World number 14 Jelena Jankovic is hoping her efforts during the off-season come to fruition when she begins her 2012 campaign in Brisbane.
The eighth seed has revamped her team to include former University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) player and coach Henner Nehles and fitness trainer Korey Goodwin who has trained both NBA and Major League Baseball players.
“I trained really hard in the off-season and I just want to try to transfer [that work] into matches, play some good tennis and get ‘match tough’ again,” said Jankovic after helping complete the women’s singles draw.
The Serb has not competed since falling in the first round of October’s Moscow Open to qualifier Ekaterina Ivanova, then ranked 175 in the world.
Jankovic said she had been putting in at least three hours a day, attempting to regain her former fitness levels, which saw her rise to the No.1 ranking in August 2008.
“This year I haven’t been as in shape as I used to be so I’ve worked really hard and tried to get better overall as a player.”
The 26-year-old said that her focus had been on becoming fast, strong and explosive but was wary of weight training.
“I don’t like to be too bulky, I’ve tried that in the past but I felt slower on court and didn’t play good tennis so I try to stay lean,” Jankovic said, saying she had worked on creating tone using only her body weight or light weights.
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“I do have a sweet tooth so I do ruin my healthy eating with a cookie or ice cream here and there,” she added, smiling.
The right-hander notched only two top 10 wins during her 2011 season, over Samantha Stosur in Dubai and over Francesca Schiavone in Cincinnati. While third seed Schiavone is in Jankovic’s quarter, the tournament’s other Grand Slam champions Stosur, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic are in the opposite half.
“I think that’s a pretty tough side of the draw but if you want to do well, if you really want to go far, you’ve got to beat the top players so the competition is going to be really tough,” she said.
Jankovic, who has not won a title since Indian Wells in March 2010, will begin her quest for the Brisbane International crown with a first-round encounter against Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro over whom she holds a 3-0 head-to-head advantage.
> Watch Brisbane International 2012 videos
“I haven’t played her for a long time, it’s going to be a tough match … any girl I play in the draw will be tough,” Jankovic said.
“We’re all starting from zero since it’s our first match of the season, we’ve all been training really hard so I think we’re all happy to get back on court and start competing again.”
And plans for New Year’s Eve?
“I haven’t decided yet, it depends on if I’m playing tomorrow or not and if I can stay up until midnight or not,” Jankovic grinned.