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Wimbledon, England ? Ana Ivanovic. Jelena Jankovic. Novak Djokovic.
While much was being made of the emerging talent from Serbia coming into Wimbledon 12 months ago, they all were still just the names of up-and-comers from a country with little tennis tradition and no Grand Slam champions.
Twelve months and two Grand Slam titles later, they?re arriving with the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings in women?s tennis and the No. 3 position in the men?s ? which is really the best of the rest considering the long dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
?For such a small country, having two Grand Slam champions in half a year is an incredible achievement,? the 21-year-old Djokovic said Saturday. ?Every time our country name is written on a scoreboard wherever we show up, this is a big positive commercial for Serbia. So (the Serbian people) really respect it and they appreciate it.
?The (players?) receptions were just amazing. Tennis is No. 1 sport in our country in the moment.?
Djokovic started the surge, upsetting Federer in the Australian Open semifinals before going on to win the final and claim the first major title for Serbia.
That ended a stretch of 11 Grand Slam tournaments won by either Federer or Nadal.
After losing finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, Ivanovic became the first Serbian woman to win a major with her run at the French Open last month, spontaneously climbing into the bleachers to celebrate with her family.
Now they?re all trying to outdo each other to get the third major title. The competition between the women is obvious: Ivanovic is 6-1 in head-to-heads against Jankovic, who is 0-4 in Grand Slam semifinals. But the competition doesn?t stop there for Ivanovic. She also wants to beat longtime friend Djokovic to win Serbia?s next Grand Slam title.
?Obviously we motivate each other. It?s just a natural rivalry,? Ivanovic said. ?You want to be better than the other. Now he did a great job in Australian Open this year.
?When I was going onto the court for the final in Paris, I thought, Novak won a Grand Slam, I can do it, too.?
Ivanovic came to Wimbledon last year after losing the French Open final to Justine Henin. She reached the semifinals at the All England Club for the first time, before losing in straight sets to eventual champion Venus Williams.
She?s more confident this time around.
?This is the best time for my confidence so far. I do feel very excited to be back on grass and to start competing again,? Ivanovic said Saturday. ?Last few weeks gave me a lot of confidence, so I?m very, very excited about the new challenges.?
The 20-year-old Ivanovic assumed the No. 1 ranking by winning the French but Jankovic, whom she beat in the semifinals, and 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova are so close that maintaining the positions rely on performance at every tournament.
So she made sure she took the time to savor both achievements, and enjoy the unprecedented celebrations in Serbia.
?Being able to go home for a couple of days, celebrate with people I know for a long time, friends, family, being welcomed by so many Serbian people in a square. Then also the president received my family. It was a very nice moment,? Ivanovic said. /Associated Press
