Amelie Mauresmo – Wimbledon Ladies’ Tennis Player
Amelie Mauresmo had yet another shocking season in 2008. She suffered a dismal 2007 season when she tumbled out of the top ten rankings for the first time in seven years and only managed to record a single win on the WTA Tour, and that was in February. She failed to qualify for the WTA Championships, an event she won in 2005, and did not make it past the fourth round in any of the three Grand Slams she competed in.
Mauresmo, Wimbledon tennis player, pulled out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics women's doubles event, as the French federation decided not to select her for the singles tournament due to her injuries and dwindling fitness levels. The former world number one was knocked out of the Australian Open and French Open in the second and third rounds. She then battled a thigh injury at Wimbledon 2008 and was defeated the third round by Serena Williams - Mauresmo entered the tournement as number 33 in the world.
What a come down from her 2006 season - she finally laid her bogey of the “greatest women’s player never to win a Grand Slam” to rest when she claimed two Grand Slam singles titles. The first was at the Australian Open where she defeated Belgian Justine Henin. Her victory was as not as sweet as it could have been – Henin was forced to retire with a gastroenteritis complaint.
She went on to claim a further two WTA Tour wins in Paris and Antwerp, against Mary Pierce and Kim Clijsters respectively. Her ranking soared up to the number one berth.
At the French Open she was hoping to pull off a home win, but her tendency to be distracted by nerves hit hard, and she failed to win a set against Czech Nicole Vaidisova in the fourth round.
Then it was on to the All England Club and Wimbledon 2006. She had a poor warm-up event at Eastbourne, but ended up being the top seed for the tournament. She lived up to all expectations, took Maria Sharapova out in the semi-finals, and then went on claim the ladies’ singles title in three sets 2-6 6-3 6-4 to deny Justine Henin, her second Grand Slam title of the year. Henin has since retired from professional tennis as of 2008.
She had a good US Open campaign and reached the semi-finals, only to be affected by her lack of big-match temperament yet again, losing to Russian, Maria Sharapova, 6-0 4-6 6-0. It was the first time in the open era that a woman semi-finalist had lost two sets at love!
Amelie Mauresmo, Wimbledon ladies’ tennis player, has proved that she has the talent to be the best in the world again. Her early career has been impressive and to date she boasts a total of 24 singles wins. She has the ability to play well on all court surfaces and held a record of 12 wins on hard-court, six on clay, one on grass and five on carpet.
She is particularly well-known for her blistering one-handed backhand and strong net play, and if she can control her nervousness leading up to the top matches, there is no reason why she cannot come back from her two year slump to win a second Grand Slam title on grass.
