By Allen St. John

THE PEDIGREE: It was seeing Monica Seles on TV when she was 5 that did it. Ivanovic begged her parents for tennis lessons and soon decided she had to be a pro. The 19-year-old daughter of a lawyer and an economist broke through on the minor-league  ITF Women’s circuit in 2004 and won her biggest title last summer by beating Martina Hingis in Montreal.

THE PERSONA: With saucer-size brown eyes, a Lancôme complexion, and an easy 100-watt smile, the Serbia native has the face that launched a thousand Web browsers. Only Kournikova, Sharapova, and perhaps Vaidisova can rival her sex appeal—see the photo gallery on Ivanovic’s web-site—but ask her when she knew she was pretty and she all but blushes. “That’s very flattering. I never really thought about it,” she says. She prefers Abercrombie & Fitch to Prada, roller coasters to night clubs, and can still giggle about spotting Diddy at Nobu.

THE GAME: When Ivanovic is on the court, you can expect her to pound, but not punish, the ball. She belts it as hard as any woman, but while other players seem to take out their personal demons on the optic-yellow orb, that’s not the Other Ana’s style. After cracking a winner, she strolls away demurely.

THE PROGNOSIS: Ivanovic has an injury-prone shoulder—can she weather the tour grind? Toward that end, her fi tness coach has her sparring in the gym. What kind of punch does tennis’ next Million Dollar Baby pack?  “I hit him pretty hard,” she said of her fi rst session. “I don’t think he expected it.” For now, Ivanovic remains a raw puncher, not a boxer on court. She needs another year of work before she has the consistency and defensive skills necessary to go deep at the majors.