Ana Ivanovic has brushed aside any negativity surrounding her first round loss to Dominika Cibulkova at the US Open.
The Serbian’s New York exit is her second early Grand Slam loss in 2015. At the start of the year she lost to qualifier Lucie Hradecká at the Austrailian Open. It is the first time since 2011 that Ivanovic has lost twice in the first round of a major within the same year.
Shortly after her early New York exit, an obviously disappointed Ivanovic spoke about her ‘great‘ preparation in the build-up to the tournament and labelled her first round draw against the talented Cibulkova as ‘unfortunate‘.
“It’s definitely very disappointing today’s loss, because I felt like I did a lot of hard work over the last few months. Over the last week I had great preparation, lots of good training and everything”. Ivanovic said.
“It was just unfortunate that, we came up against one another so early in a tournament”. She added.
2014 Australian Open runner-up Cibulkova returned to the tour in late June after a four-month absence due to undergoing an operation on her left achilles heel to treat a problematic injury.
After claiming four WTA titles last year, Ivanovic is yet to enjoy any similar success in 2015. She came close at the Brisbane International in January where she lost in the final to Maria Sharapova. Her 2015 main draw win-loss currently stands at 21-15 (58% win rate).
The Return of Nigel Sears
Earlier this month Ivanovic confirmed that she has returned to working with former coach Nigel Sears. The two previously worked together between 2011-2013. Talking about her reunion with the British coach, the world number seven said that she is happy to be back with a familiar face.
“It’s been great. It’s been a little bit unfortunate that last two weeks, through Toronto and Cincinnati, he couldn’t be here, so this week I really felt that we did a lot of good work”.
Despite the happy reunion, both are aware of the problems that needs to be tackled. Ivanovic has lost to a unseeded player in four out of her last five Grand Slam tournaments.
