Ana Ivanovic picks Serena Williams’ serve and Steffi Graf’s slice to match Novak Djokovic’s backhand as she creates her “perfect player”

Ana Ivanovic builds the perfect tennis player in her mind by judging and allocating players with the best skillsets.

Ana Ivanovic picks Serena Williams’ serve and Steffi Graf’s slice to match Novak Djokovic’s backhand as she creates her “perfect player”

(L-R) Ana Ivanovic, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams. (credits: Imago)

Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic was one of the most dominant tennis stars during her time as a player. Having retired early at the age of just 29, many believe that the Serbian didn’t hit her potential as everyone would have hoped she would since her first Grand Slam win in 2007 at the age of just 20.

Recently, in an interview session, she was asked about creating the perfect tennis player by choosing players with the best skill sets. 

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She rated Serena Williams as one with the best serve, strength, and power. She selected Caroline Wozniacki as the one with the best endurance and adjudged Steffi Graf to have the best slice shot.

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She then went on to choose Ons Jabeur for the category of having the best drop shot. When it came to choosing the player with the best forehand, she went for Iga Swiatek, also mentioning her name beside the Pole. 

And at last, Ivanovic did justice to her nation’s pride, Novak Djokovic, by electing the 24-time Grand Slam title champion as the one with the best backhand. 

Ana Ivanovic’s career in a nutshell

Ana Ivanovic turned professional at the age of 15 and literally took the tennis world by storm in her initial years. It was in 2007 that she finally developed a sense of consistency, thereby picking up consecutive results in different tournaments. 

Ana Ivanovic after winning the 2008 French Open title.
Ana Ivanovic after winning the 2008 French Open title. (credits: Eurosport)

She made it to the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros at the age of just 17 and, in two years, made it to the finals before she finally lifted the title in 2008, beating Dinara Safina in the final. Her great form continued as she made it to the semis of the 2007 Wimbledon and was also the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open. 

She acquired her career-best ranking as World No. 4 in the year 2007, and her last major breakthrough was at the 2015 French Open, making it to the semis until finally bidding the sport a final goodbye in the year 2016.

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