After a very disappointing season so far, former French Open champion and world number one Ana Ivanovic will be looking to resurrect her 2016 season with a good run here in New York. Ivanovic, whose best result this season has been a semifinal appearance in February in St. Petersburg, will be looking to avenge her first-round loss in the Big Apple in 2015 as she begins her US Open campaign Tuesday against Czech Denisa Allertova

Notable results to date 

After early round exits in her opening three tournaments of the year in Australia, Ivanovic's best result so far this season came at the WTA Premier event in St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. In St. Petersburg, the Serb fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Roberta Vinci. Ivanovic's fine February continued with a quarterfinal appearance in Dubai, before suffering two third round defeats in Indian Wells and Miami. 

On the clay in the leadup to the French Open, Ivanovic's struggles really began, with second round losses in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome leading into Paris where the Serb is a former champion. The former world number one had a solid run in Paris, falling to Ukranian Elina Svitolina in the third round in straight sets. 

Ana Ivanovic hits a backhand at the 2015 US Open in New York/Getty Images
Ana Ivanovic hits a backhand at the 2015 US Open in New York/Getty Images

On the grass ahead of Wimbledon, the former French Open winner made her second quarterfinal of the season in Mallorca, bowing out to eventual champion Caroline Garcia. After a solid run in Spain, the struggles really began to set in for the Serb, crashing out of Wimbledon in the first round to Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets. 

Since then, Ivanovic has yet to win a match, falling at the first hurdle at the Olympics in Rio to Carla Suarez Navarro and most recently in Cincinnati to Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic

Best hard court results leading up to US Open

Unfortunately for Ivanovic, the Serb's most recent hard court win dates back to late March at the Miami Open. The 28-year-old is currently on a four-match losing streak dating back to Mallorca in June and has only played two matches on hard courts since Miami.

Ivanovic's best hard court result this season came indoors at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy reaching the semifinals, but her best outdoor hard court result came in Dubai at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships making the quarterfinals. 

Ana Ivanovic tracks down a backhand at the 2015 US Open in New York/Getty Images
Ana Ivanovic tracks down a backhand at the 2015 US Open in New York/Getty Images

Best US Open result

Ivanovic's best US Open result came back in 2012, reaching her first and only quarterfinal in New York before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams in straight sets. Since then, the Serb superstar made the round of 16 in 2013, bowing out to eventual finalist Victoria Azarenka in three tight sets, before a second round exit in 2014 to big-hitting Czech Karolina Pliskova. Last year the former French Open winner crashed out in the first round to Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. ​​​​

How Ivanovic's game translates to the surface?

Surprisingly, despite her big forehand and overall power game, the majority of Ivanovic's success in her career has came on slower courts like at the French Open and the Australian Open.

Unlike the hard courts in Melbourne where players have more time to set up their strokes, the faster courts in New York give players like Ivanovic more speed on their ball, but also less time to set up their bigger groundstrokes, such as Ivanovic's forehand.With the Serb's biggest weapon, her forehand, requiring a larger windup than most strokes, the speed of the courts in New York already puts Ivanovic at a disadvantage compared to other players.

Also, with the world number 31 having struggled so much on her serve and ball toss throughout her career, the conditions in New York pose another problem for her. With New York being a far windier city than Melbourne, Ivanovic's ball toss can go all over the place, causing major serving problems for the Serb, something that has plagued her throughout her career. 

Ana Ivanovic tosses the ball ahead of a serve at the 2015 US Open in New York/Getty Images
Ana Ivanovic tosses the ball ahead of a serve at the 2015 US Open in New York/Getty Images

Overall, if Ivanovic hopes to be successful in New York, something she has done in the past, she will need to make the most of the court speed, going for winners on forehand earlier, and if she can reach a projected third round meeting against six-time champion Serena Williams, Ivanovic could just pose the 22-time Grand Slam champion a major challenger here at the US Open. 

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About the author
Thomas Cluck
Thomas Cluck is an avid tennis fan who loves to share his passion for the sport through writing. Thomas is from Dallas, TX, and is an tennis agent and PR person. Thomas has been watching tennis for many years and covers the sport daily on his Instagram page @atpwta_tennis.