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The picture above was taken at Wimbledon in 1997, just weeks after she had won the French Championships.
Iva Majoli was coached by her father and brother in her home counry
of Croatia but then moved to the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in the
United States and turned professional in 1991. The following year she
ranked No. 50 in the World after reaching the quarterfinal stage at
Houston, Oakland and Indianapolis. At the French Open in 1993 she was
unseeded but reached the last sixteen and was voted the Most Impressive
Newcomer by the WTA, finishing the year at No. 46 in the world. She
moved into the top 20 in 1994 after reaching her first tour final at
Ostrava, following that with runner-up placings at Barcelona and Essen.
She reached the last sixteen at the French and U.S Open Championships
and finished the year at No. 13 in the world. 1995 proved to be a
successful year as Iva reached the quarterfinal of the French Open,
beating Mary Pierce 6-2, 6-3 to get to that stage, but was then beaten
by Kimiko Date 7-5, 6-1. Majoli then moved to No. 9 in the rankings
after winning her first tour titles at Zurich and Filderstadt and
reaching several semi and quarterfinals. The next year Iva beat Sabine
Appelmans 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinal of the Australian Open
where she was then beaten by Monica Seles 6-1, 6-2. She reached the
same stage at Roland Garros, only to be beaten by Steffi Graf 6-3, 6-1,
and was No. 7 in the world at the end of that year.
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