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ROGERS CUP WOMEN

August 9, 2011

Ana Ivanovic

TORONTO, ONTARIO

A. IVANOVIC/S. Zhang
6-1, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. (Off microphone.)
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely very happy with that, especially now coming from San Diego. The surface and conditions are a lot different. Balls, as well.
So to be off a good start, it's really important, especially that I played a girl who already had couple of matches under her belt. You know, I never played her before, so I didn't know what to expect. I'm very pleased overall.

Q. Since winning this tournament in '06 you have been up and down. How are you feeling about your game these days, and what have you learned from maybe the last few years on the tour?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I learned a lot, you know. A lot about myself, as well. Because when you go through, you know, good and bad times you learn all the time basically.
When the things are going well, it's easy to take everything for granted. But then when you struggle a little bit, then you sort of appreciate certain things a little more and you become aware of certain things.
You know, now I feel really confident and good about team I have with me, and I really believe they gonna help me, you know, and help me go where I want to go.

Q. You said at Stanford that it was the first match of the new team. You were kind of nervous. Can you talk about last week and this week? Are you feeling sort of more settled now?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely Stanford was actually, you know, a tough match. You know, it's hard to have a high expectation. We have only been practicing for a week, you know. So it's a lot of new information, lots of new things to try out.
Then after that, fortunately or unfortunately I did have a week of practice before San Diego, which kind of did me good. I sort of put some things in place, and it showed on the court. So I was very pleased with that.

Q. Two victories in one day. Is that just happy day or it is beside something else?
ANA IVANOVIC: No, I'm obviously very, very happy. And, you know, also doubles, it's a lot of fun and you get to practice different things.
Actually, this morning I didn't think I would play any match, but I end up playing both, which was very good.

Q. Your first-round match would have been very different had Venus not pulled out with a virus. I'm curious with Venus and Serena having been away for a long time and now coming back, whether you sense any different dynamic around the tour?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it's obviously great to have them back, you know, for the game, as well. We get criticized a lot for women's tennis, but I think it's very strong. We have so many former No. 1s and past champions in the draw these days. I think it's a very strong field.
A lot of people I think take it for granted, but, you know, it's definitely good to have them back.

Q. It seems like there are a lot of former No. 1s and fluctuating in the rankings. Maybe some of us even underestimate just how difficult it is to stay up there.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it is tough. You know, you can see not only top players and the top athletes in any sport, but, you know, everyone goes through ups and downs.
I'm sure, you know, each of you goes through ups and downs. It's just normal thing. We have to deal with it in public eye that makes it a little bit hard and a little bit more personal, because people are pointing at you when you are having a bad day, you know.
So it is kind of hard, and, you know, many, many players find it hard to deal with, and I did it personally. There was a point where, you know, I wish I was on an island, but you can't really escape. You have to face the difficulties and you have to overcome them. Unfortunately there is no shortcut. You just have to go through them.

Q. When you sort of go through those periods, how do your own expectations change? Like, you know, compare yourself, what your expectations are now compared to six months ago or a year ago or 2008.
ANA IVANOVIC: The expectations do change. You know, you still have a certain ambition or certain, you know, goal you want to achieve. But obviously you can't put too much pressure on yourself.
Also, when you don't play enough of matches, you don't know what to expect. You have to lower your expectations.
You know, now, coming into tournaments I really feel I'm gonna focus on each match, and I'm gonna work as hard as I can. If that day it wasn't good enough, doesn't matter, I keep on working; whereas in the past maybe I would take it a lot more personally and a lot more emotionally.

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