Ana Ivanovic commits to Apia International in Sydney

Written by: Global Chick on 10th November 2011

Ana Ivanovic commits to Apia International in Sydney |

The former Sydney International tournament now known as the Apia International Sydney have signed up another star for their event in January.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic will be fine tuning her game in Sydney for the Australian Open the following week. The Serbian has not been back to Sydney since 2008 when she reached the semi-finals.

“I think the fans there in Sydney are very enthusiastic and there is always a lot of Serbian fans who always cheer very loud for me, which is great.”

The former French Open Champion also added, “The field there is very strong and there are tough matches every round, which is exactly what you want heading into a Grand Slam event.”

Tournament Director Craig Watson is very happy with next year’s field. “Ana is the fourth Grand Slam Champion to commit to our event, along with Sam Stosur, Li Na and Lleyton Hewitt.”

Marcos Baghdatis, the 2010 Sydney Champion has also confirmed he will be playing the 2012 event.

Lleyton Hewitt is taking on a dual role at the tournament next year. It was announced in September that the former Wimbledon Champion will be an ambassador for the event. The former world number one is also going to play in the men’s singles.

Hewitt won the Sydney tournament in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. He competed for the first time in Sydney in 1998 as a 16-year old newcomer on the Tour.

The Apia International in Sydney will be played at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre from January 8 – January 14, 2012.

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Lleyton Hewitt, Sam Stosur