Ana Ivanovic vs Jelena Jankovic RG 2008 Highlights

Highlights of the legendary semifinal match

[@alexcocheci8549]

This was an epic match... The rivalry between them, the contrast between forehand and backhand, each of them believing that can win this match... Epic... I wonder who wouldve prevailed in a Jankovic-Safina final

[@soxandthecity]

Def JJ. Safina never played well in any major final she played in. JJ really pushed Serena in the USO final later that year.

[@StewNWT]

@@soxandthecity agreed. Both headcases but JJ was more solid

[@asherbernardinojr]

Ana had one of the best forehand in WTA history, better than JJs. JJ had one of the best backhand in WTA history, better than ana's...however, ana's backhand is more reliable than jj's forehand. made the difference.

[@erianmaxcic6052]

Her FH was nothing spectacular, she was only bashing her FH. Graf, Serena, Sharapova, Venus, Henin and many more can hit as hard as Ana (and even harder), but they actually can construct a point and know, you dont need always power.

[@parishermes9834]

​@@erianmaxcic6052 Anna's FH was something special. Everyone on the tour respected it. The problem was her backand.

[@StewNWT]

@@erianmaxcic6052 you're nuts the Ivanovic FH was the female answer to Del Potro's. an absolutely lethal shot

[@erianmaxcic6052]

@@StewNWT Very overrated shot. As I said, it was good enough for 1 slam she won, nothing spectacular. Serena, Henin, Sharapova, Swiatek and many more had or have consistant and better FH than Ana.

[@StewNWT]

@@erianmaxcic6052 Ana is inconsistent as a player but don't sit here and tell me her FH wasn't one of the best on the WTA, certainly more potent than Henin's. MUCH better than Sharapova's. The fault lies with Ivanovic as a player and her mental weakness, not with the technique on her FH. Her BH may have been weaker, her serve powerful but ridiculously inconsistent ball toss, but her FH is the reason she made it as far as she did in her career.

[@StewNWT]

One of my all time favourite matches. Titanic match - both played superbly - this was JJ at her best. The length, the court craft - just her FH wasn't technically strong or potent enough to put some rallies away she should have won. Fantastic rallies.

[@saudinc6267]

Titanic match

[@StewNWT]

it really was - one of the only matches they ever played against each other where they were both at their best.

[@saudinc6267]

@@StewNWT Good ol' days... I miss both of them soo much... I used to be such a tennis fan back in the day but with Ana's retirement I stopped watching... The girls of nowadays don't even come close to the girls of that era... tennis back then had real stars, drama, excitement....

[@stlouisramsfan03]

I honestly think Ana just had Jelena's number. No matter what JJ did, Ana had the answer to her shots and her game.

[@saudinc6267]

I completely agree

[@KO-vv1oz]

You can clearly see who is the better player here. Ivanovic doesn’t get enough credit for her defense. She retrieves well and then puts the ball away when she gets the chance. Jankovic retrieves and retrieves and that’s all, really.

[@samuelwilson9082]

That's a huge disservice to Jankovic, and if Ivanovic was "clearly better", Jankovic wouldn't have come so close to winning this match. JJ's backhand was one of the best on tour and she won plenty of points playing aggressively with it. She also volleyed very well and she moved far better than ANY woman on tour in 2008 - certainly superior to Ivanovic in that department. She also had a solid serve (if a little lacking in power). She didn't hit many aces but she served a fraction of the number of double faults that Ivanovic regularly served in a match. Perfectly understand your opinion of Ivanovic being the better player, but saying Jankovic just retrieved and that's all is just a lie. The debate of which player was better is wide open even now that they've both retired.

[@peterb6512]

Jankovic had this match in her hands...

[@SSS-tg1wb]

The match was chockerfest at its best. Because Ana could easily win in 2nd set. And Jankovic had 2-0 in the third.

[@SSS-tg1wb]

As far as i remember Jankovic had gone to the therapist the day before in Belgrad.

[@kole1212]

@@SSS-tg1wb Such a great explanation how this match went. Ana was braver, she went for her shots. JJ got back when she got to 4:3 in the third. If my memory is good, Jelena went to Belgrade before her 1/4 match against Suarez Navaro. Not sure when tbh, but she did that.

[@SSS-tg1wb]

@@kole1212 it was great match. But i should mention that they both had a weak flesh when it comes to closing matches

[@SSS-tg1wb]

@@kole1212 i assume that Jankovic had more talent than Ana. Because in her early ages she was quite agressive. By 2009 she became a total pusher

[@ejvin7008]

Overall they are huge names in Serbia's tennis history and it's great since Serbia had 3 women as no.1 in history and that's the 2nd overall record in the world.

[@alessandropapagna564]

Miss you Ana she was such a Talent but his nearvs

[@agkenshin1558]

Her

[@dariomondini1655]

Ana❤️

[@santoshkumarsingh8432]

NAMASTE