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Current season or competition: 2012 Davis Cup |
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Sport | Tennis |
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Founded | 1900 |
No. of teams | 16 (World Group) 137 (2007 total) |
Country(ies) | ITF member nations |
Most recent champion(s) | Spain |
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By 2007, 137 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States (winning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 times, including four occasions with New Zealand under the name 'Australasia', and finishing as runners-up 19 times). The present champion is Spain who beat Argentina to claim the title.
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The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition. Once their respective lawn tennis associations agreed, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low, purchasing it from his own funds for about $1000.[1] They in turn commissioned a classically-styled design from William B. Durgin's of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes.[2] Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925–29 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929–32.
The first match, between the United States and Britain (which competed under the name "British Isles"), was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete but the US won the next match in 1902. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1914.
The tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis' trophy.
From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years.
The United States has won the event the most times (32), closely followed by Australia (28 [including 4 as Australasia]), Great Britain (9 [including 5 as the British Isles]), France (9) and Sweden (7).
Up until 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won by the United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was eventually broken in 1974, when South Africa and India qualified for the final; however, the final was scratched and South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government's apartheid policies. (As of 2010, South Africa has never actually played in a Davis Cup finals match.) The following year saw the first final between two "outsider" nations that was actually played; Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2, and since then, several other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.
In 1989, the tiebreak was also introduced into Davis Cup competition. The tiebreak is now used in all sets except for 5th set, which remains an advantage set.
On the 100th anniversary of the tournament's founding, 129 nations competed for the Davis Cup.
The world's 16 best national teams are assigned to the World Group and compete annually for the Davis Cup. Nations which are not in the World Group compete in one of three regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe/Africa). The competition is spread over four weekends during the year. Each elimination round between competing nations is held in one of the countries. The ITF determines the host countries for all possible matchups before each year's tournament.
The World Group is the top group and includes the world's best 16 national teams. Teams in the World Group play a four-round elimination tournament. Teams are seeded based on a ranking system released by the ITF, taking into account previous years' results. The defending champion and runner-up are always the top two seeds in the tournament. The losers of the first-round matches are sent to the World Group playoff round, where they play along with winners from Group I of the regional zones. The playoff round winners play in the World Group for the next year's tournament, while the losers play in Group I of their respective regional zone.
Each of the three regional zones is divided into four groups. Groups I and II play elimination rounds, with the losing teams facing relegation to the next-lower group. The teams in Groups III and those in Group IV play a round-robin tournament with promotion and relegation.
Level |
Group(s) |
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1 |
World Group |
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2 |
Group One American Zone |
Group One Euro/African Zone |
Group One Asia/Oceania Zone |
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3 |
Group Two American Zone |
Group Two Euro/African Zone |
Group Two Asia/Oceania Zone |
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4 |
Group Three American Zone |
Group Three European Zone |
Group Three African Zone |
Group Three Asia/Oceania Zone |
5 |
Group Four American Zone |
Group Four Asia/Oceania Zone |
Note: The total number of nations in Group One is 24. However, the distribution between the three zones may vary each year, according to the number of nations promoted or relegated between Group One and the World Group. The number of nations in the World Group and Group One together is 22 from Euro/African Zone, 9 from Americas Zone and 9 from Asia/Oceania Zone.
When competition began in 1900, the Davis Cup competition was played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous year's champion in the final round, and the previous year's champion (the "defending champion") advanced directly to the current year's final round.
Beginning in 1923, the world's teams were split into two zones: the "America Zone" and the "Europe Zone". The winners of the two zones met in the Inter-Zonal Zone ("INZ") to decide which national team would challenge the defending champion for the cup.
In 1955, a third zone, the "Eastern Zone", was added. Because there were three zones, the winner of one of the three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ challenger rounds. In 1966, the "Europe Zone" was split into two zones, "Europe Zone A" and "Europe Zone B", so the winners of the four zones competed in the INZ challenger rounds.
Beginning in 1972, the format was changed from a challenge cup, so that the defending champion was required to compete in all rounds, and the Davis Cup was awarded to the tournament champion.
In 1981, the tiered system of competition was created, which remains in use today, and in which the 16 best national teams compete in the World Group and in which all other national teams compete in one of the four groups in one of the three regional zones.
As in other cup competitions tie is used in the Davis Cup to mean an elimination (or knockout) round, rather than meaning a draw or when competitors' scores are equal. In the Davis Cup, the word rubber means an individual match. Thus, "tie" means a round, and "rubber" means a match.
In the annual World Group competition, 16 nations compete in 8 first-round ties ("rounds"); the 8 winners compete in 4 quarter-final-round ties; the 4 winners compete in 2 semifinal-round ties; and the 2 winners compete in the final round tie.
Each tie consists of 5 rubbers ("matches"), which are played in 3 days (usually on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). The winner of the tie is the nation which wins 3 or more of the 5 rubbers in the tie. On the first day, the first 2 rubbers are singles, which are generally played by each nation's 2 best available singles players. On the second day, the doubles rubber is played. On the third day, the final 2 rubbers are typically reverse singles, in which the first-day contestants usually play again, but they swap opponents from the first day's singles rubbers. However, in certain circumstances, the team captain may replace one or two of the players who played the singles on Friday by other players who were nominated for the tie. For example, if the tie has already been decided in favour of one of the teams, it is common for younger or lower-ranked team members to play the remaining dead-rubbers in order for them to gain Davis Cup experience.
Prior to each tie, the captain of each nation nominates a squad of four players and decides who will compete in the tie. On the day before play starts, the order of play for the first day is drawn at random. In the past, teams could substitute final day singles players only in case of injury or illness, verified by a doctor, but current rules permit the captain to designate any player to play the last two singles rubbers, provided that no first day matchup is repeated. There is no restriction on which of the playing team members may play the doubles rubber: the two singles players, two other players (usually doubles specialists) or a combination.
Each rubber is normally played in a best-of-5 set. The first four sets use a tiebreak if necessary, but the fifth set usually has no tiebreaker, so play continues until one side wins by two games (e.g. 10–8). However, if a team has clinched the tie ("round") before all 5 rubbers ("matches") have been completed, the remaining rubbers may be shortened to the best-of-3-sets, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.
In Group III and Group IV competition, each tie ("round") consists only of 3 rubbers ("matches"), which include 2 singles and one doubles rubber, which is played in a single day. The rubbers are in the best-of-3-set format, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three sets.
Country | Titles | First | Last |
United States | 13 | 1968 | 2007 |
Sweden | 7 | 1975 | 1998 |
Australia | 6 | 1973 | 2003 |
Spain | 5 | 2000 | 2011 |
France | 3 | 1991 | 2001 |
Germany | 3 | 1988 | 1993 |
Russia | 2 | 2002 | 2006 |
South Africa | 1 | 1974 | 1974 |
Italy | 1 | 1976 | 1976 |
Czechoslovakia | 1 | 1980 | 1980 |
Croatia | 1 | 2005 | 2005 |
Serbia | 1 | 2010 | 2010 |
1Players must now be aged 14 and over
For a complete list, see ITF Rankings
Rank | Nation | Points | Previous |
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1 | Spain | 39178.13 | 1 (±0) |
2 | Argentina | 24462.50 | 3 (+1) |
3 | Serbia | 22257.82 | 2 (-1) |
4 | Czech Republic | 16438.13 | 5 (+1) |
5 | France | 16405.00 | 4 (-1) |
6 | United States | 10925.00 | 7 (+1) |
7 | Croatia | 6022.50 | 6 (-1) |
8 | Austria | 4945.31 | 8 (±0) |
9 | Kazakhstan | 3529.69 | 9 (±0) |
10 | Germany | 3195.31 | 12 (+2) |
11 | Israel | 2973.44 | 11 (±0) |
12 | Sweden | 2806.25 | 16 (+4) |
13 | Canada | 2640.00 | 14 (+1) |
14 | Russia | 2625.00 | 10 (-4) |
15 | Italy | 2605.00 | 13 (-2) |
16 | Switzerland | 2587.50 | 15 (−1) |
Complete rankings As of 9 April 2012 (2012 -04-09)[update]
Davis Cup | ||||||
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Rubber category | Match win | Match loss | Team bonus | Performance bonus | Total achievable | |
Singles | Play-offs | 5(10)1 | 15 | |||
1st round | 40 | 102 | 80 | |||
Quarterfinals | 65 | 130 | ||||
Semifinals | 70 | 140 | ||||
Final | 75 | 753 | 1254 | 150 / 2253 / 2754 | ||
Cumulative total | 500 | 500 – 5353 | 6254 | 6254 | ||
Doubles | Play-offs | 10 | 10 | |||
1st round | 50 | 10 | 50 | |||
Quarterfinals | 80 | 80 | ||||
Semifinals | 90 | 90 | ||||
Final | 95 | 355 | 95 / 1305 | |||
Cumulative total | 315 | 3505 | 3505 |
ATP Points distributed from 2009 onwards[4]
Only World Group and World Group Play-Off matches and only live matches earn points. Dead rubbers earn no points.[4]
1 For the first rubber won 5 points is awarded, the second absorbed rubber grants 10 points that gives a total of 15 available points.[4]
2 If a player goes on to win a live rubber in later rounds, these 10 points are discounted. Only one loss can be converted to points.[4]
3 Team bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 7 live matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition.[4]
4 Performance bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 8 live matches in a calendar year. In this case, no Team bonus is awarded.[4]
5 Team bonus awarded to an unchanged doubles team who wins 4 matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition.[4]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Davis Cup |
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Serving during the Ricoh NTK 2006 in Amsterdam |
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Country | Netherlands |
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Residence | 's-Gravenzande, Netherlands |
Born | (1988-09-19) 19 September 1988 (age 23) |
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
Weight | 67 kg (147 lb) |
Turned pro | 2006 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | US$ 927.586 |
Singles | |
Career record | 42-50 |
Career titles | – |
Highest ranking | No. 40 (19 July 2010) |
Current ranking | No. 251 (6 March 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2010, 2011) |
French Open | 3R (2010) |
Wimbledon | 3R (2010) |
US Open | 3R (2010) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 9-17 |
Career titles | – |
Highest ranking | No. 220 (17 September 2007) |
Last updated on: 24 May 2010. |
Thiemo de Bakker (born 19 September 1988) is a Dutch tennis player, who as of March, 6, 2012 is ranked 251st in the world. He is coached by Croatian Ivica Ančić.
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De Bakker finished 2006 as the ITF Junior Champion, after having won the Boys' Singles title at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.
De Bakker received a wild card into the ATP Amersfoort event in July 2006 and defeated top 100 and French Open Quarterfinalist Julien Benneteau in the 1st round, winning in straight sets 6–3, 6–3. In the 2nd round he faced Frenchman Marc Gicquel and lost in 3 sets 6–4, 3–6, 2–6. As he was the reigning Junior Champion, De Bakker received a wild card into the main draw of the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, where he would lose in 5 tight sets to qualifier Wayne Arthurs 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 4–6, 4–6. In October 2006, De Bakker won his first senior international title in a Futures event in Albufeira, Portugal, where he beat Briton Morgan Phillips in the final 7–6, 6–4. This was followed by another win in a Futures tournament two weeks later in San Miguel, Portugal. He reached a career high ATP ranking of 228 on 25 August 2008.
On 22 March 2009, he finished as runner-up in the Caltanissetta Challenger tournament to compatriot Jesse Huta Galung, losing in straight sets 2–6, 3–6. On 5 May 2009, as a qualifier and ranked 236, he defeated the 5th seed Rainer Schüttler in the first round of the BMW Open in Münich in straight sets, 6–3 6–3, before losing to former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt. De Bakker would follow this up in the 2009 Ordina Open, by qualifying for the tournament and losing in the second round to Rainer Schüttler, after defeating Björn Phau in three tight sets. De Bakker hit a rich vein of form in the month of August, winning four Challenger tournaments, and bumping his ranking from 256 to 122, in the span of one month. His form continued in Davis Cup competition, by beating World Number 13 Gaël Monfils in 4 sets, and putting the Netherlands up 1–0 on France, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four tight sets. De Bakker would finish the year ranked 96th.
De Bakker started 2010 in much the same way he finished 2009. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2010 Aircel Chennai Open, after defeating the eighth seed, Rajeev Ram, and compatriot Robin Haase, he lost to Janko Tipsarević. This would boost his ranking to number 81 in the world, and gave him a high enough ranking to receive direct entrance into the 2010 Australian Open – Men's Singles. In his first Grand Slam in three years, the Dutchman was paired up against the 6th seed Andy Roddick. After a nervous first set, de Bakker regained some composure and made a contest out of it, losing the second and third set by only one break each.
De Bakker's next tournament was his first ever Masters event, the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He started off winning his opening match against Marcos Daniel in straight sets, before advancing to the third round after beating 30th seed Janko Tipsarević where he retired just after five games of play at 3–2 first set. In the third round, he fell to eventual finalist Andy Roddick 3–6, 4–6. De Bakker played his second Masters event two weeks later the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, winning his first round match against Rajeev Ram in straight sets, before falling again to the eventual finalist, this time Tomáš Berdych with the same scoreline as in Indian Wells 3–6, 4–6.
De Bakker's next Masters event was the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he had to qualify this time. After defeating Eduardo Schwank, de Bakker lost to the five-time reigning champion, and world number two, Rafael Nadal. With slight nervousness on the occasion, de Bakker lost this match in less than an hour, winning only one game in two sets in a 1–6, 0–6 loss. He then appeared at the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, with good form. He took out World No.58 Alejandro Falla 6–1, 6–0; followed by a 7–6, 6–3 victory over world No.92 Daniel Gimeno-Traver. In the round of 16, he scored an impressive win over World No.16 (and former World #1) Juan Carlos Ferrero 7–6, 3–6, 7–6. Before the match, Ferrero had a 18–2 record on clay for the year. He followed it up with his best career victory, with a superb performance to take out World No.10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 – his first win over a top 10 player. However, his excellent run came to an end against World No.8 Robin Söderling 1–6, 4–6 in the semifinals. Thiemo rose to a career high World No.50 as a result of his semifinal appearance there. Following his superb performance at Barcelona, de Bakker received a Special Exempt to enter the main draw of Rome Masters where he faced Viktor Troicki in the first round, but retired due to a groin injury.[1] At the 2010 French Open, he made a third round showing where he lost to an injured Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, de Bakker advanced to the third round of the men's singles tournament after defeating Colombian Santiago Giraldo in a hotly contested 6–7, 6–4, 6–3, 5–7, 16–14 win, followed by a more comprehensive defeat 6–0, 6–3, 6–2 of an exhausted John Isner, the winner of the longest tennis match in history, which finished on its third day of play on 24 June, before losing in the third round 6–7, 6–7, 7–6, 4–6 to Paul-Henri Mathieu of France. De Bakker also participated in the men's doubles tournament, in which his partner was his Dutch colleague Haase. After defeating Viktor Troicki and Christopher Kas in the first round, they lost to the Ratiwatana twins, who entered the main tournament as lucky losers, in 4 sets 4–6, 6–7, 6–4, 2–6. At the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis, Thiemo reached his second ATP semi-final. Sergiy Stakhovsky defeated him by a scoreline of 6–3, 6–4.[2]
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Legend |
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ATP Challenger Tour (4–1) |
Outcome | No. | Date (Final) | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
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Runner-up | 1. | 22 March 2009 | Caltanissetta, Italy | Clay | Jesse Huta Galung | 2–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 2. | 2 August 2009 | Tampere, Finland | Clay | Peter Luczak | 6–4, 7–6(9–7) |
Winner | 3. | 15 August 2009 | Vigo, Spain | Clay | Thierry Ascione | 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 4. | 23 August 2009 | San Sebastián, Spain | Clay | Filip Krajinović | 6–2, 6–3 |
Winner | 5. | 6 September 2009 | Brasov, Romania | Clay | Pere Riba | 7–5, 6–0 |
Legend |
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ATP Challenger Tour (2–0) |
Outcome | No. | Date (Final) | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
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Winner | 1. | 15 August 2009 | Vigo, Spain | Clay | Raemon Sluiter | Pedro Clar-Rosselló Albert Ramos-Viñolas |
7–5, 6–2 |
Winner | 2. | 11 September 2011 | Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands | Hard | Antal van der Duim | Matwé Middelkoop Igor Sijsling |
6–4, 6–7(4–7), [10–6] |
Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L |
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Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||
Australian Open | 1R | 1R | Q3 | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | ||||
French Open | Q2 | 3R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | ||||
Wimbledon | 1R | 3R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |||||
US Open | 3R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 6–4 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0 / 8 | 6–8 |
Olympic Games | |||||||||
Summer Olympics | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | 3R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |||||
Miami Masters | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | ||||||
Monte Carlo Masters | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | ||||||
Rome Masters | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | |||||
Madrid Masters | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | ||||||
Canada Masters | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | ||||||
Cincinnati Masters | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | ||||||
Shanghai Masters | Held as ATP YEC | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | |||||
Paris Masters | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | ||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–8 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0 / 11 | 8–11 |
Career Statistics | |||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / | 0–0 |
Year End Ranking | 464 | 444 | 249 | 96 | 43 | 223 |
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Donald Young |
ITF Junior World Champion 2006 |
Succeeded by Ričardas Berankis |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Bakker, Thiemo De |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Dutch tennis player |
Date of birth | 19 September 1988 |
Place of birth | The Hague, Netherlands |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Thiemo de Bakker |
Country | Argentina |
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Residence | Tandil, Argentina |
Born | (1988-09-23) 23 September 1988 (age 23) Tandil, Argentina |
Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
Weight | 97 kg (210 lb) |
Turned pro | 2005 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $8,914,531 |
Singles | |
Career record | 223–98 (69.47%) |
Career titles | 11 |
Highest ranking | No. 4 (January 11, 2010) |
Current ranking | No. 9 (May 14, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2009, 2012) |
French Open | SF (2009) |
Wimbledon | 4R (2011) |
US Open | W (2009) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | F (2009) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 28–24 |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 105 (May 25, 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 185 (November 21, 2011) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
French Open | 1R (2006, 2007) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2007, 2008) |
Last updated on: February 27, 2011. |
Juan Martín del Potro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan marˈtin del ˈpotɾo]) (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine professional tennis player.[2] As of 14 May 2012, he is ranked no. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the ATP for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4. Soon after attaining this ranking, however, Del Potro had to withdraw from most of the tournaments in 2010 due to a wrist injury,[3] and his ranking plummeted.
Having started playing tennis at the age of seven,[4] Del Potro won his first senior match in 2004 at the age of 15. Del Potro became the youngest player to finish in the Top 100 in 2006, the youngest player in the top 50 in 2007, and youngest player in the top 10 in 2008. In 2008, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments.[5] He also completed the second-longest winning streak in 2008, and the second longest by a teenager in the Open Era, behind Rafael Nadal—with his winning sequence spanning 23 matches over five tournaments.[5] Del Potro captured his first Grand Slam title at the 2009 US Open, defeating Nadal in the semifinal, and Roger Federer in the final, becoming the first man to beat both Federer and Nadal in the same Grand Slam tournament (later achieved by Novak Djokovic at the 2011 US Open). He became the second Argentine and the fifth-youngest man to win the US Open title in the Open Era.[6] At 1.98m (6 ft, 6 in), he is the tallest player to have ever won a Grand Slam.
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Juan Martín del Potro was born in Tandil, Argentina. His father, Daniel del Potro, played semi-professional rugby union in Argentina and is a veterinarian.[4][7] His mother, Patricia, is a teacher and he has a younger sister named Julieta. Del Potro Speaks Spanish, English and some Italian.[8] Aside from tennis, he enjoys playing football and supports the Boca Juniors team in Argentina and Juventus in Italy.[8] He would often dedicate time to both sports during his childhood, and Argentinian-Italian international footballer Mauro Camoranesi remains a close friend of del Potro.[4]
Del Potro began playing tennis at the age of seven with coach Marcelo Gómez (who also coached Tandil-born players Juan Mónaco, Mariano Zabaleta and Máximo González).[4] Del Potro's talent was discovered by Italian ex-tennis professional Ugo Colombini, who accompanied him through the initial phases of his young career, and is still today his agent and close friend.[9] When questioned about his ambitions in tennis he replied, "I dream of winning a Grand Slam and the Davis Cup."[10]
As a junior in 2002, del Potro won the Orange Bowl 14s title, beating Marin Čilić en route to a 6–2, 7–6(5) victory over Pavel Tchekov in the final.[11] In 2003, at the age of 14, del Potro received wild cards to three ITF Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in straight sets in the first round of each.[12]
In May 2004, del Potro won his first senior match, at the age of 15, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires by defeating Matias Niemiz. He then went on to lose in three sets to Sebastián Decoud in the second round. His next victory came over five months later against the Chilean Alvaro Loyola in a tournament in Antofagasta. Later that year, del Potro reached the quarterfinals of the ITF Circuit event in Campinas, Brazil; recording victories over Henrique Mello and Alessandro Camarco. Del Potro won two more matches before the end of the year and saw his world ranking rise from no. 1441 in August to no. 1077 in November.[13] He also reached the finals in the Argentina Cup and Campionati Internazionali D'Italia Junior tournaments.[14]
Del Potro reached his first final of the ITF Junior Circuit on 11 January 2005, the Copa del Cafe (Coffee Bowl) - Junior ITF Tournament in Costa Rica, which he lost to Robin Haase in three sets. He was involved in a dispute with the umpire during this match, who decided to stop the play because of rain, which del Potro believed favoured Haase. Because of the rain delays, the final set had to be played indoors; this was the first time the indoor courts had been used in the 44-year history of the youth tournament.[15]
At the age of 16, del Potro reached his first senior singles final at the Futures tournament in Berimbau Naucalpan, Mexico, where he lost to Darko Madjarovski 6–3, 4–6, 4–6. He then went on to win consecutive titles at two Future ITF Circuit events in Santiago, Chile, including the 26th International Junior tournament. In the first tournament, he beat Jorge Aguilar, 6–4, 7–6(6), and in the second, he did not drop a set in the whole tournament and defeated Thiago Alves, 6–1, 6–1, in the final, a player ranked more than 400 places higher at the time. He won his third title in his home country by defeating Damian Patriarca, who forfeited the match, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires.[16]
Del Potro turned professional after the Italy F17 event in Bassano, and in his first professional tournament, the Lines Trophy in Reggio Emilia, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to countryman Martín Vassallo Argüello in three sets. Two tournaments later, he reached the final of the Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup in Campos do Jordão, Brazil, where he lost to André Sá, 4–6, 4–6. After turning 17, he won the Montevideo Challenger by defeating Boris Pašanski in the final in three sets.[16] That same year, he failed in his first attempt to qualify for his first Grand Slam, at the US Open, losing in the first round to Paraguayan Ramón Delgado.[17] Throughout 2005, del Potro jumped over 900 positions to finish with a world ranking of no. 158, largely due to winning three Futures tournaments.[16][18] He was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 200.[19]
In February, del Potro played his first ATP tour event in Viña del Mar, where he defeated Albert Portas, before losing to Fernando González in the second round.[20] Later, seeded seventh, he won the Copa Club Campestre de Aguascalientes by defeating the likes of Dick Norman and Thiago Alves, before beating Sergio Roitman, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, in the final.[21][22]
Del Potro qualified for the main draw of his first Grand Slam in the 2006 French Open at the age of 17. He lost in the opening round to former French Open champion and 24th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.[22][23] Having received a wild card, he reached the quarterfinals of the ATP event in Umag, Croatia, where he lost in three sets to the eventual champion, Stanislas Wawrinka.[24] In Spain, he participated in the Open Castilla y León Challenger tournament held in Segovia, defeating top seed Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals and Benjamin Becker in the final.[22][25]
Del Potro qualified for his first US Open in 2006, after being seeded ninth in the qualifying stages, where he beat Brian Vahaly, Wayne Arthurs, and Daniel Köllerer in straight sets.[26] In the US Open, he lost in the first round to fellow qualifier Alejandro Falla of Colombia in four sets.[27] He went on to qualify for his first ATP Masters Series tournament in Spain, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he lost 4–6, 4–6 in the first round to Joachim Johansson.[22] After receiving a wild card thanks to Roger Federer, he reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland; defeating lucky loser Tobias Clemens in the first round and George Bastl in the second round, before losing to the eventual runner-up Fernando González, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6.[28] Del Potro finished 2006 as the youngest player in the top 100 at 18 years, 2 months.[8]
Del Potro began the year by reaching his first semifinal in ATP Adelaide, Australia, where he lost to Chris Guccione, 7–5, 3–6, 5–7, having beaten Igor Kunitsyn, 6–2, 6–0, earlier in the day.[29][30] He then reached the second round of the Australian Open, where he had to retire because of injury in his match against eventual finalist Fernando González in the fifth set, with the score being 6–7(7), 6–4, 7–6(3), 4–6, 0–4 at the time of his retirement.[10][30] In February, del Potro played for Argentina in the first round of the Davis Cup against Austria, winning the fourth and definite match against Jürgen Melzer, 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, allowing Argentina to qualify for the quarterfinals.[31]
Del Potro defeated Feliciano López, 6–1, 6–2, before losing to eventual semifinalist Mardy Fish, 1–6, 6–7(9), in the second round of the indoor Regions Morgan Keegan Championships.[32] In his next ATP Masters event, he reached the second round of the Pacific Life Open, beating Gustavo Kuerten in the first round, but then losing to Richard Gasquet by a similar margin, 6–7(2), 2–6.[33] Del Potro went further in the Sony Ericsson Open, reaching the fourth round after he defeated three top-50 players: Jonas Björkman, Marcos Baghdatis, and Mikhail Youzhny, before falling to Rafael Nadal, 0–6, 4–6.[34] In May, he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual champion, Nadal 5–7, 3–6, 2–6.[30][35]
In his first grass-court event, del Potro beat Thomas Johansson in two sets and reached the second round at the Queen's Club, where he lost to Nadal.[30][36] He also reached the quarterfinals in Nottingham the following week; there he beat British qualifier Jamie Baker and Kunitsyn in the first two rounds, but lost to Ivo Karlović, 6–7(10), 5–7, at the quarterfinal stage.[37][38] At his inaugural Wimbledon Championships, he defeated Davide Sanguinetti, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, in the first round, before losing, 2–6, 5–7, 1–6, to eventual champion Roger Federer in the second round, after a rain delay in the third set.[39][40]
Del Potro lost to Frank Dancevic in three sets in the second round of the singles at the ATP event in Indianapolis.[41] At the same event, partnered with Travis Parrott in doubles, he won his first doubles tournament, defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili and Karlović, 2–6, 6–2, 10–6, in the final.[42] He regards this as a special victory, "It was fantastic to play doubles with Parrott. I'm so happy because I've never won a doubles tournament. For the rest of my life, I will remember this tournament."[43] Del Potro qualified for the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, where he reached the third round. He defeated countryman Guillermo Cañas in the first round and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second, before losing, 5–7, 6–3, 5–7, to former world no. 1 Carlos Moyá.[44][45][46] At that year's US Open, he defeated Nicolas Mahut, 6–0, 6–4, 6–2, and Melzer, 6–3, 6–1, 6–4, before losing to eventual finalist and third seed Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 3–6, 4–6, in the third round.[30][47] He also reached the third round of the Madrid Masters by beating Potito Starace, 7–5, 6–1, and Tommy Robredo, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3, before losing to eventual champion David Nalbandian in straight sets.[48] In the last tournament of the year, the Paris Masters, he reached the second round, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko, 6–7(3), 1–6.[30] That year, del Potro was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 50 at 19 years, 2 months.[8]
Del Potro's first half of the season was hampered by injuries and a change of coach, starting with a first-round loss in Adelaide, where he was the seventh seed.[49][50] He then made it to the second round of the Australian Open in January, only to retire against David Ferrer due to an injury when the score was, 3–6, 4–6.[51] Del Potro returned to the circuit in March, winning his first match against Jesse Levine, 7–5, 6–1, at the Sony Ericsson Open, before losing 4–6, 2–6, in the second round to López.[52] Struggling with injuries, his ranking fell as low as no. 81 in April. "At the start of the year, I was playing good, but I had many injuries, many problems with my body, with my physique," said del Potro. "I changed my coach, changed my physical trainer, I changed everything."[53]
In May, del Potro had to retire again, this time in a first-round match against Andy Murray at the Rome Masters which stood at 7–5, 4–6, 0–1 at the time of his retirement. During the second set, the Argentine allegedly made derogatory comments about Murray's mother which resulted in a complaint to the umpire.[54] Del Potro's serve was subsequently broken three times in a row, and he suffered a back injury, which caused his retirement.[54][55][56] In his second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, he was eliminated in the second round by Simone Bolelli in four sets.[51] In June, he reached the semifinals of the Ordina Open, losing to eventual winner and top seed Ferrer in straight sets.[57] For the second year in a row, he was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round; he won his first round clash with Pavel Šnobel in straight sets, but then lost, 6–7(5), 3–6, 5–7, to Wawrinka.[51][58]
"I want to do well at the US Open. I think I have the conditions and the game to do well there. It is the biggest tournament for me. It is my dream to win the US Open."
After losing to Wawrinka, a successful summer followed for the Argentine. In July, del Potro and his team decided to remain in Europe to test his fitness. "We decided to play on clay courts for my back because if I start to play again on hard courts, maybe I will injure it again", he recalled.[53] Del Potro won his first career ATP tour title at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, defeating Gasquet in straight sets in the final.[59][60] A week later, del Potro reached his second career ATP Tour final at the Austrian Open in Kitzbühel, where he beat local hope and sixth seed Melzer, 6–2, 6–1, in less than an hour, to claim his second title in two weeks.[61] Having competed in just two clay tournaments all of the 2007 season, he never thought he would win his first two titles on clay courts.[53]
In August, del Potro won his third consecutive title at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, beating Andy Roddick, 6–1, 7–6(2), in the final.[62] After the match, Roddick praised his opponent. "[Del Potro] hits this way and this way kind of equally and he can hit it from inside out and running to it, which is a good thing for him, bad for the rest of us".[62] A fourth consecutive title followed a week later in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., where he recorded a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Viktor Troicki, becoming the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments.[5] "I don't really understand what I did. It is difficult to believe that I have won four consecutive titles", del Potro said, crediting coach Franco Davín for his impressive run. "He changed my game. He changed my mind. He changed everything. When I play and I see him in the stands, it gives me confidence. I can play relaxed."[53]
At the 2008 US Open, del Potro progressed to the third round, where he won his first match to five sets in the circuit against Gilles Simon to reach the round of 16.[51][63] He went on to defeat Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3.[64] In the quarterfinals, he was stopped by eventual finalist Murray,[65] losing after almost four hours.[66] The defeat came after 23 consecutive victories: the second-longest winning streak in 2008 and the longest winning streak by a player outside the top 10 in the last 20 years.[67]
Del Potro was selected to play his first home-based Davis Cup tie, between Argentina and Russia, which took place on 19–21 September. He won his first singles match against Davydenko in three sets, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. He also won the fifth and deciding match against Igor Andreev in straight sets, 6–4, 6–2, 6–1, booking Argentina a place in the final.[68][69]
At the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made the final by defeating 11th seed Jarkko Nieminen, top seed and defending champion Ferrer, and fourth seed Gasquet.[70] He was defeated by Tomáš Berdych, 1–6, 4–6, in the final.[71][72] At the Madrid Masters, he lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to Federer.[73] He reached the semifinals of his next tournament, the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, before losing to countryman Nalbandian, 4–6, 4–6.[74] He was beaten by Nalbandian again in his next tournament, this time it was in the second round of the Paris Masters. Del Potro blamed fatigue for his defeat, "It's difficult to play the last tournament of the year. I was tired, my mind was in Argentina [the venue for the Davis Cup final]".[75] This left del Potro's qualification for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup out of his hands; fortunately for him, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat James Blake in the semifinals, which was enough to ensure his place at the year-end event.[76]
Del Potro won one match at the Masters Cup, against Tsonga, but lost his other two matches against the higher-ranked Djokovic and Davydenko, meaning that he exited the tournament in the round-robin stage.[77][78][79] This was his last event of the year on the ATP Tour. He went on to lose one match, 6–4, 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 3–6, in the Davis Cup final, against López, as his team succumbed to a 3–1 loss against Spain.[80] He was forced to withdraw from his second match due to a thigh injury and was replaced by José Acasuso.[81] Nonetheless, del Potro enjoyed a successful season; winning four titles and finishing 2008 as the youngest player in the top 10,[8][20] top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American.[82]
At the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand, del Potro was the top seed for the tournament.[83] He defeated American Sam Querrey in the final, 6–4, 6–4, to win the title, the fifth of his career.[84] Seeded eighth at the Australian Open, he beat Marin Čilić in the fourth round to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals that year.[85] Del Potro's tournament ended in his next match, when he lost in straight sets to Federer, 3–6, 0–6, 0–6.[86] At the BNP Paribas Open, the sixth seed del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by world no. 1 Nadal.[87] Del Potro avenged that loss the following week at the Sony Ericsson Open, where he came back from a double break down in the third set at 0–3 to defeat Nadal in the quarterfinals.[88][89] This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five meetings.[90] Despite a 1–6, 7–5, 2–6 loss in the semifinals to Murray,[89] del Potro reached a career-high ranking of world no. 5.[20]
In the clay-court season, del Potro was eliminated in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters by Ivan Ljubičić.[91] In Rome, del Potro beat Troicki and Wawrinka to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by defending champion Djokovic in straight sets. This meant del Potro's head-to-head record with the Serb was now 0–3.[89][92] Del Potro then played at the 2009 Madrid Masters. After defeating Murray for the first time in the quarterfinals,[93] he lost to Federer in the semifinals, 3–6, 4–6.[89] At the French Open, where he was fifth seed, del Potro defeated Michaël Llodra, Troicki, Andreev, and ninth seed Tsonga en route to the quarterfinals.[94] He then defeated three-time former quarterfinalist Robredo to get to his first semifinal.[95] He was defeated in a close semifinal, where he was leading by a set twice, 6–3, 6–7(2), 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, by eventual champion Federer who, after their match, said: "[Del Potro] is young and strong, I have a lot of respect for him."[96] Prior to this encounter, del Potro had never taken a set from Federer in their five previous career meetings.[97]
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, his poor grass-court form from the past continued on, as he went down to unseeded Lleyton Hewitt, 3–6, 5–7, 5–7, in the second round.[98] In the Davis Cup quarter-final against the Czech Republic, del Potro won his matches against Ivo Minář and Berdych in straight sets, but Argentina still lost the tie 2–3, eliminating them from the competition.[99] A few weeks later, he defeated Hewitt and Fernando González en route to the Washington final.[100][101] He successfully defended his title against top-seeded Wimbledon finalist Roddick, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6), to win his second tournament of the year[102] and become the first player since Andre Agassi to win back-to-back Washington titles.[103] Del Potro played the following week at the Masters 1000 in Montreal, where he was seeded sixth, defeating world no. 2 Nadal in the quarterfinals, 7–6(5), 6–1, his second win in a row over Nadal.[90][104] He then defeated Roddick in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, saving a match point, to advance to his first Masters 1000 final, and to improve his head-to-head record against Roddick to 3–0.[105] In the final, he lost against Murray, 7–6(4), 6–7(3), 1–6.[104] He later withdrew from the next Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati due to fatigue.[106]
Seeded sixth at the 2009 US Open, del Potro began by defeating Mónaco and Melzer in straight sets,[107][108] before dropping a set but defeating Köllerer to reach the fourth round.[109] He defeated a resurgent Ferrero, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3, to advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.[110] Del Potro then advanced to the semifinals by defeating Čilić, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–1.[111] Del Potro was down a set and a break, before winning 17 of the final 20 games to win the match.[112] His advance to the semifinals ensured his return to the top 5 in the world rankings.[113] He then defeated world no. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2, in the semifinals to reach his first Grand Slam final. This was his third consecutive victory over Nadal and made him the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Mariano Puerta at the 2005 French Open.[114] In the finals, del Potro rallied from a set and a break down to defeat world no. 1 and five-time defending champion Roger Federer, 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2; his first victory over Federer after six previous defeats,[97] and Federer's first loss in the US Open since 2003. Del Potro stated, "Since [I was] young, I dream with this and take trophy with me", said del Potro, who became the first Argentine male to win the title since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. "I did my dream, and it's unbelievable moment. It's amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect."[6] After the match, Federer praised del Potro; "I thought he hung in there and gave himself chances and, in the end, was the better man."[115]
He is the first player since countryman David Nalbandian to defeat Federer at the US Open, and at 198 cm (6 ft 6 in), he is the tallest ever Grand Slam champion.[116][117] Besides Nadal, Del Potro is the only player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final, and the first player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament.[118][119]
Dick Enberg hosted the post-match ceremony during which a victorious Del Potro requested to address his fans in Spanish. Enberg declined the request saying that he was running out of time, but went on to list the corporate sponsored prizes Del Potro won.[120] A couple of minutes later, Del Potro made the same request again, and only then did Enberg relent saying, "Very quickly, in Spanish, he wants to say hello to his friends here and in Argentina". An emotional Del Potro finally spoke a few sentences in Spanish to a cheering crowd. Many viewers expressed disappointment with Enberg and broadcaster CBS over the interview.[120] A CBS executive later defended Enberg, noting that the contract with the United States Tennis Association required that certain sponsors receive time during the ceremony.[121]
In his first match since the US Open, Del Potro was upset by world no. 189 Édouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.[122] He then lost his second straight match to Melzer in the second round at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, retiring while trailing, 5–7, 1–2. This retirement caused concerns over the length of the tennis season.[123] He had to retire again in the Paris Masters quarterfinals when down 0-4 to Radek Štěpánek due to an abdominal injury. In November, del Potro competed in the ATP World Tour Finals, where he lost his first round-robin match against Andy Murray, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, but he managed to defeat Fernando Verdasco, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(1), in his second match to keep his hopes alive. After defeating Roger Federer, 6–2, 6–7(5), 6–3, in the following match, he qualified for the semifinals, ousting Murray by the slimmest possible margin of one game.[124] He defeated Robin Söderling in the semifinals, 6–7(1), 6–3, 7–6(3),[125] before losing to Nikolay Davydenko, 3–6, 4–6, in the final.[126] Del Potro finished 2009 as the youngest player in the top 10, top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American for the second consecutive year.
Del Potro started his 2010 season at the AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia with a 6–3, 6–3 win over Croatian world no. 24 Ivan Ljubičić.[127] On January 11, he moved up to a career high world no. 4.[128] He was scheduled to face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on day 2 of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, but withdrew due to a wrist injury.[129] He came into the 2010 Australian Open with the injury not healed, and was forced to take a month off after the event.[130] In the fourth round, he fell to eventual semifinalist Marin Čilić, 7–5, 4–6, 5–7, 7–5, 3–6.[131]
Following the Australian Open loss, del Potro missed several tournaments, including the Masters tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami, which were touted as potential return dates,[130] due to the persistent wrist injury. Even though he withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, he regained the world no. 4 ranking, due to Murray's early exit in the second round.[132] He then withdrew from Barcelona and the Rome Masters. He was going to return the week beginning May 2.[133] However, on May 4 del Potro took the option of having an operation to fix the injury.[134] On May 19, del Potro said he would not defend his US Open title, but if all went well, he would appear after the event, targeting the Paris Masters as a possible comeback.[135] However, on July 22, the USTA stated that del Potro was expected to defend his US Open crown. The player himself confirmed that his comeback to the tour would be the Thailand Open[136] and said nothing about the New York event.[137] On August 2, del Potro returned to the practice courts.[138][139] A week before the start of the US Open, after practicing for two weeks, del Potro withdrew from the event, as he felt he was not ready to compete at the highest level.[140]
After the nine-month break, del Potro confirmed that he would make his return at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open.[141] In his return match, he lost in the first round, 6–7(7), 4–6, to Olivier Rochus.[142] He then also played at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, but again lost in the opening round, this time to Feliciano Lopez, 3–6, 0–6.
Del Potro began his 2011 season at the Medibank International as a wildcard entry.[143] In the second round, Del Potro was defeated by Florian Mayer of Germany, 2–6, 5–7.[144] His next tournament would be the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where Del Potro was defeated by 23rd seed Marcos Baghdatis in the second round, 1–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6.[145] As a result, Del Potro slipped further down the rankings to no. 485.
After the Australian Open, he participated in the SAP Open in San Jose, where he was accepted into the main draw via special exemptions (SE). He reached the semifinals, after defeating Gabashvili, Lacko, and Hewitt. There, he lost to top seed Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. Del Potro's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup, where he was again accepted into the main draw via special exemptions. Here, he made his second consecutive ATP semifinals by defeating sixth seed John Isner, Ivan Dodig, and qualifier Michael Russell. In the semifinals, he lost to top seed, world no. 8 and eventual champion Andy Roddick, 3–6, 4–6. To continue preparing for his first ATP Masters event since 2009, Del Potro entered the 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. He defeated Ričardas Berankis in the first round, 6–4, 6–1, Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round, 6–1, 6–1, fifth seed Kevin Anderson, 6–4, 6–4, and second seed Mardy Fish, 6–1, 7–5, to advance to an ATP-level final stage of a tournament since 2009 at the Barclays World Tour Finals in London. In the final of this 250 tournament, he defeated an erratic Janko Tipsarević, 6–4, 6–4, to get back in the winners circle.
Del Potro's next tournament was the ATP Masters at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. He reached the semifinals, where he lost to top seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets, 4–6, 4–6. Del Potro then flew to Key Biscayne, Miami to participate in the second ATP Masters of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open. Del Potro made it to the fourth round, where he played Mardy Fish and lost, 5–7, 6–7(5).
He then played in 2011 Estoril Open, which was Del Potro's first tournament on clay since he lost the 2009 Roland Garros semifinal to the eventual champion Roger Federer. In Estoril, he defeated Fernando Verdasco, 6–2, 6–2, in the final. On the way to the final, del Potro defeated top seeded Robin Söderling, 6–4, 7–5, and dropped just one set in his five matches. After suffering an 8-millimeter tear in his left rectus, del Potro withdrew from Madrid and did not participate in the Rome Master, but has confirmed that he would play the French Open. Del Potro lost to Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, in the third round.
Del Potro reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time by defeating Flavio Cipolla, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3, in the first round, Olivier Rochus, 6–7(7), 6–1, 6–0, 6–4, and Gilles Simon, 7–6(8), 7–6(5), 7–5. He then lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–7(4), 4–6, in the fourth round. Del Potro returned to the top 20 at world no. 19 for the first time in nearly a year. His next tournament was the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, where he received a first-round bye as the second seed. He defeated James Blake, 6–4, 7–6, but was defeated 2–6, 4–6, by Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals.
At the 2011 Rogers Cup, seeded 16th, del Potro defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 6–4, 6–0, before losing 3–6, 4–6 to Marin Čilić in the second round. At the Western & Southern Masters tournament, del Potro advanced to the second round with a 4–1 ret. result over Andreas Seppi, before losing to Roger Federer, 3–6, 5–7, snapping the two-match winning streak he had against his rival. Del Potro entered the 2011 US Open seeded 18th. He beat Filippo Volandri, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1, in the first round and Diego Junqueira, 6–2, 6–1, 7–5, in the second, before losing, 6–4, 6–7(5), 2–6, 6–7(3), to Gilles Simon in the third round, thus ending his US Open campaign.
After the US Open, del Potro played in the Davis Cup semifinal against Serbia, winning both of his rubbers against Janko Tipsarević and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 7-6(5) 3-0 ret. helping Argentina to a 3–2 victory over Serbia in the semifinals, booking their place in the final. He then played in the Stockholm Open losing in the second round to James Blake 6-4 6-4. He then reached the final in Vienna losing for the first time to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga despite having won the first set, he eventually lost the final 7-6(5) 3-6 4-6. Del Potro then reached the semifinals of the Valencia Open 500 losing to eventual champion Marcel Granollers 6-4 7-6(4). He then withdrew from the Paris Masters due to a shoulder injury, wiping out his chances of qualifying for the Year-End Championships.
Del Potro played in the Davis Cup Final losing to David Ferrer, despite being two sets to one up, eventually losing in a pulsating 5 set contest 2-6 7-6(2) 6-3 4-6 3-6 in a match lasting over five hours, he then played in the reverse singles rubbers against World no. 2 Rafael Nadal, after winning the first set, Nadal won the Davis Cup 6-1 4-6 1-6 6-7, allowing Spain to triumph once again. Argentina lost the final 3-1.
Del Potro finished the year ranked World no. 11 despite being ranked no. 485 at one stage. He was named 2011 ATP Comeback Player of the Year.
Del Potro's first tournament of the year was the 2012 Apia International Sydney where he was the top seed. He made it to the quarterfinals after receiving a bye into the second round. He defeated Łukasz Kubot in the second round, 6–4, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, he was beaten by Marcos Baghdatis, 7–6(7), 6–4.[146]
In the first round of the 2012 Australian Open, Del Potro defeated Adrian Mannarino in four sets, 2–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–4.[147] he reached the quarterfinals of the grand slam for the second time losing to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, 6–4, 6–3, 6–2.
He went on to play in Rotterdam at the 2012 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he was third seed. Here he defeated Tomas Berdych, 6-3, 6-1, in order to make it to his first final of a ATP 500 level tournament or higher after returning from his wrist injury in 2010. He lost to Federer, 6-1, 6-4, in the finals. At the Open 13 in Marseille, Del Potro defeated Davydenko, Gasquet, Tsonga and Michaël Llodra in the final to get his tenth ATP championship. Del Potro then had a good run in Dubai, reaching the semifinals, then losing to Roger Federer again in straight sets 7-6(5) 7-6(6). Del Potro lost in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open to Federer for the fourth time this year 6-3 6-2. He made it to the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open but lost to David Ferrer 6-3 6-3.
Del Potro started his clay court campaign of 2012 in the Davis Cup Quarterfinals against Croatia, he won his first rubber against Ivo Karlović 6-2 7-6(7) 6-1, he demolished Marin Čilić in the reverse singles 6-1 6-2 6-1. He will continue his clay court season at the Estoril Open, where he was the defending champion and the top seed, he did not drop a set en route to the finals where he beat Frenchman Richard Gasquet in straight sets 6-4 6-2 in the final, to collect his 11th ATP World Tour Title. He will next compete in the Madrid Masters as the twelfth seed and defeated Florian Mayer in the first round 6-4 6-2, Mikhail Youzhny in the second 6-4 7-6(1), Marin Čilić in the third 6-2 6-4, Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 6-4 in the quarterfinals and lost 6-7 6-7 to Tomáš Berdych in the semifinals.
Del Potro is currently playing at the second grand slam of the year, the French Open where he is seeded 9th. Del Potro defeated Albert Montañés in the first round 6-2 6-7(7) 6-2 6-1, Édouard Roger-Vasselin 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4 in the second round and Marin Čilić in the third 6-3 7-6(7) 6-1 and will face 7th seed Tomáš Berdych for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Del Potro is primarily an offensive baseliner with a powerful serve and deep, flat/topspin groundstrokes.[148][149] His forehand shot is one of his main strengths and possibly the most powerful in the game, capable of frequently generating speeds of 100 mph,[150] and he also possesses a very consistent and powerful double-handed backhand.[151] Del Potro's height allows him to get a powerful first serve (often clocked in the mid 130s, and maxing out at 147 mph (M1000 Madrid, vs Murray), and makes it easier for him to return high topspin balls.[152] Del Potro's best results have come on hard and clay courts; while weaker results have come on grass courts.[153][154]
Del Potro briefly used the Wilson BLX Pro Tour Racquet for the 2010 season, but after returning from his wrist injury switched back to his Wilson K Factor 6.1 95 (16x18) and strings with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at 62 lb, and is sponsored by Nike. He often wore a sleeveless shirt but starting at the 2011 season has worn one with sleeves, a double-wide wristband, a bandana, Nike Zoom Breathe 2K11 shoes and a pair of woven shorts when on the court.[8]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juan Martín del Potro |
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Juan Curuchet Walter Pérez |
Olimpia de Oro 2009 |
Succeeded by Luciana Aymar |
Preceded by Robin Haase |
ATP Comeback Player of the Year 2011 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Potro, Juan Martín del |
Alternative names | Potro, Juan Martín del |
Short description | Tennis player |
Date of birth | 1987-09-23 |
Place of birth | Tandil, Argentina |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Country | France |
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Residence | Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
Born | (1984-12-27) December 27, 1984 (age 27) Nice, France |
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1] |
Weight | 70 kg (150 lb; 11 st) |
Turned pro | 2002 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | US$6,080,776 |
Singles | |
Career record | 244–168 |
Career titles | 10 |
Highest ranking | No. 6 (January 5, 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 11 (April 30, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2009) |
French Open | 4R (2011) |
Wimbledon | 4R (2009) |
US Open | 4R (2011) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2008) |
Olympic Games | 3R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 16–60 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 117 (January 28, 2008) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2008) |
French Open | 2R (2005) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2006, 2007) |
US Open | 3R (2007) |
Last updated on: September 27, 2010. |
Gilles Simon (born December 27, 1984) is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a ten-time winner on the ATP World Tour. His coach is French tennis veteran Thierry Tulasne,[3] and his fitness trainer is Paul Quetin.
Contents |
Simon was born in Nice, France, into a family with no involvement in sport, his mother being a doctor and his father working in insurance.[4] Supported by his parents, he started playing tennis at the age of 6.[5] Due to a growth delay that runs in the family, he was shorter than most kids his age during his early teenage years.[6] This is the reason he cites Michael Chang as a major influence, as his comparatively small frame proved that size was not an important factor in playing tennis.[4]
On September 2, 2010, Simon became a father for the first time. His partner Carine Lauret gave birth to a baby boy. The couple named their first child Timothée. Timothée was born four weeks ahead of schedule, when Simon was competing in the 2010 US Open.[7]
Simon began his professional tennis career in the summer of 2002, competing at multiple Futures tournaments in France before playing in tournaments outside the country of his birth. His first Futures title came in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2003, and he reached the quarterfinals of three other tournaments. He then captured his second title in Jamaica in September. During 2004, he saw three wins in France and another in Algeria.
In January 2005, he won his first ATP Challenger hard court tournament in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and defended it the following year. Ranked as world no. 113, Simon made his Grand Slam debut at the 2005 French Open, losing in the first round to Olivier Patience in four sets.
Simon competed at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, where he beat Nicolás Massú and Tomáš Berdych before being defeated by No. 13 Thomas Johansson in the third round. After his result in the tournament, he broke into the top 100 for the first time, climbing to no. 89.
The Frenchman reached his first ATP Tour final in Valencia with wins over Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinal and Fernando Verdasco in the semifinal, but lost to Nicolás Almagro, 6–2, 6–3. He also made it to the semifinals in Casablanca, as well as the round of 16 in both the ATP Masters Series tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. At the end of the year Simon was ranked 45th in the world.
At the beginning of the year, Simon won his first ATP title at the Open 13 in, Marseille, France. En route to the final, Simon beat Lleyton Hewitt, Jonas Björkman, and Robin Söderling. In the final, Simon defeated Marcus Baghdatis, 6–4, 7–6.
In September, he won his second title of the year and of his career at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, Romania. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. He broke into the top 30 for the first time on November 5 and finished the year as no. 29 in the world. By the end of the year, his career record against top-10 players was 4–5.
Simon reached the quarterfinals in Marseille, defeating world no. 3 Novak Djokovic, 6–2, 6–7, 6–3, in the second round. He reached the semifinals in Rotterdam the next week.
In May, he entered Casablanca as a qualifier due to his late entry to the tournament, even though his ranking was high enough to be seeded. Simon went on to win the tournament by defeating Julien Benneteau, 7–5, 6–2, in the final. After his third-round loss to countryman Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon, Simon left Europe for the United States to familiarize himself with the hard courts before the U.S. Open Series. He competed in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships and hit a career-best no. 25. He beat Tommy Haas and Sam Querrey before reaching the final. He won the tournament by beating the defending champion Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4.
The following week, he competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, including a 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 win over world no. 1 Roger Federer in the second round, before losing in the semifinals to German veteran Nicolas Kiefer. This resulted in an entry into the top 15, three ranks behind the French no. 1, Richard Gasquet.
Simon participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, playing in the singles for France alongside Paul-Henri Mathieu, Michaël Llodra, and Gaël Monfils. He played doubles with Monfils, but lost in the first round to the Indian team of Bhupathi and Paes. In singles the Frenchman reached the third round, with victories over the Swede Robin Söderling and the Argentine Guillermo Cañas before falling to James Blake.
At the US Open, Simon was seeded number 16. On day 6, he lost in the third round to the 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro, 4–6, 7–6, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, in a five-set match that lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes.
On September 14, Simon won his third title of the year and fifth ATP title, defeating Carlos Moyà, 6–3, 6–4 at the 2008 BCR Open Romania. Simon entered the 2008 Madrid Masters the following month, defeating no. 11 James Blake and no. 14 Ivo Karlović to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, he defeated world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in three sets, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6, in a match that lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes. Simon lost the final to world no.4 Andy Murray in straight sets, 4–6, 6–7. The tournament boosted Simon to a career-high world no. 10, displacing Richard Gasquet as French no. 1.[8] By the end of 2008, French had four players in the top 20, (Simon, Tsonga, Gasquet, and Monfils), for the first time since computer ranking was established in 1973. The French paper L'Equipe grouped the four player as néo-Mousquetaires. French TV Canal+ went on to produce a documentary series that followed the four French players and their touring around the world. The series "Les 4 Mousquetaires" went on the air for two seasons during 2009 and 2010.[9]
On November 3, he qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, a tournament usually reserved for the world's top eight players in Shanghai, after Rafael Nadal withdrew due to knee complications and fatigue.[10] He was drawn in the red group with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Andy Roddick. In his first round-robin match, he beat defending champion Federer with a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–3.[11] Simon lost to Murray in his next match, 6–4, 6–2, but followed it with a victory over Radek Štěpánek, who replaced the injured Roddick, 6–1, 6–4.[12] After Murray defeated Federer in the final round-robin match, Simon qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to world no. 3 Novak Djokovic in three sets, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. After this, he achieved a career high of world no. 7.
In December, he played in the newly-formed Masters France exhibition tournament for the eight French players who had performed best at the four French tournaments. He qualified from the round-robin group stage with victories against Julien Benneteau, Marc Gicquel, and Josselin Ouanna. In the final against Michaël Llodra, Llodra pulled out with a shoulder injury, resulting in Simon's becoming the inaugural winner of the tournament.
Simon started the year off rising to a new career high of world no. 6 and played at the Hopman Cup, teaming up with compatriot Alizé Cornet to form the French mixed doubles duo.[13]
Simon played at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, as the sixth seed, winning against Pablo Andújar in the first round. He also competed with Jérémy Chardy as his partner in the doubles, but the pair was defeated by Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the first round. The second round saw him beat Chris Guccione in four sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2. He defeated Mario Ančić in the third round, winning in straight sets, advancing to his fourth-round encounter with compatriot Gaël Monfils. Simon was leading in the first two sets before Monfils retired due to a wrist injury. He then played world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, where he was dispatched, 2–6, 5–7, 5–7, although he had two set points in the second set.
He participated in the Davis Cup with other French team members Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Richard Gasquet. The team competed against the Czech Republic from 6–8 March. Simon lost, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3 to Tomáš Berdych, and then played Radek Štěpánek (whom his fellow team member Tsonga beat). Simon lost to Štěpánek, 6–7, 3–6, 6–7, which gave the Czechs a 3–1 lead, and France was out of the Davis Cup in the first round for the first time since 2000.
He went into the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami ranked no. 7 in the world. After early round wins over former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Rainer Schüttler, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, 7–6, 3–6, 2–6. Simon competed at the Monte Carlo Masters against Andreas Beck in the men's singles, suffering a first-round loss of 5–7, 1–6.[14] This result caused his world ranking to drop 2 spots down to no.9.
Simon played at the Estoril Open as the top seed, before losing to Albert Montañés, 7–5, 4–6, 6–7, in the third round.[15] He competed with fellow players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jérémy Chardy, forming the French team at the ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. He lost to Robin Söderling and Rainer Schüttler.
He entered Roland Garros as the seventh seed and defeated Wayne Odesnik in five sets in the first round, and Robert Kendrick in straight sets. He was ousted by Victor Hănescu in the third round, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6.[16] During his third-round match, he also injured his right knee. Although he managed to finish the match, this knee injury would turned into a chronic problem that bothered him for a long time.
Simon competed at the AEGON Championships at Queens as the third seed, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the third round.[17] At 2009 Wimbledon, Simon was the eighth seed. He defeated Bobby Reynolds and Thiago Alves in the first two rounds. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the third round with a comfortable 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 victory. He was ousted in the fourth round by unseeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6–7, 3–6, 2–6.
Simon was the top seed at Stuttgart's MercedesCup and defeated Philipp Petzschner in the first round in straight sets before falling to Mischa Zverev, 3–6, 2–6. At the 2009 International German Open, after receiving a bye in the first round, he lost to wildcard Daniel Brands, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6.
During the 2009 US Open Series, he played at the 2009 Rogers Cup where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round. One week later, he played at the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, where he defeated Nikolay Davydenko en route to the quarterfinals, where he would lose to world no. 4 Novak Djokovic. At the 2009 US Open, Simon equalled his best result of third round before retiring with a right knee injury during his third-round match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Simon then won his first title of 2009 at the 2009 PTT Thailand Open, where he defeated Viktor Troicki in the final, 7–5, 6–3. In Tokyo, Simon was third seeded, but fell to Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. A week later he played at the Shanghai Masters as the eight seed and received a bye in the first round. He beat Viktor Troicki and Tomáš Berdych, but lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–2, 2–6.
Simon returned to France to play in Lyon and lost in the semifinal to Michaël Llodra, 7–6, 3–6, 6–7. At the next tournament in Valencia, he lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinal. He continued to Bercy to play at the BNP Paribas Masters. He was seeded 11th and had a first-round bye. In the second round, he faced Ivan Ljubičić, whom he had never beaten in three previous meetings. In the third set of the match, Simon has a break point to go up 4–2. While lunging to return a wide serve, he aggravated a right knee injury that has been bothering him for half of the 2009 season. Although with his movement severely hampered, Simon decided to play on to finish the match in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. He went on to win the match, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6.[18] Two days later, he played his R3 match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and lost, 2–6, 3–6.
In an interview during the Paris tournament, Simon said that the doctor had recommended that he take at least two months to recover from his knee injury.[19]
Gilles started the 2010 season with an exhibition event, the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide. It started badly for him, as he struggled with injury. He lost three straight matches, including to the home favourite Bernard Tomic. Simon pulled out of the Australian Open due to his knee injury.[20] He did not make any appearances in the 2010 season until mid-February, at the 2010 Open 13 tournament in Marseille. As the fifth seed, he lost in the first round to Olivier Rochus, 5–7, 2–6 in Marseille. He then participated in the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships as the eighth seed, but lost in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis, 6–7, 4–6. Continuing to struggle, he lost to Brian Dabul, 5–7, 4–6, in the second round of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. He also lost to Horacio Zeballos in the second round of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open.
The right knee injury eventually caused Simon to miss the entire spring European clay season, including the French Open.[21] He returned to the tour in mid-June, winning two rounds in Eastbourne before losing to Michaël Llodra, 1–6, 3–6, in the quarterfinals. Continued on to 2010 Wimbledon, Simon reached the third round before losing to Andy Murray, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He began the summer US hard court season by participating in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. and won two rounds of matches, including a win over top 10 player Andy Roddick. He lost in the quarterfinals to David Nalbandian in three sets. However, he suffered first-round defeats in his next two ATP Masters 1000 series tournaments, the 2010 Rogers Cup in Toronto and the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, showing that he still had a long way to go to return to his top form and regain his confidence. He moved on to New York to take part in US Open, reaching the thirdround by defeating Donald Young in three sets and Philipp Kohlschreiber in five sets. He went on to meet the no. 1 player Rafael Nadal in the third round. Before the match, upon hearing about the birth of Simon's son, Nadal jokingly offered to buy Simon a flight ticket back to Europe to see his son before the match.[22] Simon stayed, and lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.
After the US Open, Simon was picked to represent France in the semifinal of the Davis Cup because Tsonga was unavailable due to injury. He did not play any live rubber, but defeated Eduardo Schwank in a dead rubber, 7–6, 6–7, 6–3.
Simon then entered 2010 Open de Moselle as a wildcard. Originally, he did not plan to play the tournament because his son was supposed to be due that week. He took his newly extended family to Metz and eventually won the tournament by beating Mischa Zverev, 6–3, 6–2, in the final. This was his seventh career title, coming only weeks after the birth of his first child. During the award ceremony, he thanked his girlfriend for the support and called the victory a "family effort."[23]
The rest of 2010 was more ups and downs, indicating that after returning from the serious knee injury, he was still struggling to find his consistency. He went on to participate in two Asian tournaments. He beat Sam Querrey and Michael Berrer to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open in Beijing, but lost to Djokovic in two relatively easy sets. He then crashed out at the first round of the Shanghai Masters to Stanislas Wawrinka in two sets. After Asia, he returned to France to play Open Sud de France in Montpellier. During his second-round encounter, he was down a set and a break to David Nalbandian before fighting back to even the match at one all. He was then down a break again before coming back to beat the seeded player in three sets. He eventually lost in the quraterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets. The next tournament was the Valencia Open 500, where Simon beat two seeds (Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko) en route to his semifinal appearance, only to lose to the Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers in two sets. At the last tournament of the season, BNP Paribas Masters, Simon again came from behind to beat newcomer Andrey Golubev in three sets during their first-round encounter. However, in the seoncd round, after failing to convert numerous breakpoints in the beginning of set 1, a set that he eventually lost, Simon faded and lost the second set to the eventual title winner Robin Söderling in two easy sets.
In December 2010, Simon was picked to play the Davis Cup final for France, which was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia. The final was filled with controversies over which player was to be called on to play each match. France called on Simon to play Novak Djokovic in day 1, while others were expecting Michaël Llodra to play, based on Llodra's good form in the BNP Paribas Masters (including beating Djokovic in two sets). Simon lost the match in three sets. When France won the doubles and led 2–1 going into day 3, the French team seemed to be on its way to yet another Davis Cup victory. But day 3 opened with Djokovic in strong form defeating Monfils in three easy sets, leaving the championship to a deciding fifth match. The schedule originally stated that the fifth match was to be played by Janko Tipsarević and Simon. Last-minute replacement saw both replaced by their teammates Viktor Troicki and Michaël Llodra respectively. The fifth match ended in anti-climatic fashion with an overwhelming victory for Troicki in three sets. Serbia won the Davis Cup for the first time in history. France's defeat caused some to question the choice of Llodra to play Troicki when Simon has a 4–0 head-to-head record against the Serb. Nevertheless, everyone agrees that Troicki and the Serbian team had displayed convincing performances over their French opponent, and the victory was well deserved.[24]
Simon started his 2011 campaign by entering three tournaments in Australia: Brisbane, Sydney, and the Australian Open. He lost in the first round of Brisbane to Santiago Giraldo 3–6, 3–6. One week later, he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals and semifinals and then captured his eighth title by defeating Viktor Troicki 7–5, 7–6, in the final of the Sydney International. In the Australian Open, he lost to Roger Federer in the second round in a five-set match 2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6. Simon went on to defeat Nicolás Almagro 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 in Hamburg, capturing the most important title (in terms of ATP Rankings) of his career to date.
Simon reached the fourth round of Roland Garros but lost to Robin Soderling 6–2, 6–3, 7–6. At Wimbledon, he lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the third round 7–6, 7–6, 7–5.
At the US Open, he advanced to the fourth round by defeating Ricardo Mello, Guillermo García-López, and Juan Martin del Potro in the third round in four sets 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 7–6. He lost to John Isner in the fourth round 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 7–6.
Simon started his season at the Brisbane International, where he made the semifinals. At the Australian Open, Simon went out in the second round.
He made the semifinals of the Open Sud de France and the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, where he went down against John Isner, 3-6, 6-1, 5-7. In Miami, he was defeated by Andy Murray in the fourth round, 3-6, 4-6.
He reached the semifinals at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, defeating Janko Tipsarevic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round and quarterfinals, respectively. He lost in the semifinals to champion Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 4-6.
He won the tournament in Bucharest, Romania, defeating Fabio Fognini in the final, 6-4, 6-3.
At the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, the lost in the third round to Janko Tipsarevic. In Rome, he lost to David Ferrer in the third round.
Simon is known for his endurance, agility, mental strength and tennis brain. His backhand is considered his best shot as he is capable of expertly creating angles and varying his shots in addition to taking the ball earlier and unleashing flat and penetrating backhand drives. He is also very capable on the forehand side, and his forehand is the wing with which he is able to attack opponents. His technique is seamless, and this enables him to absorb and redirect powerful shots. As mentioned before, he is also a tactical player who can vary his hit point on both sides, keeping the ball on his strings until the very last moment, and then suddenly taking the ball early with random injections of pace. This keeps his opponents off-guard; hence, although he is widely classed as a counter-puncher, it is often he who controls the points.
As his career kicked off in 2008, Simon began to work tirelessly on his volleys and net-game, and this has since come to form a prominent part of his game. Nowadays, he looks to sneak in and finish points off at the net whenever he can, and he often enjoys rushing to the net off the return to break up his opponent's rhythm on break points and important points in general.
While his return is one of the best parts of his game, his serve has also become a pivotal part of his game, and he often manages to find his best serves on the biggest points. In general, Simon is often overlooked in an era filled with powerful players and big servers. However, he is a very unique player with countless layers to his game.
Simon plays with a Head YouTek IG Prestige Pro and 2009 Team series bag, both from Head, a brand which he has endorsed.[25] His racquet is strung with Head IntelliTour 16 String. He is sponsored by Adidas.[26]
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
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Runner-up | 2008 | Madrid | Hard (i) | Andy Murray | 4–6, 6–7(6–8) |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
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Runner-up | 1. | April 16, 2006 | Valencia, Spain | Clay | Nicolás Almagro | 2–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 1. | February 18, 2007 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) | Marcos Baghdatis | 6–4, 7–6(8–6) |
Winner | 2. | September 16, 2007 | Bucharest, Romania | Clay | Victor Hănescu | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 3. | May 24, 2008 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Julien Benneteau | 7–5, 6–2 |
Winner | 4. | July 20, 2008 | Indianapolis, United States | Hard | Dmitry Tursunov | 6–4, 6–4 |
Winner | 5. | September 14, 2008 | Bucharest, Romania (2) | Clay | Carlos Moyà | 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2. | October 19, 2008 | Madrid, Spain | Hard (i) | Andy Murray | 4–6, 6–7(6–8) |
Winner | 6. | September 28, 2009 | Bangkok, Thailand | Hard (i) | Viktor Troicki | 7–5, 6–3 |
Winner | 7. | September 26, 2010 | Metz, France | Hard (i) | Mischa Zverev | 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 8. | January 15, 2011 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Viktor Troicki | 7–5, 7–6(7–4) |
Winner | 9. | July 24, 2011 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Nicolás Almagro | 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 |
Winner | 10. | April 29, 2012 | Bucharest, Romania (3) | Clay | Fabio Fognini | 6–4, 6–3 |
Updated till 2012 French Open.
Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | W–L | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||
Australian Open | A | Q3 | 3R | 1R | 3R | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 10–6 | |
French Open | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | 4R | 3R | 8–7 | |
Wimbledon | A | Q3 | 1R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 9–6 | ||
US Open | Q1 | Q1 | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 11–6 | ||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 11–4 | 3–2 | 9–4 | 3–2 | 38–25 | |
Year-End Championship | |||||||||||
ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | SF | A | A | A | 2–2 | ||
Olympic Games | |||||||||||
Summer Olympics | A | Not Held | 3R | Not Held | 2–1 | ||||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | Q1 | Q1 | 3R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | QF | 8–6 | |
Miami Masters | A | Q2 | 1R | A | 1R | 4R | 2R | QF | 4R | 7–6 | |
Monte Carlo Masters | A | Q1 | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 3R | SF | 8–6 | |
Rome Masters | A | Q2 | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | A | 2R | 3R | 7–5 | |
Madrid Masters | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | F | 3R | A | 2R | 3R | 9–4 | |
Canada Masters | A | Q1 | 1R | A | SF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 6–5 | ||
Cincinnati Masters | A | 1R | 2R | Q1 | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | 8–6 | ||
Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | QF | 1R | 3R | 3–3 | ||||||
Paris Masters | A | Q1 | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 4–6 | ||
Hamburg Masters | A | Q1 | 3R | 2R | 2R | Not Masters Series | 4–3 | ||||
Career Statistics | |||||||||||
Tournaments Played | 1 | 6 | 24 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 18 | 27 | 14 | 172 | |
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 10–12 | |
Overall Win–Loss | 0–1 | 6–6 | 24–24 | 35–26 | 51–27 | 45–29 | 23–18 | 39–27 | 29–14 | 252–172 | |
Year End Ranking | 177 | 124 | 45 | 29 | 7 | 15 | 41 | 12 |
Year | Grand Slam singles titles |
ATP singles titles |
Total singles titles |
Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147,393 | 140[27] |
2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 378,760 | 68[28] |
2007 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 560,655 | 38[29] |
2008 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1,425,489 | 7[30] |
2009 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $1,128,735 | 15[31] |
2010 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $532,413 | 58[32] |
2011 | 0 | 2 | 2 | $1,222,752 | 12[33] |
2012 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $565,383 | 20 [34] |
Career | 0 | 9 | 9 | $6,130,672 | -- |
Source: http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/450301.asp
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gilles Simon |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Simon, Gilles |
Alternative names | Simon, Gilles |
Short description | Tennis player |
Date of birth | 1984–12–27 |
Place of birth | Nice, France |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Isner at the 2009 US Open |
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Country | United States |
---|---|
Residence | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
Born | (1985-04-26) April 26, 1985 (age 27) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)[1] |
Weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
College | University of Georgia |
Turned pro | 2007 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $3,790,558 |
Official web site | www.johnisner.com |
Singles | |
Career record | 122–89 |
Career titles | 3 |
Highest ranking | No. 9 (April 16, 2012) |
Current ranking | No. 11 (May 28, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 4R (2010) |
French Open | 3R (2010) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2010, 2011) |
US Open | QF (2011) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 61–48 |
Career titles | 3 |
Highest ranking | No. 27 (May 17, 2010) |
Current ranking | No. 32 (August 30, 2010) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2009) |
French Open | 3R (2008) |
US Open | 2R (2009) |
Last updated on: January 10, 2011[2]. |
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 9 on March 19, 2012, and is currently the second highest-ranked American tennis player.[4] His most famous victories were against Roger Federer in the Davis Cup encounter in February 2012, Top seed Novak Djokovic at the 2012 Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, Andy Roddick in the 2009 US Open, and against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships where he played the longest ever professional tennis match, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over the course of three days.
Unlike many top tennis players, who have brilliant juniors careers and hit the ATP Tour in their teens, Isner didn't decide that he wanted to play professional tennis until he was 21.
Contents |
Isner played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and became the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles victories, earning All-American honors each of his four years and leading Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship.[2]
Isner began his professional career in earnest in the summer of 2007. With a world ranking of no. 839, he needed wildcard entries into the main draws of every tournament, even at the Futures level.[5]
He won his first tournament of the fall, the USA F14 Futures, beating the top three seeds along the way. Then, after first round losses in an Challenger-level and an ATP-level tournament, he beat five top-300 players and three seeds to win the Lexington Challenger in July to improve his ranking to no. 416 after just one month.
At the following week's tournament at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Fernando González's late withdrawal freed a wildcard spot, which was given at the last minute to Isner.[6] Isner took full advantage of his good fortune, recording his first wins over top-100 players. He won third-set tiebreakers on five consecutive days, beating no. 73 Tim Henman, no. 47 Benjamin Becker, no. 189 qualifier Wayne Odesnik, no. 12 Tommy Haas, and no. 54 Gaël Monfils, to reach the final, where he fell to fellow American Andy Roddick. His incredible week raised his ranking to no. 193 in the world after just six weeks on the pro tour.
Isner's Washington success earned him wildcard entries into three more ATP tournaments: the Masters Series event in Cincinnati a week later, New Haven, and the US Open. He lost in the first round in Cincinnati to quarterfinalist no. 15 David Ferrer. The following week in New Haven, he beat no. 49 Becker a second time, before falling to Ferrer for the second week in a row.
In his US Open debut, he defeated the 26th-seeded player, former quarterfinalist Jarkko Nieminen, and fired 34 aces along the way. He proceeded to win his second round match vs. Rik de Voest, before losing in the third round to top-seed and eventual champion Roger Federer. Isner was one of only two players to take a set from Federer in the championship. His US Open performance improved his ranking to no. 144.
After the US Open, Isner continued to play exclusively in North America and finished the year ranked no. 107. That year, Isner was added to the United States Davis Cup team as a practice partner.[7]
Isner's no. 106 ranking in November, 2007 was just good enough to get him direct entry into his first Australian Open, after several players ranked above him dropped out.[8] He was defeated in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open by veteran Fabrice Santoro of France. Teamed with Croat Ivo Karlović (currently the tallest player on the ATP tour and 2cm longer than John), Isner also lost in the first round of doubles.[9]
Isner broke into the top-100 at no. 93 in February with a quarterfinal appearance at the ATP stop in San Jose, beating no. 90 Florent Serra and no. 26 Tommy Haas. He established himself as a top-100 player in the first three months of the year, beating six players in the top 100, while playing exclusively in ATP-level events. Isner played in his first French Open and Wimbledon, losing in the first round of each. He also played in the US Open, where he lost in the first round. He ended the year ranked no. 144 in the world.
Isner qualified for the singles draw of the 2009 Heineken Open in Auckland, after winning three consecutive three-set matches in qualifying. His final match saw him bounce back from a 0–3 deficit in the third set to eventually beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in a tie-breaker. In the main draw, Isner beat Albert Montañés and countryman Robby Ginepri, before bowing out in the quarterfinals to Robin Söderling.
Isner received a wildcard entry into the 2009 Australian Open, after winning the United States Tennis Association's wildcard tournament, beating Donald Young and Jesse Levine along the way.[10] Despite serving 39 aces against his first-round opponent, Slovakia's Dominik Hrbatý, he lost in four sets. Isner began working with new coach, Craig Boynton, who had previously coached former world no. 1 Jim Courier in the 1990s, in March 2009.[11]
At the 2009 Indian Wells tournament, Isner pulled off a major upset by defeating ninth seed Gaël Monfils. This was Isner's first win over a top-10 player, after four previous defeats. He then went on to defeat former world no. 1 Marat Safin, before losing to world no. 6 Juan Martín del Potro in the fourth round.
In April 2009 at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas at River Oaks Country Club, Isner made it as far as the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by fellow American Wayne Odesnik.[12] Isner qualified for the French Open, but had to withdraw after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, which caused him to miss Wimbledon as well.[13]
In August 2009, he defeated world no. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world no. 18 Tomáš Berdych en route to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington, before losing to world no. 5 Andy Roddick. This performance brought him to a career-high ranking of no. 55 and a special exemption into the Masters 1000 Series event in Montreal, where he defeated Jesse Levine, before losing to Mikhail Youzhny. He earned a wildcard into the Masters 1000 Series event in Cincinnati, where he defeated world no. 21 Tommy Haas, before losing to world no. 35 Jérémy Chardy in the second round.
Unseeded and ranked no. 55 in the world entering the US Open, Isner defeated world no. 29 Victor Hănescu in the first round, which was his first in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2007 US Open, ending a streak of six consecutive defeats. He then advanced to the third round, where he defeated world no. 5 and fellow American Andy Roddick in five sets for his first victory over Roddick, his first victory in a five-set match, and the first time he advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. He was then defeated in the fourth round by world no. 10 Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His US Open performance brought his ranking to a career-high no. 39.
After playing in Vienna, Basel, and the Paris Masters, Isner finished the year at a career-high no. 34 in the world. He has credited his work with Boynton for helping him get back on track following his disappointing 2008 season.[11]
His progress was acknowledged by his peers, as he was voted the ATP Most Improved Player for 2009,[14] becoming the tenth American to win the award, and the first since Andre Agassi in 1998.
Isner began the year at the 2010 Heineken Open in Auckland. Unseeded, he reached his second career ATP final and first since Washington in 2007. In the final, he saved a championship point to defeat 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clément.[15][16] The victory in Auckland was Isner's first ATP tour title; after the victory he donated $5,000 of his winnings to aid rescue action for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[17]
The victory catapulted Isner into the top 30 for the first time and also allowed him to surpass Sam Querrey to become the second-highest ranked American for the first time, behind only Andy Roddick.[11] Isner said he intended to finish the year in the top 20,[17] and given his ascendency in the world rankings combined with the absence of Roddick and James Blake for the 2010 Davis Cup season, it became increasingly likely that Isner would qualify to play singles for the US Davis Cup team for the first time in his career.[11]
After Gilles Simon withdrew, Isner became the final seed for the 2010 Australian Open.[18] In the first round, he defeated world no. 49 Andreas Seppi for his first victory at the Australian Open and his first victory at a Grand Slam other than the US Open. He then advanced to the round of 16, before bowing out to world no. 4 and eventual finalist Andy Murray.
After the Australian Open, Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe announced that Isner and Querrey would be first and second singles on the 2010 United States Davis Cup team for the team's 2010 Davis Cup World Group first-round match in Serbia on indoor clay in March 2010; Isner described the selection as "a dream come true".[19]
Isner next entered the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. Seeded sixth, he made it to the finals, before losing to Sam Querrey. In the doubles event, Isner teamed up with Querrey to win the tournament, defeating British-Australian pair of Ross Hutchins and Jordan Kerr.
Prior to the Davis Cup tie, Isner competed at the 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel Championships, an ATP World Tour 500 series event on clay, where he was the fifth seed. He lost in the first round to Simon Greul. Despite the loss, Isner following the tournament moved into the top 20 for the first time.
Isner appeared at the 2010 Davis Cup first round, where USA was up against Serbia. In his two singles matches, he faced Serbia's team of world no. 2 Novak Djokovic and world no. 35 Viktor Troicki. He lost the first singles match against Viktor Troicki, but bounced back by winning the doubles match with Bob Bryan, as a replacement for food-poisoned Mike Bryan. In his second singles match, he lost to Novak Djokovic, which enabled Serbia to defeat the United States.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, he was seeded 15th and advanced to the fourth round, before losing to world no. 2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Afterwards, he appeared in the second master series tournament of the season, the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open Masters 1000 in Miami as the 17th seed. He advanced to the third round, before losing to 12th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Isner began the clay-court season with an opening-round loss to world no. 89 Xavier Malisse at the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championship, followed by a round of 32 showing at his first-ever Rome Masters, where he defeated Horacio Zeballos, before losing to Thomaz Bellucci. However, he teamed with Querrey to reach the doubles final in Rome, before losing to Bob and Mike Bryan; his doubles performance raised his doubles ranking to the top 30 for the first time.
His next tournament was the 2010 Serbian Open, where he was the second seed behind defending champion, tournament host, and world no. 2 Djokovic. Isner advanced to the first clay-court final of his career, third final of the year, and fourth final of his career. In the final, he lost to Querrey, despite having a match point while serving up 6–3, 5–4; this was the second consecutive final Isner lost to Querrey after serving for the championship. However, Isner's finals performance improved his ranking to a career-high no. 19.
Isner's next tournament was his debut appearance at the Madrid Masters. Seeded thirteenth, he advanced to the round of 16, before losing to world no. 3 and eventual champion Nadal.
Isner then played in the 2010 French Open; his ranking assured his first direct seed into a Grand Slam event. Seeded 17th, he defeated Andrey Golubev in the first round for his first singles victory at the French Open. He advanced to the third round, before losing to no. 15 seed and eventual semifinalist Tomáš Berdych. In doubles, he and Querrey were the 12th seeds, but withdrew prior to the start of the tournament after Querrey's first-round loss in singles.
Despite being ranked no. 19 in the world entering the Wimbledon, Isner was seeded 24th by the tournament committee due to his lack of experience on grass, but was moved up to 23rd following the withdrawal of Radek Štěpánek. In the first round, Isner played Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history, prevailing 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68.[20] However, fatigued and having little time to recover his energy, Isner was beaten by Thiemo de Bakker in the second round, 0–6, 3–6, 2–6, having served no aces. He also pulled out of the doubles, where he and Querrey had been 12th seeds.[21] Despite having been eliminated in the second round, Isner's total of 113 aces[22] were more than any other player throughout the championship. His Wimbledon performance brought his ranking to a career-high no. 18 in the world.
Isner's next tournament was the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he played doubles with James Blake and reached the semifinals. In singles, Isner was second seed and made it to his fourth final of the year, before losing to Mardy Fish, which dropped his career record in finals to 1–4 (0–4 against Americans).
Isner next competed at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the ATP World Tour 500 series event in Washington, D.C. and site of his breakthrough performance in 2007. Isner was also to compete in the doubles with Sam Querrey, but withdrew due to shoulder concerns. Seeded fifth in singles, Isner made it to the round of 16, before losing to Xavier Malisse.
Isner next played in the Cincinnati Masters, where he was unseeded. After defeating Łukasz Kubot in the first round, he faced 2002 Wimbledon finalist and 2005 Tennis Masters Cup champion David Nalbandian, but was forced to retire up a break at 5–4 in the first set after injuring his right ankle. Although Isner was found to have suffered ligament damage to the ankle, he chose not to withdraw from the US Open singles tournament.[23]
At the 2010 US Open, Isner was 18th seed and defeated Frederico Gil in the first round. After the match he revealed that although the initial diagnosis was a right ankle ligament tear, a second opinion revealed that the damage was a strain and not a tear, and he declared his ankle 90% healed.[24][25] He then advanced to the third round, before losing to 12th seed and 2006 US Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny. The loss dropped Isner out of the top 20, and from the no. 2 to the no. 4 ranked American player. Due to his ankle injury, he chose not to compete in doubles.
Following the US Open, Isner participated with Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey in the Davis Cup tie against Colombia, winning the doubles match with Fish as his partner. The US won the match 3–1 to remain in the 2011 Davis Cup world group.[26] Isner was next granted a wildcard to participate in the 2010 China Open, his first time competing in Beijing. In doubles, he teamed with Querrey, losing in the first round to Bob and Mike Bryan. In singles, Isner was unseeded, but made it to the semifinals, before losing to world no. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic 6–7, 2–6. Isner next competed in the Shanghai Masters, where he was unseeded, and made it to the second round, before losing to world no. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer in their first meeting since the 2007 US Open.
Isner began the year by teaming with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win the (mixed doubles) Hopman Cup Final for the US, defeating Belgium's Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans.
Following his win in Perth, Isner returned to Auckland to defend his ATP title at the 2011 Heineken Open. After a bye in his first round, the third seed faced Dutch world no. 52[27] Robin Haase. Isner defeated Hasse[28] to go through to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by David Nalbandian in straight sets.[29]
Isner next played in the Australian Open. He entered the tournament seeded 20th[30] and received a tough draw, including Radek Štěpánek, Marin Čilić, and Rafael Nadal. Isner came up against French world no. 69 Florent Serra, whom he easily defeated. Isner faced Radek Štěpánek in the second round. After losing the first set, Isner rallied to defeat Stepanek to progress into the third round. In the third round, Isner faced fellow top-20 player Marin Čilić. The match went to five sets, with Cilic emerging as the eventual winner.
At the 2011 French Open, Isner was drawn against top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal. Isner took what was considered a surprise two-sets-to-one lead against Nadal, who had never played a five-set match at Roland Garros before. Nadal went on to win the title.[31] Ironically, in the 2011 Wimbledon men's singles draw, Isner was paired against Mahut in the first round, a rematch of the world's longest match from the previous year's tournament, which he went on to win in straight sets. However, he lost in the second round to the 16th seed Nicolas Almagro in four sets, dropping his 2011 record to 11–14.
Isner next took a last-minute wild card to participate in the 2011 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, replacing compatriot and defending champion Mardy Fish, who was chosen to play in the Davis Cup for the United States during the that weekend. Isner was the top seed and defeated Karol Beck, 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement, Alex Bogomolov, Jr., and Tobias Kamke without dropping a set, to reach his first career grass-court final. In the final, he defeated Olivier Rochus to become the first top seed in 35 years to win the event. The title was his first of 2011 and second of his career, raising his record in ATP finals to 2–0 against non-Americans, and ending a three-match losing streak in finals. The championship raised Isner's world ranking from no. 48 to no. 36.
Isner next played in the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he was the third seed. He defeated James Blake, Lu Yen-hsun, and Gilles Müller to reach his second consecutive tour final. In the final, he faced Mardy Fish in a rematch of the 2010 final. Isner was ultimately defeated by Fish. He then reached the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, defeating Tobias Kamke, James Blake, Victor Troicki, before losing to Gael Monfils.
At the Rogers Cup, Isner defeated Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to Viktor Troicki in the second round. Isner won the Winston-Salem Open as the fourth seed, defeating Dudi Sela, Jarkko Nieminen, Marcos Baghdatis, and Andy Roddick in the semifinals, before defeating Julien Benneteau in the final.
In the US Open, Isner defeated Marcos Baghdatis, Robby Ginepri, Alex Bogomolov Jr., and Gilles Simon on the way to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. There, he was defeated by Andy Murray.
John reached the semifinals at the Master's 1000 in Paris, where he held three match points before losing to Jo-Willifried Tsonga in the semifinals. The result brought him back into the world top 20. He finished the year ranked no. 18, his second consecutive year-end top 20 ranking, and his highest year-end ranking to date.
He defeated David Nalbandian in the second round of the 2012 Australian Open in an epic five-set match, but was defeated in the third round by Feliciano Lopez. He kept his good form and stunningly beat world no. 3 Roger Federer in Switzerland in the Davis Cup first round, as well as beating Marco Chiudinelli in another singles rubber, to help propel the US team to victory over the Swiss. He then reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters by beating world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in three sets in the semifinals, before being defeated by Federer in straight sets in the final. Isner also reached the doubles final of the same tournament partnering Sam Querrey.
Isner continued his fine form in the U.S. Davis Cup Quarterfinals against France. Isner defeated Gilles Simon in the first live rubber of the tie in straight sets. Two days later, Isner clinched the tie and propelled the United States into the semifinals by defeating French no. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets.
A week before Roland Garros, he was top seed in Nice, but was upset by Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.
In the French Open, he defeated Rogério Dutra da Silva 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before being defeated by wildcard Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round: 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 18–16 in the second-longest ever Roland Garros match at 5 hours and 41 minutes.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Isner, who was seeded 23rd, faced qualifier Nicolas Mahut in the first round. Isner won the match 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68.
In the match, Isner set the record for most aces in a match, breaking Ivo Karlović's record of 78; Mahut passed the old mark as well.[32] Isner served an all-time record of 113 aces, ahead of the 103 aces served by Mahut.
At 21:13 BST on June 23 the match was suspended due to darkness for a second day at 59–59 in the fifth set. The match resumed on 24 June, at 15:30 BST,[33] starting the third day of the match. Overall, the match lasted eleven hours and five minutes. Isner also set the record for most games won in a Wimbledon match with 92.
The match brought Isner a measure of fame, particularly in the United States. He had guest appearances on "Good Morning America" and the "Late Show with David Letterman", and threw the ceremonial first pitch at a New York Yankees game in Yankee Stadium.[34][35] He and Mahut also won the 2010 ESPY Award for Best Record-Breaking Performance in sport.[36]
1 (32') | 2 (29') | 3 (49') | 4 (64') | 5 (491') | |
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Nicolas Mahut (Q) | 4 | 6 | 7 | 63 | 68 |
John Isner (23rd) | 6 | 3 | 67 | 7 | 70 |
Isner has a powerful serve, thanks in part to his 6-ft, 9-in (206cm) height he gets a good angle, only Ivo Karlovic is taller among the current players.[37] Commentators[who?] have also praised his composure; in five consecutive third-set tiebreaker wins in Washington, he delivered huge serves when it mattered most.[38] Isner also has a very powerful forehand as well. On serve, Isner often goes for one-two points, a big serve followed up by a big forehand. He is also known to back up his serves with approaches to the net, though he does not strictly serve-and-volley. Isner's movement around the court is hampered by his body, and he is hurt by players who move him around the court. Isner's fitness has improved considerably over the years, and he displayed this during his win in the longest tennis match ever at Wimbledon against Nicolas Mahut.
He is sponsored by Lacoste, as of January 2012, and Prince for his attire and racquets respectively.[39][40]
Isner was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has two older brothers, Nathan and Jordan. Isner started playing tennis seriously at age 11 under the tutelage of Oscar Blacutt and Rob Stephens at the Carolina Tennis Academy. He is a graduate of Walter Hines Page Senior High School, in Greensboro, and the University of Georgia, where he majored in Speech Communication. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where he trains at the Saddlebrook Academy alongside other American tennis pros such as James Blake and Mardy Fish.
Tournament | Year | Record accomplished | Player tied |
Wimbledon | 2010 | 113 aces in an ATP singles match[22] | Stands alone |
113 aces in a Grand Slam singles match | Stands alone | ||
85 aces in a single set | Stands alone | ||
92 games won in a single match | Stands alone | ||
246 winners in a single match | Stands alone | ||
Longest singles match ever played (11 hours, 5 minutes) | Nicolas Mahut | ||
Longest play in a single day (7 hours, 6 minutes) | Nicolas Mahut | ||
118 games in a single day | Nicolas Mahut |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 1. | 5 August 2007 | Washington, D.C., United States | Hard | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 1. | 16 January 2010 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Arnaud Clément | 6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 2. | 21 February 2010 | Memphis, United States | Hard (i) | Sam Querrey | 7–6(7–3), 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
Runner-up | 3. | 9 May 2010 | Belgrade, Serbia | Clay | Sam Querrey | 6–3, 6–7(4–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | 25 July 2010 | Atlanta, United States | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2. | 10 July 2011 | Newport, United States | Grass | Olivier Rochus | 6–3, 7–6(8–6) |
Runner-up | 5. | 24 July 2011 | Atlanta, United States (2) | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 2–6 |
Winner | 3. | 27 August 2011 | Winston-Salem, United States | Hard | Julien Benneteau | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 6. | 18 March 2012 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | Roger Federer | 6–7(7–9), 3–6 |
Runner-up | 7. | 15 April 2012 | Houston, United States | Clay | Juan Monaco | 2–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | July 7, 2008 | Newport, United States | Grass | Mardy Fish | Rohan Bopanna Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |
6–4, 7–6(7–1) |
Winner | 2. | February 21, 2010 | Memphis, United States | Hard | Sam Querrey | Ross Hutchins Jordan Kerr |
6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 1. | May 2, 2010 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Sam Querrey | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
2–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | April 9, 2011 | Houston, United States | Clay | Sam Querrey | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
7–6(7–4), 2–6, [5–10] |
Winner | 3. | May 15, 2011 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Sam Querrey | Mardy Fish Andy Roddick |
w/o |
Runner-up | 3. | March 18, 2012 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | Sam Querrey | Marc López Rafael Nadal |
2–6, 6–7(3–7) |
In January 2011, Isner teamed with Bethanie Mattek-Sands for the USA, and they reached the mixed doubles Hopman Cup final. They won, 6–1, 6–3, against Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium.
Updated till 2012 French Open.
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | |
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Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 5 | 7–5 | |
French Open | A | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | ||
US Open | 3R | 1R | 4R | 3R | QF | 0 / 5 | 11–5 | ||
Win–Loss | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 8–4 | 7–4 | 3–2 | 0 / 17 | 23–17 | |
Year-End Championship | |||||||||
ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||
Olympic Games | |||||||||
Summer Olympics | NH | A | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | 2R | 4R | 4R | 3R | F | 0 / 5 | 12–5 | |
Miami Masters | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 0 / 5 | 5–5 | |
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Rome Masters | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | |
Madrid Masters | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | |
Canada Masters | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | ||
Cincinnati Masters | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | ||
Shanghai Masters | NMS | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | |||
Paris Masters | A | A | 2R | 2R | SF | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | ||
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 2–3 | 7–6 | 8–7 | 9–7 | 7–4 | 0 / 28 | 33–28 | |
Career Statistics | |||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3 / 10 | 3–10 | |
Year End Ranking | 106 | 144 | 34 | 19 | 18 | $3,886,223 |
Isner's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked world no. 10 or higher is as follows:
Players who have been ranked world no. 1 are in bold.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Isner |
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
ATP Most Improved Player 2009 |
Succeeded by Andrey Golubev |
Preceded by Michael Phelps |
Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award (with Nicholas Mahut) 2010 |
Succeeded by Rory McIlroy |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Isner, John |
Alternative names | |
Short description | American tennis player |
Date of birth | 1985-04-26 |
Place of birth | Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
Date of death | |
Place of death |