Iveta Benešová

Iveta Melzer

Melzer at the 2011 Australian Open
Country (sports)  Czech Republic
Residence Most, Czech Republic
Born (1983-02-01) 1 February 1983
Most, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro 1998
Retired 2014
Plays Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $3,329,488
Singles
Career record 378 - 332
Career titles 2 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking No. 25 (6 April 2009)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 4R (2011, 2012)
French Open 3R (2008, 2009)
Wimbledon 2R (2007, 2009, 2011)
US Open 2R (2004, 2008, 2010)
Doubles
Career record 269 - 224
Career titles 14 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking No. 17 (31 January 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 3R (2008, 2011)
French Open 3R (2005, 2006, 2010)
Wimbledon 3R (2010)
US Open QF (2011)
Mixed doubles
Career titles 1
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open SF (2009)
French Open QF (2011)
Wimbledon W (2011)
US Open 2R (2009), 1R (2012)
Team competitions
Fed Cup 11–12

Iveta Benešová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɪvɛta ˈbɛnɛʃovaː]) (formerly Melzer, born 1 February 1983) is a Czech former professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. On 14 September 2012 she married Jürgen Melzer and adopted his family name. She announced her retirement from professional tennis via her Facebook page 13/08/2014. In 2015, she divorced Melzer and reverted to using her maiden name.

Career

2005–2008

Benešová was the first player to be beaten by Ana Ivanovic in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2005 Australian Open.[1]

At the 2006 Australian Open, for the first time, she reached the third round of a Grand Slam by beating fifth seed Mary Pierce. She lost in the next round to former world number 1 Martina Hingis.[2]

Entering as a qualifier in the 2008 French Open, she reached the third round, beating 15th seed and compatriate Nicole Vaidišová in the first round, but lost to Petra Cetkovská.

2009

Benešová at the 2009 French Open

Benešová started the year by playing the first edition of the Brisbane International. She lost in the first round to qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva. A week later, Benešová lost in the final of the tournament in Hobart to fellow-Czech Petra Kvitová. At the Australian Open, Benešová lost in the second round to eventual semifinalist and fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva.

Immediately after the Australian Open Series, Benešová played in front of her home crowd in the Fed Cup tie against Spain. Despite losing her singles rubber to Nuria Llagostera Vives, the Czech team advanced to the semifinals after winning the tie 4–1.

At the 2009 Open GDF Suez in Paris, Benešová lost in the first round to world number 1 Serena Williams. Benešová then reached the semifinals of the tournament in Acapulco, a clay court event. In the quarterfinals, Benešová beat Mathilde Johansson before losing in the semifinals to defending champion Flavia Pennetta.

On 6 April 2009, Benešová achieved her career-high singles ranking of world number 25.

Benešová was seeded sixth at the first edition of the Monterrey Open. She beat fellow Czech Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to unseeded Li Na.

Benešová fell to Ana Ivanovic in the third round of the 2009 French Open.

At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Benešová beat Britain's Katie O'Brien in the first round, before falling to Jelena Janković in the second round.

2010

In singles, she defeated Romanian Simona Halep in the final of 2010 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem to win her first WTA Tour trophy since 2004.

In doubles, she has won three titles. Along with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, she grabbed the titles in Paris as their opponents Cara Black and Liezel Huber withdrew and Monterrey defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Vania King. Partnering with Anabel Medina Garrigues, she won Fes, making her winning both singles and doubles in the tournament.

Benešová at the 2008 French Open

2011

Benešová reached the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open, but was defeated by second seed Vera Zvonareva.[3]

Along with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová she won four titles in doubles.

At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Benešová won the mixed doubles title with partner and later husband Jürgen Melzer.[4][5]

2012

Benešová once again reached the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open, being defeated by eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.

On 29 April 2012 she won her last title at the Stuttgart doubles, again with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová.

She paused from playing tournaments until February 2014, mainly due to shoulder problems.

2014

In her first tournament as Iveta Melzer, she and her partner Petra Cetkovska reached the final of the Acapulco doubles which they lost in the third set.

At the French Open she played the mixed doubles with her husband Jürgen, they lost in the first round against top seeded Alexander Peya and Abigail Spears. It was their last Grand Slam mixed appearance together, at the Wimbledon mixed doubles Jürgen Melzer partnered Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Iveta Melzer ended her career on 15 August 2014, as her shoulder problems prevented her from playing her best tennis.

Personal life

On 14 September 2012 she married Austrian tennis player Jürgen Melzer in Austria at Laxenburg Castle. The relationship ended in 2015 and Iveta changed her name back to Benešová.[6][7]

Grand Slam finals

Mixed Doubles (1–0)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 2011 Wimbledon Championships Grass Austria Jürgen Melzer India Mahesh Bhupathi
Russia Elena Vesnina
6–3, 6–2

WTA career finals

Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runners-up)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Tier II / Premier (0–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (2–6)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 18 October 2002 WTA Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia Hard (i) Slovenia Maja Matevžič 0–6, 1–6
Winner 1. 7 March 2004 Abierto Mexicano TELCEL, Acapulco, Mexico Clay Italy Flavia Pennetta 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Runner-up 2. 20 April 2004 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal Clay France Émilie Loit 5–7, 6–7(1–7)
Runner-up 3. 28 August 2004 Forest Hills, Queens, Forest Hills, United States Hard Russia Elena Likhovtseva 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 4. 16 January 2006 Moorilla Hobart International, Hobart, Australia Hard Netherlands Michaëlla Krajicek 1–6, 2–6
Runner-up 5. 20 May 2008 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal Clay Russia Maria Kirilenko 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 6. 16 January 2009 Moorilla Hobart International, Hobart, Australia Hard Czech Republic Petra Kvitová 5–7, 1–6
Winner 2. 1 May 2010 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Fes, Morocco Clay Romania Simona Halep 6–4, 6–2

Doubles: 26 (14 titles, 12 runners-up)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (1–3)
Tier II / Premier (5–2)
Tier III, IV & V / International (8–7)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Partner Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 18 July 2004 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, United States Hard Luxembourg Claudine Schaul Greece Eleni Daniilidou
Australia Nicole Pratt
2–6, 4–6
Winner 1. 13 February 2005 Open Gaz de France, Paris, France Carpet Czech Republic Květa Peschke Spain Anabel Medina Garrigues
Russia Dinara Safina
6–2, 2–6, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 24 April 2005 Family Circle Cup, Charleston, United States Clay (green) Czech Republic Kveta Peschke Spain Conchita Martínez
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
1–6, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 18 June 2005 Ordina Open, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives Spain Anabel Medina Garrigues
Russia Dinara Safina
6–4, 2–6, 7–6(11-9)
Runner-up 4. 15 October 2006 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia Carpet Russia Galina Voskoboeva Italy Francesca Schiavone
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
4–6, 7–6(7-4), 1–6
Runner-up 5. 6 January 2007 Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Australia Hard Russia Galina Voskoboeva Russia Dinara Safina
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
3–6, 4–6
Winner 2. 30 September 2007 Fortis Championships Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard Slovakia Janette Husárová Belarus Victoria Azarenka
Israel Shahar Pe'er
6–4, 6–2
Winner 3. 23 February 2008 Copa Colsanitas, Bogotá, Colombia Clay United States Bethanie Mattek Croatia Jelena Kostanić Tošić
Germany Martina Müller
6–3, 6–3
Runner-up 6. 1 March 2008 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico Clay Czech Republic Petra Cetkovská Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives
Spain María José Martínez Sánchez
2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 7. 18 May 2008 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome, Italy Clay Slovakia Janette Husárová Taiwan Chuang Chia-jung
Taiwan Chan Yung-jan
6–7(5–7), 3–6
Winner 4. 3 August 2008 Nordea Nordic Light Open, Stockholm, Sweden Hard Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Czech Republic Petra Cetkovská
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová
7–5, 6–4
Runner-up 8. 2 March 2009 Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Italy Mara Santangelo
France Nathalie Dechy
3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 9. 13 July 2009 ECM Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic Clay Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Ukraine Kateryna Bondarenko
Ukraine Alona Bondarenko
1–6, 2–6
Runner-up 10. 29 August 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, United States Hard Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives
Spain María José Martínez Sánchez
2–6, 6–7
Winner 5. 25 October 2009 BGL Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Czech Republic Vladimíra Uhlířová
Czech Republic Renata Voráčová
6–1, 0–6, [10–7]
Winner 6. 14 February 2010 Open Gaz de France, Paris, France Hard (i) Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Zimbabwe Cara Black
United States Liezel Huber
w/o
Winner 7. 7 March 2010 Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
United States Vania King
3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Winner 8. 1 May 2010 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Fes, Morocco Clay Spain Anabel Medina Garrigues Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká
Czech Republic Renata Voráčová
6–3, 6–1
Winner 9. 2 October 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan Hard Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Israel Shahar Pe'er
China Peng Shuai
6–4, 4–6, [10–8]
Runner-up 11. 24 October 2010 BGL Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Switzerland Timea Bacsinszky
Italy Tathiana Garbin
4–6, 4–6
Winner 10. 14 January 2011 Medibank International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
4–6, 6–4, [10–7]
Winner 11. 6 March 2011 Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
United States Vania King
6–7(8–10), 6–2, [10–6]
Winner 12. 1 May 2011 Barcelona Ladies Open, Barcelona, Spain Clay Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová South Africa Natalie Grandin
Czech Republic Vladimíra Uhlířová
5–7, 6–4, [11–9]
Winner 13. 25 October 2011 BGL Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
7–5, 6–3
Winner 14. 29 April 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany Clay Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Germany Julia Görges
Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 12. 2 March 2014 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Petra Cetkovská France Kristina Mladenovic
Kazakhstan Galina Voskoboeva
3-6, 6-2, [5-10]

Singles performance timeline

Tournament20022003200420052006200720082009201020112012W–L
Australian Open LQ 1R LQ 1R 3R 2R LQ 2R 2R 4R 4R 11–8
French Open 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R 3R 3R 1R 1R 1R 7–11
Wimbledon 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 3–11
US Open 1R 1R 2R1 1R 1R 1R 2R2 1R 2R 1R 1R 3–11
Win–Loss 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–4 3–4 2–4 3–3 4–4 2–4 4–4 3–4 24–41
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH 1R Not Held 2R Not Held - 1–2
Year-End Championship
WTA Champ's Absent 0–0
WTA Premier Mandatory Tour
Indian Wells 2R 3R 3R 2R 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 9–11
Key Biscayne 1R A 1R 2R 2R A QF 1R 3R 3R 11–8
Madrid Not Held Not Tier 1 1R 1R 2R 1R 1–4
Beijing Not Play 1R A 1R A 0–2
WTA Premier 5 Tour
Dubai Not Held & Tier I 1R 1R 2R 1–3
Rome 2R 1–1
Cincinnati Not Held & Tier I 1R 3R LQ 2–2
Montreal / Toronto 1R LQ 0–1
Tokyo LQ QF LQ QF 1R A 5–3
Year End Ranking 81 140 36 54 60 119 43 39 60 54 81

Doubles performance timeline

Tournament200420052006200720082009201020112012W–L
Australian Open 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 2R 3R 2R 7–9
French Open 1R 3R 3R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R 1R 7–9
Wimbledon 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R 3R 2R 9–9
US Open 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R QF 2R 10–9
Win–Loss 1–4 2–4 3–4 1–4 4–4 5–4 7–4 7–4 3–4 33–36

References

  1. "Ten years of Djokovic and Ivanovic at the Grand Slams". The Roar. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  2. "Venus Oz Open jinx continues, mixed luck for Indians". The Statesman. 23 January 2009.
  3. AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2011: Vera Zvonareva bounces out Czech Iveta Benesova to make last eight | Mail Online
  4. "Melzer-Benesova win Wimbledon mixed doubles title". The Sacramento Bee. 3 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  5. "Straight win in mixed doubles". The Mercury. 5 July 2011. p. 44.
  6. "Jürgen Melzers Ehe ist gescheitert". www.news.at. News Networld. 10 June 2015.
  7. "Open Letter". Iveta Benesova. 15 July 2015.

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