I was supposed to go to Fed Cup tie between Serbia and Russia in Belgrade, but the weather conditions are so bad that there was no way I could travel 86 km. Anyway, I watched it on TV from my cozy room and I could see Ana Ivanovic getting crushed by Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Jelena Jankovic recovering from a set and 4-1 down to beat Alisa Kleybanova.
World No.4 Kuznetsova defeated Ivanovic 6-1 6-4 in the first match of the day. After blowing the Serb in the first set, Kuznetsova rallied from 4-2 down in the second to seal the first win for Russia. Once ranked No.1 now No.23 Ivanovic made 50 unforced errors and six double faults.
The second match of the day looked to be heading in the direction of Russia’s victory as well, but world No.8 Jankovic overturned the result while trailing 4-6 1-4 and won 11 games in a row to defeat 31st-ranked Kleybanova 4-6 6-4 6-0.
As you can see, after the first day of the Serbia vs. Russia Fed Cup quarterfinal the countries are tied at 1-1. Reverse singles and doubles will be played tomorrow, on Sunday.
Good job Jelena jankovic, I hope serbia can
come back and win the doubles and reverse
singles. I’m not sure though against doubles
specialist Kuznetsova and kleybanova however
they can try…All the best to USA!!! I hope
they come on top on the doubles too…
Ana has lost confidence completely,she needs to take a long break from tennis to find her game.
Ana took a break from tennis and it did nothing for her. She is just as bad if not worse than she was last year. She looks like she is scared of losing when she is out on the court. It’s seems like she is waiting for something bad to happen because she is so used to it by now. What Ana needs to do is start playing more tournaments and smaller ones. The only way you gain confidence is by winning and by playing more gives her a better opportunity to do that. Running away and taking a break would not be the solution. It worked for Kim and Justine because they were very successful throughout their careers and are much more experienced and accomplished than Ana is. Ana is a mess right now and I dont know how she is going to turn this around. A win tomorrow over Kleybs would be a start.
I don’t know what should happen for Ivanovic to find her right track back, but I don’t see a reason for her to perform any better today than she did yesterday.
OK I’m trying to understand something here. Serbian readers of this post, plz don’t take this the wrong way. I’m just trying to understand the Serbian psyche. What is the thought of a Serbian admitting and trying to obtain professional psychiatric help? Ana is dillusional now…..this girl needs some serious psychological help. I think her enormous pride is a detriment to her growth. She is not seeing ANYTHING clearly. Ana get some help and A fulltime COACH!!
Wazzup, Serbia?! It’s depressing reading these things. Our Ana has been lost in translation or something. I think, cptmal, you’re right. It’s all in her head. She just doesn’t have any mental fortitude anymore. When things don’t go her way she looks scared. And we thought Dinara was weak! In comparison to Ana Dinara is much stronger and fights back. This is what Ivanovic needs to learn otherwise her career will go to the dogs.
Marine, here’s what Ana said after the loss to Kleybanova today: “I tried to play more aggressively, but I’m struggling psychologically.” I don’t know if this will ever end. What’s her problem?
I wrote this in my most recent article: “Ivanovic’s free fall ended a long time ago, but the sad thing is that she is still lying wounded on the ground.” And I refrained from ending the sentence with “I just hope she won’t die there”.
Marija, the ending to that sentence would have been perfectly appropriate after her performance this past weekend. I don’t see this ending.
Sad, very sad indeed. She needs to get some good sport psychologist.