Name	Western & Southern Open
Logo	WSFG Masters logo.png
Logo size	100px
City	Mason, Ohio
Country
Venue	Lindner Family Tennis Center
Surface	Hard / Outdoors
Web site	http://www.cincytennis.com/1/en/home/default.asp
Atp category	Masters 1000
Atp draw	56S / 32Q / 24D
Atp prize money	US$2,430,000
Wta tier	Premier 5
Wta draw	56S / 32Q / 28D
Wta prize money	US$2,000,000

The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city.

The men's event is one of nine Masters 1000 tournaments on the ATP World Tour. The women's event is a $2 million Premier 5 event on the WTA Tour and is the only WTA event held in the American Midwest. The 2011 event will be held August 14–22. Due to its sponsorship by the Western & Southern Financial Group, the official name of the event is the Western & Southern Open.

History

The tournament was started in 1899 as the Cincinnati Open (it would later be known by several other names, including the Tri-State Tennis Tournament and ATP Championships), and would eventually grow into the tournament now held in Mason. The original tournament was held at the Avondale Athletic Club, which sat on property that is now Xavier University, and would later be moved to several various locations due to changes in tournament management and surfaces. The first tournament in 1899 was played on clay courts (described in a newspaper article of the time as "crushed brick dust"), and the event was mostly played on clay until 1979 when it switched permanently to hardcourts.

In 1903, the tournament was moved to the Cincinnati Tennis Club, where it was primarily held until 1972. In 1974, the tournament was nearly dropped from the tennis calendar but moved at the last moment to the Cincinnati Convention Center, where it was played indoors and, for the first time since 1919, without a women's draw. In 1975, the tournament moved to the Coney Island amusement park on the Ohio River, and the tournament began to gain momentum again.

In 1979 the tournament moved to Mason where a permanent stadium was to be built and the surface was changed from Har-Tru clay to hardcourt (DecoTurf II.). Later, two other permanent stadiums were constructed, making the Cincinnati Masters the only tennis tournament outside the four Grand Slam events with three stadium courts – Center Court, Grandstand Court and Court 3. The women's competition was reinstated in 1988 for one year, and then again in 2004 when the organizers, with the help of the Octagon sports agency, bought a tour tournament previously held in Croatia and moved it to Cincinnati.

Since 1975, the tournament has been guided by Paul M. Flory, current tournament chairman and former executive with the Procter & Gamble Company. During his tenure, the tournament has enriched its considerable heritage, while donating millions of dollars to charity. Currently, the tournament donates money to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and The Charles M. Barrett Cancer Center at University Hospital. Flory has been honored with the ATP's Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award and enshrinement in the USTA/Midwest Hall of Fame and the Cincinnati Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was named one of the Great Living Cincinnatians by the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Flory began his involvement as a volunteer with the tournament in the late 1960s and has remained a volunteer, having never accepted a salary.

In August, 2008, the men's tournament was sold to the United States Tennis Association, the owners of the U.S. Open.

In 2011 the men's and women's tournaments were played at the same time making a joint tournament. As a result the name of the competition changed from the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open to the Western & Southern Open.

Results

won the Men's Singles in 2010, his fourth Cincinnati Masters 1000 title.|150px]] won the title in 2010, for the first-time in her career.|150px]]

Men's Singles finals

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |- !Year !width="200"|Champion !width="200"|Runner-up !width="135"|Score |- | 2010 || '''Roger Federer || Mardy Fish || 6–7(5), 7–6(1), 6-4 |- |}

Women's Singles finals

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |- bgcolor="#efefef" ! Year !! Champion !! Runner-up !! Score in final |- | 2010 || Kim Clijsters || Maria Sharapova || 2–6, 7–6(4), 6–2 |}

Men's Doubles champions

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%" |- bgcolor="#efefef" ! Year !! Champions !! Runners-up !! Score |- | 2010 || '''Bob Bryan Mike Bryan|| Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi || 6–3, 6–4 |- |}

Records

Note

The 1979 men's competition was a non-Grand Prix event not bringing any ATP ranking points although named "ATP Championships", run as a rival event to US Pro Championships in Boston.

References

External links

Official tournament website

The Cincinnati Enquirer's Special Section on the Tournament's 100th Anniversary (1999)

Cincinnati Enquirer Article on Paul Flory (1999)

Facts on Paul Flory from Cincinnati Enquirer Article (1999)

Cincinnati Enquirer Article on The 25 Best Matches Of The Tournament's First 25 Years in Mason (August 6, 2004)

Category:Tennis tournaments in the United States Category:Hard court tennis tournaments Category:ATP Tour Category:WTA Tour Category:Sports in Cincinnati, Ohio Category:Recurring events established in 1899 Category:Warren County, Ohio * Category:US Open Series tournaments

Playername	Roger Federer
Caption	Federer at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
Country
Residence	Bottmingen, Switzerland
Birth date	August 08, 1981
Birth place	Basel, Switzerland
Height
Turnedpro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$63,343,910
Singlesrecord	777–182 (81.11%)
Singlestitles	67
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (2 February 2004)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 3 (21 March 2011)
Australianopenresult	W (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Frenchopenresult	W (2009)
Wimbledonresult	W (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
Usopenresult	W (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010)
Olympicsresult	4th place (losing bronze-finalist) ()
Doublesrecord	115–74 (60.6%)
Doublestitles	8
Othertournamentsdoubles	yes
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2003)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2000)
Wimbledondoublesresult	QF (2000)
Usopendoublesresult	3R (2002)
Olympicsdoublesresult	Gold Medal ()
Highestdoublesranking	No. 24 (9 June 2003)
Currentdoublesranking	No. 99 (21 March 2011)
Updated	7 November 2010}}

}}

Roger Federer () (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 13 June 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least 5 times. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer as the greatest tennis player of all time.

Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam finals, of which 10 were consecutive appearances, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals over the four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, excluding the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open. In the 2011 French Open he reached his 28th consecutive quarterfinal in the Grand Slam tournaments, breaking the record set by Jimmy Connors.

Federer has won a record five ATP World Tour Finals (shared with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras) and 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments (tied second all-time). He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. For the past eight years (2003–2010) he has been in the top two in the year-end rankings.

As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008). He is often referred to as The Federer Express or abbreviated to Fed Express, the Swiss Maestro In 2011, Federer was ranked #25 in Forbes Celebrity 100 List.

Early life

Childhood and personal life

Federer was born in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently. He considers German his first language. He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome. Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his 'obligations'.

Marriage and family

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. They met while both competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager. They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen). On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.

Outreach and charitable efforts

Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports. In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006. At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami. He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer responded by arranging a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims. He was named as a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments and contributions to society.

Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected in the 2010-2011 Queensland floods. Federer is currently number 25 on Forbes top 100 celebrities.

Tennis career

Pre-1998: Junior years

Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon, where he won both the singles tournament over Irakli Labadze 6–4, 6–4 and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, in which they defeated the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram 6–4, 6–4. In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian in 3–6, 5–7. He won four other ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl where he defeated Guillermo Coria 7–5, 6–3 in the finals. He ended 1998 as the junior World Number One.

1998–2002: Early career in the ATP

Roger Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the Round of 32, and he lost 4–6, 4–6. Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open, which was in 2000, and he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset 6–2, 3–6, 6–7(5). Federer won in 2001 the Hopman Cup representing Switzerland, with Martina Hingis. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter by a score of 6–4, 6–7(7), 6–4. In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay in 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time. From 1998 to 2002, Federer made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter the year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman. Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost. Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there 6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0. Federer would also take four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati (on hard court) and Hamburg (on clay). Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3, which was the start of their storied rivalry. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Madrid titles. Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 and at Wimbledon 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.

In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, which were the French Open over Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 and the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14. Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2. In the final, Federer defeated Andy Murray 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11), whom he also beat in the 2008 US Open final. Federer was just one week away from equalling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as World No. 1. This is the first time since 2001 that Federer has entered Wimbledon having won only one title for the year. In a big surprise, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, and fell to World No. 3 in the rankings for the first time in nearly seven years, but he did win his 200th Grand Slam match in the first round. At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals. Federer lost a five-set match to number three seed and 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 7–5, 1–6, 7–5, 2–6, 5–7. At the Cincinnati Masters, Federer won his first title in eight months as he became the first player since Agassi to retain the title, as he beat Fish in the final. He also equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Borg's mark for number of total titles won and moved to just one behind Sampras. His next appearance was in Shanghai, where he lost to Andy Murray for the second time this year in a Masters' Series final. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial period basis. Federer won two straight titles at the Stockholm Open, an ATP-250 level event, and in Basel, an ATP-500 level contest, which brought his tally to 65 career titles, equaling and surpassing Pete Sampras' total of 64 titles on the ATP Tour. Lastly, Federer won the Year-End Championships (now known as the World Tour Finals) by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. After hiring Paul Annacone as his coach, Federer has entered nine tournaments, won five of them, was runner up in two, and reached the semifinals of the other two. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer has a win loss record of 34–4, and has had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and Gael Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.

At the start of the 2011 season, Federer defeated Nikolay Davydenko 6–3 6–4 to win the 2011 Qatar Open without dropping a set, it was his third title following wins in 2005 and 2006. Federer was defeated in straight sets during the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not win any four of the Grand Slams he appeared in consecutively. He went on to make it to the final in Dubai, losing 3–6 3–6 to Djokovic. Federer then entered the first Masters 1000 event of the year, the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, receiving a first round bye, he faced Igor Andreev of Russia in the first round 7–5 7–6(4), he blitzed 29th seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round 6–0 6–2, in the fourth round, he beat American qualifier Ryan Harrison 7–6(4) 6–3, in the quarterfinals, he beat compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka 6–3 6–4. He then fell to world number 3, Novak Djokovic, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 relinquishing the number 2 ranking. Federer also reached the doubles final alongside Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, beating rival Rafael Nadal along the way. Federer and Wawrinka lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov and Xavier Malisse 6–4, 6–7, 10–7 in the doubles final. Federer then entered the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. He defeated Radek Stepanek in the second round 6–3, 6–3. He beat Juan Monaco 7–6, 6–4 and then Olivier Rochus 6–3, 6–1. He then beat Gilles Simon 3–0 retired due to Simon's neck injury. This set up a 23rd match up with arch-rival, Rafael Nadal. Nadal dominated the match and beat Federer 6–3, 6–2 which made the hard court head to head between Federer and Nadal 4–4. Roger Federer then moved on to the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monte Carlo, Monaco; after receiving a first round bye Federer played an impressive match showing his intent on winning this event by defeating world number 34 Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–2, 6–1 in the second round of the tournament. Federer then moved onto the third round of the tournament where he faced world number 22 Marin Cilic, and again played an outstanding match defeating the Croat 6–4, 6–3. Federer faced world number 9 Jürgen Melzer in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but suffered a surprise straight sets loss, 4–6, 4–6, giving Melzer his first victory against Federer in 4 meetings. His next appearance was at the Madrid Masters. He struggled through his opening match and barely came out with a win against Feliciano Lopez after three tiebreak games, finishing with a score of 7–6(13), 6–7(1), 7–6(7). He then flew through the next two rounds, defeating Xavier Malisse and Robin Söderling with tallies of 6–4, 6–3, and 7–6(2), 6–4, respectively. He met Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and fought to advance to the final, winning the first set, but Nadal took control of the rest of the game, defeating Federer 5–7, 6–1, 6–3. Federer then moved to compete in the Rome Masters, where he opened with a victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–4, 6–2. He faced Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the third round, but lost a very close match in the third set tiebreak, 6–4, 6(2)-7, 6(4)-7. Federer then competed in the 2011 French Open, expressing relief that some pressure was off of him and more on Novak Djokovic, who had not yet lost to that point in 2011. He won the first round with 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(3) on Feliciano Lopez. He faced Maxime Teixeira on the second round and achieved a straight set victory 6–3, 6–0, 6–2. He defeated Janko Tipsarević of Serbia 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 in the third round to reach the last 16. He then defeated his fellow countryman, Stanislas Wawrinka 6–3,6–2,7–5 to reach his 28th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the corresponding quarterfinal, he beat the only French remaining in the tournament Gael Monfils 6–4, 6–3, 7–6 to setup a semifinal with Novak Djokovic. In the semifinal, he ended Novak Djokovic's streak of 43 consecutive wins and hopes of attaining the number 1 ranking by winning 7–6 (7–5), 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 (7–5) to setup a final with Rafael Nadal, which he lost 5-7, 6-7(3), 7-5, 1-6.

Rivalries

Federer vs. Nadal

Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.

They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2). They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 17–8. However, most of their matches have been on clay, which is Nadal's best surface. Federer has a winning record on the other surfaces. Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals. From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.

Until 14 September 2009, when Juan Martín del Potro beat Nadal in the US Open semifinal on his way to defeating Federer in the final itself, no player had beaten both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam. Federer was undefeated in US Open finals until losing in five sets to del Potro (5). Both Federer and Nadal have won Grand Slam events on three different surfaces successively (2008 French Open, 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open for Nadal and 2008 US Open, 2009 French Open, 2009 Wimbledon for Federer). Federer lost to Nadal on June 5, 2011 in the French Open final.

Federer vs. Hewitt

Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 25 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 15 of the last 16 meetings to emerge with a 17–8 overall head-to-head record. This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won 6–0, 7–6, 6–0 to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.

Federer vs. Nalbandian

David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 10–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.

Federer vs. Djokovic

These two have met 23 times with Federer leading 14–9, and 5–3 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, and the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open). Djokovic is one of two (the other again being Nadal) players currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open).

Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other more than 22 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis and have coined the current situation "The Trivalry" between Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open.

Federer vs. Murray

These two have met 14 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–6. Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open and 2010 Australian Open, but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008 and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other current top ten player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.

Federer vs. Roddick

One of Federer's longest rivalries is with Andy Roddick. Having met on many occasions, including four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open), Federer leads 20–2. Federer's dominance on the tour emerged as Roddick rose to World No. 1 ranking in 2003.

In the 2009 Wimbledon final Roddick took Federer to five sets. It included a fifth-set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) with the match lasting over 4 hours. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles.

Playing style

.]] Federer's versatility was summarized by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."

Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his style of play and shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a very effective smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace described Federer's exceptional speed, fluidity and brute force of this forehand motion as "a great liquid whip," while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport." Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net. however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph). and used this tactic especially frequently in his early career. His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play very near to the baseline and to pick up balls (even deeper ones) very early after their bounce, thus giving his opponents less time to react on his shot. Late in his career Federer also added the drop shot to his game and utilizes a well-disguised one off of both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him match point.

Equipment, apparel, endorsements

Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Six.One Tour BLX tennis racquet, which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 12.5 ounces, and thin beam of 17 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3). Federer strings his racquets at 24 to 28 kilograms (52.9 to 61.7 pounds) tension utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.

Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel. For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006. In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan. He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together. Federer endorses Gillette, Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company, as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches, although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix. Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt. In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|Career % |- | colspan="18" style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Australian Open |A |LQ |style="background: #afeeee"|3R |style="background: #afeeee"|3R |style="background: #afeeee"|4R |style="background: #afeeee"|4R |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: #efefef"|4 / 12 |style="background: #efefef"|59–8 |style="background: #efefef"|88.06 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|French Open |A |style="background: #afeeee"|1R |style="background: #afeeee"|4R |style="background: #ffebcd"|QF |style="background: #afeeee"|1R |style="background: #afeeee"|1R |style="background: #afeeee"|3R |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: #ffebcd"|QF |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: #efefef"|1 / 13 |style="background: #efefef"|49–12 |style="background: #efefef"|80.33 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Wimbledon |A |style="background: #afeeee"|1R |style="background: #afeeee"|1R |style="background: #ffebcd"|QF |style="background: #afeeee"|1R |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: #ffebcd"|QF | |style="background: #efefef"|6 / 12 |style="background: #efefef"|55–6 |style="background: #efefef"|90.16 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|US Open |A |LQ |style="background: #afeeee"|3R |style="background: #afeeee"|4R |style="background: #afeeee"|4R |style="background: #afeeee"|4R |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: yellow"|SF | |style="background: #efefef"|5 / 11 |style="background: #efefef"|56–6 |style="background: #efefef"|90.32 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Win–Loss |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–2 |style="background: #efefef"|7–4 |style="background: #efefef"|13–4 |style="background: #efefef"|6–4 |style="background: #efefef"|13–3 |style="background: #efefef"|22–1 |style="background: #efefef"|24–2 |style="background: #efefef"|27–1 |style="background: #efefef"|26–1 |style="background: #efefef"|24–3 |style="background: #efefef"|26–2 |style="background: #efefef"|20–3 |style="background: #efefef"|11–2 |style="background: #efefef"|16 / 48 |style="background: #efefef"|219–32 |style="background: #efefef"|87.25 |}

"A" means that the player did not play at the event.

"LQ" means that the player lost in the qualifying rounds of the tournament.

"*" means that the tournament is ongoing.

;Finals: 23 (16 titles, 7 runner-ups) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Mark Philippoussis||7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Marat Safin||7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||Wimbledon (2)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004||US Open (1)||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–0, 7–6(3), 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||Wimbledon (3)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2005||US Open (2)||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Australian Open (2)||Hard|| Marcos Baghdatis||5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2006||French Open (1)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4) |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||Wimbledon (4)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006||US Open (3)||Hard|| Andy Roddick||6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||Australian Open (3)||Hard|| Fernando González||7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2007||French Open (2)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||Wimbledon (5)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007||US Open (4)||Hard|| Novak Djokovic||7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008||French Open (3)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal||1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2008||Wimbledon (1)||Grass|| Rafael Nadal||4–6, 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(8), 7–9 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2008||US Open (5)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2009||Australian Open (1)||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3), 6–3, 2–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||French Open (1)||Clay|| Robin Söderling||6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2009||Wimbledon (6)||Grass|| Andy Roddick||5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14 |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2009||US Open (1)||Hard|| Juan Martín del Potro||6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4, 6–7(4), 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010||Australian Open (4)||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11) |- style="background:#ebc2af;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2011||French Open (4)||Clay|| Rafael Nadal|| 5–7, 6–7(3), 7–5, 1–6 |}

Year-End Championship performance timeline

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% !Tournament!!1998!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|Career % |- | colspan="18" style="text-align:left;"|'''Year-End Championship tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|YEC |NQ |NQ |NQ |NQ |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: thistle"|F |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: lime"|'''W |style="background: #afeeee"|RR |style="background: yellow"|SF |style="background: lime"|'''W | |style="background: #efefef" rowspan=2|5 / 9 |style="background: #efefef" rowspan=2|34–7 |style="background: #efefef" rowspan=2|82.93 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Win–Loss |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|0–0 |style="background: #efefef"|3–1 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 |style="background: #efefef"|4–1 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 |style="background: #efefef"|4–1 |style="background: #efefef"|1–2 |style="background: #efefef"|2–2 |style="background: #efefef"|5–0 | |}

;Finals (5 titles, 1 runner-up)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2003|| Houston||Hard|| Andre Agassi||6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2004|| Houston||Hard|| Lleyton Hewitt||6–3, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |style="background: #FFA07A"|Runner-up||2005|| Shanghai||Carpet (i)|| David Nalbandian||7–6(4), 7–6(11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3) |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2006|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| James Blake||6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2007|| Shanghai||Hard (i)|| David Ferrer||6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2010|| London||Hard (i)|| Rafael Nadal||6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |}

Olympic games

;(1 gold medal) {|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=95|'''Partner |width=100|'''Opponents |width=200|'''Score in the final |- style="background: gold" |style="background: #98fb98"|Winner || 2008 | Beijing |Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–3 |}

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.

Records in italics are currently active streaks.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- ! Time span ! Selected Grand Slam tournament records ! Players matched |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2010 || 16 titles || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2003 — French Open 2009 || Career Grand Slam || Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |- | Wimbledon 2003 — French Open 2011 || 23 finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2005 — US Open 2007 || 10 consecutive finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2004 — Australian Open 2010 || 23 consecutive semifinals ||Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2004 — French Open 2011 || 28 consecutive quarterfinals ||Stands alone |- | 2006–2007 || 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004 & 2006–2007 || 3 years winning 3+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 || 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 & 2009 || 5 years winning 2+ titles || Stands alone |- | 2003–2010 || 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title || Björn Borg Pete Sampras |- | Australian Open 2004 — Australian Open 2010 || 9 hard-court titles ||Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2006 || First 7 finals won ||Stands alone |- | Australian Open 2004 — US Open 2010 || 7 consecutive years winning 20+ matches || Ivan Lendl |- | French Open 2006 — US Open 2009 || Runner-up finishes at all 4 grand slams || Ivan Lendl |- | US Open 2006 — French Open 2007 || 36 consecutive sets won || Stands alone |- | US Open 2007 || 35 consecutive service points won || Stands alone |- | US Open 2007 || $2.4 million earned at one event || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2009 || 50 aces in a final || Stands alone |- | French Open 2004 — Wimbledon 2008 || 18 consecutive No. 1 seeds || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon 2003 — Australian Open 2010 || 4+ titles at 3 different grand slams || Stands alone |- |2003 Wimbledon - 2011 French Open||5+ finals at all 4 grand slams|| Stands alone |- | 2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open|| 2 winning streaks of 25+ matches || Stands alone |- | 2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open|| 3 winning streaks of 20+ matches || Stands alone |- | 2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open|| 5 winning streaks of 15+ matches || Stands alone |}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- ! Grand Slam tournaments ! Time Span ! Records at each Grand Slam tournament ! Players matched |- | Australian Open || 2004–2010 || 4 titles overall || Andre Agassi |- | Australian Open || 2006–2007 || 2 consecutive titles || Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi |- | Australian Open || 2004–2010 || 5 finals overall || Stefan Edberg |- | Australian Open || 2004–2011 || 8 consecutive semifinals || Stands alone |- | Australian Open || align=center|2007 || Won without dropping a set || Ken Rosewall |- | Australian Open || 2000–2011 || 59 singles match wins || Stands alone |- | French Open || 2006–2009 || 4 consecutive finals || Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |- | French Open || 2006–2008, 2011 || 4 runner-ups || Stands alone |- | French Open || 2006–2008 || 3 consecutive runner-ups || Stands alone |- | French Open || 2005–2009 || 5 consecutive semifinals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon || 2003–2007 || 5 consecutive titles || Björn Borg |- | Wimbledon || 2003–2009 || 7 finals overall || Boris BeckerPete Sampras |- | Wimbledon || 2003–2009 || 7 consecutive finals || Stands alone |- | Wimbledon || 2003–2009 || 7 consecutive semifinals || Stands alone |- | US Open (Tennis)|US Open || 2004–2008 || 5 titles overall || Jimmy ConnorsPete Sampras |- | US Open || 2004–2008 ||5 consecutive titles || Stands alone |- | US Open || 2004–2009 ||40 consecutive match victories || Stands alone |}

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |- ! Time span ! Other selected records ! Players matched |- | 2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 || 237 consecutive weeks at No.1 || Stands alone |- | October 2003 — January 2005 || 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 56 consecutive hard-court match victories|| Stands alone |- | 2003–2008 || 65 consecutive grass-court match victories || Stands alone |- | 2003–2005 || 24 consecutive tournament finals won || Stands alone |- | 2006 || 9 hard court titles in 1 season || Jimmy Connors |- | 2006 || 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season || Stands alone |- | 2005–2006 || 2-season match winning percentage of 95.05% || Stands alone |- | 2004–2006 || 3-season match winning percentage of 94.27% || Stands alone |- | 2004–2007 || 4-season match winning percentage of 92.92% || Stands alone |- | 2002–2010 || 29 Masters 1000 finals reached || Rafael Nadal |- | 2005–2006 || 29 consecutive Masters 1000 match victories || Stands alone |- | 2004–2008 || 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 || Stands alone |- | 2005–2007 || 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1|| Stands alone |- | 2005–2007 || 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 || Jimmy Connors |- | 2003–2010 || 5 ATP World Tour Finals titles|| Ivan LendlPete Sampras |- | 2007 || $10 million earned in a season || Rafael Nadal |- | 2005–2007 || 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches || Björn Borg |- | 2004–2009 || 6 winning streaks of 20+ matches || Stands alone |}

See also

Roger Federer career statistics

List of career achievements by Roger Federer

List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

List of male tennis players

Switzerland Davis Cup team

2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers

References and notes

Further reading

Video

Wimbledon Classic Match: Federer vs Sampras Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 233 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR98.

Wimbledon 2007 Final: Federer vs. Nadal (2007) Kultur White Star, DVD Release Date: 30 October 2007, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CU0.

Wimbledon — The 2008 Finals: Nadal vs. Federer Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 19 August 2008, Run Time: 300 minutes, ASIN: B001CWYUBU.

External links

Official Site

Portrait Of The Champion – Roger Federer

Roger Federer Foundation

Roger Federer – Grand Slam History

Sortable list of Grand Slam opponents and stats

Profiles

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:French Open champions Category:Wimbledon champions Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Category:Olympic tennis players of Switzerland Category:People from Basel-Stadt Category:Swiss-German people Category:Swiss people of South African descent Category:Swiss Roman Catholics Category:Swiss tennis players Category:Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:UNICEF people Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:Male tennis players Category:Olympic medalists in tennis

Playername	Gaël Monfils
Nickname	La Monf', Sliderman
Country
Residence	Trélex, Switzerland
Birth date	September 01, 1986
Birth place	Paris, France
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2004
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$5,048,978
Singlesrecord	196–124 (61.25)
Singlestitles	3
Highestsinglesranking	No. 8 (June 6, 2011)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 8 (June 6, 2011)
Australianopenresult	4R (2009)
Frenchopenresult	SF (2008)
Wimbledonresult	3R (2005, 2007, 2010)
Usopenresult	QF (2010)
Othertournaments	Yes
Olympicsresult	QF (2008)
Doublesrecord	15–40
Doublestitles	—
Highestdoublesranking	No. 167 (May 9, 2011)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	Yes
Australianopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Frenchopendoublesresult	2R (2007)
Wimbledondoublesresult	—
Usopendoublesresult	1R (2005)
Updated	13 November 2010

Gaël Sébastien Monfils () (born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He is currently the highest ranked French tennis player, and currently ranked 8th in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semi-finalist at the 2008 French Open.

Tennis career

2002

In 2002, Monfils finished as 24th at the Dutch Junior Open. In the same year, he won the German Junior Open (defeating Bayer). Monfils ended the year ranked the 4th junior in the world. He also represented France in the junior Davis Cup.

2003

Monfils got off to a positive start in 2003 as earned his first career ATP point at the France Futures #13 by reaching the second round. He also reached the second round at France #14, Egypt #2, and Spain #28. In that year, he played a total of nine Futures events. This included a showing in the doubles final at Spain #27. In junior events, he was the runner-up at Orange Bowl (losing to Marcos Baghdatis) and USTA International Winter Championships (losing to Sebastian Rieschick). He reached the quarter-final of the Australian Open juniors tournament (losing to Florin Mergea) and won the doubles title at the Victorian Junior Championships (with Josselin Ouanna). He was number 21 in junior rankings at the end of the year.

2004

In 2004, the French teenager finished as the world's number 1 junior, winning three of four junior Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon). He improved his INDESIT ATP Entry Ranking by over 700 positions. In October, he made his ATP debut as a wild card entrant in Metz and reached the quarter-final, defeating Juwana Doit and Olivier Patience and losing to countryman Richard Gasquet. He qualified for the ATP Masters Series in Paris and reached the second round beating former Top 10 player Thomas Enqvist before falling to No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt. He won junior titles at the Australian Open (defeating Ouanna), French Open (defeating Kuznetsov) and Wimbledon (defeating Kasiri). He did not drop a set in Australia and lost one set each at the French Open and Wimbledon. He reached the third at the U.S. Open (losing to Troicki). He also won the LTA International Junior Championship in Roehampton (defeating Murray). He was the runner-up at the Australian Hardcourt Junior Championships (losing to Zverev) and was 31–2 in junior events. In April, he reached his first career Futures final at Italy #4 (losing to Dlouhy). A week later, he won his first Futures title at Great Britain #1 (defeating Bogdanović). He reached the quarter-final of the Grenoble Challenger. He went 14–6 in Futures and 3–5 in Challengers in 2004.

In doubles, Monfils reached the final at France #7 (with Ouanna). He reached the semifinal at the Australian Open and the quarterfinal at the French Open (with Ouanna).

2005

In 2005, the young Frenchman made one of the biggest moves in the Top 50 from the previous season, climbing 200 ranking spots. He finished the year as the No. 3 Frenchman (behind No. 16 Richard Gasquet, No. 26 Sébastien Grosjean) and captured his first ATP title while reaching two other finals.

In the first seven months, he won Challenger titles in Benancon (defeating C. Rochus) and Tunis (defeating Santoro), and also reached the fourth round at the ATP Masters Series Miami (losing to Hrbaty) and a Grand Slam best third round appearance at Wimbledon (losing to Ančić). He compiled a 10–14 record in ATP level play and 12–1 in Challengers through July.

In the last three months, he went 15–8, highlighted by his first ATP clay title at the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot (defeating Mayer). Then he struggled with a 2–5 mark before reaching the final in two of the last three indoor tournaments of the season, both in his native country in Metz (losing to Ljubičić) and Lyon (losing to Roddick). He went 11–4 in tie-breaks and 1–2 vs. top 10 opponents, defeating No. 10 Gastón Gaudio in his first match of the season in Doha. He compiled records of 12–10 on hard, 6–7 on clay, 5–2 on carpet and 2–3 on grass.

2006

In his first tournament of 2006, in Doha, he reached the final but lost 3–6, 6–7 to world number 1 Roger Federer. In a surprising event in Las Vegas there was a Tennis paddle tournament held by the Tennis Channel. Monfils was given a wildcard into the doubles event but became more interested and inquired about getting a singles wildcard into the main draw. However, he received an entry into the qualifying singles (which he won), as it would have been unfair for the other players in the main draw. Monfils competed in the main draw of this Paddle tennis Tournament and surprised everyone when he outed world no.1 Paddle Tennis player Scott Freedman and eventually went on to win the whole tournament.

Later on in 2006 Monfils reached the semi-finals of the Rome Tennis Masters Series before losing to the eventual champion Rafael Nadal. En route to the semi-finals Monfils defeated former world number one Andy Roddick. He then entered the ATP Hamburg masters event where he lost in straight sets to fellow teenager Andy Murray in the first round. After that he faced Murray once more, this time in the first round of the French Open. After a gruelling five – set battle, Monfils emerged victorious. Monfils then proceeded to play the Belgian Dick Norman in the second round. Once again the match went to five sets and Monfils got the better of his formidable opponent. Monfils then faced his toughest opponent yet, the American James Blake. Blake was the favourite for the win, as he was 8th seed while Monfils was 25th seed. However, Monfils defeated Blake in another 5 set match. Monfils described this run as 'a marathon'. Blake said of Monfils that 'he was the fastest man on the tour'. The fourth round was Monfils' last, as he lost to Novak Đoković in straight sets. Monfils said after the match: 'I am disappointed that I didn't take the opportunity, but you can expect me to return next year'. Monfils then left the court to a standing ovation.

As a result of his progress at the French Open, Monfils moved up 5 positions to reach a career high of No.23. This also made him the number one player in France, two positions ahead of Sébastien Grosjean.

Monfils then entered the Stella Artois Championships, where he won his first round match against Jürgen Melzer. He then played the American Bobby Reynolds and won in straight sets. His third round encounter was the third time he would face the world no.4 Ivan Ljubičić. Though the odds were against his, Monfils triumphed in straight sets, 7–6, 7–5. His quarter – final draw was with James Blake, who he had met earlier at the French Open. This time Blake succeeded. After having lost a set, Monfils retired as a result of a back injury. This injury effectively ruled his out of the Nottingham championships due to take place the following week.

At the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, Monfils suffered a surprising first-round exit when defeated by Igor Kunitsyn. Monfils won the first set, but ended up losing the next three, 5–7 7–6 6–3 6–4.

2007

At the 2007 Australian Open, Monfils lost to his compatriot Richard Gasquet in the third round, 0–6 6–4 5–7 3–6.

Monfils had a good run in Poertschach as a warm-up for the French Open. He lost in the final against Juan Mónaco of Argentina in the 4th final of Montfils' career, 6–7(3), 0–6.

He lost in the third round of the French Open to David Nalbandian in a four-set match.

At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships Monfils reached the 3rd round without dropping a set, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko, the sixth seed, in straight sets, 6–3, 7–5, 6–3.

Monfils made it to the semifinals of the 2007 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, before losing to American John Isner in a 7–6, 6–7, 6–7 match.

Monfils withdrew from the 2007 U.S. Open with a hamstring injury. He also was forced to withdraw from the 2008 Australian Open due to the same injury.

2008

In the French Open, Monfils reached a semi-final berth for the first time in any Grand Slam, becoming the first Frenchman in the semifinals since 2001. Monfils was defeated by No. 1 seed Roger Federer 2–6, 7–5, 3–6, 5–7.

A shoulder injury forced Monfils to withdraw from the 2008 Wimbledon Championships shortly before he was due to play his first round match.

Monfils was selected to play in the Olympics in Beijing by France losing to 3rd seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals 6–4, 1–6, 4–6.

At the US Open Monfils lost in the fourth round to Mardy Fish in straight sets after having defeated former World No. 3 David Nalbandian again, in straight sets 6–4, 6–3, 6–2.

In the Thailand Open Monfils reached the semifinals losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 0–6, 3–6.

Monfils lost in the final of the BA-CA Tennis Trophy 4–6, 4–6 to Philipp Petzschner in the final.

2009

Monfils played in Doha as his first tournament and caused an upset in the quarterfinals against Nadal 6–4 6–4. Monfils lost to finalist Andy Roddick in three sets 6–7 6–3 3–6, being up a break in the first set 5–4 and losing it.

In the 2009 Australian Open, Monfils lost to fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon in the fourth round, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, retiring due to a wrist injury.

At the 2009 Abierto Mexicano Telcel Monfils lost in the final to Nicolás Almagro, 4–6, 4–6.

Monfils competed at the Monte Carlo Masters, losing in the first round to Janko Tipsarević with the score 6–3, 6–1.

His recent knee injury, caused by Osgood-Schlatter disease resulted in his withdrawal from the Rome and the Madrid Masters. He however competed at the Roland Garros, and won his first round match against Bobby Reynolds 6–2, 6–3, 6–1. He then completed another straight sets victory in the second round by overcoming Victor Crivoi 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. In the third round, Monfils beat Jürgen Melzer 6–2 4–6 6–3 6–1. Against Melzer, Monfils made one of the most spectacular plays of the tournament, hitting a diving lob back to Melzer, sliding to save another point of Melzer and then putting the point away. He then played a much anticipated fourth round match against Andy Roddick, who made 28 unforced errors and allowing Monfils to win in straight sets (6–4, 6–2, 6–3). Monfils lost, as in the previous year, to Roger Federer, this time in the quarterfinals.

Monfils withdrew from the 2009 Wimbledon Championships due to a wrist injury.

Monfils returned to competition at the 2009 Montreal Masters. In his first round match he defeated former grand slam champion Marat Safin 6–2, 3–6, 6–2. He lost to qualifier Juan Carlos Ferrero in his second match 6–3, 7–6 (7) ending his Master Series campaign.

In the 2009 US Open he lost to world No. 3 Rafael Nadal in the fourth round in four sets.

Monfils won the Open de Moselle held in Metz, France as the No. 1 seed. He faced Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final and won with a scoreline of 7–6, 3–6, 6–2.

Monfils made the quarterfinals at the Malaysian Open held in Kuala Lumpur despite suffering from jetlag, losing 6–3, 6–3 to Nikolay Davydenko.

At the Japan Open Monfils reached the semi-final stage losing to eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

His next tournament was the Shanghai Masters, losing against Ivan Ljubičić in the third round. He lost the first set 6–2, and then was forced to retire with a back injury, when Ljubicic was leading the second set 3–0. At the Paris Masters, Monfils was defeated the final by Novak Djokovic 2–6, 7–5, 6–7(3).

2010

Monfils began his season at the Brisbane International where he was seeded 3rd. He lost to defending champion, Czech Radek Štěpánek, 6–2 6–1 in the semi-finals. He withdrew from the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, citing a shoulder injury.

At the 2010 Australian Open, Monfils lost in the round of 32, Le Monf matched up with up-and-coming John Isner from the United States. Isner prevailed in four sets, 6–1 4–6 7–6(4) 7–6(5).

Monfils was the #1 seed at the 2010 SA Tennis Open, where he lost in the semi-finals to Feliciano López 3–6 6–1 7–6(1). He then played in the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he fell in the Quarterfinals to the eventual runner-up, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, 5–7 6–2 6–3.

Monfils was the third seed at the 2010 Open 13 in Marseille, France where, in the quarterfinals, he lost to Julien Benneteau in straight sets.

At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, seeded 12th, after receiving a bye in the first round, lost to Simon Greul in three sets.

Monfils withdrew from three consecutive Masters 1000 events, the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters and the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. He was set to return at the 2010 Estoril Open and receive a wildcard but withdrew due to a stomach injury.

He finally made his return at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open and reach the quarterfinals without losing a set, but there he lost 6–1, 6–3 to the third seed Rafael Nadal. He then played at the 2010 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Potito Starace 7–6(2), 6–2. His next tournament was the 2010 French Open, where he reach the quarterfinals the year before, he was up 2 sets and a break before being upset by Fabio Fognini 2–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 9–7 in a match played in the night and had to finish the other day.

Starting his grass-court season, Monfils lost in the second round at the 2010 AEGON Championships to Rainer Schüttler in three sets, 6–3, 6–7(4), 6–2. Playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2007, he won his first match in straight sets against Leonardo Mayer 6–1, 7–6(9), 6–2 and his second round match in 4 sets against Karol Beck 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–4. He eventually lost to grass-court specialist and former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets, 6–3, 7–6(9), 6–4. Wimbledon is the only grand slam where Monfils is yet to pass the third round.

At the 2010 MercedesCup, he reached his first final for the year by beating Daniel Gimeno-Traver in three sets, 6–4, 4–6, 6–0. He was forced to retire in the final against Albert Montañés.

At the 2010 US Open, he lost to Novak Djokovic 7–6(2), 6–1, 6–2 in the quarterfinals. It was his first quarterfinals at a major besides the French Open. He is also the first Frenchman to make the US Open quarterfinals since Arnaud Clément did so in 2000. Monfils was runner up at the Rakuten Japan open losing to Rafael Nadal, 6–1, 7–5. At the Open de Sud, Monfils won his third tournament defeating Ivan Ljubičić 6–2, 5–7, 6–1.

Monfils was seeded 12th in the BNP Paribas Masters where he lost to Robin Söderling 6–1, 7–6(1) in the final.

2011

Monfils started 2011 with the AAMI Kooyong Classic, where, in the final, he lost to Australian former world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt, 7–5, 6–2. Monfils was seeded 12th in the 2011 Australian Open, where he was defeated in the third round by Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7–6 6–2 6–3.

Next, Monfils played the 2011 SAP Open. He was able to reach the semifinals, before he had to withdraw with a left wrist injury that had been affecting him since January, and will miss approximately four to six weeks.

In the 2011 french open, Monfils defeated 7th seed David Ferrer 6–4 2–6 7–5 1–6 8–6 to reach the quarter finals. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Roger Federer 6–4 6–3 7–6(7/3).

Personal life

Gaël is nicknamed "La Monf", or occasionally "Sliderman" due to his unusual sliding technique, especially on clay surfaces. He is of Caribbean heritage: his father, Rufin, a former football player employed as an agent for France Telecom, comes from the island of Guadeloupe, France. His mother, Sylvette, comes from the island of Martinique, France and is a nurse. He also has one younger brother, Daryl.

Monfils considers Arthur Ashe to be his favorite player. He is fond of listening to music, particularly R&B.; If he did not play tennis, he would play basketball. He is a huge fan of NBA team Denver Nuggets and his favorite basketball player is Carmelo Anthony. His best friends are countrymen and former juniors Josselin Ouanna and Paterne Mamata and fellow pros Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Monfils is also a fan of football and his two favorite football clubs are Arsenal F.C. and Paris-Saint Germain.

He was coached by countryman and former ATP pro Thierry Champion (since September 2004) but they parted company in September 2006. Nevertheless, Monfils's fitness trainer is still Rémi Barbarin. Monfils announced a partnership with a new coach, Tarik Benhabiles, in May 2007. However, for the 2008 season, Monfils has hired Roger Rasheed as his coach.

He has tattoos on both wrists, and giant wing tattoos on the lower half of his back.

Career record against top 10

The following is Gaël Monfils' record against top 10 players (#1 in bold):

Andy Roddick: 5–3

Marat Safin: 4–0

Radek Štěpánek: 4–2

David Nalbandian: 3–1

Richard Gasquet: 3–3

Ivan Ljubičić: 3–4

Arnaud Clément: 2–0

David Ferrer: 3–0

Gastón Gaudio: 2–0

Fernando González: 2–0

Fernando Verdasco: 2–0

Sébastien Grosjean: 2–1

Stanislas Wawrinka: 2–1

James Blake: 2–2

Nikolay Davydenko: 2–2

Lleyton Hewitt: 2–3

Marin Čilić: 1–0

Thomas Enqvist: 1–0

Thomas Johansson: 1–0

Marcos Baghdatis: 1–1

Jonas Björkman: 1–1

Tommy Haas: 1–1

Tommy Robredo: 1–2

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 1–2

Andy Murray: 2–3

Roger Federer: 1–6

Rafael Nadal: 1–7

Tomáš Berdych: 0–1

Guillermo Cañas: 0–1

Juan Carlos Ferrero: 0–1

Rainer Schüttler: 0–1

Gilles Simon: 0–1

Mario Ančić: 0–2

Robin Söderling: 0–3

Mikhail Youzhny: 0–3

Novak Djokovic: 0–6

Playing style and equipment

Monfils is usually described as a defensive counter-puncher who likes to stand far back from the baseline and retrieve every shot until he forces an error from his opponent or maneuvers around to hit a clean winner. Monfils is well known for his athleticism, which has been compared to Rafael Nadal's, and his court coverage. However, his ability to go from defense to offense very quickly often takes his opponents by surprise. Although Monfils is mostly a defensive player, he occasionally demonstrates that he is capable of generating significant pace on his groundstrokes, particularly his forehand. During his own service games, he tends to go for an ace or a one-two combination to finish off the points early. Only when he is forced to play an extended rally (usually on his opponent's serve) does he retreat to a counter-punching position. He is also known for dancing to celebrate victories. Monfils possesses a huge serve capable of reaching over 140 mph. Tennis commentators have noted that during his time on the junior tour, he imitated the service motion of Andy Roddick, though Monfils himself disputes copying Roddick's serve. He now has a service motion that appears very similar to Roddick's. Monfils was sponsored by Nike for clothes and shoes but changed to K-Swiss in 2010 and was sponsored by Head for racquets but changed to Prince in 2009. His current racquet of choice is the Prince EXO3 Rebel 95. His current string of choice is the Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power 16L String.

Major finals

Masters Series finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |width=80|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |-bgcolor=#CCCCFF |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up|||2009||Paris||Hard (i)|| Novak Djokovic||6–2, 5–7, 7–6(3) |-bgcolor=#CCCCFF |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up|||2010||Paris (2)||Hard (i)|| Robin Söderling||6–1, 7–6(1) |}

Career finals

Singles: 13 (3–10)

{|width=43% |valign=top width=33% align=left| {|class=wikitable |-bgcolor=#efefef |'''Legend (pre/post 2009) |-bgcolor=#e5d1cb |Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) |-bgcolor=ffffcc |Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–2) |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–3) |- |ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–5) |} |valign=top width=33%| {|class=wikitable style=font-size:97% |-bgcolor=#efefef |'''Finals by Surface |- |Hard (2–6) |- |Clay (1–3) |- |Grass (0–0) |- |Carpet (0–1) |} |}

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=80|'''Outcome |width=50|'''No. |width=145|'''Date |width=280|'''Tournament |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |1. |August 1, 2005 | Sopot, Poland |Clay | Florian Mayer |7–6(6), 4–6, 7–5 |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |1. |October 9, 2005 | Metz, France |Hard (i) | Ivan Ljubičić |7–6(7), 6–0 |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |2. |October 30, 2005 | Lyon, France |Carpet (i) | Andy Roddick |6–3, 6–2 |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |3. |January 8, 2006 | Doha, Qatar |Hard | Roger Federer |6–3, 7–6)5) |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |4. |May 20, 2007 | Pörtschach, Austria |Clay | Juan Mónaco |7–6(3), 6–0 |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |5. |October 4, 2008 | Vienna, Austria |Hard (i) | Philipp Petzschner |6–4, 6–4 |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |6. |February 28, 2009 | Acapulco, Mexico |Clay | Nicolás Almagro |6–4, 6–4 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |2. |September 27, 2009 | Metz, France |Hard (i) | Philipp Kohlschreiber |7–6(1), 3–6, 6–2 |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |7. |November 15, 2009 | Paris, France |Hard (i) | Novak Djokovic |6–2, 5–7, 7–6(3) |- |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |8. |July 18, 2010 | Stuttgart, Germany |Clay | Albert Montañés |6–2, 1–2, ret. |-bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |9. |October 10, 2010 | Tokyo, Japan |Hard | Rafael Nadal |6–1, 7–5 |- |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner |3. |October 31, 2010 | Montpellier, France |Hard (i) | Ivan Ljubičić |6–2, 5–7, 6–1 |-bgcolor=#dfe2e9 |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up |10. |November 14, 2010 | Paris, France |Hard (i) | Robin Söderling |6–1, 7–6(1) |}

Singles performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. Qualifying matches and Walkovers are neither official match wins nor losses. This table is current as far as the 2011 French Open. {|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:98% !Tournament!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=50|W–L |- |colspan=18 align=left|'''Grand Slams |- |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Australian Open |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|10–6 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|French Open |LQ |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|19–7 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Wimbledon |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee| |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|6–4 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|US Open |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF | |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|11–5 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !3–4 !4–4 !6–3 !8–2 !10–3 !9–4 !6–2 !42–21 |- |colspan=18 align=left|'''Year-End Championships |- |bgcolor=#efefef|ATP World Tour Finals |A |A |A |A |A |A |A | !0–0 |- |colspan=18 align=left|'''ATP Masters Series |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Indian Wells Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|2–6 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Miami Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |A |A |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|6–5 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Monte Carlo Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|3–6 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Rome Masters |A |A |bgcolor=yellow|SF |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |LQ |A |A |A |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|4–2 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Madrid Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |A |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|7–5 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Canada Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R | |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|3–3 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Cincinnati Masters |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R | |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|4–5 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Shanghai Masters |colspan=5 style=color:#ccc|Not ATP Masters Series |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|3–2 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Paris Masters |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=thistle|F |bgcolor=thistle|F | |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|10–5 |- |bgcolor=#EFEFEF align=left|Hamburg Masters |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |A |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|NM1 |bgcolor=#EFEFEF|0–1 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !1–1 !6–5 !6–8 !0–4 !8–7 !9–7 !10–6 !2–2 !42–40 |- |colspan=18 align=left|'''Career Statistics |- !style=text-align:left|Titles !0 !1 !0 !0 !0 !1 !1 !0 !3 |- !style=text-align:left|Finals !0 !3 !1 !1 !1 !3 !4 !0 !13 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !3–2 !27–23 !20–19 !|21–21 !31–18 !42–17 !46–20 !13–5 !200–125 |- !style=text-align:left|Win % !60% !54% !51% !50% !63% !71% !70% !% !% |- |bgcolor=#efefef align=left|Year-End Ranking |239 |30 |46 |38 |14 |13 |12 | !– |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:Living people Category:1986 births Category:French tennis players Category:Olympic tennis players of France Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:French people of Guadeloupean descent Category:People of Martiniquais descent

Playername	Novak Djokovic |image =
Caption	Novak Djokovic at the 2011 French Open
Nickname	Nole
Country	(2003–2006) (2006–present)
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Birth date	May 22, 1987
Birth place	Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$26,116,690
Singlesrecord	365–106 (77.49%)
Singlestitles	25
Highestsinglesranking	No. 2 (1 February 2010)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 2 (9 May 2011)
Australianopenresult	W (2008, 2011)
Frenchopenresult	SF (2007, 2008, 2011)
Wimbledonresult	SF (2007, 2010)
Usopenresult	F (2007, 2010)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	W (2008)
Olympicsresult	Bronze Medal (2008)
Doublesrecord	30–40
Doublestitles	1
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	1R (2006, 2007)
Frenchopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Wimbledondoublesresult	2R (2006)
Usopendoublesresult	1R (2006)
Highestdoublesranking	No. 114 (30 November 2009)
Updated	18:18, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

}}

Novak Djokovic ( ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player ranked World No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

He has won two Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open championships, becoming the first player representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively. He is also one of only four players (David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal being the other 3) to beat Roger Federer 3 times in one calendar year. He is also one of four players (Nalbandian, Murray and Nikolay Davydenko being the other 3) to beat Federer and Nadal in the same tournament twice, accomplishing that feat when he won the 2011 Indian Wells Masters 1000 event. He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top three players in succession and he achieved this when he defeated world number 3 Andy Roddick, world number 2 Nadal, and World number 1 Federer in the 2007 Rogers Cup. He is one of only two players to have defeated Federer at the semifinal stage or later on more than one occasion in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Nadal).

Ðoković was the runner-up at the 2007 and 2010 US Open tournaments (to Federer and Nadal, respectively), and a bronze medalist representing Serbia at the 2008 Olympic Games. In addition, Ðoković won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and has won nine Masters Series tournaments. In 2010, he led Serbia to win the Davis Cup. Ðoković finished the ATP Tour as World No. 3 for four consecutive years between 2007 and 2010.

From the 2010 Davis Cup finals to the 2011 French Open, Ðoković had a 43-match win streak, third only to Guillermo Vilas (46 matches in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 matches in 1981/1982). This includes titles at the Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells Masters, Miami Masters, Serbia Open, Madrid Masters, and the Rome Masters. He won 41 straight matches from the start of 2011 until the French Open semi-finals (where he was beaten by Roger Federer),). Djokovic also holds the record of the best start of a season with a winning streak of 41 matches.

Djokovic's emergence as a serious challenger to both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has led to the coining of a new sporting term: the trivalry. He is also considered the best male tennis player to come out of Serbia and the former Yugoslavia. Ðoković is also a double winner of the award The Best Sportperson of Serbia and award for The Best Sportsman by Olympic Committee of Serbia. He has been awarded with the Order of St. Sava, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Biography

Novak Ðjoković was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to father Srđan and mother, Dijana. His two younger brothers, Marko and Djordje, are also tennis players with professional aspirations. Since the end of 2005 Novak has been dating Jelena Ristić.

He started playing tennis at the age of four, and was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić at the age of eight, who stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles." At 12 years old, he spent three months at Nikola Pilić's tennis academy in Munich, Germany, and at age 14, his international career began, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.

Djokovic is also known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. He also did an impression of American tennis great John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker.

Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.

Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self described fan of languages, speaking 4 himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.

Tennis career

Early career

As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team he reached the finals of 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.

In the beginning of his professional career, Ðoković mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he faced Filippo Volandri in the Round of 32, and lost 6–7(5), 1–6. He made his first Grand Slam appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open where he met Marat Safin, as his first round opponent which he lost 6–0, 6–2, 6–1. Safin went on to win the tournament.

2006

The possibility for their entire 5-person family to move from Serbia to live in Britain involved immense dedication. All the rumours did not affect Ðoković's play. He soon reached the top 40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and a fourth round appearance at Wimbledon.

Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Ðoković won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.

2007

Ðoković began the year by winning the tournament in Adelaide, defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top ten. Ðoković lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.

Right after his first master series title he went back home to contribute for his country's attempt to get into the World Group of the Davis Cup competition. Serbia faced off the Republic of Georgia and Novak Ðoković brought a point by defeating Georgia's George Chanturia. This was a tournament where he prepared for the later clay court season. Ðoković played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Ðoković then reached the quarter-finals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Ðoković reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.

During Wimbledon, Ðoković won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis 7–6 (4), 7–6 (9), 6–7 (3), 4–6, 7–5. In his semifinal match against Nadal, he was forced to retire with back and foot problems.

Ðoković went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated World No. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, and World No. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994. Ðoković was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Ðoković "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)." However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ðoković lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Ðoković nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Ðoković had five set points in the first set and two in the second set but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Ðoković emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova

Ðoković won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals 6–4, 7–6 (4). Ðoković, assured of finishing the year as World No. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.

He received a golden badge, award for the best athlete in Serbia and Olympic Committee of Serbia has declared for the best sportsman.

2008

during the 2008 Australian Open]] Ðoković started the year by playing the Hopman Cup along with fellow Serbian World No. 3 Jelena Janković. He won all his round-robin matches and the team, seeded first, reached the final. They lost 2–1 to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.

At the Australian Open, Ðoković reached the final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals, to reach his second Grand Slam final in a row; by reaching the semifinals, Ðoković became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four grand slams. In the final, Ðoković then defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to earn his and Serbia's first ever Grand Slam singles title in four sets, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6 (2). This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.

Ðoković's next result was at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, lost in the semi-finals to Andy Roddick.

At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.

Ðoković won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Ðoković lost to Nadal in the semi-finals. At the French Open in Paris, Ðoković was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Ðoković lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.

On grass, Ðoković once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing 7–6 (6), 7–5. At Wimbledon, Ðoković was the third seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin; this ended a streak of five consecutive grand slams where he had reached at least the semifinals. Ðoković then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray 6–3, 7–6 (3). The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ðoković advanced to the final beating Nadal. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.

His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Summer Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Ðoković lost in the semifinals to Nadal, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semi-final, in the bronze medal match 6–3, 7–6 (4).

After the Olympics, Ðoković entered the US Open as the third seed. Ðoković took several injury breaks during matches in the tournament prompting a quip from Andy Roddick that the Serb has "16 injuries" including SARS, bird flu, and the common cold. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals, and in the post-match interview expressed disapproval with Roddick's comments, eliciting boos from the New York crowd. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer 6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2 in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.

Ðoković played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Ðoković was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai due to Nadal being unable to participate. In his first round robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga 1–6, 7–5, 6–1. Ðoković qualified for the semi-finals, where he defeated Gilles Simon 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. In the final, Ðoković defeated Davydenko again to win his first ever Tennis Masters Cup title.

2009

Ðoković started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round. At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semi-finals. Djokovic would have risen to World No. 2 had he won the match.

As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former World No. 1 Andy Roddick while he was trailing in the fourth set 6–7 (3), 6–4, 6–2, 2–1, due to heat exhaustion, muscle cramps, and soreness. His retirement drew criticism from several players remaining in the tournament, including Roger Federer.

After losing in the semi-finals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarter-finals 6–3, 6–2. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semi-finals 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 before losing to Andy Murray in the final. Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final after defeating Federer. This loss caused Djokovic's ranking to drop to World No. 4 on 11 May, ending 81 consecutive weeks at the number 3 ranking.

Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year. As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semi-finals without dropping a set. There he faced Nadal for the third time in five weeks and, despite holding three match points, lost 3–6, 7–6 (5), 7–6 (9). The match, at 4 hours and 3 minutes, is the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era. At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6–4, 6–4, 6–4.

Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas. Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 7–5, 7–6 (6), 4–6, 6–3.

During the US Open Series, Djokovic made the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing to Andy Roddick 6–4, 7–6 (4). The loss was his third of the year to Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated World No. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, 6–1, 6–4, to reach his second consecutive final at the event. He lost in the final to World No. 1 Roger Federer 6–1, 7–5.

At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semi-finals having dropping only two sets, defeating the likes of Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco en route. He lost however to Roger Federer in the semis in a hard fought encounter, 7–6 (3), 7–5, 7–5.

Djokovic then took part at the China Open in Beijing. He defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets, 6–2, 7–6 to win his third title of the year. Djokovic regained the World No. 3 ranking on 19 October, as a result of his performance at this tournament, and Andy Murray's withdrawal from the 2009 Shanghai Masters. At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semi-finals to sixth seed and eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 4–6, 6–7 (1) in just over 3 hours.

At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic recorded his first career double bagel, defeating Jan Hernych 6–0, 6–0, to make it to the quarter-finals. He then recovered from a set and break deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter-finals, 3–6, 7–6 (5), 6–2. In the semi-finals, he saved three match points to defeat Radek Štěpánek 6–7 (4), 7–5, 6–2. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 to win his fourth title of the year. With this win, Djokovic remained a perfect 15–0 at ATP World 500 tournaments in 2009.

At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic finally won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–3, in the semi-finals in 77 minutes hitting 31 winners en route. In the final, Djokovic held off several comebacks in the match from Gaël Monfils, eventually prevailing, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6 (3).

Coming into the year ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round robin match, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5, extending his winning streak to 11 matches. His run was ended however in his second match, where a weary looking Djokovic lost to the first time in 6 career meetings to Robin Söderling 7–6 (5), 6–1. Despite victory over Rafael Nadal 7–6 (5), 6–3, in his final match, Djokovic failed to make the semi-finals due to his percentage of sets won being inferior to that of Davydenko in a three way tie between Söderling, Davydenko and Djokovic (all three having finished the round robin stage with a 2–1 win-loss record).

Djokovic ended the year as the World No. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches through out the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.

2010

Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second. Djokovic participated in an exhibition match against Australia's World No. 291 Bernard Tomic in which he lost.

At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets, 6–7 (8), 7–6 (5), 6–1, 3–6, 1–6, struggling with illness both before the match and from the fourth set onwards. Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of World No. 2.

He reached the semis of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny 6–7 (5), 6–7 (6), despite having set points in the second set tiebreak. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in U.A.E., Djokovic reached his second consecutive final at this event after beating all his opponents in 3 sets from the first round onwards. In the final, he defeated Russian Mikhail Youzhny winning, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 to win his first title of the year. This was the first time in his career that Djokovic had defended a title.

He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarter-final in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey in four sets, and John Isner in five sets.

Djokovic then took part in the first Masters 1000 events of the year in North America. At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, he lost in the fourth round to the eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić 5–7, 3–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, he suffered a shock loss, losing his opening match to Olivier Rochus 2–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6. This was his first opening round defeat since losing to Fabrice Santoro at the 2007 BNP Paribas Masters. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach. He admitted that Martin had attempted to have him change his service motion, a tweaking of technique which caused him to routinely produce a high number of double faults in his matches and significantly reduced the threat on serve.

In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top seeded Djokovic reached the semi-finals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and in form David Nalbandian. There, he lost for the first time in his last five meetings to Fernando Verdasco, 2–6, 2–6. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarter-finals, 6–7 (4), 6–3, 4–6. Djokovic later said that his recent form had been hindered by allergies for the last two months.

As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarter-finals while trailing 4–6 to the World No. 330, Filip Krajinović. He later announced his withdrawal from the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open because of illness.

Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets 3–6, 2–6, 6–2, 7–6 (3), 6–4. With Melzer serving for the match at 5–4 in the fifth set, Djokovic hit a cross-court forehand that would have given him a love–30 lead on the point. A late call confirmed by umpire Carlos Bernardes ruled it out, a call which Djokovic contested with Bernardes. Djokovic lost the point and the match. Later Hawk-Eye examination showed that Djokovic had been correct and the ball had indeed been in; it was the first time that Djokovic had lost a Grand Slam singles match after winning the first two sets.

Djokovic once again entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, he defeated Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Alberto Montanes, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsu Lu en route to the semi-finals, where he lost to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3.

Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto where he faced Roger Federer in the semifinals losing 6–1, 3–6, 7–5. Djokovic also competed in the doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high profile partnership. That was first time, after 1976. when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as World No.1 and No.2 paired up making a double dream team. However, they lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick. match against Czech Republic]] As the 3rd seed at the US Open, Djokovic was very close to losing in the opening round, rallying from being down two sets to one down, a break in the fourth set and several break points which would have put him down two breaks in the fourth set to beat countryman Viktor Troicki in the midst of extreme heat. Djokovic eventually won 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–3. He would then defeat Philipp Petzschner, Americans James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gaël Monfils all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, he faced Roger Federer, to whom he had lost the 2007 final and 2008 and 2009 semifinals. Very close to losing, Djokovic rallied to win 5–7, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 7–5, saving two match points at 5–4 down on his serve in the final set. The win ended a streak of four consecutive losses in Grand Slam semifinals. It was also Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Grand Slam since the 2008 Australian Open. It also made him one of only two players to hold more than one victory over Federer in Grand Slam tournaments since Federer first became World number 1 (the other being Nadal). Djokovic lost to Nadal 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.

After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (the American withdrew so this win is considered a "walkover"), Gilles Simon and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated the eighth seeded Spaniard, David Ferrer in the final 6–2, 6–4.

At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semi-final appearance losing to Roger Federer 4–6, 5–7.

Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomáš Berdych and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round robin match against Berdych 6–3, 6–3. He next faced Nadal where he fell in straight sets 5–7, 2–6. Djokovic stated after the match he could barely see out of his right eye and at 4–4 in the first set Djokovic had to change his contact lenses. Throughout the match, Djokovic used three different types of contact lenses in the match to try to settle the problem. He defeated Roddick 6–2, 6–3 in his final round robin match and was safely through to the semi-finals, finishing second in the group to set up a mouth-watering clash with Roger Federer. He lost to eventual champion Federer 1–6, 4–6. Djokovic later went on win two of his singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup finals victory over France; starting his unbeaten run that went on through 2011 and which was broken also by Federer on the French Open of the the next year. Djokovic finished the year ranked World No. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.

He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.

2011

trophy]] In 2011 Djokovic started in the Australian exhibition Hopman Cup, where he did not lose a match. Djokovic then moved on to the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where he was seeded 3rd behind Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer. He started off his Australian Open campaign by beating Marcel Granollers in the first round 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 and then moved on to play Ivan Dodig, defeating him in four sets 7–5, 6–7 (8), 6–0, 6–2. His Davis Cup teammate and close friend Viktor Troicki retired in the 3rd round due to injury, with Djokovic leading 6–2. In the 4th round he swiftly defeated Nicolas Almagro of Spain again winning in straight sets 6–3, 6–4, 6–0. In the quarter-finals, he avenged his loss to Tomáš Berdych at the Wimbledon by winning 6–1, 7–6 (5), 6–1. He then beat defending champion Roger Federer in straight sets 7–6 (3), 7–5, 6–4 to reach the final, where he defeated Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 for his second Australian Open championship and second grand slam.

Djokovic's next tournament was at the ATP World Tour 500 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships in UAE, where he was seeded 2nd. He was the two-time defending champion and favourite for the title alongside the 1st seed Roger Federer. He dismissed Michaël Llodra in a lopsided first round encounter, winning 6–3, 6–3. He reached the final after then beating Lopez, Mayer and Berdych (who retired). In the final he beat Federer in two surprisingly lopsided sets 6–3, 6–3 to complete his hattrick of titles (in other words, winning the tournament three consecutive times) in Dubai.

Djokovic then played in 2011 BNP Paribas Open, the first ATP Masters of the season, as the third seed. He advanced to the final by beating Roger Federer in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 to set up a clash with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the final. Djokovic continued his fine winning form by claiming the Indian Wells title, beating Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the final and extending his winning streak since the ATP World Tour Finals to 20 consecutive matches.

By defeating Federer in the semi-finals, his ranking rose to World No. 2 on 21 March 2011. Consequently, he was seeded second in the second ATP Masters tournament of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Miami. Djokovic then succeeded to reach his fourth consecutive final of the year, losing only eighteen games en route where he beat Denis Istomin 6–0, 6–1, James Blake 6–2, 6–0, Viktor Troicki 6–3, 6–2, Kevin Anderson 6–4, 6–2, and Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–1. In the final, Djokovic beat Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 (4) in a match that lasted 3 hours and 21 minutes. By this victory, Djokovic extended his winning streak to 26 consecutive matches and has yet to lose a singles match in the season. He is also the first player to win the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Masters triple, since Roger Federer succeeded in 2006.

Djokovic then withdrew from the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters citing a knee injury. Consequently, he opened his clay court season on home soil at the 2011 Serbia Open in Belgrade. As the 1st seed, he receives a bye into the second round, where he defeated Adrian Ungur 6–2, 6–3 to open up his clay campaign. In the quarter-final, he defeated Blaž Kavčič 6–3, 6–2. With the withdrawal of Janko Tipsarević in the semi-finals, Djokovic reached his fifth consecutive final where he beat Feliciano Lopez 7–6 (4), 6–2, in just over 2 hours. This brought his winning streak to 29 (and 27 from the beginning of this season).

His next tournament was the fourth ATP Masters of the year, the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. As the second seed, he received a bye into the second round where he defeated Kevin Anderson 6–3, 6–4. In the third round, he demolished Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6–1, 6–2 winning 100% of points on his 1st serve. In the quarter-finals, Djokovic toughed it out against World No. 6 David Ferrer of Spain by winning 6–4, 4–6, 6–3. This win allowed Djokovic to surpass Ivan Lendl's record of 29–0 from the beginning of the season. He then defeated an in-form Thomaz Bellucci 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 in the semifinals to set up a final clash with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. He then beat Nadal in straight sets 7–5, 6–4, extending his win streak to 34 (and 32 from the beginning of the season).

He continued his winning streak in Rome Masters, 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia by beating Lukasz Kubot, Stanislas Wawrinka and Robin Söderling without dropping a set. In the semis, he beat Andy Murray 6–1, 3–6, 7–6 (2), in a thrilling match that Tennis Channel commentator Robbie Koenig said was the best of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the final for the fourth consecutive time in 2011 to extend his winning streak to 39 (and 37 from the beginning of the season).

In the French Open, Djokovic was seeded number 2 after Nadal. He defeated Thiemo de Bakker, Victor Hanescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet dropping only one set to reach the quarterfinals. Djokovic was due to play against Fabio Fognini of Italy, but his opponent withdrew from the competition, giving Djokovic a walkover (not an official victory). Djokovic's winning streak ended in the semifinals at 43 matches (41 occuring in 2011), with a 4 set loss to Roger Federer, 6–7 (5), 3–6, 6–3, 6–7 (5).

Davis Cup

In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on 9 April 2006 against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team a 3–1 lead in their best of 5 series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with the Lawn Tennis Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks. However, more than 3 years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006 were indeed serious:

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By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting Serbia to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008 in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6–8 Match 2010 he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils. He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki.

Rivalries

The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was the 22nd time Djokovic and Federer played each other, meeting eight times from September 2010 through to March 2011. Federer leads their overall head-to-head 14–9. In 2011, Djokovic and Nadal met for the 27th time in Rome, and given Nadal is 25 and Djokovic 24, it is possible that they will pass the 36 matches played by Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe. Currently, Nadal leads their head-to-head 16–11, though Djokovic won their last four consecutive matches.

Playing style, equipment and diet

Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on aggressive baseline play. His groundstrokes from both wings are consistent, deep, and penetrating. His backhand is widely regarded as one of the best in today's game. His best weapon is his backhand hit down the line, with great pace and precision. He is also known as one of the greatest movers on the court with superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. After great technical difficulties during the 2009 season, his serve is one of his major weapons again, winning him many free points; his first serve is typically hit flat, while he prefers to slice and kick his second serves wide.

Djokovic used Head rackets, utilizing a custom paint job of the Head YouTek Speed Pro racquet, after using Wilson until the end of 2008. In the 2011 Australian Open, he began using a custom PJ of the Head YouTek IG Speed MP 18/20 with Innegra™ fibre technology. Djokovic strings in a custom hybrid consisting of Head Natural Gut in the mains, and Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power Rough in the crosses. At the end of 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company Sergio Tacchini after Adidas refused to extend his clothing contract (choosing instead to sign Andy Murray). Djokovic has recently begun to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag.

Since 2006 Djokovic has been coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marian Vajda. On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.

In 2010, Djokovic's nutritionist discovered the tennis player has an allergy to gluten and Djokovic purged it from his diet. He started the 2011 season strong, with the dietary change being given credit amongst observers.

Grand Slams

Grand Slam performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 French Open.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% |- !Tournament!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|Win % |- | colspan="13" style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- | style="background:#fff; text-align:left;"|Australian Open |A |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|1R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#fff;"|2 / 7 | style="background:#fff;"|25–5 | style="background:#fff;"|83.33 |- | style="background:#fff; text-align:left;"|French Open |A |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:#fff;"|0 / 7 | style="background:#fff;"|25–7 | style="background:#fff;"|78.12 |- | style="background:#fff; text-align:left;"|Wimbledon |A |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | | style="background:#fff;"|0 / 6 | style="background:#fff;"|20–6 | style="background:#fff;"|76.92 |- | style="background:#fff; text-align:left;"|US Open |A |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:thistle;"|F | | style="background:#fff;"|0 / 6 | style="background:#fff;"|26–6 | style="background:#fff;"|81.25 |- | style="background:#fff; text-align:left;"|'''Win-Loss !0–0 !0–0 !5–4 !9–4 !19–4 !18–3 !15–4 !19–4 !11–1 !2 / 26 !96–24 !80.00 |}

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=80|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=200|'''Score in the final |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2007||US Open||Hard|| Roger Federer||6–7(4), 6–7(2), 4–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2008||Australian Open||Hard|| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga||4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(2) |- style="background:#ccf;" |bgcolor=FFA07A|Runner-up||2010||US Open||Hard|| Rafael Nadal||4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |- style="background:#ffc;" |bgcolor=98FB98|Winner||2011||Australian Open||Hard|| Andy Murray||6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |}

Career statistics

Records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

{|class=wikitable |- style="background:#afdcec;" |width=200|Tournament||width=50|Year||width=200|Record accomplished||width=200|Player tied |- |Miami Masters |2007 |Youngest player to win Men's Championship (19 years, ten months)||Stands alone |- |Canada Masters |2007 |Youngest player to defeat the top 3 players in succession||Stands alone |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open |2007–2008 |Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams||Stands alone |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open |2007–2008 |Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams in succession||Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2006–2009 |Most consecutive weeks at number 3 – 91||Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |Fastest player to qualify for the World Tour Finals – 18 weeks, 6 days||Stands alone |- |ATP World Tour |2011 |The best start of season winning streak (41)||Stands alone |- |Madrid |2009 |Longest best-of-three sets men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)||Rafael Nadal |- |Australian Open – Indian Wells Masters – Miami Masters |2011 |Winner of the first "Big 3" tournaments in one season||Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2007–2011 |Reach the most of different Masters 1000 finals (8/9)||Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most Consecutive Titles in events entered – 4||Roger Federer (2005–2006) |- |ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |2011 |Most Titles in a season – 4||Roger Federer (2005 & 2006), Rafael Nadal (2005) |}

Order of St. Sava

On 28 April 2011 in Belgrade, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The order was given to him because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.

In popular culture

In 2009 and 2010 Djokovic won Oscar Of Popularity for the most popular male athlete in Serbia.

He was a special guest in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. He threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of voting. Together with presenter of the show Željko Joksimović, Djokovic sung a song about Belgrade.

Djokovic is also featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The video, filmed at Stade Roland Garros, shows Solveig facing off against Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match. When the referee calls a crucial ball "Out", Djokovic enters the arena and convinces the referee otherwise.

In 2010, Serbian blues-rock band Zona B recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Djokovic.

See also

Tennis performance timeline comparison (men)

Serbia Davis Cup team

References

Further reading

External links

Official site Official site

Novak Djokovic at Flickr

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:Male tennis players Category:People from Belgrade Category:People from Monte Carlo Category:Serbian people of Montenegrin descent Category:Serbian expatriates in Monaco Category:Serbian male tennis players Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia Category:Olympic tennis players of Serbia Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic medalists in tennis

Playername	Tomáš Berdych
Nickname	Birdy, Pertikos
Country
Residence	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Datebirth	September 17, 1985
Placebirth	Valašské Meziříčí, Czechoslovakia
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2002
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$6,777,929
Singlesrecord	253–154
Singlestitles	5
Highestsinglesranking	No. 6 (October 18, 2010)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 6 (October 18, 2010)
Australianopenresult	4R (2007, 2008, 2009)
Frenchopenresult	SF (2010)
Wimbledonresult	F (2010)
Usopenresult	4R (2004, 2006, 2007)
Doublesrecord	60–81
Doublestitles	1
Highestdoublesranking	No. 54 (April 10, 2006)
Updated	August 30, 2010

Tomáš Berdych (; born September 17, 1985, in Valašské Meziříčí) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His best achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semi-finals of the 2010 French Open. He has won one ATP Masters 1000 title in 2005. He reached a career high of World No. 6 on 18 October 2010.

Career

2002–2004

Berdych turned pro in 2002 winning future events both in his country of Czech Republic in Czech F8 defeating Pavel Šnobel in the finals 6–2, 6–3 and in Czech F5 defeating Ladislav Chramosta 6–4, 6–3.

In 2003 Berdych won three events in the future of Great Britain F5 over Peter Clarke 6–1, 6–4, in the challenger in Budaors, Hungary over Ivaylo Traykov 6–2, 6–3 and challenger of Graz, Austria Julian Knowle 6–4, 5–7, 6–2. He also reached the final of Great Britain F1 losing to Wesley Moodie 6–7(5), 6–7(5). He also reached 6 other semifinals. He won his first ATP Tour win in the 2003 US Open over Tomas Behrend 5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 but lost the next round to Juan Ignacio Chela 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 3–6.

In 2004 Berdych focused on the challengers and the atp tour. In the challengers he was able to win in Besançon, France over Julien Benneteau 6–3, 6–1 and in Braunschweig, Germany over Daniel Elsner 4–6, 6–1, 6–4. In the ATP Tour he began with the 2004 Australian Open defeating Nicolas Mahut 6–4, 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 before losing to 4th seed Andre Agassi 0–6, 2–6, 4–6. He also earned victories over Galo Blanco, Björn Phau and Potito Starace in the ATP Tour. He made his debut in the 2003 French Open and 2002 Wimbledon but lost in the first round.

He then played at the Summer Olympics. He won in the first round against Florian Mayer 6–3, 7–5. He managed to cause a major upset in the second round, defeating world no. 1 Roger Federer 4–6, 7–5, 7–5 despite having only five ATP Tour victories under his belt. He went on to defeat 15th seed Tommy Robredo 7–6(2), 4–6, 8–6 in the round of 16. He was finally defeated in the quarterfinals by Taylor Dent 6–4, 6–1.

After his run at the Olympics he had a good tournament at the 2004 US Open reaching the fourth round with victories over Jonas Björkman 6–3, 2–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, Tuomas Ketola 6–3, 7–6(1), 6–3 and Mikhail Youzhny 2–6, 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1 before losing to Tommy Haas 6–7(6), 1–6, 5–7. He won his first title in Palermo defeating David Ferrer 7–5, 6–4 in the semifinals and Filippo Volandri 6–3, 6–3 in the finals

2005–2006

The start of Berdych 2005 season wasn't so well as he lost in the first rounds of Adelaide, Sydney and the Australian Open. He then lost in second rounds of Marseille, Rotterdam and Dubai. Even this were early loses he lost to higher ranked opponents. He then recorded his first back-to-back win in Indian Wells including a win over Mario Ančić but lost to Ivan Ljubičić. He then lost in the first rounds of Miami, Estoril, Rome and London. He also reached the second rounds of Monte Carlo, Hamburg, French Open and Nottingham.

He then made it to the third round of 2005 Wimbledon losing to Taylor Dent. He then had a good run a runner-up finish in the 2005 Swedish Open to Rafael Nadal losing 2–6, 6–2, 6–4, the quarterfinals of 2005 MercedesCup losing to Nikolay Davydenko 4–6, 2–6 and the semifinals of 2005 Legg Mason Tennis Classic losing to James Blake 4–6, 3–6. He then made it to the second round of 2005 Rogers Cup and Cincinnati after upseeting Rafael Nadal in the first round, and the third round of the 2005 US Open. He then lost early in Vienna, Madrid, Palermo and Basel. At the 2005 Paris Masters he won his first career ATP Masters Series title. En route to the final, he beat Jiří Novák, 2nd seed Guillermo Coria, 13th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7th seed Gastón Gaudio, 8th seed Radek Štěpánek, and 6th seed Ivan Ljubičić in the final 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4.

In 2006 Berdych starter the year in 2006 Next Generation Adelaide International where he reached the Semifinals losing to Xavier Malisse 4–6, 0–6. However once again he lost early in Sydney, Australian Open, Marseille, Rotterdam and Dubai. He then made it to the 4th round of 2006 Pacific Life Open were he defeated Lleyton Hewitt before losing to Marcos Baghdatis and the 3rd round of 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open losing to David Nalbandian. He then lost in the second rounds of Barcelona and Monte Carlo, and the third round of Rome. He then reached his first French Open fourth round losing to Roger Federer 3–6, 2–6, 3–6.

He then reached his first grass court final at the 2006 Gerry Weber Open, falling to World No. 1 Roger Federer (0–6, 7–6, 2–6) and the fourth round of 2006 Wimbledon once again losing to Roger Federer 3–6, 3–6, 4–6. He then made it to the semifinals of 2006 Mercedes Cup losing to eventual champion David Ferrer. He then played in 2006 Rogers Cup were he upset Rafael Nadal 6–1, 3–6, 6–2 before losing to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. He then made it to his third straight 4th round in a Major at the 2006 US Open losing to James Blake.

He then reached the finals of 2006 Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open were he lost to Dmitry Tursunov 6–3 4–6 7–6(5). In the 2006 Madrid Masters, Berdych delivered back-to-back upsets over former World No. 1 Andy Roddick 7–6(7) 6–3 and Rafael Nadal 6–3 7–6(6) but lost to Fernando González in the semi-finals. In the 2006 BNP Paribas Masters as the defending champion he lost in the quarterfinals to Dominik Hrbatý 4–6, 6–1, 2–6. In earlier rounds, he defeated Olivier Rochus 6–7 6–4 6–2 and Robby Ginepri 6–3 6–3.

Berdych has been disliked by Spanish fans for his altercation with Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal in Madrid, in which the partisan crowd jeered Berdych during points and Berdych for hushing the crowd after he won the match 6–3, 7–6. As the players shook hands at the end, Nadal clearly showed his disapproval by shaking his head, and saying, "that was very bad... very bad." Berdych never found his rhythm in his semi final match against Fernando González as he slumped to a 6–3, 6–1 defeat.

2007–2008

.]] Berdych began the year with a quarterfinal in the 2007 Medibank International and the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open losing to world no. 3 Nikolay Davydenko. He then had a bad run suffering early loses Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami. He then had a good run on clay as he reached the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters event, his best ever result at the event, defeating Nicolás Almagro, Benjamin Becker, 5th seed Tommy Robredo, and Robin Söderling, before losing to 2nd seed Rafael Nadal. He also made it to the semifinals of 2007 BMW Open losing to Mikhail Youzhny 6–4, 6–3, despite not a dropping a set before the loss. He also made it to the Quartefinals of 2007 Rome Masters. However despite his good run in clay he lost in the first round of the 2007 French Open to Guillermo García López 5–7, 4–6, 4–6.

He then won his third ATP singles title in Halle, defeating Marcos Baghdatis 7–5, 6–4 and not dropping a set en route to the title. At Wimbledon, he made his best performance at a Grand Slam, making it to the quarterfinals, defeating Nicolás Massú, Michaël Llodra, Hyung-Taik Lee, and #19 seed (35th-ranked) Jonas Björkman before losing to Nadal again 6–7(1), 4–6, 2–6. In the Canadian Masters event, his first tournament since Wimbledon, as the #10 seed and as defending quarter-finalist, he lost in round 1 to Robin Haase, who was making his Canadian debut. The following week in Cincinnati, as the #10 seed, he made round 3 before losing to Nikolay Davydenko, after which he rose to a new career high of #9. He then made it through the fourth round 2007 US Open retiring against Andy Roddick. He then reached the semifinals of 2007 Thailand Open losing to Benjamin Becker and 2007 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships losing to Richard Gasquet. His last tournament of the year was the 2007 Paris Masters losing to David Ferrer.

Berdych began 2008 by competing in the Hopman Cup, but his event was marred by a stomach virus. He then entered the 2008 Medibank International being upset by Chris Guccione in quarterfinals. Entering the Australian Open as the number 13 seed, he reached the fourth round, where he fell to Roger Federer 4–6, 6–7, 3–6. He once again had a bad run in Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells. However in the 2008 Miami Masters he made through the semifinals including a win over Juan Carlos Ferrero and not dropping a set en route but he lost to Rafael Nadal 6–7(6), 2–6. He however had a bad run in clay and grass as he dropped out of the top 20 due to a sprained right ankle which caused him to miss 2008 Monte Carlo Masters and 2008 Rome Masters. He then reached the finals of 2008 Swedish Open losing to Tommy Robredo 6–4 6–1. He also had a bad run in the North America as he suffered early loses and a first round loss in the 2008 US Open to Sam Querrey. He then made it to the semifinals of 2008 Thailand Open losing to Novak Djokovic. He then won his only title of the year in the 2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships with wins over 4 top 20 player namely Tommy Robredo, Fernando González, Andy Roddick and Juan Martín del Potro in the finals. This was his last good result of the year.

2009

Berydch's season did not have a good start as he recorded 2–6 excluding the 2009 Australian Open he advanced to the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open where he faced Roger Federer. Berdych took a 2 sets to love lead over Federer, however, ended being defeated by Federer in a tough five sets 6–4, 7–6(4), 4–6, 4–6, 2–6. This 2–6 record came from early loses Brisbane, Sydney, Rotterdam, Marseille and Indian Wells. He then competed in the challenger in 2010 BMW Tennis Championship were he lost to Robin Söderling in the finals. He then reached the fourth round of 2009 Sony Ericsson Open losing to Novak Djokovic after upsetting James Blake.

In the clay season Berdych did well outside of the 2009 French Open and the Masters as he lost in the 1st two rounds in all four events. He then reached the R16 of 2009 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell losing to Fernando Verdasco 5–7, 7–5, 4–6 and he won his only title of the year and the only time he reached a result better than the quarterfinals in the 2009 BMW Open defeating Mikhail Youzhny 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(5). In the 2009 Gerry Weber Open he lost to Mischa Zverev 6–3, 2–6, 6–7(8) and in Wimbledon he lost to eventual finalist Andy Roddick 6–7(4), 4–6, 3–6. He the lost in the first rounds of Stuttgart and Rogers Masters but reached the quarterfinals of 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic to John Isner 3–6, 7–6(10), 2–6 and 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 5–7.

In the US Open he reached the round of 32 losing to Fernando González. He then reached the Quarterfinals of 2009 Proton Malaysian Open and 2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. He then suffered back-to-back loses to Gilles Simon at the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 and 2009 Valencia Open 500. He then reached the second round of Paris losing to Tommy Robredo.

In the Davis Cup first round tie against France, he won the opening match defeating top-ranked Frenchman Gilles Simon and joined compatriot Radek Štěpánek to beat French duo Richard Gasquet and Michaël Llodra. He later helped his country to reach the Davis Cup final against Spain, after winning the semi-final tie 3–2 against Croatia, who were playing in their homeland. The tie ended 5–0 in favor to the defending champions, with Berdych losing to Nadal in the first rubber 7–5, 6–0, 6–2.

2010

Berdych began the year at the 2010 Brisbane International where he reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Andy Roddick 6–1, 3–6, 4–6. He then suffered second round upsets in 2010 Medibank International Sydney to Peter Luczak and the 2010 Australian Open to Evgeny Korolev. He then recorded three straight quarter-finals in the 2010 SAP Open once again losing to Andy Roddick 6–7(5), 6–7(5), at the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships upset by Ernests Gulbis 6–3, 3–6, 6–7(3) and the first Masters of the year at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–7(4) after upsetting Fernando Verdasco 6–0, 6–3 en route.

In the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, he stunned an error-filled No.1 seed Roger Federer 6–4, 6–7(3), 7–6(6) in the Round of 16 after saving a match point on Federer's serve in the tiebreak at 6–5, which he won 8–6. This is his second victory over Roger and ending an 8 straight losing streak to the Swiss. He then went on to defeat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–4 for a spot in the semi-finals. Berdych overpowered the no.5 seed Robin Söderling in two sets in the semis, 6–2, 6–2, but lost in the final to Roddick, 5–7, 4–6.

He began his clay season at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters losing to eventual finalist Fernando Verdasco 7–5, 3–6, 2–6 in the third round after cruising through the first two rounds. At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia he lost Stanislas Wawrinka 6–2, 3–6, 6–7(6). At the 2010 BMW Open he was upset by Philipp Petzschner 6–1, 3–6, 4–6 in the quarterfinals. He then withdrew from the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open due to a right hip injury. He then represented Czech Republic at the 2010 ARAG World Team Cup and won all his three singles matches but failed to reach the finals after losing the tie against USA. In the 2010 French Open, Berdych enjoyed his best performance to date in a Grand Slam tournament. He reached the semifinals where he was defeated by fifth seed Robin Söderling 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 3–6. En route to the semis, he defeated three seeded opponents in straight sets: John Isner in the third round, world number 4 Andy Murray in the fourth round, and Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals.

He reached his first career slam Final at the 2010 Wimbledon after beating Andrey Golubev and Benjamin Becker in straight sets, Denis Istomin in five and Daniel Brands in four sets. He also defeated defending champion Roger Federer in four sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 to record his second straight victory over the Swiss. The win also made him only the fourth Czech-born man to reach the semi-final of Wimbledon, after Jaroslav Drobný, Jan Kodeš and Ivan Lendl. In the semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, Berdych won the match in straight sets 6–3, 7–6(9), 6–3, to reach his first Grand Slam final, against world number one Rafael Nadal. There, he lost to the Spaniard 3–6, 5–7, 4–6 to finish as a runner up.

Afterwards, he played at the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington as the top seed. He made the quarterfinals after beating both Dmitry Tursunov and Andrey Golubev in three sets en route. However he lost to Xavier Malisse 4–6, 6–3, 2–6 in that quarterfinal round.

At the 2010 Rogers Cup held in Toronto, he was the 7th seed. He beat two Ukrainian players; Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–2, 6–4 (in the opening round) and Alexandr Dolgopolov 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–4 (in the third round) to reach the quarterfinals. There he lost to Roger Federer 3–6, 7–5, 6–7(5) despite serving for the match at 5–3 in the third set while being two points away from victory numerous times.

At the 2010 US Open as the #7 seed, Berdych was upset in the first round by Michaël Llodra 6–7(3), 4–6, 4–6.

Appearing at the 2010 Proton Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, he made the quarterfinals where he lost to David Ferrer 6–4, 5–7, 4–6. Berdych then made a first round exit at the 2010 China Open Beijing where he lost to Michael Berrer 6–4, 5–7, 4–6.

At the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters as the #7 seed, Berdych lost to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the third round 6–7(4), 3–6.

He then suffered two successive opening round losses – first at the 2010 If Stockholm Open in Stockholm (Sweden) falling to Jarkko Nieminen for the first time 1–6, 4–6; then secondly at the 2010 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel (Switzerland), losing to Tobias Kamke 4–6, 1–6.

At the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters as the #5 seed, Berdych lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round 6–4, 6–7(5), 0–6. With Andy Roddick defeating Ernests Gulbis, while including Fernando Verdasco failing to make the final, Berdych automatically qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals taking the sixth spot which allowed him to make his first ever appearance at the year-end championships.

Booking his place at the Barclays 2010 ATP World Tour Finals in London for the first time in his career, he was named the #6 seed. Coming from a long string of poor performances dating back since his surprising Wimbledon campaign, his lack of confidence showed in his opening round robin loss to Novak Djokovic 3–6, 3–6. However, to a surprise of many, Tomas somehow rediscovered his confidence in his second round robin match where he defeated Andy Roddick 7–5, 6–3. In his last round robin match, Berdych was defeated by Rafael Nadal in two sets which meant that he could not advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Major finals

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- | style="width:100px;"|Outcome |width="50"|Year | style="width:200px;"|Championship |width="75"|Surface | style="width:200px;"|Opponent in the final | style="width:200px;"|Score in the final |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up|| 2010 || Wimbledon || Grass || Rafael Nadal || 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |}

ATP Masters Series Finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- | style="width:100px;"|Outcome |width="50"|Year | style="width:200px;"|Championship |width="75"|Surface | style="width:200px;"|Opponent in the final | style="width:200px;"|Score in the final |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner || 2005 || Paris || Carpet || Ivan Ljubičić || 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up || 2010 || Miami || Hard || Andy Roddick || 7–5, 6–4 |}

Career finals

Singles: 11 (5–6)

Wins (5)

{| style="width:53%;" |- | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"| | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"| |}

Runner-ups (6)

{| style="width:53%;" |- | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"| | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"| |} {| class="sortable wikitable" |- style="background:#efefef;" |Outcome |No. |Date |Tournament |Surface |Opponent in Final |Score |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 1. | September 27, 2004 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Filippo Volandri | 6–3, 6–3 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 1. | July 4, 2005 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 2–6, 6–2, 6–4 |- style="background:#dfe2e9;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 2. | October 31, 2005 | Paris, France | Carpet | Ivan Ljubičić | 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 2. | June 12, 2006 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Roger Federer | 6–0, 6–7(4), 6–2 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 3. | September 25, 2006 | Mumbai, India | Hard | Dmitry Tursunov | 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(5) |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 3. | June 11, 2007 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Marcos Baghdatis | 7–5, 6–4 |- | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 4. | July 7, 2008 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Tommy Robredo | 6–4, 6–1 |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 4. | October 5, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–1, 6–4 |- | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 5. | May 11, 2009 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Mikhail Youzhny | 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(5) |- style="background:#dfe2e9;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 5. | April 4, 2010 | Miami, USA | Hard | Andy Roddick | 7–5, 6–4 |- style="background:#e5d1cb;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 6. | July 4, 2010 | Wimbledon, UK | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |}

Doubles: 1 (1–1)

Wins (1)

{| style="width:53%;" |- | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"| | style="width:33%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left;"| |} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#efefef;" |Outcome |No. |Date |Tournament |Surface |Partner |Opponents in Final |Score |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner | 1. | February 24, 2008 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Dmitry Tursunov | Philipp Kohlschreiber Mikhail Youzhny | 7–5, 3–6, [10–7] |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up | 1. | August 8, 2010 | Washington D.C., U.S. | Hard | Radek Štěpánek | Mardy Fish Mark Knowles | 4–6, 7–6(7), [10–7] |}

Singles performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. A = did not participate in the tournament. LQ = lost in qualifying draw.

References

External links

Tomáš Berdych Official Website

Website about Tomáš Berdych

Berdych Recent Match Results

Berdych World Ranking History

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Czech expatriates in Monaco Category:Czech male tennis players Category:Olympic tennis players of the Czech Republic Category:People from Valašské Meziříčí Category:Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Playername	Rafael Nadal
Fullname	Rafael Nadal Parera
Caption	Rafael Nadal serving during the 2011 French Open
Country	Spain
Nickname	RafaThe King of ClayThe Matador
Residence	Manacor, Majorca, Spain
Birth date	June 03, 1986
Birth place	Manacor, Majorca
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2001
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$41,745,602
Singlesrecord	515–107 (82.79%)
Singlestitles	46
Currentsinglesranking	No. 1 (06 June 2011)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (18 August 2008)
Australianopenresult	W (2009)
Frenchopenresult	W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011)
Wimbledonresult	W (2008, 2010)
Usopenresult	W (2010)
Othertournaments	Yes
Masterscupresult	F (2010)
Olympicsresult	Gold medal (2008)
Doublesrecord	89–54
Doublestitles	7
Highestdoublesranking	No. 26 (8 August 2005)
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	3R (2004, 2005)
Wimbledondoublesresult	2R (2005)
Usopendoublesresult	SF (2004)
Updated	6 June 2011

}}

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (; ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time; his success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay", and has prompted many experts to regard him as the greatest clay court player of all time.

Nadal has won ten Grand Slam singles titles,including 6 French Open titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 19 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and also was part of the Spain Davis Cup team that won the finals in 2004, 2008 and 2009. He completed the career Grand Slam by winning the 2010 US Open, being the seventh player in history, and the youngest in the open era, to achieve it. He is the second male player to complete the Career Golden Slam (winner of the four grand slams and the Olympic Gold medal) after only Andre Agassi.

Nadal had a 32-match winning streak in 2008, starting at the 2008 Masters Series Hamburg to the 2008 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, which included titles at Hamburg, the French Open (where he did not drop a set), Queen's Club, his first ever title at Wimbledon, and the Rogers Cup. In 2011, by winning the Monte Carlo Masters, he became the only player to have won seven editions of a tournament in a row at the ATP level. Nadal was ranked world No. 2, behind Roger Federer, for a record 160 consecutive weeks before earning the top spot, which he held from 18 August 2008 to 5 July 2009. He regained the world No.1 ranking on 7 June 2010, after winning his fifth French Open title.

Early life

Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Majorca, Spain to Sebastián Nadal, a businessman managing his own restaurant, Sa Punta; a glass and window glass company, Vidres Mallorca; and owns an insurance company as well. His mother is Ana María Parera, a housewife. He has a younger sister named María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team. Nadal supports football clubs Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca. Recognizing that Nadal had a natural talent for tennis, another uncle, Toni Nadal, a former professional tennis player, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old.

At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player. This made Toni Nadal intensify training, and at that time he encouraged Nadal to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court, as he noticed Nadal played forehand shots with two hands. Nadal participated in two events on the ITF junior circuit. In 2002, at the age of 16, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boy's Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.

By the age of 17, he beat Roger Federer the first time they played and became the youngest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker. At 18, he helped pace Spain over the US in the junior Davis Cup in his second, and final, appearance on the ITF junior circuit. At 19, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, a feat not accomplished in Paris for more than 20 years. He eventually won it the first four times he played at Roland Garros.

Tennis career

2002–2004

In April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the world No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado, and became the ninth player in the open era to do so before the age of 16. The following year, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year in the top 50. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984. During 2004, Nadal played his first match against world No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, and won in straight sets. He is one of the six players that defeated Federer that year (along with Tim Henman, Albert Costa, Gustavo Kuerten, Dominik Hrbatý, and Tomáš Berdych). He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle. By beating world No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 title over the United States in a 3–2 win. He finished the year ranked world No. 51.

2005

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the 4th round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, Nadal reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straight-sets victory, he was defeated in five sets by world No. 1 Roger Federer. Both performances were considered to be breakthroughs for Nadal.

He then dominated the spring clay court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, which broke Andre Agassi's open era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager. Nadal won the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona and beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2005 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to world No. 5 and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals, being one of only four players who defeated the top-seeded player that year (along with Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, and David Nalbandian). Two days later, he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the second male player to win the French Open on his first attempt since Mats Wilander in 1982: He also became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19. He then lost in the second round of 2005 Wimbledon to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg.

Immediately after Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments, bringing his ranking to world No. 2 on 25 July 2005.

Nadal started his North American summer hard-court season by defeating Agassi in the final of the 2005 Canada Masters, but lost in the first round of the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 US Open, where he was upset in the third round by World No. 49 James Blake in four sets.

In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983. Eight of Nadal's titles were on clay, and the remainder were on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005 with eleven 6–0 sets during the year. Also, he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

2006

final]] Nadal missed the Australian Open due to a foot injury. In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (in 2006, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were the only two men who defeated Federer). To complete the spring hard-court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, by James Blake, and was upset in the second round of the 2006 Miami Masters.

On European clay, Nadal won all four tournaments he entered and 24 consecutive matches. He defeated Federer in the final of the Masters Series Monte Carlo in four sets. The following week, he defeated Tommy Robredo in the final of the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. After a one-week break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the final, after saving two match points and equaling Björn Borg's tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year male record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories by winning his first round match at the French Open. Vilas presented Nadal with a trophy, but commented later that Nadal's feat was less impressive than his own because Nadal's winning streak covered two years and was accomplished by adding easy tournaments to his schedule. Nadal went on to play Federer in the final of the French Open. The first two sets of the match were hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily and served for the match in the fourth set before Federer broke him and forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker and became the first player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final. Champion]]

Nadal injured his shoulder while playing a quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played on grass at the Queen's Club in London. Nadal was unable to complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal was seeded second at Wimbledon, but was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. In the third round, Nadal defeated world No. 20 Andre Agassi in straight sets at Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal also won his next three matches in straight sets, which set up his first Wimbledon final, which was against Federer, who had won this tournament the three previous years. Nadal was the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966 to reach the Wimbledon final, but Federer won the match in four sets 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3 to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

During the leadup to the US Open, Nadal played the two Masters Series tournaments in North America. He was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nadal was seeded second at the US Open, but lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets.

Nadal played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked world No. 690, upset Nadal in the second round of the Stockholm Open 6–4, 7–6. The following week, Nadal lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Robredo. Because of those two victories, Nadal qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to Federer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer.

Nadal went on to become the first player since Andre Agassi in 1994–95 to finish the year as the world No. 2 in consecutive years.

2007

Nadal started the year by playing in six hard-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the 2007 Indian Wells Masters, before Novak Djoković defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Miami Masters.

He had comparatively more success after returning to Europe to play five clay-court tournaments. He won the titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, and the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Masters Series Hamburg. This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay, which is the male open era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He then rebounded to win the French Open for the third straight year, defeating Federer once again in the final.

Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Majorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay.

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001.

In July, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open, but was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer.

After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him 6–4, 6–1.

During the second half of the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon final. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005 caused long-term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".

2008

in the 2008 French Open quarterfinals]]

Nadal began the year in India, where he was comprehensively beaten by Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Nadal 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinal of 2008 Australian Open. Tsonga's semifinal performance was characterized by his powerful and precise serve, finesse volleys, and aggressive baseline play; it was a performance that drew the Melbourne crowd to their feet. Tsonga did not face a break point until the third set, while breaking the Spaniard five times in the match. Nadal also reached the final of the Miami Masters for the second time.

During the spring clay-court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer's holding a 4–0 lead in the second set. Nadal then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in the three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming the fifth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set. He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999. Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass-court title at the Artois Championships staged at the Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer had won his record fifth grass-court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, and then reached the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win. They played the longest (in terms of time on court, not in terms of numbers of games) final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some tennis critics even calling it the greatest match in tennis history. By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, after Rod Laver in 1969 and Borg in 1978–80, (Federer later accomplished this the following year) as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. This is also the first time that Nadal won two Grand Slams back-to-back.

After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto, and then made it into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series and, combined with Federer's early-round losses in both of those tournaments, finally earned the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign at the top.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djoković of Serbia in the semifinals 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 and Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic gold medal. Nadal became the first male player ranked in the top five to win the gold medal.

At the US Open, Nadal was the top-seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did not lose a set during his first three matches, defeating qualifiers in the first and second rounds and Viktor Troicki in the third round. He then needed four sets to defeat both Sam Querrey in the fourth round and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he lost to eventual runner up, Andy Murray 6–2, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Gilles Simon 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6). However, his performance at the event guaranteed that he would become the first Spaniard during the open era to finish the year as the world No. 1. On 24 October at the Campoamor theatre in Oviedo, Spain, Nadal was given the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, in recognition of his achievements in tennis. Two weeks after the Madrid Masters at the BNP Paribas Masters in France, Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he faced Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal lost the first set 6–1, before retiring in the second with a knee injury. The following week, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, citing tendinitis of the knee. On 10 November, Nadal withdrew from Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina, as his knee injury had not healed completely.

2009

, his first slam on hard courts]] Nadal's first official ATP tour event for the year was the 250 series Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. After his first-round match with Fabrice Santoro, Nadal was awarded the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion trophy. Nadal eventually lost in the quarterfinals to Gaël Monfils. Nadal also entered and won the tournament's doubles event with partner Marc López, defeating the world No. 1 doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. As noted by statistician Greg Sharko, this was the first time since 1990 that the world No. 1 singles player had played the world No. 1 doubles player in a final.

At the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal won his first five matches without dropping a set, before defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals in the longest match in Australian Open history at 5 hours and 14 minutes. This win set up a championship match with Roger Federer, their first meeting ever in a hard-court Grand Slam tournament and their nineteenth meeting overall. Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to earn his first hard-court Grand Slam singles title, making him the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open and the fourth male tennis player—after Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, and Andre Agassi—to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces. This win also made Nadal the first male tennis player to hold three Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces at the same time. Nadal then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. In the final, he lost to second-seeded Murray in three sets. During the final, Nadal called a trainer to attend to a tendon problem with his right knee, which notably affected his play in the final set. Although this knee problem was not associated with Nadal's right knee tendonitis, it was serious enough to cause him to withdraw from the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships a week later.

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Serbia in a Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on clay in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeated Janko Tipsarević and Novak Djokovic. The win over world No. 3 Djokovic was Nadal's twelfth consecutive Davis Cup singles match win and boosted his career win–loss record against Djokovic to 11–4, including 6–0 on clay.

At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal won his thirteenth Masters 1000 series tournament. In the fourth round, Nadal saved five match points, before defeating David Nalbandian for the first time. Nadal defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarterfinals and Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, before defeating Murray in the final. The next ATP tour event was the 2009 Miami Masters. Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals, where he again faced Argentinian del Potro, this time losing the match. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five career matches. in the 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain]] Nadal began his European clay court season at the 2009 Monte Carlo Masters, where he won a record fifth consecutive singles title there. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the final for his fifth consecutive win, a record in the open era. Nadal is the first male player to win the same ATP Master series event for five consecutive years.

Nadal then competed in the ATP 500 event in Barcelona. He advanced to his fifth consecutive Barcelona final, where he faced David Ferrer. Nadal went on to beat Ferrer 6–2, 7–5 to record five consecutive Barcelona victories. At the Rome Masters, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated Novak Djokovic to improve his overall record to 13–4 and clay record to 8–0 against the Serb. He became the first player to win four Rome titles.

, Miami, Florida, United States]] After winning two clay-court Masters, he participated in the Madrid Open. He lost to Roger Federer 4–6, 4–6 in the final. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.

On 19 May, the ATP World Tour announced that Nadal was the first player out of eight to qualify for the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals, to be played at the O2 Arena in London.

By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of 2009 French Open, Nadal (2005–09 French Open) set a record of 31 consecutive wins at Roland Garros, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg (1978–81 French Open). Nadal had won 32 consecutive sets at Roland Garros (since winning the last 2 sets at the 2007 French Open final against Federer), the second-longest winning streak in the tournament's history behind Björn Borg's record of 41 consecutive sets. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. The Swede triumphed 6–2, 6–7(2), 6–4, 7–6(2). This was Nadal's first loss at the French Open.

After his surprise defeat at Roland Garros, Nadal withdrew from the AEGON Championships. It was confirmed that Nadal was suffering from tendinitis in both of his knees. On 19 June, Nadal withdrew from the 2009 Wimbledon Championship, citing his recurring knee injury. He was the first champion to not defend the title since Goran Ivanišević in 2001. There, in his first tournament since Roland Garros, Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro. With this loss, he relinquished the No. 2 spot to Andy Murray on 17 August 2009, ranking outside the top two for the first time since 25 July 2005.

In the quarterfinals of the US Open he defeated Fernando González 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–0 in a rain-delayed encounter. However, like his previous US Open campaign, he fell in the semifinals, this time losing to eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro 2–6, 2–6, 2–6. Despite the loss, he regained his No. 2 ranking after Andy Murray's early exit.

At the World Tour Finals, Nadal lost all three of his matches against Robin Söderling, Nikolay Davydenko, and Novak Djokovic respectively without winning a set.

In December, Nadal participated in the second Davis Cup final of his career. He defeated Czech No. 2 Tomáš Berdych in his first singles rubber to give the Spanish Davis Cup Team their first point in the tie. After the Spanish Davis Cup team had secured its fourth Davis Cup victory, Nadal defeated Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber of his career. The win gave Nadal his 14th consecutive singles victory at Davis Cup (his 13th on clay).

Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2009 with nine 6–0 sets during the year. Nadal has won the award three times (a tour record).

2010

quarterfinals]] Nadal began the year by participating in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated compatriot David Ferrer 7–6(3), 6–3 to reach his second final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, Nadal defeated Robin Söderling 7–6(3), 7–5.

Nadal participated in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the finals.

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Peter Luczak of Australia 7–6(0), 6–1, 6–4. In the second round, he beat Lukáš Lacko 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he was tested by Philipp Kohlschreiber, finally beating him 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5. In the fourth round, he beat Ivo Karlović of Croatia, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4. In the quarterfinals, Nadal pulled out at 3–0 down in the third set against Andy Murray, having lost the first two sets 6–3, 7–6(2). After examining Nadal's knees, doctors told him that he should take two weeks of rest, and then two weeks of rehabilitation.

Nadal reached the semifinals in singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he was the defending champion; however, eventual champion Ivan Ljubičić defeated him in three sets. He and countryman López won the doubles title, though, as wildcard entrants against number one seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić. This boosted his doubles ranking 175 places to world number 66, whereas he was 241st before Indian Wells. After Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.

Nadal reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, after beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinals. This was Nadal's first tour final since Doha earlier in the year. He won the final 6–0, 6–1 over his compatriot Fernando Verdasco. He lost 14 games throughout all five matches, the fewest he had ever lost en route to a championship, and the final was the shortest Masters 1000 final in terms of games. With this win, Nadal became the first player in the open era to win a tournament title for six straight years.

Unlike in previous years, Nadal next chose to skip the Barcelona tournament (despite being that event's five-time defending champion), and his next tournament was the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber, Victor Hănescu, and Stanlias Wawrinka, all in straight sets, to win his 57th straight match in April. In the semis, he faced a resilient Ernests Gulbis, who defeated Roger Federer earlier in the tournament and took Nadal to three sets for the first time this clay-court season. Nadal eventually prevailed with a 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 in 2 hours and 40minutes. He then defeated compatriot David Ferrer in the final 7–5, 6–2 for his fifth title at Rome to equal Andre Agassi's record of winning 17 ATP Masters titles.

, Madrid, Spain]] Nadal then entered the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he had finished runner-up the previous year. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he defeated qualifier Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr in straight sets. He then played the six-foot-nine-inch American John Isner. Nadal comfortably came through in straight sets, 7–5, 6–4. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the quarterfinals 6–1, 6–3 and his countryman Nicolás Almagro in the next round, who was playing in his first Masters 1000 semifinal, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2. The first set of his match against Almagro would be just the second set he lost on clay up to this point in 2010. Nadal then defeated longtime rival Roger Federer 6–4, 7–6(5), avenging his 2009 finals loss to Federer. The win gave him his 18th Masters title, breaking the all-time record. He became the first player to win all three clay-court Masters titles in a single year and the first player to win three consecutive Masters events. Nadal moved back to No. 2 the following day.

Entering the French Open, many were expecting another Nadal-Federer final. However, this became impossible when rival Robin Söderling defeated Federer 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 in the quarterfinals. The failure of Federer to reach the semifinals allowed Nadal to regain the world No. 1 ranking if he were to win the tournament. Nadal advanced to the final and defeated Soderling 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 to win the French Open. The win gave Nadal his seventh Grand Slam, tying him with John McEnroe, John Newcombe, and Mats Wilander on the all-time list, and allowed Nadal to reclaim the position of world No. 1, denying his biggest rival Roger Federer the all-time record for weeks at No. 1. By this win, Nadal became the first man to win the three Masters series on clay and the French Open. This was dubbed by the media as the "Clay Slam". This victory at Roland Garros marked the second time (2008) that Nadal had won the French Open without dropping a single set (tying the record held by Björn Borg). With the win in Paris he also booked his place at the World Tour Finals in London and became the first player to win five French Open titles in six years.

In June, Nadal entered the AEGON Championships, which he had won in 2008, at the prestigious Queen's Club. He played singles and doubles at this grass court tournament as a warmup for Wimbledon. Being one of the top eight seeds, he received a bye in the first round. In the second round, where he played his first match on grass since winning Wimbledon 2008, he defeated Marcos Daniel easily, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he played Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, whom he defeated 7–6(4), 4–6, 6–4, to advance to the quarterfinals. However, he was defeated by compatriot Feliciano López 6–7(5), 4–6.

in the 2010 Wimbledon Championships 4th round]] At the Wimbledon, Nadal beat Kei Nishikori 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. Nadal was taken to the limit by Robin Haase winning 5–7, 6–2, 3–6, 6–0, 6–3. He defeated Philipp Petzschner in the third round. The match was a 5-set thriller, with Nadal triumphing 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, 6–2, 6–3. During his match with Petzschener, Nadal was warned twice for receiving coaching from his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, resulting in a $2000 fine by Wimbledon officials. Allegedly, encouraging words for Nadal shouted during the match were some sort of coaching code signal. He met Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in the round of 16 and comfortably beat Mathieu 6–4, 6–2, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, he got past Robin Söderling of Sweden in four sets 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–1. He defeated Andy Murray in straight sets 6–4, 7–6(8–6), 6–4 to reach his fourth Wimbledon final.

Nadal won the 2010 Wimbledon men's title by defeating Tomáš Berdych in straight sets 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. After the win, Nadal said "it is more than a dream for me" and thanked the crowd for being both kind and supportive to him and his adversary during the match and in the semifinal against Andy Murray. The win gave him a second Wimbledon title and an eighth career major title just past the age of 24. The win also gave Nadal his first "Old World Triple"; the last person to achieve this was Björn Borg in 1978 ("Old World Triple" is a term given to winning the Italian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon in the same year).

In his first hard-court tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, along with No. 2 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Roger Federer, and No. 4 Andy Murray, after coming back from a one-set deficit to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. In the semifinal, defending champion Murray defeated Nadal 6–3, 6–4, becoming the only player to triumph over the Spaniard twice in 2010. Nadal also competed in the doubles with Djokovic in a one-time, high-profile partnership of the world No. 1 and No. 2, the first such team since the Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe team in 1976. However, Nadal and Djokovic lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. The next week, Nadal was the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.

At the 2010 US Open, Nadal was the top seed for the second time in three years. He defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili, Denis Istomin, Gilles Simon, number 23 seed Feliciano López, number 8 seed Fernando Verdasco, and number 12 seed Mikhail Youzhny all without dropping a set, to reach his first US Open final, becoming only the eighth man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four majors, and at age 24 the second youngest ever to do so, behind only Jim Courier. In the final, he defeated Novak Djokovic 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 which completed the Career Grand Slam for Nadal and he became the second male after Andre Agassi to complete a Career Golden Slam. Nadal also became the first man to win grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in the same year, and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969. Nadal and Mats Wilander are the only male players to win at least two Grand Slams each on clay, grass, and hardcourts in their careers. Nadal also became the first left-handed man to win the US Open since John McEnroe in 1984. Nadal's victory also clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for 2010, making Nadal only the third player (after Ivan Lendl in 1989 and Roger Federer in 2009) to regain the year-end number one ranking after having lost it. Nadal began his Asian tour at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok where he reached the semifinals, losing to compatriot Guillermo García López. Nadal was able to regroup, and at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo (debut), he defeated Santiago Giraldo, Milos Raonic, and Dmitry Tursunov. In the semifinals against Viktor Troicki, Nadal saved two match points in the deciding set tiebreaker to win it 9–7 in the end. In the final, Nadal comfortably defeated Gaël Monfils 6–1, 7–5 for his seventh title of the season.

Nadal next played in the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters in Shanghai, where he was the top seed, but lost to world No. 12 Jürgen Melzer in the third round, snapping his record streak of 21 consecutive Masters quarterfinals. On the 5 November, Nadal announced that he was pulling out of the Paris Masters due to tendinitis in his left shoulder. On 21 November 2010, in London, Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time. At the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nadal defeated Roddick 3–6, 7–6(5), 6–4 in the first match, Djokovic 7–5, 6–2 in the second match, and Berdych 7–6(3), 6–1 in the third match, to advance to the semifinals for the third time in his career. This is the first time that Nadal achieved three wins in the round-robin stage. In the semifinal, he defeated Murray 7–6(5), 3–6, 7–6(6) in a hard-fought match to reach his first final at the tournament. In only their second meeting of the year, Federer beat Nadal in the final by a score of 6–3, 3–6, 6–1. After the match, Nadal stated: "Roger is probably the more complete player of the world. I'm not going to say I lost that match because I was tired." This was a reference to his marathon victory over Murray on Saturday. "I tried my best this afternoon, but Roger was simply better than me."

Nadal ended the 2010 season having won three Slams and three Masters 1000 tournaments, and having regained the No. 1 ranking.

Next up for Nadal was a two-match exhibition against Federer for the Roger Federer Foundation. The first match took place in Zürich on 21 December 2010, and the second in Madrid the next day.

2011

Nadal started 2011 by participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated Tomáš Berdych 6–4, 6–4 to reach his third final in the exhibition tournament. In the final, he won over his main rival Roger Federer 7–6(4), 7–6(3).

At his first tour event of the year in an Australian Open warm-up tournament, the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, Qatar, Nadal barely struggled past his first three opponents, Karol Beck 6–3, 6–0, Lukáš Lacko 7–6(3), 0–6, 6–3, and Ernests Gulbis 7–6(3), 6–3 citing fever as the primary reason for his poor performance. He fell in straight sets to a resurgent Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals, 6–3, 6–2. He and countryman López won the doubles title by defeating the Italian duo Daniele Bracciali and Andreas Seppi 6–3, 7–6(4).

In the first round of the Australian Open, Nadal defeated Marcos Daniel of Brazil 6–0, 5–0 ret. In the second round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6–2, 6–1, 6–1. In the third round, he was tested by emerging player Bernard Tomic of Australia, who previously ousted Nadal's countryman Feliciano López, but Nadal was victorious with a score of 6–2, 7–5, 6–3. He went on to defeat Marin Čilić of Croatia 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 in the fourth round. He suffered an apparent hamstring injury against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer early in the pair's quarterfinal match and ultimately lost in straight sets 4–6, 2–6, 3–6, thus ending his effort to win four major tournaments in a row.

On 7 February 2011, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Nadal won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for the first time, ahead of footballer Lionel Messi, Sebastian Vettel, Spain's Andres Iniesta, Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao.

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Belgium in a 2011 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on hard indoor in Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium. Nadal defeated Ruben Bemelmans 6–2, 6–4, 6–2. After Spain's victory in three matches, Nadal played a second unnecessary match against Olivier Rochus and won 6–4, 6–2.

At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Nadal defeated upcoming qualifier Rik de Voest of South Africa 6–0, 6–2 in the first match. In the Third round, he beat upcoming qualifier Ryan Sweeting of the United States 6–3, 6–1. He then defeated upcoming Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman 7–5, 6–4 in the Fourth round. In the quarterfinals Nadal had a hard time against Croatian Ivo Karlovic but won 5–7, 6–1, 7–6(7), and in the semi-finals he met Argentine player Juan Martin del Potro, back from a long injury. The last three confrontations between the players was in favor of Del Potro, and despite some difficulties Nadal won 6–4, 6–4. He reached his third final at Indian Wells, and in the final lost against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian player won 6–4, 3–6, 2–6. The next day Nadal and Djokovic played a friendly match in Bogota, Colombia which Nadal won.

Nadal started the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open win over Japanese player Kei Nishikori 6–4, 6–4, then met his compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the third round, whom he defeated 6–3, 6–3, and in the fourth round defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6–1, 6–2. In the quarterfinals Nadal had the first real test of the tournament where he met the world No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych. After a good first set, Nadal's level of play fell significantly due to an injured right shoulder, and he lost the second set. He eventually triumphed 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. in the semi-finals Nadal met main rival Roger Federer, their first meeting in a semi-final since the 2007 Masters Cup. Nadal was swiftly victorious at 6–3, 6–2; this match was one of the fastest matches played on hard courts. For the second time in two weeks, Nadal faced Novak Djokovic in the final. As in the Indian Wells tournament, Nadal won the first set, and Djokovic the second. The third set ended in a tiebreak with Djokovic winning the match 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(3). This is the first time Nadal reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.

Nadal began his clay-court season in style, winning the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with the loss of just one set. Nadal defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6–2, 6–2, Richard Gasquet 6–2, 6–4, Ivan Ljubicic 6–1, 6–3 and Andy Murray 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 in the semi-final to reach his seventh consecutive final in Monte Carlo. In the final, Nadal avenged his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Australian Open and won the match 6–4, 7–5. He is the first man to have won the same tournament seven times in a row at the ATP level in the open era. Nadal chalked up his 37th straight win at the clay-court event, where he has not lost since the 2003 Monte Carlo Masters. It was his 44th career title and 19th at a Masters event. Nadal lost his three previous finals, twice to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic and once to No. 3 Roger Federer. It was his first title since winning the Japan Open. Guillermo Coria was the last player to beat Nadal at Monte Carlo, in the third round in 2003. Nadal missed the 2004 tournament because of an injury. Nadal shares third place with Bjorn Borg and Manuel Orantes in the list of players with the most titles on clay.

Just a week later won his sixth Barcelona Open crown, winning the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell in straight sets. He won the final over Ferrer again (3rd Barcelona final and 5th clay court final), 6–2, 6–4. In doing so Nadal became the first man in the open era to have won two specific tournaments at least six times each. Nadal is now the leader in terms of matches won this year, with 29. He did not gain any points for this victory, however, as only four ATP 500 tournaments can be counted towards a players ranking at one time, but they will go into effect 08.08.2011 when the result of the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic ATP 500 tournament of Washington expires.

At the Madrid in May, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis, had a walkover against Juan Martin del Potro, and defeated Michael Llodra and Roger Federer, before losing the final to Novak Djokovic, 7–5, 6–4. Nadal lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final, 6–4, 6–4. This marked the first time that Nadal has lost two clay court finals in a single season. However, Nadal retained his number one ranking during the clay court season and won his sixth French Open title by defeating Roger Federer 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1.

Major Titles

Grand Slam performance timeline

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 French Open.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% |- !Tournament!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!width=65|Career SR!!width=65|Career W-L!!width=65|'''Win % |- | colspan="15" style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam Tournaments |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Australian Open |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |A | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#efefef;"|1 / 7 | style="background:#efefef;"|29–6 | style="background:#efefef;"|82.85 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|French Open |A |A |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R |bgcolor=lime|'''W |bgcolor=lime|'''W | style="background:#efefef;"|6 / 7 | style="background:#efefef;"|45–1 | style="background:#efefef;"|97.82 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|Wimbledon | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R |A | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:thistle;"|F | style="background:thistle;"|F |bgcolor=lime|'''W |A |bgcolor=lime|'''W | | style="background:#efefef;"|2 / 6 | style="background:#efefef;"|29–4 | style="background:#efefef;"|87.87 |- | style="background:#efefef; text-align:left;"|US Open | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:#afeeee;"|2R | style="background:#afeeee;"|3R | style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="background:#afeeee;"|4R | style="background:yellow;"|SF | style="background:yellow;"|SF |bgcolor=lime|'''W | | style="background:#efefef;"|1 / 8 | style="background:#efefef;"|28–7 | style="background:#efefef;"|80.00 |- style="background:#efefef;" |align=left|'''Win–Loss !3–2 !3–2 !13–3 !17–2 !20–3 !24–2 !15–2 !25–1 !11–1 !10 / 28 !131–18 !87.92 |}

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 12 (10 titles, 2 runner-ups)

{| class="sortable wikitable" |- | style="width:100px;"|Outcome |width="60"|Year | style="width:200px;"|Championship |width="80"|Surface | style="width:200px;"|Opponent in Final | style="width:200px;"|Score in Final |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2005 || French Open || Clay || Mariano Puerta || 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2006 || French Open (2) || Clay || Roger Federer || 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(4) |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up ||2006 || Wimbledon || Grass || Roger Federer || 0–6, 6–7(5), 7–6(2), 3–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2007 || French Open (3) || Clay || Roger Federer || 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up ||2007 || Wimbledon (2) || Grass || Roger Federer || 6–7(7), 6–4, 6–7(3), 6–2, 2–6 |- style="background:#ebc2af;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2008 || French Open (4) || Clay || Roger Federer || 6–1, 6–3, 6–0 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2008 || Wimbledon || Grass || Roger Federer || 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5), 6–7(8), 9–7 |- style="background:#ffc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2009 || Australian Open || Hard || Roger Federer || 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2 |- style="background:#EBC2AF" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2010 || French Open (5) || Clay || Robin Söderling || 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 |- style="background:#cfc;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2010 || Wimbledon (2) || Grass || Tomáš Berdych || 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |- style="background:#ccf;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2010 || US Open || Hard || Novak Djokovic || 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#EBC2AF" |style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner ||2011 || French Open (6) || Clay || Roger Federer || 7–5, 7–6(3), 5–7, 6–1 |}

Olympic finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

{|class="sortable wikitable" |- |width=100|'''Outcome |width=50|'''Year |width=200|'''Championship |width=75|'''Surface |width=200|'''Opponent in the final |width=220|'''Score in the final |- style="background:gold;" | style="background:#98fb98;"|Winner||2008||Beijing Olympics||Hard|| Fernando González||6–3, 7–6^(7–2), 6–3 |}

Career statistics

ITF Grand Slams records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

{|class=wikitable |- bgcolor= |width=345|ITF Grand Slams|| style="width:105px; text-align:center;"|Year(s)||width=400|Record accomplished||width=200|'Player tied |- |Australian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS OpenOlympics||align=center|20092005200820102008||Career Golden Slam||Andre Agassi |- |Australian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS Open||align=center|2009200520082010||Career Grand Slam||Rod Laver Andre Agassi Roger Federer |- |Australian Open – French Open – Wimbledon – US Open||align=center|2005–2010||At least two Grand Slams on grass, clay, and hard courts||Mats Wilander |- |French Open – US Open||align=center|2010||Winner of grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court in calendar year||'''Stands alone |- |French Open – US Open||align=center|2010||Winner of three consecutive grand slams in calendar year||Rod Laver |- |French Open – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court||Roger Federer |- |Olympics – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and grand slams on clay, grass, and hard court||'''Stands alone |- |Olympics – Wimbledon||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Wimbledon||'''Stands alone |- |Olympics – French Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and three grand slams||Andre Agassi |- |Olympics – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and clay & hard court grand slams||Andre Agassi |- |Olympics – US Open||align=center|2008–2010||Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and US Open||Andre Agassi |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2011||6 titles in 7 years||'''Stands alone |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2011||6 titles||Björn Borg |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2009||31 consecutive match wins||'''Stands alone |- |French Open—Wimbledon||align=center|2008, 2010||1 "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year||Rod Laver Björn Borg Roger Federer |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2008||4 consecutive wins||Björn Borg |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2008||4 consecutive finals||Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Roger Federer |- |French Open||align=center|2008, 2010||Most French Open championships without losing a set (2)||Björn Borg |- |French Open||align=center|2005–2008, 2010–2011||6 French Open Finals overall||Björn Borg |- |Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open||align=center|2005–2010||Finalist in all the 4 majors||Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Ivan Lendl Stefan Edberg Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |}

ATP Masters records

{|class=wikitable |- bgcolor= |width=345|ATP Masters Series|| style="width:105px; text-align:center;"|Year(s)||width=400|Record accomplished||width=200|Player tied |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Madrid Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Most Masters singles titles (19)||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Rome Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Most Masters singles finals (29)|| Roger Federer |- |Madrid Masters||align=center|2009||Longest best-of-three sets Men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)||Novak Djokovic |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Roland Garros||align=center|2010||1 Clay Slam: 3 Masters series on clay and Roland Garros||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters||align=center|2005–2011||7 consecutive titles||'''Stands alone |- |Rome Masters||align=center|2005–2010||5 titles in 6 years||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2005||Most Titles in a season – 4||Roger Federer (2005 & 2006), Novak Djokovic (2011) |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2008–2010||21 consecutive Quarter-Finals||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2008||Consecutive tournaments won on 3 different surfaces||Roger Federer (2004) |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Most consecutive years winning at least ONE Masters Title – 7||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters—Rome Masters||align=center|2005–20072009–2010||Most years winning both Titles – 5||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2007–2010||Consecutive years winning at least 3 Masters Titles – 4||'''Stands alone |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2005–2011||Highest Winning Percentage: 83.5% (208–41)||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters-Rome Masters-Madrid Masters||align=center|2010||Winning 3 consecutive ATP Masters Titles||'''Stands alone |- |Monte Carlo Masters||align=center|2008||Winner of the Singles and Doubles Tournament at the same Tournament and the same year ||Jim Courier (Indian Wells 1991) |- |ATP Masters||align=center|2011||Most Consecutive Finals reached – 5||'''Stands alone |}

Rivalry with Roger Federer

final]] Nadal and Federer have been playing against each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers: They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in eight Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning six of the eight finals. Four of these six wins were on Nadal's best surface (clay), and he has beaten Federer twice in non-clay major finals: Wimbledon 2008 and the Australian Open 2009. Their 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match of all time by many long-time tennis critics. Many critics consider their rivalry to be the greatest in tennis history.

Twelve of Nadal's 17 wins over Federer have come on clay courts, Nadal's best surface. Nadal leads their overall head-to-head series 17–8 (Nadal leads 12–2 on clay, Federer leads 2–1 on grass, tie 4–4 on hard courts).

Playing style

Nadal generally plays an aggressive, behind-the-baseline game founded on heavy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork and tenacious court coverage thus making him an aggressive counterpuncher. Known for his athleticism and speed around the court, Nadal is an excellent defender who hits well on the run, constructing winning plays from seemingly defensive positions. He also plays very fine dropshots, which work especially well because his heavy topspin often forces opponents to the back of the court. Nadal is primarily a baseliner, although he has been noted by several commentators (including John McEnroe) as an excellent volleyer, which has contributed to his reaching four Wimbledon finals on grass, winning two of them, and has been observed approaching the net more often since 2009.

In recent years, Nadal employs a full western grip forehand, often with a "lasso-whip" follow through, where his left arm hits through the ball and finishes above his left shoulder – as opposed to a more traditional finish across the body or around his opposite shoulder. Nadal's forehand groundstroke form allows him to hit shots with heavy topspin – more so than many of his contemporaries. San Francisco tennis researcher John Yandell used a high-speed video camera and special software to count the average number of revolutions of a tennis ball hit full force by Nadal. "The first guys we did were Sampras and Agassi. They were hitting forehands that in general were spinning about 1,800 to 1,900 revolutions per minute. Federer is hitting with an amazing amount of spin, too, right? 2,700 revolutions per minute. Well, we measured one forehand Nadal hit at 4,900. His average was 3,200." While Nadal's shots tend to land short of the baseline, the characteristically high bounces his forehands achieve tend to mitigate the advantage an opponent would normally gain from capitalizing on a short ball. Although his forehand is based on heavy topspin, he can hit the ball deep and flat with a more orthodox follow through for clean winners.

Nadal's serve was initially considered a weak point in his game, although his improvements in both first serve points won and break points saved since 2005 have allowed him to consistently compete for and win major titles on faster surfaces. Nadal relies on the consistency of his serve to gain a strategic advantage in points, rather than going for service winners. However, before the 2010 season, he altered his service motion, arriving in the trophy pose earlier and pulling the racket lower during the trophy pose. Before the 2010 U.S. Open, Nadal modified his service grip to a more continental one. These two changes in his serve have increased its average speed by around 10 mph, maxing out at 135 mph (217 km), allowing him to win more free points on his serve.

Nadal's mental resilience and strategic approach to the game are other noted strengths. Nadal is able to avoid discouragement regardless of match score, allowing him to singularly focus on winning the current point and gaining an advantage. As a strategic player, Nadal can assess outside variables such as court surface, weather conditions, and his opponent's tactics in order to adjust his own play to best adapt to present conditions.

Although once considered a clay court specialist, Nadal has shed that label due to his success on the tournaments played on other surfaces, including holding Grand Slams simultaneously on grass, hard courts, and clay on two separate occasions, winning five Masters series titles on hardcourt, and winning the Olympic gold medal on hardcourt. Despite praise for Nadal's talent and skill, some have questioned his longevity in the sport, citing his build and playing style as conducive to injury. Nadal himself has admitted to the physical toll hard courts place on ATP Tour players, calling for a reevaluated tour schedule featuring fewer hard court tournaments.

Public image

Equipment and endorsements

sleeveless shirt with matching headband & wrist bands and Babolat AeroPro Drive GT at Roland Garros 2007]] Nadal has appeared in advertising campaigns for Kia Motors as a global ambassador for the company. In May 2008, Kia released a claymation viral ad featuring Nadal in a tennis match with an alien. Nadal also has an endorsement agreement with Universal DVDs.

Nike serves as Nadal's clothing and shoe sponsor. Nadal's signature on-court attire entailed a variety of sleeveless shirts paired with 3/4 length capri pants. For the 2009 season, Nadal adopted more-traditional on-court apparel. Nike encouraged Nadal to update his look in order to reflect his new status as the sport's top player at that time and associate Nadal with a style that, while less distinctive than his "pirate" look, would be more widely emulated by consumers. At warmup tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Nadal played matches in a polo shirt specifically designed for him by Nike, paired with shorts cut above the knee. Nadal's new, more conventional style carried over to the 2009 Australian Open, where he was outfitted with Nike's Bold Crew Men's Tee and Nadal Long Check Shorts. Nadal wears Nike's Air CourtBallistec 2.3 tennis shoes, bearing various customizations throughout the season, including his nickname "Rafa" on the right shoe and a stylized bull logo on the left.

Becomes the face of Lanvin's L’Homme Sport cologne, launched April 2009.

Nadal uses an AeroPro Drive racquet with a 4 1/4-inch L2 grip. As of the 2010 season, Nadal's racquets are painted to resemble the new Babolat AeroPro Drive with Cortex GT racquet in order to market a current model which Babolat sells. Nadal uses no replacement grip, and instead wraps two overgrips around the handle. He used Duralast 15L strings until the 2010 season, when he switched to Babolat's new, black-colored, RPM Blast string. Nadal's rackets are always strung at , regardless of which surface or conditions he is playing on.

As of January 2010, Rafa is the international ambassador for Quely, a company from his native Majorca that manufactures biscuits, bakery and chocolate coated products; he has consumed their products ever since he was a young child.

In 2010, luxury watchmaker Richard Mille announced that he had developed an ultra-light wristwatch in collaboration with Nadal called the Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon watch. The watch is made of titanium and lithium and is valued at US$525,000; Nadal was involved in the design and testing of the watch on the tennis court.

Nadal replaces Cristiano Ronaldo as the new face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans for the spring/summer 2011 collection that will launch in February. This is the first time that the label has chosen a tennis player for the job; association football has ruled lately prior to Ronaldo, David Beckham graced the ads since 2008. Armani said that he selected Nadal as his latest male underwear model because "...he is ideal as he represents a healthy and positive model for youngsters." and part of her album release She Wolf. In explaining why she chose Nadal for the video, Shakira was quoted as saying in an interview with the Latin American Herald Tribune: "I thought that maybe I needed someone I could in some way identify with. And Rafael Nadal is a person who has been totally committed to his career since he was very young. Since he was 17, I believe." She added about "Gypsy": "I've been on the road since I was very, very young, so that's where the gypsy metaphor comes from."

Misc

128036 Rafaelnadal is a Main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca, Spain and named after Rafael Nadal.

Off the court

Involvement in football

Nadal has recently become seriously involved in Spanish football. Rafa is an avid fan of soccer club Real Madrid. On 8 July 2010 it was reported that Nadal has become a shareholder of RCD Mallorca, his local club by birth, in an attempt to assist the club from debt. Rafa reportedly owns 10% and was offered the role of vice president, but he rejected that offer. Though, his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal, became assistant coach under Michael Laudrup. Ironically, Rafael remains a passionate Real Madrid supporter; ESPN.com writer Graham Hunter wrote, "He's as Merengue as [Real Madrid icons] Raúl, Iker Casillas and Alfredo Di Stéfano." Shortly after acquiring his interest in Mallorca, he called out UEFA for apparent hypocrisy in ejecting the club from the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League for excessive debts, saying through a club spokesperson, "Well, if those are the criteria upon which UEFA is operating, then European competition will only comprise two or three clubs because all the rest are in debt, too."

He is also a fervent supporter of the Spanish national team, and was one of only six people not affiliated with the team or the national federation allowed into the team's locker room immediately following Spain's victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.

;The Rafa Nadal Foundation

The creation of the organization took place in November 2007 and its official presentation was in February 2008 at the Manacor Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain. The foundation will focus on social work and development aid particularly on childhood and youth. On deciding why to start a foundation, "This can be the beginning of my future, when I retire and have more time,[...] I am doing very well and I owe society, [...] A month-and-a-half ago I was in Chennai, in India. The truth is we live great here....I can contribute something with my image..." Nadal was inspired by the Red Cross benefit match against malaria with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, recalling, "We raised an amount of money that we would never have imagined. I have to thank Iker, my project partner, who went all out for it,[...] That is why the time has come to set up my own foundation and determine the destination of the money." Ana Maria Parera, Rafa's mom, will chair the organization and father Sebastian will be vice-chairman. Coach and uncle Toni Nadal and his agent, former tennis player Carlos Costa, are also involved. Roger Federer has been giving Rafa advice on getting involved in philanthropy. Despite the fact that poverty in India struck him particularly hard, Nadal wants to start by helping "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad."

On 16 October 2010, Rafa traveled to India for the first time to assist in the transformation of one of the poorest and most needy areas of India, Andhra Pradesh. He has an academy in the south of the country, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. His foundation has also worked in the Anantapur Educational Center project, in collaboration with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.

Personal life

Nadal owns an Aston Martin DBS. Nadal lived with his parents and younger sister Maria Isabel, at an age when many tennis stars have long moved out, in a five-story apartment building in their hometown of Manacor, Mallorca. In June 2009, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia and then The New York Times reported that Nadal's parents, Ana Maria and Sebastian, had separated. This news came after weeks of heated speculation in Internet posts and message boards over Nadal's personal issues as the cause of his setback. Nadal has revealed himself to be Agnostic.

See also

ATP World Tour records

List of ATP number 1 ranked players

List of Grand Slam men's singles champions

List of non-Grand Slam tennis statistics and records

128036 Rafaelnadal asteroid

List of open era tennis records

ATP Awards

References

External links

Rafael Nadal's Official Site

Zen and the Art of Rafael Nadal

Category:1986 births Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:French Open champions Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Living people Category:Male tennis players Category:Olympic gold medalists for Spain Category:Olympic tennis players of Spain Category:People from Manacor Category:Spanish agnostics Category:Spanish football chairmen and investors Category:Spanish tennis players Category:Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players Category:Olympic medalists in tennis

Playername	Philipp Kohlschreiber
Nickname	Kohlslaw, Rabbi Schreiber
Country
Residence	Altstaetten, Switzerland
Birth date	October 16, 1983
Birth place	Augsburg, West Germany
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	2001
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	US$4,265,257
Singlesrecord	205–172
Singlestitles	4
Highestsinglesranking	No. 22 (28 September 2009)
Currentsinglesranking	No. 39 (13 June 2011)
Australianopenresult	4R (2005, 2008)
Frenchopenresult	4R (2009)
Wimbledonresult	3R (2006, 2009, 2010)
Usopenresult	3R (2007, 2009)
Doublesrecord	70–64
Doublestitles	6
Highestdoublesranking	No. 51 (10 November 2008)
Updated	13 June 2011

Philipp Kohlschreiber (born 16 October 1983 in Augsburg) is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22. He is sponsored by Wilson for racquets and apparel.

Career

2007

In 2007, Kohlschreiber achieved his greatest result at an ATP Masters Series event during the Monte Carlo Masters, when he reached the quarter-finals after going through qualifying, defeating World No. 12 David Nalbandian in the second round. He won his first career title in Munich defeating Mikhail Youzhny, thereby becoming the first German player to win the event since Michael Stich in 1994.

2008

Kohlschreiber started 2008 by reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament in Doha, Qatar and winning his second career title in Auckland, New Zealand, where he defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final.

After Kohlschreiber's win in Auckland, he defeated World No. 6 Andy Roddick in the third round of the Australian Open 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(9), 6–7(3), 8–6. Kohlschreiber hit a personal record 32 aces and 104 winners. He eventually lost in the fourth round to Jarkko Nieminen 6–3, 6–7(7), 6–7(9), 3–6. Kohlschreiber failed to convert 11 set points in the second (7) and third (4) sets.

Kohlschreiber reached the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany eventually falling to the four time champion Roger Federer 3–6, 4–6. At the 2008 US Open, he was defeated by Serb Viktor Troicki 6–2, 3–6, 4–6, 0–3 retired.

2009

Kohlschreiber started 2009 reaching quarter-finals in Doha and Auckland. The German reached second round at Australian Open where he defeated Sam Querrey, before losing to Fabrice Santoro in five sets. In the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Kohlschreiber defeated Nicolás Lapentti 6–2 3–6 6–3 before being defeated by Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round. Also in 2009, during the French Open, Kohlschreiber defeated World No. 4 Novak Djokovic in a 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 upset. In the third round of Wimbledon in 2009, he was defeated by Roger Federer 3–6, 2–6, 7–6(5), 1–6. He was the only person other than finalist Andy Roddick to take a set off of Federer, the eventual champion.

2010

Kohlschreiber started the season in Auckland well with 3 straight sets wins, including wins over Thomaz Bellucci and Frenchman Marc Gicquel before running into eventual finalist Arnaud Clément, losing in straight sets in the semi finals. Kohlschreiber progressed to the 3rd round of the Australian Open with wins over Horacio Zeballos and Wayne Odesnik. He gave 2nd seed Rafael Nadal a test in the 3rd round, before losing 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5.

He returned to action in San Jose seeing off local boy Rajeev Ram in 3 sets and crushing Dudi Sela for the loss of 2 games. He then ran into the form man of the tournament Denis Istomin and lost in three topsy sets, sparking a 3 match losing streak. As he crashed out of Memphis to Evgeny Korolev in 2 tight sets. Followed by an easy 3 set lost to Gaël Monfils, of France in the Davis Cup.

Kohlschreiber got back to winning ways at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as he had a bye then beat fellow German Philipp Petzschner in straight sets. He then lost a final set tie breaker in R3 to world #2 Serbia's Novak Djokovic. At the Sony Ericsson Open Kohlschreiber received another bye and took on fellow German Florian Mayer and it was about to go into a first set tie breaker before Florian retired with injury. Again he went out in the 3rd round this time to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets.

To start his clay season Kohlschreiber went to the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters where he caused a couple of upsets. In the first round he edged out Bellucci in a final set tie break before he thumped the World #4 Andy Murray for the loss of just 3 games. He then took on Petzschner again and again won in straight sets, to reach the quarter finals. Where he played Spaniard David Ferrer and was edged out in 2 tight sets.

At Wimbledon, Kohlschreiber defeated Potito Starace of Italy and Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia, before losing to Andy Roddick in the 3rd round. At Hamburg, he lost to Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in third round. In September he hired Murray's former coach Miles Maclagan.

2011

Kohlschreiber began his year at the 2011 Qatar ExxonMobil Open where he was the 8th seed. He won his first match against Andreas Seppi 6–2 6–4 but then lost to Ivo Karlović in a tight match 6–7 7–6 6–7. He then went to the 2011 Heineken Open in Auckland. He won his first round match against Carlos Berlocq 2–6 6–3 6–1 and his second round 6–4 3–6 6–2 against Marcel Granollers before falling to the top seed David Ferrer 3–6 7–6 3–6 in the quarterfinals. In February, Kohlschreiber attended the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In the first round, he faced Yen-Hsun Lu, of the Chinese Taipei. He defeated Lu 6–4, 7–6 (7–5). In the second round, he put up a brave showing against the number 1 seed, world number 4 Robin Söderling. Unfortunately, he lost 6–3, 5–7, 7–6 (9–7). In the first round of the Davis Cup tie against Croatia Kohlschreiber saved 1 Match Point in the second rubber against Ivan Dodig to win in five sets and to draw the score after day one. In the fourth rubber Marin Cilic was too strong for Kohlschreiber – he was defeated in straight sets to give the tie a 2:2. In the deciding fifth rubber Philipp Petzschner managed to lead Germany to a 3:2 win. After a first round bye in Indian Wells, Kohlschreiber defeated Tim Smyczek in Round two saving 3 MP before beating World No. 4 Robin Söderling 7:6, 6:4 saving five set points in the opening set Tiebreak. In Round 4 he lost to Juan Martin Del Potro 6:7, 6:7. Kohlschreiber was defeated by Roger Federer in the second round of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters after beating Andrey Golubev in Round 1. Kohlschreiber captured his third career title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle defeating compatriot Philipp Petzschner in the final. On the way to to the title he overcame Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Lleyton Hewitt and Gael Monfils.

Career singles finals

Wins (3)

{|class=wikitable |- style="background:#eee;" |Legend (Singles) |- style="background:#e5d1cb;" |Grand Slam tournaments (0) |- style="background:#ffc;" |Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0) |- style="background:#dfe2e9;" |ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0) |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" |ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0) |- |ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (3) |}

{|class=wikitable |- style="background:#efefef;" |'''No. |'''Date |'''Tournament |'''Surface |'''Opponent in Final |'''Score in Final |- |1. |30 April 2007 |Munich, Germany |Clay | Mikhail Youzhny |2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |- |2. |12 January 2008 |Auckland, New Zealand |Hard | Juan Carlos Ferrero |7–6(4), 7–5 |- |3. |12 June 2011 |Halle, Germany |Grass | Philipp Petzschner |7–6(5), 2–0, ret. |}

Runner-ups (2)

Career men's doubles wins

{|class=wikitable |- style="background:#eee;" |'''Legend (Doubles) |- style="background:#e5d1cb;" |Grand Slam tournaments (0) |- style="background:#ffc;" |Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0) |- style="background:#dfe2e9;" |ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0) |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" |ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (2) |- |ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (4) |}

{|class=wikitable |- style="background:#efefef;" |'''No. |'''Date |'''Tournament |'''Surface |'''Partner |'''Opponent in Final |Score in Final |- |1. |26 September 2005 |Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |Carpet | Lars Burgsmüller | Ashley Fisher Robert Lindstedt |5–6(3), 6–4, 6–2 |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" |2. |24 July 2006 |Kitzbühel, Austria |Clay | Stefan Koubek | Oliver Marach Cyril Suk |6–2, 6–3 |- |3. |30 April 2007 |Munich, Germany |Clay | Mikhail Youzhny | Jan Hájek Jaroslav Levinský |6–1, 6–4 |- |4. |4 January 2008 |Doha, Qatar |Hard | David Škoch | Jeff Coetzee Wesley Moodie |6–4, 4–6, [11–9] |- style="background:#d0f0c0;" |5. |13 July 2008 |Stuttgart, Germany |Clay | Christopher Kas | Michael Berrer Mischa Zverev |6–3, 6–4 |- |6. |14 June 2009 |Halle, Germany |Grass | Christopher Kas | Andreas Beck Marco Chiudinelli |6–3, 6–4 |}

Singles performance timeline

''To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 French Open. {|class=wikitable style=text-align:center;font-size:97% !Tournament!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009!!2010!!2011!!SR!!W–L |- |align=left|Australian Open |A |LQ |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=|0 / 7 |bgcolor=|12–7 |- |align=left|French Open |A |LQ |LQ |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=|0 / 7 |bgcolor=|7–7 |- |align=left|Wimbledon |LQ |A |LQ |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=|0 / 7 |bgcolor=|6–7 |- |align=left|US Open |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R | |0 / 8 |7–8 |- !style=text-align:left|Win–Loss !0–0 !0–1 !1–1 !3–4 !4–4 !4–4 !4–4 !8–4 !7–4 !1–3 !0 / 29 !32–29 |- |align=left|Indian Wells Masters |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|4R |0 / 6 |11–7 |- |align=left|Miami Masters |A |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |0 / 4 |3–4 |- |align=left|Monte Carlo Masters |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |0 / 5 |10–5 |- |align=left|Rome Masters |A |A |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |0 / 3 |3–3 |- |align=left|Madrid Masters |A |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |0 / 3 |3–3 |- |align=left|Canada Masters |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF | |0 / 4 |4–4 |- |align=left|Cincinnati Masters |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#ffebcd|QF |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R | |0 / 4 |6–3 |- |align=left|Shanghai |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|Not Held |colspan=4 style=color:#ccc|Not Masters Series |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R | |0 / 2 |0–2 |- |align=left|Paris Masters |A |A |A |A |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|3R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R | |0 / 3 |2–3 |- |align=left|Hamburg Masters |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |A |A |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |bgcolor=#afeeee|2R |bgcolor=#afeeee|1R |colspan=3 style=color:#ccc|NMS |0 / 5 |1–5 |- |align=left|Tournaments played |3 |3 |10 |25 |21 |24 |21 |27 |25 |13 !colspan=2|172 |- !style=text-align:left|Titles–Runner-ups !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !0–0 !1–0 !1–1 !0–1 !0–0 !1–0 !3 / 172 !3–3 |- !style=text-align:left|Overall Win–Loss !0–3 !1–3 !6–10 !12–25 !24–20 !33–27 !32–21 !40–27 !37–21 !20–15 !2 / 172 !205–173 |- |align=left|Year End Ranking |247 |208 |88 |86 |62 |32 |'''28 |'''27 |34 | !colspan=2| |}

References

External links

Official Website

bio – file interview with Philipp Kohlschreiber

Kohlschreiber Recent Match Results

Kohlschreiber World Ranking History

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Bavarian sportspeople Category:German male tennis players Category:People from Augsburg Category:German expatriates in Switzerland