Baby Koala promises to run around the country in a sports bra, and in return Tennis Australia promises to bend over backwards to appease her fans. This is what we call a win-win situation:
Ivanovic's first match will be played on a Monday night, January 5, in the opening night session of the new $485,000 event. The tournament combines the former Australian Men's and Women's Hardcourts Championships which were played in Adelaide and the Gold Coast, respectively.
While many overseas tournaments can guarantee when their No1 seeds play, Australian tournaments have never followed suit - until now.
Huge demand to see the Serbian in her Brisbane debut has forced the hand of tournament director Steve Ayles.
"There's been a lot of people ringing up and asking when is Ana going to play. And the standard line we've been using is that we can't guarantee anything," Ayles said.
"But she has no lead-up tournaments and with the co-operation of her management, it made it easier. While it hasn't been done in Australia before, it is certainly not new on the international scene."
Apparently guaranteeing when a top seed or any player will play in advance of the draw is unprecedented in Australia.
It's amazing what a little hotness can do.
