<p>As Mirjana Lucic-Baroni's fairytale Australian Open continued into the second week, what came into sharp focus was the Croat’s fighting qualities that have seen her overcome personal trauma, financial constraints and injury on a long, long road back to the top.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 34-year-old, who stunned third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in round two, battled from a set down to end the dreams of Greek Maria Sakkari 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to make the fourth round to set up a clash withAmerican qualifier Jennifer Brady, who shocked 14th seed Elena Vesnina.<br /><br />It has been a memorable tournament so far for Lucic-Baroni, who in 1997 made her US Open debut at just 15 and teamed with Martina Hingis to win the 1998 Australian Open women's doubles. A promising career seems to be unfolding at the time for the teen.<br /><br />In 1999, at 17, she went to the Wimbledon semifinals where it took Steffi Graf to beat her.<br /><br />Personal issues<br /><br />But it all fell apart soon after that as she was engulfed by heartbreaking personal issues.<br /><br />The background back then was tough, a demanding father Marinko who, Lucic-Baroni later revealed, dished out regular beatings -- although he described them as "slaps" that were "best for the child".<br /><br />Eventually, in desperation, Mirjana, her mother Andelka and four siblings fled their Croatia home in the dead of night for the sanctuary of the United States. It was a journey into the unknown.<br /><br />The drama, however, put the brakes on a journey which should have led to fame and fortune as financial problems forced her to put a career on a backburner. Lucic-Baroni disappeared from professional tennis for most of the 2003-2010 period, before slowly feeling her way back.<br /><br />She said it had been a rocky road back, playing small events, but she never gave up on her dream.<br /><br />"I never thought about stopping, but it was difficult. It was a lot of tears, a lot of disappointments. It was really hard," she said of playing lower-level circuits.<br /><br />"I think many would give up, and I really take a lot of pride in that, because it was really hard. I didn't get any wildcards, I didn't get any special treatment. I really had to do it on my own, and I had to fight so hard for it.<br /><br />"I take a lot of pride in that, and it takes a lot of character. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of mental strength.<br /><br />"The fact that I was able to do that and be here today just kind of proves to myself who I am and what a fighter I am."<br /><br />She added that contrary to popular opinion, a tennis player's life was not all fame and fortune, and could be a torturous slog to make a living.<br /><br />"Whoever thinks that this is glamorous and all this prize money and all that should come have a chat with me," she said.<br /><br />"It is not all it's cracked up to be, and it is -- I mean, it's not so easy to get to this point, for sure. Challenger circuit is very difficult mentally.<br /><br />"You don't have ball boys, ball girls. You don't have umpires. Things are not as easy or as smooth as they are here, as well organized. You play for $55 a match, so it's difficult."<br /><br />Until this year she had never gone beyond the second round in Melbourne since her debut in 1998, setting the new record of a 19-year gap between wins at a single Grand Slam tournament.<br /><br />It surpassed the previous record held by Japan's Kimiko Date, who went 17 years between victories at Wimbledon between 1996 and 2013.<br /><br /><br /></p>
<p>As Mirjana Lucic-Baroni's fairytale Australian Open continued into the second week, what came into sharp focus was the Croat’s fighting qualities that have seen her overcome personal trauma, financial constraints and injury on a long, long road back to the top.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 34-year-old, who stunned third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in round two, battled from a set down to end the dreams of Greek Maria Sakkari 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to make the fourth round to set up a clash withAmerican qualifier Jennifer Brady, who shocked 14th seed Elena Vesnina.<br /><br />It has been a memorable tournament so far for Lucic-Baroni, who in 1997 made her US Open debut at just 15 and teamed with Martina Hingis to win the 1998 Australian Open women's doubles. A promising career seems to be unfolding at the time for the teen.<br /><br />In 1999, at 17, she went to the Wimbledon semifinals where it took Steffi Graf to beat her.<br /><br />Personal issues<br /><br />But it all fell apart soon after that as she was engulfed by heartbreaking personal issues.<br /><br />The background back then was tough, a demanding father Marinko who, Lucic-Baroni later revealed, dished out regular beatings -- although he described them as "slaps" that were "best for the child".<br /><br />Eventually, in desperation, Mirjana, her mother Andelka and four siblings fled their Croatia home in the dead of night for the sanctuary of the United States. It was a journey into the unknown.<br /><br />The drama, however, put the brakes on a journey which should have led to fame and fortune as financial problems forced her to put a career on a backburner. Lucic-Baroni disappeared from professional tennis for most of the 2003-2010 period, before slowly feeling her way back.<br /><br />She said it had been a rocky road back, playing small events, but she never gave up on her dream.<br /><br />"I never thought about stopping, but it was difficult. It was a lot of tears, a lot of disappointments. It was really hard," she said of playing lower-level circuits.<br /><br />"I think many would give up, and I really take a lot of pride in that, because it was really hard. I didn't get any wildcards, I didn't get any special treatment. I really had to do it on my own, and I had to fight so hard for it.<br /><br />"I take a lot of pride in that, and it takes a lot of character. It takes a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of mental strength.<br /><br />"The fact that I was able to do that and be here today just kind of proves to myself who I am and what a fighter I am."<br /><br />She added that contrary to popular opinion, a tennis player's life was not all fame and fortune, and could be a torturous slog to make a living.<br /><br />"Whoever thinks that this is glamorous and all this prize money and all that should come have a chat with me," she said.<br /><br />"It is not all it's cracked up to be, and it is -- I mean, it's not so easy to get to this point, for sure. Challenger circuit is very difficult mentally.<br /><br />"You don't have ball boys, ball girls. You don't have umpires. Things are not as easy or as smooth as they are here, as well organized. You play for $55 a match, so it's difficult."<br /><br />Until this year she had never gone beyond the second round in Melbourne since her debut in 1998, setting the new record of a 19-year gap between wins at a single Grand Slam tournament.<br /><br />It surpassed the previous record held by Japan's Kimiko Date, who went 17 years between victories at Wimbledon between 1996 and 2013.<br /><br /><br /></p>