Ayumi Morita life and biography

Ayumi Morita is a Japanese female tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of 64th in the world on July 6, 2009 and is currently the second highest ranked Japanese player in the world, after Kimiko Date Krumm (ranked 52nd), and the eighth overall in Asia. At Junior level, she reached a career high ranking of No. 3.

CAREER:

On January 5, 2009, Morita upset former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Michaëlla Krajicek in the final round of qualifying to reach the main draw of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She faced third set deficits in all three of her qualifying matches, including a 4-1 deficit in her first match against Katie O'Brien.

2011:
Her first tournament of 2011 was the 2011 ASB Classic. She faced Romanian teenager Simona Halep and lost 6-0, 7-6 despite recovering from being two breaks down in the second set. Her next tournament was the 2011 Moorilla Hobart International. She faced Akgul Amanmuradova and won 3-6, 6-1, 7-6. Her next opponent was Bethanie Mattek-Sands, to whom she lost to by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Ayumi played at the 2011 Australian Open - Women's Singles where she defeated #27 seed Alexandra Dulgheru 6-4, 6-4. She then defeated wildcard Caroline Garcia in the second round 6-4, 6-4. She was defeated by Peng Shuai in the third round 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

At the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, Morita successfully qualified by defeating Sophie Lefèvre 6-2, 6-4 and Vesna Manasieva 7-5, 6-1. In the first round of the main draw, she defeated No.14 seed Petra Kvitová 7-6(2), 7-6(3). Before the match, Kvitová had only lost once in 2011 and had already won two titles. Morita will play Indian wildcard Sania Mirza in the second round.

PERSONAL:

Coached by Junichi Maruyama
Started playing tennis at age 7 with her family
Mother, Hiromi, is a homemaker and former volleyball player; father, Tomohiro, is a technician for an electrical company; has one brother, Kazuhiro, two years Ayumi's junior
Graduated from high school in 2008
Favorite shot is forehand; favorite surfaces are grass, hard
Enjoys action movies, rock music, golf, going to movies and shopping
Superstition is to wear the same shirt (washed) after a victory
Most memorable experience so far is qualifying for Wimbledon in 2007
Self-described as easy-going
Most admires Sugiyama for working very hard and Henin for her attitude on and off court
Trains at Sugiyama's tennis academy and sometimes works with Ai's mother, Fusako
Biggest goal in tennis is to win a Grand Slam title.

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