Ana Ivanovic has parted ways with trainer Marija Lojanica, who is a childhood friend. Ivanovic made the decision in the last couple of days at Indian Wells. Lojanica has been on site, but she didn’t appear in Ivanovic's box during her 6-4, 6-2 win over Serbian rival Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday.
“We are still friends, but it just was a little bit time for me to consider certain things because we had a little bit of different view of my stage and where I should be at," Ivanovic said. “I just felt like I needed to get a little bit stronger. I was feeling very weak on the court and I had quite a few injuries. I just want to take a little bit different approach, and gain some more muscles, because my game is so powerful. I felt weak, and that caused a lot of stress on my body.”
Ivanovic slimmed down in the off-season and did feel quicker, but after suffering an abdominal injury at the Hopman Cup—which derailed her Australian Open plans—she began to feel frustrated. Interestingly, just after the Australian Open, at a tournament in Pattaya City, Ivanovic ended her brief coaching experiment with Antonio Van Grichen, who was actually encouraging her to put on more muscle in order amplify her power game.
"At the end of last year I lost some weight and I felt really fast and strong on the court, but then I lost too much and I just felt like I couldn't produce anything out of the corners," she said. "I was feeling quite weak on the court and I couldn't recover. I could have one match, but then would be exhausted. That's something that I really had to take seriously, because it was also my well being. I just felt like I needed a little bit different approach. I needed to gain some of that strength back. Not dead weight, just some more muscle mass."
Ivanovic, who has traveled with a large team in the past, is now just down to her hitting partner, France’s Olivier Morel, as well as her manager. The 23-year-old says she is taking more control of her own career now.
"I have been through a lot, good and bad, and I can sort of judge and feel what works for me and what doesn't," she said. "So it's very hard for others to say this, because they don't know what I feel. So it's very important for me to start to step up and actually express myself. That's something I had trouble doing in the past. So if I'm more open and more communicative, then they can also help me more."—Matthew Cronin