 | Born: 16/4/72 Nationality: Spanish Seeded: 13 World ranking: 16 Australian Open best:
Runner-up (1998) Recent record:
2003: 1st round
2002: 2nd round
2001: 2nd round |
The 31-year-old Spaniard had something of a revival last season that saw her ranked as high as 12 going into the US Open. A former world number two and Wimbledon champion, there was every reason to think Martinez was heading for retirement.
The days of the mid-1990s when she was a Grand Slam contender seemed long gone and her last title came in Berlin back in 2000.
In addition, her slow-paced baseline game based on looping groundstrokes looked out of touch compared with the aggression of the Williams sisters and the Belgians.
But experience counts, and Martinez used all hers to earn some notable results on her favoured clay and in the grasscourt season.
She reached the last eight at the French Open and the final at Eastbourne, before suffering something of a slump on hardcourts in the latter part of the year.
MMIX
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