, no, because I don't underestimate everyone. Every match can be very tough. Just a little bit harder to play against opponents you haven't played before. You don't know what to expect.
There is many girls upcoming that we, as top players, don't know much about. They have nothing to lose. They go out there and play really, really good, put lots of pressure.
Yeah, like I said, it's most important to work your way through these tough matches.

Q. Seems the more successful you get the more people are interested in your life off the court. How do you cope with that sort of attention?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, you know, I try to stay positive. I'm very, very flattered because it means that you achieved something good on the court if people are more interested in what you do off the court, as well.
But, you know, I understand it's part of the our life. Sometimes you wish you have a little bit more privacy or you can go shopping or dinners and no one recognizes you. But it's still very, very flattering, and I try to see it as a positive.

Q. You're good friends with Roger Federer. How close is that relationship?
ANA IVANOVIC: When we see each other at a tournaments we always have a nice chat. He's great guy. He always, you know, gives me sometimes a nice advice. It's great, because he achieved so much.
You know, I would love also to have opportunity to spend more time talking to him, because I think there is so many things I can learn from him, from his experience. He's been, you know, in a position -- I think in all positions you can imagine on a court, dealing with so much pressure, being in the position of No. 1 for so long.
I think it would be great to have opportunity actually to speak with him a little bit more.

Q. What's the best piece of advice he's given you?
ANA IVANOVIC: No, I think one year at the US Open I spoke to him. He said that you just basically have to enjoy and try to don't think too much. Because I used to stress a lot about traveling so much and using so much time in traffic. He said, You know, you can't change that. You just have to basically accept it.
That's what people anyway have been telling me. But when you it hear from someone like him, you know, it gets stuck much more.

Q. An ATP event is coming to your country. Do you hope you get a WTA Tour event, too?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, I hope so. I think already having ATP tournament is going to be great for our country. And WTA tournament also is high possibility for being organized.
It's very exciting, because people didn't get chance to see us play live for so long. Now we will have Fed Cup coming up in February. That's the first step. Hopefully we can have a tournament, because I think it's going to be amazing.

Q. When you have a game like yours where you're going for winners and trying to play the match on your own terms and you lose a bit of confidence because you get injured, is it harder to try to get that back?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes, you know, that's something I found. I've been struggling a little bit. Obviously also I got much fitter. All of a sudden if I had to run and chase the balls I didn't see that as a problem, you know. Then I gone away a little bit from my game and what I had to do to step in the court.
Now obviously I've been working a lot on that in off-season. That's why I was a little bit disappointed in the first match. I wasn't stepping in as much as I wanted to. Today I made a difference. Obviously on the scoreboard it showed. It gave me confidence.
That's something I want to keep working on.

Q. Was it a relief to finally have an easy second-round match at a Grand Slam?
ANA IVANOVIC: You know, there is, like I said, no easy matches. Just that I put some things I worked on off the court, I put them in play today. That's something that gives me confidence.

Q. Having lost the final last year, is that disappointment driving you this year?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yes. Last year's finals was very emotional for me. I remember I had trouble sleeping couple nights after that.
But, you know, it was still a great experience. Like I said, you know, this year coming I really think I can still improve and build up on my game, hopefully take a step further.
But, you know, still I don't want to be too much focused on the end result, just enjoy every single match.

Q. Who do you enjoy playing against the most based on their style of play?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, you know, obviously there is -- like I said, every point can be tough and dangerous. I don't really think too much about that. I just try to do my own thing, what I've been working on. I know if I play my game and I dominate, the other girl is going to struggle.

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