She Said, She Said: Quizzing Jankovic and Ivanovic

We put the same questions to Serbian sensations Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. See what each said.
 
ANA IVANOVIC

Date of Birth: November 6, 1987 
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia
Residence: Basel, Switzerland 
Height: 6' 
Weight: 160 lbs.
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Turned pro: August 2003
 
JELENA JANKOVIC

Date of Birth: February 28, 1985 
Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia
Residence: Belgrade, Serbia 
Height: 5'9 1/2''
Weight: 130 lbs. 
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Turned Pro: 2000
 
Q. Favorite movie and favorite book?

AI: Recently I saw Bourne Ultimatum and I really liked it. That was one of my favorite movies. Book I like is Mother of Rice and the author is Rani Manika.

JJ: Favorite movie, Something’s Gotta Give. And favorite book, it’s in Serbian – [translation] The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric.

Q. Favorite hobby or thing to relax?

AI: I like listening to music a lot and also reading, so these two things I really enjoy doing – especially when you travel so much you have plenty of time to both things.

JJ: I love to read, I love to spend a lot of time on the beach.

Q. Happiest moment in tennis?

AI: It’s very hard to say... Reaching final of Roland Garros [this year], so beating Sharapova in the semifinals. That was a very big moment for me.

JJ: I don’t know, I cannot chose just one. It’s difficult to say, because there have been many happy moments. And it wouldn’t be nice just to chose one because every victory, every tournament that I win or whatever I do has a special meaning, different from the other tournaments or the other victories that I had. So I cannot choose just one.

I really don’t know. Maybe Rome. Winning in Rome [this spring] was very special to me because one year ago I almost quit playing tennis there and then a year later I won a Tier I tournament there, so it was great, just a great feeling.

Q. First memory of Belgrade bombings?

AI: First memory was, I practiced in a group with three other kids and it was 24th of March. I was practising with a coach and he was feeding us balls from the basket, and then someone came in and said, ‘Oh, look, it’s better if you don’t finish the practice because they’re probably gonna bomb us. So just go home and be with the family.’ 

And the coach was so funny, he said, ‘Okay, okay, but let me just finish the basket’ – like it’s nothing happening.

I was only eleven years old and I didn’t know. For me it was like, exciting: What's that? What’s going to happen?

JJ: I was in that time in America [Nick Bollettieri's academy in Florida] and I was watching on TV and I saw when they were bombing these main buildings. It was a scary feeling and my whole family was in Serbia so it was a bad period for me. I don’t like to talk about this stuff anymore.

Q. First trip outside Serbia?

AI: It was to France, to Bordeaux. It was a tournament, under-12.

JJ:My first [tennis] trip was actually to Italy –to Rome again. It was my first international tournament when I was 11 years old.

[Otherwise] maybe to France, as a kid on vacation, I think we went to ski.

Q. Who’s stricter, your mom or your dad?

AI: I think mom. It’s tough to say, they’re both very nice. Because I don’t spend much time with my dad, whenever I’m home he always does everything for me, so he’s not strict at all.

JJ:  My mom... my mom, way stricter.
 

Q. The tennis advice you give yourself most often?

AI: Just to play my game. Just to focus on my shots and not think about the opponent or the result.

JJ: The tennis advice I give myself is, always believe in myself.

Q. Favorite player as a kid?

AI: Monica Seles. I start playing tennis because of her.

JJ: Favorite player as a kid was Monica Seles.

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