The Kremlin Cup will serve as vital preparation for the Fed Cup final for Ana Ivanovic, the Serbian tennis star said Tuesday.
Ivanovic is seeded fifth for this year's edition of the $740,000 hard court event, which starts in Moscow on October 17.
She spearheads the Serbian national team in the Fed Cup final in November, when Ivanovic and company will try to wrestle the title from defending champion the Czech Republic on the hard courts of Prague.
“It is a big tournament with strong opponents and this will be my last big tournament in the season before the Fed Cup final,” Ivanovic was quoted as saying by the Kremlin Cup website.
Sam Stosur, Sara Errani and Marion Bartoli head the seedings, with Maria Kirilenko at No. 4 the highest-ranked Russian in the tournament at the Olympiisky Sports Complex.
Ivanovic said that she was happy to return to Russia, where she has a lot of local fans.
“I’ve been receiving a lot of nice letters of support from Russian fans over the years. I’m looking forward to my visit.”
The former world No. 1 wasn’t entirely satisfied with her performance this season overall, despite reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2008 at the U.S. Open in September.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m satisfied, but I see progress. I’m pretty close to the top 10, which was my goal at the start of the season,” Ivanovic said.
