A Field Guide To Serena Williams And Ana Ivanovic

Why are we making this field guide a 2-in-1? It's because Serena Williams just defeated Ana Ivanovic in the US Open and will be moving onto the Women's Quarterfinals. We're here to remind these ladies that they're both winners because they are both ridiculously hot.

It's rough when two of your favorite tennis players face each other in the US Open, especially when you've spent so much time ogling them on and off the court in various states of undress, but that's what you get when you fall for professional athletes! And yes, we've fallen for these two. If you're keeping count, we have about 400 simultaneous crushes.

Anyway, getting down to business: Ana Ivanovic was born on November 6, 1987 in Belgrade, (when it was the Socialist Republic of) Serbia. She first picked up a racket when she was five, after watching Monica Seles on television. Her training was difficult from the very beginning: she mentions having to practice early in the morning to avoid bombings (you know, Yugoslavia in the 1990s) and using an abandoned swimming pool as a court during winter. It's hard to say when she definitely made contact with public consciousness, as she slowly started impressing competitors and spectators alike. When she was 17, Ivanovic battled Venus Williams in the Zurich Open and took her to two tiebreaks; even though she eventually lost, it was an impressive stand against a much more powerful opponent. In 2008, Ivanovic won the French Open and was ranked No. 1 in the WTA, and even though her rankings have dipped, she's still a daring and dangerous player. When she feels confident—and sources have noted that her self-esteem issues have disappeared—she has a deadly serve and a forehand with so much topspin that it's considered to be the best in the game.

Serena Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. Like Ivanovic, Williams started playing tennis at the age of five, after moving with her family to Compton. Serena and Venus were clearly gifted athletes, so their father moved everyone to Florida and enrolled the girls in Rick Macci's tennis academy; he pulled them out of Macci's school when Serena was fourteen, and he's been their coach ever since. Serena's playing style has been described as "aggressive" and "high-risk," and she boasts the second-fastest serve of all-time amongst female players. Her history of tearing up courts with Venus is well-known (even legendary!), as is the long-standing sibling rivalry between the Williams sisters. Venus may be older and have more wins under her belt, but Serena has posed naked for ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Jane Magazine. So there.

As far as the match between Ivanovic and Williams is concerned, we're not sure what to say. Yes, Serena is a better player, but is she hotter than Ivanovic? Can that sort of thing be quantified? We're going to miss Ana's grunts and leaps, but we still have Serena's splits! And hey, Caroline Wozniacki is still in the running, so we have her to ogle on the court matches to look forward to.

Original post: Serena Williams Unleashes The Breast