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Ana Ivanovic

The Angel in a White Tennis Dress

We've all seen her, playing like a demon whilst looking like an angel in her white tennis dress. This is the story of how Ana Ivanovic began her meteoric rise to be Number One.

In the beginning 

At the tender age of four Ana fell in love with tennis after watching matches on television (Monica Seles was her favorite). She was also a clever little girl, and memorised the telephone number for a local tennis school that was advertised during the commercial breaks. She pleaded with her loving parents to allow her to attend, and they gave her her first tennis racquet for her fifth birthday and enrolled her in the tennis school. When she was twelve years old the bombs started dropping on her country, making her dream of becoming a great tennis player even more difficult. This was also the case for many young players from this region. Jelena Jankovic has said that she thought that is what gave them all such 'a fighting spirit'.

An Angel meets an Angel 

Then Ana had a bit of luck to go with all her hard work; A thirty-six year old Swiss businessman, Dan Holzmann (co-founder of the Just Juice® vitamin company), came to hear about a remarkable new women's' tennis player through his Serbian tennis instructor. Dan was told that this promising career could be cut short because Ana's present sponsor might be facing bankruptcy. It was reported by Doug Robson for USA Today that her 'angel' (Dan) reflected that when first meeting her "I asked Ana what she wanted from life. She looked me in the eye and replied, 'I want to be No. 1 in the world.' I was smitten at that moment. I took a quick decision that I would help her with financial assistance." He actively sought her out, so actively in fact that this story has become one of the most related and loved tales of today's tennis, and it goes like this:

Mr. Holzmann attended Ivanovic's very first tournament to see this amazing new tennis talent. Ana lost her match, and was convinced that was the last she would hear from him. She sat in the ladies' locker room for four hours, crying her heart out. The remarkable thing is he sat patiently outside the dressing room until she came out. When she finally re-appeared he put her fears to rest, later to offer her an interest free loan for what turned out to be around a half a million American dollars. It was a good deal for both of them; Ana re-paid her debt within two years of turning Pro, and Dan Holzmann is now her business manager.

Sponsors beating down her door (so to speak) 

Ana no longer has trouble attracting sponsors. She exclusively wore models adidas' Youth on Court tennis range, including that pretty white tennis dress she wore at Wimbledon 2007. This season she showcases Edge, YOC's successor. Soon after Wimbledon she was offered the largest ever sponsorship deal given to any Serbian athlete, male or female. Verano Motors, distributor of Peugeot motor cars in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia, signed Ana to a three year partnership. The President of V.M. said she was the perfect ambassador for their company, embodying their business mission of Quality, Elegance, and Excellence. Verano Motors have made Peugeot Serbia's third favorite car make, and they, like Dan, seem to know a good deal when they see it.

Making time to be an 'angel' to others 

Even with her very busy schedule, Ana makes time to be 'an angel' for important causes. Recently she visited a school near Belgrade for children orphaned in the wars. She said in her blog on her official website that she 'felt humbled' by the experience and hoped to visit again soon. Such a thoughtful and dedicated young person has won the hearts of so many who have enjoyed watching her play superb tennis around the world. Looks like an angel, acts like an angel, and plays like the devil himself, a powerful combination, and we hope to see this angel take flight on the courts for many years to come.