|
Mary Pierce became the youngest player to make her professional debut
when she played at Hilton Head in 1989, age fourteen, although this
record was broken by Jennifer Capriati the following year. In 1990 she
reached the semifinal in Athens and moved to France (her mother's native
country) representing them in the Federation Cup later that year. She
chose to play in France after the U.S. Tennis Association refused to
support her because of her father's aggression. Away from her father's
interferance her confidence grew and she improved as a player with Nick
Bollettieri as her coach. In 1991 she won her first career title, at
Palermo, beating Cecchini 6-0, 6-3 which moved her into the World Top
50.
She then won three title in 1992. Mary Pierce's father was banished
in 1993 from following her round the international circuit and after
this she became noticeably more relaxed. She beat both Gabriela Sabatini
and Martina Navratilova to reach the semifinals at the VS Championships
and reached the quarter finals of the Australian championships. In 1994
she moved into the very top of world tennis by reaching her first Grand
Slam final, fittingly the French Championship, in her adopted country.
However, she lost to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-4, 6-4. but in 1995 did
attain the heights of Grand Slam winner when she took the Australian
title by beating Sanchez-Vicario 6-3, 6-2 in Melbourne.
|