Mirjana Lucic-Baroni’s time to shine

After her inspiring Australian Open 2017 came to end, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni pulled her mobile phone out of her racquet bag and took a video selfie as she was applauded off Rod Laver Arena.

“The court was full. It was just a beautiful moment,” Lucic-Baroni reasoned. “It was just something for me. I just want to have in my phone. It’s just that moment, full crowd, packed court. It was really a very beautiful moment.”

Who could begrudge the then 34-year-old for doing so? Remarkably, she’d waited almost 18 years to reach a Grand Slam semifinal again – and in a career characterised by struggle, this was a very beautiful moment indeed and one she deserved to cherish.

How do you even recap the story of Lucic-Baroni’s career? Many have tried – but as Lucic-Baroni pointed out, no-one really knows exactly what she has endured.

“People think they know – they have no idea. A lot of the times when I hear, like, injuries and things, those were not the problems at all,” she revealed.

“One day when I feel like talking about it, I will. Right now is not that day.”

What we do know is that Lucic-Baroni’s life has not been easy.

On-court success came early, she was a two-time junior Grand Slam champion at 14 and won the first WTA tournament she played as a 15-year-old in 1997. She won her first doubles event too, claiming the Australian Open women’s doubles title in 1998 to set a new record as the youngest-ever champion at the tournament. But off-court her life was far from happy.

As a 16-year-old she and her family fled from her abusive father, seeking political asylum in the United States. Financial difficulties followed and she became embroiled in a contentious lawsuit battle with her former management company. Consequently suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, she did not contest a Grand Slam between 2004 and 2009.

“The way I stopped, it wasn’t really kind of by my choice. I couldn’t travel. I wasn’t able to travel. I was stopped at the moment. I didn’t want to stop. I felt kind of a little bit of unfinished business,” Lucic-Baroni reflected.

Yet it is a period of her life Lucic-Baroni neither wants to remember, nor be defined by.

“I don’t want to focus so much on that,” she told the media during the Australian Open. “I kind of want to be known as amazing fighter, a person who persevered against everything, against all odds. And that’s what I take pride in.”

It’s a reputation she certainly enhanced with her heroics at Melbourne Park in 2017, where even passing the first round was a momentous result. A three-set victory over China’s Wang Qiang marked her first singles win at Melbourne Park since 1998, ending an unprecedented 19-year wait.

“It was tough, because last few years I kept losing first round and first round. It was really tough kind of going here,” Lucic-Baroni, who entered the tournament ranked No.79, admitted.

“My coach was saying ‘no, no, we’re gonna change that this year.’ I was like, ‘okay’. He said it that many times that I think I started believing him.

“I had a really good off-season. I prepared really well. I came in here just fighting really badly wanting to win that one round.”

Then the wins kept coming. She stunned world No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round, pounding 33 winners in a 62-minute straight-sets victory, then followed it up with victories over Greece’s Maria Sakkari and American qualifier Jennifer Brady.

Czech Karolina Pliskova, the No.5 seed and one of the title favourites, was next. Lucic-Baroni used her aggressive game and punishing groundstrokes to stun the in-form 24-year-old in a three-set quarterfinal.

“When her forehand sailed into the net, the moment I realised, ‘Oh my God, I’m in semifinals again’. Those two seconds right there, just kind of disbelief, is this actually happening, is the score right? That was incredible. I think that moment will probably stay in my mind forever,” Lucic-Baroni reflected.

That moment became one of the most memorable – and emotional – scenes of the tournament. Lucic-Baroni fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face before embracing her support team in celebration.

“This has truly made my life and everything bad that happened, it has made it okay. Just the fact that I was this strong and it was worth fighting this hard, it’s really incredible,” she told courtside interviewer Rennae Stubbs in an emotional on-court interview.

“I still wanted to play on a stage like this, on a full court like this. Come out, play, have these wins, be in a quarterfinal of a Slam, have a chance to fight for a semifinal. Those are incredible moments. Those are incredible accomplishments. I knew I’m able to do that,” she explained further in press after her quarterfinal win.

“I felt like these results were missing, for sure. This is what I’ve been dreaming about, this is what I’ve been training for. At 34 years old… I have a wonderful home. I’m happily married. I would be perfectly okay being at home enjoying my family. But I really knew deep down in my soul that I have these results in me. To now be here and actually live these moments, it’s incredible.”

Lucic-Baroni’s last and only previous Grand Slam semifinal appearance had been as a 17-year-old at Wimbledon 1999, where she pushed then world No.2 Steffi Graf to three sets.

“It’s incredibly special, especially since it’s been so long since the last time I’ve been in semifinals,” Lucic-Baroni said of reaching that stage again.

“The struggle has been so much bigger, and nobody in this world thought I could ever be here again… beside my little circle, I don’t think anybody believed that I could do it.

“It’s fun to prove everybody wrong, and it’s fun to enjoy this for myself and live these incredible moments. It’s more special this time, for sure.”

Again Lucic-Baroni faced a world No.2, this time Serena Williams, a player she had last played in a professional match as a 16-year-old in 1998. She lost in straight sets to the eventual champion but walked off court with her head held high.

Lucic-Baroni’s spirited Australian Open run also stretched to doubles, where alongside German Andrea Petkovic they reached the quarterfinals, just the third of her career at Grand Slam level.

After languishing outside the top 100 between 2000 and 2013, and missing countless Grand Slam events, these results justified Lucic-Baroni’s years of dedication to pursuit her tennis dream.

“I’ve done this sport since I was a little kid. These are kind of, like, awards for all the hard work… it’s very satisfying,” she said.

“I never thought about stopping, but it was difficult. It was a lot of tears, a lot of disappointments. It was really hard. It’s been a really difficult road for me. It’s been difficult to come back, but I’m very proud that I’m here.

“I think many would give up, and I really take a lot of pride in that, because it was really hard. I didn’t get no wildcards, I didn’t get any special treatment. I really had to do it on my own, and I had to fight so hard for it.

“It takes a lot of character. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of mental strength. [It] proves to myself who I am and what a fighter I am.”

It was that fighting spirit that evoked so much emotion and respect from fans during her Australian Open run.

“I felt like the whole world is with me and supporting me, sharing this really amazing moment with me. It’s really filled my heart with so much joy,” Lucic-Baroni said of the reaction.

“Just about every person I know, and don’t know, have accused me of making them cry,” she added with a laugh.

Lucic-Baroni’s Australian Open effort propelled her singles ranking to a new career-high of No.29, bettering her former high of No.32 she set in May 1998.

“Who would have thought at 34 years old I would be breaking my personal best? I mean, that’s a little silly. It’s crazy, but really fun. It’s really nice,” she said. “Like I said, I always knew I could do it. It’s easy to talk, ‘I belong here, I’m good enough to be there’. Until results speak for you, it’s all talk. I never like to talk like that.”

Since her Australian Open run, she had made semifinal appearances in Acapulco and Charleston, as well as the Miami quarterfinals. Now aged 35, Lucic-Baroni is playing the best, and most consistent, tennis of her career.

Her reward? A new career-high ranking of No.20 this week.

“I want to continue having success and playing well and enjoying this, keep going forward,” she says.

Such an attitude is hardly surprising. Giving up is not something Lucic-Baroni does.

“You keep pushing and you keep pushing, and nothing is working, and you keep pushing. That belief that eventually it will change… I think that’s what perseverance is, and I feel like that’s what helped me get here.”

This article was originally published in Australian Tennis Magazine.