Jana Novotna Biography

Jana Novotna (born October 2, 1968) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Jana Novotna was known mostly as a fast-court player, with her best results coming on the slick, fast grass courts of Wimbledon.

Predominantly a doubles player early on in her career, Jana Novotna began distinguishing herself in singles under the guidance of 4-time grand slam champion Hana Mandlíková.

In 1991, Jana Novotna broke through by reaching the final of the Australian Open, defeating Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario before succumbing to no. 1 Monica Seles in three sets.

Jana Novotna's career-defining moment came two years later, in the 1993 Wimbledon final. Following a note-perfect performance, Jana Novotna lead top seeded Graf 6-7, 6-1, 4-1, 40-15. Only moments away from a convincing triumph, she went completely off, missing easy shots, sometimes by phenomenal margins (including an infamous overhead smash that hit the back tarp) to give Graf the final 5 games and the title. Jana Novotna was left crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent. For the remainder of her career Jana Novotna carried an unfortunate, and probably undeserved, label of choker. However, the increased pressure on her at Wimbledon led to uninspired losses to Graf in the following couple of years.

It took four years for Jana Novotna to reach another Wimbledon final, but after winning the first set easily against Martina Hingis, Jana Novotna succumbed to the Swiss teen's accurate passing shots. Jana Novotna finally had her moment of glory the following year, at age 30. After routing a young Venus Williams in the quarterfinal, she avenged the previous year's final by ousting Hingis in the semifinal, and completed the feat by angling past another veteran, Frenchwoman Nathalie Tauziat, 6-4, 7-6, in the final.

Despite winning titles on all surfaces, Jana Novotna would forever be identified with Wimbledon, the site of both her greatest failure and biggest triumph.

Jana Novotna retired from competition in 1999.

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JANA NOVOTNA BIOGRAPHY