Amélie Mauresmo

Amélie Simone Mauresmo is a professional tennis player born on 5th July 1979 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. She is a former Women's World No. 1 (most recently Mar 20, 2006 - Nov 12, 2006) who faces a close battle for WTA top spot with current World Number 1 (Belgium's Justine Henin) and former World Number 1 Russia's Maria Sharapova.
Mauresmo and has won two Grand Slam singles titles to date, the 2006 Australian Open and 2006 Wimbledon. Mauresmo first reached the top ranking on September 13, 2004, holding it for five weeks. She is famous for her powerful one-handed backhand (a relative rarity in women's tennis).
On March 16, 2007, Amélie was recognized for her achievements when she received the Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur from outgoing French President Jacques Chirac.

Starting Out

Mauresmo started playing tennis from the tender age of 4. The early start served her well as Mauresmo won both the 1996 Junior French Open and Wimbledon titles. She was also crowned 1996 Junior World Champion by the International Tennis Federation.

Breaking Point

In 1999, the then unseeded Mauresmo reached the Australian Open final with wins over three seeds (including the then world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport), before falling at the final hurdle to world No. 2 Martina Hingis. Following her surprise win over Davenport in the semifinal Mauresmo came out as a lesbian to the press. Mauresmo is only the second ever Frenchwoman to reach the Australian Open final dating back to 1922 (Mary Pierce won it in 1995) and the third Frenchwoman to reach any Grand Slam final in the open era.

Becoming Number One

Although Mauresmo has been one of the top players for many years, she suffered criticism for her mental strength after succumbing to nerves in Grand Slams. In consecutive Wimbledon championships, she lost to Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport after leading comfortably. Her first Grand Slam title, the 2006 Australian Open, was seen by many as a hollow victory as three of her opponents retired, including Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final. However any doubts were cast aside as she won the 2006 Wimbledon title and proved why she's a World Number One!

2007 Feb 18th Mauresmo Wins Diamond Games Final, Antwerp

Amelie Mauresmo beat Kim Clijsters' 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to spoil the Belgian's last appearance on home soil to win in the Diamond Games final in Antwerp. Mauresmo's win made her the first player to win a hat-trick of Antwerp titles, and for that feat was awarded a diamond-studded racquet trophy worth US$1.3m.

Dubai 24 February 2007

Amelie was runner up to Justin Henin 6-4, 7-5 in the final.

Roland Garros

Amelie progressed to the 3rd round of Roland Garros, Paris by beating Nathalie Dechy in 3 sets. After losing the second set, the French number one cruised past her friend(6-3) (7-6) (6-1) to set up a meeting with 20-year-old Czech, Lucie Safarova in the 3rd round. Amelie's hopes of winning her home Grand Slam were dashed though as Safarova won 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

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