Maria Sharapova and the 600 crystals which are embedded into her red dress were always going to be a talking point at this year's US Open and while the rest of the field can hardly compete with that sort of self-conscious glamour, there are a few rivals who might yet make the defence of her title more of a slog than a fashion parade. One of those is undoubtedly Ana Ivanovic.
The 19-year-old Serbian reached the final of this year's French Open, the semi-finals of Wimbledon and recently broke into the world's top five on the back of winning her second title of the season in Los Angeles. Those results mean that Ivanovic can justifiably be counted as a contender for what would be her first grand slam title and yesterday's 6-3, 6-1 second round rout of Aravane Rezai bore that out.
The Frenchwoman is a talented but troubled individual who is currently banned from training at the Stade Roland Garros after her father, Arsalan, fell out with France's Fed Cup captain Georges Goven, publicly accusing Goven of acting inappropriately with young players. Goven denies the allegations so vehemently that he has taken legal action.
Nobody did anything nearly as controversial in yesterday's match. The closest they came was when Ivanovic got mildly irritated with a few line-calls early on, but even then she her innate geniality stopped her from getting too carried away.
Ivanovic's tendency to get nervous on court might be one significant black mark against her chances of making it to the second Saturday, but she seems to be getting used to being the centre of attention and the degree of expectation which now surrounds her. Her good looks ensure that she has plenty of admirers and fans - mostly male - have asked her to sign everything from their underwear to their foreheads.
She has also attracted plenty of sponsors' dollars and her comments about playing in the United States suggest that she has ambitions to match Sharapova's potent off-court earning power.
"Definitely, that would be very exciting, because America is such a huge market, such a huge country," said Ivanovic. "But when I'm on the court I don't think in that direction. I just play for myself and try to perform the best I can."
The presence of Venus Williams in Ivanovic's section of the draw is another reason to question her ability to make it through to the second week of the US Open for only the second time in her career. Williams has saved her surprise victories for Wimbledon in recent years rather than her home grand slam, which she last won in 2001, but she must still be regarded as a danger to the likes of Ivanovic.
Williams recently signed a new clothing deal herself, incidentally, though since it is with a company which produces low-cost outfits for distribution in chainstores like Target, her range of clothes seems to be a little more low-rent than anything Sharapova or Ivanovic might deign to put on.
Williams would be a potential last-16 opponent for the Serbian, who lost to Williams in the Wimbledon semi-finals and is keen on a rematch.
Both of them know that the top half of the draw, which contains Sharapova, Justine Henin and Serena Williams, is by far the tougher section, so whoever comes through the bottom half would have an easier route through to the final.
Only Jelena Jankovic, who dumped mixed doubles partner Jamie Murray to concentrate on her singles campaign here, could be another to watch in the bottom half.
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