Ana Ivanovic is reaping the rewards of improved fitness levels as she looks forward to the Australian Open which begins on Monday.
Ivanovic made the final in Melbourne three years ago but later that year her form nose-dived and continued to do so for nearly two years. Thankfully back last summer Ivanovic got back on track and she looked in decent form at last week's Hopman Cup.
"I'm in really good shape comparing to previous years and that's something that inspires and motivates me," she said. "I did a lot of footwork drills and a lot of jumps, that's something my fitness coach felt I could improve a lot on and get that explosiveness. I did not like that part but that's always the case.”
It seems so long now but it was less than three years ago that Ivanovic claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open and the Serb is full of belief that she can hit those heights once again.
"I've set myself some goals, and I'm really positive I can achieve them. I really believe that I can actually win a Grand Slam this year, that would be my biggest goal, and obviously then to get back into the top 10,” she said. “It's going to be a lot of hard work and might not happen in a week or a month, but it might."
