The Brazilian tennis star Maria Bueno won her third Grand Slam singles tournament title at the French Open on Sunday. She defeated American Madison Keys 7-5, 6-3 in the final match. This win makes Bueno the ninth player in history to win three consecutive Grand Slam singles titles. She joins Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters as the only players to accomplish this feat.
Bueno became the first woman since Williams in 1999 to win three straight major tournaments. She now has seven career grand slam titles, including four majors. She is just one of five women to win multiple grand slams in a single season.
Bueno, who turns 27 next month, had been playing very well lately. In fact, she went 15-0 in 2017 and 2018. Her best performance came in 2016 when she reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost both matches against Angelique Kerber.
In addition, Bueno has been ranked among the world’s top 10 players since 2013. She is currently ranked seventh. She has also had many good performances during this period. For example, she won the WTA doubles title in Madrid in 2012 with partner Andrea Hlavacka. They beat the second seeded team of Carla Suarez Navarro and Robert Farah in straight sets.
Bueno has also won several ITFs events. She won the $100,000 event in Boca Raton in 2010 and 2011. She continued winning ITFs in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
She has also won some ITFs in doubles. She teamed up with Andrea Hlavacka to win the $50,000 event in San Jose in 2009. She paired with Jelena Jankovic to reach the finals of the same event in 2010.
Bueno has played in the main draw of every grand slam tournament except the Australian Open. She has never gotten beyond the fourth round. However, she did play in the qualifying rounds of the French Open in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She failed to qualify in each of those seasons.
Tennis career
Bueno was born in São Paulo. Her father, a businessman, played club tennis and encouraged his daughter to do likewise. She joined the international circuit in 1958 and became Brazil’s leading female player. In 1960 she reached the final of the French Open, losing to Margaret Smith. At the end of the following season, she helped Brazil win the Davis Cup.
In 1961, Bueno defeated Mima Jaušovec to win the Italian championship. She went on to become one of the world’s best players. In 1963, she won the singles title at both the French and US Opens. She also won the doubles title at the latter tournament.
She came close to winning the Wimbledon singles title twice, in 1964 and 1965. However, in each case she lost in the semi-finals. In 1966, Bueno triumphed again – this time beating Billie Jean King in the final. This was followed by further success at the US Championships.
The next few years were less successful. In 1968, Bueno retired from professional tennis and returned to Brazil. She married Carlos Lacerda Jr., son of former president Carlos Lacerda, in 1970. They had two children together.
Later career
Bueno worked as a commentator on SporTV, a sportscaster for Rede Globo and ESPN Brasil, and a radio host for Rádio Jovem Pan. He also hosted the program “O Show da Tarde”, which aired on SBT. In 1995 he began working as a columnist for Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. His columns are published every Sunday. On 27 August 2006, he became the main presenter of the children’s show “A Praça é Nossa”.
In 2007, Bueno won the Prêmio Jabuti Award for best humorist. In 2008, he wrote his autobiography, titled O Último Suspiro do Mouro (“The Last Breath of the Moor”). In 2009, he received the Anhembi Morumbi Award for Best Columnist. In 2010, he was awarded the Order of Rio Branco, Brazil’s highest civilian honor. In 2011, he was named one of the 50 most influential people in Brazil by Time magazine. In 2012, he won the Bola de Ouro award for best humorist.
Death
Bueno died on 8 June 1998, aged 78, at Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, in São Paulo, following complications from surgery to treat oral cancer. She had been admitted there on 7 June for removal of her tongue, jawbone and part of her lower lip. Her funeral took place on 12 June, at the church of Santo Antônio do Aracari, in Vila Mariana, São Paulo, attended by about 300 people, including many celebrities such as singer Elba Ramalho, actor Carlos Alberto Pereira and actress Luana Piovani. Her body was buried in the cemetery of the same city.
Honours
Correios do Brasil honoured her title at the Wimbeldon Ladies Singles Championship in 1959. She won the tournament defeating Darlene Hard 4–6, 7–5, 5–7, 6–1.
Bueno received the International Club’s prestigious J Borotra Sportsmanship Award. This prize was established in 2003 by the International Tennis Federation to recognise those individuals who have shown outstanding sportsmanship during competition.
The Seniors World Team Championships are named the Maria Esther Bueno Cup.
The award is instituted within the context of the Municipal Chamber of São Paulo, in recognition of the relevance given to sport in the municipality.
She received the medal of sporting merit from the Chamber of Councillors of São Paulo in 2015.
Grand Slam finals
Buenos Aires, Argentina – December 8, 2018 – In what was arguably one of the most exciting tennis matches ever played, Serena Williams defeated Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu in straight sets to win her 23rd Grand Slam singles title and complete her career grand slam. With the victory, she became the oldest woman to achieve such an achievement. She also became the first player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to successfully defend three consecutive US Open titles.
The match lasted 3 hours and 51 minutes with Williams winning 21 games to Andreescu’s 18. After being down 0–2 in the second set, Williams broke Andreescu’ s serve twice in the third game of the final set to take it 5–3. She eventually went up 7–4 in the fourth game before breaking again to go up 9–5. From there, Williams took control of the match, winning 10 straight points to close out the match 11–6.
In addition to becoming the oldest women’s champion in history, Williams also became the first American woman to win the Australian Open since Chris Evert in 1981, the French Open since Martina Navratilova in 1984, Wimbledon since Margaret Court in 1973, and the US Open since Billie Jean King in 1977.
Singles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runners-up)
The ATP Singles Championship is one of the most prestigious events on tour. Held annually since 1959, it pits the world’s best singles players against each other in a single elimination tournament. The event takes place over four days, starting with round robin play among 16 competitors followed by three quarterfinals matches. The semifinals are played out over two consecutive days while the final match is held on day 4.
Since the introduction of the ATP Rankings in 1973, the winner of the championship has gone on to win the season-ending World Tour Finals tournament eight times. In addition, the champion has won the Davis Cup five times, Wimbledon three times and the US Open twice.
In 2017, Novak Djokovic became the first player to successfully defend his title since Roger Federer did so in 2009. He defeated Kevin Anderson in straight sets to claim his sixth career singles title.
Doubles: 16 (11 wins, 5 runners-up)
The United States Tennis Association announced today that it had named Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Jimmy Connors as the members of the USTA Result Year Championship Doubles Team of Champions. The team will compete against teams representing Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and Venezuela in the inaugural event set for October 14–17, 2018, at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, N.Y.
The doubles competition consists of four singles matches played over three days. Each match pits one member of the USA team against one member of each of the eight international teams. The winner of each match receives $50,000 and automatic entry into the next year’s championship.
Agassi, 39, won his 11th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1998 and went on to win 20 major titles during his career. He finished ranked No. 2 in men’s tennis history, trailing only Roger Federer. In addition to being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Sampras, 42, became the youngest player ever to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings when he did so at age 18 in 1988. A five-time Grand Slam champion, he reached the final of the French Open twice, winning once, and was runner-up at Wimbledon in 1994. His career record includes 22 Grand Slam titles, including seven Australian Opens, six French Opens, three U.S. Opens and two Wimbledons. He retired in 2001 after falling out of the Top 10.
Courier, 52, earned 15 Grand Slam titles during his career, including nine at Wimbledon. He was the runner-up at the French Open in 1992 and 1995, losing both times to Michael Chang. At Wimbledon in 1993, he defeated Stefan Edberg en route to capturing his third consecutive title. He was inducted into the International Sports Humanitarian Award Hall of Fame in 2016.
McEnroe, 53, enjoyed a long career that included 19 Grand Slam titles, including 13 at Wimbledon. He won his fourth Wimbledon title in 1980, defeating Bjorn Borg in the final. He also captured the U.S. Open in 1981, beating Jimmy Connors in the final. He was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of fame in 1997.
Becker, 61, won the Australian Open in 1986, defeating Ivan Lendl in the final. He later captured the French Open in 1987 and 1989, defeating Pat Cash in the finals of both tournaments. He was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fames in 2008.
