For a player whose first final came in her tour debut at 16, much has been expected of Donna Vekic.
Persistent injuries – particularly knee – and subsequent fluctuations in form and motivation have made momentum harder to build in the 11 years since.
However, a confidence-boosting run to the final in San Diego and the addition of Pam Shriver to her team late in 2022 laid the foundations for her strongest start to a season in Australia in 2023.
Vekic paid tribute to the influence of Shriver after she reached the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park – only the second time she had advanced as far at a major – a decade since she won a match on debut in the main draw.
“She's… always been very direct, something I really appreciate. But other than that, I think we have a great atmosphere in the team,” Vekic said of the former world No.3 in singles and 21-time major doubles champion.
“With Nick (Horvat) as well, they make such a good combination. Nick and I did really hard work in the off-season in Monaco, and we were talking with Pam on the phone from LA. We all met here in Melbourne.
TICKETS: Catch Donna Vekic in action at Australian Open 2024
“It’s also great to see that I have success and results from our work so early. It's not just from the work now, I've been working hard the last couple of months. It's finally all coming together.”
Vekic’s triumph over dangerous Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova in the fourth round left her unbeaten in seven matches in Australia, following three singles victories for Croatia at the United Cup in Perth.
It took eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka to halt her charge.
“I'm sure in a couple of days I'll realise what a great month it has been, what a great start of the year,” she said in defeat.
“Right now I am sad, disappointed, but I think it would be strange if it wasn't like that. Most importantly, I really enjoyed my time here. I've had a great couple of weeks, not just the matches, I had a lot of fun training, doing some off-court stuff, just spending time with my team.”
MAJOLI: Resurgent Vekic a genuine contender
The confidence Vekic gained from her team and results in Australia carried to the hard courts of Monterrey, where six weeks later she beat top seed Caroline Garcia for her fourth career title and first in 17 months to return to the top 20.
She reached her second final of the season on grass in Berlin, where she upset top-10 opponents Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari en route, before Petra Kvitova had her number.
While unable to notch any further singles quarterfinals for the season, Vekic had a few notable victories still up her sleeve.
A rousing comeback from a set and 2-5 down against former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round at Wimbledon left her fighting back tears.
A month later, following Hopman Cup team success for Croatia alongside Borna Coric, she rebounded from a set down to edge past former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka in a high-quality shoot-out in Cincinnati.
Vekic was in a far better place compared with 2021, when she twice contemplated quitting the sport following knee surgeries and her struggle to return to full fitness.
After another two-month stint sidelined between the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2022, she set herself a deadline to rediscover her best before Wimbledon 2023.
Her run in San Diego in October 2022 could not have come at a better time.
As a qualifier, she knocked out four straight top-25 opponents – Sabalenka, Karolina Pliskova, Maria Sakkari and Danielle Collins – before she fell to Iga Swiatek in the final.
“San Diego was a really important week for me, beating all those top players, ranking-wise,” Vekic said at AO 2023. “It was a huge confidence boost. Gave me a lot of belief.
“I think really honestly that week I saw that I can do it. If I can do it there, why not here? If it doesn't happen for me here, I really believe that in the next couple of years, why not?”