At the end of this week, Melbourne will crown two new champions in the singles’ draws. There may be first-time champions, there may be old-timers winning the silverware - but win or lose, there are two women marching their way into the weekend that you simply cannot miss.
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni turned pro in 1997, won the Australian Open doubles title with Martina Hingis at age 16 and the very next year, made the semifinals of the Wimbledon.
She was what we call ‘the next big thing’, only, personal problems, including alleged abuse at the hands of her father, cut the heart out of her career and she simply wilted in the shadows. Even giving up the sport in the late 2000s.
In 2008 though, she returned. Starting from the bottom. The unknown world of the Challenger circuit was her stepping stone and last week, on Tuesday, she won her second-ever match at the Australian Open. 19 years after she had won the opener in 1998.
Mirjana is now in the semifinals of the Australian Open. One among the final 4.
Venus Williams. This one you know.
The elder of the Williams sibling. The first off the blocks. Owner of seven Grand Slam singles titles, diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder at 29.
2011 saw a drastic dip in Venus’ career graph and while most thought it would be the end of her career, the champion has fought back. And 2016 was witness. Two fourth round appearances in Paris and New York and also a semi-final at the Wimbledon.
But at 36, Venus Williams is redefining ‘goals’ on the ATP circuit. With her quarter-final victory on Tuesday against 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Venus reached her 21st Grand Slam semifinal but her first at the Australian Open in 14 years.
Among her peers, she became the oldest player to reach the semifinals at the Slam in the Open era.
Venus Williams will play unseeded American CoCo Vandeweghe for a spot in the finals on Thursday.
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