Joannette Kruger
Joannette Kruger ( born September 3, 1973 in Johannesburg ) is a former South African tennis player.
Career
Joannette Kruger managed first time in 1993 under the Top100. The following year, she reached the third round of the French Open, where she defeated Steffi Graf in a tough three- set match. In March 1995, Kruger won her first tournament in Puerto Rico and pushes it into the top fifty. In Rome, she succeeds with the success over Anke Huber, the first victory over a Top 10 player, in Leipzig, she defeats Lindsay Davenport. In 1997 she obtained her second individual title in Prague. Shortly thereafter, she has her best result at a Grand Slam tournament by reaching the fourth round in New York. The following year, Kruger move into the final of Oklahoma City, where she was able to defeat against Serena Williams 6-1, 6-1. The first success over a top 5 player, she celebrated in Indian Wells, where she ausschaltete Amanda Coetzer in the second round. In May 1998, she achieved her best ranking (No. 21). 2000 was the best season of her career. Kruger reached three semi-finals, inter alia, at the German Open in Berlin. Here she managed the number three in the world Nathalie Tauziat 6-2 to beat 6:0 and a 0:5 catch up in the quarter final against Elena Dementieva in the third set. 2001 is Kruger for the third time in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open and the finals of Bali. After that, the South African has to pause for a year because of a stomach muscle. In 2003, she ventured an unsuccessful comeback and finished the end of the season their careers.