This year’s Australian Open has seen a number of upsets so far with both World No.1s Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber biting the dust in the fourth and reigning Men’s champion Novak Djokovic enduring his worst ever Grand Slam performances since the 2008 Wimbledon as he was knocked out in the second round by World No. 117 Denis Istomin.Throughout the tournament, there have been quite a few unseeded players who have produced numerous upsets but one player who has been an absolute standout amongst themselves has been 35-year old Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni who was ranked 79th in the world prior to the tournament and had last won a match at the Australian Open in 1998.She produced one of the upsets of the tournament by defeating World No.3 Aga Radwanska in the second round in straight sets which was followed by wins over Maria Sakkari and Jennifer Brady to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final in nearly 18 years. In the quarter-finals, she scripted another major upset by stunning US Open runner-up and 5th seed Karolina Pliskova to reach the semi-finals where she will face World No.2 Serena Williams.By the way, when did she reach her first Grand Slam semi-final? You probably do not know. There are plenty of other facts you do not know about Lucic-Baroni and this piece has been written to elucidate five such facts.#5. Lucic-Baroni has won three junior Grand Slam titles
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In her junior career, Lucic-Baroni had won a total of three Grand Slam titles. The first of these titles came at the 1996 US Open where she defeated Germany’s Marlene Weingartner 6-2, 6-1 in the Girls’ Singles final.She won her second and third junior Grand Slam titles at the 1997 Australian Open. She won the Girls’ Singles title by defeating Marlene Weingartner in the final once again; this time by the scoreline 6-2, 6-2. While she beat a German to clinch her first two junior Grand Slams, it took a German to help her win her third as she partnered Jasmin Wohr in the Girls’ Doubles and defeated the Asian pair of Cho Yoon-jeong of South Korea and Shiho Hisamatsu of Japan.As a result of her Australian open success, she became only the third player in the Open Era to win two or more junior Grand Slam titles before the age of 15.
#4. She has won a Doubles title at the Australian Open
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is actually a Grand Slam title. The only Grand Slam of her career came here at the Australian Open back in 1998. At that time, a 15-year old Lucic-Baroni was partnering a 17-year old Martina Hingis who was doing brilliantly in the singles tournament.The Swiss-Croat duo began their tournament by beating the Japanese pair of Miho Saeki and Yuka Yoshida before beating the Russian-Latvian pair of Anna Kournikova and Larisa Neiland and the Bulgarian-Ukrainian pair of Svetlana Krivencheva and Olena Tatarkova to reach the quarter-finals where they demolished the second seeded Dutch-Spanish pair of Manon Bollegraf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. They defeated eight seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubs before beating the top seeds Lindsay Davenport and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the final in three sets to win the title.
#3. Before 2017, she had not won a single match at the Australian Open since 1998
Lucic-Baroni’s first round win over Chinese Wang Qiang ended a losing streak at the Australian that had begun from 1999. She defeated Rennae Stubbs (who interviewed her after her quarter-final win today) in the first round of the 1998 Australian Open following which, she was beaten by compatriot and then fourth seed Iva Majoli in the second round.Ever since that defeat, Lucic-Baroni never won a match until this year. In between, she played in a total of seven Australian Opens in 1999, 2000, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In six out of seven tournaments, she was beaten in straight sets. The closest she came to winning was in 2016 where she was up against Kirsten Flipkens. Lucic-Baroni took the first set 7-5 before Flipkens rebounded well by taking the next two sets by the scoreline of 6-2, 7-5.
#2. Lucic-Baroni reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 1999
Took you by surprise, did it? Yes, this isn’t Lucic-Baroni’s maiden Grand Slam semi-final as she had reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon way back in 1999. Lucic-Baroni had entered the main draw of the tournament through special exempt which allows players who couldn’t take part in the qualifying of the competition because they were competing in another tournament to qualify for the main draw.Lucic-Baroni scripted one of the upsets of the tournament by stunning Monica Seles in the third round in straight sets before defeating Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn in the fourth round to qualify for her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final. In the quarter-finals, she produced another upset by beating then eighth seed Nathalie Tauziat to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final where she faced Steffi Graf. Lucic-Baroni almost created another major upset as she took the first set but Graf’s temperament and experience eventually prevailed and Lucic-Baroni lost the match in three sets.
#1. Lucic-Baroni took a long hiatus from the sport owing to personal and financial problems
Lucic-Baroni has gained a lot of recognition for being a giant killer at the Australian Open. However, most people do not know the tragic story which propelled her to take a long hiatus from the sport. In the late 90s, Lucic-Baroni stated in an interview that from a very young age, she was subject to physical and mental abuse by her father, Marinko. There were occasions where she ended up with a bleeding nose and any shortcomings at a tournament would result in her being beaten up by her father.Her father’s constant brutality eventually led the family to take refuge in America. Following her semi-final performance at Wimbledon, Lucic-Baroni had to deal with plenty of legal and financial problems as her father and nephew had been embezzling her prize money. In order to keep herself financially stable, Lucic-Baroni refrained from taking part in WTA tournaments and was active only on the ITF circuit. Her mental and financial struggle resulted in Lucic-Baroni being diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.However, Lucic-Baroni returned back to Tour during 2009 and she has made a very strong comeback which she has justified through her performances in the Australian Open. Truly, one of the most inspiring comebacks after a tragic childhood.
