Looking back on the career of Ana Ivanovic

                                          Credit: NAPARAZZI. Click here for source

 In what came as surprising news to some, Ana Ivanovic called it a career on December 28, 2016, just days before the New Year.

Ivanovic announced the decision live on her Facebook page, saying:

"I've decided to retire from professional tennis. It has been a difficult decision, but there is so much to celebrate. I began dreaming about tennis when I was five and saw Monica Seles play live on TV. My dear parents backed me all the way, by the time I was ranked number one in the world and I won Roland Garros in 2008, I've seen the heights I've never dreamed of achieving, I won 15 WTA Tour titles, 3 Grand Slam finals, Fed Cup finals, and I played so many memorable matches. But seeing those heights in any professional sports dream requires top physical form and it's been well known that I've been hampered by injuries. So for myself, for all my fans, and all these young girls and boys who might be watching me, I can only play if I can perform up to my own high standards." 


After a 13 year career on the WTA Tour, Ana Ivanovic no longer feels like she has the ability to play up to the level that she wants to play at. She doesn't want to be somebody who is on the court well past her prime. At the moment, she is ranked #63 in the world and rather than trying to battle back into the top-25, she has instead decided to move on to the next chapter of her life. As hard of a decision as this is for any athlete, a lot of it boils down to what you want out of the sport that you are competing in and for Ana Ivanovic, playing professional tennis isn't worth doing if she can't stay healthy and play up to the standards that she expects to play at.

Ana Ivanovic doesn't want her fans to see her not play her best and that is something that I can respect. Too often, professional athletes are solely focused on collecting their next pay check and not thinking about the fact that they have fans that want them to play at their highest level. Ana Ivanovic doesn't want to go out there and not give the fans what they are hoping to see. She understands that professional sports is as much about the fans and entertainment as it is about competition.

When looking back on the career of Ana Ivanovic, it is clear that she accomplished a lot. She won the French Open at Roland Garros in 2008, reached #1 in the world, and for 11 straight seasons finished the season ranked inside the top-25. To compete on the WTA Tour for 13 seasons alone is incredible, but to have 11 straight seasons of being a top-25 player is truly remarkable due to the grueling nature of the tour. While she didn't win multiple Grand Slams like many expected her to, she still walks away from the sport of tennis as a hall of fame player and one of the best players of her generation.

As far as what is next for Ana Ivanovic, she says she is going to be an ambassador for the sport of tennis, get more involved with UNICEF, and spend more time pursuing other hobbies and interests. Ultimately, she hopes to stay involved in the game of tennis and give back. She has certainly been a classy player for her entire career and I wish her success in her future endeavors. The sport of tennis will miss watching her play, but it is comforting to know that she will do all she can to stay connected to the sport now that her playing career is over.

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Note: Look for my Australian Open preview to be published over the weekend. It starts Monday, January 16. 

2015 French Open Preview

The 2015 French Open at Roland Garros begins Sunday, May 24. With the draw being out, I can now give you my list of ten things to look for going into the second grand slam event of the year.

#1. How will Andy Murray's recent clay success translate to Roland Garros? 
     Andy Murray hadn't won any clay titles in his career going into this clay season, but he has caught fire as of late, winning two clay titles going into Roland Garros. He won the BMW Open in Munich (ATP 250) and the Mutua Madrid Open in Madrid (ATP 1000 Masters).

     Winning two clay titles in such as short period of time is very impressive. What's even more impressive is that one of those clay titles (Madrid) includes a 6-3, 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal in the final. What will be interesting to see is if Andy Murray can build off of this momentum and come away with the title.

#2. Should Serena Williams really be trusted to win the title? 
     Serena Williams is the greatest women's tennis player ever with very little debate. But if there is anything that has proven to give her trouble, it has been the dirt. She has only won the French Open twice with more than a decade in between those two titles (2002 and 2013). On paper she is the favorite to win, but history indicates otherwise.

#3. Despite getting the #1 seed, Novak Djokovic has a tough draw 
     Novak Djokovic probably isn't too happy to have Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and David Ferrer all on his half of the draw. Nadal is projected to face him in the quarterfinals with Andy Murray or David Ferrer waiting for him in the semifinals. If Novak Djokovic is going to win his first title at Roland Garros, he'll have to play his very best. The draw he has received is nothing short of brutal.

#4. Will Ana Ivanovic make a run? 
     Ana Ivanovic won the French Open back in 2008 but hasn't won it since. She is currently seeded #7 and is projected to face Simona Halep in the quarterfinals and Maria Sharapova in the semifinals. It's a tough but very winnable draw. If there is any dark horse to put some money on at Roland Garros it's Ana Ivanovic.

#5. Are we certain to see either Kei Nishikori or Roger Federer in the final? 
     With one side of the men's draw totally stacked, the other half is much weaker. The top two players in the weaker half of the men's draw are Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer. Conventional wisdom says we will see Nishikori or Federer in the final, but Stanislas Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon, and Gael Monfils have the potential to crash the party.

#6. Can Caroline Wozniacki breakthrough to win her first grand slam? 
     Caroline Wozniacki has never won a grand slam before and quite frankly has never seemed like a viable threat to ever win one. But I have a feeling she might pull it off at Roland Garros. If she can get past Serena Williams in the quarterfinals or have somebody else upset Serena along the way, she will have a great shot of getting to the final.

#7. Can Grigor Dimitrov make it to the second week? 
     Grigor Dimitrov is seeded #10, so it stands to reason that he'll at least reach the 4th round. But historically he hasn't had much success at Roland Garros, only getting to the 3rd round once in 2013. Of all the top ten seeds in the men's draw, the most vulnerable and likely to go down early is Grigor Dimitrov. It'll be interesting to see how far he goes.

#8. Can Petra Kvitova threaten to win a slam not named Wimbledon? 
     Petra Kvitova's two grand slam titles at Wimbledon show she is a threat on the grass, but everywhere else she always comes short of winning the title. Her best performance at Roland Garros was in 2012 when she reached the semifinals, but she hasn't gotten that far at Roland Garros before or since then. She is seeded #4 and is projected to face Eugenie Bouchard in the quarterfinals and either Serena Williams or Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. It's a very winnable draw for Kvitova but can she capitalize is the question.

#9. Rafael Nadal deserves to be the favorite to win the Men's title
     Even though he is seeded #6 and has struggled on the clay as of late, he is still the greatest clay court tennis player ever, winning 9 of the last 10 French Opens. Until somebody else not named Robin Soderling can upset him, I got my money on Rafael Nadal to win his 10th French Open title. He deserves to be respected as the favorite when you look at his entire body of work.

#10. Maria Sharapova is my pick to win the Women's title 
     If I can be honest, it's always a crap shoot when it comes to making any prediction in women's tennis. Especially at Roland Garros. Just look at the history of winners and you'll see there is no rhyme or reason to who wins. But if I'm going to pick any lady to win it, I'm going to pick Maria Sharapova. She has won two French Open titles (2012 and 2014) and has been as consistent as anybody on the clay in recent history.

(Note: If you want to see the draws, click here)

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @atp_guy for tennis news