Ana has been drawn to face either Latvian world No.63 Anastasija Sevastova or a qualifier in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, which begins in Indian Wells on Wednesday. The 22-year-old is seeded 24th at an event in which she has reached the final for the past two straight years.
In terms of her matches-won-and-lost ratio, Indian Wells is one of Ana’s most successful events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour: she has won 15 out of 18 matches (83 per cent) in the Californian desert, since making her debut in 2006.
Ana will likely have to be at her best in the third round if she is to continue her fine record here, as she is set to meet 12th seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva should both players win their opening round matches.
Eighth seed Samantha Stosur is a potential fourth round opponent, while No.3 Victoria Azarenka is Ana’s most likely adversary in quarter-finals.
Possible opponents for Ana in the last four include top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.6 Jelena Jankovic and No.14 and reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters.
The leading seeds in the bottom half of the draw, whom Ana cannot face until the final, include No.2 Caroline Wozniacki, No.4 Elena Dementieva, No.5 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.7 Na Li.
Former world No.1 Justine Henin also resides in the bottom half of the draw. Absentees from the $4.5million Premier Mandatory event include the Williams sisters Serena and Venus, who have not played the event since 2001, and world No.2 Dinara Safina (back injury).
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