Eloy Pérez (born October 25, 1986, in Rainier, Washington) is a Mexican American professional boxer in the Super Featherweight division.^[1] He is signed to Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.^[2]

Amateur career[link]

In his amateur career Pérez went 53-5 and won a gold medal at the 2004 Ringside World Championship at Lightweight.^[3]

Professional career[link]

For the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley card, he was the main sparring partner of Shane Mosley.^[4] In May 2010, Eloy beat contender Gilberto Sanchez-Leon by a ten round majority decision.^[5]

On October 15, 2010 Pérez beat Dominic Salcido by a majority decision. Eloy won the WBO NABO Super Featherweight Championship.^[6]

On February 25, 2012 Perez was knocked out in the fourth round by Adrien Broner as a challenger for the WBO Super Featherweight World Title. After the fight, Perez tested positive for cocaine.^[7]

Professional boxing record[link]

23 Wins (7 knockouts, 16 decisions), 1 Losses, 0 Draws, 0 No Contests[8]
Result	Record	Opponnent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	23–0	Adrien Broner	KO	4(12)2:44	2012-02-25	Scottrade Center, Saint Louis, Missouri	WBO Super Featherweight world title on the line.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Eloy Pérez from BoxRec

Bill Murray
Murray at the premiere of Get Low at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	William James Murray (1950-09-21) September 21, 1950 (age 61) Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, comedian, writer, golfer
Years active	1973–present
Spouse	Margaret Kelly (1981–1996) Jennifer Butler (1997–2008)
Children	With Kelly: 2, With Butler: 4
Family	Brothers: John Murray, Joel Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray Nancy Murray (sister)

William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor, comedian and golfer. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack (1980), Ghostbusters (1984), and Groundhog Day (1993). Murray gained additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, and a series of films directed by Wes Anderson, including Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Early life[link]

Murray was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, the son of Lucille (née Collins), a mail room clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, a lumber salesman.^[1][2] Murray's father died in 1967 from complications of diabetes when Bill was 17 years old.^[3][4] Murray, along with his eight siblings, was raised in an Irish American family.^[5] Three of his siblings are actors: John Murray, Joel Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray. A sister, Nancy, is an Adrian Dominican nun in Michigan, who has traveled the United States in a one-woman programme, portraying St. Catherine of Siena.^[6]

As a youth, Murray read children's biographies of American heroes like Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickok and Davy Crockett.^[7] He attended St. Joseph grade school and Loyola Academy. During his teen years, he worked as a golf caddy to fund his education at the Jesuit high school.^[7][8] One of his sisters had polio and his mother suffered several miscarriages.^[7] During his teen years he was the lead singer of a rock band called the Dutch Masters and took part in high school and community theatre.

After graduating, Murray attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado, taking premedical courses. However, he quickly dropped out, returning to Illinois.^[9] In 2007, however, Regis awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.^[10]

Around 1971, police arrested Murray at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for trying to smuggle 9 pounds of marijuana which he had allegedly intended to sell.^[8][9]

Career[link]

Second City[link]

With an invitation from his older brother, Brian, Murray got his start at The Second City in Chicago, an improvisational comedy troupe, studying under Del Close.^[11] In 1974, he moved to New York City and was recruited by John Belushi^[12] as a featured player on The National Lampoon Radio Hour.

[edit] Saturday Night Live

In 1975, an Off Broadway version of a Lampoon show led to his first television role as a cast member of the ABC variety show Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell that featured animal acts and little kids with loud voices.^[11] That same season, another variety show titled NBC's Saturday Night premiered. Cosell's show lasted just one season, canceled in early 1976.

After working in Los Angeles with the "guerrilla video" commune TVTV on a number of projects, Murray rose to prominence in 1976. He joined the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live for the show's second season, following the departure of Chevy Chase.^[13]

A Rutland Weekend Television sketch Eric Idle brought for his appearance on SNL developed into the 1978 mockumentary All You Need Is Cash with Murray (alongside other SNL cast members) appearing as "Bill Murray the K", a send-up of New York radio host Murray the K, in a segment of the film that is an obvious parody of the Maysles Brothers's documentary The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit.

During the first few seasons of SNL, Murray was in a romantic relationship with fellow cast member Gilda Radner.^[14]

Film career[link]

Murray at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Murray landed his first starring role with the film Meatballs in 1979. He followed this up with his portrayal of famed writer Hunter S. Thompson in 1980's Where the Buffalo Roam. In the early 1980s, he starred in a string of box-office hits including Caddyshack, Stripes, and Tootsie.

Murray became the first guest on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. He would later appear on the first episode of The Late Show with David Letterman in August 1993, when the show moved to CBS. On January 31, 2012 – 30 years after his first appearance with Letterman, Murray appeared again on his talk show.

Murray began work on a film adaptation of the novel The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray also co-wrote, was his first starring role in a dramatic film. He later agreed to star in Ghostbusters, in a role originally written for John Belushi. This was a deal Murray made with Columbia Pictures in order to gain financing for his film.^[15] Ghostbusters became the highest-grossing film of 1984. But The Razor's Edge, which was filmed before Ghostbusters but not released until after, was a box-office flop.

Upset over the failure of Razor's Edge, Murray took four years off from acting to study philosophy and history at the Sorbonne, frequent the Cinematheque in Paris, and spend time with his family in their Hudson River Valley home.^[12] During that time, his second son, Luke, was born.^[7] With the exception of a cameo appearance in the 1986 movie Little Shop of Horrors, he did not make any appearances in films, though he did participate in several public readings in Manhattan organized by playwright/director Timothy Mayer and in a production of Bertolt Brecht's A Man's A Man.^[7]

Murray returned to films in 1988 with Scrooged and the sequel Ghostbusters II in 1989. In 1990, Murray made his first and only attempt at directing when he co-directed Quick Change with producer Howard Franklin. His subsequent films What About Bob? (1991) and Groundhog Day (1993) were box-office hits and critically acclaimed.

After a string of films that did not do well with audiences (one of the exceptions being his role in the 1996 comedy Kingpin), he received much critical acclaim for Wes Anderson's Rushmore for which he won Best Supporting Actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (tying with Billy Bob Thornton). Murray decided to take a turn towards more dramatic roles. Murray then experienced a resurgence in his career as a dramatic actor, taking on roles in Wild Things, Cradle Will Rock, Hamlet (as Polonius), and The Royal Tenenbaums.

In 2003, he garnered considerable acclaim for Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, and went on to earn a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Independent Spirit Award, as well as Best Actor awards from a number of film critic organizations.^[16] He was considered a favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, although Sean Penn ultimately won the award for his performance in Mystic River. In an interview included on the Lost in Translation DVD, Murray states that this is his favorite movie in which he has appeared. Also in 2003, he appeared in a short cameo for the movie Coffee and Cigarettes, in which he played himself "hiding out" in a local coffee shop.

During this time, Murray still appeared in comedic roles such as Charlie's Angels and Osmosis Jones. In 2004, he provided the voice of Garfield in Garfield: The Movie, and again in 2006 for Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. (Later, Murray claimed that he only took part because he was under the misguided impression the screenplay, actually co-written by Joel Cohen, was the work of Joel Coen). In 2004, he made his third collaboration with Wes Anderson in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. His dramatic role in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers was also well received.

In 2005, Murray announced that he would take a break from acting,^[17] as he had not had the time to relax since his new breakthrough in the late 1990s. He did return to the big screen, however, for brief cameos in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited and in Get Smart as Agent 13, the agent in the tree. In 2008, he played an important role in the post-apocalyptic film City of Ember, and in 2009, played himself in a cameo role in the zombie comedy Zombieland.

Murray provided the voice for the character Mr. Badger for the 2009 animated film Fantastic Mr. Fox. Though there was speculation that he might return to the Ghostbusters franchise^[18] for the rumored Ghostbusters 3,^[19] he dispelled such speculation in a recent interview with GQ. In March 2010, Bill Murray appeared on Late Show with David Letterman and talked about his return to Ghostbusters III, stating "I'd do it only if my character was killed off in the first reel".^[20] In an interview with GQ, Murray said: "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do." In the interview, when asked "Is the third Ghostbusters movie happening? What's the story with that?", Bill Murray replied, "It's all a bunch of crock."^[21] Despite this comment, later reports by Dan Aykroyd^[22] and Stefano Paginini^[23] suggest the movie is well underway, and the script has already been approved.

Golf-related work[link]

Bill Murray golfing

Murray is an avid golfer who often plays in celebrity tournaments. His 1999 book Cinderella Story: My Life in Golf, part autobiography and part essay, expounds on his love of the game. In 2002, he and his brothers starred in the Comedy Central series, The Sweet Spot, which chronicled their adventures playing golf. Caddyshack, one of Murray's earliest film roles, has him playing assistant greens-keeper Carl Spackler who lives in the golf course's tool shed. The title of his book is derived from a scene he played in Caddyshack, narrating his own golf fantasy (which was listed as #92 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list).

Murray's love for golf is also displayed in Space Jam, Lost in Translation, and Zombieland.

On February 13, 2011, Murray, playing with tournament champion D. A. Points, won the Pro-Am championship at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Outside of show business[link]

He is a partner with his brothers in Murray Bros. Caddy Shack, a restaurant located near St. Augustine.^[24]

He is a part-owner of the St. Paul Saints independent minor-league baseball team and occasionally travels to Saint Paul, Minnesota to watch the team's games.^[25] He also owns part of the Charleston RiverDogs, Hudson Valley Renegades, and the Brockton Rox. He invested in a number of other minor league teams in the past, including the Utica Blue Sox, Fort Myers Miracle, Salt Lake Sting (APSL) and Salt Lake City Trappers. He was also a part-owner of the Auburn Astros (now the Auburn Doubledays) in Auburn, New York.^{[citation needed]}

Being very detached from the Hollywood scene, Murray does not have an agent or manager and reportedly only fields offers for scripts and roles using a personal telephone number with a voice mailbox that he checks infrequently.^[26] This practice has the downside of sometimes preventing him from taking parts that he had auditioned for and was interested in, such as that of Sulley in Monsters, Inc., Bernard Berkman in The Squid and the Whale, Frank Ginsburg in Little Miss Sunshine and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.^[27] He also regretted losing the chance to play Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit when he heard that he was considered for the role, which he says he would have definitely accepted.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Eric Clapton and Murray kicking off the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007

During the filming of Stripes, Murray married Margaret Kelly on Super Bowl Sunday in Las Vegas on January 25, 1981.^[7][11] Later, they re-married in Chicago for their families.^[11] Margaret gave birth to two sons, Homer (born 1982) and Luke (born 1985). Luke is an assistant basketball coach at Towson University, located outside of Baltimore, MD. Following Murray's affair with Jennifer Butler, the couple divorced in 1996. In 1997, he married Butler. Together, they have four sons: Caleb (born January 11, 1993), Jackson (born October 6, 1995), Cooper (born January 27, 1997), and Lincoln (born May 30, 2001). Butler filed for divorce on May 12, 2008, accusing Murray of domestic violence, infidelity, and sex, drug and alcohol addiction.^[29] Their divorce was finalized on June 13, 2008.

Murray has homes in Los Angeles, California; Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts;^[30] Charleston, South Carolina; and Rockland County, New York, just outside of New York City.^[31]

During the 2000 presidential campaign, Murray supported Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.^[32]

Murray is a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago pro sports teams, especially the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears and the Chicago Bulls. (He was once a guest color commentator for a Cubs game during the 1980s.)^[33] Murray is an avid Quinnipiac University basketball fan, where his son served as head of basketball operations. Murray is a regular fixture at home games. He cheered courtside for the Illinois Fighting Illini's game against the University of North Carolina in the NCAA Basketball Tournament's championship game in 2005. He is a fixture at home games of those teams when in his native Chicago. After traveling to Florida during the Cubs playoff run to help "inspire" the team (Murray told Cubs slugger Aramis Ramírez he was very ill and needed two home runs to give him the hope to live),^[34] he was invited to the champagne party in the Cubs' clubhouse when the team clinched the NL Central in late September 2007, along with fellow actors John Cusack, Bernie Mac, James Belushi, and former Cubs legend Ron Santo. Murray appeared in Santo's documentary, This Old Cub.

As a Chicago native, Murray appeared at the 50th annual Chicago Air & Water Show in August 2008. He performed a tandem jump with the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights.^[35] He was the M.C. for Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007, where he dressed in various guises of Clapton as he appeared through the years. He was MC again in 2010. Also because of his roots in the Chicago area, the founders of Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.) Michael and Lilo Salmon, were able to contact him through his former sister-in-law for support. In 1987 he made a sizeable donation to assist in the development and building of the Nathalie Salmon House. This home has been able to provide affordable housing for low-income seniors. Michael and Lilo Salmon credited him as performing "miracles" for them.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (March 2012)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bill Murray

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bill Murray

• Bill Murray at the Internet Movie Database
• Bill Murray at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Bill Murray at AllRovi
• Streaming audio interview from 1988 (18 minutes)

Wayne Odesnik

Country	United States
Residence	Weston, Florida, USA
Born	(1985-11-21) November 21, 1985 (age 26) Johannesburg, South Africa
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Turned pro	2004
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$665,979
Singles
Career record	24–32
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 77 (April 13, 2009)
Current ranking	No. 112 (January 30, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2010)
French Open	3R (2008)
Wimbledon	1R (2008, 2009)
US Open	2R (2007, 2008)
Doubles
Career record	4–2
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 393 (May 12, 2008)
Last updated on: April 12, 2010.

Wayne Odesnik (born November 21, 1985, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a professional left-handed American tennis player, with a two-handed backhand.

Among his biggest upsets were a 2007 win over Ivan Ljubičić, and a 2009 win against Igor Kunitsyn.

Odesnik won his first Futures title in 2003, and has won a combined 14 singles titles in Challenger and Future ITF Men's Circuit events. He resides in Weston, Florida, in the United States.

Early life[link]

Odesnik and his family emigrated from South Africa to the United States when he was age 3, and he became an American citizen.^[1][2] His father, Harold, is a jeweler who owns a store in Aventura, just north of Miami, Florida, and his mother, Janice, is a former South African competitive gymnast who is now a computer coordinator.^[2][3] His grandmother, Sylvia, was a professional ice skater.^[2]

Tennis career[link]

Odesnik was introduced to tennis at age 7 by his grandmother,^[4] and his first tennis club was the Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach, Florida.^[5]

Junior career (2000–01)[link]

In 2000 Odesnik lost in the finals in singles at the Easter Bowl.

In 2001 he won the singles title at the El Paso Youth Tennis Centre ITF Tournament, was a semifinalist in both singles and doubles (with Jarrett Chirico) at the USTA Junior International Hard Court Championships, finished in third place in singles and doubles (with Chirico) at the boys’ 16 USTA Super National Hard Court Championships, and was a boys’ 16 singles semifinalist at the USTA Super National Clay Court Championships. He also won the Curaçao Junior Open, and won the doubles title (with Chirico) and at the USTA Super National Spring Championships – The Easter Bowl.^[6]

Professional career; 2001–04[link]

Odesnik first competed professionally in 2001, playing only one match. He didn't win anything in 2002, but did go on to win two futures events in Jamaica in 2003, winning the first over Jacob Adaktusson in the final, and the next against Juan Mónaco in the final.

2004 saw Odesnik make three Futures finals late in the season, losing at first to Horia Tecău, then making the second final and again losing to Tecău, then losing in his third final to Brendan Evans. He also participated in the 2004 U.S. Open, after receiving a wildcard entry^[7] into the main draw. He lost to David Sánchez 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–3. Odesnik reached one Futures doubles final partnering with Zack Fleishman, but lost in the final to Tecău (this time in doubles) and Alex Kuznetsov.

2005[link]

Odesnik reached one Futures doubles final with Josh Goffi, but lost to Scott Lipsky and David Martin. In 2005 singles play, Odesnik won two finals out of five in Futures play, ending the year with a 10-match winning streak. He won two straight titles in tournaments entered, in Honolulu and Waikoloa, Hawaii.^[8] He beat Lipsky in the first final, and then beat Sam Querrey a week later on his 20th birthday.^[9] He also participated in an ATP Masters Series event, at the Indian Wells Masters, losing in the first round to Fernando Verdasco. He wound up 2005 with a 10-match winning streak^[10] and ranked 265 for singles, 1,091 for doubles.

2006[link]

In 2006 Odesnik won three singles titles on the Futures circuit. He lost in straight sets to Raemon Sluiter at the 2005 U.S. Open. He beat Scott Oudsema 6–2, 6–2, in his first title of the Futures year in Little Rock, Arkansas, as he did not drop a set in any of his matches,^[10] then Harsh Mankad in Mobile, Alabama 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, to win a title the following week, and then won the Milan Challenger title over bronze Olympic medalist Arnaud di Pasquale in three sets in the final.^[8] On April 4, 2006, he was named USTA Circuit Player of the Week.^[10] He ended 2006 ranked 194 for singles, and 780 for doubles.^[2]

2007[link]

In Challenger events, he reached the finals of Karlsruhe, where he lost to Mischa Zverev. He went on to make the third round of a major-level event, beating Juan Martín del Potro en route 3–6, 7–6, 6–3. He then lost to John Isner in three tiebreak sets 7–6, 6–7, 6–7.^[11]

At the August 2007 Rogers Masters, Odesnik had an amazing run. In qualifying he defeated Jan Hernych.^[12] He went on to the main draw of the ATP Masters Series Canada, and upset Ivan Ljubičić in three sets 6–3, 4–6, 7–6, before going down to Frank Dancevic.^[13]

At the 2007 U.S. Open, Odesnik beat Danai Udomchoke of Thailand 7–5 in the fifth set to reach the second round.^[14] He then lost there to eventual quarterfinalist Juan Ignacio Chela.

In October in Sacramento, California, he beat Yen-Hsun Lu in the finals 6–2, 6–3. Later that month in Busan, Korea, he again defeated Lu 7–6, 2–6, 6–1, before losing in the quarterfinals.

The USTA asked Odesnik and two other young American men to play off in a round-robin format December 18–20 for a wild-card berth in the Australian Open that the organization received in a reciprocal agreement with Tennis Australia. The other players selected based on age (22 and under) and ranking (top 200) to compete in Boca Raton, Florida, were Jesse Levine and Alex Kuznetsov.^[15] Levine won the wild card, defeating Odesnik 6–4, 6–0.^[16]

Odesnik was 4–3 for the year in ATP play, and 26–17 on the Challenger circuit.^[2] He ended 2007 ranked # 126 for singles, and # 553 for doubles.^[2]

2008[link]

In February, at the San Jose International Series, Odesnik defeated Donald Young 6–1, 5–7, 6–4.^[17] In April at the International Series in Houston, Texas, he beat Dudi Sela 6–3, 7–5, and Sergio Roitman 2–6, 7–6, 6–1. At the World Team Championship in Germany in May he beat Ivo Minář, 6–2, 6–1, and in doubles he and partner James Blake beat Lucas Arnold and Sebastián Prieto 6–3, 6–7, 10–7, and Czechs Tomáš Berdych and Pavel Vízner 0–6, 7–5, 10–8.^[2][18]

In early 2008 Odesnik was being coached by Félix Mantilla, the Spanish clay-court specialist and 1998 French Open semifinalist.^[19][20]

At the French Open in May, he beat 7–6, 7–6, 7–6 in a very tight three-hour and 46-minute match that got him to round 2 of the grand slam.^[1][21] "I was just trying not to put [Cañas] on a pedestal in my mind", said Odesnik.^[20] He hit twice as many forehand winners (33) as Cañas, and rushed the net 39 times, converting on 30 of those opportunities.^[20] He then beat Hyung-Taik Lee 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 in the next round.

At Wimbledon he arrived on court against 24th seed Jarkko Nieminen with heavy strapping on his thigh, and succumbed to injury after losing the opening set 6–3.^[22] Odesnik underwent rehab on an injured abductor muscle in his left hip; a small tear in his groin that he had suffered in a tournament in Poland.^[23]

In August he beat Bobby Reynolds 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 in Los Angeles, Sébastien Grosjean 7–5, 6–4 in New Haven, and at the US Open Fabio Fognini 2–6, 6–0, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. In November Odesnik beat Diego Junqueira 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 in Ecuador. He ended 2008 ranked # 119 for singles, and # 558 for doubles.^[2]

2009[link]

In February, Odesnik won the Home Depot Center USTA Challenger in Carson, California, beating Vincent Spadea in the semifinals 6–2, 6–3. Seeded fourth, Odesnik dropped only one set in five tournament matches—to fifth-seeded Jesse Levine in the quarterfinals, which he won 7–6, 6–7, 6–4, in a match that took over three hours.^[24]

In April at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas at River Oaks Country Club, Odesnik defeated third-seeded Jürgen Melzer of Austria 6–4, 6–0 (winning 94% of his second-serve points),^[25] beat fellow American John Isner in a 7–5, 3–6, 7–6 in a 2:37 quarterfinal marathon,[7] and defeated Björn Phau 6–4, 6–3 in the semifinals to reach his first ATP World Tour final, in which he lost to Lleyton Hewitt, 2–6, 5–7.^[26] Following the tournament, he received his then-career-best world ranking of # 77.

As of April 11, in 14 ATP World Tour clay-court matches he had the best winning percentage among Americans on clay; 0.714.^[27][28]

At the 2009 French Open Odesnik lost 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 in three hours and 43 minutes on the main Court Philippe Chatrier to the hometown favorite Gilles Simon.^[29][30]

At Wimbledon Odesnik lost his first round match to 30th-ranked Jürgen Melzer 1–6, 4–6, 2–6. Odesnik was hampered by a groin strain, and called a trainer onto the court.^[31] The match generated some media attention as a consequence of the patterns of pre-match betting on the result, with the online betting exchange Betfair reporting that unusually large sums for a low-profile match were wagered on the straight sets scoreline,^[32] but Betfair indicated that it did not suspect any wrongdoing, and that betting accelerated after a TV announcer noted shortly before the match that Odesnik had a thigh injury.^[33]

At the 2009 Indianapolis Tennis Championships in July, Odesnik beat fourth-seeded Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 2–6, 6–1, 6–1.^[34]

2010[link]

On March 26, 2010, after having reached a world ranking of 98 in professional tennis, Odesnik pled guilty to importing HGH to Australia, prior to the Brisbane International, a warm-up event for the Australian Open. He was fined 7,000 USD, and faces a multi-year banishment from professional tennis. ^[35] On April 19, Odesnik agreed to a voluntary suspension from the tour while awaiting a hearing by an independent tribunal, which is expected to take place around June 2010. In the mean time, Odesnik is free to return to the tour at any time.^[36]

On May 19, 2010, Odesnik was banned—initially for two years, but later commuted to one year, two months after pleading guilty to importing human growth hormone into Australia.[8] The suspension was dated to Dec. 29, 2009. As part of the ban, his results since December 29 were erased and he was required to forfeit his ranking points and prize money. Odesnik was ranked No. 114 and had earned more than $90,000 in prize money in 2010.^[37]

2011[link]

Unranked, Odesnik received a main draw wild card for ITF Futures event U.S.A. F1, and reached the quarter-finals. The following week, again as a wild card, he retired from his second round qualifying match. As the season wore on, Odesnik picked up a pair of singles titles at Challenger events: The Savannah Challenger, where he defeated Donald Young in the final, and at the Fifth Third Bank Championships, where he beat James Ward.

2012[link]

Odesnik started the year as the 6th seed at the Seguros Bolívar Open, a Challenger event, where he won the singles title by defeating Adrian Ungur in the final. He did not drop a set during the tournament, and the victory propelled him in to the top ten in Men's American singles rankings.

Style of play[link]

Odesnik has a modest serve, an excellent forehand, an improving backhand, and good quickness.^[1] He also varies his first and second serves, hides the placement of his forehand, and plays the angles on the court.^[38]

While he appears to have great natural intensity, Odesnik said in 2008 that he was striving for even greater mental toughness through sessions with a sports psychologist.^[20] In 2009 he was also working with fitness trainer Mikhail Zanko, and coached by Grant Doyle.^[2]

Personal[link]

Odesnik is Jewish, and along with Jesse Levine, Dudi Sela, Sergio Roitman, and Shahar Pe'er is one of a number of young Jewish tennis players who are highly ranked.^[39][40][41]

All Finals[link]

Singles wins (14)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	April 28, 2003	Montego Bay	Hard	Juan Mónaco	2–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–0
2.	September 1, 2003	Montego Bay	Hard	Jacob Adaktusson	7–6(7–3), 6–2
3.	November 7, 2005	Waikoloa	Hard	Scott Lipsky	6–1, 6–1
4.	November 14, 2005	Honolulu	Hard	Sam Querrey	6–4, 6–3
5.	March 20, 2006	Little Rock	Hard	Scott Oudsema	6–2, 6–2
6.	March 27, 2006	Mobile	Hard	Harsh Mankad	2–6, 6–3, 6–4
7.	June 19, 2006	Milan	Clay	Arnaud di Pasquale	5–7, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
8.	October 8, 2007	Sacramento	Hard	Lu Yen-hsun	6–2, 6–3
9.	January 26, 2009	Carson	Hard	Scoville Jenkins	6–4, 6–4
10.	January 31, 2011	Palm Coast	Clay	Nicola Ghedin	6–2, 6–1
11.	March 7, 2011	McAllen	Hard	Gastão Elias	6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–1
12.	May 2, 2011	Savannah	Hard	Donald Young	6–4, 6–4
13.	July 18, 2011	Lexington	Hard	James Ward	7–5, 6–4
14.	January 29, 2012	Bucaramanga	Clay	Adrian Ungur	6–1, 7–6(7–4)

Runners-up (1)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	April 12, 2009	Houston, Texas	Clay	Lleyton Hewitt	2–6, 5–7

See also[link]

• List of select Jewish tennis players

References[link]

External links[link]

• Wayne Odesnik at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Odesnik Recent Match Results
• Odesnik World Ranking History

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten American male singles tennis players, as of May 28, 2012 Mardy Fish (10 ) John Isner (11 ) Andy Roddick (30 1) Donald Young (51 1) Ryan Harrison (56 ) Sam Querrey (71 ) James Blake (96 ) Michael Russell (110 ) Rajeev Ram (123 ) Jesse Levine (131 )

Tobias Kamke

Country	Germany
Residence	Lübeck, Germany
Born	(1986-05-21) May 21, 1986 (age 26) Lübeck, Germany
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	74.1 kg (163 lb; 11.67 st)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$717,995
Singles
Career record	22–33
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 64 (January 31, 2011)
Current ranking	No. 75 (May 14, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2012)
French Open	2R (2010, 2011)
Wimbledon	3R (2010)
US Open	1R (2010, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	2–7
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 419 (17 October 2011)
Current ranking	No. 428 (14 November 2011)
Last updated on: 14 November 2011.

Tobias Kamke (born 21 May 1986 in Lübeck, Germany) is a German tennis player. He reached his career high ranking in singles at No. 64 on 31 January 2011 and in doubles at No. 419 on 17 October 2011.

Professional career[link]

2008[link]

In June, Kamke made the main draw in singles for the 2008 Wimbledon Championships as a Lucky Loser after losing to #134 Jan Hernych in the final qualifying round. He lost in the first round to world No. 30 Andreas Seppi.

2010[link]

He made the main draw at Wimbledon where he progressed through to the first and second round and then lost in the third round to 10th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1–6, 4–6, 6–7. In July, he won the 2010 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby by beating Milos Raonic in the final 6–3, 7–6. At the 2010 Tiburon Challenger he secured his second career challenger title by defeating Ryan Harrison in the final. He reached back-to-back second rounds on ATP World Tour Level at Stockholm, Vienna and Basel. As Kamke started the year as World No. 254 and finished it as World No. 66 he was awarded "Newcomer of the Year" by the ATP.

Singles finals: 7 (3–4)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	12 November 2007	Helsinki, Finland	Hard (i)	Steve Darcis	3–6, 6–1, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	26 May 2008	Karlsruhe, Germany	Clay	Teymuraz Gabashvili	1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	3.	12 April 2010	Baton Rouge, United States	Hard (i)	Kevin Anderson	7–6(9–7), 6–7(7–9), 1–6
Runner-up	4.	31 May 2010	Fürth, Germany	Clay	Robin Haase	4–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	26 July 2010	Granby, Canada	Hard	Milos Raonic	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Winner	2.	11 October 2010	Tiburon, United States	Hard	Ryan Harrison	6–1, 6–1
Winner	3.	13 November 2011	Loughborough, United Kingdom	Hard	Flavio Cipolla	6–2, 7–5

Singles Performance Timeline[link]

Current through the 2012 French Open.

External links[link]

• Tobias Kamke at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Kamke Recent Match Results
• Kamke World Ranking History
• ITF Junior Profile for Kamke

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten German male singles tennis players as of 28 May 2012 Philipp Kohlschreiber (26 1) Florian Mayer (35 ) Tobias Kamke (78 1) Björn Phau (85 ) Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (91 1) Philipp Petzschner (98 ) Matthias Bachinger (100 ) Daniel Brands (105 ) Tommy Haas (112 ) Andreas Beck (113 )

Peter Sagan

Sagan on the podium after the second stage of the 2010 Tour de Romandie
Personal information
Full name	Peter Sagan
Nickname	Terminator
Born	(1990-01-26) January 26, 1990 (age 22) Žilina, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia)
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	73 kg (160 lb)[1]
Team information
Current team	Liquigas-Cannondale
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder / Sprinter
Amateur team(s)
2009	Dukla Trenčín Merida
Professional team(s)
2010–	Liquigas-Doimo
Major wins
Vuelta a España 3 Stages Paris-Nice Points classification (2010) 2 Stages Tour de Romandie 1 Stage Tour de Suisse Points classification (2011) 2 Stages Tour of California Points classification (2010, 2011, 2012) Youth classification (2010) 8 Stages Giro di Sardegna General classification (2011) Points classification (2011) 3 Stages Tour de Pologne General classification (2011) Points classification (2011) 2 Stages
Infobox last updated on 20 May 2012

Peter Sagan (born January 26, 1990 in Žilina) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team Liquigas-Cannondale. Sagan had a successful junior mountain bike racing career, winning the Junior World Championship in 2008, before moving to road racing.

At the age of 22 Sagan is considered to be one of cycling's most promising talents,^[2] having won two stages at Paris–Nice, one at the Tour de Romandie, two and the overall classification at the Tour de Pologne, a record eight at the Tour of California,^[3] two at the Tour de Suisse, three at the Vuelta a España as well as the overall classification and three stages of the Giro di Sardegna.

Personal life[link]

Sagan is the youngest child among three brothers and a sister. He was brought up by his sister as his parents spent most of the day taking care of a small grocery shop they own in his hometown. His brother Juraj Sagan is a cyclist with Liquigas-Cannondale.

Early years[link]

Sagan started to ride bikes at the age of nine when he joined Cyklistický spolok Žilina, a small local club in his home town. Throughout his junior age Sagan rode both mountain bikes and road bikes, and was well known for his unconventional style to ride in tennis shoes and t-shirts, drinking just pure water. Sagan drew a significant attention when he appeared at the Slovak Cup with a bicycle borrowed off his sister after he had mistakenly sold his own and the one from Velosprint sponsor was delayed. Riding the supermarket bike with poor brakes and limited gear, he won the race.^[4]

Professional beginnings[link]

Sagan got his first taste of professional cycling when he was hired by the Dukla Trenčín Mérida team, a Slovak outfit in the Continental Pro (second) division. In 2008, he won the Junior World Championship on the mountain bike in Vale di Sole. That same year, he also finished second at Cyclocross Junior World Championships in Treviso and the Junior Paris–Roubaix.^[5]

Sagan joined a Pro Tour team Quick Step for road testing but he failed to get a contract. His frustration was so deep that he decided to quit road cycling, however pressed by his family he gave it a try to Liquigas-Doimo and succeeded. Liquigas' Zanatta offered Sagan a two-year contract (2010–2011) with an option to ride mountain bikes for Cannondale. The contract has been prolonged until 2012 in April 2010. Liquigas doctors and managers were stunned by results of Sagan's medical tests saying they have never ever seen a rider of 19 years of age so physically strong and capable as Sagan. During the training camp Sagan destroyed more mountain bikes than any other rider due to his ability to put a bike through its paces. His team mates started to call him Terminator despite his quiet and very polite personality.

2010[link]

Liquigas nominated Sagan for his first Pro Tour road race Tour Down Under in January 2010 at the age of 19. He was involved in a crash during the second stage but kept riding with 17 stitches on his arm and left thigh. In the queen stage to Willunga he joined an attack over the last climb with Cadel Evans, Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez. The four fought to hold off the sprinters' group over the next 20 kilometers, with Sánchez taking the win.^[6]

Sagan won his first and second Pro Tour stages during the 2010 Paris–Nice road race. Sagan was not initially nominated for the race, but joined the team after his team mate Maciej Bodnar broke his collarbone.^[7] His first stage win was gained on 10 March 2010, when Sagan joined a move initiated by Nicolas Roche on the final climb of the third stage into Aurillac and out-sprinted Roche and Joaquim Rodríguez for the stage win. This stage win also gave Sagan the lead in the "Green Jersey" or Points Classification.^[8] Sagan's second Pro Tour win came two days later from a solo attack in the fifth stage into Aix-en-Provence. Attacking three kilometers from the finish up a sharp climb, Sagan was able to hold off the Peloton to claim the win.^[9] Alongside his two stage wins, Sagan also finished second in stage two at Limoges and third in stage six into Tourrettes-sur-Loup. The combination of high stage placings and intermediate sprint points won Sagan the Green Jersey for 2010. He finished the race 17th, three minutes and twenty one seconds behind race winner Alberto Contador, who praised the young Slovak and predicted he would be a rival to watch in future races. He also finished eighth in the "White Jersey" or Young Riders Classification.^[10]

Sagan wearing the green jersey at the 2010 Tour of California.

At the 2010 Tour of California, Sagan won the 5th and the 6th stage, coming in with the GC contenders each time. After missing the move up Bonny Doon on stage 3, he was 17 seconds back. The two stage wins that he took not only moved him into 3rd on GC but also put him into the points jersey. Going into the 7th Stage Time Trial through Los Angeles, he was only 9 seconds back. Even though he had prior success in Prologues, this Time Trial was slightly too long, and he lost 1 minute and 35 seconds on GC going into the final stage. Even though he was dropped out of the select GC group on the last lap of the 20.4 miles (32.8 km) circuit, he secured both the Youth Competition and the Points Jersey. He ended up 8th in the overall, behind seasoned veterans like Levi Leipheimer, Michael Rogers, David Zabriskie, Chris Horner, and Jens Voigt, all people very highly respected in the European peloton. Sagan finished fourth in the opening prologue of the 2010 Tour de Suisse, only three seconds behind Fabian Cancellara, but finished almost 11 minutes down in the second stage and didn't take the start the following day alleging severe fatigue.^[11]

After taking a break during the month of July, he returned to good form later in the season, securing high placings in a number of European races as well as 2nd place in the inaugural Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. He rode the World Championships in Geelong, Australia for Slovakia, but failed to make an impact in the long race. He planned to ride several late season races including Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia but an intestinal issue forced him out of the former and weakened him in the latter.^[12]

2011[link]

Sagan was set to continue in 2011 with the same team, now renamed Liquigas-Cannondale. At a team training camp in December 2010, Sagan said that his first goal for the 2011 season would be Milan San Remo.^[13]

After beginning his season with some solid placings in a couple of Italian one-day races, Sagan really got his season going at the Giro di Sardegna. He won 3 of the 5 stages in the race, and won both the overall and the points classification, narrowly hanging on to beat Jose Serpa by 3 seconds in the general classification.

During the Tour of California, he won stage 5 on his way to a win in the points classification for the second straight year at this event.

Sagan finished fifth in the Tour of Flanders.

In June he took part in the Tour de Suisse starting off with an impressive 3rd place in the opening prologue. He then won a mountain stage 3, proving his versatility, when he caught Damiano Cunego on the descent of Grosse Scheidegg and then outsprinted him in the dash to the finish line. Sagan managed two other podium placings in the flat stages with an uphill sprint finish before winning stage 8 in another bunch sprint. This victory was enough to secure another points jersey for the young Slovak rider.

Sagan targeted the Vuelta a España to be the stage for his first Grand Tour appearance. He rode Tour de Pologne as a preparation for the Vuelta. He took the leader's jersey after winning stage 4 and then he also won stage 5. Although he lost the jersey to Daniel Martin after a difficult finish of stage 6, he managed to regain it on the final day of the race thanks to bonus seconds for intermediate sprint and a second place on the stage. He also claimed the points classification.

2012[link]

Early of 2012 Sagan unofficially announced prolongation of his contract with Liquigas till 2014. In the contract, signed prior Vuelta a España, Sagan exchanged better financial benefits for a possibility to have his brother Juraj on the team. "For me, Liquigas was the first choice. I had offers from other teams, giving me perhaps more freedom in the peloton. But Liquigas introduced me to the professional cycling, they have put trust in me and I would like to pay back," commented Sagan for 53x11, a Czech cycling monthly.

He began the season in good form, winning a stage and the points classification in the Tour of Oman. Sagan won Stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico and also played a key role in helping Vincenzo Nibali win the event overall. Sagan's good form continued into the classics season, with fourth place in Milan-San Remo, second in Gent-Wevelgem, a stage victory in Three Days of De Panne and fifth in the Tour of Flanders.

Tour of California[link]

On the first stage of the Tour of California, Sagan had a puncture with 7 kilometers to go. He worked his way back to the bunch and avoided a crash that occurred with 3 kilometers left in the race. His team-mate Daniel Oss piloted him in the last few kilometers, and Sagan out sprinted his rivals, taking the stage win.^[15] The very next day, he won again on stage 2, in Santa Cruz. After suffering a crash in the Empire Grade climb, he got back on and his team dragged him to the last corner of the race, a right bend with the finish line only a couple hundred meters away. Sagan was first out of the corner and accelerated to the finish, taking his second victory in a row.^[16] On the third stage, Sagan took his third consecutive victory by a very slim margin over Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Barracuda) for the third time in a row.^[17] He would go on to win again on the fourth stage in a bunch finish.^[18]

After the dust settled on the Tour, Sagan had five stage wins, including the eight and final stage in Los Angeles and the points jersey, shattering the previous record of Tour of California stage wins with a cumulative of eight stages, the previous mark being detained by Levi Leipheimer of the Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad with six. He was also awarded for his performance with the sprinter's jersey.^[19][20]

Major results[link]

Monuments results[link]

This table shows Peter Sagan's results in the five cycling monuments.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Sagan

• Official website
• Profile at Liquigas official website