ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, can’t complain. I mean, first set hardly anything went wrong. I felt I really played well. Yeah, I did lot of good things. Was patient.
Got a little bit tough in the second set. But I stepped up when I needed to, came to the net a lot, was really pleased to manage the break on 43 and then hold my serve.
Q. You’ve had a lot of tough first rounds in the slams. How do you avoid going out there and getting nervous and losing control of your game?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, actually this morning I was watching the TV. I was watching the tennis. They were saying Lleyton was going to play tonight and he was playing his 16th Australian Open, most ever. I start counting mine. I realize this was my eighth.
Then I thought to myself, Why would I be nervous, I played so many times. Then again, nerves kick in and it’s just normal. Especially the first rounds, you want to do so well. Especially that I had really good offseason.
But, yeah, I’m just very pleased to be through. Like you said, you can’t really think, Oh, this is easy, this is tough match. You just have to approach every match like it’s going to be the toughest one.
Q. I read a lot about what you said about the offseason. Took a tough loss to Kim, maybe didn’t play the week later. Coming into the tournament, do you really feel like your game is close to where you want it to be?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely, much closer than it’s been in a long time. We worked really hard in the offseason, put a lot of good work on every aspect of my game. And I felt in Brisbane I was playing really well.
I was, you know, one point sort of there in the third set against Kim to turn match around, who knows what happens. But then you get little bit down on yourself. I really try to lift myself up these weeks because I really feel, you know, it’s there and I just need to put it together in the matches in the big events.
Q. Have you set yourself any targets for this year?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I mean, before I started my preseason, I sat down with Nigel and we had a really good talk about our goals, targets, what we want to achieve. I think it’s important to have that plan, you know, how you’re going to get there.
I mean, definitely I want to get back to top 10 and competing in The Championships at the end of the year. It’s a long road, a lot of tennis to be played. I just want to also enjoy the process a little because it still is.
Q. Building blocks, consistency is important. The last couple years you’ve had some good times and then go down.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I mean, even in the past few years I always felt, you know, I could play great match, upset a top player.
But I want to get it happening consistently. Not only through the week, but week after week. You know, that’s what I worked a lot on the offseason, the base game, get it to certain level, now working on, you know, raising it.
But also, you know, my game, I’m developing also as a player. You know, there is going to be changes and adjustments. I think I’m a lot more patient now than I was when I first started on tour. I was taking way more risk.
But, you know, it’s evolving and it’s exciting.
Q. So being much more patient, you’re saying that you don’t need to hit the winner in two shots, you can go five or six shots every point?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes the excitement takes over and I pull the trigger too early. I definitely want to pick the right ball. I feel I can stay in the rallies longer.
I want to wait and reduce the risk and still be aggressive when I need to be and on the big points still play my game, but just not go too much too early in a rally.
Q. You’ve been here two months now?
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, probably more. They kind of offer me citizenship (laughter).
Q. How is it not to be home at all during the holidays? That must have been strange.
ANA IVANOVIC: It is strange. Then again, it’s just so normal. I’m so used to living out of the bag, I don’t know what to call home anymore. I miss really being with my relatives and home.
But, you know, it’s what I do. I love being here. It’s I think the best preparation I could have. Last year I was in Europe. I did my preseason there. I didn’t really enjoy that much. So, you know, I was very certain I wanted to come back and do my offseason again here.
Q. Fitnesswise, was the emphasis strength or speed or endurance?
ANA IVANOVIC: Actually, to be honest, this offseason it was kind of a bit maybe radical for me. But the emphasis was really getting body in a shape that I wanted to be.
And it’s still work in progress. But I really wanted to take load off it, and because there was lot of things that were not functioning properly, and I really wanted to get more flexible and stronger in that sense, so the body functions in a proper way.
So I really stepped out of the gym and did kind of a lot of rehab work. All my fitness I based on playing tennis and doing lots of drills and footwork on the court.
Q. Could you be happy if you didn’t get back to the top? Do you need to get back to close to No. 1 to be a happy person?
ANA IVANOVIC: Well, I’m happy person. I mean, it’s hard not to be. But I definitely could be much happier if I got back to top 10. I mean, and this is what drives me. This is why I’m still out there competing, because I really believe I can get back there.
That’s the only reason I’m actually still competing, because I still have that hunger and that wish, you know, to win, and to win slams.
Q. You served really well today. Is that something you’ve been working on? You didn’t face a breakpoint the entire match.
ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, definitely. I worked really hard on it. There were lot of, you know, annoying practices of just serving, serving, serving. But that’s what gets you better.
You know, Nigel was really on top of me about that. It needed improvement. It gives you lot more confidence when you can get free points and aces off your serve.
You know, it still can get better and I’m still working on it. But it’s huge improvement even since the end of the season where all I did was getting better, so I’m very happy about that.
