Djokovic, Ivanovic surge at Pacific Life

by MATTHEW CRONIN, tennisreporters.net

Updated: March 23, 2008, 10:38 PM EST 6 comments

Well, it's time for the rapidly rising Serbs to take another bow. For the first time ever, the third-ranked Djokovic and the second-ranked Ivanovic won Tier I titles on Sunday on the same court and at the same locale — the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells.

Once again, tiny but bold Serbia (population: 10.1 million) stole the headlines, and this time it happened at California's (population: 37 million) most important event.

Ivanovic and Djokovic used to practice and play hide and seek together as kids. If anyone had told them they would be cashing a collective $887,000 in checks on a sunny Easter Sunday, Djokovic would have said, "You're joking with me. But this is something I think that we absolutely deserve. We've been working very hard to throughout our lives and this is just a crown for our work."

Djokovic ended American Mardy Fish's stunning run to the final in a clinical 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory. Fish had knocked off a slew of excellent players en route to the final in the tournament of his life — fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko, two-time Grand Slam champ Lleyton Hewitt, former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian and the stunner of stunners, top-ranked Roger Federer.

But none of those men have displayed the all-court savvy, quickness and know-how of the Australian Open titlist Djokovic this year. As second-ranked Rafael Nadal found out in the semis— when Djokovic dunked him— and Fish found out in the final, there are few places to exploit. Djokovic must be bowled over, and he's so rock solid right now that a player would need two sledgehammers to even make a dent in his armor.

Djokovic wouldn't be so bold to say that he's the best player in the world, but he's won the two biggest events of 2008 and is well ahead in the ATP points race. He's only 450 points behind Nadal at No. 2, and although he has to defend his Miami title next week, even if he gets tripped up there, one would have to like his chance of catching the Spaniard by July, if not earlier.

Fish sees top ranking written all over the man nicknamed "Nole."

"I think the results speak for itself," Fish said. "He's got all the weapons. He doesn't have any weaknesses. He's extremely competitive. There are different levels, and he's on the top levels of those. He wants to win badly, and he's got game, for sure."

And then there's Federer, who is coming off a bout of mono and hasn't won a title this year. He looked slow, weak and unsure of himself in his shocking 6-3, 6-2 loss to the flying and attacking Fish — Federer's first loss to an American in 42 matches.

"I'm surprised myself it hasn't happened more in the last five years," Federer said. "You always think one guy can outright dominate you on any given day. People weren't able to do it against me, so that speaks for myself. But Mardy was really impossible to beat."

But when Djokovic's back was against the wall after two racket-throwing incidents in a second set that could have been his, he knocked it down. He was down 0-40 in the opening game of the third set and responded with three straight aces. The ultra-confident Serbian is nothing but resilient, and he calmly sent Fish across the court for the rest of the match.

Novak Djokovic's Pacific Life title moves him closer to the men's No. 2 ranking. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

"It's a big run," Djokovic said. "I'm getting things together, and I started believing in myself much more. When you start winning the major events, you have proved to yourself and to everybody else that you have quality to be there at the top, and it's just a matter of mental ability and strength."

Sigmund Freud, Ivanovic's favorite famous psychologist and author of choice, once wrote, "America is a mistake, a giant mistake."

Well, it wasn't over the past two weeks in the California desert for the sweet-swinging Ivanovic, who won her first Tier I title in the U.S. by overpowering second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3 for the title.

For the first time in her increasingly stellar career, Ivanovic came into a Tier I event as the top seed and ably plowed through the field, showing none of the fragile nerves that had derailed her decision-making in the 2008 Australian Open final against Maria Sharapova — or locked her feet up in the 2007 French Open final against Justine Henin.

"I was a little bit nervous coming into this tournament," she said. "It's such a strong field and still I'm No. 1 seed. Obviously more pressure comes into the play. The first few matches I was more nervous, but then I just started to focus on each match and not even think about whom I play, just to do what I have been doing in practice."

Ivanovic declared at the outset of the tournament that she had designs for No. 1 this year, saying that top-ranked Justine Henin was vulnerable and believing that her own push to the second spot wasn't just a flight of fancy.

At least for two hot weeks in March, she proved that she's more than just a big-time talent who might to be too nice and too inconsistent to stay with hungrier elite players.

Kuznetsova had stopped an exhausted Sharapova's 18-match winning streak in the semis with a relentless, "chop the tall Sharapova's legs out from under her" strategy, and looked in prime form to do much the same against Ivanovic, who is in better shape than she was last year, but who has a history of being tired out in big moments.

But the Serbian never let Kuznetsova get her claws into the match, keeping the points short and dictating time and time again with her gigantic forehand, steady and deceptive backhand, and bullet returns.

She let out a squeal upon winning the title, not exactly the type of sound you'd usually hear from a young woman who hangs around Barnes and Noble in her off time sipping coffee with two fat tomes of Freud on her lap. Nonetheless, it was a primal scream that the Austrian father of psychoanalysis would appreciate.

"During the match, I had to keep it inside and to control it," said Ivanovic, who ripped 30 winners in the match. "Even if I'm angry or when I'm positive sometimes, I do little squeak. I don't try to do it or I don't try to control it. It was a lot of emotion and tension built up inside, so it was just a moment of happiness."

Ana Ivanovic captured her first big title in the U.S. (ROBYN BECK/AFP / Getty Images)

Ivanovic has had a steady rise to the top of the charts. She won her first title at tiny Canberra in 2005, her next at Tier I Montreal in 2006, and last year she nailed down three crowns — Berlin, Los Angeles and Luxembourg. In addition to the French Open final, she reached the Wimbledon and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships semis.

When she was in great health and a perfect mind space, the Serbian could unleash her ultra-powerful, creative game. But when she was dealing with minor injuries, or tired, or unsure as to whether she had the talent too stay with the big girls, she faltered.

So she turned to Freud for some advice as to how to approach matches — sort of.

"It's amazing the way the mind works," said Ivanovic, who also bested Francesca Schiavone, Vera Zvonareva, and Serbian rival Jelena Jankovic en route to the title.

"Obviously I'm very emotional person and even when I'm on court, I always think so much. There are a few types of anxiety, so when you are nervous, what can you do to prevent it, or what happens when you get nervous and what kind of emotions are stronger than the others? So that's something I've learned, and to also learn how to control it."

Ivanovic also came into 2008 in much better shape, which allows her to skip around and set up her devastating forehand. She didn't dominate the tour in her teen years like her former idol, Monica Seles, but she's clearly coming into her own, and on her own terms.

As Freud once said, dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.

"I needed more time to get mature and to realize that potential I have," she said. "My coaches always believed in me, and they always said I had potential to win Grand Slams."