Jarmila Groth life and biography

Jarmila Gajdošová, known as Jarmila Groth from 2009 to 2011, is a former Slovakian and now Australian professional female tennis player. Before obtaining Australian citizenship, she competed for Slovakia.

CAREER:

2010:
Starting 2010 with the task to re-enter the top 100 she started the year at Brisbane and Sydney falling in 2nd round of Qualifying. Then lost another tough three set 1st round at Australia Open to Sofia Arvidsson 6–2 4–6 6–4. Groth remained in Australia to gain ranking points and was very successful winning the $25 000 Sydney ITF, Finalist at the $25 000 Burnie ITF and a Quarterfinalist at the Midura ITF. She also had success in doubles with a Semifinal and Final showings at the Burnie and Mildura ITF's. She received a wild card entry into the 2010 French Open and played Chan Yung-jan in the first round. Groth moved into the 2nd round winning 6–2 6–3. She then played Kimiko Date Krumm from Japan. Krumm had knocked out Dinara Safina the round before. She beat Krumm 6–0 6–3. Groth then faced fellow Australian player Anastasia Rodionova. They played a long 3 setter but Groth prevailed 6–3 5–7 6–2. In the fourth round Groth lost to Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova 6–4, 6–3. Her French Open rund was her best in Grand Slam tournaments. After the French Open, she was ranked No. 88. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, she progressed to the fourth round where she was beaten by Venus Williams 6–4 7–6.

On 23 August, she reached a new career high ranking of 56 and became the second highest ranked Australian behind No. 6 Samantha Stosur.

At the 2010 U.S. Open, she lost to Maria Sharapova 6–4, 3–6, 1–6 in the first round. In doubles partnering Klára Zakopalová she defeated Angelique Kerber and Līga Dekmeijere 6–1 4–6 6–2.

After the US Open, Groth participated in the 2010 Guangzhou International Women's Open as top seed. She made it to her first WTA tour final after defeating Edina Gallovits in the semifinals 6–0, 6–1 in 38 minutes. In the final Groth defeated Alla Kudryavtseva 6–1, 6–4 to win her maiden title. Groth's ranking rose to a career high of 41 as a result of her performance.

Her next tournament was the 2010 Hansol Korea Open where she faced top seed Nadia Petrova in the first round. She was defeated, 3-6, 2-6.

2011:
Groth started off the year in the 2011 Brisbane International where she made it to the quarterfinals after beating her countrywoman and 1st seed Samantha Stosur in the previous round but lost 3–6, 4–6 to German Andrea Petkovic. It was Jarka's first win against a top 10 player. She then competed at the 2011 Moorilla Hobart International where she defeated Sweden's Johanna Larsson in the first round 6–1, 6–3. In the second round, Groth faced qualifier Tamira Paszek and won 6–4, 7–6(5). She then defeated fourth seed Roberta Vinci in the quarter finals 6–1, 6–2. In the semi finals, Groth defeated fifth seed and her current doubles partner Klára Zakopalová 6–3, 6–2. Groth defeated American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the final to gain her second WTA title. In doubles, Gajdošová and her partner Zakopalová won their first round match 6–3, 6–1. They defeated fourth seeds Natalie Grandin and Vladimíra Uhlířová in the quarter finals 6–4, 7–5. They lost to Kateryna Bondarenko and Līga Dekmeijere in the semifinals, 2–6, 4–6. In the 2011 Australian Open She faced 2009 US Open semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer in the first round. Wickmayer eventually triumphed in a close 3 set match, with the score 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

After the Australian Open, she was part of the Australian Fed Cup team for the first time. Despite Australia losing 1-3, she managed to grab a win against World No. 4 Francesca Schiavone 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3. Groth then played at the Dubai Tennis Championships where she defeated Slovakian Dominika Cibulková in the first round 7-6(5), 6-2. However, she lost to 15th seed Alisa Kleybanova 4-6, 3-6. After Dubai, she took part in the Qatar Ladies Open where she had to qualify for the main draw. As top seed in qualifying, she defeated Wild Card Selima Sfar in the first round, fellow Australian Jelena Dokić in the second round and sixth seed Timea Bacsinszky to qualify in the main draw. There, she faced Dominika Cibulková in the first round, where she lost in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(8).

Groth's next tournament was the 2011 BMW Malaysian Open where she received a wild card into the main draw and was seeded fourth coming into this tournament. She won her first match against qualifier Sun Shengnan, 7-6(2), 6-3, and followed that up with a win against Misaki Doi, 7-6(6), 6-3. She then defeated the sixth seed Ayumi Morita, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, to advance to the semi-finals where she met her doubles partner and fifth seed Lucie Šafářová. She ended up losing to Šafářová, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6.

In Miami, Groth was seeded 28 heading into the tournament and had a first round bye. In round 2, she got her revenge against Yaroslava Shvedova in last year's French Open to win, 6-4, 3-1 r. Her next opponent will be World No. 3 Vera Zvonareva in their first ever encounter.

PERSONAL:

Coached by Gavin Hopper (sometimes trains at his academy in Istanbul); is member of Australian Institute of Sport
Fell in love with Australia in her first trip to Australian Open as 14-year-old; now lives and trains in Melbourne during off-season
Started playing tennis at age 7
Mother, Jarmila, and father, Jan, are both engineers; brother, Jan, is a former pro skier
Married ATP player Sam Groth in February 2009 (formerly Jarmila Gajdosova); granted Australian citizenship on Monday, November 23, 2009 (began competing for Australia immediately)
Likes all surfaces; prefers hardcourts
Favorite shots are return, backhand
Speaks English, German, Slovak; learning Spanish
Loves shopping, fashion; likes watching DVDs on laptop
Favorite food is sushi
Admires Michael Jordan for his accomplishments
Says best thing about being a tennis player is following your dream and doing what you love
Goal is to reach Top 10.

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