Media feels for Ivanovic as her downward spiral continues

Sep 3, 2009, 9:44 GMT

Belgrade - The continuing downward spiral of former world number Serbian Ana Ivanovic, which hit an all-time low at the US Open, received huge media coverage in Belgrade on Thursday.

The 22-year-old, who was seeded 11th at Flushing Meadows, lost her first round match against Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) - the first time she lost an opening game at a Grand Slam event.

Ivanovic, whose career has been been on a downhill spiral since topping the world rankings in June last year, was said to be remembered only for her past successes, Politika wrote.

'What is happening with Ivanovic? Her slump has lasted more than a year, and the signs of recovery are non existent. There is no doubt that Ivanovic is fighting a battle against herself and that her confidence is crumbling,' the daily wrote.

The Politika commentator compared Ivanovic to the Greek mythology figure Tantalus, punished to stand in water beneath a fruit tree with low branches and forever feel thirst and hunger.

'Tantalus was condemned to eternal punishment but 22-year-old Ivanovic is not. This season is lost for good but she has time... and the only reason we are not writing off Ivanovic is because she is not writing off herself. That is the only reason to believe she will be reborn again,' the daily wrote.

A day after her defeat at the US Open, the boulevard daily Press featured a big headline 'It is time for me to take a break from tennis' with a photo of Ivanovic crying on the court.

'There is no end to the agony of Ana Ivanovic,' Press wrote, quoting Ivanovic as saying that she will 'temporarily 'take a break from tennis.

'This has to do with my lack of self confidence. I just kept choosing wrong shots and did not have enough confidence in myself ...For years I did not have a real vacation so now I want to 'switch off' from tennis for a while,' Ivanovic was quoted as saying. 'I believe that will help me to get back on track.'

'I would love to return to the tennis top and I'm clearly motivated to leave this crisis behind, but its just not working,' she added.

Daily Blic also ran a story on Ana Ivanovic saying she is looking confused, uncertain and frustrated on the field.

'The crisis in Ana Ivanovic's game got a new chapter. Everything was crystal clear at the US Open,' Blic wrote. 'Endless problems with her serve and a huge number of errors were enough to drag her to the bottom.'

There was further speculation in the media that Ivanovic, whose 2009 win-loss record stands at 24-12, which is her worst since the turned professional in 2003, was losing form because she was concentrating more on her looks than her game.