Hitting Pretty

Not long after Ana Ivanovic broke through at the 2008 French Open, her game fell to pieces. Struggling to maintain her serve and her composure, the tall, elegant Serb plummeted from the top of the rankings in '09. Last February she hired Steffi Graf's former coach, Heinz Gunthardt, and in the first week of the U.S. Open, though unseeded and ranked No. 40, she appeared to have her mental and mechanical flaws licked. She breezed through her first three matches in straight sets before losing to defending champion Kim Clijsters on Sunday. Does Ana (below) have her groove back at age 22? "I have been saying that [I do] for a while," said Ivanovic, who will rise four spots to No. 36 in the next WTA rankings.

PHOTO

CARLOS M. SAAVEDRA