The elegance of Ana Ivanovic: She's Eastern and so is her forehand!

The above pic is not from any Roland Garros tournament, but it's from a 2008 Fed Cup match that Ana Ivanovic played. I justused it because I like the pic and I think it shows Ana in an elegant light.

Although Ana Ivanovic is the defending champion at Roland Garros aka The French Open, she's definitely not considered by anyone to be the favorite to win. Judging from her second round match, her stunning forehand is on fire. The way she smoked Tamarine Tanasugarn in the second round reminded me of how Ana played splendidly at the 2008 French Open. Even Ana's backhand is stronger than it was before, which is a great thing. Elegant is the one word that sums Ana up in a nutshell. All tennis players hit forehands, but not in the way Ana hits hers. She hits her forehand in this effortless sweeping motion similar to Roger Federer's forehand, except Ana has a bigger backswing. Many people have compared the dynamics of Ana's forehand to Steffi Graf's forehand, which is understandable, especially when looking at a side-by-side comparison of Ana and Steffi's forehands. They both have eastern forehands, as does Federer. Notice the pattern? The eastern forehand is not as popular in the modern game because semi-western and full-western forehands allow more ease for hitting topspin. I've always thought eastern forehands have a certain crispness and cleanness to them because they allow players to hit through the ball.
Look at the pic above, and you can see the elegance of Ana, from her physical beauty to her forehand stroke. I'll point out some of the semiotics of the pic. She has those diamond earrings and subtle maroon lipstick (yeah I think she wears lipstick when she plays, but all the tennis divas do, shit, Maria Sharapova wears $2,100 Tiffany earrings). Look at how that red Adidas dress falls on Ana's body so sleekly. The red of her dress complements her caramel skin nicely. She's from Serbia, but she's always reminded me of a American Indian princess, in the vein of Pochantas. That's why she looks so good with her boyfriend tennis player Fernando Verdasco (who's No. 9 in the world respectfully), because he's from Spain, and has that tan skin like Ana. Physically, they're a match made in heaven. You can see how Ana is about to make contact with the ball that she's going to drive right through it and sweep it over her shoulder so casually. Ana Ivanovic, elegance at its best. And I hope Ana does well at the French Open, but I'm rooting on Dinara Safina to win the French Open. I'd rather Ana some of the other Slams. She's already made it to the final of the Australian Open, so maybe she'll win that in the future, and she's already made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon, so if she can get past Venus or Serena, maybe she could win that. Who knows, it all rests on her, as well as some luck.