An injured Ana Ivanovic is likely to take a five-week hiatus from the tour following her straight sets loss to Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The 23rd seed was far from her best tennis after crashing out 6-2, 7-5, to the world No.213, who was playing in her first grand slam main draw. It is only the second time in Ivanovic’s career that she has gone out in the first round at SW19 after 2010. During the match she struggled to reach the full intensity is her shots due to a wrist injury that she sustained during the recent Mallorca Open, where she reached the quarter-finals.
“It was very tough. For two weeks I have struggled with my right wrist. It was very hard to accelerate on my forehand.” she said.
“I tried to do everything possible to be fit and recover and tape it and so on.”
Currently ranked 25th in the world, the former world No.1 has only been able to reach one semifinal on the tour this year (St Petersburg). In the wake of her roller coaster first six months of the season as well as the wrist injury, Ivanovic has said that she will play in no more tournaments until the first week of August at the Olympic Games in Rio.
“I think I’m going to take some time off. My next tournament would be the Olympics. So hopefully that will give it enough time to settle down. Hope to do some MRI and see what’s going on.” Ivanovic said about her plans.
The upcoming Rio Olympics is an event very close to Ivanovic’s heart. In 2012 she made her Olympic debut where she reached the third round before losing in Kim Clijsters. Looking ahead to the four-year sporting extravaganza, she described it as a ‘big dream’ for her.
“It’s a great honour for me to represent my country. I was already a couple of times a member of the team. To play Rio, it’s been my big dream, to be part of it. I’m very thrilled.” the former world No.1 said.
Following her Wimbledon exit, Ivanovic hasn’t progressed beyond the third round at three grand slam tournaments this year. In her career, the Serbian has reached the fourth round in at least one grand slam tournament every year since 2005. To continue this trend she will need to produced a strong run at the US Open later this year.
