Serbians Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic say they have put their once bitter rivalry behind them. The two former No. 1s, who at one point weren’t speaking to each other, will meet in the third round of the Australian Open. They have not played each other since March of 2011, when Ivanovic prevailed.
“We’ve played with each other in Fed Cup and it’s a shame we are playing third round, it’s better to be in opposite sides of draw but that’s the way it is,” Jankovic said. “We are doing very well. We got older and more mature. We talk to each other and have fun and we come from same country so there is no reason not to get along.”
Jankovic and Ivanovic once faced off for the No. 1 ranking in the 2008 Roland Garros semifinals, a contest Ivanovic won en route to the title. At that time, they were far from close.
“Back then we were competing for No. 1 and we both wanted what we never achieved and it was different circumstances,” Jankovic said. “Now we both achieved a lot and are older and it’s normal, at least from my side.”
Ivanovic said that their relationship got a boost during the Fed Cup final in Prague last November.
“We are both trying to get back to where we want to be,” Ivanovic told TENNIS.com. “Each of us matured and we are much older and we get to a point in lives where we know more certain what we want out of it, and we are more at peace with certain things and that helps.”