Lucie Šafářová

Lucie Šafářová

Country	Czech Republic
Residence	Brno, Czech Republic
Born	4 February 1987 (1987-02-04) Brno, Czech Republic
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	2002
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$2,453,231
Singles
Career record	243–175
Career titles	4 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 22 (20 August 2007)
Current ranking	No. 25 (20 February 2012)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	QF (2007)
French Open	4R (2007)
Wimbledon	3R (2007)
US Open	3R (2007, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	30–62
Career titles	0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking	72 (15 June 2009)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	4R (2009)
French Open	2R (2006, 2009)
Wimbledon	2R (2005)
US Open	3R (2008)
Last updated on: 10 October 2011.

Lucie Šafářová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈlutsɪjɛ ˈʃafaːr̝ovaː]) (born 4 February 1987) is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.

Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en route. She has reached ten singles finals: Estoril (clay), 's-Hertogenbosch (grass), Forest Hills (hard) in 2005; Gold Coast (hard) in 2006; Open GDF Suez, Paris (carpet) in 2007; Forest Hills in 2008; Bell Challenge, Quebec City in 2009; Open GDF Suez, Paris (indoors) in 2010, and the BMW Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur and Danish Open, Copenhagen in 2011. She is ranked world no. 27 as of 10 October 2011.

Playing style

Šafářová plays left-handed with a two-handed backhand, and possesses a high topspin forehand similar to that of male tennis star Rafael Nadal. Her timing off the ground allows her to project groundstrokes with power, and she is quick to spot opportunities to take the initiative. Šafářová is notorious for having a volatile return, capable of hitting clean winners, as well as unforced errors. Her preferred surface is clay.

Career

2005 and 2006

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

Šafářová started off 2006 with a straight-set 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 Vaidišová 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 eventually defeated by Anabel Medina Garrigues. On August 19, she defeated Ana Ivanovic at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

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 Grand 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 Amélie Mauresmo in the fourth round, 6–4, 6–3. She then lost to fellow Czech Nicole Vaidišová, 1–6, 4–6, 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 Vaidišová, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Justine Henin, all in straight sets. However, she failed against Nadia Petrova, 6–4, 1–6, 4–6. She pulled out of her next event in Antwerp due to a shoulder injury.

Šafářová lost in round 3 of both Indian Wells and Miami to Shahar Pe'er and Serena Williams, respectively. She defeated Daniela Hantuchová, 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 Victoria Azarenka, 4–6, 0–6.

At Roland Garros, Šafářová defeated Mauresmo again, this time in the third round, 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 25th seed, Šafářová defeated Zuzana Ondrášková at Wimbledon, followed by a win over Eleni Daniilidou in three sets. However, she lost to third seed (and world no. 3) Jelena Janković in round 3, also in three sets, after coming within two points of another Grand Slam upset. 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 US Open as the 20th 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 made the 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 and took on world no. 56 Alicia Molik. The Czechs lost the match, 5–7, 2–6, followed by a loss with her partner on and off the court, Tomáš Berdych, in mixed Doubles. She then competed against Serena Williams. Šafářová lost the first set, 0–6. She managed to come back to win the second set, 6–2, but lost the final set, 5–7. Šafářová and Berdych lost the first set of the mixed doubles, 0–6. 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 1, 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 22nd seed. In the first round, she faced Catalina Castaño 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 26th, 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 fourth seed Jelena Janković.

2009

Šafářová began the year with a quarterfinal showing at the international hard-court event in Brisbane. She defeated the Australians Isabella Holland and Samantha Stosur, before being defeated by second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6–7(5), 4–6. After failing to qualify for the premier event in Sydney, Šafářová reached the third round of the Australian Open en route defeating Sybille Bammer and Marina Erakovic, before losing to Marion Bartoli, 6–3, 2–6, 1–6.

2010

Šafářová at the 2010 US Open

Šafářová started the 2010 season by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2010 Brisbane International, before losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters, 1–6, 6–0, 4–6.

She then suffered disappointing first-round losses at the 2010 Moorilla Hobart International, retiring against Kateryna Bondarenko at 2–6, 7–6(4), 2–3 and the 2010 Australian Open, losing to sixth seed Venus Williams, 2–6, 2–6.

Šafářová made her first final of the year at the 2010 Open GDF Suez in Paris by defeating Flavia Pennetta in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. She won the first set, but could not hold on, falling 7–6, 1–6, 4–6 to top seed Elena Dementieva in the final.

Šafářová then suffered two more first-round losses at the 2010 Monterrey Open, losing to Julie Coin 7–5, 4–6, 4–6, and the 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, losing to Julia Görges, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6.

At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, Šafářová was unseeded and won her first-round match, defeating Kaia Kanepi, 6–7(1), 6–4, 6–3, and then defeated María José Martínez Sánchez in the second round, 4–6, 7–6(3), 6–2, after being down match points at 5–2 in the second set. She then fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka.

At the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Šafářová upset world no. 2 and top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round. She then fell in three sets to qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova in the quarterfinals.

Šafářová upset world no. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but lost to eventual champion María José Martínez Sánchez, 6–7, 4–6, in the quarterfinals.

Šafářová upset world no. 12 Maria Sharapova in the first round of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. She then defeated Olga Govortsova and Alexandra Dulgheru to advance to the quarterfinals, where she beat world no. 18 Nadia Petrova. She retired from a thigh injury while trailing Aravane Rezaï, 1–6, in the semifinals.

Šafářová was seeded 24th at the 2010 French Open. She defeated Jelena Dokić in the first round, but was defeated by Polona Hercog, 1–6, 2–6, in the second round.

2011

Šafářová attended the 2011 Brisbane International and made it to the quarterfinals with tough matches from Akgul Amanmuradova and Shahar Pe'er, before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 2–6, 7–6(4), 3–6.

As the 31st seed at the 2011 Australian Open, Šafářová struggled through her first two rounds, defeating Shuai Zhang, 7–5 4–6 6–1, in the first round, and Klára Zakopalová, 6–3 6–7(2) 7–5, in the second. In the third round, she lost in two sets to world no. 2 Vera Zvonareva, 4–6, 6–7(9), having had a set point in the second set.

Following the Australian Open, Šafářová defeated Daniela Hantuchová of Slovakia in the 2011 Fed Cup, but retired in her second rubber against Jana Čepelová.

Her next tournament was the 2011 Open GDF Suez, where she fell to a resurgent Jelena Dokić in the first round, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. A week later at the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, Šafářová once again lost in the first round, this time to fellow Czech Klára Zakopalová, 2–6, 2–6. Her performance at the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was more positive, as she defeated world no. 10 Agnieszka Radwańska, 7–6(3) 6–3, before falling in three sets in the second round to Flavia Pennetta.

Šafářová had her best result in 2011 at the 2011 Malaysian Open, where she reached the final and held championship points against an in-form Jelena Dokić, but succumbed 2–6, 6–7(9), 4–6, having held two match points in the second-set tiebreaker.

She reached the second round of Indian Wells, beating Kristina Barrois in round 1, 7–6(9), 6–7(5), 6–0, serving a WTA season-high 18 aces, before losing a close match to 21st seed Petkovic, 6–7(8), 5–7. The following week as 31st seed, she had a bye in round 1 of Miami, before beating Patty Schnyder, 6–2, 6–4, in round 2. She then lost to fourth seed Samantha Stosur, 0–6, 6–7(1) in round 3.

Šafářová was forced to pull out of the Czech Fed Cup tie against Belgium the following week due to a left thigh problem. She attempted to play Stuttgart, but lost 1–6, 4–6 to Barrois. She then pulled out of Barcelona with the same leg injury.

Her next tournament was the premier Madrid event. She defeated Spanish player Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–2, 2–6, 7–6(3), coming back from 0–3 and match point down in the third set to win. She followed this with a 6–4, 4–6, 7–5 win over seventh seed Jelena Jankovic in round 2, and a 6–3, 6–3 win over Gajdosova in round 3, making this the second consecutive year she has reached the Madrid quarterfinals. She lost a hard-fought match to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6 in the quarterfinals.

In Rome the following week, she began with a 7–5, 6–2 win over Kimiko Date-Krumm. In the second round, she fell to Jankovic, 0–6, 3–6.

Unseeded at the French Open, she opened with a 6–1, 6–1 win over Kirsten Flipkens. In round 2, she led 6–2, 4–2 against 17th seeded German Julia Görges, but eventually succumbed 6–2, 5–7, 2–6. In the doubles event, she and Michaella Krajicek opened with a win over Miami champions A. Radwanska/Hantuchova, 6–7(5), 6–3, 6–2. In round 2, they defeated Pauline Parmentier and Kristina Mladenovic, 2–6, 7–6(3), 6–0, before falling to fifth seeded Madrid Champions Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko, 5–7, 3–6. This marked her best doubles result at the French Open.

As the fourth seed in Copenhagen, she made a series of tough three-set wins, never winning the first set. Beating Konta, Krajicek, Zhang, and Martic (after trailing 6–1, 4–0), she lost the final to home favourite and world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 4–6. She then travelled to Eastbourne, where she lost in the opening round to eventual champion Marion Bartoli, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(7), despite holding match point.

At Wimbledon, Safarova was seeded 31st. She defeated fellow Czech Lucie Hradecka, 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, in round 1; her first win at Wimbledon since 2007. She was defeated by another Czech, Zakopalova in round 2, 0–6, 7–6(3), 4–6. She next played on clay in Bastad, but was taken out by Vesna Dolonts, 3–6, 4–6, in round 1.

She pulled out of tournaments in Baku and San Diego, before returning to the tour in Toronto. Following wins over Polona Hercog and Simona Halep, she took out 8th seeded Francesca Schiavone, 6–3, 6–3 to reach her second Toronto quarterfinal. She lost this match to eventual champion Serena Williams, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6. In Cincinnati the following week, she defeated Zakopalova, 6–2, 6–2, but lost her second-round match to fifth seed, Li Na, 3–6, 4–6.

Seeded 27th at the US Open, she began by defeating Magdalena Rybarikova, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, scoring her first US Open win since 2007. She then defeated American wildcard Madison Keys, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4, before a disappointing round-3 loss to Monica Niculescu. In Quebec City the week following the US Open, she lost in round 2 to Andrea Hlavackova as the second seed.

Taking a small break, she re-entered the tour in Beijing. She lost in the first round to Petkovic, 6–7(5) 4–6. She followed this up with a semifinal appearance in Linz, Austria, losing to Dominika Cibulkova. The following week in the premier Moscow event, she took out second seed Agnieszka Radwanska in round 2, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, before losing to Kaia Kanepi in the semifinals, 7–6(4), 4–6, 3–6.

To finish the year, Lucie was a part of the Czech Fed Cup team. Despite losing both her matches to the higher-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, she and the Czech team won 3 rubbers to 2.

2012

Šafářová reached the quarterfinals in Sydney, but lost to Li Na, 2–6, 6–7(3). She was taken out in the first round of the Australian Open by Christina McHale, 2–6, 4–6.

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 10 (4–6)

Winner — Legend (pre/post 2010) Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) Tier II / Premier (0–2) Tier III, IV & V / International (4–4)

Titles by Surface Hard (3–3) Grass (0–1) Clay (1–0) Carpet (0–2)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	May 1, 2005	Estoril, Portugal	Clay	Li Na	6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	2.	June 18, 2005	's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands	Grass	Klára Zakopalová	6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Winner	3.	August 20, 2005	Forest Hills, United States	Hard	Sania Mirza	3–6, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	4.	January 7, 2006	Gold Coast, Australia	Hard	Flavia Pennetta	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	February 5, 2007	Paris, France	Carpet (i)	Nadia Petrova	6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Winner	6.	August 23, 2008	Forest Hills, New York, USA	Hard	Peng Shuai	6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	7.	September 20, 2009	Quebec City, Canada	Carpet	Melinda Czink	6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Runner-up	8.	February 14, 2010	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Elena Dementieva	7–6(5), 1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	9.	March 6, 2011	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Hard	Jelena Dokić	6–2, 6–7(9), 4–6
Runner-up	10.	June 11, 2011	Copenhagen, Denmark	Hard (i)	Caroline Wozniacki	1–6, 4–6

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through Kremlin Cup, which ended on October 12, 2008.

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	W–L
Australian Open	LQ	1R	QF	1R	3R	1R	3R	1R	8–7
French Open	1R	1R	4R	2R	2R	2R	2R	-	7–7
Wimbledon	1R	A	3R	1R	1R	1R	2R	-	3–5
US Open	1R	2R	3R	1R	1R	1R	3R	-	5–7
Win–Loss	0–3	1–3	11–4	1–4	3–4	1–4	6–4	0–1	23–27
WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments
Indian Wells	A	3R	3R	2R	2R	1R	2R	-	3–6
Miami	A	2R	3R	3R	2R	3R	3R	-	6–6
Madrid	Not Held				3R	SF	QF	-	9–3
Beijing	Not Tier I				2R	1R	A	-	1–2
WTA Premier 5 Tournaments
Dubai	Not Tier I				A	A	1R	-	0–1
Rome	A	2R	A	1R	2R	QF	2R	-	6–5
Cincinnati	Not Tier I				2R	1R	2R	-	2–3
Montréal/Toronto	1R	2R	2R	A	QF	1R	QF	-	8–6
Tokyo	A	A	A	A	3R	2R	-	-	3–2
Former WTA Tier I Tournaments (currently neither Premier Mandatory nor Premier 5 events)
Doha	Not Tier I			1R	Not Held		2R	-	1–2
Berlin	A	A	Not Held			3R	2R	-	3–2
Zurich	Q	A	A	NTI	Not Held			-	0–0
Charleston	A	3R	A	A	NM5			-	2–1
Moscow	Q	A	A	-				-	0–0
San Diego	A	1R	2R	Not Held			NM5	-	1–2
Tournaments Won	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Year End Ranking	50	41	24	63	40	33	25	N/A

Personal

Šafářová speaks three languages, Czech, German and English. She was in a relationship with fellow Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych until they broke in 2011.

External links

• Lucie Šafářová at the Women's Tennis Association
• Lucie Šafářová at the International Tennis Federation
• Lucie Šafářová at the Fed Cup
• Website about Lucie Šafářová