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By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 27, 2015

 
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni stunned No. 3 seed Simona Halep for the second time in a Grand Slam, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the Roland Garros third round for the first time in 14 years.

Photo credit: Roland Garros

Gazing at the service box from behind a pair of tinted sunglasses, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni banged an ace out wide, dropped her racquet aside, thrust her arms skyward and unleashed the wide smile of a winner.

It was the only time the 33-year-old veteran was disarmed all day.

More: Federer Dissects Granollers To Reach Third Round

Playing bold first-strike tennis, the 2014 Comeback Player of the Year sent 2014 French Open finalist Simona Halep packing for the second time from a Grand Slam tournament.

An inspired Lucic-Baroni stunned the third-seeded Halep, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the Roland Garros third round for the first time in 14 years.

"It's incredible," Lucic-Baroni told the crowd in her on-court interview. "Simona is such a great champion, and I respect her so much, and to play this well on such a big stadium makes me so happy. She's such a great champion so I knew if I wanted to win I had to go for my shots, and that's my game anyway, so I just tried to keep going for it and try to keep my unforced errors down, as well."

It was a haunting case of major deja vu for the world No. 3.

A listless Halep had no answer for the 70th-ranked Croatian, who upset the then second-seeded Romanian by a similar score, 7-6 (6), 6-2, at the U.S. Open last summer.

Given the fact Lucic-Baroni entered the match with just two clay-court victories to her credit this year — her first-round win over American Lauren Davis was Lucic-Baroni's first French Open victory in 13 years — the prospect of repeating the feat figured to be much more difficult on a slower track today.

None of that mattered much to Lucic-Baroni, who barely looked stressed beneath her white visor. The 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist hammered 24 more winners than Halep (29 to 5), changed direction with heavy strikes down the line, won all eight trips to net and forced the Romanian into defensive running replies.

Halep, who had not reached a clay-court final this season, took a treatment time-out in the first set and looked increasingly lost and lethargic as the match progressed.

Lucic-Baroni never allowed Halep to get comfortable on court. Playing with kinesiology tape wrapping her right shoulder, the Florida resident played with clarity and conviction. Lucic-Baroni kep the ball deep in the court, denying her opponent access to angles in building leads of 3-1 and 5-3.

When Halep fought back to 5-all, it was clear the first set would be crucial to the outcome. Lucic-Baroni took command, reeling off seven straight games to put the Romanian in the rear-view mirror, 7-5, 5-0.




Crunching a forehand to reach match point, Lucic-Baroni took her time, eyed the service box then zapped that ace wide to close the one hour, 11-minute match in emphatic style. The serve set the tone: Lucic-Baroni permitted only five points on first serve and faced just two break points in the match.

"I'm so proud of myself, it's such a huge win for me, it's just amazing," Lucic-Baroni said afterward.

The former teenage phenom will face 29th-seeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet for a spot in the round of 16.

In April of 1997 Lucic-Baroni won the first WTA tournament she entered in Bol, Croatia and reached the final of her second pro tournament in Strasbourg, falling to Steffi Graf. Less than a year later, in her first pro doubles event, Lucic-Baroni partnered Martina Hingis to become the youngest player in history to win an Australian Open doubles title at age 15 years, 10 months, and 21 days. She won two titles and reached the 1999 Wimbledon semifinals, but stepped away from the game after experiencing problems with her domineering father.

Today, she turned the red clay into a revival ground.


 

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