The tennis off-season may be short, but world No. 5 Ana Ivanovic is making the most of her time out. The Serbian beauty, who has been dating Spanish player Fernando Verdasco for about four months, spent much of her vacation time in his native country, and recently purchased a home on the island of Mallorca, where she has been training in recent weeks.
“It’s a very quiet and peaceful area, so it’s a perfect place to train and relax,” writes Ivanovic of Mallorca on her official Web site. “I used to come here to train when I was 15. I will continue to live in Switzerland, but this gives me another option for training, especially in the winter when you can practice outdoors.”
The reigning Roland Garros champion’s new home is a 10,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style modern villa with five bedrooms, four baths, a pool, and a tropical garden. Priced at $6 million, it sits on one-and-one-half acres in the luxurious Son Vida neighborhood in Palma de Mallorca. Not bad for a holiday home.
The 21-year-old Ivanovic and Davis Cup hero Verdasco, 25, have garnered plenty of attention this winter in Mallorca and in Madrid. Recently, the twosome trained side-by-side on outdoor courts at the Palma Racket Club, bundled up in heavy coats because of the chilly weather.
Ivanovic also spent time with her beau and his family in Verdasco’s hometown of Madrid, where the photogenic couple took in a Real Madrid soccer match. The duo was followed out of the stadium by a television crew, and Verdasco made small talk with a reporter before he and Ivanovic ducked into his white Porsche.
Earlier this fall the pair was sighted shopping at a Hugo Boss boutique in Madrid, and were seen attending a Real Madrid-Real Union match.
Despite the quickly approaching 2009 season, former world No. 1 Ivanovic and No. 16 Verdasco have plenty of quality time schedule. They are both slated to compete in the Brisbane International at the start of next year.
Australia’s Courier Mail reports that Ivanovic has already made her way Down Under, where she is training on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. She was recently spotted running in Noosa National Park with her trainer Scott Byrnes in preparation for her Aussie campaign.
The Brisbane International kicks off January 4.