#1 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni: 2017 Australian Open quarter-final
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The only performance worthy of topping the emotional win of the elder Williams was that of Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The 34-year-old reached the semi-final stage at the 2017 Australian Open with an emphatic win over the tournament’s dark horse and in-form Czech player Karolina Pliskova. A blistering showcase of groundstrokes against one of the strongest all-rounder and fastest server on tour got Lucic-Baroni through to just her second major semi-final.
And that was just one side of the story; Lucic-Baroni, made her tour debut in 1997 and was a major force to begin with just like the Williams sisters in their early years. She reached the last four in just her second Wimbledon appearance. However, fate subjugated her rise and she had to battle through years of unspecified personal issues, an abusive father, financial struggle, having to shift countries which forced her out of the tennis scene.
Lucic-Baroni made a comeback on tour after going on and off at the lower rung ITF circuit, and came back into full form from the late 1990’s at this year’s Australian Open. She beat the likes of Agnieszka Radwanska and Pliskova, only to lose out to the eventual champion Serena Williams. With a rosary around her neck she fell to her knees when Pliskova netted a return, and had little to say but, “This has truly made my life, everything bad that happened, it has made it okay.”
Serena Williams too prior to their clash reminisced saying, “We both have gone through a lot, We both have survived, and here we are.” What better words to sum up the return of an absolute star.
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