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Personal
Coached by Raj Chaudhuri ... Parents, Albin and Rodica, are Romanian-born and, along with brother, Mircea, are all physicians ... Father, a neurologist, was Tim GulliksonÆs personal neurologist ... In 2000, made a grant to the Tim and Tom Gullikson Foundation for a college scholarship program for brain tumor patients or their children ... Graduated from St. Andrews High School in June 1996, where she played No.1 singles for her school team.
Career Highlights
SINGLES
Winner (1): 1999 - Bol; 1997 - ITF/Bogotß-COL; 1995 - ITF/Salzburg-AUT, ITF/Katowice-POL, ITF/Sochi-RUS; 1994 - ITF/Nicolosi-ITA.
Finalist (3): 1998 - Tokyo [Japan Open], Bol; 1997 - Bol.
Semifinalist (2): 2000 - Rome; 1999 - Tokyo [Japan Open].
DOUBLES
Winner (13): 2006 - Sydney (w/Stubbs), Bali (w/Davenport); 2000 - Oklahoma City (w/Po), Indian Wells (w/Davenport), Bol, Tokyo [Japan Open] (both w/Halard-Decugis); 1999 - Wimbledon, Stanford, San Diego (all w/Davenport), Gold Coast, Birmingham (both w/Neiland), Tokyo [Japan Open] (w/Po); 1997 - Pattaya City (w/Kunce).
Finalist (7): 2006 - Linz (w/Srebotnik); 2005 - Australian Open, Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (both w/Davenport); 2004 - Philadelphia (w/L.Huber); 2001 - Australian Open (w/Davenport); 2000 - Berlin (w/Coetzer); 1997 - Tokyo [Japan Open] (w/Guse).
MIXED DOUBLES
Winner (1): 2001 - Australian Open (w/E.Ferreira).
Semifinalist (1): 2002 - US Open (w/Gimelstob).
ADDITIONAL
United States Fed Cup Team, 2005.
Career in Review
1994 - Played first four ITF Circuit events, winning ITF/Nicolosi-ITA.
1995 - Won ITF/Salzburg-AUT, ITF/Katowice-POL and ITF/Sochi-RUS.
1996 - Played first Tour event at Miami as a WC, reaching 2r; qualified for Tokyo [Japan Open], reaching QF; direct entrant into career-first Grand Slams at Wimbledon and US Open.
1997 - First Top 100 finish; won ITF/Bogotß-COL and reached first Tour final at Bol (l. to Lucic 76 third set); afterwards (May 5), broke into Top 100 at No.91; suffered a kidney infection April-September which resulted in 2r ret. vs. Osterloh at US Open; QF of Tokyo [Japan Open], QuTbec City and Pattaya City.
1998 - First Top 50 finish; two singles finals, at Tokyo [Japan Open] (d. Sawamatsu, Frazier) and Bol for second year (l. to Lucic again); Top 50 debut on February 23 at No.48 and on August 24, reached career-high No.29; scored first Top 20 win, d. No.17 Raymond en route to Berlin 3r; stretched No.8 seed Graf to 3s in US Open 1r and upset No.14 Testud in Znrich; extended No.5 V.Williams to 3s in Stanford.
1999 - Season highlighted by career-first Tour singles and Grand Slam doubles titles; ended 10-match losing streak (starting from Moscow in October 1998) by reaching Tokyo [Japan Open] SF (l. to Frazier in 3s); at Australian Open, held mp on eventual runner-up Mauresmo in 1r before falling; in third consecutive Bol final, won first Tour singles title (d. No.21 Halard-Decugis in final); QF at Strasbourg, Stanford, Znrich (d. No.7 Schett for first Top 10 win); won six doubles titles (w/three partners), incl. Wimbledon (w/Davenport; without losing a set); qualified for season-ending Championships in doubles (w/Davenport), reaching SF.
2000 - Became world No.1 doubles player on April 3, winning four doubles titles (w/three partners); in singles, career-first Tier I SF in Rome, d. No.9 Testud en route; Indian Wells 3r (l. to No.6 Pierce in 3s); as defending champion at Bol, reached QF, l. to Mauresmo after holding mp; fell, fractured left elbow during 1r at Wimbledon vs. No.2 seed Davenport, ret. from match and withdrew from doubles, where they were defending champions; missed US Open due to the injury; returned to the Tour in October at Tokyo [Princess Cup].
2001 - In Sydney, stunned No.8 Kournikova with a 62 61, 46-minute victory to reach QF; earned second career
Grand Slam title at Australian Open, winning mixed doubles (w/E.Ferreira); reached womenÆs doubles final
(w/Davenport), falling to Williams sisters in 3s on her 23rd birthday; sprained right foot in Berlin, withdrawing from Rome; off the Tour for the rest of the season after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia in May; underwent chemotherapy, after which she was in remission.
2002 - Underwent chemotherapy treatment; returned to competition on the Tour at San Diego in doubles (w/Po-Messerli), (l. 1r to Rubin/Shaughnessy 75 third set); tournament awarded her the first annual Corina Comeback Award, presented by Capriati; following week at Los Angeles, played singles for first time since Berlin in May 2001 (l. to Mikaelian in 3s) and reached doubles SF (w/Po-Messerli); reached US Open mixed doubles SF (w/Gimelstob) and doubles QF (w/Po-Messerli); suffered from right shoulder tendonitis late in season, forcing ret. in Bali 2r vs. Taylor.
2003 - In singles, went 3-8 in season dominated by rehabilitation from right shoulder surgery in 2002/2003 off-season and right knee injury suffered at Birmingham; didnÆt play first event of season until Strasbourg in May, reaching 2r there and at Roland Garros; withdrew from San Diego and Los Angeles w/right knee injury; ret. during singles and doubles matches in Shanghai with right shoulder tendonitis, forcing her withdrawal from Tokyo [Japan Open], Tashkent and Luxembourg; Roland Garros mixed doubles QF (w/Bjorkman).
2004 - Strong doubles season, highlighted by first final in three years (and 15th overall) at Philadelphia (w/L.Huber; l. to Molik/Raymond); also SF (w/Davenport) at Sydney (d. top seeds Navratilova/Raymond û d. them the next week at Australian Open û ret. in Sydney vs. Black/Stubbs due to DavenportÆs shoulder injury), Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (d. L.Huber/Sugiyama) and Indian Wells (d. Black/Stubbs, Petrova/Shaughnessy, l. to Ruano Pascual/Sußrez in 3s).
2005 - Season spent playing exclusively in doubles, highlighted by reaching third Grand Slam final; seeded No.15 (w/Davenport) at Australian Open, reached first major doubles final in four years (won 1999 Wimbledon, runner-up at 2001 Australian Open), falling to No.6 seeds Kuznetsova/Molik; in next event at Tier I Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (also w/Davenport), reached final (d. top seeds Black/L.Huber 61 63 en route; l. to No.2 seeds Husarova/Likhovtseva); two-time semifinalist, at Roland Garros (w/Schnyder; d. No.3 seeds Raymond/Stubbs en route, falling to No.2 seeds Black/L.Huber) and Beijing (w/Pennetta); also reached US Open QF (w/Schnyder); in Fed Cup, was 1-0 in United StatesÆ 5-0 victory over Belgium in World Group I 1r (w/Davenport, d. Flipkens/Van Hyfte), and 0-1 in 4-1 loss to Russia in SF (w/V.Williams, l. to Dushevina/Safina in doubles rubber); finished season as year-end world No.15 doubles player, and unranked in singles.
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