Ana Ivanovic, who rehired Nigel Sears following Wimbledon, said she is happy to be back with the British coach. Ivanovic contacted Sears when she stopped working with her former coach, Dejan Petrovic, during the clay season.
"We've been always in touch, and I've been seeing him on tour quite a few times," Ivanovic said. "And actually, even before French Open we started to talk a little bit, and it wasn't the time, you know. And then after Wimbledon when I contacted him, he was very happy, and he kindly came straight to Mallorca, so we did a great preparation. And that was really nice, and...we were always joking, you know, we have to continue where we left off."
The world No. 6 reached the French Open semifinals, but she was upset in the second round of Wimbledon by Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The 28-year-old took a break from playing afterward.
"I kind of needed. It was a lot of things happening," said Ivanovic, who has reached the quarterfinals in Toronto. "But I started with Nigel straight after, and we had a great preparation. We had about three weeks of really hard work, and we did a little bit of work on my serve, and it was really improved."
The Serbian won her only Grand Slam title at the 2008 French Open, after which she struggled with the pressure of reaching the top. Ivanovic says she understands why Eugenie Bouchard has been in a slump.
"It's not easy, and every person or player goes through it differently because of the character," Ivanovic said. "And [Bouchard is] very young. I think it's important to go back to her basics, and what works for her and to work hard and actually listen to herself, what she needs to do rather than being too much influenced by outside people. Surround herself with the right people and then stick with it."