TENNIS in DEPTH.

You may have seen that I won my first title of the year in Marbella. It was a beautiful place: nice beach, nice weather and really friendly people. I couldn’t ask for anything more while playing at a tournament. It was my first time playing on clay this year, and after losing early in Miami I had time to practice on clay, adjust my footwork and find my rhythm again, so I was pleased with how things turned out. I played some good matches. I’m feeling a lot more confident on the court. I feel like I’m getting tougher and my game is coming back together. I’m really looking forward to my next tournaments.

I had a lot of fun in Marbella, which is the most important thing for me. Not just during matches, but off the court as well. You have to stay positive. Sometimes there are difficult periods where it’s normal to be down a little bit, but those are the times you grow as a person and as a player. It helps you. It makes you stronger for the future.

Since Marbella I’ve just been practicing a lot, trying to get my movement back. The last few months that’s what I’ve struggled with, as well as my timing, but I’ve been working really hard for the clay court season. I’ve been working with a new fitness trainer, he’s from Spain, and my coach is Spanish too. I did quite well in my first clay tournament and I hope I can keep improving.

This weekend I’m playing Fed Cup.. I’m really excited about it. Tennis is an individual sport most of the time, but in Fed Cup you’re on a team and I really enjoy the whole experience. I love playing for my country too, of course! We play Spain this week. I hope we can pull off another win and take Serbia into the World Group A for the first time!

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Ana will take centre stage as Serbia faces Spain in a winner-takes-all clash in Lleida at the weekend. Whoever triumphs in the World Group Play-Off tie will advance to the premier division of next season’s competition and will have a chance to win the trophy. The loser will remain in World Group II.

Spain won the coin toss to determine home advantage and, unsurprisingly, they have chosen clay courts in Lleida, close to Barcelona. Although the stadium only holds 1,800 spectators, the home supporters are sure to create an intense atmosphere.

“Playing away in the Fed Cup is a new experience for me,” said Ana.

“We have had those quite intense qualifying competitions in Bulgaria and Hungary in the last few years, but this is a new situation: a best-of-five rubber tie. It’s going to be very tough, playing the Spanish in their country on their favourite surface.

The event will be Ana’s first clay court outing of the season, following the month-long swing of hard court tournaments in North America. “I feel like I’ve made a good transition to clay,” revealed Ana.

“It’s always one of the most difficult times of the season because clay court tennis requires a different type of movement. I enjoy the challenges it presents and I have been working hard on the specific training exercises that are relevant to clay.”

Ana will be accompanied by Serbian No.1 Jelena Jankovic. The pair completed a flawless 3-0 victory over Japan in Belgrade in February (4-1 when dead rubbers are taken into account) and Ana herself is on a seven-match winning streak in the Fed Cup. She boasts an impressive 12-2 win-loss record overall.

“I am confident that Jelena and I can win this tie,” she said. “We both have had good results on clay and we’re very motivated to take Serbia into the main World Group for the first time.”

Anabel Medina Garrigues, the world No.18, is the Spanish No.1 and she is joned by top-100 ranked players Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez, Lourdes Diminguez-Lino and Nuria Llagostera Vives.

Ana said: “They are a very experienced team and I remember I had an extremely tough match against Garrigues at the French Open two years ago. It was very long and I had to be patient because she doesn’t make many mistakes. I’m looking forward to a similar challenge next weekend.”

The draw for the tie will take place on Friday and will decide who plays the first rubber. Barring any injuries Ana will face Garrigues on Saturday, with Jankovic likely to take on Martinez Sanchez. The reverse singles will be held on Sunday, followed by the doubles rubber.

Ana Jovanovic and 15-year-old Aleksandra Krunic complete the Serbian team, who are captained by Dejan Vranes.

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Former world number one Maria Sharapova,who had surgery on her injured right shoulder in October, is set to play in the French Open starting in late May, Russian Tennis Federation chief Shamil Tarpishchev said.

“I talked to Sharapova’s father recently,” Tarpishchev said. “He told me Maria (Sharapova) was preparing to play at Roland Garros. He also told me she was set to play one or two preparational tournaments on red clay before the French Open but had yet to decide which ones.”

The Russian pin-up, who remains the highest earner in women’s sport, had hoped to return to action after a seven-month layoff in the WTA Miami tournament last month having played a doubles match at Indian Wells, but she finally decided that the shoulder needed more rest.

Sharapova, who turned 22 last Sunday, missed the US Open and Beijing Olympics in 2008 as well as this year’s Australian Open.

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Enrique Iglesias doesn’t want to marry Anna Kournikova.

The ‘Takin’ Back My Love’ singer has been dating the tennis player for eight years but insists he’s not “mature” enough to settle down and start a family.

He told Britain’s Hello! magazine: “I believe in marriage but I don’t think you need to be married to be happy. I’ve seen blissfully happy couples who aren’t married and I’ve seen married couples who are miserable.

“It’s hard to keep a relationship healthy and stable – you only have to look at divorce figures.

“It’s the same with children. Being a father is a huge responsibility and though I’d love to have children right now is not the moment. Let’s see if I mature some day!”

However, the 33-year-old musician believes Anna, 27, is the love of his life – for now.

He said: “Anna is amazing, she’s the ideal woman. She’s the woman of my life now and, though I don’t really believe in eternal love, it sometimes does happen.”

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Rafael Nadal is set for a bumper pay rise if he successfully defends his Wimbledon men’s singles title in July.

This year’s men’s and women’s champions will walk off with £850,000, £100,000 more than last year, an increase of 13.3%.

And this year Nadal will not have to play in near darkness, as was the case against Roger Federer 12 months ago, with the retractable roof over Centre Court ready to be used for the first time.

Wimbledon is seemingly immune to the deepest recession in a century, with total prize money increasing by 6.2% to £12.55million.

Capacity will also rise by 3,500 to 40,000, while applications for tickets via the public ballot were also up by 20%

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Novak Djokovic may have been unable to end Rafael Nadal’s amazing run of results at Monte Carlo but the Serb firmly believes he has the world number one’s number on clay heading into next month’s French Open.

Nadal claimed his fifth successive Monte Carlo Masters title with a 6-3 2-6 6-1 win over Djokovic in Sunday’s final and he continues to look unbeatable on his favoured surface, but world number three Djokovic produced what he felt was his best performance against the Spaniard on the dirt.

With the Roland Garros grand slam a month away, Djokovic reckons he has the weapons to dismantle the Mallorcan on clay, saying: “Playing him on this surface is in itself a true challenge to find the right tactics. But I really believe that one day I can beat him on this surface. I can do it.”

He added: “Because I have already produced solid matches against him on clay and now I really see how he plays.

“I will have to raise my level still further, as I did in the second set here.”

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The China Tennis Association announced that Peng Shuai has replaced compatriot Li Na in the Chinese team to face Germany in their Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Play-off tie in Frankfurt. China is looking to maintain its place in the World Group for a fourth successive year, while Germany bids to return to the top division after a year’s absence.

Twenty-three-year-old Peng, currently ranked No. 35, returns to the team after missing China’s 5-0 first round defeat by Russia in Moscow. She has played eight previous Fed Cup ties, boasting a 7-3 win-loss singles record.

Peng joins world No. 16 Zheng Jie, Sun Tian-Tian and Lu Jing-Jing in the Chinese team against a strong German squad led by the in-form Sabine Lisicki, winner of last week’s WTA event in Charleston. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Kristina Barrois and Tatjana Malek complete the German line-up.

Although Germany leads the overall head-to-head record 2-1, China won their last meeting 4-1 in the 2006 World Group Play-offs in Beijing.

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