2014 was by far Ana Ivanovic's most consistent season. The Serb-who saw her game crumble to pieces following her rise to fame in 2008-has been making tremendous efforts to get her career going again and her work is finally starting to pay off.
Winner of three titles already this year (in Auckland, Monterrey, and Birmingham), Ana put forth a master performance to emerge victorious at the premiere Pan Pacific event in Tokyo. The road was tough, but a more complex Ivanovic handled the challenge superbly. She beat a slew of fierce opponents, defeating Vika Azarenka, Lucie Safarova, Angelique Kerber, respectively US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki in the final without dropping a set.
"Caroline played a great match today," the Serb said afterwards. "It was a really good battle out there—there were some very tough moments, especially in the second set. But I just tried to take it one point at a time, and I'm really happy to make it through. It's just an amazing feeling to win this title."
"I love coming out here—you guys are amazing, it's always a pleasure to see you all," she confessed. "I've made some friends here through the years and it's great to be back every year."
Probably the most significant victory this week came over Lucie Safarova, ending thus a 5-match losing streak against the Czech. This is Ana's most important success since claiming her maiden Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros in 2008.
With four WTA titles to her name, Ana is now again a solid top 10 player, which puts her in an excellent position to secure one of the eight tickets to the WTA Championships in Singapore. "I'm really happy that this is one step closer to the WTA Finals in Singapore," Ivanovic said. "It's coming close and everything's on the line."
Good luck, girl! So glad to have you back and looking better than ever!
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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