Iva Majoli

Iva Majoli Marić (Iva Majoli) (born August 12, 1977 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won eight singles titles and one women's doubles title during her career.

Career
Majoli turned professional in 1991 at the age of 14. At age 19, Majoli won the 1997 French Open singles title, defeating Martina Hingis in straight sets. Most had expected Hingis, 16 years old, to win the title. Majoli, however, played aggressively from the baseline and ended Hingis's 37-match winning streak.

Majoli played her best tennis as a teenager, reaching her career high ranking of World No. 4 in 1996. After a quarterfinal appearance at the 1998 French Open, she failed to reach the third round of any subsequent Grand Slam singles tournament. Her game steadily declined, with her ranking plummeting to World No. 131 in 2003. In the final years of her tennis career, Majoli suffered from a series of injuries - most notably a shoulder injury - and struggled to play consistently. Her jet-setting lifestyle, well documented by the press, may have contributed. Not living up to high expectations after her French Open title, she has been called yet another "One Slam Wonder."

In 2002, Majoli, ranked World No. 58, defeated Patty Schnyder, ranked World No. 30, in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. The victory increased Majoli's ranking to World No. 33. She reached another final shortly thereafter, prompting some to believe that she was climbing back to the top of the game. This, however, was wishful thinking, as Majoli's ranking then plummeted even further. On June 12, 2004, Majoli announced her retirement from the game.

In 2006, she announced that she was engaged and pregnant with her first child. She married a local businessman, Stipe Marić, on September 9, 2006, with Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce attending the wedding. She gave birth to her daughter Mia on October 31, 2006.

In 2007, Majoli participated in the second season of the Croatian version of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner was Marko Herceg. She was eliminated in the fourth episode.


statics
Country : Croatia
Residence : Zagreb, Croatia &Bradenton, Florida U.S.
Date of birth : August 12, 1977 (1977-08-12) (age 32)
Place of birth : Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Height: 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight : 61 kg (130 lb; 9.6 st)
Turned pro: August, 1991
Retired : June, 2004
Plays : Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money : $4,405,867

Singles
Career record : 316–225
Career titles : 8 (2 ITF)
Highest ranking : No. 4 (February 5, 1996)

Grand Slam results
Australian Open : QF (1996)
French Open : W (1997)
Wimbledon : QF (1997)
US Open : 4R (1994)

Doubles
Career record : 99–124
Career titles : 1
Highest ranking : No. 24 (August 21, 1995)

Runner-ups (13)
Singles (9)
* 1994: Osaka (lost to Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière)
* 1994: Barcelona (lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario)
* 1994: Essen (lost to Jana Novotná)
* 1995: Barcelona (lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario)
* 1996: Paris (lost to Julie Halard-Decugis)
* 1996: Leipzig (lost to Anke Huber)
* 2000: Kuala Lumpur (lost to Henrieta Nagyová)
* 2001: Quebec (lost to Meghann Shaughnessy)
* 2002: Bol (lost to Asa Svensson)
Doubles (4)
* 1995: Linz (with Petra Schwarz) (lost to Meredith McGrath and Nathalie Tauziat)
* 1995: Barcelona (with Mariaan de Swardt) (lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Larisa Neiland)
* 1995: Rogers Cup (with Martina Hingis) (lost to Gabriela Sabatini and Brenda Schultz-McCarthy)
* 1997: Hamburg (with Ruxandra Dragomir) (lost to Anke Huber and Mary Pierce)