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Aravane Rezai

Fra
Residence: St. Etienne, France
DOB: March 14, 1987
Birthplace: St. Etienne, France
Height: 5' 5" (1.65 m)
Weight: 137 lbs. (62 kg)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status: Pro (January 1, 2005)
JANUARY - Reached 2r at Auckland (as No.7 seed, l. to Cibulkova); reached SF at Sydney (l. to top seed S.Williams 36 75 64; led 63 52); reached 2r at Australian Open (as No.26 seed, l. to qualifier Kerber).
2003 - Played first events of career on ITF Circuit in France.

2004 - Played first Tour qualifying at Roland Garros (as WC); won two singles titles on ITF Circuit.

2005 - Played first Tour main draw at Roland Garros, reaching 2r (as WC, l. to Sharapova); played second Tour main draw at 's-Hertogenbosch, falling 1r; fell in Tour qualifying twice; won two singles titles on ITF Circuit.

2006 - First Top 50 season; QF three times, at Palermo, Hasselt and Kolkata; strong showings in both Grand Slam main draws played, reaching 3r at Roland Garros (l. to Vaidisova) and 4r at US Open (l. to Dementieva); in only other Tour main draw, reached 2r at Budapest; fell in Tour qualifying nine times (incl. Australian Open, Wimbledon); won two singles titles on ITF Circuit; made Top 100 debut on July 24 (after Palermo; rose from No.102 to No.91) and Top 50 debut on November 13 year-end rankings (rose from No.51 to No.49).

2007 - Second Top 100 season; runner-up at Istanbul (ret. vs. Dementieva in final w/left patella tendonitis); reached 3r at Wimbledon (l. to Ivanovic); reached 2r twice, incl. US Open (l. to Ivanovic); fell 1r 18 times in 22 Tour main draws (incl. Australian Open, Roland Garros); played all four Grand Slams in a season for first time; fell in Tour qualifying three times; won one singles title on ITF Circuit.

2008 - Third Top 100 season; runner-up at Auckland (l. to Davenport in final); SF at Fès (l. to Dulko); best Grand Slam result was 3r at Australian Open (l. to Hsieh); reached 2r five times, incl. US Open (l. to Bammer); fell 1r nine times (incl. Roland Garros, Wimbledon); fell in Tour qualifying three times.

2009 - Breakthrough season culminating in first Top 30 finish, highlighted by first two Tour singles titles at Strasbourg (d. No.2 seed Bammer en route to final then d. Hradecka for title) and Bali (qualified for SF w/2-0 RR record; d. Martínez Sánchez in SF and won title when top seed Bartoli ret. in final w/left quad strain); surged past previous career-high of No.40 afterwards on November 9 year-end rankings (rose from No.44 to No.26); SF once, at Auckland (d. No.7 seed Pavlyuchenkova en route; l. to top seed and eventual champion Dementieva); QF once, at Palermo (as No.7 seed, l. to top seed and eventual champion Pennetta); reached 4r once, at Roland Garros (l. to top seed Safina; was second Grand Slam 4r - also 2006 US Open); reached 3r twice, at Birmingham (as No.15 seed, l. to No.4 seed Li) and Toronto (d. top seed Safina en route; l. to Kleybanova); fell 1r or 2r 14 times, incl. Australian Open (l. to Makarova in 3s in 1r), Miami (as qualifier, l. to Pavlyuchenkova 46 75 63 in 1r; held 3mp at 64 53), Rome (as qualifier, l. to No.10 seed A.Radwanska 46 62 76(7) in 2r; held mp at 6-5 in third set tie-break) and US Open (l. to No.23 seed Lisicki in 3s in 1r).
SINGLES
Winner (2): 2009 - Strasbourg, Bali; 2007 - ITF/Deauville-FRA; 2006 - ITF/Telde-Gran Canaria 2-ESP, ITF/Poitiers-FRA; 2005 - ITF/Roma Borghesiana-ITA, ITF/Saint Gaudens-FRA; 2004 - ITF/Castel Gandolfo-ITA, ITF/Settimo San Pietro-ITA.
Finalist (2): 2008 - Auckland; 2007 - Istanbul.
Semifinalist (3): 2010 - Sydney; 2009 - Auckland; 2008 - Fès.
Quarterfinalist (4): 2009 - Palermo; 2006 - Palermo, Kolkata, Hasselt.
Coached by father, Arsalan (was a car mechanic) ... Began playing tennis at age 8; baseliner whose favorite surface is hardcourt ... Mother, Nouchine, is a physiotherapist who travels with her; sister Caminde is a student; and brother, Anauch, is a tennis coach ... Speaks French, Persian, English ... Enjoys Indian films, Persian poetry and music ... Favorite food is kebabs ... Won two tennis gold medals at Muslim Women Olympic Games in Iran ... Would have pursued astrophysics had she not been a tennis player; intends to pursue it after tennis ... Favorite players are Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi ... Goal is to be No.1.