Ivanovic clings to top WTA ranking

London:

Despite last week's third-round knockout at the hands of Zheng Jie, lucky Serb Ana Ivanovic will still reign as world number one when the Wimbledon championships are over.

The WTA confirmed on Tuesday that the French Open champion will continue to top next Monday's rankings even after the loss of the top four seeds early during the grass-court major.

In addition to Ivanovic's unforeseen exit, second seed Jelena Jankovic, number three Maria Sharapova and number four Svetlana Kuznetsova all fell before the quarter-finals.

It is the first time in the post-1968 Open era that such a situation has arisen at a Grand Slam.

Jankovic blamed a heavy schedule: "We play almost nine or 10 months which is very hard on our bodies. And we have to compete at the highest level. We have to always be ready."

Said Ivanovic: "I've had a little bit of pressure in the beginning (after taking the top ranking after Paris). But I think I adjusted a little bit to that."

The other losing seeds all had various shots at the top ranking, but lost their chances in defeat.