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Serbia's Ana Ivanovic - Source: Reuters
Older, wiser and apparently no longer preoccupied with Australian golf ace Adam Scott, tennis pin-up Ana Ivanovic senses her grand slam revival is underway at the US Open.
After reaching three grand slam finals in 12 months and crowning her rise with a maiden major at the 2008 French Open, Ivanovic slid outside the top 50 as she struggled to cope with her celebrity status.
But the 22-year-old is finally back on the rankings rise following a surge to the semi-finals last week in Cincinnati.
The unseeded Ivanovic continued her hot run with a 6-3 6-0 second-round demolition of Australian Open semi-finalist Zheng Jie today and is convinced her struggles are now behind her.
"I feel like I'm playing like a top-10 player and I have confidence that I can beat these players. That's huge for me," the Serbian said.
"It is a whole different story. I see myself also as two different persons. Once you're actually coming up and you have no expectations, you are hungry for success and you really don't know what the stakes are.
"You just go for it. You have no fear. You play freely against anyone you come up against.
"Once you actually get in a position to defend some points and there is more outside pressure coming in, it is a lot different story.
"Because even though you perceive yourself the same or maybe even better, if you're improving, still there is a lot of outside effect.
"That creates some doubts and obviously pressure. Everyone deals with it differently.
"That's what I feel was the biggest change with me, that I managed to sort of let go of this.
"Now I feel as I am just coming up again and I have really nothing to lose. I got that joy of competing again."
Neither Ivanovic or Scott have publicly announced any end to their romance, but sources from both the WTA and golf tour believe the sporting glamour couple have parted ways.
"I have a new team team around me and I have brought a lot more confidence into the US Open and the tournaments leading up to it," Ivanovic said ahead of a third-round meeting with unseeded Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.
