Ana Ivanovic

But unlike last year when the Serbian seemed a spent force at just 22, the former world No 1 is confident a return to her grand slam winning form is only a matter of time.

Ivanovic, whose season begins in the Hyundai Hopman Cup in partnership with Novak Djokovic in Perth this weekend, seemed destined for a storied career when she claimed the 2008 French Open at her third appearance in a grand slam final.

But instead of forging ahead following the career breakthrough, Ivanovic spent almost two full seasons trudging from one defeat to the next.

Gone was the footwork and power that took her to the top. Some days it seemed the court was as big as a dime as she struggled to land the ball in play. Confidence shot, another first-round loss at Wimbledon this year saw her slip to 64 in the world, the one-time starlet seemingly a lost cause.

"I think it's confidence and it's a strange thing because once you lose it you feel like it's very hard to get it back," Ivanovic said yesterday.

"At least in my case, I tried to search for it in many different directions and in many different places, and (with many) different people."

Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanovic Modeling
Ana Ivanovic with newsconfrance
Ana Ivanovic Wining StyleSlowly, though, the fog and gloom lifted, with Ivanovic finding form in the second half of last season under the tutelage of Heinz Gunthardt, the man who coached Steffi Graf.

Some wins came at grand slam level -- Ivanovic played four rounds at the US Open before losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters -- and then, finally, her first tournament win since 2009, thumping Patty Schnyder in Linz. Another title came soon after and Ivanovic capped the year where she again found her feet by winning 2010's last tournament in Bali to return to the top 20.

"You realise that it's all the time within you. You just have to discover it," she said.

"Sometimes it's a little bit clouded, so you just have to realise that it's within you and you have to believe in yourself first and that's what I was lacking a little bit. To have that back feels great.
Ana Ivanovic smiling
Ana Ivanovic simple
Ana Ivanovic Hair Style
Scouting: Ana Ivanovic is one of most promosing tennis players in the world, but she has only really lived up to expectation once and that was the 2008 French Open in which she was the champion. Apart from that Ana has a great serve and hands around the court. She has a very strong forehand and likes to play from the back of the court as much as possible. Her return of serve is also quite strong and she really going for the first shot.

However, she still seems to lack a fair bit of consistency in terms of days in days out. Thus, some days she can turn up on top form and the next day she doesnt even turn up. Additionally, Ana doesnt really seem comfortable when moving forward into the court and seems even more tentative when it comes to volleying.