Healthy Ivanovic ready for title defence

Ana Ivanovic is optimistic about defending her French Open title,saying on Thursday that a niggling knee injury had died down.

Thankfully the pain and inflammation in my knee has gone away so I have been able to practise this week, the Serbian said. My timing is pretty good at the moment and Im optimistic about my chances of success in Paris.

The world number eight has suffered a sharp loss of form since last year and pulled out of the Madrid Open earlier this month with the recurring injury,which worsened after her countrys Fed Cup win over Spain in April.

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The 21-year-old from Belgrade will need a steep improvement in recent form to retain her crown at Roland Garros,which starts on Sunday,after plummeting down the WTA rankings from the number one spot she grabbed after taking last years title.

She has since won only the Linz Open last October. After another dip in form she was knocked out by unheralded Russian Alisa Kleybanova in the third round of the Australian Open.

Despite the odds,Ivanovic is upbeat. Obviously I havent had the preparation I would have liked,but on the positive side I didnt play many matches before the French Open last year too, she told her website.

If she does badly in the Paris Grand Slam,Ivanovic will almost certainly drop out of the top 10.