Serbian Ana Ivanovic stunned many by winning the 2008 French Open and emerged as a new force in women’s tennis, but the incredible rise met with a heartbreaking downfall. The Serbian failed to maintain consistency on tour and consequently her rankings plummeted. Over the years, the 24 years old Serbian has changed five coaches. Many tennis pundits have also asserted that the Serbian has not been able to achieve her true potential as she could not stick with a coach for a long time. But, Ivanovic is one of those honest athletes who do not blame others for their poor performance.

Recently in an interview, the Serbian talked about her coaches and some crucial decisions - "I made some choices that weren't right in the past," the former world No 1 asserted. "It cost me in terms of my confidence and everything. But I think that some things happen for a reason and I think it was my fault as much as someone else's. I'm just happy now that I've found the right person and that I didn't give up, because it has been hard at times."

Currently, Ivanovic is associated with experienced Coach Nigel Sears, who is one of the most sought after and respected coaches in Britain. Sears has worked with Britain’s leading tennis players including Mark Petchey and Jeremy Bates. He also coached Amanda Coezter and Daniela Hantuchova.

Actually, a player’s relationship with his/her coach can certainly make a lot of things better or worse for both. When asked about a player-coach relationships, Ivanovic quoted "Our job is quite strange in that we hire a coach and therefore we're the boss.  But coaches tell us what to do, and I think some coaches might struggle with the idea of a girl being the boss and telling them, 'I don't want to see you now. I want to have some time to myself. So many coaches try to hold on and are too controlling – and that doesn't make for a healthy relationship. That's why I think you find a big difference in the relationship between men and their coaches and between women and their coaches."

The Serbian further added that "I think it's very important to keep some distance, so that once you go on the court you can become more professional. He really respects it if I want to spend time with my friends and don't want to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with him. There are times when the only people you spend time with are the people in your team. That's hard, because I think, 'I'm a girl. I want to hang out with other girls. I just want to be a normal young woman."