Jelena Jankovic's mom furious at Ana Ivanovic, tennis organization

Apr 27, 2010, 8:59 GMT

Belgrade - Jelena Jankovic's mother Snezana said she is furious with her daughter's fellow star Ana Ivanovic, the nation's tennis organization and politicians following Serbia's Fed Cup loss to Slovakia, the daily Press said Tuesday.

Represented by the ailing Jelena Jankovic and the up-and-coming Bojana Jovanovski, Serbia dropped the match 3-2 and was relegated from the Fed Cup's World Group, amid circumstances which Snezana Jankovic described as 'shameful,' the daily Press said.

'Jelena missed only one match for Serbia in the last 10 years. This time she flew 48 hours across half the world to play here, despite a serious wrist injury,' Jankovic's mother said.

'At the same time, somebody else had coffee somewhere while my child played hurting for her country,' she said, pointing a finger at Ivanovic.

Belgrade papers recently ran paparazzi photos of Ivanovic, relaxed in the company of a boyfriend, in a cafe in Palma de Mallorca. Plagued by poor form, she decided to pass the important Fed Cup match.

Snezana Jankovic, who accompanies her daughter to all her matches around the world, also blasted organizers of the match for poor attendance and the absent Serbian politicians.

'I think the organization failed this time and marketing flopped,' she said, referring to the miserable visit which has left 18,000 out of the 20,000 seats in the Belgrade Arena empty. The VIP seats, packed by politicians at any high-profile event, were also empty.

'Why were our political elite and tennis officials absent,' Snezana Jankovic asked. 'Those in charge should think: Does anybody care about women's tennis? Do we need a Fed Cup team at all?'

She said she 'will not let my child play injured again, especially if people who want to see her play cannot get into the empty arena because they cannot afford the tickets.'

Jankovic, 25, and Ivanovic, 22, have at one time been ranked as the world's top female player. Both tumbled from the top after a short while, but Jankovic regained much of her form and is currently ranked 7th, while Ivanovic continued her freefall and is now 58th.