Aleksandra Krunić

Aleksandra Krunić
Александра Крунић

Aleksandra Krunić at 2014 US Open
Country	Serbia
Residence	Belgrade, Serbia
Born	(1993-03-15) 15 March 1993 Moscow, Russia
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Turned pro	2008[1]
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es)	Biljana Veselinovic,[2] Branislav Jevremovic[3]
Prize money	US$458,983
Singles
Career record	180–110
Career titles	0 WTA, 8 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 72 (6 April 2015)
Current ranking	No. 72 (6 April 2015)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	1R (2015)
French Open	Q2 (2014)
Wimbledon	Q1 (2011)
US Open	4R (2014)
Doubles
Career record	84–55
Career titles	1 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 89 (3 February 2014)
Current ranking	No. 91 (19 January 2015)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	10–5
Last updated on: 19 January 2015.

Aleksandra Krunić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александра Крунић; born 15 March 1993) is a Russian-born Serbian professional tennis player, who was, as of 2 March 2015, ranked No. 75.^[2] Krunić has won six ITF events — five in singles and one in doubles.^[3][4]

On 25 April 2009 Krunić debuted for Serbia Fed Cup team in a doubles match versus Spain. She partnered Ana Jovanović against Lourdes Domínguez Lino and Nuria Llagostera Vives, but the match was cancelled.^[5] Krunić was the runner–up of 2009 Australian Open in Girls' Doubles, along with Sandra Zaniewska. She made her WTA Tour debut at 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open, playing doubles with World No. 2 Jelena Janković.^[6] Krunić made her WTA singles debut at the Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix. In 2014 US Open, in her second main draw appearance at Grand Slam, Krunic won her first main draw match and then finished in top 16 at US Open, beating third seed Petra Kvitova in the process, but lost in three sets to Victoria Azarenka in fourth round.

Personal life

Krunić was born to Bratislav and Ivana Krunić, Serbian immigrants to Russia, and has a sister named Anastasia.^[7] She was born on 15 March 1993 in Moscow, Russia, she currently resides after Moscow and Bratislava in Belgrade.^[8] Krunić speaks Serbian, Slovak, Russian and English fluently.

Tennis career

Junior career

Krunić picked up a tennis racquet aged seven.^[7] She began training tennis at the Spartak Moscow club,^[9] which spawned numerous tennis stars such as Anna Kournikova, Anastasia Myskina, Marat Safin, Igor Andreev and others. Since then Krunić has been coached by Edouard Safonov.^[7][9][10] In 2006 Krunić reached the semifinals of Junior Kremlin Cup, losing to Bulgarian Dalia Zafirova 6–7(10) 6–3 6–1, who eventually fell to Ksenia Kirillova in the final.^[11] The following year she won three junior events, in Podgorica, Livorno and Maia.^[11] In 2008 Krunić reached the quarterfinals of European Junior Championships in Moscow and won the junior event in Budapest. She also played at the junior event in Kramfors, however withdrew from the final match against Croatian Silvia Njirić due to injury by a score of 6–3, 6–1 for Njirić.^[12]

In 2009 she played the second round of 2009 Australian Open in Girls' Singles, and the final of Girls' Doubles event, partnering with Sandra Zaniewska. The two lost to Christina McHale and Ajla Tomljanović 6–1, 2–6, 10–4. She reached the second round of both Girls' Singles and Doubles at the 2009 French Open, and lost in the first round of Girls' Singles at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. Krunić also partnered with Tamara Čurović at the Girls' Doubles event, however they lost in the first round to Tímea Babos and Ajla Tomljanović. In April 2009 she reached her highest junior ranking when she was ranked World No. 17.^[13]

Although she had decided not to play juniors anymore, Krunić took part in the European Championships organized by both ITF and Tennis Europe, along with Bojana Jovanovski and Doroteja Erić in the team of Serbia.^[1]

2008–2010: Beginning, Dominance on ITF Court

As a member of TK Red Star, Krunić won the national club championships in 2008.^[1] She was awarded with a wild card for tennis event in Prokuplje, Serbia, organized by the International Tennis Federation. On 6 July 2008 Krunić won the tournament and became the youngest ITF title winner in 2008 by winning this event. She beat one wildcard, third seed, and next three were qualifiers.^[9][11][14] In October 2008 she also played two ITF events in Dubrovnik, but lost both times in first round.^[3]

Krunić was invited by Serbia Fed Cup team coach Dejan Vraneš to join the team for the 2009 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs versus Spain. Jelena Janković and Ana Ivanovic secured Serbia 4–0 win.^[15] Krunić debuted in a doubles match played on 25 April 2009, along with Ana Jovanović, and they were down 6–2, 1–0 against Llagostera Vives and Domínguez Lino, when the match was cancelled due to rain.^[5] In 2009, Krunic won a total of three ITF titles, including first in doubles.^[3][16] On 14 September 2009 Krunić broke into the WTA Singles Ranking List, when she was ranked number 795.

In January 2010, Krunić won her fourth ITF tournament in Quanzhou, China, defeating domestic player Zhou Yi-Miao 6–3, 7–5 in the final, after beating top seed and compatriot Bojana Jovanovski in semifinal.^[17] In May, she won ITF singles title in Moscow and was the doubles runner–up. Krunić made her WTA Tour debut at 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open, playing doubles with World No. 2 and compatriot Jelena Janković.^[6] The two reached semifinals beating the fourth seeds Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Wöhr in process, but then had to withdraw from their semifinal match due to an injury of Janković.

2011–2012: WTA Tour singles debut

In February 2011, Krunić was once again invited to play for the Serbia Fed Cup team in the World Group II rubber against Canada. ^[18] She lost her debut singles match against World No. 84 Rebecca Marino in three sets. Krunić played the final doubles match with Bojana Jovanovski, beating Fichman and Pelletier 7–6, 6–4 to guarantee Serbia the spot in the World Group Play Offs.^[19] Serbia won that tie 3–2 against Slovakia, after Krunić and Janković beat Hantuchová and Rybáriková in three sets, 2–6, 7–5, 9–7, rallying from 2–6, 1–5.^[20] After this win, Serbia qualified for the 2012 Fed Cup World Group.

In May 2011, Krunić qualified for the ITF tournament Sparta Prague Open. She reached the semifinals where she lost to World No. 10 Petra Kvitová 6–4, 6–2, subsequently reaching her career-high ranking of World No. 208 on 16 May.^[2] At Grand Slams, Wimbledon and US Open, she lost in qualifying. Krunić qualified for her first WTA singles event in Budapest.^[21] She was leading in the first round match against Nina Bratchikova 7–5, 1–0, in the first round, when Bratchikova retired. Krunić lost her following match to the third seed Klára Zakopalová 7–5, 7–5.^[22] She played in Tashkent and after qualifications, Krunic won her second WTA professional match, losing just one game to Kamila Farhad. In second round she lost to Sorana Cirstea in tight two sets.

At 2012 Australian Open Krunic fell to qualify losing to Lesia Tsurenko in final round. In February 2012, she was a part of Serbian Fed Cup team. She lost in singles to Yanina Wickmayer, but won in doubles with Bojana Jovanovski to claim a historic victory for Serbia.^[23] In 2012 on ITF circuit, Krunic won one title and lost one final in both singles and doubles. At next Grand Slams she failed to qualify. In Baku Krunic reached first WTA main draw of season and finished as a quarterfinalist for the first time. She beat fourth seed Andrea Hlavackova and in second round Laura Pous-Tio, but lost in three sets to eventual champion Bojana Jovanovski.

2013: First Grand Slam appearance

Krunic started started season playing at the Australian Open qualifying, losing to Maria Elena Camerin with 9–7 in third set. At WTA events in Bogota and Acapulco Krunic tried to qualify but didn't manage. In Irapuato, Mexico, Krunic beat Olga Savchuk for first ITF title of the year and seventh overall, dropping no set the entire tournament. On clay season, she played four ITF tournaments and best result was in Trnava, Slovakia, when she went to semifinal. There she beat top 100 player and first seed Jana Cepelova in first round, but Barbora Zahlavova Strycova was better in two sets in semifinal. At French Open she lost to Mariana Duque Marino in second qualifying round, although she won second set 6–1.

After missing Wimbledon, Krunic played in WTA events Budapest and Baku without qualifications. In Baku she was the only player who won set against eventual champion Elina Svitolina. In doubles in Baku, Krunic played alongside Eleni Daniilidou, and went to first WTA doubles final. In final they lost in three sets. US Open was the first Grand Slam tournament where she qualified for the main draw – she beat Carina Witthoeft, Daria Gavrilova and Louisa Chirico to do it, all in two sets. But in first round great server Coco Vandeweghe was better in two sets 6–4, 7–6. Week after US Open, she played an ITF in Trabzon, Turkey, and won her last ITF title of a season, beating Stephanie Foretz Gacon in the final. In WTA events Linz and Luxembourg she played qualifications. In Linz she qualified, but lost to lucky loser Maryna Zanevska in three sets. In doubles, Krunic won three ITF titles and lost in two finals during the season.

2014: Breakthrough – Top 100, US Open fourth round and first WTA doubles title

In first round of qualifications at the Australian Open, Krunic lost to Zarina Diyas in three sets. In January 2014, Krunić qualified for the PTT Pattaya Open, but lost to Nicha Lertpitaksinchai 6–3, 6–3 in the first round. Next she played three ITFs and best result was quarterfinal, where she lost to Timea Bacsinszky. In WTA event in Katowice, Krunic didn't qualify for main draw, but at least she beat former top 30 player Tamira Paszek. In Kuala Lumpur she didn't need qualifications, but in first round she lost to Karolina Pliskova in two sets. On clay, she made it to the semifinal at two ITF tournaments. At French Open and Wimbledon she failed to qualify. In Bucharest, Romania, she played WTA event. In first round she beat Alexandra Panova, but in second round she lost to world No. 3 and domestic player Simona Halep in a match full of breaks. Last prepare for US Open was in an ITF in Poland. There she lost in early round of singles, but won doubles title alongside Barbora Krejčíková.

At the 2014 US Open Krunic started campaign in qualifications. As it was last year at US Open, Krunic again qualified at the same Grand Slam tournament for her second main draw appearance. She beat Petra Martić, Denisa Allertova and tenth seed of qualifications Katerina Siniakova to qualify. In that final round against Siniakova, Krunic won 7–5, 0–6, 6–0. In the first round of the main draw she played against good friend Katarzyna Piter and won her first ever main draw match at a Grand Slam, in two sets. In the second round, 27th seed Madison Keys awaited. Although they finished the match with the same amount of points, Krunić won in three sets. Next she faced third seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the third round. And Krunic's fairytale run continued – she won 6–4, 6–4.^[24] With that win, she was guaranted a world ranking in the top 100 for the first time. In the round of 16 Krunić lost to sixteenth seed and two time US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6.^[25] Eighteen time Grand Slam champion, Martina Navratilova, said of Krunić during the match "what a find she is, what an athlete".^[26] During the tournament, Krunić's compatriots Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Bojana Jovanovski gave her advice and support. She was nominated a "Rising star of the month", but Belinda Bencic had more votes by 5%. Also, match against Azarenka was one of ten matches nominated for Grand Slam match of the year award.

The Asian swing started for Krunic in Tashkent. Despite losing to Lesia Tsurenko in the first round of singles, Krunic managed to capture her first WTA title playing doubles alongside Kateřina Siniaková. They beat all opponents in three sets en route to the final, where they declassed Russians Margarita Gasparyan and Alexandra Panova 6–2, 6–1. In her hometown, Moscow, she beat Caroline Garcia, but lost to Tsvetana Pironkova in second round. In doubles, Krunic and Siniakova beat 1st seeds and top ten players Makarova and Vesnina in first round.

2015

Prior to the 2015 season, Krunic won an ITF in Ankara in late December as a top seed, saving a few match points en route. At first event in Shenzhen, Krunic qualified and then in second round won thrilling match against Anna Schmiedlova, rallying from 3–6, 2–5 and saving match points. In quarterfinal, eventual champion Simona Halep was better in straight sets. After the tournament, Krunic set a new career-high ranking at 77. At Australian Open Krunic played first Grand Slam without qualifying, and was beaten in first round by Lauren Davis.

Awards

• 2007 — Tennis Europe Silver Medal for Player of the Year U–14^[27][28]
• 2012 – Serbian Women's Team of The Year (as part of Serbia Fed Cup team)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	W–L
Australian Open	A	Q3	Q1	Q1	1R	0–1
French Open	A	Q1	Q2	Q2		0–0
Wimbledon	Q1	A	A	Q1		0–0
US Open	Q2	Q2	1R	4R		3–2
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	0–1	3–1	0–1	3–3

Top 10 wins per season

Season	2014
Wins	1

Wins over top 10 players per season

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Round	Score
2014
1.	Petra Kvitova	No. 4	US Open, United States	Hard	3rd Round	6–4, 6–4

WTA career finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) Premier (0–0) International (1–1)

Titles by Surface Hard (1–1) Grass (0–0) Clay (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	28 July 2013	Baku Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan	Hard	Eleni Daniilidou	Irina Buryachok Oksana Kalashnikova	6–4, 6–7(3–7), [4–10]
Winner	1.	13 September 2014	Tashkent Open, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Hard	Kateřina Siniaková	Margarita Gasparyan Alexandra Panova	6–2, 6–1

Junior Grand Slam finals

Girls' Doubles (0–1)

Outcome	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner–up	28 February 2009	Australian Open	Hard	Sandra Zaniewska	Christina McHale Ajla Tomljanović	1–6, 6–2, 4–10

Other finals

Teams final: 1 (0–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Team competition	Surface	Partner/Team	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	3–4 November 2012	Fed Cup, Prague, Czech Republic	Hard (i)	Ana Ivanovic Jelena Janković Bojana Jovanovski	Petra Kvitová Lucie Šafářová Lucie Hradecká Andrea Hlaváčková	1–3

ITF finals

Singles: 10 (9–2)

Finals by category $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $15,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments

Finals by surface Hard (2/0) Clay (6/2) Grass (0/0) Carpet (0/0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	6 July 2008	Prokuplje, Serbia	Clay	Tanya Germanlieva	6–4, 6–1
Runner–up	1.	12 July 2009	Prokuplje, Serbia	Clay	Dalia Zafirova	3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Winner	2.	29 August 2009	Velenje, Slovenia	Clay	Nika Ožegović	6–3, 6–1
Winner	3.	18 October 2009	Dubrovnik, Croatia	Clay	Karin Morgošová	6–0, 6–3
Winner	4.	10 January 2010	Quanzhou, China	Hard	Zhou Yimiao	6–3, 7–5
Winner	5.	22 May 2010	Moscow, Russia	Clay	Natalia Ryzhonkova	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Runner–up	2.	14 May 2012	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Bianca Botto	1–6, 0–6
Winner	6.	18 Jun 2012	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Clay	Chiara Scholl	6–3, 6–3
Winner	7.	10 March 2013	Irapuato, Mexico	Clay	Olga Savchuk	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Winner	8.	2 September 2013	Trabzon, Turkey	Hard	Stéphanie Foretz	1–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	9.	20 December 2014	Ankara, Turkey	Hard	Akgul Amanmuradova	3–6, 6–2, 7–6(8–6)

Doubles: 13 (6–7)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winners	1.	11 July 2009	Prokuplje, Serbia	Clay	Ema Polić	Aleksandra Josifoska Cristina Stancu	6–2, 7–6(7–3)
Runner–up	1.	21 May 2010	Moscow, Russia	Clay	Marina Shamayko	Anna Arina Marenko Ekaterina Yakovleva	2–6, 2–6
Runner–up	2.	14 May 2012	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Viktorija Golubic	Katarzyna Piter Romana Tabak	2–6, 4–6
Winners	2.	18 June 2012	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Clay	Ana Vrljić	Ksenia Lykina Isabella Shinikova	6–2, 6–4
Runner–up	3.	18 March 2013	Irapuato, Mexico	Clay	Amra Sadiković	Alla Kudryavtseva Olga Savchuk	2–6, 4–6
Winners	3.	22 April 2013	Tunis, Tunisia	Clay	Katarzyna Piter	Reka-Luca Jani Eugeniya Pashkova	6–2, 3–6, [10–8]
Winners	4.	05 Aug 2013	Izmir, Turkey	Hard	Katarzyna Piter	Kristi Boxx Abigail Guthrie	6–2, 6–2
Winners	5.	14 September 2013	Trabzon, Turkey	Hard	Oksana Kalashnikova	Ani Amiraghyan Dalila Jakupović	6–2, 6–1
Runner–up	4.	20 December 2013	Ankara, Turkey	Hard	Eleni Daniilidou	Yuliya Beygelzimer Çağla Büyükakçay	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	5.	17 February 2014	Kreuzlingen, Switzerland	Carpet (i)	Amra Sadiković	Eva Birnerová Michaëlla Krajicek	1–6, 6–4, [6–10]
Runner-up	6.	21 April 2014	İstanbul, Turkey	Hard	Michaëlla Krajicek	Petra Krejsová Tereza Smitková	6–1, 6–7(2–7), [9–11]
Runner-up	7.	14 July 2014	Olomouc, Czech Republic	Clay	Barbora Krejčíková	Petra Cetkovská Renata Voráčová	2–6, 6–4, [7–10]
Winner	6.	21 July 2014	Sobota, Poland	Clay	Barbora Krejčíková	Anastasiya Vasylyeva Maryna Zanevska	3–6, 6–0, [10–6]

Fed Cup performances

Participating (14)

Singles (5–2)

Edition	Round	Date	Venue	Against	Surface	Opponent	W/L	Result	Team Result
2011 Fed Cup	World Group II	5 February 2011	Novi Sad	Canada	Hard (i)	Rebecca Marino	Lose	3–6, 6–3, 5–7	Win (3–2)
2012 Fed Cup	World Group QF	5 February 2012	Charleroi	Belgium	Hard (i)	Yanina Wickmayer	Lose	1–6, 0–6	Win (3–2)
2015 Fed Cup	Europe/Africa Zone Group I Round Robin	4 February 2015	Budapest	Austria	Hard (i)	Patricia Mayr-Achleitner	Win	6–2, 6–2	Win (3–0)
		5 February 2015		Hungary		Timea Babos	Win	7–6(8–6), 0–6, 7–6(7–5)	Win (2–1)
	Europe/Africa Zone Group I Play-offs	7 February 2015		Croatia		Donna Vekić	Win	6–1, 6–1	Win (2–0)
	World Group II Play-offs	18 April 2015	Novi Sad	Paraguay	Hard (i)	Verónica Cepede Royg	Win	6–1, 6–3	Win (4–1)
		19 April 2015				Montserrat Gonzalez	Win	6–0, 6–2

Doubles (5–3)

Edition	Round	Date	Venue	Partnering	Against	Surface	Opponents	W/L	Result	Team Result
2009 Fed Cup	World Group Playoff	26 April 2009	Lleida	Ana Jovanović	Spain	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cancelled	2–6, 0–1	Win (4–0)
2011 Fed Cup	World Group II	6 February 2011	Novi Sad	Bojana Jovanovski	Canada	Hard (i)	Sharon Fichman Marie-Ève Pelletier	Win	7–6(7–5), 6–4	Win (3–2)
	World Group Playoff	17 April 2011	Bratislava	Jelena Janković	Slovakia	Clay (i)	Daniela Hantuchová Magdaléna Rybáriková	Win	2–6, 7–5, 9–7	Win (3–2)
2012 Fed Cup	World Group QF	5 February 2012	Charleroi	Bojana Jovanovski	Belgium	Hard (i)	Alison van Uytvanck Yanina Wickmayer	Win	7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–1	Win (3–2)
	World Group Semifinals	22 April 2012	Moscow	Bojana Jovanovski	Russia	Hard (i)	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Elena Vesnina	Lose	4–6, 0–6	Win (3–2)
2015 Fed Cup	Europe/Africa Zone Group I Round Robin	4 February 2015	Budapest	Ivana Jorovic	Austria	Hard (i)	Julia Grabher Sandra Klemenschits	Win	6–1, 6–3	Win (3–0)
		5 February 2015			Hungary		Timea Babos Reka-Luca Jani	Lose	6–4, 6–7(2–7), 2–6	Win (2–1)
	World Group II Play-offs	19 April 2015	Novi Sad	Ivana Jorovic	Paraguay	Hard (i)	Verónica Cepede Royg Montserrat Gonzalez	Win	6–1, 6–4	Win (4–1)

See also

• Serbia Fed Cup team

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aleksandra Krunić.

• Aleksandra Krunić at the Women's Tennis Association
• Aleksandra Krunić at the International Tennis Federation
• Aleksandra Krunić at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
• Aleksandra Krunić at the Fed Cup
• Official page at Facebook
• Unofficial blog

Women's Tennis Association: Top Serbian female singles tennis players as of 27 April 2015 1. Ana Ivanovic (7 1) 2. Jelena Janković (18 ) 3. Bojana Jovanovski (62 1) 4. Aleksandra Krunić (77 ) 5. Jovana Jakšić (201 15) 6. Vesna Dolonc (243 ) 7. Nina Stojanović (274 1) 8. Ivana Jorović (293 11) 9. Vojislava Lukić (392 9) 10. Doroteja Erić (423 9)

Women's Tennis Association: Top Serbian female doubles tennis players as of 27 April 2015 1. Jelena Janković (63 8) 2. Aleksandra Krunić (107 4) 3. Bojana Jovanovski (213 3) 4. Nina Stojanović (246 3) 5. Barbara Bonić (339 3) 6. Vesna Dolonc (366 4) 7. Tamara Čurović (397 14) 8. Natalija Kostić (445 6) 9. Teodora Mirčić (451 158) 10. Ana Ivanovic (544 4)