Comments on: Ana Ivanovic puts an end to 2009 tennis season

By: Ana Ivanovic already started training for 2010 | Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic already started training for 2010 | Ana Ivanovic — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:09:24 +0000

[...] 22-year-old Ivanovic finished the 2009 season prior to the China Open, in the beginning of October, and now she has started practicing for her [...]

By: Marija

Marija — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:54:14 +0000

Marine, I don't think the criticism is the cause of Ana's and Dinara's troubles, but it certainly didn't help.

By: marine

marine — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:07:06 +0000

I don't mind fist pumps,I hate shrieking. In my opinion Ana is no fluke at all, she is a talent and she'll prove it in the future. People are way too hard on her, she is still very young. She needs time to develop her game , I think she her prime is yet to come. I feel sorry for her as she has got soo much criticism which is I think one of the reasons of her mental fragility. The same goes for players such as Safina who has been bombarded with negativity all throughout the season and as a result she crumbles at the most important tournaments. I think what they both need is to learn to zone out the critics and stay positive otherwise they more or less defeat themselves.

By: Small Observer

Small Observer — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:42:21 +0000

Fist pumps are still fist pumps, no matter how vigourous, or not, they are. The point iluvlucie mentioned was a complete overreaction as Stosur was not even that near to the ball. Any kind of winner would probably have done, as good a drop shot as it was. It was a short point and Ivanovic was always in control. No need for it really.

Well, the point is that not many other players do seem to do it, and certainly not to the same extent. I know Justine Henin used to say 'Allez!' quite often, but she did seem to pick her moments to do it better. Sorry, but that's what I think.

I guess the problem with fist-pumping is that unlike shrieking, there's nothing you can do to stop it annoying you – there's no fast-forward button.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:50:38 +0000

As I said, only a couple of matches. Who cares? All athletes do it.

By: iluvlucie

iluvlucie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:24:44 +0000

Curtis, man…. what matches have you been watching??? Try against Kleybanova at this year's Aus Open…. talk about overkill. I watched the highlights against Stosur at this year's Wimby…after she hit a drop shot, the story goes like this…fist bump, squeal, knee raised and a 360 pirouette!! All for a drop shot. There is a vid on youtube where Sven tells her to stop trying to get in her oppponent's face and just concentrate on her game. My thoughts exactly!!!

By: Curtis

Curtis — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:42:17 +0000

I watch EVERY Ana match and some of you are exaggerating the fist pumping. There have been a few matches in the past where she may got a little carried away with it, but for the most part, she only fist pumps on big points. By fist pumping, I mean "real" fist pumps, not those very mini ones where she barely raises her fist. BIG DEAL! I cant even remember the last time she fist pumped more than 5-10 times in a match.

Maybe it's because I am a KAD and I don't see the big deal in it. Meh

By: iluvlucie

iluvlucie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:17:53 +0000

As a side note though, loved Ana's dress from the US Open… shame we didn't see more of it!!

By: iluvlucie

iluvlucie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:13:54 +0000

I liked your point Ella, about grinding out matches…. I miss the days of Monica, Steffi, Jennifer C…. who would do anything just to win a point and left their hearts out on court. Not sure too many of the women players do that these days, apart from Serena and maybe Maria. It's time for Ana to get back to basics- develop a sturdy game plan, toughen up and get on with it. Now, all I see from her is a whole lot of unnecessary fist pumping and woeful looks to her supporter's box after every point…

By: Ella

Ella — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:48:25 +0000

I'm sorry if I was too harsh to Ivanovic or her fans on here. I don't know how European media portrays Ana, but in the West, when she wins, they applaud her "huge Graf forehand" and "mental toughness" for her victories-but when she loses, it's not "oh she sucks, fluke!!" it's more like "poor sweet Ana, she's just so damn nice. That's why she can't be number 1 for too long. She's too nice to be tough and fight it out, it's not in her nature! She's so sweet yay!!" I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed by her game nor her personality (fist pumping the first point of the match is beyond annoying), but at least she makes an effort to approach the net, I'll give her that. I guess that's why it's easy for me to forget about her (sometimes I seriously forget she won RG).

Hopefully Ana proves me wrong and makes a strong comeback. I do wish her the best as I do all the players because I don't have favourites-I just don't want to waste my money on mediocre players who are over-hyped and can't deliver. Winning small tournies won't do it for me, though. I want to see her beat the Williamses, Dementieva, Kuznetsova, Clijsters, not teenagers and top 200 players…then maybe I can get behind her and root for her because I'm willing to give any player that plays at the net a chance (which is why I scream at the top of my lungs rooting for Stosur, but she's a whole 'nother story).