Great expectations bear heavily on slim-line Ivanovic

Is a fitter, leaner Ana Ivanovic strong enough to deal with the burden of being the favourite at Roland Garros?
 
Aussie Ana is fast becoming French Ana, fast being the operative word as she won her fourth-round match against Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-0 in 54 minutes to reach the quarter-finals. Not exactly the most exacting workout for the No2 seed, and last year's beaten finalist, but the crowd on Philippe Chatrier were generous in their applause as the young Serbian blew them kisses and waved sweetly. Mademoiselle Ivanovic est plus belle que l'annee derniere.
 
She has certainly slimmed off, something that the Italians questioned her about in Rome this year where she replied, with a laugh, that it was not the sort of question you were supposed to ask of a woman. The fact is that the young Serb has worked exceptionally hard this year to improve her mobility and stamina. Not that the latter was much needed against Cetkovska.
 
The Sony Ericsson Tour continues to tell anybody who cares to linger and listen that the women's game has greater strength in depth than at any time in the professional history of the sport, though it remains difficult to believe. Suffice it to say that the gulf between the leading few women and the rest is as wide as ever.
 
Britain's LTA is currently patting itself on the back that it has finally managed to get a woman player, Anne Keothavong, aged 24, into the top 100, the first since Sam Smith a decade ago. The hard fact is that in international terms the vast majority of talented girls have reached the top 100 by the time they are 18. As is usual, the LTA is setting the bar too low, although this is not to be critical of Keothavong, who can only do her best.
 
Ivanovic finished the year in the top 100 when she was 17, and the top 20 the next year when she was also a quarter-finalist in Paris. This year she is faced with a quite different set of problems, all of them mental. The minute Belgium's Justine Henin, the four times French Open champion, retired a couple of weeks ago, the speculation began about who would be the champion here. Only Serena Williams entered Roland Garros as a former French Open women's singles champion, and the minute she lost last Friday the pressure on Ivanovic was ratcheted up a few more notches.
 
With Maria Sharapova, the world No1 and top seed, still looking like a duck out of water on the clay, and Jelena Jankovic, the No3 seed, suffering from a variety of ailments - she needs a trainer and doctor on court with her on a permanent basis these days - Ivanovic must be regarded as the clear favourite for the title. It now remains to be seen whether she can cope with this weight of expectation.