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Berdych at the 2011 US Open |
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Country | Czech Republic |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco[1] |
Born | (1985-09-17) September 17, 1985 (age 26)[1] Valašské Meziříčí, Czech Republic[1] |
Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] |
Weight | 91 kg (200 lb)[1] |
Turned pro | 2002[1] |
Plays | Right-handed[1] (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $11,202,961[1] |
Singles | |
Career record | 334-196[1] (61.59%) |
Career titles | 7 [1] |
Highest ranking | No. 6 (October 18, 2010)[1] |
Current ranking | No. 7 (May 14, 2012)[1] |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2011, 2012) |
French Open | SF (2010) |
Wimbledon | F (2010) |
US Open | 4R (2004, 2006, 2007) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2011) |
Olympic Games | QF (2004) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 75-91[1] |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 54 (April 10, 2006)[1] |
Current ranking | No. 112 (April 16, 2012)[1] |
Last updated on: April 19, 2012. |
Tomáš Berdych (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈbɛrdɪx]; born September 17, 1985, in Valašské Meziříčí) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semi-finals of the 2010 French Open.[2] He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters (which is a part of the ATP Masters 1000) in 2005. He has since reached the finals of the Miami Masters in 2010 and the Madrid Open in 2012, losing to Andy Roddick and Roger Federer, respectively. He reached a career high of World No. 6 on October 18, 2010.
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Berdych turned pro in 2002, winning two Futures events, both in his country of the Czech Republic, in Czech F8 defeating Pavel Šnobel in the finals 6–2, 6–3, and in Czech F5 defeating Ladislav Chramosta 6–4, 6–3.
In 2003, Berdych won three Futures events in Great Britain F5 over Peter Clarke 6–1, 6–4, in the Challenger in Budaors, Hungary over Ivaylo Traykov 6–2, 6–3, and Challenger of Graz, Austria Julian Knowle 6–4, 5–7, 6–2. He also reached the final of Great Britain F1, losing to Wesley Moodie 6–7, 6–7. He also reached six other semifinals. He won his first ATP Tour match in the 2003 US Open over Tomas Behrend 5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3, but lost in the next round to Juan Ignacio Chela 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 3–6.
In 2004, Berdych focused on Challengers and the ATP Tour. In Challengers, he won in Besançon, France over Julien Benneteau 6–3, 6–1, and in Braunschweig, Germany over Daniel Elsner 4–6, 6–1, 6–4. On the ATP Tour, he began with the 2004 Australian Open, defeating Nicolas Mahut 6–4, 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, before losing to fourth seed Andre Agassi 0–6, 2–6, 4–6. He also earned victories over Galo Blanco, Björn Phau, and Potito Starace on the ATP Tour. He made his debut in the 2003 French Open and at Wimbledon, but lost in the first rounds.
He then played at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won in the first round against Florian Mayer 6–3, 7–5. He caused a major upset in the second round, defeating world no. 1 Roger Federer 4–6, 7–5, 7–5, despite having only five ATP Tour victories under his belt. He went on to defeat 15th seed Tommy Robredo 7–6, 4–6, 8–6, in the round of 16. He was finally defeated in the quarterfinals by Taylor Dent 4–6, 1–6.
After his run at the Olympics, he reached the fourth round of the 2004 US Open with victories over Jonas Björkman 6–3, 2–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, Tuomas Ketola 6–3, 7–6, 6–3, and Mikhail Youzhny 2–6, 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1, before losing to Tommy Haas 6–7, 1–6, 5–7. He won his first title in Palermo, defeating David Ferrer 7–5, 6–4, in the semifinals and Filippo Volandri 6–3, 6–3, in the finals
The start of Berdych's 2005 season brought losses in the first rounds in Adelaide, Sydney, and the Australian Open. He then lost in second rounds of Marseille, Rotterdam, and Dubai. He then recorded his first back-to-back win in Indian Wells, including a win over Mario Ančić, but lost to Ivan Ljubičić. He then lost in the first rounds of Miami, Estoril, Rome, and London. He also reached the second rounds of Monte Carlo, Hamburg, the French Open, and Nottingham.
He then made it to the third round at Wimbledon, losing to Taylor Dent. He then had a good run and a runner-up finish in the 2005 Swedish Open to Rafael Nadal, losing 2–6, 6–2, 6–4, the quarterfinals of the 2005 MercedesCup, losing to Nikolay Davydenko 4–6, 2–6, and the semifinals of the 2005 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, losing to James Blake 4–6, 3–6. He then made it to the second round of the 2005 Rogers Cup and Cincinnati, after upsetting Rafael Nadal in the first round, and the third round of the 2005 US Open. He then lost early in Vienna, Madrid, Palermo, and Basel. At the 2005 Paris Masters, he won his first career ATP Masters Series title. En route to the final, he beat Jiří Novák, second seed Guillermo Coria, 13th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, seventh seed Gastón Gaudio, eighth seed Radek Štěpánek, and sixth seed Ivan Ljubičić in the final 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4.
In 2006, Berdych started the year at the 2006 Next Generation Adelaide International, where he reached the semifinals, losing to Xavier Malisse 4–6, 0–6. However, he lost early in Sydney, the Australian Open, Marseille, Rotterdam, and Dubai. He then made it to the fourth round of the 2006 Pacific Life Open, where he defeated Lleyton Hewitt, before losing to Marcos Baghdatis, and the third round of the 2006 NASDAQ–100 Open, losing to David Nalbandian. He then lost in the second rounds at Barcelona and Monte Carlo, and the third round at Rome. He then reached his first French Open fourth round, losing to Roger Federer 3–6, 2–6, 3–6.
He then reached his first grass-court final at the 2006 Gerry Weber Open, falling to world no. 1 Roger Federer 0–6, 7–6, 2–6, and the fourth round at Wimbledon, once again losing to Federer 3–6, 3–6, 4–6. He then made it to the semifinals at the 2006 Mercedes Cup, losing to eventual champion David Ferrer. He then played in the 2006 Rogers Cup, where he upset Rafael Nadal 6–1, 3–6, 6–2, before losing to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. He then made it to his third straight fourth round in a Major at the 2006 US Open, losing to James Blake.
He then reached the finals of the 2006 Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, where he lost to Dmitry Tursunov 3–6, 6–4, 6–7. In the 2006 Madrid Masters, Berdych delivered back-to-back upsets over former world no. 1 Andy Roddick 7–6, 6–3, and Rafael Nadal 6–3, 7–6, but lost to Fernando González in the semifinals. In the 2006 BNP Paribas Masters as the defending champion, he lost in the quarterfinals to Dominik Hrbatý 4–6, 6–1, 2–6. In earlier rounds, he defeated Olivier Rochus 6–7, 6–4, 6–2, and Robby Ginepri 6–3, 6–3.
Berdych defeated Rafael Nadal in Madrid 6–3, 7–6. Berdych never found his rhythm in his semifinal match against Fernando González as he slumped to a 3–6, 1–6 defeat.
Berdych began the year with a quarterfinal in the 2007 Medibank International and the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open, losing to world no. 3 Nikolay Davydenko. He then had early losses in Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami. He then reached the semifinals on clay in the Monte Carlo Masters event, his best result at the event, defeating Nicolás Almagro, Benjamin Becker, fifth seed Tommy Robredo, and Robin Söderling, before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal. He also made it to the semifinals of the 2007 BMW Open, losing to Mikhail Youzhny, 6–4, 6–3, despite not a dropping a set before the loss. He also made it to the quarterfinals of the 2007 Rome Masters. However, despite his good run on clay, he lost in the first round of the 2007 French Open to Guillermo García López, 5–7, 4–6, 4–6.
He then won his third ATP singles title in Halle, defeating Marcos Baghdatis 7–5, 6–4, and not dropping a set en route to the title. At Wimbledon, he made it to the quarterfinals in his best performance at a Grand Slam, defeating Nicolás Massú, Michaël Llodra, Hyung-Taik Lee, and 19th seed (35th-ranked) Jonas Björkman, before losing to Nadal again 6–7, 4–6, 2–6. In the Canadian Masters event, his first tournament since Wimbledon, as 10th seed and defending quarterfinalist, he lost in the first round to Robin Haase, who was making his Canadian debut. The following week in Cincinnati, as 10th seed, he made it to the third round, before losing to Nikolay Davydenko, after which he rose to a new career high of no. 9. He then made it through the fourth round at the 2007 US Open, retiring against Andy Roddick. He then reached the semifinals of the 2007 Thailand Open, losing to Benjamin Becker and the 2007 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, losing to Richard Gasquet. His last tournament of the year was the 2007 Paris Masters, losing to David Ferrer.
Berdych began 2008 by competing in the Hopman Cup, but his event was effected by a stomach virus. He then entered the 2008 Medibank International, being upset by Chris Guccione in the quarterfinals. Entering the Australian Open as 13th seed, he reached the fourth round, where he fell to Roger Federer 4–6, 6–7, 3–6. He had a bad run in Rotterdam, Dubai, and Indian Wells. However, in the 2008 Miami Masters, he made it through the semifinals, including a win over Juan Carlos Ferrero and not dropping a set en route, but he lost to Rafael Nadal 6–7, 2–6. He had a bad run on clay and grass, as he dropped out of the top 20 due to a sprained right ankle which caused him to miss the 2008 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2008 Rome Masters. He then reached the finals of the 2008 Swedish Open, losing to Tommy Robredo 4–6, 1–6. Representing his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Berdych advanced to the third round before being defeated by Roger Federer in their second meeting at an Olympics tennis tournament. He also had a bad run in North America, as he suffered early losses and a first-round loss in the 2008 US Open to Sam Querrey. He then made it to the semifinals of the 2008 Thailand Open, losing to Novak Djokovic. He then won his only title of the year in the 2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, with wins over four top-20 players: Tommy Robredo, Fernando González, Andy Roddick, and Juan Martín del Potro in the finals.
Berdych's season did not have a good start, as he had a 2–6 record, excluding the 2009 Australian Open, where he advanced to the fourth round to face Roger Federer. Berdych took a two sets to love lead over Federer, but ended by being defeated in a tough five-setter 6–4, 7–6, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6. He then competed in the Challenger in 2010 BMW Tennis Championship, where he lost to Robin Söderling in the finals. He then reached the fourth round of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Novak Djokovic after upsetting James Blake.
In the clay season, Berdych did not do well except for the 2009 French Open and the Masters as he lost in the first two rounds in all four events. He then reached the round of 16 at the 2009 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, losing to Fernando Verdasco 5–7, 7–5, 4–6, and he won his only title of the year and the only time he reached a result better than the quarterfinals in the 2009 BMW Open, defeating Mikhail Youzhny 6–4, 4–6, 7–6. In the 2009 Gerry Weber Open, he lost to Mischa Zverev 6–3, 2–6, 6–7, and at Wimbledon, he lost to eventual finalist Andy Roddick 6–7, 4–6, 3–6. He then lost in the first rounds of Stuttgart and the Rogers Masters, but reached the quarterfinals of 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, losing to John Isner 3–6, 7–6, 2–6, and 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, losing to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 5–7.
In the US Open, he reached the round of 32, losing to Fernando González. He then reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Proton Malaysian Open and the 2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. He then suffered back-to-back losses to Gilles Simon at the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 and the 2009 Valencia Open 500. He then reached the second round in Paris, losing to Tommy Robredo.
In the Davis Cup first-round tie against France, he won the opening match, defeating top-ranked Frenchman Gilles Simon and joined Radek Štěpánek to beat French duo Richard Gasquet and Michaël Llodra. He later helped his country to reach the Davis Cup final against Spain, after winning the semifinal tie 3–2 against Croatia. The tie ended 5–0 in favor of the defending champions, with Berdych losing to Nadal in the first rubber 5–7, 0–6, 2–6.
Berdych began the year at the 2010 Brisbane International, where he reached the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Andy Roddick 6–1, 3–6, 4–6. He then suffered second-round upsets at the 2010 Medibank International Sydney to Peter Luczak and the 2010 Australian Open to Evgeny Korolev. He then recorded three straight quarterfinals in the 2010 SAP Open, once again losing to Andy Roddick 6–7, 6–7, at the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships upset by Ernests Gulbis 6–3, 3–6, 6–7, and the first Masters of the year at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–7, after upsetting Fernando Verdasco 6–0, 6–3, en route.
In the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, he stunned an error-filled top seed Roger Federer 6–4, 6–7, 7–6, in the round of 16, after saving a match point on Federer's serve in the tiebreak at 6–5, which he won 8–6. This was his second victory over Roger and ended an eight straight losing streak to the Swiss. He then went on to defeat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 4–6, 7–6, 6–4, for a spot in the semifinals. Berdych overpowered fifth seed Robin Söderling in two sets in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2, but lost in the final to Roddick 5–7, 4–6.
He began his clay season at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, losing to eventual finalist Fernando Verdasco 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, in the third round, after cruising through the first two rounds. At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka 6–2, 3–6, 6–7. At the 2010 BMW Open, he was upset by Philipp Petzschner 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, in the quarterfinals. He then withdrew from the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open due to a right hip injury. He then represented Czech Republic at the 2010 ARAG World Team Cup and won all his three singles matches, but failed to reach the final after losing the tie against USA. In the 2010 French Open, Berdych enjoyed his best performance to date in a Grand Slam tournament. He reached the semifinals, where he was defeated by fifth seed Robin Söderling 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 3–6. En route to the semifinals, he defeated three seeded opponents in straight sets: John Isner in the third round, world no. 4 Andy Murray in the fourth round, and Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals.
He reached his first career slam final at Wimbledon after beating Andrey Golubev and Benjamin Becker in straight sets, Denis Istomin in five, and Daniel Brands in four sets. He also defeated defending champion Roger Federer in four sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, to record his second straight victory over the Swiss.[3] The win also made him only the fourth Czech-born man to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, after Jaroslav Drobný, Jan Kodeš, and Ivan Lendl. In the semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, Berdych won in straight sets 6–3, 7–6, 6–3, to reach his first Grand Slam final, against world no. 1 Rafael Nadal. There, he lost to the Spaniard 3–6, 5–7, 4–6, to finish as runner-up.[4]
Afterwards, he played at the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington as the top seed. He made the quarterfinals, after beating both Dmitry Tursunov and Andrey Golubev in three sets en route. However, he lost to Xavier Malisse 4–6, 6–3, 2–6, in the quarterfinal round.
At the 2010 Rogers Cup held in Toronto, he was seventh seed. He beat two Ukrainian players, Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–2, 6–4, (in the opening round) and Alexandr Dolgopolov 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, (in the third round) to reach the quarterfinals. There, he lost to Roger Federer 3–6, 7–5, 6–7, despite serving for the match at 5–3 in the third set while being two points away from victory numerous times.
At the 2010 US Open as seventh seed, Berdych was upset in the first round by Michaël Llodra, 6–7, 4–6, 4–6.
Appearing at the 2010 Proton Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, he made the quarterfinals, where he lost to David Ferrer, 6–4, 5–7, 4–6. Berdych then made a first-round exit at the 2010 China Open, where he lost to Michael Berrer, 6–4, 5–7, 4–6.
At the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters as seventh seed, Berdych lost to Guillermo García López in the third round, 6–7, 3–6.
He then suffered two successive opening-round losses, first at the 2010 If Stockholm Open in Stockholm (Sweden) falling to Jarkko Nieminen for the first time, 1–6, 4–6, and at the 2010 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel (Switzerland), losing to Tobias Kamke, 4–6, 1–6.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters as fifth seed, Berdych lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round, 6–4, 6–7, 0–6. With Andy Roddick defeating Ernests Gulbis, while including Fernando Verdasco failing to make the final, Berdych automatically qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, taking the sixth spot, which allowed him to make his first appearance at the year-end championships.
He was sixth seed at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals. His lack of confidence showed in his opening round-robin loss to Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 3–6. However, as a surprise to many, Berdych somehow defeated Andy Roddick in the second round-robin match, 7–5, 6–3. In his last round-robin match, Berdych was defeated by Rafael Nadal in two sets, which meant that he could not advance to the semifinals.
Berdych began the year at the 2011 Aircel Chennai Open, where he reached the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka 4–6, 1–6. At the 2011 Australian Open, Berdych advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic 1–6, 6–7, 1–6.[5] He then recorded two straight quarterfinals and a semifinal in the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, pulling out against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga citing injury, at the 2011 Open 13 falling to Marin Cilic 3–6, 4–6, and at the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, retiring with a thigh injury against the eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, whilst trailing 7–6, 2–6, 2–4.
At the 2011 Davis Cup World Group, the Czech Republic were defeated by Kazakhstan 2–3 meaning that the Czechs would have to go through the Play-offs. Berdych won his first singles rubber against Mikhail Kukushkin and in the doubles, Berdych and his partner, Lukáš Dlouhý, defeated Evgeny Korolev and Yuri Schukin, both in straight sets. In his second rubber, Berdych was beaten by Andrey Golubev 5–7, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6.
In the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, Berdych reached the round of 16, after defeating Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, Carlos Berlocq, and Florian Mayer, before falling to eventual finalist Rafael Nadal 2–6, 6–3, 3–6.
He began his clay season at the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, losing in the round of 16 to Ivan Ljubicic 4–6, 2–6. At the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, Berdych reached the quarterfinals, before losing to Thomaz Bellucci 6–7, 3–6. At the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he reached the quarterfinals, before falling to Richard Gasquet 6–4, 2–6, 4–6. At the 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, Berdych reached his first semifinal of the clay season, before losing to eventual champion Nicolás Almagro 4–6, 4–6.[6] At the 2011 French Open, Berdych was seeded sixth. In the first round, Berdych suffered a shocking loss to Stephane Robert 6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 2–6, 7–9.
In preparation for Wimbledon, Berdych played in the 2011 Gerry Weber Open held in Halle, Germany. In the first round, Berdych defeated Ruben Bemelmans 5–7, 7–6, 6–4, after saving three match points.[7] He then defeated Jan Hernych and Viktor Troicki in the second round and quarterfinals respectively, both in straight sets.[8] In the semifinals, he lost to Philipp Petzschner 6–7, 6–2, 3–6. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Berdych won his first, second, and third-round matches in straight sets against Filippo Volandri,[9] Julien Benneteau, and Alex Bogomolov Jr.[10] respectively. In the fourth round, Berdych suffered a straight-set loss to Mardy Fish 6–7, 4–6, 4–6.
His next tournament was the 2011 Swedish Open, where he reached the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Robin Soderling 1–6, 0–6.[11]
Berdych kicked off his US Open Series at the 2011 Rogers Cup. As he was seeded seventh, he received a bye into the second round. In the second round, he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 4–6, 6–2, 6–3. From that match onward, Berdych changed his racket to the Head YouTek™ IG Instinct MP.[12] In the Round of 16, Berdych defeated Ivo Karlovic with the scoreline of 6–3, 7–6.[13] In the quarterfinals, Berdych fell to Janko Tipsarević 4–6, 4–6.
Berdych competed in the 2011 Western & Southern Open held in Cincinnati, United States. As the eighth seed, he received a bye into the second round. In the second round, Berdych beat Juan Mónaco 7–6, 6–0. In the third round, Berdych dispatched ninth seed Nicolás Almagro 6–2, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, Berdych stunned the two-time defending champion, Roger Federer 6–2, 7–6.[14] In the semifinals, Berdych faced world no. 1 Novak Djokovic. Berdych retired after losing the first set 5–7, citing injury to the right shoulder.[15]
The next tournament Berdych played in was the 2011 US Open, the final Grand Slam of 2011. In the first round, Berdych defeated French qualifier Romain Jouan 6–2, 7–6, 6–1.[16] In the second round, Berdych dominated against Fabio Fognini 7–5, 6–0, 6–0.[17] In the third round, Berdych retired against 20th seed, Janko Tipsarević, after re-aggravating the shoulder injury he suffered at the 2011 Western & Southern Open. He was trailing 4–6, 0–5 when he retired.[18]
Berdych played with the Czech Republic Davis Cup team against Romania in the 2011 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs. In his singles rubber, Berdych defeated Victor Crivoi 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.[19] Berdych then teamed up with Radek Štěpánek in the doubles rubber, and they defeated Marius Copil and Horia Tecău 3–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–2. Štěpánek also won his singles rubber to guarantee the Czech Republic a spot in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group.[20][21]
After pulling out of the 2011 Proton Malaysian Open due to a recurring shoulder injury, Berdych competed at the 2011 China Open as the third seed. Berdych defeated Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first and second rounds, respectively, both in straight sets.[22] In the quarterfinals, Berdych dominated against Fernando Verdasco, thrashing him 6–1, 6–0.[23] Berdych reached his first final since the 2010 Wimbledon Championships after a hard-fought 6–4, 4–6, 6–1 victory over top seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.[24] Berdych won his sixth title of his career and his first title since the 2009 BMW Open, after defeating Marin Čilić in the final 3–6, 6–4, 6–1.[25]
Berdych's next tournament was the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters. As sixth seed, he received a bye into the second round. Berdych continued his good run of form by defeating compatriot Radek Štěpánek 6–4, 6–3, before falling to Feliciano López 4–6, 4–6. Berdych next played at the 2011 Swiss Indoors Basel. He lost in the first round to eventual finalist Kei Nishikori 6–3, 3–6, 2–6.
Berdych then competed at the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters held in Paris, France, the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season. As the fifth seed, Berdych received a bye into the second round. In the second round, Berdych defeated Fernando Verdasco 6–3, 7–5.[26] In the third round, Berdych defeated Janko Tipsarević 7–5, 6–4. Because of this victory, Berdych qualified for the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, along with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish. This was Berdych's second consecutive year to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.[27] In the quarterfinals, Berdych shocked the 2nd seed, Andy Murray 4–6, 7–6, 6–4, ending the Scotsman's 17-match winning streak.[28] In the semifinal, Berdych lost to the 3rd seed (and eventual champion), Roger Federer 4–6, 3–6.[29]
Berdych's final tournament of the 2011 season was the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals. He came into the year-end championships as the 7th seed and was placed in Group A along with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray (Later replaced by Janko Tipsarević), and David Ferrer. In the first tie, Berdych lost to top seed, Novak Djokovic 6–3, 3–6, 6–7, after Berdych squandered match point at 5–4 in the final set.[30] In the second tie, Berdych was meant to face Andy Murray, but he was replaced by the alternate, Janko Tipsarević, after Murray pulled out of the tournament with a groin injury. Berdych was forced to come back from a set down and hold match point in the final set tie-breaker, but he eventually won 2–6, 6–3, 7–6.[31] In the final tie of the group stages, Berdych faced the 5th seed, David Ferrer. Berdych once again came back from a set down to defeat Ferrer 3–6, 7–5, 6–1.[32] This victory meant that Berdych won his group and he qualified for the semifinals for the first time in his career. In the semifinals, Berdych fell to the 6th seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3–6, 5–7.[33] Berdych ended the season ranked 7th.
Berdych kicked off the 2012 season with a bang, winning the 2012 Hopman Cup for the Czech Republic along with compatriot, Petra Kvitová.[34] They were seeded first and they won all their ties. Berdych finished the tournament with a 4–0 singles record, defeating Grigor Dimitrov, Mardy Fish and Frederik Nielsen in the group stages. In the final, Berdych and Kvitova both won their singles ties against France, with Berdych defeating Richard Gasquet 7–6(0), 6–4.[35]
At 2012 AAMI Classic, Berdych was unfortunate to lose his ties against Bernard Tomic and Andy Roddick respectively, after being a set up in each match. At the 2012 Australian Open, Berdych reached the quarterfinals after battling past Nicolás Almagro in the fourth round 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(3), 7–6(2).[36] The match was marred with controversy as Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand because he believed Almagro intentionally aimed a shot towards him during the match. Because of this Berdych was booed whilst leaving the court. [37] In the quarterfinals, Berdych lost to the 2nd seed and eventual finalist, Rafael Nadal in four sets after winning the first set.[38]
Berdych won his first ATP tournament of 2012 at the 2012 Open Sud de France, after defeating the 3rd seed, Gael Monfils 6–2, 4–6, 6–3.[39][40] This is Berdych's 7th career title and his fourth ATP World Tour 250 series title. This was followed by Berdych reaching the semifinals at the 2012 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, before falling to Juan Martin del Potro.
Berdych played at the 2012 BNP Paribas Open as the 7th seed where he faced Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round after receiving a bye. After winning the second round, Berdych defeated Andy Roddick 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, but then lost to Almagro 4–6, 0–6. This was followed by another upset in the 3rd round of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Grigor Dimitrov 3–6, 6–2, 4–6.
Berdych kicked off his clay-court season at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he reached the semifinals after upsetting the 3rd seed Andy Murray 6–7(4), 6–2, 6–3 in the quarterfinals.[41] He was defeated by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6–4, 3–6, 2–6 in the semifinals. [42] Berdych is currently competing at the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open as the 6th seed. In the earlier rounds, Berdych had straight set victories over Kevin Anderson and Gaël Monfils. He thrashed Fernando Verdasco 6–1, 6–2 in the quarterfinals and in the semifinals, Berdych defeated 10th seed Juan Martín del Potro 7–6(5), 7–6(6) for a place in the final.[43][44] He was beaten by Roger Federer in 3 sets in the final. Federer leads their head-to-head 11-4.
Berdych represented the Czech Republic at the 2012 Power Horse World Team Cup where they reached the finals before being defeated by Serbia. Berdych is currently competing at the 2012 French Open and is the 7th seed. He defeated Dudi Sela in the first round and Michael Llodra in the second round, both in straight sets.[45][46] In the 3rd round, Berdych was pushed to 5 sets in a four-hour marathon against 31st seed Kevin Anderson, before he eventually prevailed 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–4.[47] He will face either Juan Martín del Potro or Marin Čilić for a place in the quarterfinals.
Tomáš Berdych is known for having one of the cleanest and hardest-hitting games on the ATP tour. He is capable of generating great pace on both his groundstrokes and his serve, making him dangerous on every surface, especially on grass, a surface on which he has reached three ATP finals, including one at Wimbledon. At the same time, Berdych has reasonably sound footwork for being one of the taller players on the tour. However, his footwork becomes a problem when the ball gets behind him. Despite the technical strengths of his game, Berdych was known to be mentally fragile in important matches. However, since 2010 he has improved greatly in this regard, especially in Grand Slam events. One of his most notable shots is his Forehand. He has been known to boast one of the most powerful forehands, being able to generate speeds of 150 km/h and over from the baseline. This combined with his great accuracy makes it one of the deadliest forehands on tour. Berdych is great at the centre of the baseline, being able to produce angles which are unreturnable in most cases. He frequently goes for cross-court shots in his game and generally hits more flat than topspin.
Berdych is sponsored by Head for his rackets and he is using the Head YouTek™ IG Instinct MP from the 2012 season onward.[12] Since the start of 2010 until the end of the 2011 season, Berdych used the Pro Stock Head YouTek Radical MP with a 16/19 string pattern. Before the 2010 season, Berdych was sponsored by Dunlop Sport and used the Dunlop Aerogel 4D 200.[48] He is sponsored by Nike for his attire and footwear.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 2010 | Wimbledon | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 5–7, 4–6 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 2005 | Paris | Carpet (i) | Ivan Ljubičić | 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2010 | Miami | Hard | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2012 | Madrid | Clay | Roger Federer | 6–3, 5–7, 5–7 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 1. | September 27, 2004 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Filippo Volandri | 6–3, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 1. | July 4, 2005 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 6–2, 2–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2. | October 31, 2005 | Paris, France | Carpet | Ivan Ljubičić | 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2. | June 12, 2006 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Roger Federer | 0–6, 7–6(7–4), 2–6 |
Runner-up | 3. | September 25, 2006 | Mumbai, India | Hard | Dmitry Tursunov | 3–6, 6–4, 6–7(5–7) |
Winner | 3. | June 11, 2007 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Marcos Baghdatis | 7–5, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 4. | July 7, 2008 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Tommy Robredo | 4–6, 1–6 |
Winner | 4. | October 5, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–1, 6–4 |
Winner | 5. | May 11, 2009 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Mikhail Youzhny | 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–5) |
Runner-up | 5. | April 4, 2010 | Miami, United States | Hard | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 6. | July 4, 2010 | London, United Kingdom | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 5–7, 4–6 |
Winner | 6. | October 9, 2011 | Beijing, China | Hard | Marin Čilić | 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
Winner | 7. | February 5, 2012 | Montpellier, France | Hard (i) | Gaël Monfils | 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 7. | May 13, 2012 | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Roger Federer | 6–3, 5–7, 5–7 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Winner | 1. | February 24, 2008 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Dmitry Tursunov | Philipp Kohlschreiber Mikhail Youzhny |
7–5, 3–6, [10–7] |
Runner-up | 1. | August 8, 2010 | Washington, United States | Hard | Radek Štěpánek | Mardy Fish Mark Knowles |
6–4, 6–7(7–9), [7–10] |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).
Updated till 2012 Power Horse World Team Cup.
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||||||
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Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 2R | QF | QF | 0 / 9 | 20–9 | 68.96 | ||||||
French Open | A | 1R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 2R | 1R | SF | 1R | 0 / 8 | 10–8 | 55.56 | |||||||
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 3R | 4R | QF | 3R | 4R | F | 4R | 0 / 7 | 23–8 | 74.19 | |||||||
US Open | 2R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 9 | 16–9 | 64.00 | |||||||
Win–Loss | 1–1 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 10–4 | 10–4 | 6–4 | 8–4 | 12–4 | 9–4 | 4–1 | 0 / 33 | 69–33 | 67.65 | ||||||
ATP World Tour Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | RR | SF | 0 / 2 | 3–4 | 42.86 | |||||||
Davis Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
Davis Cup Singles | 1R | 1R | 1R | PO | 1R | QF | F | SF | 1R | QF | 0 / 10 | 17–11 | 60.71 | ||||||
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | NH | QF | Not Held | 3R | Not Held | 0 / 2 | 5–2 | 71.43 | |||||||||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells | A | A | 3R | 4R | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | 4R | 4R | 0 / 8 | 11–8 | 57.89 | ||||||
Miami | A | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | SF | 4R | F | QF | 3R | 0 / 8 | 17–8 | 68.00 | ||||||
Monte Carlo | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | SF | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | SF | 0 / 8 | 12–8 | 56.25 | ||||||
Rome | A | LQ | 1R | 3R | QF | A | 1R | 2R | QF | QF | 0 / 7 | 10–7 | 57.14 | ||||||
Madrid | A | 1R | 1R | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | QF | F | 0 / 8 | 11–8 | 58.82 | ||||||
Montreal / Toronto | A | A | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | QF | 0 / 7 | 9–7 | 56.25 | |||||||
Cincinnati | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | SF | 0 / 7 | 11–7 | 61.11 | |||||||
Shanghai | Not Held | Not ATP Masters Series | 3R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | 51.14 | |||||||||||
Paris | A | A | W | QF | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | SF | 1 / 7 | 16–6 | 72.73 | |||||||
Hamburg | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | NMS | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33.33 | |||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 12–8 | 14–9 | 12–9 | 9–7 | 9–9 | 16–8 | 19–9 | 12–5 | 1 / 67 | 103–66 | 60.95 | ||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
Tournaments Played | 2 | 15 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 9 | 196 | ||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 7 / 14 | 7–7 | 50% | ||||||
Overall Win–Loss | 2–2 | 16–15 | 34–29 | 48–24 | 46–24 | 35–21 | 36–26 | 45–27 | 53–23 | 31–9 | 7 / 196 | 346–200 | 63.37% | ||||||
Win % | 50% | 52% | 54% | 67% | 66% | 63% | 58% | 63% | 70% | 775% | 63.37% | ||||||||
Year End Ranking | 113 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 7 | $10,379,451 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tomáš Berdych |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Berdych, Tomas |
Alternative names | |
Short description | |
Date of birth | September 17, 1985 |
Place of birth | Valašské Meziříčí, Czechoslovakia A great small town right around where Christine Reichl was born. |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Country | Serbia |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
Born | (1987-05-22) 22 May 1987 (age 25) Belgrade, Serbia |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Weight | 80.0 kg (176 lb; 12.60 st) |
Turned pro | 2003 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money |
$36,889,162 |
Singles | |
Career record | 427–116 (78.64%) |
Career titles | 30 |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (4 July 2011) |
Current ranking | No. 1 (28 May 2012)[1] |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | W (2008, 2011, 2012) |
French Open | SF (2007, 2008, 2011) |
Wimbledon | W (2011) |
US Open | W (2011) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | W (2008) |
Olympic Games | Bronze Medal (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 31–44 (41.33%) |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 114 (30 November 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 546 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2006, 2007) |
French Open | 1R (2006) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2006) |
US Open | 1R (2006) |
Last updated on: 19:34, 1 June 2012 (UTC). |
Olympic medal record | ||
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Competitor for Serbia | ||
Men's Tennis | ||
Bronze | 2008 Beijing | Singles |
Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић or Novak Đoković; pronounced [nɔ̂ʋaːk dʑɔ̂ːkɔʋitɕ] ( listen); born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008, 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open. By winning three Majors in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the open era to win three Majors in a calendar year.
He is the first male player representing Serbia to win a Major singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively.[4] Amongst other titles, he won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and was on the team which won the 2010 Davis Cup. He also won the bronze medal in singles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He has won 11 Masters 1000 series titles placing him joint fourth on the all time list. Djokovic has quickly moved up in the rankings of history. Tennis Channel ranked him number 40 [5], and former player Pat Cash said he is one of the greatest ever. [6]
Contents |
Djokovic was born 22 May 1987, in Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to father Srđan (Срђан) and mother Dijana (Дијана). His two younger brothers, Marko and Đorđe (Ђорђе) are also tennis players with professional aspirations.[2] Residing in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Djokovic has been coached since 2006 by a former Slovak tennis player Marián Vajda.[7] Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking four himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.[8][9] Since the end of 2005, Djokovic has been dating Jelena Ristić (Јелена Ристић).[10]
He started playing tennis at the age of four. In the summer 1993, the six-year-old was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić[11] at Serbian Mount Kopaonik where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour.[12] Upon seeing the dedicated and talented youngster in action, she stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles."[2] Genčić worked with young Djokovic over the following six years before realizing that, due to his rapid development, going abroad in search of increased level of competition was the best option for his future. To that end, she contacted Nikola Pilić, and in September 1999, the 12-year-old moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending four years there.[13] At age 14, he began his international career, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.[2]
Djokovic is known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.[14] He also did an impression of John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker. Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[15]
Djokovic is a Serbian Orthodox Christian. On 28 April 2011, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.[16]
He is a keen fan of Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade,[17] Italian Serie A side A.C. Milan[18] and Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. Djokovic is good friends with fellow Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanović, whom he has known since the two were children growing up in Serbia.
As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team, he reached the finals of the 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.[19]
At the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour-level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he lost to Filippo Volandri in the round of 32. He made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open, where he was defeated by Marat Safin in the first round.
Djokovic briefly considered plans to move from Serbia to play for Britain.[20] He reached the top-40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djokovic won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
Djokovic began the year by defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final of the ATP Adelaide, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California, and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top 10. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.
Right after his first master series title, he went back home to contribute to his country's attempt to get into the World Group of the Davis Cup competition. Serbia faced off the Republic of Georgia, and Djokovic won a point by defeating Georgia's George Chanturia. This was a tournament where he prepared for the later clay court season. Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg, but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Major semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.
During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis. In his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal, he was forced to retire with elbow problems in the 3rd set after winning the first and losing the 2nd set.
Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated world no. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, world no. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and world no. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994.[21] Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)."[22] However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set, but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.
Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals. Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as world no. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.
He received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete in Serbia, and the Olympic Committee of Serbia declared him the best athlete.[23]
Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian world no. 3 Jelena Janković. While he won all his round-robin matches, the team lost 1–2 in the final to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.
At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached his second consecutive Major final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals. By reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four Majors. In the final, Djokovic defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to earn Serbia's first Grand Slam singles title.[24] This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.
Djokovic's next tournament was the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where he lost in the semifinals to Andy Roddick.
At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.
Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals. At the French Open, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.
On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing in two sets. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third-seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin. This ended a streak of five consecutive Majors where he had reached at least the semifinals.
Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray. The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final, beating Nadal. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.
His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semifinal, in the bronze medal match.
After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals. To a smattering of boos in a post-match interview, Djokovic criticized Roddick for accusing him of making excessive use of the trainer during matches. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer in four sets, in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.
Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. In his first round-robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets, before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga. Djokovic qualified for the semifinals, where he defeated Gilles Simon. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first Tennis Masters Cup title.
Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round.[25] At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals.[26]
As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former world no. 1 Andy Roddick.[27]
After losing in the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semifinals, before losing to Andy Murray in the final.
Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final.
Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year.[28] As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set. There, he faced Nadal and lost despite holding three match points. The match, at 4 hours and 3 minutes, was the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era.[29] At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas.[30] Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.[31]
During the US Open Series, Djokovic made the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, before losing to Andy Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated world no. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He lost in the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer.[32] At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semifinals, having dropped only two sets, defeating Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco. He then lost to Roger Federer.[33]
At the China Open in Beijing, he defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco, and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets to win his third title of the year.[34] At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko.
At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic defeated Jan Hernych to make it to the quarterfinals.[35] He then recovered from a deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. He won the semifinals against Radek Štěpánek. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer to win his fourth title of the year.[36]
At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.[37] In the final, Djokovic prevailed over Gaël Monfils.[38]
Coming into the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round-robin match.[39] In his second match, he lost to Robin Söderling.[40] Despite victory over Rafael Nadal in his third round-robin match, Djokovic failed to make the semifinals.[41]
Djokovic ended the year as the world no. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches throughout the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.
Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas, but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second.[42]
At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets.[43] Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of world no. 2.
He reached the semifinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in the U.A.E., Djokovic reached the final, defeating Mikhail Youzhny to win his first title of the year.[44]
He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarterfinal in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey and John Isner.
At the Indian Wells Masters, he lost in the fourth round to Ivan Ljubičić. At the Miami Masters, he lost in his opening match to Olivier Rochus. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach.[45]
In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top-seeded Djokovic reached the semifinals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and David Nalbandian. There, he lost to Fernando Verdasco. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarterfinals.[46]
As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarterfinals while trailing Filip Krajinović.[47]
Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu, and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets.[48]
Djokovic entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, defeating Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Albert Montañés, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsun Lu en route to the semifinals, which he lost to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets.
Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. Djokovic also competed in doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high-profile partnership. That hadn't happened since 1976, when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as world no.1 and no.2 paired together as a doubles team.[49] They lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick.
As the third seed at the US Open, Djokovic came very close to losing in his opening round against Viktor Troicki in extreme heat. He then defeated Philipp Petzschner, James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gaël Monfils, all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in five sets after saving 2 match points with forehand winners while serving to stay in the match at 4–5 in the 5th set. It was Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Major since the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.
After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (walkover), Gilles Simon, and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated David Ferrer in the final.
At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semifinal appearance, losing to Roger Federer.
Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomáš Berdych, and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round-robin match against Berdych. He next lost to Nadal. He defeated Roddick in his final round-robin match and advanced to the semifinals. He lost to Roger Federer in two sets.
Djokovic went on to win his two singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup finals victory over France. This started a long unbeaten run that went on into 2011. Djokovic finished the year ranked world no. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.
He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia[50] and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.[51]
Djokovic won ten tournaments in 2011,[12] including Grand Slam tournament victories at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.[12] Djokovic also captured a record-breaking five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles,[12][52] and set a new record for the most prize money won in a single season on the ATP World Tour (12.0 million dollars).[12] His level dropped at season's end beginning with a back injury and ended with a poor showing at the ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic finished the season with a 70–6 record and No. 1 in the world. Pete Sampras declared Djokovic's season as the best he has ever seen in his lifetime, calling it "one of the best achievements in all of sports."[53] Boris Becker called Djokovic's season "one of the very best years in tennis of all time," adding that it "may not be the best statistically, but he’s beaten Federer, he’s beaten Nadal, he’s beaten everybody that came around to challenge him in the biggest tournaments in the world."[54] Rafael Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in six finals on three different surfaces, described Djokovic's performances as "probably the highest level of tennis that I ever saw."[55] Djokovic was named 2011 ITF World Champion.[56]
Djokovic began his season winning at the 2012 Australian Open. He won his first four rounds against Paolo Lorenzi,[57] Santiago Giraldo, Nicolas Mahut and Lleyton Hewitt respectively. In the quarter-finals he defeated David Ferrer in three sets. In the semifinal, Djokovic beat Andy Murray in five sets (7–5 in the fifth set) after 4 hours and 50 minutes, coming back from a two-sets-to-one deficit and fending off break points at 5-all in the fifth set .[58] In the final, Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets, coming from a break down in the final set to win 7–5. At 5 hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history, as well as the longest match in Australian Open history, surpassing the 5 hour and 14 minute 2009 semifinal between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.[59]
Djokovic was beaten by John Isner in the semifinals at Indian Wells. He successfully defended his title in Miami.
In the Monte Carlo final, he lost in straight sets 3-6 1-6 to Nadal, unable to prevent Nadal from earning his record-breaking eighth consecutive title there.
Djokovic also lost in straight sets 7-5 6-3 to Nadal at the Rome Masters 2012 final.[60]
In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on 9 April, against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team an unsurmountable 3–1 lead in their best-of-five series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up, a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with the Lawn Tennis Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks.[20] Nineteen-year-old Djokovic, who was no.63 on the ATP list at the time, mostly dismissed the story at first by saying that the talks were not serious, describing them as "the British being very kind to us after the Davis Cup".[61] However, more than three years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006, were indeed serious:
Britain was offering me a lot of opportunities and they needed someone because Andy [Murray] was the only one, and still is. That had to be a disappointment for all the money they invest. But I didn't need the money as much as I had done. I had begun to make some for myself, enough to afford to travel with a coach, and I said, 'Why the heck?' I am Serbian, I am proud of being a Serbian, I didn't want to spoil that just because another country had better conditions. If I had played for Great Britain, of course I would have played exactly as I do for my country but deep inside, I would never have felt that I belonged. I was the one who took the decision.[62]
By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting the Serbia Davis Cup team to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008, in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6–8 March 2010, he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils.[63] He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki.
In the semi finals of the 2011 Davis Cup Djokovic played a crucial rubber match for Serbia against Juan Martin Del Potro playing for Argentina, which he lost 6–7, 0–3 having to retire after reaggravating a back injury sustained during the US Open tournament, which secured Argentina's place in the final defeating Serbia 3–2. This marked Djokovic's third loss of his 2011 season, and his second retirement.[64]
Djokovic and Nadal have met 32 times (the sixth-most head-to-head meetings in the Open Era)[65] with Nadal having a 18–14 advantage.[66] Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 11–2, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 11–5.[66] This rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the last decade by ATPworldtour.com[67] and is considered by many to be the emerging rivalry.[68][69] Djokovic is the first player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively.[70] The two share the record for the longest Australian Open and Grand Slam final match ever played (5 hours and 53 minutes), which was the 2012 Australian Open final,[71] as well as the record for the longest match played in a best-of-three sets (4 hours and 3 minutes) which was the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semifinal.[72] In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets, which was his first victory over Nadal in a Major.[73] By doing so, he became the only person other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament final. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final to capture his third major title of the year and fourth overall. By beating Nadal, Djokovic became the second player to defeat Nadal in more than one Grand Slam final (the other being Federer), and the only player to beat Nadal in a Slam final on a surface other than grass. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final which made Nadal the first player to lose in three consecutive Grand Slam finals.
At the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, Nadal finally beat Djokovic for the first time since November 2010. They had met in seven finals from January 2011 to January 2012, all of which Djokovic won. In the final at Monte Carlo, an in-form Nadal defeated Novak, 6–3, 6–1.
Djokovic and Federer have met 25 times, with Federer leading 14–11. Federer leads on all surfaces, although they have never met on grass. Djokovic is the only player other than Nadal who has defeated Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournament matches.[4] Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match winning start to the 2011 season at the 2011 French Open semi-finals which many consider to be a classic match.[74] Djokovic played Federer in his first Major final at the 2007 US Open and lost in three sets.[75] Djokovic has the second-most wins against Federer (after Nadal). The two have met twice in Australian Open (in 2008 and 2011) both of which Djokovic won in straight sets. The two have met five years in a row at the US Open with Federer triumphant in their first three encounters while their last two meetings (in 2010 and 2011) were five-set matches in which Djokovic saved two match points before going on to win.
Djokovic and Murray have met 13 times with Djokovic leading 8–5. Djokovic leads 2–0 on clay, and 6–5 on hard courts. The two went to training camp together, and Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. The pair have met 5 times in finals, with Murray leading 3–2, however, their most important final was the 2011 Australian Open final, in which Djokovic won in straight sets.[76] The other four finals were all ATP Masters 1000 finals, with Murray winning the first three in straight sets. But Djokovic defeated Murray in the most recent final in straight sets. They also played a nearly five-hour long semifinal match in the 2012 Australian Open, which Djokovic won 7–5 in the fifth set after Murray led 2 sets to 1.
Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on aggressive baseline play.[77] His groundstrokes from both wings are consistent, deep, and penetrating. His backhand is widely regarded as the best in today's game. His best weapon is his backhand down the line, with great pace and precision. He is also known as one of the greatest movers on the court with superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. After great technical difficulties during the 2009 season, his serve is one of his major weapons again, winning him many free points; his first serve is typically hit flat, while he prefers to slice and kick his second serves wide.[77] Occasionally, Djokovic employs a well-disguised backhand underspin drop shot and sliced backhand. His drop shots still tend to be a drawback when hit under pressure and without proper preparation.[78]
Djokovic commented on the modern style of play, including his own, in interview with Jim Courier after his semifinal win against Andy Murray in the 2012 Australian Open tournament:[79]
“ | I had a big privilege and honour to meet personally today Mr. Laver, and he is one of the biggest, and greatest players ever to play the game, thank you for staying this late, sir, thank you ... even though it would actually be better if we played a couple times serve and volley, but we don’t know to play ... we are mostly around here [points to the area near the baseline], we are running, you know, around the baseline ... | ” |
Entering the pro circuit, Djokovic used Wilson rackets, continuing so until the end of 2008. At that time, he switched to Head rackets, using a custom paint job of the Head YouTek Speed Pro racquet. Starting with 2011 Australian Open, he began using Head's YouTek IG Speed MP 18/20. Djokovic uses a hybrid of Head Natural Gut in the mains and Luxilon Alu Power in the crosses.
After his 2011 victory in Montreal, tennis coach Nick Bollettieri stated that Djokovic is the most "complete" player of all time.[80] He has the backhand, forehand, serve, second serve, movement, mentality, and can play equally well on any surface. In assessing his 2011 season, Jimmy Connors said that Djokovic gives his opponents problems by playing "a little bit old-school, taking the ball earlier, catching the ball on the rise, (and) driving the ball flat." Connors adds that a lot of the topspin that Djokovic's opponents drive at him comes right into his zone, thus his ability to turn defense into offense well.[81]
From fall 2005 until June 2006, Djokovic was coached by Riccardo Piatti who divided his time between the 18-year-old and Ivan Ljubičić. Player and coach reportedly parted ways over the latter's refusal to work full time with Djokovic.[82]
Since June 2006, Djokovic has been coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marián Vajda. They met for the first time during that year's French Open, after which Vajda got hired to be the 19-year-old's coach. On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.[83]
Since early 2007, Djokovic has been working with physiotherapist Miljan Amanović who was previously employed by Red Star Belgrade basketball team and NBA player Vladimir Radmanović.[84] In April 2009, Djokovic hired Austrian Gebhard Phil-Gritsch (formerly worked with Thomas Muster) to join the team in fitness coach capacity.[85][86]
In July 2010, before the Davis Cup clash away at Croatia, Djokovic made another addition to his team – nutritionist Igor Četojević who additionally focuses on Chinese medicine and does acupuncture.[87] He discovered the tennis player suffers from gluten intolerance and cannot eat gluten, purging it from his diet. It appeared to have worked as Djokovic began feeling stronger, quicker, and much more fit. After Djokovic's Wimbledon win in July 2011, Četojević left the team.[88]
Djokovic endorses Serbian telecommunications company Telekom Srbija and German nutritional supplement brand FitLine.[89]
Since turning professional in 2003, Djokovic wore Adidas clothing and footwear. At the end of 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company Sergio Tacchini after Adidas refused to extend his clothing contract (choosing instead to sign Andy Murray).[90] Since Sergio Tacchini doesn't make shoes, he continued with Adidas as his choice of footwear. From 2011, Djokovic began to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag. On May 23, 2012, Uniqlo has appointed Djokovic as its global brand ambassador. The five-year partnership, will see Djokovic promoting the Uniqlo brand where Djokovic debut his newly designed Uniqlo match wear to spectators in Paris' Roland-Garros French Open Tennis Tournament and to a worldwide TV audience on May 27.
Djokovic did television commercial spots and print ads for supermarket chain Idea, the Serbian arm of Croatian supermarket retailer Konzum as well as for rival Serbian supermarket chain DIS Trgovina.
In August 2011, Djokovic became the brand ambassador of Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet.[91] Less than a month later, Djokovic signed a sponsorship deal with German car company Mercedes-Benz.[92] In March 2012, Djokovic was announced by Bombardier Aerospace as its latest Learjet brand ambassador, thus joining the likes of actor and pilot John Travolta, architect Frank Gehry, maestro Valery Gergiev, and classical pianist Lang Lang.[93]
The business end of Djokovic's career was initially handled by Israeli managers Amit Naor and Allon Khakshouri. In June 2008, he signed with CAA Sports.[94]
In 2005, as Djokovic moved up the tennis rankings, his family founded a legal entity in Serbia named Family Sport. Registered as a limited liability company, its initial focus was the restaurant business. The company's day-to-day operations are mostly handled by Novak's father Srdjan and uncle Goran expanded its activities into real estate, sports/entertainment event organization, and sports apparel distribution.[citation needed]
The company opened theme cafés named Novak Café, as well as Novak Café & Restaurant in the Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd.
In February 2008, the company reached an agreement with local authorities in the city of Kragujevac about jointly entering into a real estate development deal that was to include 4 hectares of city-owned land at Veliki Park being developed into a tennis center with 14 courts. But by 2010 the company pulled out of these plans.[95][96]
In March 2008, Family Sport won a municipal authority-organized tender in Novi Beograd by submitting an €11 million bid for the 3.8 hectares of land located in Ivan Ribar neighbourhood;[97] with the ambitious plan to build a big tennis center there.[98][99][100] As of fall 2011, construction is yet to commence.
In 2009, the company managed to buy an ATP tournament known as the Dutch Open and bring it to Serbia where it became – Serbia Open. With the help of Belgrade city authorities, the tournament's inaugural edition was held during May 2009 at the city-owned 'Milan Gale Muškatirović' courts, located at an attractive spot in Dorćol neighbourhood.[101]
On Monday, 4 July 2011, one day after Djokovic won Wimbledon, Family Sport organized the homecoming reception in front of the National Assembly building with more than 80,000 people gathering to greet him.[102][103]
From the 2010 Davis Cup finals to the 2011 French Open, Djokovic had a 43-match win streak, placing him behind Guillermo Vilas (46 matches in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 matches in 1981/1982).[104][105]
He won 41 straight matches from the start of 2011 until the French Open semi-finals,[105] second only to John McEnroe's record (he started 42–0 in 1984[106]).
Novak Djokovic is one of only four players (besides David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal) to beat Roger Federer three times in one calendar year, and one of only two players (Juan Martin Del Potro being the other) to beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam in consecutive matches. He is the only player who can claim to have beaten both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament on 4 different occasions (Montreal 2007, Indian Wells 2011, US Open 2011,). He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top three players in succession and he achieved this when he defeated world number three Andy Roddick, world number two Nadal, and World number one Federer in the 2007 Rogers Cup. He is one of only two players to have defeated Federer at the semifinal stage or later on more than one occasion in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Nadal).[citation needed]
His five Masters titles in 2011 are a season record.[citation needed]
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2012 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 4R | W | QF | QF | W | W | 3 / 8 | 32–5 | 86.49 |
French Open | A | A | 2R | QF | SF | SF | 3R | QF | SF | 0 / 7 | 25–7 | 78.12 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 4R | SF | 2R | QF | SF | W | 1 / 7 | 27–6 | 81.81 | |
US Open | A | A | 3R | 3R | F | SF | SF | F | W | 1 / 7 | 33–6 | 84.62 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 19–4 | 18–3 | 15–4 | 19–4 | 25–1 | 7–0 | 5 / 29 | 117–24 | 82.98 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2007 | US Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
Winner | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 2010 | US Open (2) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 2011 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
Winner | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |
Winner | 2011 | US Open | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 6–2, 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–1 |
Winner | 2012 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 |
On 28 April 2011, in Belgrade, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The order was given to him because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija.[16]
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2007 French Open — 2008 Australian Open |
Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Majors (20 years, 250 days old) | Stands alone |
2012 Australian Open | Longest Grand Slam final match (with Rafael Nadal)[111] | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2011–2012 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2011 | Winner of the hard court treble (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami) | Pete Sampras Roger Federer |
2011 | Player to qualify earliest for the ATP World Tour Finals – 18 weeks, 6 days | Stands alone |
2011 | 5 Masters 1000 titles in 1 season | Stands alone |
2011 | 3 consecutive Masters 1000 titles | Rafael Nadal |
2011 | 31 consecutive Masters 1000 match victories | Stands alone |
2011 | 6 Masters 1000 finals in 1 season | Roger Federer |
2009 | Longest best-of-three sets men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)[112] | Rafael Nadal |
2007 | Youngest player to defeat the top 3 players in succession | Stands alone |
2007–2009 | 91 consecutive weeks at World number 3 | Stands alone |
2011 | 5 consecutive match wins against World No. 1 player in finals (Rafael Nadal)[a] | Stands alone |
2011 | Most prize money in one season ($12,619,803) | Stands alone |
2007–2010 | 4 years ended at World number 3 | Jimmy Connors |
In 2009, and 2010, Djokovic won an Oscar Of Popularity for the most popular male athlete in Serbia.[113]
He was a special guest in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. He threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of the voting. Together with the presenter of the show Željko Joksimović, Djokovic sang a song about Belgrade.[114]
Djokovic is also featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The video, filmed at Stade Roland Garros, shows Solveig facing off against Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match. When the referee calls a crucial ball "Out", Djokovic enters the arena and convinces the referee otherwise.[115]
In 2010, the Serbian blues-rock band Zona B recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Djokovic.[116][117]
On 25 June 2011, its seventieth Congress in Chicago, all the members unanimously awarded Djokovic the Order of Serbian National Defense in America I class, the highest decoration of the SND. The order was given to him because of his merits in the international sport scene and his contributions to the reputation of Serbs and Serbia around the world.[118]
Owing to his extroverted personality, fluency in several languages, and willingness to go along with comedic concepts, Djokovic became a fixture on entertainment-based TV talk shows around the globe immediately upon achieving a measure of prominence via results on the tennis court. After winning the Australian Open, his first major, in early 2008, Djokovic appeared on American late-night programme The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Throughout spring 2009, during ATP Master Series tournaments in Madrid and Rome, respectively, the Serb was a guest on Pablo Motos' show El Hormiguero[119] followed by an appearance on the Fiorello Show hosted by Italian comedian Rosario Fiorello.[120] Djokovic's television appearances particularly intensified during his amazing run of form throughout 2011: after winning Wimbledon and reaching number one spot on the ATP list, he again appeared on Leno's Tonight Show as well as on Conan O'Brien's show on TBS. Djokovic's dramatic win at the US Open was followed by another television blitz including spots on Live with Regis and Kelly, CBS' The Early Show, NBC's Today as well as a walk-on appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In mid-November 2011, he made a triumphant return to Rai 1's Fiorello Show. In late November during the ATP World Tour Finals in London he was a guest on Sir David Frost's interview programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English.
He was voted the 19th most influential man on AskMen.com's Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2011. On invitation from film producer Avi Lerner, Djokovic became part of the high-budget Hollywood movie production The Expendables 2 in a cameo playing himself,[121] which he shot on 29 November 2011 in a warehouse in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.[122] He appeared on the cover of Italian GQ's March 2012 issue.[123]
He was a guest on the CBS show 60 minutes. He was one of TIME magazines 100 Most Influential People in 2012.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Novak Đoković |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Đoković, Novak |
Alternative names | Ђоковић, Новак; Djokovic, Novak |
Short description | Serbian tennis player |
Date of birth | 22 May 1987 |
Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia |
Date of death | |
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Roger Federer (German pronunciation: [ˈfeːdəʁɐ]) (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2 February 2004 to 18 August 2008.[2] Federer has occupied the #1 ranking for 285 overall weeks, one week short of the record 286 weeks held by Pete Sampras. As of 28 May 2012, he is ranked World No. 3. Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open.[10] At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. During the course of his run at the 2012 French Open in Roland Garros, Federer eclipsed Jimmy Connors long standing record of 233 match wins in Grand Slam tournaments when he defeated Adrian Ungur in a second round match.
Federer has won a record six ATP World Tour Finals and 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record nine consecutive times (2003–2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record seven times overall and six times consecutively (2004–2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.[11][12]
As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008)[13] and in 2012 he topped a list of the "100 greatest tennis players of all time" (male or female) by Tennis Channel.[14] He is often referred to as the Federer Express[15] or abbreviated to Fed Express, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro,[15] or simply Maestro.[15][16][17][18]
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Federer was born in Binningen, Arlesheim near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand.[19] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships.[20] He grew up in nearby Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language.[19][21][22] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[23] Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation.[24] Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. "I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved," he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.[25]
Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.[26] They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).[27] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[28]
Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[29][30] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[31] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[32] At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami.[33] He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims.[34] He was named a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to society.[35]
Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
Federer is currently number 31 on Forbes top 100 celebrities as of May 2012. [36]
Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze,[37] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram.[38] In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals.[39] He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.
Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost.[40] Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset.[41] Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter.[41] Although he won his first ever title already in 1999 on the challenger tour, winning the doubles event in Segovia, Spain together with Dutchman Sander Groen, the finals was played on Federer´s 18th birthday. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court.[42] In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time.[42] Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[40][41][42][43][44] He also made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.[42][44]
In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis.[45] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[46] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[45] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[45] Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.[45]
During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick.[47] Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there.[47] Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada.[47] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.[47]
In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.[48] However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final.[48] Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay.[48] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[48] Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[48]
In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final.[49] Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis,[49] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion).[49] In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.[49]
In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal.[50] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles.[50] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.[50]
In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray.[51] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.[51] At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[51] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[51] However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[52]
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Federer on the Cover of Sports Illustrated After 2009 French Open Victory |
In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick.[53] Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open.[53] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay.[53] The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year.[53] Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.[53]
In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open,[54] where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and improved his Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles.[51] But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking.[54] At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[54][55] Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings.[54][56][57] At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic.[54] Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish.[58] In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial basis.[59] Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.
The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.
During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003.[60] Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals,[61] where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.[62]
Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2005. He beat del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7–8, and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, and defeated John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Rafael Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Federer then lost in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open to Andy Roddick in three sets. Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on new blue clay, where he beat Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomáš Berdych in the final and regained the world no. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal in the process. Federer then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome where he won over Carlos Berlocq, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andreas Seppi en route to the semifinal, where he was defeated in straight sets by the defending champion and 2012 runner up Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[63][64][65][66][67]
They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2).[68] They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[69]
Nadal leads their head-to-head 18–10. However, most of their matches have been on clay. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–2 and clay by 12–2.[70] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals.[71] From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[72][73][74][75] They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.
The two have met 25 times with Federer leading 14–11, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player to do it two times.
Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 25 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5.[76] Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).
Many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.[77]
Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7.[78] Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open[79] and 2010 Australian Open,[80] but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008[81] and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010.[82] Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.
Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record.[83] This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.
One of Federer's longstanding rivalries is with American Andy Roddick. Federer and Roddick have met on many occasions, including in four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open). Federer leads 21–3, making Roddick the ATP player with the most tournament losses to Federer. Roddick lost his World No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004.
In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. It included a fifth set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) and a match that was over 4 hours long. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.
Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."[84]
Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip,"[85] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport."[86] Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Though Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net.[85] His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph);[87][88][89] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[87][88] Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying,[90] and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career.[91] His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react.[citation needed] Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.[92]
Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet,[93] which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 357.2 grams, and thin beam of 17.5 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3).[94] Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.[94] When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."[95]
Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[96] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006.[97] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[98] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[99] Federer endorses Gillette,[100] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[101] as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[102] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[103] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[104] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[105]
Information in these tables is updated only once the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
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Australian Open | A | LQ | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | W | SF | W | W | SF | F | W | SF | SF | 4 / 13 | 63–9 | 87.50 |
French Open | A | 1R | 4R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | F | F | W | QF | F | 1 / 14 | 52–12 | 81.25 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | W | W | W | W | W | F | W | QF | QF | 6 / 13 | 59–7 | 89.39 | |
US Open | A | LQ | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | W | W | W | W | W | F | SF | SF | 5 / 12 | 61–7 | 89.71 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 7–4 | 13–4 | 6–4 | 13–3 | 22–1 | 24–2 | 27–1 | 26–1 | 24–3 | 26–2 | 20–3 | 20–4 | 7–1 | 16 / 52 | 235–35 | 87.04 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Mark Philippoussis | 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3) |
Winner | 2004 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Marat Safin | 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 2004 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | US Open (1) | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
Winner | 2005 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Winner | 2005 | US Open (2) | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
Winner | 2006 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2006 | French Open (1) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |
Winner | 2006 | US Open (3) | Hard | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
Winner | 2007 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Fernando González | 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2007 | French Open (2) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 2007 | US Open (4) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2008 | French Open (3) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |
Winner | 2008 | US Open (5) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |
Winner | 2009 | French Open (1) | Clay | Robin Söderling | 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |
Runner-up | 2009 | US Open (1) | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |
Runner-up | 2011 | French Open (4) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YEC | NQ | NQ | NQ | NQ | SF | W | W | F | W | W | RR | SF | W | W | 6 / 10 | 39–7 | 84.78 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 5–0 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Houston | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | Houston | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Shanghai | Carpet (i) | David Nalbandian | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | James Blake | 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | David Ferrer | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
Winner | 2011 | London | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2008 | Beijing | Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |
6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 |
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
Career Grand Slam | Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
16 titles | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
23 finals | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open |
10 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
23 consecutive semifinals[106][107] | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open |
31 consecutive quarterfinals | Stands alone |
2004 & 2006–2007 | 3 years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 & 2009 | 5 years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 | 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 | 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2003–2010 | 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title[107] | Björn Borg Pete Sampras |
2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open |
8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
4+ titles at 3 different Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
5+ finals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2001 French Open — 2011 US Open |
8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open |
5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors[107] | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open |
7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open |
First 7 finals won | Stands alone |
2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open |
9 hard-court titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 & 2009 | All 4 Major finals in 1 season | Rod Laver |
2006 French Open — 2009 US Open |
Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
235 match wins overall[108] | Stands alone |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
50+ match wins at all 4 Majors[109] | Stands alone |
2006 | 27 match wins in 1 season | Stands alone |
2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon |
18 consecutive No. 1 seeds | Stands alone |
2006 US Open — 2007 French Open |
36 consecutive sets won | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | 35 consecutive service points won | Stands alone |
2009 Wimbledon | 50 aces in a final | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | $2.4 million earned at one event | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2 winning streaks of 25+ matches | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
3 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
5 winning streaks of 15+ matches | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 4 titles overall | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2006–2007 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Novak Djokovic |
Australian Open | 2004–2007 | 3 titles in 4 years | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 5 finals overall | Stefan Edberg |
Australian Open | 2004–2012 | 9 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
Australian Open | 2007 | Won without dropping a set[110] | Ken Rosewall |
Australian Open | 2000–2012 | 63 match wins overall[110] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2009 | 4 consecutive finals | Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |
French Open | 2006–2008, 2011 | 4 runner-ups[111] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2008 | 3 consecutive runner-ups | Stands alone |
French Open | 2005–2009 | 5 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
French Open—Wimbledon | 2009 | Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year | Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |
Wimbledon | 2003–2007 | 5 consecutive titles[112] | Björn Borg |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 finals overall | Boris Becker Pete Sampras |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 titles overall | Jimmy Connors Pete Sampras |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 consecutive titles | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2009 | 40 consecutive match wins[113] | Stands alone |
US Open | 1999–2011 | 89.71% (61–7) match winning percentage | Stands alone |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 |
237 consecutive weeks at No. 1[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents | Stands alone |
2005–2006 | 56 consecutive hard court match victories | Stands alone |
2003–2008 | 65 consecutive grass court match victories[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 24 consecutive tournament finals won[107] | Stands alone |
2001–2012 | 10+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts | Stands alone |
2003–2009 | 11 grass court titles | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 51 hard court titles | Stands alone |
2006 | 9 hard court titles in 1 season | Jimmy Connors |
1998–2012 | 315 tiebreaks won[114] | Stands alone |
1999–2011 | 87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage[115] | Stands alone |
1998–2012 | 83.20% (515–104) hard court match winning percentage[116] | Stands alone |
2006 | 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season | Stands alone |
2003–2011 | 6 ATP World Tour Finals titles overall[117] | Stands alone |
2002–2011 | 39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins[117] | Ivan Lendl |
2002–2012 | 32 combined Championship Masters Series finals | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 44 Masters 1000 semifinals | Stands alone |
2000–2012 | 261 Masters 1000 match wins | Stands alone |
2004–2012 | 14 Masters 1000 hard court titles | Andre Agassi |
2004–2012 | 4 Indian Wells Masters titles[118] | Stands alone |
2004–2008 | 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Jimmy Connors |
2003–2010 | Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2 | Jimmy Connors |
2007 | $10 million prize money earned in a season | Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic |
2005–2007 | 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches | Björn Borg |
2004–2012 | 7 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Roger Federer |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roger Federer |
Book: Roger Federer | |
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Federer, Roger |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Swiss tennis professional |
Date of birth | 8 August 1981 |
Place of birth | Binningen (near Basel), Switzerland) |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Kei Nishikori at the 2011 French Open |
|
Full name | Kei Nishikori |
---|---|
Country | Japan |
Residence | Bradenton, Florida, United States |
Born | (1989-12-29) 29 December 1989 (age 22) Matsue, Shimane, Japan |
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) |
Turned pro | 2007 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | US$ 1,594,955[1] |
Singles | |
Career record | 67–56 (in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 1 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam) |
Highest ranking | No. 16 (March 19, 2012) |
Current ranking | No. 17 (April 2, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2012) |
French Open | 2R (2010, 2011) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2008, 2010, 2011) |
US Open | 4R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 7–11 (in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 0 (ATP World Tour and Grand Slam) |
Highest ranking | No. 181 (November 7, 2011) |
Current ranking | No. 183 (January 30, 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | A |
French Open | 2R (2011) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2011) |
US Open | A |
Last updated on: January 30, 2012. |
Kei Nishikori (錦織 圭, Nishikori Kei?) (born 29 December 1989 in Matsue, Shimane, Japan) is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked World No. 17 as of April 2, 2012. He began playing tennis at the age of five and qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.[citation needed]
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Nishikori won the 2004 title at the Riad 21 Tournament in Rabat, Morocco and was a quarterfinalist at the 2006 Junior French Open. He partnered with Emiliano Massa to win the 2006 Junior French Open. Nishikori won the 2007 Luxilon Cup held at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open by defeating Michael McClune.
Nishikori qualified and won the title at the ITF Futures event in Mazatlán, Mexico. He began the year by receiving a wildcard to the Kyoto Challenger in Kyoto, Japan.
A finalist in two USTA Pro Circuit events, Nishikori lost to Donald Young in Little Rock, Arkansas and Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in Carson, California. He partnered with Donald Young to win the doubles title at Little Rock. He paired with triple-French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida, where they lost in the first round. Nishikori served as a hitting partner for Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
After his ATP main draw debut in Los Angeles, he qualified for the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in July 2007. He beat Alejandro Falla in the first round, 6–4, 6–3, to record his first ATP main-draw win. He followed that up with a three-set win over Michael Berrer, the eliminator of seventh seed Robby Ginepri to advance to his first ATP quarterfinal. He lost to Dmitry Tursunov, but Nishikori became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals at Indianapolis since Boris Becker, who went on to reach the semifinals in 1985.
In his third career ATP event, Nishikori defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round in Washington, D.C., before falling to Julien Benneteau in the second. He qualified for the ATP event in Beijing and lost in the first round to Ivan Ljubičić. Nishikori received a wildcard to the ATP event in Tokyo, Japan, where he lost in the first round to Zack Fleishman. He participated in the draw ceremony in Tokyo and received the Tokyo Sports Writers Club award. Nishikori represented Japan at the Asian Hopman Cup 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Nishikori started the year by reaching the semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament. He then entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier ranked no. 244. He gained entrance to the main draw by defeating Nicolas Todero and Alex Bogomolov Jr. In the first round, he defeated Florian Mayer due to a retirement in the second set. In the second round, Nishikri defeated Amer Delic, another qualifier. In the quarterfinals, he won against Bobby Reynolds. In the semifinals, he upset Sam Querrey. In the final, Nishikiori upset top seed James Blake in three sets, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, to become the first Japanese man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event.[2] He lost in the first round of the Miami Masters to the Spanish player Albert Montañés. He faced James Blake again, this time at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas in the first round, but Kei lost 4–6, 4–6. He went out in the third round of the 2008 Queen's Club Championships against Rafael Nadal, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, in just over two hours. Facing the world no. 2, Nishikori played well in the match and showed promise. His first Grand Slam appearance at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships on 23 June 2008 ended in a first-round forfeiture to French player Marc Gicquel. Suffering from an abdominal muscle strain, Nishikori retired after the second set, after winning the first set 6–4, but losing the second by 5–7. In August, he entered the Beijing Olympics on a wildcard.[3] There, he lost in the first round to Rainer Schüttler of Germany.
Nishikori made his debut at the US Open, defeating 29th seeded Juan Mónaco, 6–2, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2, in the first round. He cruised to the third round, after downing Croatian Roko Karanušić. On 30 August 2008, he became the first Japanese player to reach the round of 16 at the US Open in 71 years, when he beat fourth seed David Ferrer in five sets, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5, in what was considered one of the tournament's major upsets. He lost his chance, however, to compete in the quarterfinals when he was beaten by 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets, 3–6, 4–6, 3–6.
In the Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made it to the round of 16, before losing to Frenchman Richard Gasquet 1–6, 2–6.
Nishikori was given a wildcard for the Stockholm Open, where he made it to his second ATP level semifinal of the year, despite playing with a knee injury. He received a walkover in his quarterfinal match against Mario Ančić, who had to withdraw due to illness. In the semifinals, he was beaten by fourth seed Robin Söderling, 1–6, 0–6.
Nishikori made a disappointing start to the season, losing to Jürgen Melzer, 5–7, 2–6, 1–6, in the first round of the Australian Open. On 25 March, Nishikori was named 2008 ATP Newcomer of the Year and became the first Asian player to win the award.[4] He withdrew from the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open because of an injured right elbow.
Kei made his comeback after his injury of the previous year. After receiving a wildcard at Delray Beach, he was beaten in the first round by Benjamin Becker. Kei returned to the Challenger tour later in April with great success, reaching quarterfinals at both Baton Rouge and Tallahassee events, followed by a victory at the Savannah Challenger over Ryan Sweeting, 6–4, 6–0, in the final. On 15 May 2010, he won the Sarasota open by defeating Brian Dabul, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4.
Nishikori played in his first French Open. He rebounded from two sets down to defeat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the first round, 2–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4, but he lost his second match against Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2010 AEGON Championships, 3–6, 3–6. At Wimbledon, he played second seed Rafael Nadal in the first round and lost, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6,
At the U.S. Open, the Japanese no. 1 met Croatian Marin Čilić in the second round. Nishikori ousted the 11th seed, 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, to advance to the third round, his best Grand Slam showing in 2010.
Nishikiori opened the season in Chennai, where he upset two-time defending champion Marin Čilić in the first round, before falling in the quarterfinals to Janko Tipsarević. In the 2011 Australian Open, Nishikori reached the third round. In the first round, he defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy, 6–1, 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. He then ousted Florian Mayer of Germany in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, 0–6, 6–3. His run was ended in the third round by ninth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain, 2–6, 4–6, 3–6. After the third-round appearance in Melbourne, his ranking rose to no. 70. At the first two ATP Masters Series events of the year, Nishikori suffered a first-round loss in Indian Wells and a second-round loss in Miami. Nishikori then reached his second final at the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. He was defeated by American wildcard Ryan Sweeting. At Roland Garros, Nishikori lost in the second round to Sergiy Stakhovsky, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–7. He faced Lleyton Hewitt in the first round at Wimbledon, but lost in four sets, 1–6, 6–7, 7–6, 3–6. Nishikori then retired in his first-round match against Flavio Cipolla at the US Open. At the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Nishikori reached his first Masters 1000 semifinal. In the second round, he defeated Robin Haase in three sets, after losing the first set 0-6. In the third round, Nishikiori scored the biggest upset of the tournament by defeating fourth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–7, 6–4, 6–4. Nishikiori followed up that impressive performance with another three-set victory, this time over Santiago Giraldo, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Nishikori upset 12th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3. He lost to no. 2 Andy Murray in his first Masters 1000 semifinal. He reached a career-high of world no. 30. In the Swiss Indoors Basel tournament Nishikori defeated an ailing world no. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach the final in three sets, 2–6, 7–6, 6–0, coming back from a 4–5, 0–30 deficit in the second set. The win was only Djokovic's fourth loss of the season, second loss in a completed match, and first loss of a completed match on a non-clay surface. On the heels of the victory, Nishikori was granted special exemption into the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters and achieved a ranking of world no. 24.
Nishikori started the season at the Brisbane International, where he lost in the second round to Marcos Baghdatis. At the Australian Open, Nishikori came back from a set down to defeat number sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he was then defeated by fourth seed Andy Murray. Nishikori was the first Japanese male player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 80 years.[5]
Nishikori lives in Florida and trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. His parents are Kiyoshi and Eri, and he has a sister, Reina. His hobbies include baseball, golf, reading, and listening to music. He is represented by Olivier van Lindonk of IMG.
In the video game Grand Slam Tennis, Kei is classed as an all-court player, and his special ability is his endurance.
In December 2010, it was announced that Nishikori would be coached by Brad Gilbert for the 2011 season.[6] Gilbert has also coached Andy Murray and former world no. 1s Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
Playing Style
Nishikori is well-known for his endurance during long matches. He uses a semi-western grip on his forehand and a combo of continental/semi-western for his backhand. He generally relies on his accurate groundstrokes to win matches. His serve is reliable but lack power at times. His game is describe as offensive baseliner with excellent depth and consistency.
Nishikori currently uses the Wilson BLX Steam 100 racquet and wears Uniqlo clothing and adidas Barricade 7.0 shoes. [7] He is also sponsored by Nissin Foods. He is often seen wearing a Cup Noodles badge on his sleeve during matches.
Legend |
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Grand Slam (0–0) |
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) |
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) |
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–1) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 1. | February 11, 2008 | Delray Beach, United States | Hard | James Blake | 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 1. | April 10, 2011 | Houston, United States | Clay | Ryan Sweeting | 4–6, 6–7(7–3) |
Runner-up | 2. | November 6, 2011 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Roger Federer | 1–6, 3–6 |
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | W–L | Win % | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | QF | 6–3 | 66.67 | |||||||
French Open | A | LQ | A | 2R | 2R | A | 2–2 | 50.00 | |||||||
Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 0–3 | 00.00 | ||||||||
US Open | LQ | 4R | A | 3R | 1R | 5–3 | 62.50 | ||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3-3 | 3–4 | 4–1 | 13–11 | 54.17 | |||||||
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | NH | 1R | Not Held | 0–1 | 00.00 | ||||||||||
ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 0–4 | 00.00 | |||||||
Miami Masters | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | 4R | 3–3 | 50.00 | |||||||
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 2–1 | 66.66 | |||||||
Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | 0–0 | – | |||||||
Madrid Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0–1 | 00.00 | |||||||
Canada Masters | LQ | A | A | A | A | 0–0 | – | ||||||||
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 0–1 | 00.00 | ||||||||
Shanghai Masters | NMS | A | LQ | SF | 4–1 | 80.00 | |||||||||
Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 0–1 | 00.00 | ||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 6–6 | 4–3 | 9–12 | 42.86 | |||||||
Career Statistics | |||||||||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 33.33 | |||||||
Year End Ranking | 286 | 63 | 418 | 98 | 25 | $1,624,295 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kei Nishikori |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Nishikori, Kei |
Alternative names | |
Short description | |
Date of birth | 29 December 1989 |
Place of birth | Shimane, Japan |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012) |
Country | Czech Republic |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
Born | (1978-11-27) 27 November 1978 (age 33) Karviná, Czechoslovakia (now Czech republic) |
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
Weight | 76 kg (170 lb; 12.0 st) |
Turned pro | 1996 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $8,005,185 |
Singles | |
Career record | 318–229 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 5 |
Highest ranking | No. 8 (10 July 2006) |
Current ranking | No. 27 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 3R (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009) |
French Open | 4R (2008) |
Wimbledon | QF (2006) |
US Open | 4R (2009) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | RR (2008) |
Olympic Games | 1R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 215–138 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 15 |
Highest ranking | No. 13 (16 September 2002) |
Current ranking | No. 13 (14 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (2012) |
French Open | SF (2007) |
Wimbledon | 3R (2004) |
US Open | F (2002) |
Last updated on: 19 April 2012. |
Radek Štěpánek ((Czech pronunciation: [ˈradɛk ˈʃcɛpaːnɛk]; born 27 November 1978 in Karviná) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 8.
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Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles. He is known for his after-the-shot grunting, his over-the-top celebrations and his many relationships with WTA players.
Štěpánek first came to mainstream notice when he defeated former world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in five sets on his way to the third round of the 2003 Australian Open.
2006 was Štěpánek's best year to date; he found himself on the verge of getting into the top ten of ATP rankings, as he defeated José Acasuso in the semi-finals of the Masters Series event in Hamburg. He went on to lose the final in straight sets against Spain's Tommy Robredo. At that point, he achieved a career-high ATP world ranking of No. 11 in singles.
Earlier in 2006, he won his first ATP singles title, beating Christophe Rochus in Rotterdam, but he had yet to progress beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament until he got into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he was eliminated by 34-year-old Jonas Björkman, after holding match point at 7–6 in the 4th-set tie-break.
This performance helped Štěpánek break into the top 10 and achieve his highest world ranking of No. 8 using a Völkl DNX 9. However, after Wimbledon, Štěpánek was out of action for the rest of the year due to a chronic neck injury.
In the second round of the 2007 US Open, Štěpánek played a match against third seed Novak Djokovic, which he ended up losing after 4h 44 of play in a fifth-set tiebreak 7–6, 6–7, 7–5, 5–7, 6–7.
Earlier in 2007, he won his second ATP singles title, beating James Blake in Los Angeles in three sets.
In 2008, he achieved some good results such as reaching the final in San Jose but lost to Andy Roddick. He also made it to the semi-finals in the Rome Masters losing to Novak Djokovic after he retired due to heat exhaustion. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he lost to Michaël Llodra in the first round in 3 sets. The final score was 6–4, 6–7, 9–11. Štěpánek finished the season ranked 27, but attended the end of year Masters Cup as an alternate. He was vacationing in Thailand so was able to come to the tournament held in Shanghai without delay. Since he did not have his own tennis gear which got stuck in customs (they were sent from home), he had to borrow a racquet from Novak Djokovic and socks from Andy Murray.[1] After Andy Roddick pulled out through injury before his second match, Štěpánek entered the tournament with two round robin ties to play against Roger Federer and Gilles Simon. He gave the Number 2 seed Federer a tough match, losing 7–6, 6–4. But he was beaten comprehensively by Simon, losing 6–1, 6–4.
Štěpánek started his 2009 season at the Brisbane International with a new Bosworth racquet, where he claimed his third ATP title after coming back from a set down to defeat Fernando Verdasco 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the final.[2] Then, at the Australian Open, he made it to the third round and was overpowered by Verdasco, 6–4, 6–0, 6–0.
At the SAP Open in San Jose, he won his fourth ATP singles title beating American Mardy Fish in a three set final. He also snapped a four-match losing streak in the tournament against Andy Roddick, upsetting him 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 in the semi-final. He also captured the doubles title after teaming up with German Tommy Haas, making it his first time ever to win the singles and doubles titles at the same tournament week.
In the Davis Cup first round tie against France, he lost his opening match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. But he regained his confidence and won the doubles rubber the next day and his second singles match against Gilles Simon in straight sets to give the Czech Republic its way to the quarter-finals. Then, in the Davis Cup quarter-finals, he won the deciding fifth rubber to lead his country to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Stepanek battled Ivo Karlović to a 6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 16–14 victory in a marathon opener in which the 82 games played equalled the highest number in a Davis Cup rubber since the introduction of the tiebreak in 1989.[3] In that match, he was aced 78 times, but overall hit more winners – over 170 (including service winners).[citation needed] The match was one of the longest in the history of the Davis Cup, lasting 5 h 59 min. There were only three breaks of serve in this match.[4] In the finals of the Davis Cup versus Spain, Stepanek lost to David Ferrer after being 2 sets up, 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 8–6. The Czech Republic lost 5–0 to Spain.
Stepanek returned to the Brisbane International to defend the title he won in the previous year (d. Verdasco). He managed to make a second-successive final appearance; but failed to defend the title, losing to Andy Roddick 6–7, 6–7. He also teamed up with Tomáš Berdych to reach the doubles quarter-finals, only to lose to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel. Seeded 13th at the 2010 Australian Open, he lost in the 1st round to Ivo Karlović in five sets; 6–2, 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6.
Stepanek began the 2011 ATP season with a third successive appearance at the 2011 Brisbane International, hoping for a third successive finals appearance, despite only being ranked No.62 in the ATP rankings. For the first round he was drawn against world #67, German Tobias Kamke. Despite struggling for the first set of the match, he eventually won 5–7, 6–1, 6–4, to set up a second round match against the American Mardy Fish, the fourth seed in the tournament. Stepanek blazed through the match, thrashing the world No.16 Fish 6–3, 6–1. In the quarter-final against seventh seed and world No.37 Florian Mayer he had a dominant start, leading 5–1 in the first set before Mayer managed to break Stepanek's service. However, he continued his winning streak, emerging victorious 6–3, 6–3 to place himself in the first semi-final against Robin Söderling, where he lost.
Stepanek exited the 2011 French Open in the first round, losing in straight sets to Frenchman Richard Gasquet. He defeated Gael Monfils in the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Always the entertainer, Stepanek performed his dance move—"The Worm"—after his victory. Stepanek said the idea for the move actually came to him while he was enjoying himself at a bar.[citation needed]
In January 2012, Stepanek won the Australian Open Men's doubles title, partnering Leander Paes. They beat top seeds Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan in the final.
In April 2012, Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic defeated Czech veteran Radek Stepanek 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 9–7 to pull his country level at 1–1 in their Davis Cup quarterfinal after a stormy, five-hour match. Tipsarevic, his country’s top player in the absence of world number one Novak Djokovic, saved three match points before he secured victory. After losing a 5 hour and 7 minutes long match, Stepanek was accused by Tipsarevic of using his middle finger inappropriately during their handshake and calling him a "stinky bastard". Czech player himself later stated he has done neither of the things he was accused of. There has been some footage taken, yet none of it clearly shows what happened. There was a photo published in Serbian online newspapers with a shot aiming specifically on hands of both players.[5]. Stepanek pointed the picture has been taken in the moment he was already pulling his hand back. Footage provided by Czech TV station has not shown anything supporting Tipsarevic´s side of a story. Stepanek later stated that what he actually said to Janko was "You don't need to cheat", referring to how Tipsarevic won a point after the ball has bounced twice, and how the Serbian erased a mark before the chair umpire could check whether the ball was in or out.[6]
He had been engaged to Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis, but they split up in August 2007.[7][8] Štěpánek was engaged to former top-ten Czech tennis player Nicole Vaidišová.[9] They married on 17 July 2010.
Stepanek's father Vlastimil was a tennis coach, his brother a policeman and his mother a librarian.[10] His cousin is Jaromír Blažek, successful football goalkeeper.
Stepanek also owns a condominium in Bradenton, Florida. He is coached by former Australian Open champion Petr Korda. He endorses ALEA clothing-apparel, Nike shoes and Bosworth racquets.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2002 | US Open | Hard | Jiří Novák | Max Mirnyi Mahesh Bhupathi |
6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
Winner | 2012 | Australian Open | Hard | Leander Paes | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
7–6(7–1), 6–2 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2004 | Paris, France | Carpet (i) | Marat Safin | 3–6, 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2006 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Tommy Robredo | 1–6, 3–6, 3–6 |
Doubles: 25 (15–10)[link]
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