Mary Joe Fernández

Mary Joe Fernández

Country	United States
Residence	Miami, Florida, U.S.
Born	August 19, 1971 (1971-08-19) Dominican Republic
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	63.5 kg (140 lb; 10.00 st)
Turned pro	1986
Retired	2000
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$5,258,471
Singles
Career record	437–203
Career titles	7
Highest ranking	No. 4 (October 22, 1990)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	F (1990, 1992)
French Open	F (1993)
Wimbledon	SF (1991)
US Open	SF (1990, 1992)
Doubles
Career record	344–141
Career titles	17 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 4 (February 18, 1991)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1991)
French Open	W (1996)
Wimbledon	SF (1991, 1993)
US Open	F (1989)
Other Doubles tournaments
WTA Championships	W (1996)
Olympic Games	Gold medal (1992, 1996)
Last updated on: August 1, 2009.

Olympic medal record
Women's tennis
Competitor for the United States
Gold	1992 Barcelona	Women's doubles
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Women's doubles
Bronze	1992 Barcelona	Women's singles

Mary Joe Fernández Godsick (María José Fernández) (born 19 August 1971, in the Dominican Republic) is an American former professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in three Grand Slam singles tournaments and won two Grand Slam women's doubles titles and two Olympic gold medals.

Career

Fernández first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player who won four straight Orange Bowl junior titles. In 1985, aged 14 years and 8 days, Fernández became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the U.S. Open when she defeated Sara Gomer in the first round.

Fernández turned professional in 1986. She won her first tour doubles title in 1989 at Dallas, partnering Betsy Nagelsen. Her first top-level singles title came in 1990 at the Tokyo Indoor championships. She reached her first Grand Slam singles final in 1990 at the Australian Open, where she was defeated by Steffi Graf. She finished 1990 ranked a career-high World No. 4 in singles.

In 1991, Fernández teamed with Patty Fendick to win the women's doubles title at the Australian Open. She was back in the Australian Open singles final in 1992, this time losing to Monica Seles. Fernández was selected to represent the United States at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, winning a gold medal in women's doubles (with Gigi Fernández) and a bronze medal in singles.

1993 French Open Quarterfinal: Mary Joe's comeback against Sabatini one for the ages

In the quarterfinals of the 1993 French Open, Mary Joe Fernández staged a dramatic comeback against Gabriela Sabatini after Sabatini took a 6–1, 5–1 lead. But Mary Joe raised the level of her game and saved five match points in the second set before winning the tiebreak. In the 3rd set, Sabatini stepped up her game while Mary Joe's play dropped off slightly. With Sabatini serving at 4-5, an extremely compelling 7-deuce game unfolded, which included a couple of match points for Mary Joe. Mary Joe had another match point at 5-6, but she hit another error and Sabatini held. Then Sabatini broke to go up 7-6. However, Mary Joe Fernandez broke Sabatini's serve yet again to even the 3rd set at 7-7 with a brilliant drop shot. At 7-7 on Mary Joe's serve, Sabatini had a break point and tried to get the break by approaching the net, but Mary Joe Fernandez beat her to the net and hit an even better shot. Sabatini then hit two more errors to allow Mary Joe Fernandez to hold, 8-7. With Sabatini serving at 7-8, 15-15, Mary Joe drew Sabatini into the net and passed her for 15-30, missed another shot for 30-30, then Sabatini missed, resulting in another match point for Mary Joe. But Mary Joe would net her next shot, bringing the score to deuce. Two more errors traded by both players brought the score to deuce yet again. Then Mary Joe committed 2 more errors as Sabatini evened the 3rd set. At 8-8 with Mary Joe serving, she hit a double-fault and lost two more points for 15-40. Mary Joe won a point at 30-40 and almost lost serve on a controversial line call, but she came back with a great net play and Sabatini netted a ball and hit one long. At this point, Mary Joe now held a 9-8 third set lead as Sabatini prepared to serve. Mary Joe won the first two points on Sabatini's serve for 0-30, then a Mary Joe error and a Sabatini drop shot at net resulted in 30-30. Sabatini won the next point for 40-30, but Mary Joe smacked a winning crosscourt volley bringing the score to deuce. After a second deuce, Sabatini double-faulted which brought Mary Joe to match point. Mary Joe finally got rid of Sabatini by hitting a laser shot down the line for the winning shot, as Mary Joe won the 3-hour, 36-minute marathon beating Sabatini by a final of 1–6, 7–6(7–4), 10–8. After Mary Joe's epic win over Sabatini, some questioned how much energy she would have left against Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals. Mary Joe answered that question by topping Arantxa 6-2, 6-2 to set up the Championship showdown against Steffi Graf.

1993 French Open Final: Mary Joe gives Steffi all she can handle

Having reached her third Grand Slam singles final, Mary Joe found herself in the unenviable task of having to face Steffi Graf in the final. And the fact that Steffi had defeated Mary Joe in all 9 of their previous meetings certainly did not bode well for Mary Joe. However, Mary Joe nearly beat Steffi in the semifinals of a clay tournament in Berlin just prior to the 1993 French Open. So even though Steffi won that contest 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, there was room for optimism as Mary Joe headed into the 1993 French Open Final against Steffi, which would also be played on slow clay. Mary Joe came out firing, winning the 1st set 6-4. But Steffi came back to win the match by a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Mary Joe Fernández won her second Grand Slam doubles title in 1996 at the French Open, partnering with Lindsay Davenport. The pair went on to capture the year-end WTA Tour Championships doubles title later that year. Revealing the fact she had reached the climax of her career when she was 22 (she defeated Steffi Graf in the first set of French Open final).

Mary Joe Fernández was a late replacement for Chanda Rubin on the United States team for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She won a second straight women's doubles gold medal, again in partnership with Gigi Fernández. She was also entered in the singles competition (owing to a withdrawal), and reached the semifinals, where she was defeated for the bronze medal by Jana Novotná. Later that year, Fernández was a member of the U.S. team that won the Fed Cup. Fernández won her final tour singles title in 1997 at the German Open in Berlin. Her final doubles title also came that year in Madrid. She retired from the tour in 2000, having won 7 singles titles, 17 WTA doubles titles, and 2 ITF women's doubles titles.

Since retiring from the tour, Mary Joe Fernández has served as a tennis commentator for ESPN and joined CBS Sports as an analyst for the 2005 U.S. Open. She also coaches the U.S. Fed Cup team.

Personal

Fernández was born in the Dominican Republic, although her parents were themselves immigrants to the country. Her father José is from Spain and her mother Silvia Pino is from Cuba.

Fernández completed her high school education at the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, in Miami, Florida.

On 8 April 2000 in Miami, Fernández married Anthony Lewisohn (Tony) Godsick, a sports agent with International Management Group. They have two children: Isabella Maria (born December 11, 2001) and Nicholas Cooper (born September 15, 2004). Fernández has homes in Cleveland, OH and Key Biscayne, FL.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (0 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1990	Australian Open	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Monica Seles	6–2, 6–3
Runner-up	1993	French Open	Clay	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–2, 6–4

Women's doubles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1989	US Open	Hard	Pam Shriver	Hana Mandlíková Martina Navratilova	5–7, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	1990	Australian Open	Hard	Patty Fendick	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	7–6(5), 7–6(6)
Winner	1991	Australian Open	Hard	Patty Fendick	Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná	7–6(4), 6–1
Runner-up	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Zina Garrison	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	6–4, 7–6(3)
Runner-up	1996	Australian Open	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	Chanda Rubin Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–5, 2–6, 6–4
Winner	1996	French Open	Clay	Lindsay Davenport	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	1997	French Open	Clay	Lisa Raymond	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–2, 6–3

Year-End Championships finals

Doubles: 1 final1 (1 title, 0 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1996	New York City	Carpet (I)	Lindsay Davenport	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–2

Titles (26)

Wins (7)

Legend Tier I (1) Tier II (5) Tier III (1)

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

No.	Date	Tournament Name	Location	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	September 30, 1990	Nichirei International Championships	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Amy Frazier	3–6, 6–2, 6–3
2.	October 21, 1990	Porsche Tennis Grand Prix	Filderstadt, Germany	Carpet (I)	Barbara Paulus	6–1, 6–3
3.	February 28, 1993	Matrix Essentials Evert Cup (1)	Indian Wells, California, U.S.	Hard	Amanda Coetzer	3–6, 6–1, 7–6
4.	May 22, 1994	Internationaux de Strasbourg	Strasbourg, France	Clay	Gabriela Sabatini	2–6, 6–4, 6–0
5.	March 5, 1995	State Farm Evert Cup (2)	Indian Wells, California, U.S.	Hard	Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 6–3
6.	October 22, 1995	Brighton International	Brighton, United Kingdom	Carpet (I)	Amanda Coetzer	6-4, 7–5
7.	May 18, 1997	German Open	Berlin, Germany	Clay	Mary Pierce	6–4, 6–2

Doubles (19)

Grand slam events in boldface.

• 1989: Dallas (with Betsy Nagelsen)
• 1990: Tokyo Nichirei International (with Robin White)
• 1990: Filderstadt (with Zina Garrison)
• 1991: Australian Open (with Patty Fendick)
• 1991: Key Biscayne (with Zina Garrison)
• 1991: Tokyo Nichirei International (with Pam Shriver)
• 1992: Olympics Barcelona (with Gigi Fernández)
• 1992: Tokyo Nichirei International (with Robin White)
• 1993: Lucerne (with Helena Suková)
• 1995: Delray Beach (with Jana Novotná)

• 1995: Strasbourg (with Lindsay Davenport)
• 1995: Tokyo Nichirei International (with Lindsay Davenport)
• 1996: Sydney (with Lindsay Davenport)
• 1996: French Open (with Lindsay Davenport)
• 1996: Olympics Atlanta (with Gigi Fernández)
• 1996: Oakland (with Lindsay Davenport)
• 1996: Chase Championships (with Lindsay Davenport)
• 1997: Hilton Head (with Martina Hingis)
• 1997: Madrid (with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario)

Singles runner-ups (9)

Legend

Grand Slam (3)

Tier II (4)

Tier III (2)

No.	Date	Tournament Name	Tournament Location	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	October 15, 1989	Porsche Tennis Grand Prix	Filderstadt, Germany	Carpet (I)	Gabriela Sabatini	7–6, 6–4
2.	January 28, 1990	Australian Open (1)	Melbourne	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–3, 6–4
3.	April 21, 1991	Virginia Slims of Houston	Houston, Texas, U.S.	Clay	Monica Seles	6–4, 6-3
4.	September 22, 1991	Nichirei International Championships	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (I)	Monica Seles	6–1, 6–1
5.	January 26, 1992	Australian Open (2)	Melbourne	Hard	Monica Seles	6–2, 6–3
6.	February 9, 1992	Nokia Grand Prix	Essen, Germany	Carpet (I)	Monica Seles	6–0, 6–3
7.	June 6, 1993	French Open	Paris	Clay	Steffi Graf	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
8.	June 16, 1994	Peters New South Wales Open	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Kimiko Date	6–4, 6–2
9.	June 23, 1996	Direct Line International Championships	Eastbourne, United Kingdom	Grass	Monica Seles	6–0, 6–2

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	Career SR
Australian Open	A	NH	A	A	3R	F	SF	F	QF	4R	4R	4R	SF	A	3R	0 / 10
French Open	1R	QF	2R	A	SF	QF	QF	3R	F	3R	1R	4R	QF	A	4R	0 / 13
Wimbledon	A	1R	4R	4R	4R	A	SF	3R	3R	3R	QF	QF	4R	A	1R	0 / 12
U.S. Open	2R	3R	3R	3R	1R	SF	3R	SF	A	3R	QF	A	4R	3R	4R	0 / 13
SR	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 1	0 / 4	0 / 48

NH = tournament not held.

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

External links

• Mary Joe Fernández at the Women's Tennis Association
• Mary Joe Fernández at the International Tennis Federation
• Mary Joe Fernández at the Fed Cup
• Mary-Joe Fernandez ESPN Bio