TENNIS in DEPTH.

With two former world No. 1s in their side, Serbia hold all the aces going into this weekend’s Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Play-off tie away to Spain as they bid to lift their team into the elite World Group for the first time.

Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic will do well not to be lulled by the relaxed surroundings of the city of Lleida, around 150 kilometres from Barcelona, though, because what Spain lack in terms of rankings, they make up for with home advantage and a tradition matched by few other nations.

The draw was held on Friday in La Seu Vella, Lleida’s oldest cathedral. Jankovic, now ranked No. 4, will kick things off on Saturday against the Spanish No. 2, Maria-Jose Martinez, before French Open champion Ivanovic takes on the top-ranked Spaniard, Anabel Medina, in the second match of the best-of-five rubber encounter.

The full draw is as follows:

Saturday
Maria Jose Martinez (ESP) v Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) v Ana Ivanovic (SRB)

Sunday
Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) v Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
Maria Jose Martinez (ESP) v Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
Lourdes Dominguez-Lino/Nuria Llagostera Vives (ESP) v Ana Ivanovic/Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

“We have an opportunity to get in the World Group next year and then maybe go for the title next year,” Jankovic told the ITF. “It’s a huge opportunity for us.

“Everybody knows that Spanish players love playing on clay and they choose this surface. It’s a little bit faster clay than I thought and the ball flies a bit more than usual, but the courts are nice.

“I won a tournament in Marbella last week – my first tournament on clay – my game is getting back together so hopefully I can do we
Ivanovic, whose game dipped alarmingly after her French Open win last summer, is rebuilding her confidence, having made the final in Indian Wells last month.

“It was a very frustrating time for me, but now I feel like I have my game back, Ivanovic said. “Obviously it will take some time to get back to that level, but I feel I am in a good way.

“I am a very emotional person and perhaps my highs are too high and my lows are too low, but I am working on that, and I feel like I have some tools now that help me stay consistent.”

Ivanovic said the addition of Craig Kardon, who previously worked with Martina Navratilova, as her new coach had given her new impetus. “I felt like I have direction in my game again and a plan,” she said. “Just committing and doing it over and over again and not doubting it.”

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