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Florida [US], September 18 (ANI): Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic and recently retired German Julia Goerges received the Jana Novotna Award by the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open earlier this week.
Inaugurated in 2017, the tribute is paid to a player who shows a particular affinity and commitment to the WTA 250 event, which has taken place every year since 1996. Monica Niculescu, the 2016 champion, was the first to be recognized, and in 2018, the award was renamed in honor of the late Czech champion Jana Novotna and presented to local favorite Mandy Minella.
Ivanovic, the 2020 recipient, won her fifth career title in Luxembourg in 2007, recovering from a 6-3 3-0 deficit against Daniela Hantuchova in the final. For her part, the 2021 winner Goerges won her sixth title here in 2018, the year she made her Top 10 debut, beating Belinda Bencic for the trophy.
Ivanovic and Goerges received their prizes in the presence of the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel and the mayor of the city of Luxembourg Lydie Polfer. The Philharmonic Gala also saw the participation of His Royal Highness Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, a sports enthusiast.
“As an athlete it means a lot to me to be honored with such an award,” said Ivanovic. “It shows that I did the right thing, always fighting for my goals,” said Ivanovic, as quoted by wtatennis.com.
Another special guest of the evening was former world number 4 Anke Huber, who won the tournament’s first edition in 1996. Others who have won the indoor title since include Mary Pierce, Kim Clijsters, Jennifer Capriati, Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
Huber, the operational director of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament, knows what it takes to put on an event that stands the test of time.
“It’s a fantastic accomplishment to have a tournament like this for 25 years,” said Huber, who introduced Ivanovic. “It takes a lot of work, but it’s good that while the event has evolved over time, it has also remained very familiar – it’s great to come back and see many of the same faces. It creates a special atmosphere. that players appreciate. “
Huber, who spent several years in the Top 10 alongside Novotna, added: “For those of us who were on tour with Jana, it’s wonderful to see that she is remembered for being a a great person as well as a great player. I ‘I am honored to present this award in her memory. “
Novotna became world No. 2 in singles and No. 1 in doubles and was crowned Wimbledon champion in 1998. She died in November 2017 at the age of 49 from a battle with cancer.
“Jana was a personal friend of ours and she was also the reason we recreated the tournament,” said tournament director Danielle Maas.
“I met her as a journalist and I asked her: ‘Do you know Luxembourg? She said no, but if there was a tournament she would come. To start with, we worked with Octagon for five years on a show, where Jana was the first winner in 1991 and 1992. Later, when she was working with Octagon, she came almost every year.
“She liked the tight and tight atmosphere and the fact that she felt like a part of the team. The last time Jana came here she was coaching Barbora Krejcikova. She wore many hats and we miss her.” (ANI)
(This is an unedited, auto-generated story from the Syndicated News Feed, the staff at LatestLY may not have edited or edited the body of the content)
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