Lucie Šafářová

Infobox Tennis player
playername = Lucie Šafářová


nickname =
country = CZE
residence = Brno, Czech Republic
datebirth = birth date and age|1987|2|4
placebirth = Brno, Czechoslovakia
height = height|m=1.77
weight = convert|64|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro = 2002
retired =
plays = Left; Two-handed backhand
careerprizemoney = $1,029,718
singlesrecord = 146–96
singlestitles = 4 WTA, 5 ITF
highestsinglesranking = No. 22 (August 20, 2007)
AustralianOpenresult = QF (2007)
FrenchOpenresult = 4r (2007)
Wimbledonresult = 3r (2007)
USOpenresult = 3r (2007)
doublesrecord = 11–29
doublestitles = 0
highestdoublesranking = No. 127 (August 4, 2008)
updated = August 25, 2008

Lucie Šafářová (pronounced|ˈlutsɪjɛ ˈʃafaːr̝ovaː) (born February 4, 1987) is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.

Šafářová has won three WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amelie Mauresmo en-route. She has reached five singles finals: Estoril (clay), 's-Hertogenbosch (grass) and Forest Hills (hardcourt) in 2005; Gold Coast (hardcourt) in 2006; and Paris (carpet) in 2007.

Playing Style

Šafářová plays left-handed with a two-handed backhand. Her timing off the ground allows her to project ground strokes with little power. She is quick to spot opportunities to take the initiative. Her preferred surface is clay.

Career

2005 and 2006

Šafářová won in Portugal, but lost in the Netherlands to fellow Czech tennis player Klara Koukalova, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2. In August, she won her second tournament over the high-profile Indian teenager Sania Mirza in the final.

Šafářová started off 2006 with a straight sets victory in the final of the Gold Coast tournament, upsetting world No. 6 Patty Schnyder in the semifinal, en route to the title. Also in 2006, she made her first Tier II semifinal at Amelia Island, upsetting Nicole Vaidisova in the round of 16. She later lost to eventual champion Nadia Petrova. Šafářová then made another semifinal, this time at the Tier IV Palermo. She was later defeated by Anabel Medina Garrigues.

2007

At the start of 2007, instead of defending her Gold Coast title, Šafářová played the Hopman Cup, representing the Czech Republic. Due to not defending the points at that tournament, she came into the first Slam of the year ranked No. 70 and unseeded. Yet, Šafářová made headlines at the 2007 Australian Open when she stunned the defending champion and No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round, 6–4, 6–3. She then lost to fellow Czech Nicole Vaidisova, 6–1, 6–4, in the quarterfinals. After the Australian Open, her ranking rose from No. 70 to No. 31.

Šafářová continued her good start to 2007 at the Open Gaz de France in Paris. She reached the final, defeating Tsvetana Pironkova in three sets and Nicole Vaidisova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Justine Henin, all in straight sets. However, she failed against Nadia Petrova (4–6, 6–1, 6–4). She pulled out of her next event in Antwerp due to a shoulder injury.

Šafářová lost in R3 of both Indian Wells and Miami to Shahar Peer and Serena Williams, respectively. She defeated Daniela Hantuchova, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3, in the Czech Republic vs. Slovak Republic Fed Cup encounter. Šafářová then lost in the SF of Tier IV Estoril to Viktoria Azarenka, 6–4, 6–0.

At Roland Garros, Šafářová defeated Mauresmo again, this time in the third round of Roland Garros. She won, 6–3, 7–6(3). It was the second time in a row that Šafářová had beaten Mauresmo in a Grand Slam, after winning their only previous encounter in January at the Australian Open. In the next round, Šafářová lost in three sets to Anna Chakvetadze.

As the #25 seed, Šafářová defeated Zuzana Ondrášková at Wimbledon, followed by a win over Eleni Daniilidou in three sets. However, she lost to #3 seed (and world #3 ranked) Jelena Janković in round 3, also in three sets, after coming within two points of another Grand Slam upset. After several long rallies and winners, the match was described as the best WTA match of 2007 up to that point and the best women's Wimbledon match in many years.

Šafářová entered the 2007 U.S. Open as the #20 seed, defeating Jessica Moore in the first round and Andrea Petkovic in the second round. She fell to Marion Bartoli in the third round. Closing out the 2007 Grand Slams, she placed third round or better in all, and quarterfinals in the Australian Open.

2008

At the beginning of 2008, Šafářová once again decided to enter the Perth Hopman Cup. She was ranked No. 23 took on the World 56 Alicia Molik. The Czechs lost the match, 7–5, 6–2, followed by a loss with her partner on and off the court, Tomáš Berdych, in mixed Doubles. She then competed against Serena Williams, who represented the United States. Šafářová lost the first set, 6–0. She managed to come back to win the second set, 6–2, but lost the final set, 7–5. Šafářová and Berdych lost the first set of the mixed doubles, 6–0. They eventually had to leave the tournament, due to Berdych's health concerns.

Šafářová's second competition of the year was the Medibank International. In round one, she faced Australia's Alicia Molik. Šafářová won the first set, 7–6. In the second set, Molik was up, 6–5, but Šafářová was able to force a tiebreaker. Both had set points and match points throughout the tiebreaker, but Šafářová was able to come out on top, 12-10, leaving the final score, 7–6, 7–6. She subsequently pulled out of the second round against world No. 1 Justine Henin.

Šafářová entered the Australian Open as the number 22 seed. In the first round, she faced Catalina Castano of Colombia, losing, 1–6, 4–6, in 71 minutes. Later it was revealed that a gluteal strain was plaguing Šafářová during the match. She sustained the injury from her first round encounter against Molik at the 2008 Sydney Medibank International.

Competing at the Pacific Life Open in the United States, Šafářová, seeded number 26, lost, 6–7, 6–2, 4–6, in the second round to American Ashley Harkleroad. Following that, Šafářová played the Sony Ericcson Open, where she lost, 2-6, 1-6, in the third round to the number 4 seed Jelena Janković.

WTA Tour titles (4)

ingles (4)

A = did not participate in the tournament

Q = Qualifying round loss

Personal

Šafářová speaks three languages, Czech, German and English. She is currently dating Tomas Berdych, a fellow professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.

External links

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* [http://www.lucie-safarova.com Website about Lucie Safarova]