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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 15, 2014Ana IvanovicMELBOURNE, VICTORIA A. IVANOVIC/A. Beck THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What are your thoughts on the problems of playing in the heat? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, it's obviously hard because sometimes you do lose a little bit of concentration and focus. I think that's the downside. But, you know, it's the same for everyone. You just have to toughen it out. Sometimes it's hard to catch your breath. You have to find a way to cool yourself and stay hydrated. We've been playing in this heat for years now. Not every year we had this many days in a row. But it's something you expect to face when you come over here. Q. Fairly straightforward win today. Talk about your confidence going into this tournament with the title. Seems you're in a good head space these days. ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it was very good way to start the year for me. It was something that I really wanted for long time, to win a title again. It's been a while. I really felt comfortable in Auckland, played some really good tennis in the final. It was a great match, too, and great challenge. We played many times and I only once prevailed, so it's a very nice win. It does give me confidence for this week, too. It's a new tournament, new matchups. But I'm enjoying as well competing. I have good and positive team around me. They're very supportive which means a lot. Q. Are you doing anything different this year, or is everything a progression of trying to improve? ANA IVANOVIC: Well, we did work a lot in off‑season, in gym, also just to get my base level a little bit higher. My coach really understands tennis well. We really see where my game should be at. You know, we work hard over that. It's also, like I said before, they're very positive and that's something I was lacking in the past. Because as a player, even if you have tough loss or so, you doubt yourself lots of times. But they're very supportive and they're pushing me forward. That's where I want to be. We really work well together. Q. You're the one who has to be positive during matches on the court. ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. It's pattern. Whether it's positive or negative, you create patterns. I really feel I broke out of that little negative spell. I just feel happy competing. I find strength and I enjoy having long points, long rallies, long games, and tough matches. That's what I was lacking in the past. These kind of matches, you know, opponents can see as well. That sometimes gives you an edge. Q. Looking back on your coaching situations ever since 2008, it looked like you were hiring almost designer coaches almost. You have a bit more of an understated team now. Do you think maybe there was too much pressure before? ANA IVANOVIC: It's actually a very good question because many times, I try to explain to people, not every coach is good for every player. Sometimes coach can look good on paper. But when you team up with someone, it doesn't work out that way. I really tried to also listen to lot of people's advices. It wasn't always the right choice. I made some mistakes because of this. But I learned. Now, you know, many people were doubtful. But I had confidence, and I still do. Communication, it's at a much higher level. They understand the sport. They understand the game. You know, it's just so different to anything I'm used to. Q. Is the communication better because you can speak in Serbian? ANA IVANOVIC: Definitely. They can also understand.  There is no secret. Every country has its own mentality, its own way to see things and to do things. We can really understand each other with less words. Even when I'm in doubt, I can express myself better and they can answer me better. Q. You said many times you like challenges. Now you have a big challenge in Sam ahead of you. The winner of that will play Serena. Almost like you're at the end of a Grand Slam. ANA IVANOVIC: The draws haven't been that great for me. It's for them the same. They can look at it that way, too. No secret it's going to be a tough match. I had two tough matches last year against Sam. I lost one, won one. She's tough player, has very strong game. I have to raise my level in order to beat her. Q. How much will you enjoy the experience? Rod Laver Arena, night match, the crowd getting into it. ANA IVANOVIC: I really do. I enjoy coming here and competing. I had great matches and great memories from Rod Laver Arena, especially in 2008. Also I remember we had also third‑round match in 2006 or '7 against Sam. It's going to be great atmosphere I hope. I hope it's going to be good match. Q. Was it difficult for you to break out of the pattern of going with the big‑name coach, go with your new team? ANA IVANOVIC: It's like every decision. It was not an easy one. But I felt inside that I had to do it. In the past I've been listening too much to what people are saying, what advices they were thinking, what they thought was good for me. I didn't really listen to my inner instincts or what my gut was telling me. You know, this time I really thought, This is my career and I have to turn towards me and just see what works out for me. I made that decision. I didn't regret it with one moment. Q. Are you more the boss now, then, in the relationship? You've had prior coaches who were much older. ANA IVANOVIC: It's really like a team. It's actually good thing that I have young team with me. My coach is a little bit older than my fitness coach and me. He's sometimes an authority. Sometimes he'll joke around. It's nice to have that balance, yet we all have respect for each other, which I think is vital. Q. What are you reading these days? ANA IVANOVIC: Actually I've been not reading that much last few days. I've been reading this book by Jeffrey Archer. It's trilogy. I'm on the third book. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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