The dream run is over for Croatian qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, but it’s one she won’t soon forget.
Fighting her way back on Sunday to a third set after dropping the first one to No. 13 Sara Errani, Lucic-Baroni was unable to pull out another stunner, losing in the fourth round 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.
The 32-year old, who hadn’t advanced this far in a Grand Slam since the 1999 Wimbledon semifinals when she was 17, called her upset of No. 2 Simona Halep in the previous round “the best day of my life.”
“I was fighting hard,” Lucic-Baroni said. “I think I’m living proof here the last two weeks that it’s never over. I’ve come back so many times here. So it’s never over.”
Lucic-Baroni’s journey to this point has been well documented in recent days. She moved with her siblings and mother from Croatia to Florida when she was a teen, alleging her father abused her. Lucic-Baroni didn’t play in any major tournaments from 2004-09 because of financial difficulties, but she doesn’t have to worry about that any more after earning a cool $187,300 for reaching the fourth round.
After dropping the first set 6-3, Lucic-Baroni received a massage on the sidelines and took a medical timeout, getting her right leg taped. She was a different player in the second set, breaking Errani twice, cruising to the second set, 6-2. But in the third set, exhaustion and fatigue crept in and she lost, 6-0.
“She’s a really tough player to play, and I felt like I ran out of gas at the end,” Lucic-Baroni said.
While retirement isn’t on her mind, Lucic-Baroni knows what she’ll do once her tennis playing days are over, and it’ll be helping her husband, who owns several restaurants in Florida.
“I’ve never [cooked] in his restaurant, but that’s actually sort of going to be my future career. I would love to have a cooking show, a cookbook,” Lucic-Baroni said. “My sister is president of a publishing company. She’s been pushing me to have a book out already, because cooking is one of my passions. So definitely I will be involved with that in the future.”
But the bigger picture was having to win her way in qualifying to get to the main draw and coming this far.
“Not even a billion dollars could compare to the feelings I’ve felt the last two weeks. Fighting and getting back and winning all my matches here, fighting from the dead. No one can buy that ever,” Lucic-Baroni said.