NEW YORK, NY, USA – Earlier today, No.26 seed Ana Ivanovic was stunned in straight sets by Czech player Denisa Allertova 7-6(4), 6-1 in her opening match at the US Open.

It was Ivanovic’s fourth first-round loss in a row in a season marked by early exits and a drop in ranking.

After a fantastic couple of seasons in 2014 and 2015 – which saw Ivanovic get back into the Top 10 following a spate of injuries and return to the French Open semifinals – the former No.1 is down to No.31, and the last semifinal she’s reached came in February at St. Petersburg.

Following the latest in a string of disappointing results, Ivanovic was asked directly in her post-match press conference if she had any plans to retire.

Here’s what she answered:

“No, not at all. I just need to really see why is this happening, you know. Because, I mean, I had struggles throughout my career; I had some tough times. This is not the first time I’m going through this.

“It just hurts because I know what I invested.”

Earlier in the week, Ivanovic told WTA Insider of her frustrating 2016 season and what she considers one of her lowest moments: losing in straight sets to qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon after weeks of putting in hard work at the gym and on the courts.

“I’ve really felt, always, that if you put the hard work in, it will give results,” she told the WTA Insider Podcast. “But now, I feel like I’ve been putting in so much hard work in, but the results just haven’t been coming in the matches.

“It’s always a process, but also a Catch-22. Because, to win matches you need confidence, but to get confidence you need to win matches. So that’s a little bit where I’m at.”

Despite the disappointments she’s suffered this year, Ivanovic embraces the tough moments and bad luck, viewing them as just another facet in her long career.

Another Ivanovic trait? Finding her way back.

“I really haven’t been lucky in my career,” Ivanovic said. “I always felt like I had to go through hard work, and I had to do it all myself.

“And in a way, I’m proud of it. Because I know that I actually deserve whatever I’ve achieved. Because everything was a product of hard work, nothing was just given to me.”

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