Boxing story based on a real-life tennis match during the third round of Australian Open held on 18th January 2013 in Melbourne.

BATTLE OF THE SERBIAN EMPIRE
Venue: Hisense Arena, Melbourne Park.
Location: Melbourne, Victoria; Australia.

BEFORE: It's been twenty two months since two highest ranked Serbian players last faced each other on a tennis court, but their upcoming clash on Melbourne's Hisense Arena adds an extra twist with a long awaited boxing contest for the ultimate supremacy. Nicknamed 'The Empress' Jelena Jankovic has seen her hatred rival Ana Ivanovic beat her to the #1 spot in the spring of 2008 scoring a Grand Slam victory along the way which eluded Jankovic in her career so far. Glamour and endorsement values also favor Ivanovic whose name in mentioned in one breath with the likes of Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova.

'She can enjoy all the glamour she wants, but the bottom line is, I'm the better boxer and will win this contest to claim the most important victory of my career!', Jankovic goes all-in before the fight with Ivanovic responding likewise: 'I feel sorry for Jelena already, she just can't catch a break lately and I will show her exactly why she's been losing all her fights. She's way over the hill these days and I might punch her into retirement just for fun!'

Ana Ivanovic wearing a bright yellow bikini and black gloves. Black hair tied in a braid. Jelena Jankovic wearing a navy blue bikini and red gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Tempers flare early as Jankovic storms out of her stool and swings around Ana's head forcing the taller Serbian to weave around on her feet but Jelena catches her on the cheeks nonetherless and defies her trademark defensive approach by landing another quick jab on the temple and rocking Ana again. Response comes within seconds though as Jankovic misses a hook on the other temple, leans forward and gets tagged by a half-uppercut on the jugs and a right overhand on the eye as Ivanovic fires back and pummels to the body in close range forcing Jankovic to clinch in the middle of the ring. Both women push and shove each other until Ana gains upperhand, slams a left hook on the cheek and forces Jelena to step back and circle around her. Teasing single hand efforts from Ivanovic follow but Jelena's footwork enables her to see out the round in mid-distance.

Round 2:
Jelena's charge failed to put her opponent into real trouble but she opens the second round in similar fashion; leaps towards Ivanovic and throws a flurry of body shots, breaks through the arms and bounces off the jugs but Ana stands firm, responds with a high combo and nails her Serbian compatriot on the cheeks before Jelena drives low, skips underneath a wayward hook and slams Ana on the ribs. She goes up towards the jugs but gets blocked by the forearms and Ivanovic nails her with another overhand on the mouth, snaps her head back and wobbles on her feet! Jankovic covers up in the middle of the ring as Ana goes to the tummy, pummels through the arms and as Jelena drops her gloves, counters to the chin and swings her ponytail back and forth with couple of jabs on the chin. Ivanovic targets the head with repeated blows and Jelena's all covered up before she makes use of her footwork and circles back towards the ropes. Ana misses a hooking combo, eats a single hand responds on the cheek and pauses briefly, forces a clinch which is happily accepted by her rival as both women remain in stalemate for remainder of the round. Mind over matter performance with far too many shots reaching the target which is particulary surprising for someone of Jelena's defensive skills.

Round 3:
Both women visibly eager to win; just trade leather straight off the bell but it's Ana style suited this way better and she outnumbers Jelena in the first exchange of the third, pummels between the arms and rocks the older girl's breasts before finding another uppercut as Jankovic's jaw begins to swell in wake of several clean shots landing in that area. She nails Ana with a left hook on the eye but bends to the side after a right hook slams her on the ribs and a quick follow up spikes her on the navel. High-tempo showing from Ivanovic who just hammers the leather against her foe's midsection and forces her to seek another clinch but Ana dekes to the side, rocks Jelena's head with a fine hook and wobbles her in the middle of the ring. Body assault continues from there on, Jankovic fails to shrug her off and moans in pain as more Ana's efforts clean out her midsection for remainder of the round with a quick first pump marking Ivanovic's dominance as she walks back to her stool after the bell. Glassy-eyed Jankovic examines her belly and seems to be losing some of her confidence.

Round 4:
Jelena cautious at the start, bides her time along the ropes with Ana jumping towards her but lacking precision for once and wasting some energy in a fruitless chase around the ring. Single hand attack barely reach the flesh and Ivanovic finally accepts the low-key nature of this round until Jelena springs into action, squares up to her and whacks on the navel, goes around the elbows and peppers the ribcage as Ivanovic loses her footing, misses a straight jab on the mouth, crashes off the forearms with low efforts and soon falls on the ropes as Jelena literally pierces her stomach with heavy leather, ignores some clinching attempts and targets the chin herself but Ana's gloves stay in tact and Jankovic briefly loses her momentum with fruitless punching against the guard but regroups herself in the dying seconds, makes Ivanovic moan in pain with shots around the elbows and Ana remians butt-in-ropes until the bell looking stunned and completely losing the plot after such a fine previous round.

Round 5:
Ivanovic looks to make up for the fourth and swings around Jelena's head early, skims off the cheeks and falls forward, gets laced across the breasts instead and Jankovic nails her on the temple with a left hook, rocks the braid around Ana's face and pummels to the stomach, forces the younger rival back to the ropes and continues with the body assault as Ivanovic's moaning raises up a notch. Left hook on the head slams the guard though and Ana offers single hand response, whacks Jelena on the cheek but a clinch follows as both women seemingly lose their head in all this agression and the battle of the Serbian Empire really gets personal with some rabbit shots to the kidneys from Ana force the ref to step in and give her a warning. Jelena gives her a proper death stare and attacks straight after the command but Ana ducks underneath, counters on the ribcage herself and walks away from the ropes, spiking Jelena's midsection in the proccess as overhand reply goes nowhere and leaves Jankovic fuming at the bell but as the adrenaline drops, Jelena shakes her head and continues to examine her tummy which begins to swell alarmingly quickly.

Round 6:
Jelena comes forward, peppers the guard and opens up for a big left overhand but gets beaten for pace by the younger rival and eats a big hook on the mouth straight away and wobbles on her feet with Ana stepping right up to her and bouncing off the rack and nailing her on the chin with a quick left hook. Jelena's ponytail begins to float around as Ivanovic reigns supreme in close range and pounds more leather on the cheeks before Jankovic can cover up. Sharp hooks on the ribs follow and Jelena wilts in agony as she's backed against the ropes and taking a sudden flurry of shots with Ana barking in a mix of anger and delight upon seeing her charge score well and put the much hatred Serbian foe into some distress. Ana's strenght and stamina look superior as she traps Jelena butt-in-ropes for good and sinks her on the knees with a relentless barrage on the body and the tummy swelling increases even further with Jankovic leaning forward but unable to jump away from the danger zone. Ivanovic finally drops her tempo inside the final minute and reverts into single striking but Jelena remains overwhelmed and offers little response, looks visibly relieved upon hearing the bell and that was a very bad round for the older Serbian indeed.

Round 7:
Jankovic slow on her feet, tries to bide some time along the ropes again but Ivanovic stuck her foot in the door and doesn't let go, beats the older girl for pace and fakes a low combo, switches up high and rocks that ponytail again with a double overhand which nails Jelena on the cheeks and forces to wobble in the middle of the ring. Low sequence follows and tags the aching Jelena on the navel, left uppercut slices the mitts and crashes off Jankovic's chin and that's really hurt the older woman as Ana clobbers he guard into pieces, throws a right hook on the eye, left on the temple and DOWN GOES JANKOVIC CRASHING HARD ON HER BACKSIDE.... 'Ajde!', trademark gesture from Ivanovic leaves her foe blinking in shock but Jelena refuses to yield the Empress title so quickly; she gets up at six and shakes her glove in front of Ana, seemingly demanding more venom from the younger compatriot. Ana thrives on this, leaps towards Jelena and gives her more midsection pummelling as Jankovic misses with a hooking counter, skims off the top of Ana's gloves, gets laced on the chest and falls back on the ropes with Ivanovic driving low and batting her tummy into jelly beans! Jelena seeks a clinch, but winces in pain and sinks on her knees instead as a furious Ana smells wounded prey and signs off the round with a right hook on the eye that results in a deep gash with Jelena starting to fall apart and look to be living on borrowed time as she slowly walks back to her corner. Just too much agression from Ana coming at her now and the trademark defence nowhere to be seen to help her survive this onslaught.

Round 8:
Ana refuses to show any sort of sympathy towards her compatriot and easily squares up to the wounded Jelena, gives her more lumps under the eye with single overhands and Jankovic wilts under pressure with every second; despite all her skill and physical strenght Ivanovic shatters her gloves and snaps her head back, Jelena red- and swollen-faced unable to do anything about it as Ana swings her ponytail with another accurate and ruthless attacks, continues to work on her rival's face until she nails her with a countless uppercut on the chin which finally relieves Jelena of any resistance as she wobbles back, bounces off the ropes and straight into the path of a right hook on the mouth. BANG IN THE MIDDLE!!! Jelena's eyes go to the orbit as she crashes face-first on the canvas and IT IS OVER.... KO R8 Ana Ivanovic in hard-pounding fashion!!!

AFTER: More fistpumps and "Ajde's" from Ana as she leaps in the air and climbs the ropes much to the crowd's delight as the medical staff attends the fallen Jelena whose lights have been firmly turned out here on Hisense Arena! After some heavy losses to Daniela Hantuchova and Maria Sharapova, Ana returns to winning form by nothing short but an epic punchout of the self-proclaimed Empress herself. To quote the classic, 'When Ana wins, the whole world of tennis wins." Yes, it's that Sharapova and Kournikova factor all over again. Annoying for some but most of the fans don't mind this at all and one can't really blame them...

Meanwhile another tough loss reflects Jelena Jankovic's post-2008 career, the skill and performance just isn't there to carry her through the whole distance anymore. After getting revived on her stool she can only watch Ana's celebrations in complete disarray but she refuses to quit regardless: "Sure, that one hurts... literally! But if Ana thinks she send me into retirement I've got a bad news for her... I lost the battle but didn't lose the war yet... Be prepared for my revenge... anytime, anyplace!"

Final result: Ana Ivanovic def. Jelena Jankovic KO8.