An interview with Ana Ivanovic

Q. You played a very good match, but there were some ragged moments both with Svetlana and yourself. Was it a good preparation for a semi?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, sure it was. It was a very tough match. Everything was happening quite fast. First set was, I would say, a little bit strange. I played some really good tennis. I was aggressive. And, I guess, she was a little bit nervous.

But in the second set, still I had some chances. I broke her back, and on 3-2, I was serving, and I just lost a little bit tension in my serve and my strokes. So she used that opportunity very well.

But I was really happy that from the beginning of the third, I could pull back and start being more aggressive again, and put pressure on her. And, yeah, I used the opportunities I had.

Q. Did you feel coming into the tournament that you could go this far? Did you have a good feeling about it this week?

ANA IVANOVIC: To be honest, I didn't think much about it. I just was really enjoying my game. And I felt fit, and I felt ready to compete against the top players. I'm really excited to get so far, and tournament is still not over. I am going to try and play my best each match I have.

Q. You're working here with have a Sven Groenefeld, what can you say about him?

ANA IVANOVIC: He's a great coach, and he's been really helpful. He was with me also in Berlin and here. And I can learn a lot from him. He was on the tour for a very long time, and he's very experienced. So it's been great to have such a coach on my side.

And obviously it's tough when I play against side of this player, because he can't interfere, and he can't talk to me about matches. But still there is a few opponents that we can talk about and discuss. And we worked a lot on my serve, and I can see improvement in that. So it's very exciting.

Q. In the first set, did you play the best tennis you have ever played?

ANA IVANOVIC: Everything was happening very fast, so I didn't think much about it. I just tried to move forward and be aggressive, and stay low. And I didn't make -- I hadn't made any errors, so I would say I was pretty good.

Q. Back to Sven. So you hope Sharapova will win?

ANA IVANOVIC: Oh, well, maybe it will be easier so he can advise me. But it's still, no matter against who I play, I'm going to try to play the best I can. And I had so many matches behind me now that I just want to go out there and enjoy it.

And, I mean, it was great two weeks for me, and I feel I improved a lot. And also I got some experience. So no matter against who I play, I'm going to try and play the best.

Q. Players always like to think just one match ahead. But is it impossible not to think about an Ivanovic/Jankovic final?

ANA IVANOVIC: That would be very exciting. We never had. That didn't ever happen before, so I would be very happy if that happens. But as you said, it is important to take it match by match. And then, obviously, there is a lot of emotions involved. And it's very important for me that I keep that aside, playing semifinal, just to think more technically what I have to do in order to win.

And, as I said, I play a lot of matches lately, so that's going to help me a lot.

Q. Is the foot injury you had in the Berlin final, is that completely gone?

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I still feel it a little bit, time to time, also the other day after a tough match. But I do a lot of recovery and a lot of treatments. And it's getting better. I still wear braces just for protection until I get my full strength back.

Q. But it's not affecting your movement?

ANA IVANOVIC: No, no, no.

Q. You reached quarterfinals here a couple of years ago. How do you think you've improved as a player to make that jump to the semis over the past couple of years?

ANA IVANOVIC: Two years ago when I reached quarterfinal that was my first year on the tour. Since then, I think I improved a lot on my game. And my fitness, a big difference. And also, a lot of experience because I played so many matches since then. Also, I'm playing on Center Court. It helps a lot because those are all situations you will have to deal with when you have to play further in the tournament. But that experience helped me a lot and made me more calm today.

Q. How much time do you spend between the tournaments in Switzerland nowadays?

ANA IVANOVIC: Very little. It's very hard because I travel so much. And also, I went to Barcelona to practice, so I haven't really been to Switzerland for a very long time now.

Q. Kind of a magic moment. Why Serbia, why now? Is it a supernatural thing, what's going on?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, it's very exciting to see all of us doing so well. Especially we are all very young, so we all have many years in front of us and many possibilities. So it's very exciting, and I'm sure people back home are very proud of us, and that makes us feel very good.

Q. Do you talk with Novak much?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, we speak and we catch up. It's nice to see, because I've known him for a very long time, so it's nice to catch up.

As I said, as I mentioned before, I can learn also from watching him play, because men's game is different than women's, so I can learn watching him. And he is a great player. He can achieve a lot.

Q. Can you speak as freely with Jelena as you can with Novak, because you're not competing with Novak?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, exactly, it's the same we play, so it's very hard to speak that way with her. But, I mean, we can all learn from each other, and we can all use other's successes and motivation extra for myself. So it's very exciting to see so many of us doing well.

Q. How come you play always so well in Paris? Is there anything special here for you?

ANA IVANOVIC: I like a lot of Paris, and obviously, my first memories I had from the reaching quarters here was an unbelievable experience. And I always like coming back here. And now I feel more comfortable playing on the clay as well. And I feel I improved my movements which helps a lot on the clay, because there is a lot of running, and a lot of, yeah, a lot of running to do.

So it's a great tournament for me, and the crowd, it's always great support. And I'm very excited to be here and to -- I always look forward to coming back here.

Q. Is clay your favorite surface now?

ANA IVANOVIC: It's becoming, yeah. Yeah, sure.

Q. Would you describe your relationship with Jelena? Are you just casual acquaintances? Good friends?

ANA IVANOVIC: Well, when we start playing tennis, she was -- she's two years older than me, so we never played many tournaments together back home, and we lived in different parts of the city. So we never practiced with each other. And then she went to America and went to Switzerland. So kind of we had different ways, different roads, so we never really had a chance to practice with each other.

And even now, we both have our own teams and our own things we like to do. And it's a little bit different. And we are both a bit -- we both found our way, and we are both doing well, so that's the most important thing.

Q. Are you looking forward to play Fed Cup with Jelena one day or not?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, I think we have very good chance. We have a good team, and we deserve a place in the world group, and that would be a great step for our country. I would love to play a Fed Cup, and, yeah, play for my country again.

Q. You and Jelena both come in here and you kind of light up the room. You have great humor. You're happy and bubbly. Is this a national characteristic?

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, we are happy people. Yeah, people back home, they're very friendly and open. And, yeah, we like to have fun. And that's something, yeah, I guess we are just born like that and we bring that from home.

So it's -- I think it's important to be positive and to have a smile.