Life is strange sometimes, someone like Donna Vekic knows that very well. When it comes to tennis, they call someone like her a veteran, with a wink. Because she is only 26 years old, but she was 15 when she first appeared on the women’s tour. She has really experienced a lot. She has won three tournaments, but has now confessed to wanting to quit tennis twice. She racked her brains endlessly to see if she could manage to play her way to the top again. And how it can get better.
Then coincidence came around the corner – and she got better. So good that now, on this hot Monday afternoon, she’s sitting in the Australian Open’s main interview room, which has cooled down and is all smiles. She is in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the second time in her career, in 2019 she had such a sense of achievement at the US Open in New York.
But this time there is a difference: for the first time, Vekic truly believes, she said, that she can win such a significant tournament. That’s because of San Diego – and because of Pam Shriver.
Last October, Vekic ran into the former American top player at the high-class WTA tournament in Southern California. It was understood that Shriver – once number three in the world in the 1980s and decorated with an incredible 21 doubles titles at Grand Slams – immediately had a positive influence on Vekic’s game. The Croatian acted more aggressively, courageously and without frills, then defeated the top pros Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Aryna Sabalenka and Danielle Collins one after the other.
Well, in Melbourne, after beating huge Czech talent Linda Fruhvirtova, 17, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, she kept mentioning the California city. “San Diego has been an important week for me,” she said. There she would have asked Shriver directly “if she wants to join Team DV”. Nikola Horvat remains her main coach. Vekic then lost to world number one Iga Swiatek, but the strong performances gave her new self-confidence and this in turn gave her a new perspective: “I saw during the week that I can do it. If I can do it there, why not here? ” Vekic said. “And if it doesn’t work out here, then in the next few years, I really believe that.” They were remarkable sentences. Because basically they were expected many years ago – and in the meantime no longer expected that they would come out of Vekic’s mouth.
In the quarterfinals against Aryna Sabalenka, she not only plays for herself – “I’m trying to take revenge for Belinda”
Vekic, who comes from a family of athletes, was highly valued early on because of her tennis talent. The recently deceased coaching legend Nick Bollettieri even saw in her “the greatest promise in women’s tennis since Maria Sharapova”. At 16, as a qualifier, she reached the final at the WTA tournament in Tashkent, quickly climbing into the top 100. She competed in her first Grand Slam event in Melbourne in 2013 and is at the Australian Open for the eleventh time, “I’ve been around for a while,” she said, smiling.
$5.6 million in prize money that she earned indicates her long presence, but one thing she still hadn’t quite achieved: winning one of the big titles. On the one hand, she temporarily lacked the belief that she could achieve such a goal, also due to numerous injuries such as a knee operation in 2021. Tennis is a merciless head sport in this regard. On the other hand, she didn’t have the playful qualities to regularly go deep in a Grand Slam. Her path is all the more fascinating now, telling that it can always be worthwhile, even after a few years, to tinker with oneself and one’s approach.
Pam Shriver at a tournament in 2019.
(Photo: Dave Shopland/BPI/Shutterstock/Imago)
Vekic, she explained, let go of tennis, which no longer has the priority it has had in the past ten years. Her approach is reminiscent of the wise turtle Cassiopeia in Michael Ende’s great book “Momo”, who always said: “The slower, the faster.” She wanted to enjoy her tennis life, and when she performed at Margaret Court Arena on Monday and was loudly cheered on by a group, she did. Those are moments of joy, “you can’t beat them”. Of course, Shriver was also in her box, the now 60-year-old is known for her direct manner, but Vekic thinks that’s a good thing. “At the end of the day, you want to hear those things that make you better,” she said, adding that she can handle criticism. She sounded mature and clarified.
In the quarter-finals, the Croatian Vekic meets the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who ultimately gave the Olympic champion Belinda Bencic little chance with her brute blows 7: 5, 6: 2. The Swiss is Vekic’s best friend, so she said goodbye to the room with a clear announcement: “I’m trying to take revenge for Belinda.” She laughed, but she meant it very, very seriously.