- published: 07 Oct 2010
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Alabama
Alabama (
i/ˌæləˈbæmə/) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th-most extensive and the 23rd-most populous of the 50 United States. Alabama ranks second in the area of its inland waterways.
From the American Civil War until World War II, Alabama, like many Southern states, suffered economic hardship, in part because of continued dependence on agriculture. Despite the growth of major industries and urban centers, white rural interests dominated the state legislature until the 1960s, while urban interests and African Americans were under-represented. Following World War II, Alabama experienced growth as the economy of the state transitioned from agriculture to diversified interests in heavy manufacturing, mineral extraction, education, and technology. In addition, the establishment or expansion of multiple military installations, primarily those of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, added to state jobs.
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Australia
Australia (
/əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Australian Open
The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Since 1988 the tournament has been played on hard courts at Melbourne Park.
The Australian Open typically has very high attendance – second only to the US Open – and was the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its two primary courts, Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena, equipped with retractable roofs.
The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne in 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Bahamas
The Bahamasi/bəˈhɑːməz/, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
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Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital city of and largest urban area in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn] ( listen)) or simply Krung Thep ( listen), meaning "city of angels". Bangkok is by far the most densely populated city in Thailand with about 12 million people. Bangkok was a small trading post near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century. It eventually grew in size and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782.
Because of its strategic location in Southeast Asia, Siam (later Thailand) acted as a buffer-zone between the French and British colonial empires. Bangkok itself has gained a reputation as an independent, dynamic and influential city. Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of Thailand, and one of the leading cities in Southeast Asia.
Due to the 1980s and 1990s Asian investment boom, many multinational corporations make their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city is a regional force in finance and business. Its increasing influence on global politics, culture, fashion and entertainment underlines its status as an Alpha global city. In 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore. The city's many cultural landmarks and attractions in addition to its nightlife venues has made it synonymous with exoticism. Its rapid modernization, reflected in the cityscape and the urban society, has left untouched the historic Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Vimanmek Palace Complex and hundreds of Buddhist temples draw about 10 million international visitors each year, second only to London.
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Barcelona
Barcelona (English /bɑrsɨˈloʊnə/, Catalan: [bərsəˈɫonə], Spanish: [barθeˈlona]) is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km2 (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 within an area of 803 km2 (310 sq mi), being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions, including the 1888 Exposición Universal de Barcelona, the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (Expo 1929), the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, and the 2004 World Urban Forum.
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Belarus
Belarus (i/bɛləˈruːs/ bel-ə-ROOSS; Belarusian: Беларусь, Russian pronunciation: [bʲɛlaˈrusʲ] Russian: Беларусь, Белоруссия, Belarus', Belorussiya), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Vitsebsk). Over forty percent of its 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.
Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Belarus became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union and was renamed as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR). The borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The nation and its territory were devastated in World War II, during which Belarus lost about a third of its population and more than half of its economic resources. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1945 the Belorussian SSR became a founding member of the United Nations, along with the Soviet Union and the Ukrainian SSR.
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Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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Birmingham
Birmingham (i/ˈbɜrmɪŋəm/ BUR-ming-əm, locally /ˈbɜrmɪŋɡəm/ BUR-ming-gəm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 (2010 estimate), and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census). Birmingham's metropolitan area is also the United Kingdom's second most populous with a population of 3,683,000.
A medium-sized market town during the medieval period, Birmingham grew to international prominence in the 18th century at the heart of the Midlands Enlightenment and subsequent Industrial Revolution, which saw the town at the forefront of worldwide developments in science, technology and economic organisation, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society. By 1791 it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly-skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation and provided a diverse and resilient economic base for industrial prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. Its resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of broad-based political radicalism, that under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy.
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BMW Open
The BMW Open is a tennis tournament held in Munich, Germany. Held since 1900, the tournament is played on outdoor clay courts and is a part of the ATP Tour schedule.
In 1900, the first edition of the tournament was held by the tennis club Münchner Tennis- und Turnierclub (MTTC) Iphitos, which was the first tennis club in Munich having been formed in 1892 by students. The club only had grass courts, and the first edition was therefore played on grass.
The Center Court of the MTTC has been in Aumeisterweg since 1930, and holds 5,600 people.
The tournament has offered prize money since 1970, when the total prizes amounted to $20,000.
Coordinates: 48°11′06″N 11°36′50″E / 48.185°N 11.61389°E / 48.185; 11.61389
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Connecticut
Connecticut (i/kəˈnɛtɨkət/) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south (with which it shares a water boundary in Long Island Sound).
Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately bisects the state. Its capital city is Hartford. Much of southern and western Connecticut (along with the majority of the state's population) is part of the New York metropolitan area; three of Connecticut's eight counties are statistically included in the New York City combined statistical area, the same area is widely referred to as the Tri-State area. Connecticut's center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, which is also located within the Tri-State area.
Connecticut is the 3rd least extensive, the 29th most populous, and 4th most densely populated of the 50 United States. Called the Constitution State, Nutmeg State, and "The Land of Steady Habits", Connecticut was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States.
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Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic (i/ˈtʃɛk/ CHEK;Czech: Česká republika, pronounced [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka] ( listen), short form Česko Czech pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛskɔ]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague.
It is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.
The Czech state, formerly known as Bohemia, was formed in the late 9th century as a small duchy around Prague, at that time under dominance of the powerful Great Moravian Empire (which reached its greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I from the House of Mojmír). After the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power was transferred from Moravia to Bohemia, under the Přemyslids. During the rule of Přemyslid dukes/kings and their successors, the Luxembourgs, the country reached its greatest territorial extent (13th–14th century). Life in the country was significantly affected by the Hussite wars, during which it faced economic embargo and crusades from all over Europe. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy as one of its three principal parts alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Bohemian Revolt (1618–20) led to the further centralization of the monarchy including forced recatholization and Germanization. During radical reforms in the 18th century the Bohemian Crown was even de facto abolished (1749). In the 19th century the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia which was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
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Delray Beach
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 60,020. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 64,150.
Native Americans presumably lived or passed through the area at various times, and hunters, trappers, and runaway slaves may also have lived or passed through the area in the 18th and 19th centuries, but there is no record or evidence of them.
Recorded history begins with the construction of the Orange Grove House of Refuge in 1876. The house derived its name from the grove of mature sour orange and other tropical fruit trees found at the site chosen for the house of refuge, but no record or evidence of who planted the trees has survived.
Settlement began around 1884, when African-Americans from the Panhandle of Florida purchased land a little inland from the Orange Grove House of Refuge and began farming. By 1894 the Black community was large enough to establish the first school in the area.
In 1894 William S. Linton, a Republican US Congressman for Saginaw, Michigan, bought a tract of land just west of the Orange Grove House of Refuge, and began selling plots in what he hoped would become a farming community. Initially, this community was named after Linton. In 1896 Henry Flagler extended his Florida East Coast Railroad south from West Palm Beach to Miami, with a station at Linton.
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Estoril Open
The Estoril Open is an ATP and WTA clay court tournament held in Jamor, Oeiras, Portugal (in spite of nominally located in Estoril). The men's tournament was created in 1990 and since its inception, every champion except 2004 champion Juan Ignacio Chela and 2009–2010 champion Albert Montañés has been in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings, including former World No. 1 players Thomas Muster (1995 and 1996), Carlos Moyà (2000), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2001), Novak Djokovic (2007) and Roger Federer (2008). Also, Marat Safin lost the 2004 final and Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Gustavo Kuerten won the doubles tournament in 1995 and 1997, respectively. The women's tournament, created in 1998, started as an ITF tournament, but in the next year became a WTA tournament. The women's tournament is currently an International Series tournament. No former World No. 1 has ever won the women's tournament but Victoria Azarenka was runner-up in 2007.
Statistically, this tournament highlights the dominance of Argentine and Spanish male players on red clay. Between 1990 and 2001, at least one Spaniard appeared in the final ten times, with a player from Spain claiming the title in nine of those twelve years. The Spanish dominance waned in recent years. Since 2001, there were only two Spaniards in three finals and only two victories. Between 2002 and 2006, an Argentine made the final at Estoril, winning four of these five titles.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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Florida
Florida (i/ˈflɒrɪdə/) is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, its largest city is Jacksonville, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.
Much of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is marked by a coastline, by the omnipresence of water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state to border both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and its terrain is characterized by sedimentary soils. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Its symbolic animals like the American alligator, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades, one of the most famous national parks in the world.
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French Open
The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros (French: Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros, IPA: [ʁɔlɑ̃ ɡaʁɔs]), named after the famous French aviator Roland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam held on clay and ends the spring clay court season.
It is one of the largest events in tennis, and the most watched French event in the world. Because of the slow playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, the event is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.
Currently, the 2012 French Open is being conducted from May 27 to June 10, 2012 in Paris.
Officially named in French Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros (the "French Internationals of Roland Garros" or "Roland Garros Tournament" in English), the tournament is often referred to in English as the "French Open" and alternatively as "Roland Garros", which is the designation used by the tournament itself in all languages, including English. In French, a hyphen is inserted after death, hence the French spelling "Roland-Garros".
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French Open (tennis)
The French Open, often referred to as Roland Garros (French: Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros, IPA: [ʁɔlɑ̃ ɡaʁɔs]), named after the famous French aviator Roland Garros, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam held on clay and ends the spring clay court season.
It is one of the largest events in tennis, and the most watched French event in the world. Because of the slow playing surface and the five-set men's singles matches without a tiebreak in the final set, the event is widely considered to be the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.
Currently, the 2012 French Open is being conducted from May 27 to June 10, 2012 in Paris.
Officially named in French Les internationaux de France de Roland-Garros or Tournoi de Roland-Garros (the "French Internationals of Roland Garros" or "Roland Garros Tournament" in English), the tournament is often referred to in English as the "French Open" and alternatively as "Roland Garros", which is the designation used by the tournament itself in all languages, including English. In French, a hyphen is inserted after death, hence the French spelling "Roland-Garros".
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Harlem was annexed to New York City in 1873.
Harlem has been defined by a series of boom-and-bust cycles, with significant ethnic shifts accompanying each cycle. Black residents began to arrive en masse in 1904, with numbers fed by the Great Migration. In the 1920s and 1930s, the neighborhood was the focus of the "Harlem Renaissance", an outpouring of artistic and professional works without precedent in the American black community. However, with job losses in the time of the Great Depression and the deindustrialization of New York City after World War II, rates of crime and poverty increased significantly.
New York's revival in the late 20th century has led to renewal in Harlem as well. By 1995, Harlem was experiencing social and economic gentrification. Though the percentage of residents who are black peaked in 1950, the area remains predominantly black.
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Harvard University
Harvard University is an American private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country. Harvard's history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard. Although never formally affiliated with a church, the college primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Harvard's curriculum and students became secular throughout the 18th century and by the 19th century had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's forty year tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a centralized research university, and Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College. Drew Gilpin Faust was elected the 28th president in 2007 and is the first woman to lead the university. Harvard has the largest financial endowment of any academic institution in the world, standing at $32 billion as of September 2011.
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Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639
Hawaii (i/həˈwaɪ.iː/ or /həˈwaɪʔiː/; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi Hawaiian pronunciation: [hɐˈvɐiʔi]) is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the island of Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
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Houston
Houston ( /ˈhjuːstən/) (Alibamu: Yosti ) is the largest city in the state of Texas, and the fourth-largest city in the United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of 656.3 square miles (1,700 km2). Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, which is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with 6.08 million people as of July 1st, 2011.
Houston was founded in 1836 on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou. It was incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837, and named after then-President of the Republic of Texas—former General Sam Houston—who had commanded at the Battle of San Jacinto, which took place 25 miles (40 km) east of where the city was established. The burgeoning port and railroad industry, combined with oil discovery in 1901, has induced continual surges in the city's population. In the mid-twentieth century, Houston became the home of the Texas Medical Center—the world's largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions—and NASA's Johnson Space Center, where the Mission Control Center is located.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Japan
Japan
i/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (/lɑːs ˈveɪɡəs/) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its consolidated casino–hotels and associated entertainment. A growing retirement and family city, Las Vegas is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, with a population at the 2010 census of 583,756. The 2010 population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area was 1,951,269.
Established in 1905, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, Las Vegas was the most populous American city founded in that century (a distinction held by Chicago in the 19th century). The city's tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. There are numerous outdoor lighting displays on Fremont Street, as well as elsewhere in the city.
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Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.
Memphis had a population of 662,897 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville, which has overtaken Memphis in recent years. Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee's major cities. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian, and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as the "Mid-South".
Because it occupies a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi River, the site of Memphis is a natural location for settlement. The area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe. For 10,000 years they occupied the bluffs along the river, building a large mound on the bluff. European exploration came later, beginning in the 16th century with Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and French explorers led by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
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Monte Carlo Masters
The Monte-Carlo Masters (as of 2012[update] sponsored by Rolex) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. The tournament is played on clay courts and is held every year in the April-May period.
The Monte Carlo tennis championship was first held in 1897. It became an "Open" event in 1969. Between 1970 and 1989 it was a major tournament of the Grand Prix Tour as part of the Grand Prix Championship Series top tier events, before becoming an ATP Championship Series Single Week tennis event.
Beginning in 2009, Monte Carlo became the only ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament to not have a mandatory player commitment. Most of the top players still elect to play the event.
Rafael Nadal has won the title 8 consecutive times between 2005 and 2012, making him the only player in the open era to win 8 consecutive titles at the same tournament.
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Monte-Carlo Masters
The Monte-Carlo Masters (as of 2012[update] sponsored by Rolex) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. The tournament is played on clay courts and is held every year in the April-May period.
The Monte Carlo tennis championship was first held in 1897. It became an "Open" event in 1969. Between 1970 and 1989 it was a major tournament of the Grand Prix Tour as part of the Grand Prix Championship Series top tier events, before becoming an ATP Championship Series Single Week tennis event.
Beginning in 2009, Monte Carlo became the only ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament to not have a mandatory player commitment. Most of the top players still elect to play the event.
Rafael Nadal has won the title 8 consecutive times between 2005 and 2012, making him the only player in the open era to win 8 consecutive titles at the same tournament.
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New York
New York (/njuː ˈjɔrk/; locally IPA: [nɪu ˈjɔək] or [nuː ˈjɔɹk] (
listen)) is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. New York is the 27th most extensive, the 3rd most populous, and the 7th most densely populated of the 50 United States. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border with Rhode Island east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Ontario to the west and north, and Quebec to the north. The state of New York is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City.
New York City, with a population of over 8.1 million, is the most populous city in the United States. Alone, it makes up over 40 percent of the population of New York state. It is known for its status as a center for finance and culture and for its status as the largest gateway for immigration to the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, New York City is also a destination of choice for many foreign visitors. Both the state and city were named for the 17th century Duke of York, James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.
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Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. ( /ˈnaɪkiː/; NYSE: NKE) is a major publicly traded clothing, footwear, sportswear, and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$18.6 billion in its fiscal year 2008 (ending May 31, 2008). As of 2008, it employed more than 30,000 people worldwide. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state of Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
The company was founded on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. The company takes its name from Nike (Greek Νίκη, pronounced [nǐːkɛː]), the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Hurley International, Umbro and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008. In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just do it" and the Swoosh logo.
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Queen's club
The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. Founded in 1886, the Queen's Club was the world's first multipurpose sports complex and named after Queen Victoria, its first patron. The club hosts the prestigious annual Queen's Club Championships grass court men's lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the AEGON Championships for sponsorship reasons). It has 28 outdoor courts and eight indoor. With two courts, it is also the national headquarters of real tennis, hosting the British Open every year. The Queen's Club also has rackets, and squash courts, of which it now has become the headquarters for these sports due to the Prince's Club closure in 1940.
It was also the jeu de paume (real tennis) venue of the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Until 1922, the club was the main ground for the football games of Corinthian F.C. One international was held, England drawing 1–1 with Wales on 18 March 1895.
On 13 September 2005, the Lawn Tennis Association, the governing body of British lawn tennis, which had owned Queen's since 1953, put the club up for sale. The terms required that the rackets club and the Queen's Club Championships remain unaffected (the site's value for residential or commercial redevelopment might greatly exceed its value as a sports club, in the event that planning permission could be obtained, and the LTA wished to preserve the club's role in British tennis). On 8 March 2006, the LTA announced that it would sell to club members for £45 million, ending seven months of uncertainty about the club's future. However some members disputed the LTA's right to sell the club, which they contested it merely held in trust on their behalf, and began to raise funds to dispute the sale in court. In late 2006 the two sides reached an out of court settlement in which the sale price was reduced to £35 million.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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San Jose, California
San Jose ( /ˌsæn hoʊˈseɪ/; Spanish: St. Joseph) is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. The San Jose/Silicon Valley area is a major component of the greater San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.6 million people and the sixth largest metropolitan area (CSA) in the United States. It is also the most populous city in Northern California.
San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777, as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civilian town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The city served as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San Francisco and Monterey. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital.
After more than 150 years as a small farming city, San Jose and the surrounding Santa Clara Valley became the last (and largest) contiguous area of undeveloped land surrounding the San Francisco Bay. San Jose experienced increased demand for housing from soldiers and veterans returning from World War II. San Jose then continued its aggressive expansion during the 1950s and 1960s by annexing more land area. The rapid growth of the high-technology and electronics industries further accelerated the transition from an agricultural center, to an urbanized metropolitan area.
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Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Stockholm
Stockholm (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstɔkːˈhɔlm, ˈstɔkːˈɔlm, ˈstɔkːɔlm]( listen to the second one)) is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 864,324 in the municipality (2010), 1.4 million in the urban area (2010), and around 2.1 million in the 6,519 km2 (2,517.00 sq mi) metropolitan area (2010). As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population.
Founded no later than c. 1250, possibly as early as 1187, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden's cultural, media, political, and economic centres. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the south-central east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-. In The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in Scandinavia. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks. It is sometimes referred to as Venice of the North.
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Sweden
Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.
At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". However, Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.
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Switzerland
Switzerland (German: die Schweiz[ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.
The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.
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Tampa
Tampa (pronunciation: /ˈtæmpə/) is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County and is located on the west coast of Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709.
The current location of Tampa was once inhabited by indigenous peoples of the Safety Harbor culture, most notably the Tocobaga and the Pohoy, who lived along the shores of Tampa Bay. It was briefly explored by Spanish explorers in the early 16th century, but there were no permanent American or European settlements within today's city limits until after the United States had acquired Florida from Spain in 1819.
In 1824, the United States Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near the site of today's Tampa Convention Center. The first civilian residents were pioneers who settled near the fort for protection from the nearby Seminole population. The town grew slowly until the 1880s, when railroad links, the discovery of phosphate, and the arrival of the cigar industry jump-started Tampa's development and helped it to grow into an important city by the early 1900s.
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Texas
Texas (i/ˈtɛksəs/) (Alibamu: Teksi ) is the second most populous and the second most extensive of the 50 United States, and the most extensive state of the 48 contiguous United States. The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas. Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km2), and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.
During the Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas. Antonio Margil de Jesús was known to be the first person to use the name in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico in July 20, 1716. The name was not popularly used in daily speech but often appeared in legal documents until the end of the 1800s.
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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
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The Bahamas
The Bahamasi/bəˈhɑːməz/, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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US Open (tennis)
The US Open Championship, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881. Since 1987, the US Open has been chronologically the fourth and final tennis major comprising the Grand Slam each year; the other three are the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. It is held annually in August and September over a two-week period (the weeks before and after Labor Day weekend). The main tournament consists of five different event championships: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been played on acrylic hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City.
The US Open has tiebreaks in every set, including the last set. The other three Grand Slam tournaments have tiebreaks in every set other than the last set (i.e. the fifth set for men and third set for women), and therefore their last set continues indefinitely until a two-game lead is reached.
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Virginia
Virginia (i/vərˈdʒɪnjə/), officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state located in the South Atlantic region of the United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city and Fairfax County the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's population is over eight million.
The area's history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony. Slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colony's early politics and plantation economy. Virginia was one of the 13 Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War, during which Richmond was made the Confederate capital and Virginia's northwestern counties separated to form the state of West Virginia. Although the Commonwealth was under conservative single-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, both major national parties are competitive in modern Virginia.
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Yonkers
Coordinates: 40°56′29″N 73°51′52″W / 40.94139°N 73.86444°W / 40.94139; -73.86444
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (behind New York City, Buffalo and Rochester), and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976 (according to the 2010 Census). Yonkers borders the New York City borough of The Bronx and is 2 miles (3 km) north of Manhattan at the cities' closest points.
The city is home to several attractions: the Hudson River Museum, the Sherwood House, the Science Barge, Cross County Shopping Center, Ridge Hill Shopping Center, and Yonkers Raceway, a harness racing track that has renovated its grounds and clubhouse and added legalized video slot machine gambling in 2006 in a "racino" called Empire City. There are also many large shopping areas along Central Park Avenue (NY 100), informally called "Central Ave" by area residents, a name it takes officially a few miles north in White Plains, New York.
The city is spread out over hills rising from near sea level at the eastern bank of the Hudson River to 416 feet (126 m) at Sacred Heart Church, whose spire can be seen from Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey. Its landscape has been compared to San Francisco, Sarajevo, and Rome.
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African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.
African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.
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African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.
African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.
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Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri Shaal (born September 14, 1976) is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay.
Born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina, he picked up first ATP win in 1999 over Jan Vacek at Roland Garros. Also advanced to first quarter-final at Umag. In 2000 he made the third round in Roland Garros, before losing to Andrei Medvedev. He beat Marat Safin in Kitzbühel and pushed Pete Sampras to two tie-breakers in US Open's third round. Then in 2001 he won three challenger events beating Juan Ignacio Chela and David Nalbandian.
He finished in Top 50 for his first time in 2002, and had match points to Nicolás Massú in Buenos Aires final. Later in October he beat Marat Safin and Thomas Johansson to make an impressive quarterfinal in Paris.
In 2003 he won his first ATP title of his career in Acapulco where he defeated Gastón Gaudio, Marcelo Ríos, Felix Mantilla and then Mariano Zabaleta in the final and reached his career-high ranking of World No. 16. In Estoril he reached the final but lost to Nikolay Davydenko. In Hamburg he made his greatest result reaching the final before losing to Guillermo Coria in straight sets. He also posted a stunning win against former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in Davis Cup.
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Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (Urdu: اعصام الحق قریشی) (born March 17, 1980, in Lahore, Pakistan) is a professional tennis player from Pakistan. He is currently Pakistan's top player. A top 10 doubles player, his highest Singles Race ranking is 103rd and is the former Asian No. 3. He is the only Pakistani tennis player to reach the final of a Grand Slam, which he did in 2010 competing in both mixed doubles (partnering with Květa Peschke) and men's doubles (partnering with Rohan Bopanna) at the US Open.
Qureshi teamed with Israeli player Amir Hadad during Wimbledon and the US Open tournaments in 2002. The duo won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for playing together despite pressure from their communities.
As Pakistani No. 1, Qureshi has traditionally led Pakistan's Davis Cup campaigns. After shocking New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round play-off in 2004 to survive relegation, he took them to the World Group Play-Offs for the first time in 2005, before they were beaten by Chile. He has won the most Davis Cup matches for Pakistan, being the most successful singles and doubles player ever. He is also half of the most successful doubles pairing for Pakistan (with Aqeel Khan) in the country's sporting history.
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Albert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca (born 26 November 1980 in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Spain) is a professional tennis player from Spain.
He first entered the top 100 in 2001 and has been in the top 100 for all but 20 weeks since then. As of August 2010, he has a career high ranking of no. 22.
He is well known for his mental toughness, and is one of the very few players to ever win a title after saving match points in two different matches, he did it in Estoril 2009 (in the quarterfinals and in the final).
Current through the 2012 French Open.
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Alex O'Brien
Alex O'Brien (born March 7, 1970 in Amarillo, Texas) is a professional tennis player from the United States, who competed on the ATP Tour. He was the No. 1 doubles player in the world (gaining that ranking on May 8, 2000) and was ranked as high as 30 in the world in singles (gaining that ranking on June 21, 1997).
He won his only singles title at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1996. He won 13 doubles titles, the biggest coming at the US Open in 1999, the Cincinnati Masters in 1994 (his first doubles title), the Indian Wells Masters in 2000, and the Paris Masters in 1999.
He also reached 20 doubles finals, including the Australian Open in 1996 & 1997, the U.S. Open in 1995, the Miami Masters in 1998, and the Canada Masters and the Rome Masters in 1997.
He also played on the United States Davis Cup team, competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and was a four-time All-American at Stanford University where he won NCAA singles, doubles and team titles in 1992. He earned a bachelor's degree in American Studies at Stanford in 1992.
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Alexandr Dolgopolov
Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Долгополов) (born 7 November 1988), formerly known as Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr., is the top-ranked Ukrainian male tennis player. He changed his first name spelling to the current form in May 2010.
Alexandr's father, Oleksandr Dolgopolov, was a professional tennis player for the Soviet team, and his mother was a gymnast. He started playing tennis at age 3, coached by his father. The senior Dolgopolov was also the coach of Andrei Medvedev, Ukraine's most successful tennis player to date. At a young age, Dolgopolov lived on the tour with his parents, traveling frequently and playing players such as Medvedev, Andre Agassi, and Boris Becker. Players such as Jim Courier remembered hitting balls with Dolgopolov when he was a toddler.
Dolgopolov made his ATP Tour debut in September 2006 at the BCR Open Romania as a qualifier, losing in the first round to Christophe Rochus. He was also part of the Ukrainian Davis Cup team in the tie against Great Britain, where he was defeated by Andy Murray.
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Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi ( /ˈɑːndreɪ ˈæɡəsi/; born April 29, 1970) is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game. Described by the BBC upon his retirement as "perhaps the biggest worldwide star in the sport's history", Agassi's performances, along with his unorthodox apparel and attitude, have seen him cited as one of the most charismatic players in the history of the game, and credited for helping revive the popularity of tennis during the 1990s.
In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion who competed in 15 Grand Slam finals, and an Olympic gold medalist. A multi-surface specialist, he is the first of two male players to have achieved a singles Career Golden Slam, and one of four to have achieved a singles Career Grand Slam in the Open Era (one of seven in history). He was the first male player to win all four Grand Slams on three different surfaces (hard, clay and grass), and is the last American male to win the French Open (1999) and the Australian Open (2003). Agassi also won 17 ATP Masters Series titles, the 1990 ATP Tour World Championships, and was part of a winning Davis Cup team in 1990 and 1992. He is the only male singles player in history to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments, the Olympic gold medal and the ATP Tour World Championships: a distinction dubbed as a "Career Super Slam" by Sports Illustrated.
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Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984 in Bolzano, Italy) is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori. His career high was no. 25, achieved on 21 May 2012.
Seppi turned pro in 2001, playing exclusively on the ATP Futures and ATP Challenger Series circuit for three seasons. He won his first Futures event in 2003, in Munich, Germany, defeating Lars Übel. In addition, he qualified for his first two ATP events in Kitzbühel and Bucharest, where he was defeated by Olivier Mutis and José Acasuso, respectively.
In 2004, Seppi made his Davis Cup debut against Georgia, losing to Irakli Labadze in five sets. In Kitzbühel, Seppi failed to convert 10 match points against Rainer Schüttler in a second-round loss. A few weeks later, Seppi was able to gain revenge for this loss. In his Grand Slam debut as a qualifer, he defeated Schüttler, coming from two sets to love down. Seppi finished the 2005 season in the top 100 for the first time. He qualified for four ATP Masters Series events, with his best performance in Hamburg, where he reached the quarterfinals. In the Davis Cup, Seppi came back from two sets to love down and defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, 5–7, 3–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–2, before losing to Rafael Nadal in the reverse singles. After this performance, he reached his first ATP Tour semifinal in Palermo, where he defeated defending champion Tomáš Berdych, before falling to Igor Andreev.
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Andrei Olhovskiy
Andrei Olhovskiy (Андрей Ольховский; born April 15, 1966 in Moscow) is a former tennis player from Russia, who turned professional in 1989.
Olhovskiy represented his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he reached the quarter finales on a wild card before falling to Brazil's Fernando Meligeni.
The right-hander won 2 career titles in singles (Copenhagen, 1993 and Shanghai, 1996)and 20 titles in doubles, French Open (1993) and Australian Open (1994) champion in mixed doubles. Olhovskiy reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on June 14, 1993, when he became the number 49 of the world and his highest doubles ranking 6 (July 31, 1995), played for the Russian Davis Cup team 1983–2001.
He memorably defeated No 1 seed Jim Courier in the third round of Wimbledon in 1992.
A = did not attend tournament
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Andrew Kratzmann
Andrew Kratzmann (born 3 November 1971 in Murgon, Queensland, Australia) is a professional male tennis player from Australia.
Kratzmann turned professional in 1990 and was known as a doubles specialist, often partnering his brother Mark.
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Andy Murray
Andrew "Andy" Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a Scottish professional tennis player, ranked No. 4 in the world, and was ranked No. 2 from 17 to 31 August 2009. Murray achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on 16 April 2007. He has been runner-up in three Grand Slam finals: the 2008 US Open, the 2010 Australian Open and the 2011 Australian Open, losing the first two to Roger Federer and the third to Novak Djokovic. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year.
Andy Murray was born to Will and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland. His maternal grandfather, Roy Erskine, was a professional footballer who played reserve team matches for Hibernian and in the Scottish Football League for Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath. Murray's brother, Jamie, is also a professional tennis player, playing on the doubles circuit. Following the separation of his parents when he was nine years old, Andy and Jamie lived with their father. Murray later attended Dunblane High School. Murray is in a five-year relationship with Kim Sears, who is regularly seen attending his matches. The relationship ended briefly in 2009 before they reconciled a short time later in 2010.
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Andy Ram
Andy Ram (Hebrew: אנדי רם; born April 10, 1980) is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event (mixed doubles title at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, together with Vera Zvonareva). He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches. He uses a Wilson racquet and is sponsored by Fila for his attire.
He attained his highest doubles ranking through July 2009, # 5, in July 2008. He reached 28 doubles finals and won 15 of them through 2008, mostly with partner Jonathan Erlich; together, they are known in Israel as "AndiYoni".
Ram, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, is Jewish. His father Amiram, a former professional soccer player for Betar Jerusalem in the 1950s, is Israeli. After his father was injured he was sent to Uruguay on "shlihut" ("outreach"), and it was there that he met Ram's mother, who is Uruguayan. He has an older brother and a younger sister. They moved to Jerusalem, Israel when he was 5, which is when he began playing tennis. "It was tough at the beginning because I couldn't speak the language, and was fighting with people in the kindergarten who didn't understand me", said Ram. "My parents decided to send me to the tennis center not long after we arrived."
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Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the third highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish and John Isner.
He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 US Open, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the finals, which currently makes him the last North American male player to win a grand slam singles event. Roddick has reached four other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009, and the US Open in 2006), losing to Roger Federer each time. He is married to Brooklyn Decker, a Sports Illustrated swimwear model and actress.
Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Jerry and Blanche Roddick. Roddick's father was a businessman and his mother was a school teacher. She now directs the Andy Roddick Foundation. Roddick has two older brothers, Lawrence and John (All-American tennis player at University of Georgia (1996–98) and head tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma), who were both promising tennis players at a young age.
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Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément (born 17 December 1977) is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.
Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland. He turned professional in 1996, and his most significant achievement has been to reach the Australian Open men's singles final in 2001, where he was defeated by Andre Agassi, defeating the then-unseeded but future number one Roger Federer and former number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov on his way to the final.
While playing he often wears a bandana and sunglasses. The sunglasses have been medically prescribed for Clement because of severe eye problems he has encountered through his life, which had nearly left him blind as a child. At only 13 months old he was diagnosed with unilateral coloboma, meaning the condition only affects one eye, at that time Clément was only given a 40/60 % chance of having healthy eyesight for the rest of his life[citation needed], throughout his tennis career Clément has worn sunglasses to protect his eyes.
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Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was a former World No. 1 professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States. Ashe, an African American, was the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man to ever win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or Australian Open. He is also remembered for his efforts to further social causes.
Born in Gum Spring, Virginia, to parents Arthur Ashe Sr. and Mattie Cordell Cunningham Ashe, Arthur and his younger brother, Johnnie, suffered a tragic loss when their mother died suddenly from heart related complications during routine surgery. Arthur Ashe first attended Maggie L. Walker High School, being coached by Ronald Charity, and later coached by Robert Walter Johnson. Tired of having to travel great distances to play Caucasian youths in segregated Richmond, Ashe accepted an offer from a St. Louis tennis official to move there and attend Sumner High School. Young Ashe was recognized by Sports Illustrated for his playing.
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes.
Becker was born at Merzig, Saarland, then part of West Germany. He won the 2004 NCAA singles title while helping Baylor University to the team title. A rarity in men's tennis, Becker attended college for four years before turning pro.
Becker is not related to fellow player Boris Becker.
2006 was a breakthrough year for Becker. In June of that year, he qualified for Wimbledon and defeated Juan Ignacio Chela, before losing in the second round to Fernando Verdasco.
At the 2006 U.S. Open, he defeated Filippo Volandri and #30 seed Sébastien Grosjean to reach the third round, where he defeated former World No. 1 Andre Agassi in 4 sets. The match was especially noteworthy as it was Agassi's last on the ATP circuit: he had announced that the 2006 U.S. Open would be his final tournament, and his defeat was followed by an 8-minute standing ovation from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. The day after Becker's win over Agassi, his own U.S. Open bid was ended by Andy Roddick in the fourth round.
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Bob and Mike Bryan
Twin brothers Robert Charles Bryan (Bob) and Michael Carl Bryan (Mike) are American professional tennis double players. They have been the World No. 1 doubles players for over 270 weeks (as of January 2, 2012), which is longer than anyone else in doubles history. Also, they have finished the ATP year-end number 1 doubles team a record 7 times. Between 2005 and 2006, they set an Open Era record by competing in seven consecutive men's doubles Grand Slam finals, three of which they won. On August 11, 2011, they recorded their Open Era record 700th match win by defeating Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in the second round of the 2011 Rogers Cup.
Born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being older by two minutes, and Bob taller by 3 cm, The Bryans, as they are known, have won a record 77 tour titles surpassing The Woodies, and have been finalists on 42 other occasions. They have a career Grand Slam that includes victories at the French Open (2003), US Open (2005, 2008 and 2010), Australian Open (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011), and Wimbledon (2006, 2011). They won the Tennis Masters Cup doubles tournament three times (2003, 2004 and 2009). They won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They also won the 2007 Davis Cup along with Andy Roddick and James Blake. The Bryan Brothers were named ATP Team of the Decade for 2000–2009.
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Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker (born 22 November 1967) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. Becker also won five major indoor championships titles including three ATP Masters World Tour Finals (played eight finals, second all-time to Ivan Lendl, who played nine) and one WCT Finals and one Grand Slam Cup. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles and eight Championship Series titles. Tennis Magazine put Becker in 18th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players from 1965 to 2005.
Becker was born in Leimen, West Germany, the only son of Elvira (née Pisch), who was raised in Czechoslovakia. His parents were Catholic, and part of his mother's family were Jewish. His father Karl-Heinz, an architect, founded the tennis centre (Tennis-Club Blau-Weiß 1964 Leimen e. V.) in Leimen, where Becker learned the game.
Becker turned professional in 1984, under the guidance of Romanian-born coach, Günther Bosch, and with Ion Ţiriac as manager and won his first professional doubles title that year in Munich. As a West German teenager, Becker won his first top-level singles title in June 1985 at Queen's Club and two weeks later on 7 July, became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets. At the time, he was the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at &1000000000000001700000017 years, &10000000000000227000000227 days (a record later broken by Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open when he was &1000000000000001700000017 years, &10000000000000110000000110 days). Two months after his triumph, Becker became the youngest winner of the Cincinnati Open.
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Brett Steven
Brett Andrew Steven (born 27 April 1969, in Auckland, New Zealand) is a tennis player from New Zealand.
Steven turned professional in 1988 and won his first tour doubles title in 1991 at Newport, Rhode Island.
Steven's best singles performance at a Grand Slam event came at the 1993 Australian Open, where he reached the quarter-finals before being knocked-out by Pete Sampras.
Steven represented New Zealand at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lost in the first round to Arnaud Boetsch of France.
Steven won a total of nine top-level doubles titles during his career, the most significant of which was the Indian Wells Masters which he won in 1995 (partnering Tommy Ho). Though he did not win any top-level singles titles during his career, Steven was a singles runner-up at three tour events (Schenectady in 1993, Auckland in 1996 and Newport in 1997). His career-high rankings were World No. 32 in singles and No. 16 in doubles. His career prize-money totalled US$2,439,714. Steven retired from the professional tour in 1999.
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Brian MacPhie
Brian MacPhie (born May 11, 1972, in San Jose, California), is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
MacPhie enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won 7 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 22 in 2002.
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Bruno Soares
Bruno Soares (born February 27, 1982, in Belo Horizonte) is a professional tennis player from Brazil.
Soares's highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour is World No. 221, which he reached in March 2004. Primarily a doubles specialist, his career-high doubles ranking is World No. 14, reached on May 4, 2009. He and partner Dušan Vemić reached the semi-finals of the 2008 French Open, losing to eventual champions Pablo Cuevas and Luis Horna.
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Carlos Moyà
Carlos Moyá Llompart (Catalan: Carles Moyà, Spanish: Carlos Moyá; born 27 August 1976) is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland.
Moyá was born in Palma, Spain. He began playing tennis at six with his parents. He turned professional in 1995 and won his first tour title later that year in Buenos Aires. He previously dated Italian Flavia Pennetta. The two split in 2007. He is dating Spanish actress Carolina Cerezuela, with whom he has a daughter, Carla, born by C-section on 18 August 2010 at the USP Clínica Palmaplanas in Palma, Majorca.
In 1997, Moyá reached his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, defeating World No. 3 Michael Chang in the semifinals in straight sets, before losing in straight sets to Pete Sampras.
In 1998, Moyá won the French Open. He defeated the tournament favourite, Marcelo Ríos in the quarterfinals, and fellow-Spaniard Álex Corretja in the final with a straight-sets win. He also won his first Tennis Masters Series tournament that year at Monte Carlo. He reached the semifinals of the US Open, losing to Mark Philippoussis. He concluded the year by finishing runner-up at the ATP World Championships (now known as the Tennis Masters Cup), where he lost in a five-set final to Corretja, having won the first two sets.
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Charlie Pasarell
Charlie (Charles Manuel) Pasarell, Jr. (born February 12, 1944, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a former Puerto Rican tennis player and commentator. Representing the United States as a player, he has been heavily engaged in the administration of the professional game from the inception of the ATP in 1972 and has been Vice President when he was still playing and until recently on the Board of Directors representing the Americas tournaments.
He is also known as Charlito ("Little Charlie") because his father had the same name and was also a gifted tennis player, being the champion of Puerto Rico six times in the 1950s. The younger Pasarell won over half dozen Orange Bowl titles and five U.S. Junior titles including the U.S. Junior in Singles and Doubles (with Clark Graebner) in 1961. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he won the NCAA men's singles and doubles (with Ian Crookenden of New Zealand) titles in 1966, one year after his friend and teammate Arthur Ashe. He reached #1 in the rankings of American men's players in 1967, also in 1967 he became the first man for over 30 years to win the U.S. National Indoors in successive years; this tournament was the biggest indoor tournament in the world and second only to the U.S. Championships.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Chris Haggard
Chris Haggard (born April 28, 1971, in Pretoria) is a professional tennis player from South Africa.
After finishing runner-up in the NAIA national men's tennis championship singles draw in 1991 while playing for Auburn University-Montgomery, Haggard turned pro in 1993. He has won six ATP Tour doubles titles and finished runner-up a further 12 times. He reached his career high doubles ranking of No. 19 on September 8, 2003.
Haggard until January 2009 played Team Tennis for the Delaware Smash.
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Danie Visser
Danie Visser (b. 26 July 1961, in Rustenburg, South Africa) is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. A doubles specialist, he won 3 Grand Slam men's doubles titles (2 Australian Open and 1 US Open). Visser reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1990.
Visser won the first of 17 career doubles titles in 1985 at Bristol. In 1990 he won the men's doubles titles at both the Australian Open and the US Open, partnering his fellow South African player Pieter Aldrich. The pair were also doubles runners-up at Wimbledon that year. Visser won the Australian Open doubles crown again in 1993, partnering Laurie Warder. Visser won the final doubles title of his career in 1994 at Manchester.
Visser's best singles ranking was World No. 59, which he attained in 1984.
A = did not attend tournament
NH = tournament not held
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Daniel Gimeno-Traver
Daniel Gimeno-Traver (born 7 August 1985 in Valencia, Spain) is a professional Spanish tennis player who turned professional in 2004, when he was eighteen years old. Son of Javier, a chemist and Marisol, a nurse, Gimeno-Traver is the second of four brothers, Carlos, Miguel and Victor being his siblings.
He started playing tennis at the age of two and won the European Championships in 2003 beating Marcos Baghdatis in Switzerland, winning a further 5 junior titles to reach No.4 in the World. He also beat Marko Djokovic on the way to a Quarter-Final place at Roland Garos, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Gimeno-Traver has won 6 Challenger Tour events (2004, 2008 (2), 2009 (2), and 2010).
He prefers to play on clay and is currently coached by Israel Sevilla.
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Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM (Serbian: Данијел Нестор, Danijel Nestor), born on September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In his career thus far he has won 76 men's doubles titles, including a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the ATP World Tour Finals 4 times, and 7 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. In addition, Nestor won the 2007 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Elena Likhovtseva. This pairing also reached the finals of the 2006 Australian Open and the 2006 French Open. Nestor also won the 2011 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Katarina Srebotnik. In June 2011, he captured the 2011 French Open men's doubles title with Max Mirnyi.
His 76 doubles titles make him the third most decorated champion among active doubles players, and fourth all time. He is the only player in tennis history to have won all four Grand Slams, all of the Masters Series events, the Year End Championships and Olympic gold medal in doubles at least once. He was named ATP Doubles Team of the Year in 2002 and 2004 (with Mark Knowles) and 2008 (with Nenad Zimonjić).
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Daniel Vacek
Daniel Vacek (born 1 April 1971 in Prague) is a former tennis player from Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic who turned professional in 1990.
Vacek represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the second round. The right-hander won 25 career titles in doubles with various partners, including the French Open in 1996 and 1997 and the U.S. Open in 1997 with Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Vacek reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 29 January 1996, when he became World No. 26.
A = did not attend tournament
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Darren Cahill
Darren Cahill (born 2 October 1965 in Adelaide, Australia) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Australia. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.
Nicknamed "Killer", Cahill turned professional in 1984. He won his first tour doubles title in 1985 at Melbourne, and his first top-level singles title in 1988 at Gstaad.
Cahill's best performance at a Grand Slam event came at the 1988 US Open, where he knocked-out Boris Becker in the second round on the way to reaching the semi-finals, where he lost to eventual champion Mats Wilander.
In 1989, Cahill finished runner-up in the men's doubles at the Australian Open (partnering Mark Kratzmann).
Cahill was a member of the Australian team which reached the final of the Davis Cup in 1990. (The team lost 3–2 to the United States in the final.) Cahill compiled a 6–4 career Davis Cup record (4–0 in doubles and 2–4 in singles).
Cahill won his last tour singles title in 1991 at San Francisco. His last doubles title came in 1994 in Sydney. His career-high rankings were World No. 22 in singles and No. 10 in doubles (both achieved in 1989). Cahill retired from the professional tour in 1994 due to a knee injury.
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David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian (born January 1, 1982) is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.
David Nalbandian was born in the small city of Unquillo in Córdoba Province, Argentina. His mother is of Italian descent and his father is of Armenian descent. He turned a professional tennis player at the age of 18.
He turned professional in 2000. In 2001, he finished in the ATP top 50 for the first time. He finished 2002 as the no. 1 Argentine and South American for the first time in his career, winning two ATP titles and reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Lleyton Hewitt.
Nalbanian was not able to return to the Wimbledon final in 2003, as he was knocked out in the round of 16 by hometown favourite Tim Henman. He did however make an impressive run at the U.S. Open, taking out both of the Wimbledon finalists 20th seed Mark Philippoussis, and the second seed Roger Federer along the way to a semifinal matchup with Andy Roddick. It was the second time in less than a month that he had met Roddick in a high-stakes match, having lost to him in the final of the Rogers Cup a few weeks earlier. Nalbandian started strongly, taking a two sets to love lead, and held a match point in the third-set tiebreak. There was a little bit of controversy during the match, when a fan yelled "out" at 7–7 in the tiebreak, causing Nalbandian to mishit his following shot when he thought the linesman was the one who called it. Roddick took the point and eventually prevailed in the tiebreak. Ultimately, he was unable to finish the match off and eventually lost 6–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, 6–3. He finished 2003 ranked #8 in the world.
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David Pate
David Pate (born April 16, 1962) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who won two singles titles and eighteen doubles titles during his career. He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 18 on June 8, 1987 and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 1 on January 14, 1991. His greatest success came in 1991 when he won the Australian Open doubles title together with compatriot Scott Davis and reached the doubles final at the US Open later that year.
A = did not attend tournament
NH = tournament not held
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Denis Gremelmayr
Denis Gremelmayr (born August 16, 1981 in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg) is a German male tennis player. Gremelmayr turned pro in 2000 and reached #97 in August, 2006. He spent 2007 in the top 200 and finished the year at #119. His career high ranking is #59, achieved on May 5, 2008.
In 2008, Gremelmayr reached the second round of the Australian Open, losing in five sets to unseeded American Vince Spadea.
In April, he reached the semifinals of the Estoril Open, bowing out to then-ATP leader Roger Federer, in 3 sets.
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Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov (Russian: Дми́трий И́горевич Турсу́нов (help·info); born December 12, 1982, in Moscow, Russia) is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player.
Tursunov is an offensive baseliner with excellent groundstrokes from both sides[citation needed], and prefers to play on faster surfaces; he jokes about his lack of ability and success on clay courts. He is sponsored by Fila and Wilson.
Tursunov helped the Russian Davis Cup team win the 2006 Davis Cup, and reach the finals of the 2007 Davis Cup.
Tursunov began tennis in Moscow when his father made him play a few hours a day at 5. He came to the United States to train with Vitaly Gorin.
I practiced a few hours a day. My dad realized fairly early that I had a lot of potential. A lot of people criticize him for basically choosing that career for me. He understood that I didn’t have many options to make money and since he really liked tennis, he decided that I was to be a tennis player. It just happened that I was naturally good at it.
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Dominik Hrbatý
Dominik Hrbatý (born 4 January 1978, Bratislava) is a professional tennis player from Slovakia. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 12.
Hrbatý was born on 4 January 1978 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. His father was an architecture engineer and his younger brother is an umpire. When he was younger, Hrbatý was European junior competitor in skiing and from the age of 11, he focused on tennis full time.
He is engaged to Nelly Petrová; he proposed after Slovakia won the Hopman Cup on 10 January 2009 (with Dominika Cibulková). He also won the tournament for Slovakia in 2005 with Daniela Hantuchová. This makes Hrbatý a dual winner to move into the company of Serena Williams, James Blake, Tommy Robredo and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.
Hrbatý turned professional in 1996. During the year he reached six Challenger finals and achieved a 35–15 match record. He ended the year as the youngest player in the top 100.
In 1997, Hrbatý won the Košice Challenger title defeating Nicolás Lapentti. He also reached his first ATP Tour final in Palermo, losing to Alberto Berasategui. His first doubles success on the Tour was reaching the final of Umag with Karol Kučera.
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Donald Johnson
Donald James "Don" Johnson (born September 9, 1968, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 2002. Although born in Bethlehem, PA he was raised and learned the sport of tennis in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania[1]. Johnson attended Fairview High School in Erie, Pennsylvania and won the PIAA State Singles Championship in 1984. During his career, he won the Wimbledon men's doubles title in 2001 (partnering Jared Palmer), and the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in 2000 (partnering Kimberly Po). He also won the doubles title at the Tennis Masters Cup in 2000 (partnering Piet Norval). He won a total of 23 top-level doubles titles.
Prior to turning professional, Johnson played collegiate tennis for the University of North Carolina from 1987-1991. As a youngster, he earned the Sportsmanship Award at the USTA National Junior Championships in 1986.
A = did not attend tournament
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Ellis Ferreira
Ellis Ferreira (born 19 February 1970 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a former professional male tennis player from South Africa. He played collegiately at the University of Alabama, earning all-SEC and all-American honors. He won 2 Grand Slam doubles titles, the Men's title at the 2000 Australian Open with Rick Leach and the mixed doubles at the Australian Open with Corina Morariu in 2001. Ferreira was named the Senior Assistant Men's and Women's Tennis Head Coach at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, in July 2007. Ferreira is now the co-owner of the Eagleton/ Ferreira Tennis Academy on Longboat Key in Florida (www.eftennis.com).
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Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis (pronounced [ˈærnəsts ˈɡulbis], born August 30, 1988) is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final. He won his second in July, 2011, by defeating Mardy Fish in the final of the 2011 Farmers Classic tournament, held in Los Angeles. His career highlights also include a 4th round appearance at the 2007 US Open and a quarterfinal appearance at the 2008 French Open, as well as several other ATP World Tour semifinal appearances.
Gulbis' professional training in tennis began at the age of 12, when he was enrolled at the Niki Pilić Tennis Academy in Croatia. Beginning after Wimbledon 2011, Gulbis is being coached by Guillermo Cañas. Previously, he was coached by Hernán Gumy (who before that was Marat Safin's coach), but their partnership ended due to Gumy's schedule; during that time, Darren Cahill served as Gulbis' consultant for several tournaments. Before Gumy, Ernests was coached by Karl Heinz Wetter and subsequently Nikola Pilić, the former professional Croatian tennis player and Croatian and German Davis Cup captain.
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Federer
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. 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.
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. 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.
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Fernando González
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (born July 29, 1980) is a retired professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina ("The La Reina Bomber") and Mano de Piedra ("Stone Hand"). The English-language media has labeled him "Gonzo".
González reached at least the quarterfinal round of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his first major final at the 2007 Australian Open, losing to top-ranked Roger Federer. He is the fourth male tennis player in history to have won each Olympic medal (gold in doubles and bronze in singles at Athens 2004, and silver in singles at Beijing 2008). Throughout his career, he has defeated many former no. 1 players, including Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer (all while they held the top spot), Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyà, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin, and Pete Sampras. González qualified twice for the year-end Masters Cup event and was runner-up at two Masters Series tournaments. He is arguably Chile's best tennis player of the 2000s.
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Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona (born 15 November 1983 in Madrid, Spain) is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 19 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight. As of 2009, Verdasco has been working in Las Vegas with Andre Agassi and his team, including Darren Cahill (Agassi's former coach) and Gil Reyes (Agassi's fitness coach). Verdasco has aided Spain in winning three Davis Cup titles, winning the deciding match in both 2008 and 2009, he was part of the winning team in 2011 as well. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, where he lost to compatriot and eventual champion Rafael Nadal in five sets in what was the second-longest match in Australian Open history (next to Australian Open 2012 Final).
He turned professional in 2001, finishing as world no. 464. 2002 was a good year for him, as he won his first Futures category title in Spain F1 and was runner-up in Spain F3. He played his second career challenger in Segovia, where he reached the final after beating Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov in the semifinals. He then reached two additional Challenger semifinals in Kiev and in Eckental, finishing the year in the top 200 at no. 173. 2002 also finished strongly off the court, as Fernando finished runner-up in a closely contested Best Abs in Castilla La Mancha contest..
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Filip Krajinović
Filip Krajinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Филип Крајиновић; born 27 February 1992) is a Serbian professional tennis player, who is, as of 21 June 2010, ranked World No. 170. As a former World No. 6 junior player, he reached semifinals of Wimbledon Championships and US Open in 2008. In 2009, Krajinović reached finals of four ATP Challenger Series events, and made his ATP World Tour debut at the Serbian Open, losing to in the first round, while he reached his first ATP Tour semifinals at the 2010 Serbia Open. In this tournament, Krajinović achieved victory over the World No. 2 after Novak Djokovic retired.
Krajinović started playing tennis in local tennis clinic TK Žak. In 2006, he reached the fourth round of 2006 Orange Bowl, losing to Bernard Tomic 7–6(3), 6–0 Soon after, in 2007, he signed a contract with prestigious Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The same year, Krajinović won four junior singles titles — Pančevo, Atlanta, Texas and Boca Raton.
In 2008 Krajinović won a junior title in Loverval. He reached the fourth round of 2008 French Open, losing 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 to Evgeny Donskoy. At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, he reached his first junior grand slam semifinals, losing to eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov 6–3, 6–3. Krajinović also lost to Devin Britton 1–6 6–4 6–2 to in the semifinals of 2008 US Open.
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Florent Serra
Florent Lucien Serra (born 28 February 1981 in Bordeaux, France) is a French male tennis player. A right-hander, he has won two ATP titles during his career and is coached by Pierre Cherret.
Serra was born in Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, in 1981 to Jean-Luc and Martine. He started playing tennis at the age of seven at a tennis club in Bordeaux after his father got him involved. After completing his A-level equivalent (the French "bac") with a major in Economics at 18, Serra left Bordeaux for Paris, to train under the national training program at Roland Garros. As a result of playing minimal junior tournaments, his career high junior ranking was no. 437 on 31 December 1999. He turned pro in 2000.
From 2000 to 2002, he reached six Futures finals, winning one of them, along with reaching his first Challenger final. He made his debut on the ATP Tour in 2003. In 2005 he had his most successful year, winning three out of four Challenger finals, and his first ATP tour title, in Bucharest. He won his second title the following year in Adelaide. In 2009, he was a runner-up in Casablanca. He has been coached by Pierre Cherret since he was a junior player, and his fitness trainer is Paul Quetin.
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Francisco Montana
Francisco Montana (born November 5, 1969 in Miami, Florida, U.S.) is a former professional male tennis player from the United States. He turned pro in 1990.
He reached his career high doubles ranking, World No. 13, on July 8, 1998.
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Frank Dancevic
Frank Russell Dancevic (from Croatian Dančević) (born September 26, 1984) is a Canadian professional tennis. He first became the country's top singles player, according to ATP rankings, on February 10, 2003, as an eighteen-year old, and remained so from January 30, 2006 until June 20, 2010. He is now Canada No. 3 in singles.
In August 2011, Dancevic became the first men's singles player ever to qualify, in the same calendar year, for all four grand slam events.[2]
The right-handed Dancevic turned pro in 2003 and reached his career high singles ranking in September 2007 at World No. 65. A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, he was the highest ranked men's Canadian singles player since Daniel Nestor, who was ranked World No. 61 in September 1999. (The highest ranking ever achieved by a Canadian is World No. 24, by Milos Raonic in February 2012.) It was Fred Niemeyer whom Dancevic overtook to become, in early 2006, Canada's top-ranked singles player.
Dancevic's best tournament results to date, all in singles, have been reaching the final of the 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships, the final of the 2009 AEGON International, the quarter-finals of the 2007 Rogers Cup, the semi-finals again in Indianapolis in 2009, the semi-finals of the 2008 Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships, and winning the 2003 and 2006 Granby and 2003 Lexington, 2006 Waikoloa, and 2008 Surbiton Challenger Series events. His best doubles result has been reaching the final of the 2007 Japan Open, partnering Stephen Huss and winning Granby in 2004 while playing with Brian Baker.
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Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil (born March 24, 1985) is a Portuguese professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Tour. In April 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 62, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held until September when Rui Machado placed 61st in the rankings. He was the first Portuguese to reach an ATP Tour final at the 2010 Estoril Open, and the first to achieve a career prize money over one million dollars. His coach is Juan Manuel Esparcia.
Frederico Gil was born in Lisbon, Portugal to Rui and Carlota Gil. He has a younger sister named Ana. Gil began to play tennis at the age of five and considers clay his favorite surface. During his junior career he won three titles (in Bolivia in 2002 and Argentina and Portugal in 2003) and reached three other finals (twice in Portugal in 2002 and once in Brazil in 2003). In his last junior tournament he reached the quarterfinals at the Orange Bowl, which led him to finish at no. 10 in the world junior rankings in 2003.
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Gavin DeGraw
Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" (which has been featured as the theme song for the television drama series, One Tree Hill since 2003), "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".
DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg, New York. His mother, Lynne (Krieger), was a detox specialist, and his father, Wayne DeGraw, was a prison guard; he referenced his father's occupation in the song "I Don't Want to Be". His father is of Irish descent and his mother's family was of Russian ancestry. DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight. He also has two siblings, both older, named Neeka and Joey (born August 1973). It was at his brother's advice that he began writing his own songs.Joey DeGraw is a musician as well, currently touring to promote his own music.
DeGraw rose to fame in 2003 when "I Don't Want to Be" was chosen as the theme song for teen drama One Tree Hill. The song has also been performed on American Idol and Idol Sweden by various contestants during different seasons.
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Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils (French pronunciation: [ɡaɛl mɔ̃ˈfis]; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. Monfils has reached a career-high singles ranking of World number 7, and is currently the third highest-ranked French tennis player (No. 14 in the ATP World Rankings). Being one of few French black tennis players, he managed to become the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.
In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the Dutch Junior Open. In the same year, he won the German Junior Open (defeating Bayer). Monfils ended the year ranked the no. 4 junior in the world. He also represented France in the junior Davis Cup.
Monfils got off to a positive start in 2003 and earned his first career ATP point at the France Futures No. 13 by reaching the second round. He also reached the second round at France No. 14, Egypt No. 2, and Spain No. 28. In that year, he played a total of nine Futures events. This included a showing in the doubles final at Spain No. 27. In junior events, he was the runner-up at Orange Bowl (losing to Marcos Baghdatis) and USTA International Winter Championships (losing to Sebastian Rieschick). He reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open juniors tournament (losing to Florin Mergea) and won the doubles title at the Victorian Junior Championships (with Josselin Ouanna). He was no. 21 in junior rankings at the end of the year.
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Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon (born December 27, 1984) is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a ten-time winner on the ATP World Tour. His coach is French tennis veteran Thierry Tulasne, and his fitness trainer is Paul Quetin.
Simon was born in Nice, France, into a family with no involvement in sport, his mother being a doctor and his father working in insurance. Supported by his parents, he started playing tennis at the age of 6. Due to a growth delay that runs in the family, he was shorter than most kids his age during his early teenage years. This is the reason he cites Michael Chang as a major influence, as his comparatively small frame proved that size was not an important factor in playing tennis.
On September 2, 2010, Simon became a father for the first time. His partner Carine Lauret gave birth to a baby boy. The couple named their first child Timothée. Timothée was born four weeks ahead of schedule, when Simon was competing in the 2010 US Open.
Simon began his professional tennis career in the summer of 2002, competing at multiple Futures tournaments in France before playing in tournaments outside the country of his birth. His first Futures title came in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2003, and he reached the quarterfinals of three other tournaments. He then captured his second title in Jamaica in September. During 2004, he saw three wins in France and another in Algeria.
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Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (Croatian pronunciation: [ɡǒran iʋanǐːʃɛʋitɕ]; born 13 September 1971) is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He is the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. Ivanišević is famous for his strong serve, which is considered among the greatest to date. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 (behind Pete Sampras) in 1994. He is the reigning Legends under 45 French Open doubles Champion.
Goran is the son of Srđan and Gorana (née Škaričić). He turned professional in 1988 and later that year, with Rudiger Haas, won his first career doubles title in Frankfurt, but he focused more on his singles career, yet had some success in doubles, winning nine titles and reaching a career high ranking of 20.
Ivanišević made his first significant impact on the tour in 1990, knocking Boris Becker out of the first round of the French Open men's singles; he went on to reach the quarter-finals. He was also, with Petr Korda, the runner-up in the French Open men's doubles. At that year's Wimbledon, Ivanišević reached the semi-finals, where he lost to Becker in four sets. Ivanišević also won his first tour singles title in 1990 at Stuttgart and helped Yugoslavia win the World Team Cup. He played in eight ties for Yugoslavia in the Davis Cup before quitting the team after the Croatian declaration of independence in 1991. Yugoslavia lost its subsequent tie against France 5–0.
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Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Ignacio Cañas (born November 25, 1977), often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th (June 2005). Upon his retirement from competition, Cañas currently serves as a coach to Ernests Gulbis. He also runs his own tennis academy, the "Cañas Tennis Academy," located at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, Florida.
Cañas played a defensive counter-punching game from the baseline, and utilised his retrieving skills in order to frustrate opponents. He used a double-handed backhand.
After being suspended in August 2005 as a result of a positive drugs test, Cañas returned to the circuit on September 2006 at the challenger of Belém, Brazil.
Cañas holds a record of 5 victories and 2 defeats (3:1 in singles) in Davis Cup matches.
Cañas started playing at age 7. He turned professional in 1995, and began playing on the juniors circuit, enjoying some successes; these included a runner-up appearance at Surbiton, United Kingdom, and a win in the doubles event at the Italian Junior Championships, partnering Martín García.
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Guy Forget
Guy Forget (French pronunciation: [ɡi fɔʁʒe]; born 4 January 1965 in Casablanca, Morocco) is a French former professional tennis player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup team captain.
Forget first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player who won the French Open junior title in 1982. He turned professional later that year.
His breakthrough year on the professional tour was 1986 when he made it to the fourth round of Roland Garros, his best grand slam at that point, and won his first top-level singles title in Toulouse, and was also part of the French team which won the World Team Cup. Forget also won six doubles titles in 1986, reaching his career-high doubles ranking of World Number 3 in August that year, finishing in the runner-up spot with partner Jakob Hlasek at the 1990 ATP Tour World Championships tournament.
In 1987 Forget and Yannick Noah finished runners-up in the men's doubles at the French Open. In 1990, Forget partnered Jakob Hlasek to win the ATP Tour World Championships doubles title.
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Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte (born July 4, 1963) is a former French professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was World No. 5.
Leconte first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player who won the French Open junior title in 1981. He turned professional that year and won his first career doubles title at Bologna, and his first top-level singles title the following year, 1982, in Stockholm. Leconte played in the Davis Cup final for the first time in 1982, when France was defeated 4–1 by the United States.
Leconte teamed up with Yannick Noah to win the men's doubles title at the French Open in 1984. In 1985, Leconte and Noah reached a second Grand Slam doubles final at the US Open, where they finished runners-up. Leconte reached his career-high doubles ranking of World No. 6 in 1985. In singles in 1985, Leconte reached the quarter-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, the latter run of which included a dazzling win over world no. 2, Ivan Lendl, in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
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Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev (Russian: Игорь Валерьевич Андреев; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.
Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.
At the Moscow ATP tournament later the same month, Andreev defeated the top seed Sjeng Schalken in straight sets, 6–3, 6–1, and made his first ATP quarterfinal appearance, eventually losing to Paul-Henri Mathieu 6–2, 3–6, 5–7. He entered the St. Petersburg tournament in October 2003 as a wildcard, and defeated the number 4 seed Max Mirnyi 6–4, 7–6 before losing to Sargis Sargsian in the second round.
Andreev finished in the top 50 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. During the same year he also reached two ATP finals, Gstaad, Switzerland in July (losing to Roger Federer), and Bucharest, Romania in September (losing to José Acasuso). He won a personal best 28 matches in the year, and also made his Davis Cup debut.
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Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubičić (pronounced [ǐv̞an ʎûbitʃitɕ]; born March 19, 1979) is a retired Croatian tennis player. His career-high ATP ranking was no. 3.
Tall and powerfully built, he was noted for his strong serve. He achieved his best results in indoor tournaments played on carpet or hardcourt. Mostly a baseliner, he approached the net selectively (Ljubičić was a good volleyer and plays doubles occasionally). On his backhand, he used a slice or a drop-shot to great effect to draw a player or put him out of position. Relying heavily on his serve, he held well but was a comparatively weak returner, producing many sets ending in tie-breaks. Ljubičić used the Head Youtek Extreme Pro Racquet, after using the Babolat Pure Drive for most of his professional career.
Ljubičić previously served as the ATP Player Council president and strongly voiced his opinion on many issues, such as the possible downgrading of current Masters Series tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[citation needed]
Ljubičić and Mario Ančić are only the second doubles team ever to defeat Bob and Mike Bryan in Davis Cup history, the other team being France's Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra. Ljubičić helped Croatia win the 2005 Davis Cup, where they triumphed over the Slovakian Davis Cup team in the final.
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Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlović (pronounced [ǐːv̞ɔ kâːrlɔv̞itɕ]; born 28 February 1979 in Zagreb) is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm (6 ft 10 in). He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic held the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h (156 mph) and he is considered one of the best servers on tour. His height enables him to serve with high speed and unique trajectory.
Karlović debuted for the Croatian Davis Cup team in 2000 against Ireland, when he won the dead rubber. Karlović appeared in a starting line-up for first time in 2002 against Argentina in Buenos Aires, but he lost to Juan Ignacio Chela in the second rubber and to Gastón Gaudio in fifth and decisive rubber. He has posted a 4–2 career record (2–2 in singles) in three ties since 2000.
Karlović caused a stunning upset at 2003 Wimbledon Championships when he beat defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in his first-ever match in a Grand Slam tournament. He finished the 2003 year in the Top 100 and as the Croatia No. 3, behind Ivan Ljubičić and Mario Ančić. He also averaged an ATP-best of 17.6 aces per match.
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Jacco Eltingh
Jacco Folkert Eltingh (born 29 August 1970 in Heerde, Gelderland) is a former professional male tennis player and former World No. 1 doubles player from the Netherlands.
He is best remembered for his success in doubles with fellow countryman Paul Haarhuis. Together they managed to win all four Grand Slam doubles titles at least once.
Eltingh reached his career high singles ranking in February 1995, when he climbed to World No. 19. In his professional career he has won 4 singles and 44 doubles titles.
In November 2005, Eltingh was elected to the ATP Board as the player representative for Europe.
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Jakob Hlasek
Jakob Hlasek (born November 12, 1964 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a former professional tennis player from Switzerland.
The major highlights of Hlasek's career came in 1992. He won the French Open men's doubles title that year (partnering his fellow Swiss player Marc Rosset). He was also a member of Switzerland Davis Cup team which reached the final of the 1992 Davis Cup (where they were defeated by the United States), and won the 1992 Hopman Cup.
Further success for his country came in 1996, when Hlasek was a member of the Swiss team which won the World Team Cup.
During his career Hlasek won five top-level singles titles and 20 doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 7, and his career-high doubles ranking was World No. 4 (both attained in 1989). His career prize-money earnings totalled US$5,895,293.
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James Blake
James Riley Blake (born December 28, 1979) is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of April 2012, Blake is ranked World No. 74 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances (10–14 record), whilst his career-high singles ranking is World No. 4. His career highlights include reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (2008) and US Open (2005, 2006). His two titles for the United States at the Hopman Cup are an event record. Blake was a key performer for the United States 2007 Davis Cup championship team, going 2–0 in the championship tie vs. Russia at second singles. In 2005, Blake was presented with the Comeback Player of the Year award for his remarkable return to the tour. Later, in 2008, Blake was awarded another honor by the ATP where he was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year. On July 3, 2007, Blake's autobiography Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, which discussed his comeback after his unlucky 2004 season, was released and debuted at No. 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list. He co-wrote this book with Andrew Friedman.
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Jan Siemerink
Johannes Martinus ("Jan") Siemerink (born 14 April 1970 in Rijnsburg, Zuid-Holland) is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.
As a junior player, Siemerink was the Dutch 18-under champion in 1988. He also won the doubles title at the 1988 Orange Bowl junior championship in Florida.
Siemerink turned professional in 1989. Over the course of his career he won four top-level singles titles (at Singapore in 1991, Nottingham in 1996, and at Rotterdam and Toulouse in 1998). He also won ten tour doubles titles, the most significant of which were the Miami Masters in 1993 and the Monte Carlo Masters in 1996.
Siemerink's best performance at a Grand Slam event came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he reached the quarterfinals before being knocked-out by Goran Ivanišević.
Siemerink played for the Netherlands in the Davis Cup between 1991 and 2001, compiling a 17–10 record. He helped the Netherlands reach the World Group semifinals in 2001.
Siemerink's career-high rankings were World No. 14 in singles (in 1998) and World No. 16 in doubles (in 1996). His career prize-money totaled $4,347,693.
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Jan-Michael Gambill
Jan-Michael Charles Gambill (born June 3, 1977 in Spokane, Washington, United States) is an American tennis player who made his professional debut in 1996. His highest singles ranking to date is World No. 14, which he first reached on June 18, 2001. Best known for his unusual double-handed forehand,[citation needed] he is coached by his father Chuck Gambill, who also coaches Jan-Michael's younger brother Torrey.
Gambill began playing tennis at the age of five, looking up to multiple Grand Slam singles titlists Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. He has defeated, amongst other top players, former World No. 1s Roger Federer, Carlos Moyá, Lleyton Hewitt, Gustavo Kuerten, Marcelo Rios, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi, as well as Grand Slam champions Michael Chang, Thomas Johansson, Sergi Bruguera and Gaston Gaudio. His best performances at slams have been reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2000 and the fourth round of the US Open in 2002. Gambill was also runner up at the 2001 Miami Masters and has won 3 singles titles.
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Janko Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Јанко Типсаревић, Serbian pronunciation: [jâːŋkɔ tipsǎːrɛʋit͡ɕ]) (born 22 June 1984) is a Serbian tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 8, achieved on 2 April 2012. He is the 117th player in history to crack the top 10.
In his career, he has won two ATP tour championships, two Futures and nine tournaments in the ATP Challenger Series. Tipsarevic has also won the 2001 Australian Open Junior title.
Tipsarević has achieved two victories over a World No. 1 player, having defeated compatriot Novak Djokovic twice. He also has twelwe (12) victories against other players from the top 10, consisting of four wins against Tomáš Berdych, two against Andy Roddick, and one against Fernando González, Mikhail Youzhny, David Ferrer, James Blake, Gaël Monfils, and Andy Murray. He also has wins against former World No. 1 players, Carlos Moyá, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, and Juan Carlos Ferrero. Arguably his most notable matches to date are his third-round match at the 2008 Australian Open, where he lost to Roger Federer 7–6, 6–7, 7–5, 1–6, 8–10, & reaching the quarter-finals at the 2011 US Open, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. He has also defeated former top-ten players Andy Roddick and Fernando González at Grand Slam level.
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Jared Palmer
Jared Eiseley Palmer (born July 2, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA) is a professional tennis player who won 28 professional doubles titles and one singles title in his career on the ATP Tour. He also won four double titles on the challenger's circuit (two in 1992 and two in 1993). Palmer turned professional in 1991 after winning the 1991 NCAA Division 1 singles title as a sophomore playing for Stanford University.
Palmer's biggest doubles titles came at the 1995 Australian Open and the 2001 Wimbledon. Palmer also won the ATP Masters Series event at Indian Wells in 2000. Additionally, Palmer reached the doubles final at two other Grand Slam events, Wimbledon in 1999 and the US Open in 2001. Palmer made the finals at six additional AMS events: Canada (1994 and 2001), Miami (1994 and 2002), Hamburg (1999) and Paris (1999).
Palmer was ranked the World No. 1 men's doubles player on March 20, 2000. He was also ranked as high as World No. 35 in singles. His lone singles title on the ATP tour came at (Pinehurst in 1994). Palmer retired from tennis in 2005 after earning US$3,471,164 in career prize money while on the ATP Tour.
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Javier Sánchez
Javier Sánchez Vicario (born 1968 in Pamplona, Spain) is a former professional tennis player from Spain.
Sánchez won the US Open junior title in 1986, and then turned professional. He won his first professional doubles titles in 1987. His first top-level singles title came in 1988 at Buenos Aires. During his career he won a total of four top-level singles titles and 26 doubles titles. He reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in 1991 and 1996. His career-high rankings were World No. 23 in singles (in 1994) and No. 9 in doubles (in 1992).
Sánchez is a member of one of the world's most successful tennis families. His younger sister Arantxa Sánchez Vicario became the youngest-ever winner of the women's singles title at the French Open at age 17 in 1989, and went on to win several more Grand Slam titles. His older brother Emilio Sánchez was also a very successful player who won several Grand Slam doubles titles. In Javier's first career singles final in 1987 in Madrid, he faced Emilio. It was the first time that two brothers had met each other in the final of a top-level tour tournament. Emilio won the match 6–3, 3–6, 6–2. (Emilio and Javier faced each other a total of 12 times during their careers. Javier won two of their matches, and Emilio won ten.)
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Jesse Huta Galung
Jesse Huta Galung (born 6 October 1985 in Haarlem) is a professional Dutch tennis player.
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Jesse Levine
Jesse Levine (born October 15, 1987) is a Canadian-born American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles rank of No. 94 on November 3, 2008.
As a 13-year-old, in 2001 Levine won the U.S. Clay Court 14 Nationals singles championship, and as a 15-year-old he won the USTA boys' 16s doubles championship with his doubles partner. As a 17-year-old, he won the 2005 Wimbledon boys' doubles championship with his doubles partner. Playing one year of No. 1 singles as a freshman for the University of Florida in 2007, he lost only one match, finishing his career with a 24–1 record.
In June 2009 he scored his most significant victory to date, defeating world # 24 (and former world # 1) Marat Safin at Wimbledon. The following month he defeated the second top-50 player of his career, world # 48 Philipp Petzschner. His most significant achievement in doubles, was when he made the finals in the 2009 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships losing to the Bryan brothers.
Levine was born in Nepean, Ontario, in Canada, and grew up in Ottawa's Centrepointe neighborhood. Levine's father Nathan had played tennis for Penn State.
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Jim Courier
James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. (born August 17, 1970) is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He holds the record for being the youngest man to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, at the age of 22 years and 11 months. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles.
Jim was raised in Dade City, Florida and though he excelled at youth sports in general, after a certain point it became clear that tennis was where his true talent lay. As a junior player in the 1980s, Courier attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 1986 and 1987, as well as the French Open junior doubles title in 1987.
Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 1991 French Open when he defeated Stefan Edberg and Michael Stich to reach his first Grand Slam final. In the final, he defeated his former Bollettieri Academy roommate Andre Agassi in five sets to win his first Slam. He made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing to eventual champion Stich. At the US Open, he defeated defending champion Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals and then Jimmy Connors in the semifinals before losing the final to Edberg.
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Jim Pugh
Jim Pugh (born February 5, 1964 in Burbank, California) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won three Grand Slam men's doubles titles (two Australian Open, one Wimbledon) and five Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, one US Open). Pugh reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1989.
Pugh was a member of the U.S. team that won the Davis Cup in 1990. Partnering with Rick Leach, he won the doubles rubbers in all four of the rounds which the U.S. played in that year and clinched the team's victory in the final with a win over Pat Cash and John Fitzgerald of Australia. Pugh has a 6–0 career record in the Davis Cup.
Pugh won 27 doubles titles (22 men's doubles and 5 mixed doubles). He also won one top-level singles title at Newport, Rhode Island in 1989. (His career-high singles ranking was World No. 37 in 1987.) Pugh won his last career doubles title at Los Angeles in 1992. Pugh was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame.
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Jiří Novák
Jiří Novák (pronounced [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈnovaːk] ( listen); born March 22, 1975) is a former Czech tennis player, who was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia but resides nowadays in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Novák turned professional in 1993 and won 7 singles and 18 doubles titles during his career, winning $7,614,063 in prize money. For six years, he was the highest-ranked male Czech tennis player in the ATP rankings. On October 21, 2002, Novák reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 5. He knocked out Roger Federer in the first round of Wimbledon in 1999. He retired in 2007.
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Jo Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (French pronunciation: [(d)ʒo vilfʁid t͡sɔŋɡa]; born (1985-04-17)April 17, 1985) is a French professional tennis player. He was born in Le Mans, to a French mother, Évelyne, and a Congolese father, Didier, who moved to France in the 1970s to play handball. Tsonga is a member of the Tennis Club de Paris (TCP). His current career-high singles ranking is World No. 5, which he achieved on February 27, 2012.
Tsonga rose to fame by virtue of his performance in the 2008 Australian Open when, as an unseeded player, he reached the final, having defeated four seeded players along the way, including earning a straight sets win over the then world number two Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Tsonga eventually lost to the then world no. 3 Novak Djokovic in the final in four sets, after winning the first set, the only set Djokovic dropped during the tournament.
Tsonga followed this up by winning his first ATP Masters Series championship at the 2008 Paris Masters, thus qualifying for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China. His best performances in a major tournament since 2008 are semifinal appearances in the 2010 Australian Open and 2011 Wimbledon Championships. He also reached the final of the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals where he lost to five-time and defending champion Roger Federer.
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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (French pronunciation: [(d)ʒo vilfʁid t͡sɔŋɡa]; born (1985-04-17)April 17, 1985) is a French professional tennis player. He was born in Le Mans, to a French mother, Évelyne, and a Congolese father, Didier, who moved to France in the 1970s to play handball. Tsonga is a member of the Tennis Club de Paris (TCP). His current career-high singles ranking is World No. 5, which he achieved on February 27, 2012.
Tsonga rose to fame by virtue of his performance in the 2008 Australian Open when, as an unseeded player, he reached the final, having defeated four seeded players along the way, including earning a straight sets win over the then world number two Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Tsonga eventually lost to the then world no. 3 Novak Djokovic in the final in four sets, after winning the first set, the only set Djokovic dropped during the tournament.
Tsonga followed this up by winning his first ATP Masters Series championship at the 2008 Paris Masters, thus qualifying for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China. His best performances in a major tournament since 2008 are semifinal appearances in the 2010 Australian Open and 2011 Wimbledon Championships. He also reached the final of the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals where he lost to five-time and defending champion Roger Federer.
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John Isner
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 9 on March 19, 2012, and is currently the second highest-ranked American tennis player. His most famous victories were against Roger Federer in the Davis Cup encounter in February 2012, Top seed Novak Djokovic at the 2012 Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, Andy Roddick in the 2009 US Open, and against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships where he played the longest ever professional tennis match, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over the course of three days.
Unlike many top tennis players, who have brilliant juniors careers and hit the ATP Tour in their teens, Isner didn't decide that he wanted to play professional tennis until he was 21.
Isner played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and became the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles victories, earning All-American honors each of his four years and leading Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship.
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John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer ( /ˈmeɪ.ər/ MAY-ər; (born October 16, 1977) is an American pop and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City. His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can be heard throughout his 2005 live album Try! with the John Mayer Trio and his third studio album Continuum, released in September 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007 Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". He released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, in November 2009. His fifth album, Born and Raised, was released on May 22, 2012. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and 20 million albums worldwide.
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John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open), nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. McEnroe also won a record eight season ending championships, comprising five WCT Finals titles and three Masters Grand Prix titles from twelve final appearances at these two events, a record he shares with Ivan Lendl. He posted the best single season win-loss record in the Open Era in 1984 at 96.47% (82/3). In addition he won 19 Championship Series top tier events of the Grand Prix Tour that were the precursors to the current Masters 1000.
He is best remembered for his shot-making artistry and superb volleying; for his famous rivalries with Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl; for his confrontational on-court behavior which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities; and for the catchphrase "You cannot be serious!" directed toward an umpire during a match at Wimbledon in 1981. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999, and is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
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Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich (Hebrew: יונתן דאריו "יוני" ארליך, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 5, 1977) is a professional Israeli tennis player. Erlich has reached 27 doubles finals and won 15 of them, mostly with partner Andy Ram.
He attained his highest doubles ranking through July 2009, # 5, in July 2008.
Erlich, who is Jewish, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He moved to Haifa, Israel, when he was a one-year-old, and now resides in Tel Aviv and competes as an Israeli.
Erlich first started playing tennis when he was three years old, and he played his first tournament at the age of seven. He was later trained at the Wingate Institute, where he met Andy Ram, his future doubles partner. He turned pro in 1996 at the age of 19.
Erlich is known as a fan of the football team Maccabi Haifa.
Erlich and Ram first competed at Queen's Club in June 2001. In 2002, in singles Erlich defeated world # 64 ranked Adrian Voinea of Romania, 6–2, 6–3, in Indianapolis.
The Israeli duo's best achievement was reaching the semifinal of the Wimbledon championships in 2003. They defeated No. 2 seeded Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in straight sets, 7–6, 7–6, 7–6, before losing in the semifinals to defending Wimbledon champions Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge. They were the first Israelis to ever advance to the semifinals in any Grand Slam event.
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Jonathan Stark
Jonathan Stark (born 3 April 1971, in Medford, Oregon) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. During his career he won two Grand Slam doubles titles (1994 French Open men's doubles and 1995 Wimbledon mixed doubles). Stark reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1994.
Stark was born in Southern Oregon in the city of Medford on April 3, 1971. He grew up in Medford and attended South Medford High School. In college he played tennis for Stanford University, where he was a singles and doubles All-American in 1990 and 1991. He reached the NCAA doubles final in 1991, partnering Jared Palmer. On July 17, 1997, he married Dana, and they have two sons and a daughter.
Stark turned professional in 1991 and joined the ATP Tour. In 1992, he won his first tour doubles title at Wellington. His first top-level singles title came in 1993 at Bolzano (beating Cédric Pioline in the final).
In 1994, Stark captured the men's doubles title at the French Open, partnering Byron Black (the pair were also runners-up at the Australian Open that year). He reached his career high singles ranking of World No. 36 in February. The following year, Stark won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title, partnering Martina Navratilova.
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Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (born 12 February 1980) is a professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, became the 21st player to hold the World No. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002 French Open and the 2003 US Open. His nickname is "Mosquito" due to his speed and his slight physical build.
Ferrero began playing tennis at age seven with his father, Eduardo, who often travels with son. He has two sisters, Ana and Laura and admires the play of former No. 1 and two-time Roland Garros champion Jim Courier. Ferrero's inspiration has been his mother, Rosario, who died from cancer when he was 17. In July 2007, he bought an old cottage in Bocairente, 50 minutes south from Valencia and refurbished it into "Hotel Ferrero", which features 12 luxury suites. He is also a joint owner of the Valencia Open 500 tournament together with David Ferrer. His fitness trainer is Miguel Maeso, and he is coached by Antonio Martinez (since 1989) and Salvador Navarro (since May 2008), who travels with him most of the time.
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Julian Knowle
Julian Knowle (born 29 April 1974) is an Austrian male professional tennis player. Being a born left-hander Knowle is one of now only few on the ATP Tour who plays his forehand, backhand and even volleys double-handed. He is Austria's most successful doubles player in history by reaching no. 6 in the ATP doubles ranking in January 2008; this attribute he has to share now with Jürgen Melzer, who reached no. 6 in the ATP doubles ranking in September 2010.
Knowle was a successful player on the ATP Challenger Series, winning the Challenger tournaments in Kyoto (1999), Caracas (2001), Graz (2001) and Andrezieux (2002) and reaching the finals in Yokohama (2000), Bristol (2000), Besançon (2000) and Graz (2003). He also won several Futures tournaments. Knowle's best ATP singles ranking was no. 86 in July 2002. He appeared last in the main draw of a singles tournament in the Graz Challenger in 2005 where he reached the quarter final.
Knowle reached his first of two Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon in 2004 together with Nenad Zimonjić of Serbia. Eventually the team was defeated in four sets by Jonas Björkman and Todd Woodbridge. The only Austrian to reach a final at Wimbledon before was Georg von Metaxa in doubles in 1938 where he too lost.
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Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau (born December 20, 1981 in Bourg-en-Bresse) is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva. He is generally regarded as one of the best singles players on the tour who has not won a title.
In the 1996 Orange Bowl Benneteau won the Boys 16s singles title.
At the 2006 French Open, Benneteau reached the quarterfinals by defeating Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, Radek Štěpánek, and Alberto Martín. There, he was defeated in straight sets 2–6, 2–6, 3–6, by fourth-seeded player Ivan Ljubičić of Croatia.
The Frenchman finished the 2008 season in the top 50 for the second time in three years. During the season, he reached two ATP finals, at Casablanca, where he lost to fellow countryman Gilles Simon, and in his final tournament of the season at Lyon, where he lost to Robin Söderling.
In May 2009, he entered the Interwetten Austrian Open in Kitzbühel as a lucky loser and reached his third career final, falling to Spain's Guillermo García-López 6–3, 6–7, 3–6.
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Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy (born 12 February 1987) is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no. 31, which he achieved on 2 November 2009.
Chardy made his Grand Slam debut in 2006, receiving a wild card at the French Open, where he beat Jonas Björkman in straight sets in the first round, before losing in four sets to fifteenth-seeded David Ferrer in the second round.
In 2008, after losing the final of the Marrakech Challenger in May to eventual French Open semifinalist Gaël Monfils, Chardy produced his best Grand Slam showing so far at the French Open, where he entered as a wild card and came back in the second round from two-sets-to-love down to ATP no. 6 David Nalbandian to defeat him 3–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1, 6–2. He continued his run by beating thirtieth seed Dmitry Tursunov 7–6, 6–3, 6–4, before losing in the fourth round to nineteenth seed Nicolás Almagro 6–7, 6–7, 5–7, after holding set points in each of the three sets.
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Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981 in Vienna) is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of World No. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but is right-handed in everyday life. He has a younger brother, Gerald Melzer, with whom he has played doubles in several tournaments.
In 1999, he won the boys' singles event at Wimbledon. For many years, he was known as one of the best players on the tour not to have progressed past the third round of a Grand Slam event. He ended this streak when he reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2010. He has also had success in doubles, winning the mens doubles event at Wimbledon in 2010 and the US Open in 2011 with Philipp Petzschner, as well as the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon in 2011 with Iveta Benešová.
He is endorsed by Adidas and Dunlop Sport. Melzer is currently coached by Joakim Nystrom.
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Kei Nishikori
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]
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.
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Ken Flach
Kenneth Eliot "Ken" Flach (born 24 May 1963 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 4 Grand Slam men's doubles titles (2 Wimbledon and 2 US Open), and 2 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (1 Wimbledon and 1 French Open). He also won the men's doubles Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, partnering Robert Seguso. Flach reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1985.
Flach played doubles on the US Davis Cup team from 1985–1991, compiling an 11–2 record. He was also a member of the US team which won the World Team Cup in 1985.
During his career, Flach won 36 doubles titles (34 men's doubles and 2 mixed doubles). His final career title was won in 1994 at Scottsdale, Arizona.
Prior to turning professional, Flach played tennis for Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where he won the NCAA Division II singles championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983, and teamed-up with Seguso to reach the 1983 Division I doubles final.
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Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett (born 23 May 1972 in Salisbury, now Harare) is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour was in men's doubles.
Ullyett won 34 doubles titles during his career, including two Grand Slams at the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open with countryman Wayne Black. He also competed in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, coming in at fifth place in 2004 with Black. In mixed doubles, Ullyett won the 2002 Australian Open with Daniela Hantuchová. He reached the final of Wimbledon in 2002 with Hantuchová, and the semifinals there in 2003 and 2005 with Hantuchová and Liezel Huber, respectively. He and Huber were also the runners-up at the 2005 Australian Open.
Black, Ullyett's compatriot and long-time doubles partner, retired at the end of 2005. He then played with Paul Hanley for two seasons, then with Jonas Björkman, who retired at the end of 2008, and finally with Brazilian Bruno Soares.
His father, Robert Ullyett, represented Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) at cricket and field hockey. He was part of the national team that competed at the 1964 Olympics (they beat New Zealand 2–1 and came 11th out of 15).
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Laurie Warder
Laurie Warder (born 23 October 1962 in Sydney, Australia) is a former professional male tennis player from Australia.
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Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes (Bengali: লিয়েন্ডার পেজ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament. He is the sports ambassador of Haryana. Paes completed the career grand slam in men's doubles after winning the Australian Open in 2012. Having won seven doubles and six mixed doubles Grand Slam titles and finishing as runner up in numerous other Grand Slam finals, he is considered to be one of the greatest and most respected contemporary doubles and mixed doubles players in the world. He is among the most successful professional Indian tennis players and is also the former captain of the Indian Davis Cup team. He is the recipient of India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, in 1996–1997; the Arjuna Award in 1990; and the Padma Shri award in 2001 for his outstanding contribution to tennis in India. Paes is the great-grandson of the Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt.
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Leonardo Mayer
Leonardo Martin Mayer (born May 15, 1987) is an Argentine professional tennis player.
Mayer achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 51 on June 7, 2010. His career-high in doubles was World No. 94 on March 1, 2010. He is coached by Emiliano Redondi. He was born in Corrientes and resides in Buenos Aires.
He started playing tennis at age nine.
He won one Challenger singles title in 2008, against Sergio Roitman, and lost in three other finals.
He qualified for his first ever Grand Slam at the 2009 French Open, and beat 15th seed James Blake in straight sets in the first round. He lost to Tommy Haas in five sets in the second round. At Wimbledon, he beat Óscar Hernández 6–0, 6–0, 6–3 in the first round. He lost to Fernando González in four sets in the second round. Mayer had a successful American summer, reaching the semi-finals of the LA Tennis Open (lost to Carsten Ball 7–5, 7–6 and the quarter-finals of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven (lost to Igor Andreev 6–4, 6–7, 6–3. At the 2009 US Open, Mayer reached the second round of the tournament losing to Radek Štěpánek in straight sets 7–6, 6–3, 6–4. In 2011, Mayer qualified for the Brasil Open by defeating Brazilian Rafael Camilo, Romanian Adrian Ungar and Brazilian Ricardo Hocevar. In the main draw, he faced world number 73, Russian Igor Andreev, who he defeated 4–6, 6–4, 7–6. In the second round, he played the seventh seed, Italian Potito Starace. He lost 6–4, 7–6.
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Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt ( /ˈleɪtən ˈhjuːɨt/; born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1, who has a current ATP ranking of 176.
Hewitt is the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20. His career achievements include winning the 2000 US Open men's doubles, the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon men's singles, and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles (2001 and 2002). In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put Hewitt in 34th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players since 1965.
Hewitt might well have followed in the footsteps of his Australian rules football-playing father Glynn. Instead, he became one of the youngest winners of an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tournament when, as an almost unknown youngster, he won the 1998 Next Generation Adelaide International, defeating Andre Agassi in the semifinals. Only Aaron Krickstein winning Tel Aviv in 1983 and Michael Chang winning San Francisco in 1988 were younger when claiming their first ATP title. Hewitt then left Immanuel College to concentrate on his tennis career.. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.
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Luis Lobo
Luis Lobo (born 9 November 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a professional male tennis player from Argentina, who won the gold medal in the men's doubles competition at the 1995 Pan American Games.
He reached his career high doubles ranking, World No. 12, on 21 July 1997. He is currently a coach, and has worked with players including Spain's Carlos Moyà and Argentina's Juan Mónaco.
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Luke Jensen
Luke Jensen (born June 18, 1966 in Grayling, Michigan, U.S.) is a former professional male tennis player from the United States. He attended University of Southern California from 1986–87 and earned singles All-American honors both years (doubles in 87). He is now the head coach of the women's tennis team at Syracuse University. [1].
Jensen attended East Grand Rapids High School, winning the Michigan state singles championship in 1983, and graduating in 1985.
He reached his career high doubles ranking, World No. 6, on November 1, 1993.
Nicknamed "Dual Hand Luke" because he was an ambidextrous player able to serve at 130 MPH with either hand. He now does on-court analysis for ESPN for their tennis coverage. He also travels the world as an instructor, motivational speaker, and ambassador for the game.
His younger brother is former professional male tennis player Murphy Jensen.
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Lukáš Dlouhý
Lukáš Dlouhý (born April 9, 1983 in Písek) is a professional Czech tennis player on the ATP Tour. A doubles specialist, Dlouhý reached a career-high ranking of World Number 5 on June 22, 2009.
Dlouhý has been part of two long-term doubles partnerships, first with countryman and coach Pavel Vízner and actively with Leander Paes. He has reached numerous grand slam finals with each. At the 2006 French Open, he reached the third round of the men's singles event and the semifinals of the men's doubles tournament with Vízner. In 2007, Dlouhý and Vízner reached two grand slam finals at the 2007 French Open and 2007 U.S. Open.
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Magnus Larsson
Per Henrik Magnus Larsson (born 25 March 1970 in Olofström, Blekinge, Sweden) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.
Larsson turned professional in 1989 and won his first top-level singles title at Florence in 1990. His first doubles title was also won in Florence, in 1991.
Some of the most significant highlights of Larsson's career came in 1994. He won that year's Grand Slam Cup, defeating World No. 1 Pete Sampras in the final in four sets 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–4. Larsson also reached the semi-finals of the 1994 French Open, and was part of the Swedish team which won the 1994 Davis Cup. He won singles rubbers in the Davis Cup final against both Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Alexander Volkov, as Sweden beat Russia 4–1.
In 1995, Larsson reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 10 and his career-high doubles ranking of World No. 26. He was runner-up in the men's doubles at the French Open that year (partnering Nicklas Kulti). He was also part of the Swedish team which won the World Team Cup.
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Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the Australian Open mixed doubles in 2006, he joined the elite group of eight tennis players who have achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.
Mahesh Bhupathi is best known as one of the top doubles players in the '90s and '00s. In 1999, Bhupathi won three doubles titles with Leander Paes, including Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He and Leander became the first doubles team to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams, the first time such a feat has been achieved in the open era and the first time since 1952. On 26 April of that year, they became the world no. 1 doubles team. Bhupathi also won the US Open mixed doubles with Ai Sugiyama of Japan.
In 2006, Bhupathi teamed with Martina Hingis in the Australian Open mixed doubles competition. Entering the tournament unseeded and as wildcards, the first-time pair defeated four seeded opponents along the way, while only dropping a single set throughout. Bhupathi and Hingis defeated the sixth-seeded team of Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3, to capture the championship. It was the sixth mixed doubles Grand Slam for Bhupathi, and a first for Hingis. By winning the Australian Open, Bhupathi completed a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.
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MaliVai Washington
MaliVai "Mal" Washington ( /mælɨˈviːə/ mal-i-VEE-ə; born June 20, 1969, in Glen Cove, New York) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He is best remembered for reaching the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 1996.
Washington's father, William, taught himself and then his five children to play tennis. When William was the assistant dean at the State University of New York, he decided to teach underprivileged children in the area how to play tennis on the university's new courts. When the family moved to Swartz Creek, Michigan, they played on the courts at General Motors headquarters, where MaliVai's parents worked, and at the Flint Tennis Club.
Washington's younger sister, Mashona, is also an accomplished professional tennis player. She was a member of the 1992 U.S. National Team.[clarification needed] His younger brother, Mashiska, received All-America honors at Michigan State University in 1995, then joined the men's professional tour. MaliVai's older sister, Michaela, also played professionally.
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Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin (Russian: Марат Михайлович Сафин, Tatar: Марат Мөбин улы Сафин, Marat Möbin uğlı Safin) (born January 27, 1980) is a Russian politician and retired tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the World No. 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken racquets in a year with 87. Safin is the older brother of former World No. 1 WTA player Dinara Safina (Dinara Mikhailovna Safina) (Russian: Динара Михайловна Сафина), born April 27, 1986 in Moscow. They are the first brother-sister tandem in tennis history to both achieve No. 1 rankings.
Safin began his professional career in 1997, and held the No. 1 world ranking for a total of 9 weeks between November 2000 and April 2001. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2000 U.S. Open after defeating Pete Sampras, and won the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the final. Safin helped lead Russia to Davis Cup victories in 2002 and 2006. Despite his dislike of grass courts, he became the first Russian man to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. At the time of his final Grand Slam appearance at the US Open on September 2, 2009, Safin was No. 58 in the official world men's tennis rankings.
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Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel (born March 30, 1977, in Tunis, Tunisia) is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.
On November 6, 2006, Gicquel broke into the top 50 after reaching his first ATP Tour final in Lyon, where he was defeated by Richard Gasquet, his countryman. On April 30, 2007, Gicquel broke into the top 40 after reaching the semifinals of Casablanca.
He defeated second seed Tommy Robredo at the 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in the first round, and beat Alejandro Falla in the semifinals to reach the Lyon final for two years running. Gicquel's run, however, was halted by another Frenchman, Sébastien Grosjean.
In a match during the 2007 Halle, Germany tournament, Gicquel was struck directly in the genitals by a 129 mph Benjamin Becker serve. He went on to beat Becker, but spent most of the night vomiting and in pain due to swelling and was forced to retire in his next match versus Jarkko Nieminen.
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Marc López
Marc López i Tarrés (born 31 July 1982) is a professional male tennis player from Spain, who started playing tennis at the age of 8 years old and became professional in 1999. The right-handed player's career-high ATP Entry ranking is #106 (achieved on 10 May 2004).
Although in his beginnings López did not achieve very good results playing doubles, in the last years he has won several doubles titles in Challengers and his best performance in an ATP tournament was in this modality. That was in 2004, when he reached the final of the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana partnering with his friend and countryman Feliciano López.
In April, 2008 in Barcelona, López beat #141 Yuri Schukin to qualify into the ATP main draw, where he beat #68 Ivo Minář before losing to #37 Juan Ignacio Chela. In May, he made the main draw of the 2008 French Open as a Lucky Loser after beating #124 Andreas Beck.
At the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells, CA, Marc along with fellow Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, won the doubles final 6-2,7-6(3). They defeated Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey.
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Marc Rosset
Marc Rosset (born 7 November 1970 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a former professional tennis player from Switzerland who is best remembered for winning the men's singles Gold Medal at the 1992 Olympic Games.
Rosset first came to prominence as a junior tennis player who was ranked No. 4 in the world junior rankings in 1988.
Rosset turned professional in 1988 and won his first tour singles title in 1989 Geneva as a wildcard, defeating Guillermo Pérez Roldán. His first doubles title was also won in Geneva in 1991 partnering Sergi Bruguera.
1992 was the pinnacle of Rosset's career. Representing Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, he defeated several big-name players on route to qualifying for the men's singles final, including Jim Courier, Goran Ivanišević, Wayne Ferreira, and Emilio Sánchez. In the final, he faced Spain's Jordi Arrese and won an exciting five-set match, 7–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 8–6, to claim the Gold Medal. Rosset also won the 1992 French Open men's doubles title partnering Jakob Hlasek. Rosset was also a member of the Swiss team which reached the final of the 1992 Davis Cup. Switzerland lost in the final to the United States, despite Rosset's winning a five-set singles rubber against Jim Courier (who was ranked the World No. 1 at the time).
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Marcel Granollers
Marcel Granollers i Pujol (born April 12, 1986) is a professional tennis player from Spain who turned professional in 2003. He reached his highest singles ranking of World Number 23 on February 20, 2012, and his highest doubles ranking of World Number 5.
Granollers made the first round of the Wimbledon tournament in 2006, but lost to Andrei Pavel. In the qualifying rounds, he beat Stéphane Robert, Konstantinos Economidis and Marco Chiudinelli.
In 2007, Granollers won the Naples and Rome Challengers for doubles with Flavio Cipolla, and the Maspalomas Challenger for doubles with Marc López. At the 2007 French Open, he made the second round of the men's doubles tournament with Feliciano López before they lost in three close sets to the number 4 seeds Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjić, who won 7–5, 1–6, 6–4. He lost at the French and Wimbledon Championships both times in the second round of qualifying for the main draws.
2008 saw Granollers qualify for the 2008 Australian Open Singles Draw, but lost to Evgeny Korolev 7–5, 6–2, 6–0 in the first round. He reached the quarterfinals of the 2008 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico, an International Series Gold tournament, before losing to José Acasuso 7–6, 6–3. On April 20, he won his first ATP singles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, defeating James Blake in the final. The previous day, he and Pablo Cuevas lost in the doubles final. Following Rafael Nadal's announcement that he would not play the Davis Cup Final at Argentina on November 21–23, Spain's Captain Emilio Sánchez announced that Marcel Granollers would replace Nadal. This was Granollers' first Davis Cup appearance, although he did not play any matches.
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Marcelo Melo
Marcelo Melo (born September 23, 1983) is a Brazilian tennis player, currently ranked 22nd in the world in doubles. Alongside regular teammate André Sá, he has reached the Mens Doubles semifinal at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships and the quarterfinal at the 2007 US Open. In 2009, he reached the mixed doubles final at the French Open with American Vania King, becoming only the seventh Brazilian to reach the final of a Grand Slam, and the first since Gustavo Kuerten.
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Marcin Matkowski
Marcin Matkowski (born 15 January 1981 in Barlinek) is a right-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Mariusz Fyrstenberg; they have been playing together since 2003, he occasionally plays mixed doubles with Caroline Wozniacki.
Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth and final contenders in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup. This was mainly because of the best Grand Slam result in their history, in which they reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open until 2011 when they reached the US Open Men's Doubles Final, losing a controversial decision to Philipp Petzschner and his partner Jurgen Melzer. A ball clearly struck Mr. Petzschner on the left shin during a net exchange and rebounded over the net onto the sideline. When confronted about this, Mr. Petzschner denied this, though instant replay clearly shows the ball ricocheting off his leg.
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).
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Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis (Greek: Μάρκος Παγδατής, [ˈmarkos paɣðaˈtis]; Arabic: ماركوس بغداتيس; born 17 June 1985 in Limassol) is a Cypriot professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships and reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 8 in August 2006.
Marcos Baghdatis is the son of a Lebanese father, Christos, who migrated to Cyprus and a Greek Cypriot mother.
Baghdatis began playing tennis at age five with his father and brothers. He enjoys playing and watching football and is a supporter of Apollon Limassol in Cyprus. He trained at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris on an Olympic Solidarity Youth Development Programme Scholarship since the age of 13 and learned to speak French.
On January 28, 2006, Baghdatis received an exemption from the otherwise mandatory Greek Cypriot national service so that he could concentrate instead on playing tennis.
He received the 2005 Cyprus Male Athlete of the Year award.
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Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.
Fish has won six tournaments on the main ATP Tour, and has reached the final of four Masters Series events: Cincinnati in 2003 and 2010, Indian Wells in 2008, and Montreal in 2011. His best result at a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the quarter final stage at the 2007 Australian Open, the 2008 US Open, and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.
In April 2011, Fish overtook compatriot Andy Roddick to become the American No. 1 in the ATP rankings. As of 21 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 8. His current career-high singles ranking is World No. 7.
Fish is the son of a tennis teaching professional and a housewife, Tom and Sally Fish. He was born in Edina, Minnesota. In 1984 a Minneapolis TV station ran a profile of Fish, at the age of two, hitting tennis balls from the baseline over the net. In 1986, Fish's family moved to Vero Beach, Florida. He attended Vero Beach High School for tenth grade, then moved to Boca Prep in Boca Raton, Florida for his junior and senior years of high school. He, Andy Roddick, and Jesse Levine all attended Boca Prep International School. During 1999 he lived with Roddick's family, and the two played on the same tennis and basketball teams.
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Mario Ančić
Mario Ančić (Croatian pronunciation: [mâːrio âːntʃitɕ]) (born March 30, 1984) is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached World No. 7. Apart from his success on the ATP Tour, Mario helped Croatia to win the 2005 Davis Cup and at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004, he and Ivan Ljubičić won a bronze medal in doubles for Croatia.
As a teenager making his Grand Slam debut at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, he defeated seventh-seeded Roger Federer. This win also made him the last player to defeat Federer at Wimbledon (until Rafael Nadal in 2008) and on grass courts. His best performance at Grand Slams came at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, when he reached the semifinals. Due to his success at Wimbledon and grass courts, many saw in Mario a successor of Goran Ivanišević, the 2001 Wimbledon Champion and a former No. 2 in singles, earning a nickname New Goran and Baby Goran.
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Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Mariusz Fyrstenberg (born 8 July 1980 in Warsaw) is a left-handed Polish professional tennis player whose speciality is in doubles. His current partner is Marcin Matkowski; they have been playing together since 2003.
Matkowski and Fyrstenberg qualified as the eighth and final contenders in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup. This was mainly because of the best Grand Slam result in their history, in which they reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open until 2011 when they reached the US Open Men's Doubles Final, losing a controversial decision to Philipp Petzschner and his partner Jurgen Melzer. A ball clearly struck Mr. Petzschner on the left shin during a net exchange and rebounded over the net onto the sideline. When confronted about this, Mr. Petzschner denied this, though instant replay clearly shows the ball ricocheting off his leg.
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).
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Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles (born September 4, 1971 in Nassau, Bahamas) is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.
After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick Bollettieri's famed academy, Knowles played three seasons at UCLA, where he earned All-American honors in both singles and doubles. His highest ATP singles ranking is World No. 96. He has been very successful in doubles, partnering Daniel Nestor, Mahesh Bhupathi, Brian MacPhie and Mardy Fish. With Nestor, Knowles won the 2002 Australian Open, the 2004 U.S. Open, and the 2007 French Open. He also won the 2009 Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Anna-Lena Grönefeld of Germany.
On July 5, 2006, Knowles participated in one of the longest matches in Wimbledon history, lasting 6 hours and 9 minutes.
Knowles played singles and doubles for the Bahamas Davis Cup team for more than 13 years and he is a five-time Olympian, reaching the quarterfinals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
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Mark Koevermans
Mark Koevermans (born 3 February 1968 in Rotterdam) is a former tennis player from the Netherlands, who turned professional in 1987. He represented his native country as a lucky loser at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he was defeated in the third round by Brazil's Jaime Oncins. The right-hander, nicknamed Koef, won one career title in singles (Athens, 1990). He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 27 May 1991, when he became the number 37 of the world.
In April 2009 Koevermans was appointed as commercial director at Dutch football-club Feyenoord.
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Mark Kratzmann
Mark Edward Kratzmann (born 17 May 1966 in Murgon, Queensland, Australia) is a former Australian professional tennis player.
As the world's #1 ranked junior player in 1984, he won the Boys Australian, the Boys Wimbledon and the Boys US OpenKratzmann won 18 doubles titles as a pro. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 1983.
Kratzmann began to play cricket after moving to Hong Kong in 2003 where he originally worked as a tennis coach. He won the Hong Kong Cricket Association's Player of the Year award for 2005-06. In May 2007, he was selected in the national squad to participate in the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament. He was also in the 20 man list for the Asia Cup but was not included in the final 14. He has made three international appearances for Hong Kong.
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Mark Merklein
Mark Merklein (born June 28, 1972) is a former college and professional tennis player from the Bahamas.
Merklein was born in Freeport, Bahamas. He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators men's tennis team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1991 to 1994. As a Gator, he won the NCAA singles title in 1993, and the NCAA doubles title with partner David Blair in 1994. Merklein was a four-time All-American, and three-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and the SEC Player of the Year in 1994. He was inducted in to the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2005.
Merklein turned professional in 1994, and won four doubles titles during his career. On July 7, 1997, he reached his highest singles ranking of World Number 160, and reached his highest doubles ranking on January 12, 2004, when he became World Number 37.
Merklein currently resides in Gainesville, Florida.
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Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis (Greek: Μαρκ Φιλιππούσης; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry.
He has had a minor career in modelling and starred in the American reality television dating show Age of Love. He is nicknamed 'the Scud', after the Scud missile. He was educated at Maribyrnong College. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 8.
Philippoussis was born in Melbourne and was educated at Maribyrnong College.
Coached by his father, Nick, the right-hander has played tennis since he was six years of age. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. He was briefly coached by former 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, which ended in an acrimonious split in 2000. In 1994, he finished third in single ranking for juniors. Philippoussis also finished as junior doubles champion with Ben Ellwood in Australia, Wimbledon, and Italy. He turned professional in 1994.
In 1995, at the age of 19, he was the youngest player in the year-end top 50. In 1996, he reached the 4th round of the Australian Open upsetting Pete Sampras in the 3rd round and in doubles with Patrick Rafter. On 25 May 1997, he recorded a personal best 229.0 km/h (142.3 mph) serve in a game he lost to Albert Costa. During the height of his career, Mark was known as having one of the fastest serves in the game.
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Martin Damm
Martin Damm (born 1 August 1972 in Liberec) is a former a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known as a doubles player (his highest ranking being No. 5 in the world in April 2007). His highest singles ranking was No. 42 in August 1997. Damm won a total of 40 titles in doubles, including one Grand Slam title. He reached 5 singles finals.
Married to Michaela Damm, two sons, one daughter: Maxmillian Martin (born 1 February 2002 i, Martin Joseph (born 30 September 2003), Laura Michelle Damm (born 3 December 2007) all were born in Bradenton, Florida USA. His sons are also playing tennis.
He played his last tournament in September 2011 at the US Open (with Stepanek), lost to Fleming/Hutchins 63 63.
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Maura Tierney
Maura Therese Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.
Tierney, the eldest of three children, was born and raised in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Her mother, Pat, is a real estate broker and her late father, Joseph, was a prominent Boston politician who served on the Boston City Council for 15 years. Tierney is of Irish descent.
She attended Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, Massachusetts, where her studies included drama and led to her appearance at the Boston Globe Drama Festival. After graduation, she attended New York University where she majored first in dance, and later in drama.
After appearing in several plays, she moved to Los Angeles, California, and in 1987 got her first break in a role in Disney's made-for-TV film Student Exchange. Tierney's first starring role in a film was in a low-budget, independently-produced film called Dead Women in Lingerie, shot in 24 days. The film never received a theatrical release, although it was released on DVD in 2005.
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Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy (April 13, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of #11 in 2001, and has won six WTA Tour singles titles. She is best known for her serve, which is one of the most powerful on tour, and has produced as many as 22 aces in a match.
Shaughnessy is coached by Rafael Font de Mora (managed by him since age 13 and coached by him for over 20 years). She is the niece of Dan Shaughnessy, a Boston Globe sports columnist.
Shaughnessy made her debut on the WTA Tour in 1996 at a tournament in Budapest, and broke into the top 100 in 1998. In 2000, Shaughnessy won her first WTA singles title at Beijing, defeating Iroda Tulyaganova in the final, and breaking into the top fifty. In her breakout year of 2001, Shaughnessy achieved a career-high singles ranking of #11, won the second singles title of her career at Quebec City, and reached the finals of Hamburg and her home tournament in Scottsdale. She also recorded wins over world number five Conchita Martínez, world number four Monica Seles, and world number two Venus Williams.
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Michael Kohlmann
Michael Kohlmann (born 11 January 1974, in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a professional tennis player from Germany. Primarily a doubles specialist, he has won five ATP Tour doubles titles in his career. On 5 March 2007, he reached his highest doubles ranking of No. 27 in the world.
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Michael Stich
Michael Detlef Stich (born October 18, 1968 in Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1991. He also won the men's doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, and was a singles runner-up at the 1994 US Open and the 1996 French Open. Stich won 18 singles titles and 10 doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 in 1993.
Stich was raised in Elmshorn, Schleswig-Holstein. He turned professional in 1988 and won his first top-level singles title in 1990 at Memphis, Tennessee.
Stich won Wimbledon in 1991. He defeated the defending champion and World No. 1 Stefan Edberg in the semifinals, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 7–6, without breaking his service once. Then in the final, he beat his compatriot and three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in straight sets.
In 1992, Stich teamed with John McEnroe to win the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in a five-set and five-hour final that stretched into Monday (the day after the tournament normally ends) and ended with a 19–17 final set. Then at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Stich teamed with Becker to win the men's doubles gold medal. Stich also won the 1992 Grand Slam Cup, defeating Michael Chang in the final.
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Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra (born May 18, 1980) is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.
Llodra was born in Paris, where his father Michel played for football club Paris Saint-Germain. A left-hander, his serve-and-volley style is modelled on that of his idol, Stefan Edberg.
Llodra and his wife Camille were married on September 9, 2003, and have two children, a daughter, Manon (born March 23, 2004) and a son, Teo (born September 5, 2007). He is a well-known supporter of French football club Paris Saint-Germain, and has often been seen wearing the club's shirt prior to tennis games.
Llodra reached his first Grand Slam final, the Australian Open Men's Doubles, with Fabrice Santoro. Unseeded, they lost to Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. During the semifinals, Llodra inadvertently hit a bird.
Llodra won his first Grand Slam title, the Australian Open Men's Doubles, with Fabrice Santoro. Their opponents in the final were once again Knowles and Nestor.
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Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny (Михаил Михайлович Южный [mixaˈil ˈjuʒnɨj] ( listen); born 25 June 1982, in Moscow, Russia, is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years.
The highest singles world ranking of his career was number eight, achieved 28 January 2008 and again on 18 October 2010.
Mikhail began playing tennis at six with his older brother, Andrei, a pro futures player in 1998–2000. At 13, he was a ballboy for the Russia – U.S. Davis Cup matches.
Youzhny has a unique backhand, in which he mainly hits one-handed, but also has somewhat of a hybrid reminiscent to that of Björn Borg. Youzhny at times will follow through his backhand with both hands, but with only his right hand on his racket. Even so, many consider his backhand to be his best shot. From both sides, Youzhny hits the ball on the rise, achieving a flatter trajectory. He has a good court sense and often makes use of dropshots.
Youzhny has a reputation for engaging the crowd, subsequently taking inspiration from it to attempt high-risk winners, especially when facing matchpoints. After each big victory Youzhny gives a military style salute to the spectators. He does it by holding the tennis racquet above his head with his left hand and saluting with his right hand. The racquet imitates a hat, since according to Russian military tradition one must wear a hat to give proper salute.
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Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic ( /ˈmiːloʊʃ ˈraʊnɪtʃ/ MEE-lohsh ROW-nich;Serbian: Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić [mîloʃ râonitɕ]; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player who lives in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada.
Born in what is now Podgorica, Montenegro, Raonic moved to Canada with his family at the age of 3. He speaks his native Serbian and English. Raonic is Canada's highest ATP ranked male singles player since computer rankings began in 1973. He qualified for his first grand slam event at the 2010 U.S. Open. In 2011 he rose from World No. 152 to No. 37 in a month, after he reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and won his first ATP title at the 2011 SAP Open. Raonic, who prefers to play on hard courts, plays an all-court game but is most notable for his serve, which is powerful and accurate. Since late 2010 he has been coached by former Spanish pro player Galo Blanco in Barcelona.
Raonic's first ITF-sanctioned junior tennis event was the qualifying draw for the Canadian ITF Group 4 Championships in October 2003, where he lost in the first round to fellow Canadian Kirill Sinitsyn 6–7, 3–6. His next junior circuit action was a year later at the Canadian ITF Championships 1 event, where he lost in the first round of the main draw 4–6, 4–6 to compatriot Peter Marrack. In doubles at the same event he and partner Sheharyar Wali, also Canadian, reached the second round.
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Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ненад Зимоњић, Serbian pronunciation: [nê̞nad zîmo̞ɲit͡ɕ]; born June 4, 1976 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.
Zimonjić turned pro in 1995 and remained relatively unknown outside his native country until a surprise victory in the Mixed Doubles at the 2004 Australian Open. Paired for the first time with Russian Elena Bovina, he beat defending champions Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes in straight sets in an hour and nine minutes 6–1, 7–6 . Alongside Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, he won the 2006 French Open crown with a straight-sets victory over Daniel Nestor and Elena Likhovtseva, 6–3, 6–4. At the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, Zimonjić reached the final of the Men's Doubles (alongside France's Fabrice Santoro) and the quarter-finals of the Mixed Doubles.
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Nicklas Kulti
Nicklas Kulti (born 22 April 1971, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.
Kulti was ranked the World No. 1 junior tennis player in 1989 after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon junior titles, and finishing runner-up at the US Open.
In 1990, Kulti won his first top-level singles title at Adelaide. He won a total of three tour singles titles during his professional career. He also won 13 top-level doubles titles, including the Monte Carlo Masters in 1994 (partnering Magnus Larsson) and the Paris Masters in 2000 (partnering Max Mirnyi). Kulti was a men's doubles runner-up at the French Open in 1995 (with Larsson) and the US Open in 1997 (with Jonas Björkman). Kulti's best singles performance at a Grand Slam event came at the 1992 French Open, where he reached the quarter-finals before being knocked-out by Henri Leconte.
Kulti was a member of the Swedish teams which won the Davis Cup in both 1997 and 1998 (partnering Björkman to win doubles rubbers in the final on both occasions). He was also on the team which finished runners-up in the Davis Cup in 1996. In the fifth and deciding match against Frenchman Arnaud Boetsch, Kulti was a late replacement for the injured Stefan Edberg. In a 4 hour and 46 minute thriller, Boetsch saved three matchpoints and finally overcame Kulti, 7–6, 2–6, 4–6, 7–6, 10–8.
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Nicolas Escudé
Nicolas Jean-Christophe Escudé (born 3 April 1976 in Chartres) is a former professional tennis player from France, who turned professional in 1995. He won four singles titles and two doubles titles during his career.
Escudé is best remembered for the vital role he played in the 2001 Davis Cup final against Australia on the grass-courts of Melbourne. Escudé beat the recently crowned World No. 1, Lleyton Hewitt in the first rubber with a superb win in 5 sets, repeating what he did to Hewitt earlier that year in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Two days later, Escudé won the decisive fifth rubber for France against Wayne Arthurs in four sets.
The right-hander reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP Tour on 26 June 2000, when he became World No. 17. He's a natural left-hander who was trained since a child to play right-handed but does everything else lefty. His brother Julien Escudé is a professional football player, who currently plays for Sevilla FC.
In 2006, he announced his immediate retirement from the sport due to a persistent shoulder injury that had been keeping him out of the professional tennis circuit for the past 22 months.
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Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer (born 5 July 1977 in Holzminden, Lower Saxony), is a former German professional tennis player. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Kiefer was taken notice of as an outstanding junior. He won the Junior Australian Open, US Open and was a finalist and semi-finalist at Wimbledon and the French Open finishing as the number 2 junior behind Mariano Zabaleta when he was 18.
On 10 January 2000, he reached his second quarter-final at the Australian Open and afterwards was ranked World No. 4, his highest position to date.
Nicolas has been known to have a few tennis superstitions. He is sometimes seen tapping his racquet on the corners of the court after a point, although the reasons behind this are not clear. He also, when serving, frequently asks for the ball with which he has just won a point to re-use it in the next one.
Kiefer became infamous for an incident on 25 January 2006, during the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. While facing Sébastien Grosjean late in the fifth set of a marathon match, Kiefer threw his racquet mid-point. Grosjean lost the point, hitting the ball into the net. Grosjean protested that the racquet distracted his shot. The umpire Carlos Bernardes said he did not believe the act was intentional and noted Grosjean had already hit the ball before the flying racquet could have had any effect on his shot. Grosjean eventually lost the fifth and final set to Kiefer. Kiefer went through to the semi-finals where he was defeated by the 2004 champion Roger Federer.
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Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro Sánchez Rolle (Spanish pronunciation: [nikoˈlas alˈmaɣɾo ˈsantʃeθ]; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 12 on the ATP World Tour.
Almagro won the gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games by defeating compatriot Guillermo García López 6–2, 7–5 in the final in Almería,Spain.
In April 2006, Almagro won his maiden ATP tournament title – the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana (Valencia, Spain). Almagro was forced to come through the qualification rounds just to make this event, but that did not stop him from winning 8 matches in a row including 3 set victories over former world #1's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Marat Safin.
Following this title, Almagro stated that he was pleased with where his tennis is taking him, and that he expects even bigger and better results in the near future.
After Valencia, Almagro went on an excellent run, reaching the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open before losing to Rafael Nadal, and followed that up by reaching the quarter finals in Rome, where he lost to Roger Federer in 3 tight sets, 7–5 in the 3rd.
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Nicolás Massú
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (born October 10, 1979, in Viña del Mar, Chile), nicknamed Vampiro (Spanish: "vampire"), is a Chilean tennis player, a former World No. 9 in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the only male player to have won both the singles and doubles gold medals in the same Olympic Games in modern (1988 ff.) Olympic tennis.
Massú was introduced to tennis at age five by his Hungarian grandfather, Ladislao Fried. From age 12, he was trained at the Valle Dorado tennis academy, near Villa Alemana, by Leonardo Zuleta, with whom he perfected his forehand and double-handed backhand. He later trained at the Nick Bollettieri academy, in Florida, United States, alongside Marcelo Ríos, and later at the High Performance Center in Barcelona, Spain.
Massú became a professional tennis player in 1997. That year he won the prestigious juniors year-end Orange Bowl tournament. He also claimed the boys doubles competitions at Wimbledon (with Peru's Luis Horna) and the US Open (with countryman Fernando González), and was junior doubles world champion.
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Novak Djokovic
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. 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 , and former player Pat Cash said he is one of the greatest ever.
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Olivier Delaître
Olivier Delaître (born June 1, 1967 in Metz) is a former tennis player from France. He won 15 doubles titles during a fourteen year career becoming the world's 3rd ranked doubles player on July 12, 1999.
Delaitre turned professional in 1986. A right-hander, he reached his highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour on February 20, 1995, when he became World No. 33.
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Omar Camporese
Omar Camporese (born 8 May 1968) is a former professional tennis player from Italy.
Born in Bologna, Camporese turned professional in 1987. He reached his first top-level singles final in 1990 at San Marino, where he lost to Guillermo Pérez Roldán 6–3, 6–3.
In 1991, Camporese won his first tour singles title in Rotterdam, defeating Ivan Lendl in the final 3–6, 7–6, 7–6. At the Australian Open the same year he lost against Boris Becker in a 311 minutes long match. Becker won 7-6, 7-6, 0-6, 4-6, 14-12 which is the second longest match in the tournament's history. 1992 saw Camporese win his second tour singles title at Milan, where he beat Goran Ivanišević in the final 3–6, 6–3, 6–4.
Camporese's best performance at a Grand Slam event came at the 1992 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round before being knocked out by Lendl.
During his career, Camporese won two top-level singles titles and five tour doubles titles. His career high rankings were World No. 18 in singles and World No. 27 in doubles (both in 1992). His career prize-money totalled US$1,609,837. Camporese retired from the professional tour in 1998.
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Pam Shriver
Pamela Howard Shriver (born July 4, 1962), is a former American professional tennis player and currently a tennis broadcaster for ESPN. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments. She also won a women's doubles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul with Zina Garrison as her partner, although her usual doubles partner was Martina Navratilova.
Shriver was well known for her variety, including sharp volleys and all-around solid technique at the net. She also possessed a destructive slice forehand approach, which set her apart from the rest of the women's field.
Shriver first came to prominence at the 1978 US Open where, as a 16-year-old amateur, she reached the women's singles final. She defeated the reigning Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova in a semifinal 7–6, 7–6. Shriver then lost to Chris Evert in the final 7–5, 6–4. Shriver also won the first of her 21 career singles titles in 1978 at Columbus, Ohio.
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Paradorn Srichaphan
Paradorn Srichaphan (Thai: ภราดร ศรีชาพันธุ์; born 14 June 1979) is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He is the highest ranked men's singles player from Thailand and Asia in history, reaching a career high World No. 9. His nickname is "Ball".
Paradorn started his professional ATP career in 1998. He remained in the lower ranks of the professional circuit for several years. However his ranking continued to improve. After being a surprise finalist in the 2000 Hopman Cup, 2002 was a breakthrough year for him as he managed to get into the top 30 after defeating Andre Agassi in Wimbledon. In 2003 he won his first ATP-level singles title, the Hamlet Cup. He reached the fourth round in Wimbledon where he was beaten by Andy Roddick, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, having become the first player to defeat Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam, He also reached the fourth round in the US Open losing to Lleyton Hewitt. By the end of the year, he was ranked World No. 11 in the ATP rankings. He is however not in favor of playing doubles having won no title in this category on either Challenger or ATP level.
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Patrick Galbraith
Patrick Galbraith (born 16 April 1967, in Tacoma, Washington) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
A doubles specialist, Galbraith reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1993. During his career he won 38 top-level doubles titles. He was a mixed doubles champion at the US Open in 1994 (partnering Elna Reinach) and 1996 (partnering Lisa Raymond). He also won the men's doubles title at the ATP Tour World Championships in 1995 (partnering Grant Connell). He was a men's doubles runner-up at Wimbledon in both 1993 and 1994, and a mixed doubles runner-up at French Open in 1997. He retired from the professional tour in 1999, having won prize money totalling US$2,684,136.
Prior to turning professional, Galbraith played tennis for UCLA from 1986-1989, where he was a three-time All-American and an NCAA doubles champion in 1988.
A = did not attend tournament
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Patrick McEnroe
Patrick John McEnroe (born July 1, 1966) is a former professional tennis player and the former captain of the United States Davis Cup team.
Born in Manhasset, New York, he is the younger brother of John McEnroe. He won 16 professional titles including the 1989 French Open men's doubles.
McEnroe started playing tennis as a young boy and was taught at the Port Washington Tennis Academy, where his brother John also played. As a junior player, McEnroe partnered Luke Jensen to win the French Junior doubles and the USTA Boys' 18 National and Clay Court titles in 1984. He also made his first impact on the professional tour that year, teaming up with brother John to win the doubles title at Richmond, Virginia. He won the men's doubles gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games with Jensen, and helped Stanford University win the NCAA team championship in 1986 and 1988. While at Stanford, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. McEnroe graduated from Stanford in 1988 with a degree in political science, and then joined the professional tennis tour.
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Patrick Rafter
Patrick "Pat" Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He was known for his natural serve-and-volley style of play. He became the first man in the Open Era to win Montreal/Toronto, Cincinnati and the US Open in the same year (1998); this achievement has been dubbed the American Summer Slam.
Rafter turned professional in 1991 and won his first career singles title in 1994 in Manchester. Prior to 1997, this was the only ATP singles title he had won.
Rafter's breakthrough came in 1997. At that year's French Open he reached the semifinals, falling in four sets to Sergi Bruguera. Then he surprised many by winning the US Open, defeating Greg Rusedski in a four-set final and Andre Agassi and Michael Chang, among others, in earlier rounds; he was the first non-American to win the title since Stefan Edberg in 1992. This was his first Grand Slam title, and catapulted him ahead of Chang to finish the year ranked #2 in the world, behind only Pete Sampras. The unexpected nature of his U.S. Open title led many, including Hall-of-famer and four-time U.S. Open champion John McEnroe to criticise Rafter as a "one-slam wonder".
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Paul Haarhuis
Paul Vincent Nicholas Haarhuis (born 19 February 1966) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. He is a former World No. 1 doubles player. He won six Grand Slam men's doubles titles, five with Jacco Eltingh and one with Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Haarhuis was born on 19 February 1966 in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He played tennis for Florida State University.
In June 1995, he reached his highest singles ranking of World No. 18. He is best remembered for his success in doubles with fellow countryman Jacco Eltingh, winning five Grand Slam titles together. In his career he has won one singles title and 54 doubles titles.
He is, together with Sergi Bruguera, Richard Krajicek, Leander Paes, and Michael Stich, the only player of the same generation with a positive head-to-head record against Pete Sampras: 3–1.
After retiring, he won the end of the year Blackrock Masters Tennis tournament in the Royal Albert Hall in 2005 and 2006, beating legends such as Goran Ivanišević and John McEnroe. He completed a hat-trick of victories in the tournament in 2007, beating Frenchman Guy Forget.
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Paul Hanley (tennis)
Paul Jason Hanley (born 12 November 1977 in Melbourne, Australia) is a professional male tennis player from Australia, specializing in doubles.
He made the 2005 Wimbledon and 2011 Australian Open finals in mixed doubles, playing with Tatiana Perebiynis and Chan Yung-jan respectively, falling short on both occasions. His current doubles partner is Jamie Murray; however, he has had his most successful partnerships with Wayne Arthurs and Kevin Ullyett. Hanley has an 8–4 win-loss record on the Australian Davis Cup Team. His highest doubles ranking to date has been World Number 5. His parents, Jay and Judy, co-own a tennis centre, which is one of the main reasons why Hanley pursued a career in the sport.
A = did not attend tournament
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Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu (born 12 January 1982 in Strasbourg, France) is a French tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 12.
Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida. After having won the Junior title at the French Open (defeating Tommy Robredo), he made his ATP tour debut in July 2000, in Kitzbühel.
2002 was Mathieu's breakthrough year. He made the 4th round of the French Open, losing to Andre Agassi in 5 sets, despite having a 2 set lead. Later on in the year, he confirmed his potential by winning back to back tournaments in Moscow and Lyon. On 14 October he became world no. 36 and his progess won him the ATP Newcomer of the Year award for 2002. He also nearly won the Davis Cup in 2002 with the French Davis Cup team, but lost the deciding rubber of the final to Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, once more after relinquishing a 2 set advantage.
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Pavel Vízner
Pavel Vízner (born July 15, 1970 in Prague) is a professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. Vízner has reached the French Open final twice, having had turned professional in 1990 and achieved a career high doubles ranking of World Number 5 on September 10, 2007.
While Vízner had played tournaments in 1988 and 1989 before professionalism in 1990, he won his first title in Prague in 1993 on the Challenger circuit, defeating Swedes Tomas Nydahl and Mikael Tillström in the final, partnered by David Rikl, also a future superb player with a higher doubles ranking and ultimately more success. He won another minor title in Guayaquil, Ecuador later in 1995.
Pavel broke through in 1996, winning a total of five titles; three of them being major titles. His first major title that he won was at Sankt Pölten, with Sláva Doseděl where they defeated David Adams and Menno Oosting in the final. His next title he won with Paul Kilderry over Anders Järryd and number 7 doubles player Mark Knowles in a tournament in Rosmalen, in The Netherlands. En route, he and partner Kilderry beat the 4th, 7th, 12th, and 14th-ranked doubles players. He won another title yet again in Gstaad, Switzerland, beating David Macpherson and Trevor Kronemann in the final, aside Jiří Novák (a doubles talent in a later day) In Grand Slam men's doubles performance, he participated in the French Open and the U.S. Open, and made the third round at Wimbledon. He ended 1996 ranked 28, having had broken into the top 100 for doubles.
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People (magazine)
People (originally called People Weekly) is a weekly American magazine of celebrity and human-interest stories, published by Time Inc. As of 2006, it has a circulation of 3.75 million and revenue expected to top $1.5 billion. It was named "Magazine of the Year" by Advertising Age in October 2005, for excellence in editorial, circulation and advertising.People ranked #6 on Advertising Age's annual "A-list" and #3 on Adweek's "Brand Blazers" list in October 2006.
The magazine runs a roughly 50/50 mix of celebrity and human-interest articles. People's editors claim to refrain from printing pure celebrity gossip, enough so to lead celebrity publicists to propose exclusives to the magazine, evidence of what one staffer calls a "publicist-friendly strategy".
People's website, People.com, focuses exclusively on celebrity news. In February 2007, the website drew 39.6 million page views "within a day" of the Golden Globes. However "the mother ship of Oscar coverage" broke a site record with 51.7 million page views on the day after the Oscars, beating the previous record set just a month before from the Golden Globes.[not in citation given]
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Petr Korda
Petr Korda (born 23 January 1968) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known for winning the Australian Open in 1998 and for testing positive for the banned substance, nandrolone, following a match at Wimbledon that same year.
Korda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
He first came to the tennis world's attention as a promising junior player. In 1985, he partnered with fellow Czech Cyril Suk to win the boy's doubles title at the French Open. Korda and Suk ranked the joint-World No. 1 junior doubles players that year.
Korda turned professional in 1987. He won his first career doubles title in 1988, and his first top-level singles title in 1991. Korda was involved in four Grand Slam finals during his career — two in singles and two in doubles.
In 1990, Korda and Goran Ivanišević finished runners-up in the men's doubles at the French Open. In 1992, he rose to the men's singles final at the French Open, where he was defeated in straight sets by defending champion Jim Courier 7–5, 6–2, 6–1. In 1996, he teamed-up with Stefan Edberg to win the men's doubles title at the Australian Open.
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Piet Norval
Pieter ("Piet") Norval (born 7 April 1970 in Bellville, Cape Town) is a former tennis player from South Africa, who turned professional in 1988. The right-hander represented his native country in the doubles competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he partnered Wayne Ferreira. The pair won the silver medal, after losing the final to Boris Becker and Michael Stich from Germany: 6–7, 6–4, 6–7, and 3–6. Norval reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 19 June 1989, when he became the number 125 of the world.
A = did not attend tournament
NH = tournament not held
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Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəˈfɛɫ nəˈðaɫ pəˈɾeɾə]; Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa]) (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. As of 28 May 2012 (2012 -05-28)[update], he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time; his success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay", and has prompted many experts to regard him as the greatest clay court player of all time.
Nadal has won ten Grand Slam singles titles, including a record six French Open titles (tied with Bjorn Borg), the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, a record 21 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and also was part of the Spain Davis Cup team that won the finals in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011. He completed the Career Grand Slam by winning the 2010 US Open, being the seventh player in history, and the youngest in the open era, to achieve it. He is the second male player to complete the Career Golden Slam (winner of the four grand slams and the Olympic Gold medal) after only Andre Agassi.
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Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler (born 25 April 1976 in Korbach, Hesse) is a German professional tennis player. He is the last German player to reach a Grand Slam final, finishing as runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open. Schüttler achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 5 in April 2004.
He began playing tennis at the age of nine. He resides in Switzerland.
He had his breakthrough year in 2003, when he finished in the ATP top 10 for the first time improving his ATP ranking for the ninth year in succession, which is the longest among current players.[citation needed] He also became the first German since Boris Becker in 1989 to advance to the fourth round at all Grand Slams. He became the first German to reach a Grand Slam final, at the Australian Open, since Michael Stich was the runner-up at Roland Garros in 1996. En route to the final, which he lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi, he defeated Andy Roddick who would end the season as world no. 1.
In 2004, Schüttler reached his first career ATP Masters Series final in Monte Carlo by beating Gustavo Kuerten in the first round, Lleyton Hewitt in the third round, Tim Henman in the quarter-final and Carlos Moyà in the semi-final. He however lost to Guillermo Coria in the final. That week, he would reach a career high ranking of No. 5. Schüttler won a silver medal for Germany in tennis men's doubles with partner Nicolas Kiefer at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. 2004 was the sixth straight year in, which he finished in the ATP top 50.
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Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram (born March 18, 1984 in Englewood, Colorado) is an American professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. Rajeev is a tall, lanky player with a serve-and-volley style who is known best as a doubles specialist. He has advanced as far as the quarter-finals in doubles at three Grand Slams, most recently with Scott Lipsky at the 2012 Australian Open. He won his only ATP singles tournament in Newport, Rhode Island in 2009—winning seven straight matches to claim the title (two in qualifying and five in the main draw). He also achieved the rare feat of winning both the singles and doubles title for that tournament on the same day.
Ram has claimed six ATP doubles titles in his career, with several different partners. His career high singles rank was No. 78, achieved on November 16, 2009. He reached as high as No. 33 in doubles on February 22, 2010.
Rajeev is the son of Raghav and Sushma Ram. Ping pong, cricket (in particular, off spin bowling), and music are some of Ram's pastimes. His favourite cricket batsman is Lala Amarnath. His parents are from Bangalore, India.
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Ricardo Mello
Ricardo Mello is a Brazilian tennis player. His preference is for clay courts. He has had the occasional win in hard court tournaments. His best singles rank was no. 50 in 2005. He has won a singles tournament (Delray Beach) and reached 3 semifinals at Brazil Open, on the pro tour. Plays most of his tennis in Challenger tournaments, where he has won fifteen singles titles and three doubles titles.
Ricardo was born in Campinas, Brazil and started to play tennis at the age of 3. At 15, he drew a wildcard into a tournament in his hometown. He lost to veteran and French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten. However, he gained his first ATP career points. In 1999, Ricardo won his first Futures events in Uruguay and Paraguay.
The current sponsor for his clothes, shoes and racquets is Babolat.
Mello won his lone ATP title at Delray Beach in 2004, defeating Vincent Spadea, 7–6(7–2), 6–3.
At the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships, Mello played top seed Andy Murray. Murray was in control of the first set, winning 6–1, but Mello won the second set 6–1. Mello took the third and final to a tiebreak, after having three set points. He lost in the tiebreak 5-7. The final score was 1–6, 6–1, 6–7(5).
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Rick Leach
Rick Leach (b. December 28, 1964, in Arcadia, California) is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 5 Grand Slam men's doubles titles (3 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open), and 4 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (2 Australian Open, 1 Wimbledon, 1 US Open). Leach reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1990.
Leach was a member of the US team which won the Davis Cup in 1990. Partnering Jim Pugh, he won the doubles rubbers in all four of the rounds which the US played in that year, and clinched the team's victory in the final with a win over Pat Cash and John Fitzgerald of Australia.
Prior to turning professional, Leach became the first four-time Division 1 All-American in singles and doubles at the University of Southern California (where he played for his father Dick), and won the NCAA doubles title in 1986 and 1987. He is currently the coach of the St. Louis Aces. His brother, Jon Leach, is married to tennis star Lindsay Davenport.
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Robby Ginepri
Robert Louis ("Robby") Ginepri (born October 7, 1982) is an American professional tennis player.
Robby Ginepri is of Luxembourgish ancestry. He attended Joseph Wheeler High School, located in Marietta, Georgia. He graduated as a member of the class of 2001.
Ginepri had a breakout year in 2005. In August, he reached the semifinals of an ATP Masters Series tournament for the first time in his career, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He beat 2005 French Open runner-up Mariano Puerta in the first round, David Ferrer in the second round, 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moyà in the third round, and two-time Grand Slam singles titlist Marat Safin in the quarterfinals. He then lost to World No. 1 Roger Federer in the semifinals.
His summer hardcourt record was 14–3 when he arrived two weeks later at the US Open as an unseeded player. After defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round, and Andy Roddick's conqueror, Gilles Müller, in the second round, both in straight sets, Ginepri then put together three consecutive five set wins, defeating Tommy Haas in the third round, Richard Gasquet in the fourth round, and Guillermo Coria in the quarterfinals. He then lost to Andre Agassi in the semifinals in five sets. Ginepri thus became the first player in the open era to play four consecutive five-set matches at the US Open.
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Robert Kendrick
Robert Bradley Kendrick (born November 15, 1979 in Fresno, California) is an American tennis player. He turned professional in 1999. His career high single ranking is world no. 69, achieved on July 20, 2009. He was suspended for a year after testing positive at the 2011 French Open for the drug methylhexanamine, which has been banned in sport since 2010. The ITF ruled in July 2011 that Kendrick would be banned from the sport for 12 months, effective from May 22, 2011. The ITF also ruled that Kendrick's first-round finish at the 2011 French Open be disqualified, and his ranking points and prize money be taken away
Robert Kendrick was born to Tom and Doris Kendrick and began playing tennis at the age of 5. Kendrick's family is of relatively modest means. Tom is a real estate appraiser and Doris is a housewife. Kendrick has three older siblings: Kerry, Tommy, and Scott. He graduated from Bullard High School in 1997. In 1996, he led his team to an undefeated section championship.
Kendrick has been called a serve-and-volley player. Kendrick's main strengths are his serve and his forehand.
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Robert Seguso
Robert Arthur Seguso (born May 1, 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 4 Grand Slam men's doubles titles (2 Wimbledon, 1 French Open and 1 US Open). He also won the men's doubles Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, partnering Ken Flach. Seguso reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1985. He won a total of 29 career doubles titles between 1984 and 1991 .
Seguso played doubles with Flach on the US Davis Cup team from 1985–91, compiling an 10–2 record. He was also a member of the US team which won the World Team Cup in 1985.
Prior to turning professional, Seguso played tennis for Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where he was an NCAA Division II singles finalist in 1982 and Division I doubles finalist in 1983.
Seguso married the Canadian tennis player Carling Bassett in 1987. The couple have three children – sons Holden John (born in 1988) and Ridley Jack (1991), and daughter Carling Junior (1992).
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Robin Haase
Robin Haase (born 6 April 1987 in The Hague) is a Dutch tennis player. Haase is currently the highest-ranked Dutch player, achieving his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 39 in May 2012. He is left-handed, but plays with right hand. He is endorsed by Robey, Head, Tempo-Team and iTennis.nl.
Haase was a promising player in the Junior level, where he reached as high as no. 3 in the Juniors’ rankings on 14 March 2005. Later on in 2005, he lost the final of the Junior Grand Slam Tournament at Wimbledon to Jérémy Chardy in his last tournament at the Junior level.
Haase started 2006 ranked 665. In June he played his first ATP tournament at Rosmalen losing in the first round against Juan Carlos Ferrero 4-6, 6-3, 2-6.
In September he made his debut for the Dutch Davis Cup team in the World Group Play-offs against the Czech Republic, losing against Tomas Berdych in straight sets and winning from Jan Hernych when the competition already was decided.
In November Haase won his first Challenger tournament in Nashville, beating 2 top-100 players in the process.
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Roger Federer
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. 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.
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. 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.
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Rohan Bopanna
Rohan Bopanna (Kannada: ರೋಹನ್ ಬೋಪಣ್ಣ) (born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player. His singles career high ranking was 213th in 2007. Recently, most of his appearances in professional tournaments has been in doubles matches. He is a member of the Indian Davis Cup team since 2002. In 2010, he finished as a runner-up in doubles at the US Open, partnering with Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi.
Bopanna started playing tennis at age 11. He reached his career high doubles rankings on 13 June 2011 when he was ranked world no. 9 in the ATP Rankings. He reached his career-high singles rankings of world no. 213 on 23 July 2007. Bopanna partnered with Qureshi in doubles in 2007. The duo, nicknamed the IndoPak Express, went on to win four Challenger titles in quick succession. However, it was only in the 2010 season that the pair broke into the top 10 doubles teams. That year, they reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, finished runners-up in the US Open and in five ATP Tour events, and won the Johannesburg Open. Bopanna also played a decisive role in India's 2010 Davis Cup triumph over Brazil, taking India back to the World Group for the first time since 1998.
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Ryan Sweeting
Ryan Sweeting (born July 14, 1987) is a Bahamian-born American professional tennis player.
Sweeting was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and has lived and trained in Ft. Lauderdale since the age of 12.
In 2005, he won the US Open boys' singles title, beating Jérémy Chardy in the final 6–4, 6–4. In 2006 he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators men's tennis team in NCAA competition. During the year he received United States citizenship. He made his professional US Open debut in 2006, where he defeated Argentine Guillermo Coria in the first round (Coria retired while down 3–2) before losing to Belgian Olivier Rochus in five sets. Sweeting served as a practice partner for the U.S. Davis Cup team in the 2006 World Group Semifinal against Russia in Moscow.
Sweeting turned professional in 2007. Sweeting captured four ProCircuit doubles titles in 2007. He also served as a practice partner for the U.S. Davis Cup team in the 2007 first round at the Czech Republic.[1] He won the Rimouski Challenger in Canada in November 2008 for his first ProCircuit singles title, beating Kristian Pless in the finals. He finished 2008 ranked 216 in the ATP World Rankings.
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Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey (born October 7, 1987) is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. His current ATP rank is 71, with a career high rank of #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong serve and forehand. Querrey holds the record for most consecutive service aces since the ATP began keeping records of those statistics, with 10 in a 2007 match against James Blake. His regular doubles partner is fellow American John Isner.
Many tennis experts, including Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe, have touted Querrey as America's next great talent.[citation needed]
Querrey turned down a scholarship offer from USC to turn pro. His father Mike Querrey recommended that his son try making it in tennis, as he often regretted his own decision to go to the University of Arizona rather than play baseball for the Detroit Tigers which had drafted him. Sam Querrey said that going pro was "one of the toughest decisions of my life."
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Sandon Stolle
Sandon Stolle (born 13 July 1970 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is a former professional male tennis player from Australia and former World No. 2 in doubles.
Stolle is the son of former Australian tennis champion Fred Stolle. He was born in Sydney and now lives in Aventura, Florida, United States .
In his career Stolle has won twenty-two ATP doubles titles, including one Grand Slam title (1998 U.S Open) and four Grand Slam finals.
A = did not attend tournament
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Scott Lipsky
Scott Lipsky (born August 14, 1981, in Merrick, New York) is a professional tennis player from the United States. He is primarily a doubles specialist.
As a junior, Lipsky was ranked # 1 in the U.S. in singles in 1995, and # 1 in doubles for three straight years, in 1995–97. He won USTA national singles championships at both the 1995 Boys’ 14s Clay Court Championships and the 1997 Boys’ 16s Clay Court Championships. In doubles, he and Jeremy Wurtzman won the USTA national 1996 and 1997 Boys’ 16s Championships, and the 1999 Boys’ 18s Clay Court Championships. After losing only one match in high school in New York, he was a three-time All-American for Stanford University, playing both singles and doubles. His Stanford team won the NCAA team championship in 2000, and he and teammate David Martin finished their college career ranked as the # 2 doubles team in the nation.
Lipsky turned professional in 2003. He won his first Grand Slam title in 2011, winning the mixed doubles title at the French Open. He reached his career high in doubles, # 26, on July 4, 2011.
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Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera i Torner (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsɛrʒi βɾuˈɣeɾə turˈne]) (born 16 January 1971, in Barcelona, Spain) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994.
Bruguera was Spain's national junior champion in 1987. He turned professional in 1988. In his first full year on the tour, 1989, he won the Cairo Challenger title as a qualifier (defeating Jordi Arrese in the final) and reached the semi-finals in Rome. He finished 1989 ranked World No. 26, and was named the ATP's Newcomer of Year.
Bruguera earned a reputation as a top clay court player in the early 1990s, winning titles in Estoril, Monte Carlo, and Athens in 1991, and in Madrid, Gstaad, and Palermo in 1992.
In 1993, following wins over Pete Sampras and Andrei Medvedev, Bruguera reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open, where he faced two-time defending champion and the current World No. 2 Jim Courier. Courier was overwhelmingly favoured to win his third title, but ultimately Bruguera won a gruelling five-set final. The victory was one of five titles Bruguera captured that year. The following year Bruguera defended his title at the French Open, defeating, once again, Courier and Medvedev and fellow Spaniard Alberto Berasategui in the final.
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Sergio Casal
Sergio Casal Martínez (born 8 September 1962 in Barcelona, Spain) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he won three Grand Slam doubles titles, as well as the men's doubles Silver Medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Casal turned professional in 1981. He won his first top-level doubles title in 1983 at Aix-en-Provence. He captured a total of 47 men's doubles titles during his career. Partnering his fellow Spaniard Emilio Sánchez, he won the men's doubles titles at the US Open in 1988 and the French Open in 1990. The pair were also the men's doubles runners-up at Wimbledon in 1987 and won the Silver Medal for Spain at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Casal also won the US Open mixed doubles title in 1986, partnering Raffaella Reggi. Casal's career-high doubles ranking was World No. 3.
Casal also won one top-level singles title at Florence in 1985. He was a singles runner-up at Aix-en-Provence in 1983, and at the Paris Open in 1986. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 31.
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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.
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Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas "The Manislas" Wawrinka (born 28 March 1985 in Lausanne) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot. He won the gold medal for Switzerland in the men's doubles event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, partnering Roger Federer, by beating Swedish team Simon Aspelin/Thomas Johansson in the final. They were also honoured with the 2008 Swiss Team of the Year Award.
John McEnroe believes Wawrinka has one of the most powerful backhands he has ever seen and describes him as having "the best one-handed backhand in the game today".
Wawrinka stopped attending regular schooling at age 15 to focus full-time on tennis. However, he continued his schooling by distance education with the French organization CNED, which offered him greater flexibility.
Wawrinka started playing international junior events at age 14 and entered the satellite circuit the following year. He compiled an outstanding junior career, winning the 2003 French Open Junior championships and finishing as the no. 14 junior.
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Stefan Edberg
Stefan Bengt Edberg (born 19 January 1966 in Västervik, Sweden) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles) from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles between 1985 and 1996. He also won one season-ending championship title, the Masters Grand Prix. In addition he won four Masters Series titles and four Championship Series titles.
Edberg first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. He won all four Grand Slam junior titles in 1983 to become the first-ever player to achieve the "Junior Grand Slam". Later that year as a professional, Edberg won his first career doubles title in Basel. Edberg accidentally caused the death of Dick Wertheim with an errant serve during the 1983 US Open.
In 1984, Edberg won his first top-level singles title in Milan. Edberg also won the tennis tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics when the sport was an exhibition event and partnered with fellow Swede Anders Järryd to reach the final of the US Open. Edberg also reached the French Open doubles final with Järryd in 1986 and consequently was World No. 1 in doubles in that year.
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Stefan Koubek
Stefan Koubek (born January 2, 1977 in Klagenfurt) is a tennis player from Austria. Koubek plays left-handed with a double-handed backhand. His idol when growing up was Thomas Muster. Koubek has won three titles, two of which have come on hardcourts; despite this, he says his favorite surface is clay.
His nickname is Cooley or Stef. Koubek's hobbies include sports cars, video games, golf and skiing.
Koubek turned professional in 1994, losing his first match in St Pölten. Between 1994 and 1998, Koubek mostly played in ATP Futures and ATP Challenger Series events.
In 1997 he jumped up 184 positions in the rankings, thanks to good results in Challenger tournaments, reaching finals in Ulm and Alpirsbach. 1998 saw Koubek win his first Challenger event in Alpirsbach; later that same year he lost to Younes El Aynaoui in the final of Maia. Koubek compiled a 33-20 record for the year.
Koubek won his first ATP title in 1999 at Atlanta as a qualifier. He achieved this losing only one set in the whole tournament, overcoming Sébastien Grosjean in the final 6–1 6–2. Koubek reached the fourth round in his French Open debut, losing to Àlex Corretja; to date this is his best performance at this event. Koubek made the final of Bournemouth, losing to Adrian Voinea, and helped his country Austria back into the World Group of Davis Cup by defeating Sweden 3–2 in a promotion tie. Koubek was second only to Albert Costa in wins on clay during the 1999 season, with 28 match victories.
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Steve Darcis
Steve Darcis (born 13 March 1984 in Liège, Belgium) is a male professional tennis player. He achieved his career high ranking of no. 44 on 12 May 2008.
Darcis won his first ATP World Tour event at the Dutch Open in July 2007 and achieved his first top-100 ranking on 26 November 2007 by winning a Challenger event in Finland.
Darcis competed at the 2008 Australian Open and the French Open, losing in the first round in both. He and Olivier Rochus, however, reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament at the French Open. He reached the second round at the US Open. He won a second ATP event at Memphis in March 2008, defeating Robin Söderling in the final. He reached the final of the Dutch Open again, but lost to Albert Montañés.
In 2009, Darcis played in three Grand Slam tournaments: the 2009 Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, reaching the second round only at Wimbledon. He also reached the quarterfinals at Queens.
Darcis qualified for the 2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, retiring in his third-round match against Rafael Nadal. He failed to qualify for the Australian Open.
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Sébastien de Chaunac
Sébastien de Chaunac (born October 7, 1977 in Aix-en-Provence) is a now inactive French professional tennis player. He mainly played ATP Challenger Series tournaments, capturing one singles and two doubles titles. He has appeared in the main draw of grand slam tournaments a total of eight times.
Prior to turning pro, de Chaunac played three collegiate seasons (1995–98) at the University of Mississippi and was tabbed an All-American in his final two years. As a sophomore in 1996–97, he was 52–9 in singles, reached the semifinals of the 1997 NCAA Singles Championship and finished the season ranked No. 2 nationally. He also was the Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP and led the Rebels to the semifinals of the NCAA Team Championship (after Ole Miss had reached the quarterfinals in both 1996 and '97), clinching the quarterfinal victory against Boise State. As a junior in 1997–98, de Chaunac was ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles and claimed the title in the SEC Singles Championship. An all-SEC selection in his final two seasons, he helped the Rebels claim SEC regular-season titles in both 1996 and '97, as well as the tournament crown in the latter year. An outstanding student, de Chaunac was named to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team in 1998 and had a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
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Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien René Grosjean (French pronunciation: [sebastjɛ̃ ʁəne ɡʁoˈʒɑ̃]; born May 29, 1978, Marseille, France) is a retired tennis player from France. His career-high ATP Entry ranking is World No. 4 (achieved on October 28, 2002). He retired from tennis on May 27, 2010.
Grosjean joined the professional tour in 1996. In 2003 and 2004 he reached the final of the Queen's London Tournament. In the same two years, he also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. He finished 2001 as the No. 1 player from his country and for the first time in the top 10 becoming the first Frenchman to finish a year in the top 10 since Cédric Pioline in 1993. In 2001, Grosjean won the Davis Cup with the French team.
Grosjean is known for his extreme forehand, his best shot, he utilizes something of a western grip, which is hit at high velocities. He has appeared in four Grand Slam semifinal matches. As well as his two Wimbledon runs, he also reached the French Open semi-finals in 2001. His most famous chance was at the 2001 Australian Open against Arnaud Clément. Grosjean led two sets to love and had a match point in the fourth set before Clément prevailed. This was long considered the worst 'choke' in five-set history, until the 2004 French Open final.
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Taylor Dent
Taylor Phillip Dent (born April 24, 1981) is a retired professional tennis player from the United States. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21.
He won 4 ATP singles titles during his career: Newport (2002), Bangkok (2003), Memphis (2003), and Moscow (2003), and reached the finals of three other events on tour. His victory in Memphis is still often referred to as his most impressive victory, as he beat future World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the final.
Dent played with distinction at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he made a push all the way to the semifinals, where he was defeated by eventual gold medalist Nicolás Massú of Chile. He went on to lose the bronze medal match 16-14 in the third set against Fernando González of Chile.
Dent, paired with Lisa Raymond, won the 2006 Hopman Cup, defeating the Netherlands two sets to one in the final.
In 2006 Dent did not play many competitive matches, due to a recurring back and groin problem. Dent had back surgery on March 19, 2007.
On May 26, 2008 Dent received a wild card and played at the Carson challenger in the United States. It was his first match since February 2006. He lost his first round match to Cecil Mamiit. In July 2008 Dent took a wild card into his first ATP tour event for two seasons at the Hall of Fame tennis tournament in Newport, Rhode Island. He lost in three sets to Canada's Frank Dancevic.
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Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born December 30, 1987 in Tietê), a professional tennis player, is the top ranked Brazilian tennis player. He achieved a career high ranking of #21 on July 26, 2010.
Bellucci used a string of ITF Challenger tournament victories early in 2008 to break into the top 100 rankings of the ATP World Tour as a 20-year-old. In 2009, he reached his first tour final at the Brasil Open and won his first tour title at the Swiss Open. In 2010, He won his second tour title at the Movistar Open in Chile.
Thomaz's playing style is using the heavy topspin of his big forehand to control points. He lacks outright power to produce a lot of aces, but he has excellent spin on his serve, allowing him to force his opponents off of the court which leads to him taking the offensive at the beginning of the point. His two-handed backhand is much more compact than his forehand, and is flatter, which allows him to take balls earlier on his backhand wing and drive the ball for winners. His preferred court is clay, but shows the adaptive potential to get much better at faster courts as well.
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Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE (born 6 September 1974) is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. Henman never reached the finals of any Grand Slam but having reached six Grand Slam semi-finals, won 15 career ATP titles (11 in singles and 4 in doubles), and been ranked number 4 in the world, Henman was one of Britain's most successful open era male tennis players. He retired after helping Great Britain defeat Croatia in a Davis Cup match played in September 2007. Nicknamed "Tiger Tim", Henman is worth £17 million and remains a celebrity among the public.
Tim Henman comes from a talented sporting family: his father Tony, a solicitor, was accomplished at various sports, including tennis and squash. His mother Jane, a dress designer, played Junior Wimbledon and introduced Tim and his older brothers Michael and Richard to tennis as soon as they could walk on the family's grass tennis court. His great grandfather played at Wimbledon. His maternal grandfather, Henry Billington, played at Wimbledon between 1948 and 1951, plus representing Britain in the Davis Cup in 1948, 1950 and 1951. In 1901 his maternal great-grandmother, Ellen Stanwell-Brown (or Ellen Mary Stowell-Brown), was reputedly the first woman to serve overarm at Wimbledon. His maternal grandmother, Susan Billington, appeared regularly at Wimbledon in the 1950s, playing mixed doubles on Centre Court with her husband Henry, reaching the third round of the ladies' doubles in 1951, 1955 and 1956.
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Todd Martin
Todd Christopher Martin (born July 8, 1970, in Hinsdale, Illinois) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Martin played tennis for two years at Northwestern University before turning professional in 1990. His parents lived in Lansing, Michigan, where Martin went to nearby East Lansing High School. At Northwestern, he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He won his first top-level singles title in 1993 at Coral Springs, Florida. Martin traveled with good friend David Helfer for much of the '92 season. Helfer went on to play at Kalamazoo College.
Coached by Robert Van't Hof, 1994 proved to be a breakout year for Martin. At the year's first Grand Slam tournament, he reached the men's singles final at the Australian Open, where he lost in straight sets to world no. 1 Pete Sampras, 6-7, 4-6, 4-6. At Wimbledon, he made it to the semifinals, before falling to the eventual champion Sampras; the set that Martin took from Sampras in the match was the only set that Sampras lost during the entire tournament. Martin's third Grand Slam semifinal of 1994 came at the US Open, where he again fell to the eventual champion, this time Andre Agassi. He also captured singles titles at Queen's Club and the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, the latter of which was the first back-to-back titles.
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Todd Witsken
Todd Witsken (4 November 1963 – 25 May 1998) was an American tennis player. He specialized in playing doubles and began his professional career in 1985. He was a three-time all-American at the University of Southern California. His career high was #4 in doubles and #43 in singles. Witsken retired just before the 1993 US Open and died from brain cancer on 25 May 1998, at the age of 34.
Witsken's biggest singles win was at the 1986 US Open, where he beat 5-time US Open champion, Jimmy Connors, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5, in their third round match. It was the first time since 1973 that Connors had failed to reach the US Open semi finals.
In 1989 he lost to Greg Holmes 5-7 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 14-12 in the second round at Wimbledon, a match that was the longest Men's singles match at Wimbledon, timed at 5 hours 28 minutes, until the epic Isner-Mahut match in 2010.
He was one of eight children born to Marilyn and Henry Witsken. His hometown was Carmel, Indiana, where he left behind four children Tyler, Conner, Tanner, and Carlie.
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Todd Woodbridge
Todd Andrew Woodbridge, OAM (born 2 April 1971) is an Australian former tennis player. He was born in Sydney and went to school in the ACT at Lyneham High School (The Best High School of all) then turned professional in 1988. He is best known for his successful Doubles partnerships with Mark Woodforde and later Jonas Björkman. He is among the most successful doubles players of all time, having won 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles (nine Wimbledons, three US Opens, three Australian Opens and one French Open), and a further six Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (three US Opens, one Wimbledon, one French Open, one Australian Open). Additionally, he was a gold medalist with Woodforde at the 1996 Summer Olympics to complete a career Golden Slam. In total he has won a record 83 ATP doubles titles.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'.
He is best known as one of the top doubles players in the world for most of the 1990s and into the early 2000s (decade). His primary doubles partnerships were first with fellow Australian Mark Woodforde and later with Swede Jonas Björkman. Woodbridge and Woodforde are often referred to as "The Woodies" in the tennis world. Woodbridge also had a career high singles ranking of 19 after reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1997, beating Patrick Rafter before losing to Pete Sampras. He did however have the distinction of being one of the few players to beat Sampras at Wimbledon, knocking him out in the first round in 1989.
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Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas (born 3 April 1978 as Thomas Mario Haas) is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the World Top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2 on 13 May 2002, Haas's career has been interrupted by injuries: whilst a professional, he has twice dropped out of the world rankings due to being inactive for twelve months. His first period of injury saw him miss the whole of the 2003 season, and he did not return to the world's top ten until 2007. He also missed over a year's tennis between February 2010 and June 2011, but has since returned to play on the Tour.
Haas has never won a Grand Slam tournament, his best result being three-time semi-finalist at the Australian Open and one semi-final at Wimbledon. He has won thirteen career titles in singles and doubles, including one Masters tournament, and has a silver medal from the 2000 Summer Olympics.
His equipment include Solfire, Lacoste and Nike for his clothes and shoes, respectively. He switched to using Head racquets in 2009 after using Dunlop Sport racquets for most of his career.
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Tommy Ho
Thomas "Tommy" Ho (born June 17, 1973, in Winter Haven, Florida) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Ho first came to the tennis world's attention as an exceptionally successful junior player. He won several junior tennis events in the 1980s, and set a number of 'youngest-ever' records.
In August 1988, Ho became the youngest-ever male player to play in the main draw of the US Open at the age of 15 years and 2 months. He lost the first round match to Johan Kriek 6–4, 7–6, 7–6. That same month, Ho became the second youngest male player to win a main draw match at a top-level tour event when he beat Matt Anger in the first round at Rye Brook 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, just after Argentina's Franco Davín.
Ho's early successes drew many comparisons with Michael Chang, another Asian American tennis player who achieved great success as a junior. However Ho did not manage to make the same kind of impact on the professional circuit as Chang (who went on to win the French Open and reach the World No. 2 singles ranking). Ho enjoyed some success in satellite tournaments, but did not win any top-level singles events on the tour. He did, however, win four tour doubles titles (Beijing in 1994, and Beijing, Hong Kong and Indian Wells in 1995).
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Tomáš Šmíd
Tomáš Šmíd (born May 20, 1956 in Plzeň) is a former tennis player from Czechoslovakia, who won nine singles titles during his career. In doubles, he won fifty-four titles and was the world's highest-ranking doubles player from December 17, 1984, to August 11, 1985. The right-hander reached his highest singles ATP ranking on July 16, 1984, when he became number 11 in the world. Šmíd participated in 31 Davis Cup ties for Czechoslovakia from 1977–1989, posting a 20-10 record in doubles and a 22-15 record in singles.
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Treat Conrad Huey
Treat Conrad Huey (born August 28, 1985) is an American tennis player of Filipino descent who represents the Philippines internationally. He specialises in doubles.
Huey reached his career-high doubles ranking of 58 on September 19, 2011. He partnered among others with Somdev Devvarman, Brian Battistone, Jeff Coetzee, Harsh Mankad and Dominic Inglot. His coach is Othmane Garma.
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Victor Crivoi
Victor Crivoi (born May 25, 1982) is a Romanian tennis player who lives in Bucharest. In 2005, he played in the International Tennis Federation's Professional Circuit and won seven titles. As a result, he was named the ITF's "Player Of The Year" for 2005. At the end of 2005, he was ranked #269 by the ATP, up from #488 at the year's start. His career high ranking is #75, achieved on August 17, 2009.
In the 2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, as a qualifier, he beat 14th seed James Blake 7-5, 6-3 in the first round; he then lost to Robin Söderling.
He qualified for the 2009 French Open. He lost to Gaël Monfils in the second round.
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Vincent Spadea
Vincent Spadea [SPAY-dee-ya] (born July 19, 1974 in Chicago) is a former ATP Tour professional tennis player from the United States.
He reached a career high tenth position in the ATP Champions Race in April 2003, as well as a career-high ATP eighteenth ranking in February 2005. He has career prize money earnings of over $5,000,000. Spadea has ATP career singles wins over Roger Federer (1–2 record), Pete Sampras (1–4), Andre Agassi (2–4), Rafael Nadal (1–1), Andy Roddick (1–2), Patrick Rafter, Richard Krajicek, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Marat Safin, and Gustavo Kuerten. He is one of only four players in history to defeat Federer 6–0 in set, at a major event. The American twice represented his country in the Olympics (2000 Sydney/2004 Athens).
Spades was born in Chicago in 1974. His father is an Italian-American and his mother was originally from Colombia.
In 1999, he broke into the Top 20 players in the world for the first time. In 2000, had a string of injuries that dropped him drastically to a world ranking of 237 from 19. Vince set a new ATP benchmark with a 21-match losing streak in 2000, which led Associated Press to dub him "the Charlie Brown of tennis" (after the comic strip character who kept trying but failing to kick the football). He ended the streak in the 2000 Wimbledon Championships with an opening round win over 14th seed Greg Rusedski, in a five set marathon, which lasted for over six hours.
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Wayne Black
Wayne Hamilton Black (born 17 November 1973 in Salisbury, now Harare) is a former professional male tennis player from Zimbabwe.
Black is the son of Don and Velia Black and the brother of Cara Black and Byron Black, also professional tennis players. He attended the University of Southern California and was an All-American in singles and doubles (1993, 1994). Black retired from the doubles circuit at the end of 2005. He won two men's doubles Grand Slam titles (2001 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open) with compatriot Kevin Ullyett and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles (2002 French Open and 2004 Wimbledon) with sister Cara.
As a junior Wayne played league tennis for Highlands Sports Club in Harare.
Black reached his career-high doubles ranking of 4 on 31 January 2005, following his second Grand Slam title win at the 2005 Australian Open with compatriot Kevin Ullyett. Black, like his two siblings, was a doubles specialist.
A = did not attend tournament
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Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Richard Ferreira (born 15 September 1971 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.
As a junior player, Ferreira was ranked the world's No. 1 junior doubles player and No. 6 junior singles player. He won the junior doubles title at the US Open in 1989.
Ferreira turned professional in 1989. He won his first ATP doubles title in Adelaide in 1991.
1992 was Ferreira's breakthrough year on the tour. He started out by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open. In June he won his first ATP singles title at Queen's Club, London. His second singles title came just a few weeks later at Schenectady, New York. He also teamed-up with compatriot Piet Norval to win the men's doubles silver medal for South Africa at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
After a quieter year in 1993 in which he didn't win any singles titles, Ferreira came back strongly in 1994 to win a career-best five singles titles. He then won another four events in 1995.
The biggest titles of Ferreira's career came at Toronto in 1996 and Stuttgart in 2000 (both Tennis Masters Series events).
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Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour, with a career-high singles ranking of World No. 19. His nickname is "The X-Man".
Malisse turned professional in 1998. His best performance in Grand Slam singles competition was at the 2002 Wimbledon championships, where he reached the semifinal, beating Britain's Greg Rusedski in five sets en route, as well as former champion Richard Krajicek. He eventually lost to runner-up David Nalbandian, again in five sets. Malisse and Olivier Rochus won the French Open doubles championship in 2004. He won three ATP tour singles titles: Delray Beach in 2005 and 2007, and Chennai in 2007.
After a difficult year, Malisse was just No. 205 of the world. In his first tournament of the year in Brisbane he lost in the last qualifying round to American Bobby Reynolds. A week later, in Medibank International Sydney he reached the main draw but lost to Mario Ančić in the first round. At the Australian Open he first won his qualifying matches. In the first round of the main draw he won against Michaël Llodra. But in the next round he lost to Andy Roddick in four sets. In October he won a challenger tournament in Lyon and this pushed him back into the worlds top 100 for the first time in nearly two years
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Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov (Russian: Евгений Александрович Кафельников; IPA: [jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf]; born 18 February 1974) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Russia. He won two Grand Slam singles titles, which were the 1996 French Open and the 1999 Australian Open. He also won four Grand Slam doubles titles, and the men's singles gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. He also helped Russia win the Davis Cup in 2002. He is the last man to have won both the singles and men's doubles titles at the same Grand Slam tournament, which he did at the 1996 French Open.
Since retiring, Kafelnikov cashed three times at the 2005 World Series of Poker. He also played golf on the European PGA tour at the 2005 and 2008 Russian Open. He stated that he was there not to make up the numbers, before finishing last by 20 odd shots in 2005 (and second to last in 2008).
He now works as a commentator for Russian TV covering tennis. During the 2008 Miami Masters, Kafelnikov coached Marat Safin in the absence of Hernán Gumy.
wn.com/Yevgeny_Kafelnikov
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James Blake - Limit To Your Love
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:19
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
The album out now - CD: bit.ly iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly Limit To Your Love - Out Now - iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly Video for James Blake's track 'Limit To Your Love'. Directed by Martin de Thurah. Watch the ASCII version here: asciimeo.com You asked for a repeat button - try this: bit.ly
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Limit_To_Your_Love
James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:38
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
The Wilhelm Scream -- Out Now iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly The album out now - CD: bit.ly iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly Video for James Blake's track 'The Wilhelm Scream'. Directed by Alexander Brown.
http://wn.com/James_Blake_The_Wilhelm_Scream
James Blake - A Case of You
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- Duration: 2:55
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
"A Case Of You' featuring Rebecca Hall
http://wn.com/James_Blake_A_Case_of_You
James Blake - Lindisfarne
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:53
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Lindisfarne | Unluck 20 June: iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly Taken from the debut album James Blake out now CD: bit.ly iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly Music video by Martin De Thurah Blake. James Blake performing Lindisfarne (C) 2011 Polydor Ltd. (UK)
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Lindisfarne
James Blake - CMYK
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:41
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
This ones on A whole new level! Everything James Blake produces is gold and this is a prime example!
http://wn.com/James_Blake_CMYK
James Blake The Wilhelm Scream-Later with Jools Holland Live 2011 HD
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- Duration: 5:07
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
James Blake The Wilhelm Scream-Later with Jools Holland Live 2011 HD James Blake Limit To Your Love-Later with Jools Holland Live 2011 HD -www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/James_Blake_The_Wilhelm_Scream-Later_with_Jools_Holland_Live_2011_HD
James Blake & Bon Iver - Fall Creek Boys Choir
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- Duration: 4:41
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Available on iTunes now - bit.ly Enough Thunder - Oct 2011
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Bon_Iver_Fall_Creek_Boys_Choir
James Blake - Love What Happened Here
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- Duration: 5:37
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Buy this record, now. This this, this. randsrecords.greedbag.com bleep.com boomkat.com
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Love_What_Happened_Here
James Blake - I Only Know (What I Know Now)
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- Duration: 5:15
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
I Only Know (What I Know Now) from the Klavierwerke EP R&S; Records randsrecords.greedbag.com
http://wn.com/James_Blake_I_Only_Know_What_I_Know_Now
The Wilhelm Scream (BBC Sound Of 2011, Live Studio Perfor...
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:36
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Music video by James Blake performing The Wilhelm Scream. (C) 2010 BBC under exclusive licence to Polydor Ltd. (UK) The album out now - CD: bit.ly iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly
http://wn.com/The_Wilhelm_Scream_BBC_Sound_Of_2011,_Live_Studio_Perfor
James Blake performing "CMYK" on KCRW
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:18
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
Our DJ's have been championing UK singer James Blake and his breathtakingly spartan musical style for some time and we're thrilled to hear songs from his debut in a live setting. The gifted 22-year old makes his KCRW debut on Morning Becomes Eclectic. Watch / Listen to the full session here: www.kcrw.com
http://wn.com/James_Blake_performing_CMYK_on_KCRW
James Blake - I Never Learnt to Share
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:53
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Couldn't find it, so I put it up
http://wn.com/James_Blake_I_Never_Learnt_to_Share
James Blake - Live - We Love Green Festival 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 43:59
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
James-Blake.tumblr.com 00 - I Never Learnt To Share 06:08 - Lindisfarne 11:44 - To Care (Like You) 16:14 - CMYK 23:00 - Limit To Your Love 32:36 - A Case Of You 36:30 - Klavierwerke
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Live_We_Love_Green_Festival_2012
James Blake - A Case Of You (Joni Mitchell cover)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:08
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
James Blake covers Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You" - performed live on BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe show Feb 9th 2011 The album out now - CD: bit.ly iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly Watch The Wilhelm Scream - www.youtube.com Watch Limit To Your Love - www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/James_Blake_A_Case_Of_You_Joni_Mitchell_cover
James Blake live at Other Music and Dig For Fire's Lawn Party at SXSW
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:58
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
YouTube.com James Blake was without a doubt one of the most talked-about artists at SXSW 2011, making one of his very first US appearances on our Hill Stage at the Lawn Party. The British dubstep crooner could not walk down 6th Street without being mobbed this week, and the Lawn Party was bursting at the seams, with hundreds more lined up around the block hoping for entry when he took the stage on Friday. Girls screamed up front and thousands of fans crammed in beneath our shady tent, but the heat coming off the stage was hotter than the sun above, and the entire party was rapt as Blake and his band delivered a remarkably intimate, totally mesmerizing set that more than lived up to the huge expectations of the crowd.
http://wn.com/James_Blake_live_at_Other_Music_and_Dig_For_Fire's_Lawn_Party_at_SXSW
James Blake - album sampler
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- Duration: 11:05
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
James Blake album sampler The album out now - CD: bit.ly iTunes: bit.ly Vinyl: bit.ly
http://wn.com/James_Blake_album_sampler
James Blake - Limit To Your Love 3D
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- Duration: 3:26
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Limit_To_Your_Love_3D
James Blake - CMYK - Pitchfork Music Festival 2011
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- Duration: 6:18
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
James Blake performs live with his band in Chicago for the 2011 Pitchfork Music Festival. Subscribe to Pitchfork TV so you don't miss any new content: www.youtube.com For more videos from Pitchfork TV: pitchfork.com Like Pitchfork on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow Pitchfork on Twitter: twitter.com Check out Pitchfork on Tumblr: pitchfork.tumblr.com
http://wn.com/James_Blake_CMYK_Pitchfork_Music_Festival_2011
Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake Remix) - HFRMX006
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- Duration: 4:33
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake Remix) Cat: HFRMX006 Release date: April 26, 2010 © 2010 Hotflush Recordings
http://wn.com/Mount_Kimbie_Maybes_James_Blake_Remix_HFRMX006
Trimbal - Confidence Boost (Harmonimix)
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- Duration: 4:14
- Updated: 20 Nov 2012
Trimbal - Confidence Boost (Harmonimix) written and produced by James Blake vocals written and performed by Trim video directed by Rollo Jackson iTunes - bit.ly R&S; - bit.ly www.facebook.com twitter.com
http://wn.com/Trimbal_Confidence_Boost_Harmonimix
James Blake live in Vienna (2012)
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- Duration: 12:46
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
Watch JAMES BLAKE perform "CMYK" and "The Wilhelm Scream" live and in 1080p HD video at Electronic Beats Festival Vienna (12 October 2012) — TWITTER hashtag is #ebfest12 Find more live videos here: www.youtube.com Read our festival review here: www.electronicbeats.net Check out festival pictures here: on.fb.me
http://wn.com/James_Blake_live_in_Vienna_2012
James Blake live in Gdańsk
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- Duration: 13:23
- Updated: 18 Nov 2012
James Blake live in Gdańsk at Electronic Beats Festival (28.04.2012) Watch him perform his songs 'Limit To Your Love' and 'I Never Learnt To Share'. Find more information here: www.electronicbeats.net Watch more live videos here: www.electronicbeats.net
http://wn.com/James_Blake_live_in_Gdańsk
James Blake - "Limit to Your Love" (Live at WFUV)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:59
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
wfuv.org. James Blake performs "Limit To Your Love" live in Studio A. Host Russ Borris Audio Engineer: Jim O'Hara Camera Operators/Video Editors: Aaron Peer, Timothy Pierson, and Will Sanderson
http://wn.com/James_Blake_Limit_to_Your_Love_Live_at_WFUV
Photo: AP / Hatem Moussa
18 Nov 2012
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Israeli leaders were considering an Egyptian truce plan with Hamas on Tuesday as the Gaza conflict entered its seventh day. UN chief Ban Ki-moon also headed to Jerusalem to advance peace efforts with...
The News & Observer
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This article is about the American tennis player. For the musician, see James Blake (musician). For other people named James Blake, see James Blake (disambiguation).
 |
|
| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Saddlebrook Florida , Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Born | (1979-12-28) December 28, 1979 (age 32) Yonkers, New York |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13.1 st) |
| Turned pro | 1999 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | $7,350,311 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 349–231 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 10 |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (November 20, 2006) |
| Current ranking | No. 92 (April 30, 2012) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2008) |
| French Open | 3R (2006) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2006, 2007) |
| US Open | QF (2005, 2006) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | F (2006) |
| Olympic Games | SF - 4th place (losing bronze-finalist) (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 109–104 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 31 (March 31, 2003) |
| Current ranking | No. 214 (November 22, 2010) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2005) |
| French Open | 2R (2002) |
| Wimbledon | SF (2009) |
| US Open | 2R (2000, 2001) |
| Last updated on: April 13, 2012. | |
James Riley Blake[1] (born December 28, 1979) is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of April 2012, Blake is ranked World No. 74 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances (10–14 record), whilst his career-high singles ranking is World No. 4. His career highlights include reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (2008) and US Open (2005, 2006). His two titles for the United States at the Hopman Cup are an event record. Blake was a key performer for the United States 2007 Davis Cup championship team, going 2–0 in the championship tie vs. Russia at second singles. In 2005, Blake was presented with the Comeback Player of the Year award for his remarkable return to the tour. Later, in 2008, Blake was awarded another honor by the ATP where he was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year. On July 3, 2007, Blake's autobiography Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, which discussed his comeback after his unlucky 2004 season, was released and debuted at No. 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list. He co-wrote this book with Andrew Friedman.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Blake was born in Yonkers, New York to an African American father Thomas Reynolds Blake and a British mother Betty.[2] He has a brother Thomas, who is also a professional tennis player, and three older half-brothers: Jason, Christopher and Howard, and a half-sister Michelle.
Blake started playing tennis at age five alongside his brother Thomas. When he was 13, he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and for five years as a teenager he was forced to wear a full-length back brace for 18 hours a day, though not while playing tennis. Blake attended Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Connecticut, where a schoolmate and childhood friend was future musician John Mayer. Blake was inspired to pursue tennis after hearing his role model Arthur Ashe speak to the Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker was his first (and longtime) coach. He left Harvard University, where he was a member of the A.D. Club, after his sophomore year to pursue a career in professional tennis.
Playing style[link]
Blake's style of play is primarily that of an aggressive offensive baseliner. He generally prefers to hit winners from the baseline, but his solid net volley and transition game give him an effective all-court game. His forehand (along with Federer and Fernando González) is considered to be one of the best in the game. However, his one-handed backhand is known to be suspect. Another major strength is his great foot speed. Blake tends to return serves (especially second serves) with great pace, and also makes contact with the ball earlier (on the uprise) when hitting ground strokes. Combined with his relatively flat strokes, these techniques (despite being riskier in terms of making errors) allow him to put more pace on the ball, giving opponents less time to react. Blake likes to take control of points and will usually attempt to hit an outright winner earlier in the rally than many others. He is known as a shot maker. His go-for-broke style makes him one of the most entertaining players on the tour, though this also makes him an inconsistent player, evidenced by his recent slide in the rankings. Since hiring new coach and doubles specialist Kelly Jones, Blake has begun to incorporate more serve-and-volley play into his game.
Career[link]
2000–2001[link]
At the age of 21, Blake saw his first Davis Cup action in 2001 against India and became the third person of African-American heritage to play for the Davis Cup for the United States (after Arthur Ashe and MaliVai Washington).
Ranked no. 120 in the world, Blake accepted a wild card into Cincinnati. He beat a qualifier and Arnaud Clément to reach the round of 16, where he met Patrick Rafter. Blake came close to winning the first set (falling in a tiebreak), and after dropping the second set, Rafter, according to Blake's autobiography, complimented him at the net and boosted his confidence immeasurably by saying "Now do you believe you can beat someone like me, or even me?"
2002–2003[link]
In January, Blake won the 2002 USTA Waikola Challenger in Hawaii. A month later in Memphis he posted his first win over a top-10 ranked opponent, Tommy Haas, who was then ranked no. 5, and reached the finals, losing to Andy Roddick. He reached the quarterfinals at the ATP Masters Series (AMS) event in Rome in May and the finals at Newport in July.
In August, in Cincinnati, he won his first career ATP Tour title and his first ATP Masters Series title: it came in doubles with Todd Martin, making Blake the first African-American male to win a title of any kind in Cincinnati's 101-year history. He was also the first African-American to reach a final in Cincinnati since 1969, when Arthur Ashe reached the doubles finals with Charlie Pasarell. The next week in Washington, he won his first ATP Tour singles title, beating Andre Agassi in the semifinals and Paradorn Srichaphan in the final.
At the US Open, he reached the third round, before falling to top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt in five sets.
In 2003, his best results were a quarterfinals appearance at Indian Wells; a round of 16 finish at the Australian Open, Cincinnati, and Miami; a semifinal appearance at San Jose, and a finals appearance at Long Island.
2004[link]
While practicing with Robby Ginepri for the Masters event in Rome, he broke his neck when he slipped on the clay and collided with the net post. In July, his father died of stomach cancer. At the same time, Blake developed shingles, which temporarily paralyzed half his face and blurred his sight.
2005[link]
Blake's injuries and personal issues caused him to post relatively poor results for the first half of 2005. By April his ranking was 210. He decided to play the Challenger circuit, the "minor leagues" of tennis, in order to gain confidence and get more matches. In May he entered events in Tunica, Mississippi and Forest Hills, New York, winning both. He rejoined the ATP circuit and by August reached the final at the International Series event in Washington, D.C. where he fell to Roddick.
He was given a wild card into AMS Cincinnati, drawing Federer in the first round. He then won the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, defeating Feliciano López in the final.
After New Haven he was ranked 49.
He then accepted a wildcard into the US Open, defeating No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6–4, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 in the round of 32. He beat Tommy Robredo in four sets to reach the quarterfinals, succumbing to Andre Agassi in a fifth-set tiebreak, losing 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.
In October at the Stockholm Open, Blake won his third ATP tour title, defeating Srichaphan in the final. Blake finished 2005 ranking 22.
2006[link]
Blake won the title at Sydney, taking his fourth ATP tour title defeating Russian Igor Andreev in the final.
At the Australian Open he was seeded twentieth, losing in the third round to Spaniard Tommy Robredo. He broke into the Top 20 for the first time in his career.
In March he beat Hewitt in the final at Las Vegas for his fifth ATP tour title.
At the first AMS event of the year Indian Wells, Blake defeated Robredo in the third round and world No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals, reaching his first career ATP Masters Series singles final, losing in the final to Federer. By reaching the final, Blake became the first African-American man since Arthur Ashe to reach the world's top 10.
On clay, Blake defeated former world No. 1 Carlos Moyà in the first round at AMS Hamburg before losing to Mario Ančić in the third round.
At the French Open he defeated Spaniard Nicolás Almagro in four sets in the second round, to become the last remaining American man at the French, then was beaten by Frenchman Gaël Monfils in five sets.
Beginning the grass court season at the Stella Artois Championships, he defeated Andy Roddick in the semifinals, losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the final.
At Wimbledon, Blake progressed to the third round but lost to Max Mirnyi in five sets.[3]
Now ranked No. 5, Blake's next tournament was the International Series at Indianapolis. He won the singles title, defeating Roddick (for the second time in 2006).
In Washington, D.C. he lost in the third round to Marat Safin and in New Haven in the first round to Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo.
At AMS Canada he fell to Richard Gasquet (who would reach the final that week before losing to Roger Federer). At AMS Cincinnati he lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero (who lost in the final to Andy Roddick).
At the US Open he reached the quarterfinals, losing to top seed and defending champion Roger Federer. In that match Blake won his first set against Federer, winning the third set in a tiebreaker 11–9.
In his debut appearance at the Thailand Open in Bangkok, Blake won his seventh singles title, defeating Jarkko Nieminen in the quarterfinals, Marat Safin in the semifinals, and Ivan Ljubičić (for the first time) in the final.
Two weeks later Blake won his fifth title of 2006, defending his 2005 title in Stockholm, defeating Jarkko Nieminen.
For the first time, Blake qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. He went 2–1 in the Gold Group, defeating No. 2 Nadal and No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko, while losing to No. 6 Tommy Robredo. He qualified for the semifinals, beating defending champion David Nalbandian 6–4, 6–1, losing the final to Federer 6–0, 6–3, 6–4.
Blake finished 2006 at a career-high World Number 4 and as the highest-ranked American tennis player.
2007[link]
Blake won at the Sydney International for the second consecutive year. However, he then suffered a disappointing loss in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, losing to tenth seed and eventual finalist Fernando González 7–5, 6–4, 7–6. He followed that up with a loss to Tomáš Berdych in Davis Cup play and a second round loss in the SAP Open (San Jose) to Number 103 ranked Ivo Karlović.
At the 2007 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, as the defending champion, he was involved with a deep controversy. It was one of the several tournaments experimenting with the new round robin format,[4] and Blake had lost his first match to Evgeny Korolev. Korolev lost his other match to Juan Martín del Potro. In order for Blake to advance to the quarters, he had to defeat Del Potro in straight sets while losing five games or less. This would result in a three-way tie, with Blake losing the fewest games. With Blake leading 6–1 3–1, Del Potro retired. This eliminated Del Potro from the three-way tie as he failed to complete one of his matches. Korolev then moved on to the next round, breaking the tie because he had defeated Blake in their match.
That caused a big uproar among fans, James Blake, and commentators, as they felt James Blake deserved to advance. After a press conference of many hours, the ATP, led by Etienne de Villiers, decided that, since Blake would have met the guidelines the way the match was going, and since neither player knew the consequences of retiring (Del Potro said he would have finished the match had he known), Blake would have advanced anyway. They overruled the tournament guidelines, giving Blake a place in the quarterfinals.
The following morning, De Villiers reversed his reversal deeming that it was unfair to Korolev as you should not change the rules in mid-tournament, regardless of what happened. As a result, Korolev re-advanced to the quarterfinals, sending Blake to Indian Wells without a 3rd consecutive title defense. Shortly after this incident, the ATP decided to cancel the round robin format, reverting any tournaments planning a round robin draw to the standard single-elimination draw.[5]
Roland Garros 2007 was a disappointment for Blake, losing in the first round to Ivo Karlović 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5. Blake was one of nine American men to lose in the first round of Roland Garros. This was the first time in the open era where an American male had not made it into a Grand Slam second round.
In Wimbledon 2007, James reached the third round, matching his best showing there (2006), but was unable to get past former World Number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, losing 3–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.
During the summer hardcourt season, he advanced to his second career ATP Masters Series event and won a singles title. At AMS Cincinnati, he beat Alejandro Falla, Nicolas Kiefer, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sam Querrey and Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final before falling to Roger Federer. He won the singles title at Penn Pilot in New Haven, CT, and started the North American hardcourt season by reaching the finals at Los Angeles, losing to Radek Štěpánek in three sets 7–6, 5–7, 6–2 after having three set points in the first set.
In the second round of the 2007 US Open, he won his first career five-set match against Fabrice Santoro, whom he defeated 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4. Blake made it to the fourth round, where he lost to No. 10 Tommy Haas in five sets 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0, 7–6, despite having match points in the fifth set.
Blake and the rest of the US Davis Cup team defeated Sweden in September to reach the finals against Russia.
James also participated in Madrid and Basel. In Madrid, he fell to former top ten star Mario Ančić in the second round. In Basel, he fell in the second round to Ivo Karlović. However, Blake teamed with former number one doubles player Mark Knowles of the Bahamas to make the final. In the first round, he and Knowles upset US Open champions Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle in three sets. In the semifinals, the team bore match points twelve times, and finally defeated Paul Hanley and Kevin Ullyett, the second seeds 7–5, 6–7, [12–10] with thirteen needed match points.[6] Their luck, however, was halted by top seeds and top ranked Bob and Mike Bryan, who are Blake's Davis Cup teammates. Blake and Knowles lost 6–1 6–1. After the match, James quoted: "'Yes, they played as well I have seen them play in a while. It's tough. I have seen them do it to a lot of guys in Davis Cup from the sidelines and know how little fun it is to face them. That's the reason why they are the best doubles team in the world right now. [At the start of the week] I told Mark I had not won a lot of doubles matches this year, so I was glad to have him get me through a couple of wins. I had a great time and a lot of fun. Getting a chance to play with one of the best doubles players, really ever, was exciting for me. I learnt plenty and hopefully we’ll be better next time.'"[7]
Blake lost in the third round of Paris to Richard Gasquet and thus finished outside the top eight players, losing his chance to defend the points he gained as finalist in the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup.
James Blake won his match in the 2007 Davis Cup finals against Mikhail Youzhny 6–3, 7–6, 6–7, 7–6 (and also against Dmitry Tursunov). Andy Roddick won his match versus Tursunov and Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles rubber over Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko, sealing the Davis Cup win for the United States.[8][9]
2008[link]
James Blake began 2008 hoping to win his third consecutive Medibank International title. However, the defending champion bowed out of the tournament in the first round, losing to French veteran Fabrice Santoro 6–7, 2–6. The third seed (Blake) was said to be "uncharacteristic" in reference to his frustration.
At the Australian Open, Blake defeated his first round opponent, Chilean Nicolás Massú. He then defeated compatriot Michael Russell 6–3, 6–2, 6–2. In the third round, he fought back from two sets down to beat French veteran Sébastien Grosjean 4–6, 2–6, 6–0, 7–6, 6–2 who had beaten him in each of their three previous meetings.
In the fourth round, Blake beat Marin Čilić in three sets to advance to the quarterfinals, his best showing yet down under. In the quarterfinal, James Blake faced world No. 1 Roger Federer, and fell in straight sets 7–5, 7–6, 6–4. Although out of the Australian Open, Blake's ranking jumped back into the Top 10 to No. 9 following his best performance in the tournament yet.
In Davis Cup, the USA played Austria on clay. James defeated Stefan Koubek in four sets 5–7, 7–5, 6–2, 6–2. Despite being down 2–5 in the second set, James turned things around, helped in part by unforced errors by Koubek.
In Delray Beach, James made it to the final for the second consecutive year, but fell to No. 244 Kei Nishikori of Japan in three sets in the final 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. At the 2008 SAP Open, he rebounded from that loss by defeating compatriot Sam Warburg in straight sets in the first round 6–3, 6–1 and Jesse Levine in straight sets in the second round 6–3, 6–4. However, he lost to Robby Ginepri 2–6, 2–6 on the following round.
At the 2008 Pacific Life Open, Blake, the ninth seed, received a "bye" in the first round, before defeating Marc Gicquel 6–3, 6–7, 6–1 in the second round. In the third round, Blake beat former World Number 1 Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4.[10][11] He then defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the fourth round in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, before losing to Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals 5–7, 6–3, 3–6.
At the 2008 Miami Masters, Blake reached the quarter-finals, but again lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets 6–3, 3–6, 1–6.
In Davis Cup, Team USA played France. Unfortunately for France, they were missing two of their best players, Richard Gasquet and Jo Wilfried Tsonga due to injuries. So Michaël Llodra and Paul-Henri Mathieu were the players playing singles for France. After Andy Roddick defeated Llodra, James would play Mathieu. James won in a three-hour, 48-minute, five-set match against the Frenchman 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5. He had to save two match points to defeat the number 12 Mathieu.
Blake then started the clay court season at the River Oaks International tournament in Houston, Texas. He defeated Kei Nishikori in the first round 6–4, 6–4, 15-year-old Ryan Harrison in the second round, No. 5 seed Agustín Calleri of Argentina in the quarterfinals, and Óscar Hernández of Spain in the semifinals 6–3, 7–6. In his second ATP final of the year and his first career clay-court final, Blake fell to Spaniard Marcel Granollers Pujol 4–6, 6–1, 5–7.
James received a wild card to play in the clay tournament in Barcelona, Spain. However, he lost in the first round to German Denis Gremelmayr in straight sets.
Looking for a better performance on clay, James played in the Master Series tournament in Rome. He received a bye in the first round. In the second round, he faced Italian hopeful Andreas Seppi. James won in three sets 7–6, 3–6, 6–1. In the third round, he faced Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. He won in three sets 5–7, 7–5, 6–2. His run was ended in the quarterfinals by Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in three sets 7–6, 6–7, 1–6.
At the French, he made it to the second round before being defeated by Ernests Gulbis in four sets. He fared no better at Wimbledon, losing in the 2nd round to the resurgent semi-finalist Rainer Schüttler in five sets, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6.
At the Cincinnati Masters, Blake lost to Ernests Gulbis 4–6, 6–1, 3–6 in the third round.
In August 2008, Blake represented the United States as one of its three men's singles tennis players in the Beijing Olympics. In the quarterfinals, he gained one of the biggest wins of his career with his first ever win over Roger Federer 6–4, 7–6. At the time, Federer was ranked as the world's No. 1 men's player.[12] His semifinal match was against Fernando González, the Men's Singles bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Blake had triple match point in the middle of the final set, but would go on to lose 4–6, 7–5, 11–9. He then lost in the bronze medal match to Serbian Novak Djokovic 4–6, 6–7.
In the US Open, Blake was stretched to a 5 set thriller against American teenager Donald Young 6–1, 3–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–4 in the first round. Blake easily won his second round match after Steve Darcis retired 4–6, 6–3, 1–0. Blake then lost to friend and fellow American Mardy Fish in the third round in straight sets 3–6, 3–6, 6–7.
In the Madrid Masters, Blake had a first round bye and played Gilles Simon losing it 6–3, 1–6, 4–6. Soon after, he played in the Davidoff Swiss Indoors tournament and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to Feliciano López of Spain 4–6, 6–7. In the Paris Masters Blake got to the semis after a walkover by Roger Federer in the quarters and lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 4–6, 3–6. Because of this loss, Blake was not able to qualify for the year end Masters in Shanghai.
2009[link]
Blake participated in the Hopman Cup, an exhibition tournmanent partnering Meghann Shaughnessy. The team were the top seed, with Blake looking to win his third Hopman Cup. Blake lost to Slovak Dominik Hrbatý but defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Lleyton Hewitt.
Blake defeated Frank Dancevic 6–4, 6–3, 7–5 in the first round of the Australian Open. His success continued in the second round of the Australian Open after deposing of Frenchman Sébastien de Chaunac 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 in a match laden with spectator noise and bad line calls.[13] Blake went on to face the 18th seed, Igor Andreev, in the third round and beat him 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1. He lost in the fourth round in straight sets to the 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6.
In the SAP Open in San Jose, Blake defeated fellow American Vincent Spadea 6–3, 6–4 in a first round match, hitting 12 aces and converted his two break point chances to race to the win in 50 minutes. Blake would go on to defeat Frenchman Florent Serra 6–4, 6–3. Blake prevailed in a 20-point first set tie-break against sixth-seeded compatriot Sam Querrey and then eased through the second set with one break of serve to post the 7–6, 6–3 victory in 67 minutes. He then lost to fellow American Mardy Fish 3–6, 2–6.
In his next tournament, the Regions Morgan Keenan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, Blake was defeated in the first round by Lleyton Hewitt 6–3, 1–6, 4–6.
In the Davis Cup first round tie against Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, he lost the opening match to Stanislas Wawrinka in four sets. But he won the fifth match in straight sets to make the final tie 4–1 to book the U.S's place in the quarterfinals.
Blake started the clay season as top seed at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships and lost to Guillermo Cañas 6–4 6–4 in the first round. He also then lost in Rome Masters in the first round to Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi 7–5, 6–3.
Blake then played at the 2009 Estoril Open. Blake recorded his first clay-court win of the 2009 ATP World Tour season, earning a confidence-boosting 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 win over Portugal's highest-ever ranked player Frederico Gil. Blake, who improved to 10–8 on the year, next defeated France's Marc Gicquel in the second round 7–6, 6–2 and Florent Serra 6–4, 6–1 in the third. Blake advanced to his first clay-court final on European soil on Sunday, after beating second seed and former Estoril Open champion Nikolay Davydenko 6–7, 7–6, 6–3 in a rain-interrupted semi-final that was carried over due to bad light. Blake won the first and fifth points against serve, courtesy of a Davydenko backhand error and then a forehand volley winner on approach to the net. He quickly opened up a 6–2 lead and won the second set when Davydenko hit a backhand wide. Davydenko managed to save one break point at 15–40 in the fourth game of the third set, with a couple of clever forehands that left Blake stretching outside the tramlines, but the 2003 titlist and 2006 and 2008 runner-up was unable to win the second break point as Blake secured a 3–1 lead. Davydenko almost broke back in the next game, but Blake produced his A-game hitting a cross-court forehand winner on approach to the net that left Davydenko flailing. At 1–4, the World No. 11 found himself 0–40 down but won five straight points – closing out with successive forehand winners. Blake made it 5–2 with successive aces and, minutes later, booked a spot in his 23rd ATP World Tour final (10–12 record) with a service hold to 30. Blake extended his winning streak to 7–0 over Davydenko, in the pair's first clay-court meeting that last two hours and 26 minutes. Blake was defeated by Spain's Albert Montañés later that day in the finals. The 28-year-old Montanes saved two match points at 4–5 in the second set and fought back to beat fourth-seeded Blake 5–7, 7–6, 6–0 in two hours and 14 minutes. Blake fought off one break point for a 5–4 lead, before setting up two championship points on the Montanes serve at 15–40. Blake squandered the first point with a backhand return long of the baseline and the second point went begging when he committed a backhand error. Blake dropped to 12–9 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season. Blake was attempting to become the first American to win a clay-court title since Mardy Fish at Houston in April 2006 and the first American to win on European clay since his Davis Cup team mate Andy Roddick lifted the St. Poelten trophy in May 2003.
At the 2009 French Open, Blake lost in the first round to qualifier Leonardo Mayer 7–6 7–5 6–2.
At the AEGON Championships at Queen's club, Blake defeated Ivan Ljubičić 6–2, 7–6 Sam Querrey 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 and Mikhail Youzhny 7–6, 6–3 to reach the semi-finals. He then reached the final after Andy Roddick retired with an ankle injury in the first set when the score was tied at 4 games all. He then went on to lose in the final to Andy Murray 7–5, 6–4.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Blake, seeded 17th, lost in the first round to Andreas Seppi in straight sets 7–5 6–4 7–6. He was the first seeded player to be knocked out of the tournament.[14] In his post-match press conference, Blake stated that he was battling a stomach virus, having to take painkillers before going on court. He also heavily criticized the ATP Tour, blaming their poor scheduling for his loss of focus, as well as the withdrawal of world number 1 Rafael Nadal.[15]
Blake partnered with compatriot Mardy Fish at the Wimbledon Men's Doubles. In the first round they defeated third seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes and then Marc Gicquel and Arnaud Clément in straight sets. They defeated advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Simon Aspelin and Paul Hanley. They lost to defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the semi-finals although they won the first two sets.
Following a 3rd Round loss at the 2009 US Open to Spain's Tommy Robredo, Blake split with longtime coach Brian Barker. He is now coached by Kelly Jones.
2010[link]
Blake started his 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia. Blake came back from a set down to top fifth seeded American Sam Querrey 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. He then defeated Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, surviving three match points in the deciding set tiebreak to make the quarter-finals. There Blake lost to Gaël Monfils 6–3, 3–6, 4–6. Blake was also entered in the men's double draw with Andy Roddick. The duo defeated fourth seeds Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares on the way to the semifinals before losing a heartbreaker to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel 4–6, 6–3, 11–13.
At the 2010 Australian Open Blake defeated French veteran Arnaud Clément 7–5, 7–5, 6–2 in the first round. He then faced fourth seed and US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro in the second round, losing a classic in five grueling sets 4–6, 7–6, 7–5, 3–6, 8–10.
Blake then lost in the opening round at the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament against a former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 4–6, 2–6.
In the first round of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Blake fell to top-seeded American counterpart Andy Roddick 3–6, 6–4, 6–7.
At the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, No. 7 seed Blake won consecutive matches for the second time in 2010, topping fellow American Taylor Dent 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 and the Dutchman Robin Haase 6–3, 6–1. Blake was eliminated in the quarterfinals by 2nd seed Ivo Karlović 3–6, 7–6, 1–6.
Blake returned to action for the third consecutive tournament on American soil at the first Masters event of the year, 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California. An unseeded Blake advanced to the round of 64 with a quick win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–3, 6–2. He then advanced to the Round of 32 with his most impressive win of the season to that point, a 6–1, 6–4 destruction of 13th seed David Ferrer. In the Round of 32, Blake lost a disappointing match to Spain's Nicolás Almagro 4–6, 6–3, 3–6. The loss dropped Blake's three set record to 3–4 on the year.
Blake also played in the doubles draw, teaming with Andy Roddick to reach the Round of 16 where the American duo fell to top-seeded Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić 4–6, 6–3, 7–10.
At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Blake defeated Serbian wildcard Filip Krajinović in three sets 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 to advance to the Round of 64. In the second round, he lost to 27th seed Thomaz Bellucci 6–3, 1–6, 2–6.
In July 2010, Blake played for the Boston Lobsters of the World TeamTennis pro league.
On April 14, Blake announced that he would be taking the clay court season off with a serious knee injury. As a result of this injury Blake missed the French Open for the first time since 2004.[16]
Blake returned to action at Wimbledon where he lost to Dutchman Robin Haase 2–6, 4–6, 4–6. The result was surprising considering that Haase lost badly to Blake earlier in the season at Delray Beach. During this match, Blake harshly accused ESPN commentator and former WTA player Pam Shriver of disrupting play due to her overly loud commentary from the box situated above the court behind him. This led to a verbal exchange between the two during the match. After the match, an emotional Blake declared that if his knee problems did not subside he may consider retirement.[17] Blake, who refuses to take any anti-inflammatories for his knee, called his performance "embarrassing" and said "I can't beat these guys at 80 percent."
Despite these comments, Blake chose to continue his rehab to prepare for the U.S. hardcourt season. He opened an official Facebook page where he can communicate better with fans in an announcement made on his website. In the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships, an inaugural event previously played in Indianapolis, Blake lost a tough three-set match to Taylor Dent 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. Despite winning 49% of points, Blake could not break Dent in crucial moments. The big-serving Dent saved 12/14 break points in the match. The loss was the seventh that Blake endured in the deciding set in 2010. However, Blake fared much better in the doubles draw, pairing with American up-and-comer John Isner. The duo completed a strong comeback from 6–3, 4–2 down to top fellow Americans Robby Ginepri and Ryan Sweeting 3–6, 6–4, 10–3. In the quarterfinals, Blake and Isner easily dispatched Germans Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schüttler 6–4, 6–1 before falling in two tiebreaks to Rajeev Ram and Scott Lipsky in the semis.
At the Los Angeles Open, Blake's singles fate took a turn for the better. Prior to the tournament, Blake told the LA Times that retirement was "no longer a thought" and that he was "not done yet".[18] In the opening round, Blake easily dispatched Leonardo Mayer in a rematch from the 2009 French Open first round 6–1, 6–4 before topping Benjamin Becker 7–5, 7–6. In the quarterfinals, Blake got off to a hot start, winning the first set over Spaniard Feliciano López 6–3. However, after dropping the second set in a close tiebreaker 6–7, Blake fell in the third 4–6. Blake also entered the doubles draw of this tournament with American Sam Querrey but the duo fell quickly in the first round 3–6, 3–6 to Lopez and Janko Tipsarević.
Following Los Angeles, Blake appeared at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.. He came into the tournament as a former finalist and champion at this event. His first opponent was the United States' Ryan Sweeting. Despite winning the first set, poor serving hurt Blake in a 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 setback. After the match, Sweeting called the win "the best of (his) career".
The next tournament James Blake faced, was in New Haven, his hometown tournament – the tournament where he claimed an ATP World Tour title when the tournament ran for the first time in 2005, defeating Feliciano López and followed this up by winning the title for a second time in 2007, where he defeated countryman Mardy Fish in the final. Despite an unfortunate draw and a few uninspiring losses in the last few weeks, Blake made and impressive display and ousted World No.76 Pere Riba 6–0, 6–1 in the first round, converting five of eleven break point opportunities. Blake won the lightning quick match in a minuscule 35 minutes, making it the shortest match win of 2010, beating the previous record held by Olivier Rochus who beat Abdulla Hajji in 38 minutes in Doha. This match was also one of the quickest matches in tennis history. In the second round match between Blake and seventh-seed up-and-comer Alexander Dolgopolov Jr., despite playing some great shots, Blake lost 6–4 6–2 in a rain-interrupted match.
At the 2010 US Open, Blake advanced to the third round losing to eventual finalist Novak Djokovic 6–1, 7–6, 6–3. This defeat dropped his singles record to 13–15.
2011[link]
Blake began his 2011 comeback tour ranked out of the Top 150 for the first time since 2005. He ended his partnership with coach Kelly Jones, choosing to travel alone.[19] In a preseason interview, Blake stated he was healthy and carrying a positive attitude and would skip the Australian Open.[19]
In his first match of the year, on February 8 at the SAP Open in San Jose, Blake defeated American qualifier Jesse Levine 7–5, 6–1 after Levine succumbed to an injury late in the second set. The American ran into red-hot Canadian youngster Milos Raonic in the second round and fell 6–2, 7–6 after battling back from a late break down in the second set to force a tiebreaker. Raonic would go on to win the tournament, his first as a pro.
Blake accepted a wild card into the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and promptly defeated Brazilian clay-court specialist Ricardo Mello 6–4, 6–3. In the round of 16, Blake was defeated by former doubles partner and close friend Robert Kendrick 7–6, 6–3.
He returned to action at Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, drawing No. 7 Benjamin Becker in the first round. Blake broke Becker late in the first set and battled back from a 3–1 hole in the second set to win 7–5, 6–4. In the second round he lost to Kei Nishikori of Japan 6–3, 6–4 in a rematch of the 2008 final.
In the 2011 US Open, Blake hit a forehand winner on match point against Jesse Huta Galung in the first round that was clocked at 125mph, thus making it the fastest forehand ever hit, eclipsing Gael Monfils's earlier record of 122mph against Marcos Baghdatis. Blake won the match 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round he lost to David Ferrer of Spain 6–4, 6–3, 6–4.
2012[link]
Blake will be playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis this summer. It will be Blake's seventh overall WTT season, and first with the Freedoms. He will be the team's marquee player on July 10, 2012 when they face the Sacramento Capitals.
Equipment[link]
Blake worked with Prince to create a new racquet with Prince's O3 technology. However, he did not feel comfortable with this racquet. So, he switched back to the Dunlop Sport Aerogel 200, then the 4D 200, for the 2009 season.[20] He changed to Wilson at the start of the 2010 season, using the new Six.One Tour strung with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power 16L strings at high tension (60+ pounds). He did not feel comfortable with this racquet either. Therefore, he switched back to Dunlop again. After the US Open of 2010, he began to test out rackets for Head. As August 26, 2011, he announced he will use Donnay rackets as his choice and using a customized Donnay X-Dual Pro. His clothing sponsor is Fila, with whom he started working in 2009 after using Nike for most his career. He has his own clothing line named Thomas Reynolds after his father.
Personal life[link]
Blake enjoys golf and basketball and is a fan of the New York Mets. He was featured on Bravo's second edition of Celebrity Poker Showdown but got 2nd after losing to Maura Tierney.[21]
Blake is also a red pro on Full Tilt poker.[citation needed] He appeared in People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive issue.[22] He is good friends with singer/songwriter John Mayer, who also attended Fairfield High School.[23] When Blake was invited by Virginia's Anthem Insurance to do a cancer charity game honoring his late father, he invited John Mayer, Andy Roddick and Gavin DeGraw to perform.[24]
Major Finals[link]
Tennis Masters Cup[link]
Singles: 1 (0–1)[link]
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2006 |  Shanghai |
Hard (i) |  Roger Federer |
6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |
Masters Series[link]
Singles: 2 (0–2)[link]
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2006 | Indian Wells |
Hard | Roger Federer |
7–5, 6–3, 6–0 |
| Runner-up | 2007 | Cincinnati |
Hard | Roger Federer |
6–1, 6–4 |
ATP Career Finals[link]
Singles: 24 (10–14)[link]
|
|
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | February 25, 2002 | Memphis, United States |
Hard (i) | Andy Roddick |
4–6, 6–3, 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 2. | July 15, 2002 | Newport, United States |
Grass | Taylor Dent |
1–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Winner | 1. | August 12, 2002 | Washington, D.C., United States |
Hard |  Paradorn Srichaphan |
1–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 3. | August 25, 2003 | Long Island, United States |
Hard | Paradorn Srichaphan |
2–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 4. | August 8, 2005 | Washington, D.C., United States |
Hard | Andy Roddick |
5–7, 3–6 |
| Winner | 2. | August 22, 2005 | New Haven, United States |
Hard |  Feliciano López |
3–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
| Winner | 3. | October 10, 2005 |  Stockholm, Sweden |
Hard (i) | Paradorn Srichaphan |
6–1, 7–6(8–6) |
| Winner | 4. | January 9, 2006 |  Sydney, Australia |
Hard |  Igor Andreev |
6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–3) |
| Winner | 5. | February 27, 2006 | Las Vegas, United States |
Hard | Lleyton Hewitt |
7–5, 2–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 5. | March 20, 2006 | Indian Wells, United States |
Hard | Roger Federer |
5–7, 3–6, 0–6 |
| Runner-up | 6. | June 19, 2006 |  London, United Kingdom |
Grass | Lleyton Hewitt |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 6. | July 17, 2006 | Indianapolis, United States |
Hard | Andy Roddick |
4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5) |
| Winner | 7. | September 25, 2006 | Bangkok, Thailand |
Hard (i) |  Ivan Ljubičić |
6–3, 6–1 |
| Winner | 8. | October 15, 2006 | Stockholm, Sweden |
Hard (i) |  Jarkko Nieminen |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 7. | November 20, 2006 | Shanghai, China |
Hard (i) | Roger Federer |
0–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 9. | January 13, 2007 | Sydney, Australia |
Hard | Carlos Moyà |
6–3, 5–7, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 8. | February 4, 2007 | Delray Beach, United States |
Hard |  Xavier Malisse |
7–5, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 9. | July 22, 2007 | Los Angeles, United States |
Hard |  Radek Štěpánek |
6–7(7–9), 7–5, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 10. | August 19, 2007 | Cincinnati, United States |
Hard | Roger Federer |
1–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 10. | August 25, 2007 | New Haven, United States |
Hard | Mardy Fish |
7–5, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 11. | February 17, 2008 | Delray Beach, United States |
Hard |  Kei Nishikori |
6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 12. | April 20, 2008 | Houston, United States |
Clay | Marcel Granollers |
4–6, 6–1, 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 13. | May 10, 2009 |  Estoril, Portugal |
Clay | Albert Montañés |
7–5, 6–7(6–8), 0–6 |
| Runner-up | 14. | June 14, 2009 | London, United Kingdom |
Grass | Andy Murray |
5–7, 4–6 |
Doubles: 8 (6–2)[link]
|
|
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | August 5, 2002 | Cincinnati, United States |
Hard | Todd Martin |
 Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi |
7–5, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | March 10, 2003 | Scottsdale, United States |
Hard |  Mark Merklein |
Mark Philippoussis Lleyton Hewitt |
6–4, 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5) |
| Winner | 3. | February 16, 2004 | San Jose, United States |
Hard (i) | Mardy Fish |
Rick Leach Brian MacPhie |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Winner | 4. | April 19, 2004 | Houston, United States |
Clay | Mardy Fish |
Rick Leach Brian MacPhie |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 5. | April 26, 2004 |  Munich, Germany |
Clay | Mark Merklein |
 Julian Knowle Nenad Zimonjić |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1. | February 27, 2006 | Memphis, United States |
Hard (i) | Mardy Fish |
 Chris Haggard Ivo Karlović |
6–0, 5–7, [5–10] |
| Runner-up | 2. | October 28, 2007 | Basel, Switzerland |
Carpet | Mark Knowles |
Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
1–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 6. | April 15, 2012 | Houston, United States |
Clay | Sam Querrey |
 Treat Conrad Huey Dominic Inglot |
7–6(16–14), 6–4 |
Singles Performance Timeline[link]
This table is current through 2012 Sony Ericsson Open.
| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | W–L | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | Q2 | Q3 | 2R | 4R | 4R | 2R | 3R | 4R | QF | 4R | 2R | A | A | 21–9 | |||
| French Open | A | A | A | Q2 | 2R | 2R | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 6–8 | |||
| Wimbledon | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 7–9 | ||||
| US Open | Q3 | 1R | Q2 | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | QF | QF | 4R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 23–11 | ||||
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 5–4 | 7–4 | 3–1 | 6–4 | 10–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 57–37 | |||
| ATP World Tour Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | A | A | A | A | A | 3–2 | ||||
| ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | 1R | Q1 | 1R | QF | QF | 3R | F | 3R | QF | 3R | 3R | 2R | A | 22–11 | |||
| Miami Masters | A | A | Q1 | Q2 | 4R | 3R | 1R | 2R | QF | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 15–11 | |||
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1–2 | |||
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | QF | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | A | A | A | 6–7 | |||
| Madrid Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | A | A | A | 2–6 | |||
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | 2R | 2R | QF | A | A | A | 6–4 | ||||
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | F | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 14–10 | ||||
| Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | 2R | A | A | 1–1 | ||||||||||||||
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | SF | 2R | A | A | 8–7 | ||||
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 3R | 3R | 2R | Not Masters Series | 3–5 | ||||||
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 4–4 | 13–8 | 10–7 | 12–8 | 6–7 | 3–3 | 5–3 | 0–1 | 78–64 | |||
| Career Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 5–8 | 2–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 10–24 | |||
| Year End Ranking | 682 | 220 | 212 | 73 | 28 | 37 | 97 | 23 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 44 | 135 | 59 | |||||
Notes[link]
- ^ "James Blake stats at Tennis Warehouse". Tennis-Warehouse.com. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/player.html?ccode=JBLAKE. Retrieved November 19, 2006.
- ^ "Blake's parents prevented race from jading him". USA Today. September 8, 2005. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/oconnor/2005-09-08-oconnor_x.htm. Retrieved 11/06/09.
- ^ "wimbledon 2006 06 30". SportsIllustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/tennis/specials/wimbledon/2006/06/30/bc.ten.wimbledon.1.ap/index.html. [dead link]
- ^ "Round Robin 1". http://www.atptennis.com/en/news/2007/round_robin1.asp.
- ^ "Round Robin". http://www.atptennis.com/en/news/2007/roundrobin.asp.
- ^ ATP (October 27, 2007). "Blake/Knowles Win Basel SF on 13th Match Point". ATP. http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/doubles/news/basel6.asp. Retrieved October 28, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ ATP (October 28, 2007). "Bryan Brothers Capture 10th Title of Stellar Season". ATP. http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/doubles/. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
- ^ Association of Tennis Professionals (November 30, 2007). "Roddick, Blake Place USA in Reach of Davis Cup Title". Association of Tennis Professionals. Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071206095400/http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2007news/dc_final1.asp. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- ^ International Tennis Federation (December 2, 2007). "Davis Cup – World Group 2007 Final Results". International Tennis Federation. http://www.daviscup.com/en/results/tie/details.aspx?tieId=100008940. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
- ^ Pacific Life Open (2008). "Djokovic, Canas to Face Off in Fourth Round Blockbuster". Pacific Life Open. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080321175541/http://www.pacificlifeopen.com/1/news/newsarticle_761.asp. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
- ^ Pacific Life Open (2008). "Blake Bounces Moya; Nadal, Tsonga to Clash". Pacific Life Open. Archived from the original on March 22, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080322005745/http://www.pacificlifeopen.com/1/news/newsarticle_754.asp. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
- ^ "Blake eliminates Federer from Olympic Tennis". http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/headlines/tennis/n214542934.shtml.
- ^ "Blake into third round after noisy encounter". Reuters. January 22, 2009. http://in.reuters.com/article/worldOfSport/idINIndia-37598420090122.
- ^ Cheese, Caroline (June 22, 2009). "Wimbledon day one as it happened". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8096805.stm. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
- ^ http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/match_reports/2009-06-22/200906221245681314687.html
- ^ http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2010/04/Other/James-Blake-Knee-Injury.aspx
- ^ http://www.protennisfan.com/2010/06/james-blake-contemplating-retirement.html
- ^ Pucin, Diane (July 25, 2010). "Tennis pro James Blake is itching to pull rank — upward". The Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-james-blake-20100726,0,4562048.story.
- ^ a b http://jamesblaketennis.com/2010_Site/Pages/Winter_2011_Interview.html
- ^ "Newspage". Tennis-warehouse.com. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/newspage.html?cref=2311.
- ^ "Celebrity Poker Showdown Tournament 2". BravoTV(www.bravotv.com). http://www.bravotv.com/Celebrity_Poker_Showdown/Players/2/index.shtml. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ "James Blake Profile". US Olympic Committee (www.usoc.org). Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930204424/http://www.usoc.org/26_48961.htm. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- ^ Patrick, Dan (2003). "Outtakes with James Blake". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/talent/danpatrick/s/2003/0609/1565617.html. Retrieved May 2, 2006.
- ^ Pratt, Jane (2005). "Tennis Great James Blake, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Virginia Historical Society Announce an Acquisition of Arthur Ashe's Personal Items". Anthem.com. http://www.anthem.com/jsp/antiphona/bcbs/content.jsp?ID=PW_A076580. Retrieved May 2, 2006.
Further reading[link]
- Blake, James; Friedman, Andrew L. (2007). Breaking back : How I lost everything and won back my life. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-134349-8
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Blake |
- James Blake at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- James Blake at the International Tennis Federation
- James Blake at the Davis Cup
|
|||||
)
1)| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Blake, James |
| Alternative names | Blake, James |
| Short description | Tennis player |
| Date of birth | 1979-12-28 |
| Place of birth | Yonkers, New York |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/James_Blake
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/James Blake
http://cs.wn.com/James Blake
http://es.wn.com/James Blake
http://ru.wn.com/Блейк, Джеймс
http://nl.wn.com/James Blake (tennisser)
http://pl.wn.com/James Blake
http://fr.wn.com/James Blake
http://de.wn.com/James Blake
http://hi.wn.com/जेम्स ब्लेक
http://pt.wn.com/James Blake
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blake
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Jools Holland | |
|---|---|
 Holland at the British Academy Television Awards 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Julian Miles Holland |
| Born | (1958-01-24) 24 January 1958 (age 54) Blackheath, London, England |
| Genres | Boogie-woogie, jazz, blues, R&B |
| Occupations | Musician, composer, television presenter, bandleader |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboard, guitar |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Associated acts | Squeeze Rhythm & Blues Orchestra |
| Website | Official site |
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.
Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. He currently hosts Later... with Jools Holland, a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show Hootenanny, is based.[1]
Contents |
Life and career[link]
His great grandfather came from Ireland.[2]
Holland played as a session musician before finding fame, and his first studio session was with Wayne County & the Electric Chairs in 1976 on their track "F*ck Off."[3]
Holland was a founding member of the British pop band Squeeze, formed in March 1974, in which he played keyboards until 1981 and helped the band to achieve millions of record sales, before pursuing his solo career.[3]
Holland began issuing solo records in 1978, his first EP being Boogie Woogie '78. He continued his solo career through the early 1980s, releasing an album and several singles between 1981 and 1984. He branched out into TV, co-presenting the Newcastle-based TV music show The Tube with Paula Yates. Holland achieved notoriety by inadvertently using the phrase "groovy fuckers" in a live, early evening TV trailer for the show, causing it to be suspended for six weeks.[4] He referred to this in his sitcom "The Groovy Fellers" with Rowland Rivron.
In 1983 Holland played an extended piano solo on The The's re-recording of "Uncertain Smile" for the album Soul Mining. In 1985, Squeeze (which had continued in Holland's absence through to 1982) unexpectedly regrouped including Jools Holland as their keyboard player. Holland remained in the band until 1990, at which point, he again departed Squeeze on amicable terms to resume his solo career as a musician and a TV host.
In 1987, Holland formed The Jools Holland Big Band which consisted of himself and Gilson Lavis from Squeeze. This gradually became his 18-piece Rhythm & Blues Orchestra.[3]
Between 1988 and 1990 he performed and co-hosted along with David Sanborn during the two seasons of the music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television.[5] Since 1992 he has presented the music program Later... with Jools Holland, plus an annual New Year's Eve Hootenanny.
In 1996, Holland signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records,[3] and his records are now marketed through Rhino Records.
Holland has a touring band, The Rhythm And Blues Orchestra, which often includes singers Sam Brown and Ruby Turner. In January 2005 Holland and his band performed with Eric Clapton as the headline act of the Tsunami Relief Cardiff.
Personal[link]
Holland lives in the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath in South East London, where he had his studio, Helicon Mountain, built to his design, inspired by Portmeirion, the setting for the 1960s TV series The Prisoner.[6] Holland owns costumes and props from the series and occasionally appears wearing the trademark brown-with-white-pipe blazer featured in the series. In 1987, Holland demonstrated his love of the series and starred in a spoof documentary, The Laughing Prisoner, with Stephen Fry, Terence Alexander and Hugh Laurie.[6] Much of it was shot on location in Portmeirion, with archive footage of Patrick McGoohan, and featuring musical numbers from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magnum and XTC. Holland performed a number towards the end of the program. His younger brother, Christopher, also plays organ in the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, as well as being a singer-songwriter.
Holland was an interviewer for The Beatles Anthology TV project, and appeared in the 1997 film Spiceworld as a musical director.
He received an OBE in 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours list, for services to the British music industry as a television presenter and musician. In September 2006 Holland was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent.[7] He is also known for his charity work: in June 2006 he performed in Southend for HIV/AIDS charity Mildmay,[8] and in early 2007 he performed at Wells and Rochester Cathedrals to raise money for maintaining cathedral buildings.[9] He is also patron of the Drake Music Project[10] and has raised many thousands of pounds for the charity.
Holland was appointed an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University at a ceremony held at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 January 2009.[11]
On 29 August 2005 Holland married Christabel McEwen, his girlfriend of 15 years (between 1983 and 1995 she had been married to Edward Lambton, 7th Earl of Durham, before they divorced). The wedding, at St James's Church, Cooling near Rochester, was attended by many celebrities, including Ringo Starr, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Lenny Henry, Noel Gallagher, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.[12]
Holland is also a patron for The Milton Rooms, an Arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, along with Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Kathy Burke.[13]
Writing[link]
His 2007 biography, Barefaced Lies and Boogie Woogie Boasts was BBC Radio 4 "Book of the Week" in the week beginning 8 October 2007 and was read by Holland. He is the author or joint author of four other books.
Discography[link]
See also: Squeeze and Squeeze discography
Albums that have charted and gained Certifications[link]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) [14] |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [15] |
NZ [16] |
|||
| 1996 | Jazz & Rock & Roll | 38 | - | |
| 1998 | Best Of | - | - |
|
| 2000 | Hop The Wag | - | - |
|
| 2001 | Small World Big Band | 8 | 23 |
|
| 2002 | SWBB Volume Two: More Friends | 17 | 44 |
|
| 2003 | Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3) | 39 | - |
|
| 2005 | Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska | 36 | - | |
| 2007 | Best of Friends | 9 | - |
|
| 2011 | Finding The Keys - The Best of | 127[17] | - | |
Releases[link]
- 1978 "Boogie Woogie '78" (EP)
- 1981 Jools Holland and His Millionaires
- 1984 Jools Holland Meets Rock 'A' Boogie Billy (U.S. release only)
- 1990 World Of His Own
- 1991 The Full Complement
- 1992 "Together Again" (single with Sam Brown)
- 1992 The A-Z Geographer's Guide To The Piano
- 1994 Solo Piano
- 1994 Live Performance
- 1996 " Jazz & Rock & Roll
- 1997 Lift The Lid
- 1998 Best Of
- 1999 Sunset Over London
- 2000 Hop The Wag
- 2001 Small World Big Band
- 2002 SWBB Volume Two: More Friends
- 2003 Jack O The Green (SWBB Friends 3)
- 2004 Tom Jones & Jools Holland
- 2005 Beatroute
- 2005 Swinging the Blues, Dancing the Ska
- 2006 Moving Out To The Country
- 2007 Best of Friends
- 2008 The Collection
- 2008 The Informer (With Ruby Turner)
- 2008 "The Informer" (single with Ruby Turner)
- 2009 "I Went By" (single with Louise Marshall)
- 2010 Rockinghorse
Film and television[link]
- 1981 Urgh! A Music War
- 1982 Police: Around the World
- 1982 - 1987 The Tube (Host for 121 editions)
- 1983 Rebellious Jukebox: Compere
- 1984 The Young Ones: Punk (Episode entitled "Summer Holiday")
- 1985 Walking To New Orleans (Jools Holland in New Orleans)
- 1987 Eat the Rich: Sun Reporter
- 1987 Filthy Rich & Catflap: Strip Show Pianist (Episode #1.3)
- 1987 The Laughing Prisoner: No. 7
- 1987 French and Saunders (Episode 1.5)
- 1988 Sunday Night: Host (unknown episodes)
- 1989 Juke Box Jury: Host (unknown episodes)
- 1989 The Groovy Fellers Himself, 6 episodes
- 1991 Mr Roadrunner (Jools Holland in Memphis)
- 1994 There's No Business: Pianist
- 1994 - 1995 Don't Forget Your Toothbrush
- 1995 The Beatles Anthology
- 1997 Spice World: Musical Director
- 1997 Name That Tune: Host and Pianist
- 2003 Jool's History of the Piano : Presenter
- 2006 Top Gear: Star in a reasonably priced car.
- 2007 Fairport@Forty: Interview
- 2009 Chop Shop Rover Concept: The Jet 1 Car : Customer
Current television programmes[link]
- 1992–present Later... with Jools Holland
- 1993–present Hootenanny
Books[link]
- "Rolling Stones": A Life on the Road, (with Dora Loewenstein), Viking/Allen Lane (1998), (ISBN 0-670-88051-5)
- Beat Route: Journeys Through Six Counties, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (1998), (ISBN 0-575-06700-4)
- Ray Charles: Man and Music, (with Michael Lydon), Payback Press (1999), (ISBN 0-86241-929-8)
- Hand That Changed Its Mind , International Music Publications (2007), (ISBN 1-84328-645-9)
- Barefaced Lies and Boogie-woogie Boasts , Michael Joseph Ltd (2007), (ISBN 0-7181-4915-7)
References[link]
- ^ "BBC Later With Jools Holland". http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008rqnv. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
- ^ Barratt, Nick (28 July 2007). "Family detective: Jools Holland". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/familyhistory/3354288/Family-detective-Jools-Holland.html.
- ^ a b c d "About Jools – Official site". http://www.joolsholland.com/aboutjools.htm. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
- ^ "Laughing Policeman Wireless Society: History of Swearing". http://www.laughingpoliceman.com/swear.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
- ^ "Sunday Night" episodes #104 (1988), #113 (1989), #114 (1989), #121 (1989)
- ^ a b "About Jools – Biography – Official site". http://www.joolsholland.com/biography.htm. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
- ^ Farndale, Nigel (19 November 2006). "A man in touch with his inner anorak". (Interview with Jools Holland) (London: Telegraph.co.uk). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3656666/A-man-in-touch-with-his-inner-anorak.html. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ "Jools Holland rocks the Park for Charity". http://www.thenetco.co.uk/mildmaynew/events.aspx?pg=events-joolshollandconcert. Retrieved 5 December 2007. [dead link]
- ^ "Jools Holland To Play UK Charity Concerts". 25 January 2007. http://www.easier.com/view/Lifestyle/Entertainment/Going_Out/article-95595.html. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
- ^ patrons, trustees and staff - Drake Music Project
- ^ "Widdecombe, Holland and Underwood are appointed honorary fellows". Canterbury Christ Church University. 3 February 2009. http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/News/newsRelease.asp?newsPk=1301. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- ^ BBC News 30 August 2005: Wedding bells for Jools Holland
- ^ The Milton Rooms homepage
- ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx
- ^ "UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts". everyHit.com. 2000-03-16. http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Discography Jools Holland". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Jools+Holland. Retrieved 2012-04-12.
- ^ http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110618cluk.txt
External links[link]
- Official website
- Jools Holland at the Internet Movie Database
- Jools Holland's Radio 2 show at BBC Programmes
- Later...with Jools Holland at BBC Online
|
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||||||||||||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Holland, Julian Miles |
| Alternative names | Holland, Jools |
| Short description | Musician and television personality |
| Date of birth | 24 January 1958 |
| Place of birth | Blackheath, London, England |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Jools_Holland
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/Jools Holland
http://nl.wn.com/Jools Holland
http://pt.wn.com/Jools Holland
http://de.wn.com/Jools Holland
http://pl.wn.com/Jools Holland
http://es.wn.com/Jools Holland
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jools_Holland
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Joni Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 Joni Mitchell performing in 1983 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roberta Joan Anderson |
| Born | (1943-11-07) November 7, 1943 (age 68) Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Folk-rock, folk-jazz/jazz, pop |
| Occupations | Musician, singer songwriter, painter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, dulcimer, ukulele, auto-harp |
| Labels | Reprise (1968–1972, 1994–2001) Asylum (1972–1981) Geffen (1982–1993) Nonesuch (2002) Hear Music (2007) |
| Associated acts | Buffy Sainte-Marie, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, James Taylor, L.A. Express, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Larry Klein, Thomas Dolby, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Glenn Frey |
| Website | www.jonimitchell.com |
Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson; November 7, 1943) is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter.[1] Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto. In 1965 she moved to the United States and, touring constantly, began to be recognized when her original songs ("Urge for Going," "Chelsea Morning," "Both Sides, Now," "The Circle Game") were covered by notable folk singers, allowing her to sign with Reprise Records and record her own debut album in 1968.[2] Settling in Southern California, Mitchell and her popular songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock" helped define an era and a generation. Her more starkly personal 1971 recording Blue has been called one of the best albums ever made.[3] Musically restless, Mitchell switched labels and began moving toward jazz rhythms by way of lush pop textures on 1974's Court and Spark, her best-selling LP, featuring her radio hits "Help Me" and "Free Man in Paris."[4]
Mitchell's wide-ranging vocals and her distinctive open-tuned guitar and piano compositions grew more harmonically and rhythmically complex as she explored jazz, melding it with her influences in rock n roll, R&B, classical music and non-western beats. Mitchell's experimental run of jazz-inspired albums, including 1975's The Hissing of Summer Lawns and 1976's Hejira, confused many and hurt Mitchell's sales at the time, but they are acclaimed today. In the late 1970s, she began working closely with noted jazz musicians, among them Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny and Charles Mingus, the last of whom asked her to collaborate on his final recordings.[5] In her later work Mitchell turned again toward pop, embraced electronic music, and engaged in political protest. Mitchell was also the sole record producer credited on most of her albums, including all her work in the 1970s. With roots in visual art, she designed her own album artwork throughout her career. A blunt critic of the music industry, Mitchell quit touring and released her 17th, and reportedly last, album of original songs in 2007. Now based in British Columbia, she describes herself as a "painter derailed by circumstance."[6]
Mitchell has deeply influenced fellow musicians in a diverse range of genres, and her work is highly respected by critics. Allmusic said, "When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century,"[7] and Rolling Stone called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever."[8] Mitchell's lyrics have been noted for their developed poetics, addressing social and environmental ideals alongside individual feelings of romantic longing, confusion, disillusion and joy.
Contents
|
Early life[link]
Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943, in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada, to Bill Anderson and Myrtle Anderson (née McKee). Her mother's ancestors were Scottish and Irish;[9] her father's were Norwegian and Sami.[10] Her mother was a teacher. Her father was a Royal Canadian Air Force flight lieutenant who instructed new pilots in Fort Macleod, where the allied forces were gathering to learn to fly. During the war years, she moved with her parents to a number of bases in western Canada. After the war, her father began working as a grocer, and his work took the family to Saskatchewan, to the towns of Maidstone and North Battleford. She later sang about her small town upbringing in "Song for Sharon."
In Maidstone, a "two-block, one church, one hotel town," Joni's family lived without indoor plumbing and running water. Many of the other residents were First Nations people. Canadians of European origin such as Joni's grandfather had only begun to settle there in recent decades. The town was along the old railway, and the line ran right behind her bedroom. She used to "sit up in bed each morning to watch the one train that always passed daily." Joni said, "The weird thing is that years later my parents met the conductor of that train at a party. He said: 'All I remember of your town is a house with Christmas decorations and a kid that used to wave at me.'"[11] Joni loved spending time outdoors. She also said, "My mother raised me on words... Where other parents would quote from the Bible, she would quote from Shakespeare. She was a romantic woman. She encouraged me in all those old-fashioned things. I kept pressed-flower scrap books."[12]
Joni's father was an amateur musician who loved swing records and played trumpet in marching bands, and Joni would join in town parades with her father's band and other children. Many of her childhood friends were taking music lessons, and she would tag along to their performances, where she developed her first musical obsessions: Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Chopin and Beethoven. Much later, the first LP she saved up to buy was Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.[10] Mitchell briefly studied classical piano between the ages of six and seven. She said, "I wanted to play... I wanted to do what I do now, which is to lay my hand on it and to memorize what comes off of it and to create with it. But my music teacher told me I played by ear which was a sin, you know, and that I would never be able to read these pieces because I memorized things... I didn't fall into the norm for that system, so I dropped that."[13]
At the age of eight, Joni contracted polio during a 1951 Canadian epidemic, the same one in which singer Neil Young, then aged five and living in Ontario, also contracted the virus.[14] It was the last major epidemic in North America before Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was successfully tested. Bedridden for weeks in hospital, Joni became aware that she would have to move across the hall and live in an iron lung for the remainder of her life if her condition worsened. As she later described, it was during her time in hospital that winter that she first became interested in singing. She told the story later:
"They said I might not walk again, and that I would not be able to go home for Christmas. I wouldn't go for it. So I started to sing Christmas carols and I used to sing them real loud... The boy in the bed next to me, you know, used to complain. And I discovered I was a ham."[15]
Before she suffered polio, Mitchell had been interested in the arts, but she had been more athletic herself than artistic. Once she recovered, she realized she would no longer be able to compete with the fastest swimmers or runners, and as a compensation she became interested in dancing. At the age of nine she also began smoking, a lifelong habit. Mitchell's smoking has been the subject of criticism from journalists, who blame it for changes in her voice in later decades of her life, but Mitchell has denied the connection, expressing no regret for what she calls "my terrible habits."[16]
When Mitchell was eleven years old, her family settled in the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which she considers her hometown. Mitchell had always been inspired by the beauty of the Canadian frontier, but she had developed into "a bad student" frustrated by the educational outlook in the provincial towns where she grew up, and school in Saskatoon did not inspire her either. Mitchell's initially dedicated note-taking in class would be replaced by a mess of drawings in her notebooks by year's end, and her report cards would say, "Joan does not relate well." She said, "The way I saw the educational system from an early age was that it taught you what to think, not how to think. There was no liberty, really, for free thinking. You were being trained to fit into a society where free thinking was a nuisance. I liked some of my teachers very much, but I had no interest in their subjects. So I would appease them—I think they perceived that I was not a dummy, although my report card didn't look like it. I would line the math room with ink drawings and portraits of the mathematicians. I did a tree of life for my biology teacher. I was always staying late at the school, down on my knees painting something."[15]
Mitchell was drawn to art, but "growing up just at the time before arts were included as a part of education... at that time I was kind of a freak."[17] In seventh grade, she had "one radical teacher... a reverer of spirit... He criticized my habit of copying pictures. No one else did. They praised me as a prodigy for my technique. 'You like to paint?' he asked. I nodded. 'If you can paint with a brush you can paint with words.' He drew out my poetry. He was a great disciplinarian in his own punk style. We loved him... I wrote an epic poem in class - I labored to impress him. I got it back circled in red with 'cliché, cliche.' 'White as newly fallen snow' - 'cliche'; 'high upon a silver shadowed hill' - 'cliche.' At the bottom he said, 'Write about what you know, it's more interesting.'"[13] Mitchell talked about "going out after the rain and gathering tadpoles in an empty mayonnaise jar," and he suggested she put her experience in writing.[18] Mitchell's debut album included a dedication to the teacher, "Mr. Kratzman, who taught me to love words."[19]
Mitchell wrote poetry as well. She said, "I was good in composition, but I wasn't good in the dissection of English... I wasn't scholastically good in it because I didn't like to break it down and analyze it in that manner, and I liked to speak in slang."[13] Mitchell said, "I finally flunked out in the twelfth grade. I went back later and picked up the subjects that I lost." She said, "My identity, since it wasn't through the grade system, was that I was a good dancer and an artist... I made a lot of my own clothes. I worked in ladies' wear and I modeled. I had access to sample clothes that were too fashionable for our community... I would go hang out on the streets dressed to the T... I hung out downtown with the Ukrainians and the Indians... When I went back to my own neighborhood, I found that I had a provocative image. They thought I was loose because I always liked rowdies... But there also came a stage when my friends who were juvenile delinquents suddenly became criminals. They could go into very dull jobs or they could go into crime. Crime is very romantic in your youth. I suddenly thought, 'Here's where the romance ends. I don't see myself in jail...'"[15]
Mitchell loved rock and roll. She said, "When I was in my teens, rock 'n' roll was only on the radio from 4 o'clock to 5 o'clock- after school- and two hours on Saturdays. If you didn't have a record player and you just HAD to hear those sounds, you went where there was a jukebox... I hung around two cafés that had jukeboxes. The AM Café was close to my house, and the CM Café was on the other side of town and I was forbidden to go there. They were owned by two Chinese guys- Artie Mack and Charlie Mack. You could loiter in the booths and you could smoke there."[20] As a teenager in the late 1950s, she said, "I loved to dance. That was my thing. I instigated a Wednesday night dance 'cause I could hardly make it to the weekends. For dancing, I loved Chuck Berry. Ray Charles. 'What I'd Say.' I liked Elvis Presley. I liked the Everly Brothers. But then this thing happened. Rock & roll went through a really dumb vanilla period. And during that period, folk music came in to fill the hole. At that point I had friends who'd have parties and sit around and sing Kingston Trio songs. That's when I started to sing again. That's why I bought an instrument. To sing at those parties."[15]
Mitchell bought herself a ukulele in 1957. She had wanted a guitar, but her mother, with rural roots herself, strongly opposed the idea because of the "hillbilly" image that she connected with the guitar.[21] Before rock n roll, the guitar in rural Canada had been mainly used in country and western music and was still widely associated with that genre. Mitchell eventually was able to get a guitar, but she continued to play baritone ukulele well into the early 1960s. She initially taught herself how to play guitar out of a Pete Seeger songbook, but she never finished the book. Joni's left hand had been weakened by polio, and some fingerings were difficult or impossible for her to execute. As she added new folk songs to her repertoire, she began to devise dozens of alternate tunings that allowed her to play each song. Later this improvised approach would be "a tool to break free of standard approaches to harmony and structure" in her own songwriting.
Joni started singing with her friends at bonfires in the "northern lakes, up around Waskesiu Lake" in the early 1960s. Eventually she got a few gigs in coffeehouses in Saskatoon. Joni's first paid performance was on October 31, 1962, at a local club that featured folk and jazz performers.[22] She was 18, and her record collection at the time ran from American folk revivalists whose LPs were helping to expand her repertoire of traditional songs, to her more personal favorites like Edith Piaf and Miles Davis. Joni and her friends were interested in jazz. Though she never performed jazz herself in those days, she and her friends sought out gigs by jazz musicians. Mitchell said, "My jazz background began with one of the early Lambert, Hendricks and Ross albums... The Hottest New Sound in Jazz. It was hard to find in Canada, so I saved up and bought it at a bootleg price. I considered that album to be my Beatles. I learned every song off of it, and I don't think there is another album anywhere - including my own - on which I know every note and word of every song."[23]
As Joni finished up high school at Aden Bowman Collegiate in Saskatoon, playing music was a way to make some extra money, but she never intended to make a career of it. She wanted to paint, and she left home to attend the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary. At art school, Joni Anderson excelled academically for the first time in her life.[13] However, she struggled with the sense she was a poorer artist than her grades indicated. She said, "I found that I was an honor student at art school for the same reason that I was a bad student - an equal and opposite reason - because I had developed a lot of technical ability... I found that I seemed to be marked for my technical ability so that in free classes where I was really uninspired, my marks remained the same standard. Whereas people who were great in free class, who were original and loose who didn't have the chops in a technical class, would receive a mark that was pretty similar to their technical ability. So I became pretty disillusioned."[13]
Mitchell was also coming to realize that her art was out of step with trends at the time, a movement to nearly total abstraction. Influenced by post-impressionists Van Gogh and Gaugin and by Picasso's work, she was still interested in painting landscapes and people, representing real things she saw. Figurative artists like herself were being directed to advertising and commercial art, which didn't at all appeal to her.[13] At art school, to support herself, Joni kept gigging as a folk musician on weekends, playing at her college and at a local hotel. After a year, at age 19, she dropped out of school and kept playing. Mitchell took a $15-a-week job in a Calgary coffee house, "singing long tragic songs in a minor key." She played at The Depression! for three months in the autumn of 1963. She also sang at hootenannies and even made appearances on some local TV and radio shows in Calgary.[22]
Mitchell's parents valued education very highly, having been raised during the Great Depression, and her decision to abandon her art studies was unpopular with her family, causing friction when she returned home to see them in Saskatchewan. In the summer of 1964 at the age of 20, she told her mother that she intended to be a folk singer in Toronto, and she left Western Canada for the first time in her life, heading east for Ontario. On the three-day train ride there, Joni wrote her first song, called "Day After Day." She also stopped at the Mariposa Folk Festival to see Buffy Sainte-Marie, a Saskatchewan-born Cree folk singer who had inspired her. A year later, Joni too would play Mariposa, her first gig for a major audience, and years later, Sainte-Marie herself would cover her.
Career[link]
1964–1969: Folk breakthrough[link]
Ontario[link]
Toronto's Yorkville when Joni arrived was a rougher, Bohemian neighbourhood north of the downtown area. Home to a busy coffeehouse circuit second only to New York's Greenwich Village in North America, Yorkville attracted the most seasoned folk singers on the continent, and Joni Anderson struggled to find work there without the right connections. Lacking the $200 needed for musicians' union fees, she managed a few gigs at The Half Beat and The Village Corner, but mostly played non-union gigs "in church basements and YMCA meeting halls." Rejected from major folk clubs, she resorted to busking,[22] while she "worked in the women's wear section of a downtown department store to pay the rent." Without a lot of name recognition, Joni also began to realize each city's folk scene tended to accord veteran performers the exclusive right to play their signature songs- despite not having written the songs- which Mitchell found insular, contrary to the egalitarian ideal of folk music. She found her best traditional material was already other singers' property and would no longer pass muster. She said, "You'd come into a town and you'd be told, you can't sing that, you can't sing that." She resolved to write her own originals.
In the autumn of 1964, Joni discovered that she was pregnant by her Calgary ex-boyfriend Brad MacMath. She later wrote, "[he] left me three months pregnant in an attic room with no money and winter coming on and only a fireplace for heat. The spindles of the banister were gap-toothed- fuel for last winter's occupants."[20] At the time, the pill was legally unavailable in Canada, as was abortion, yet there was a strong social stigma against women giving birth out of wedlock. In Toronto, she could at least do so quietly, without alarming her relatives back home. In February 1965 she gave birth to a baby girl. Unable to provide for the baby, she gave her daughter, Kelly Dale Anderson, up for adoption. The experience remained private for most of her career, but she made allusions to it in several songs, most notably in "Little Green," which she performed in the 1960s but eventually recorded for the 1971 album Blue. At the time, the veiled lyrics were not widely understood – a review described them as impenetrable.[citation needed]
In "Chinese Cafe", from the 1982 album Wild Things Run Fast, Mitchell sang, "Your kids are coming up straight / My child's a stranger / I bore her / But I could not raise her." These lyrics did not receive wide attention at the time. The existence of Mitchell's adopted daughter was not publicly known until 1993, when a roommate from Mitchell's art school days in the 1960s sold the story about the adoption to a tabloid magazine.[24][25] By that time, Mitchell's daughter, renamed Kilauren Gibb, had already begun a search for her biological parents. Mitchell and her daughter met in 1997.[26] After the reunion, Mitchell said that she lost interest in songwriting, and she would later identify her daughter's birth and her inability to take care of her as the moment when her songwriting inspiration had really begun. When she was unable to express herself to the person she wanted to talk to, she became attuned to the whole world and she began to write personally.
A few weeks after the birth of her daughter in 1965, Joni Anderson was gigging again around Yorkville, beginning to sing more of her original material for the first time, written with her unique open tunings. In March and April she found work at the Penny Farthing, a folk club in Toronto. There she met Chuck Mitchell, an American folk-singer from Michigan. Chuck was immediately attracted to Joni and impressed by her performance, and he told her that he could get her steady work in the coffeehouses he knew in the United States. In one interview, Joni marries Chuck only 36 hours after they meet, but it is unclear if they were ever married in Toronto. Sometime in late April, Joni left Canada for the first time in her life, going with Chuck to the US, where the two began playing music together.[22] Joni, 21 years old, married Chuck in an official ceremony in his hometown in June 1965 and took his surname. Joni Mitchell said, "We had no money. I made my wedding dress... I walked down the aisle brandishing my daisies."[27]
Michigan[link]
In the summer of 1965, Chuck Mitchell took Joni with him to the United States. While living in Detroit, Chuck and Joni were regular performers at area coffee houses as well as The Alcove bar near Wayne State University and the "Rathskeller" a restaurant on the campus of the University of Detroit. Oscar Brand featured her several times on his CBC television program Let's Sing Out in 1965 and 1966, broadening her exposure. The marriage and partnership of Joni and Chuck Mitchell dissolved in early 1967, and Joni moved to New York City to pursue her musical dreams as a solo artist. She played venues up and down the East Coast, including Philadelphia, Boston, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She performed frequently in coffeehouses and folk clubs and, by this time creating her own material, became well known for her unique songwriting and her innovative guitar style.
New York[link]
Folk singer Tom Rush had met Mitchell in Toronto and was impressed with her songwriting ability. He took "Urge For Going" to popular folk act Judy Collins but she was not interested in the song at the time, so Rush recorded it himself. Country singer George Hamilton IV heard Rush performing it and recorded a hit country version. Other artists who recorded Mitchell songs in the early years were Buffy Sainte-Marie ("The Circle Game"), Dave Van Ronk ("Both Sides Now"), and eventually Judy Collins ("Both Sides Now", a top ten hit, and "Michael From Mountains", both included on her 1967 album Wildflowers). Collins also covered "Chelsea Morning", a recording which again eclipsed Mitchell's own commercial success early on.
California[link]
While she was playing one night in "The Gaslight South",[28] a club in Coconut Grove, Florida, David Crosby walked in and was immediately struck by her ability and her appeal as an artist. He took her back to Los Angeles, where he set about introducing her and her music to his friends. Crosby convinced a record company to agree to let Mitchell record a solo acoustic album without all the folk-rock overdubs that were in vogue at the time, and his clout earned him a producer's credit in March 1968, when Reprise Records released her debut album, alternately known as Joni Mitchell or Song to a Seagull.
Mitchell continued touring steadily to promote the LP. The tour helped create eager anticipation for Mitchell's second LP, Clouds, which was released in April 1969. It finally contained Mitchell's own versions of some of her songs already recorded and performed by other artists: "Chelsea Morning", "Both Sides, Now", and "Tin Angel." The covers of both LPs, including a self-portrait on Clouds, were designed and painted by Mitchell, a marriage of her art and music which she would continue throughout her career.
1970–1974: Mainstream success[link]
In March 1970 Clouds won Joni Mitchell her first Grammy Award for Best Folk Performance. The following month, Reprise released her third album, Ladies of the Canyon. Mitchell's sound was already beginning to expand beyond the confines of acoustic folk music and toward pop and rock, with more overdubs, percussion, and backing vocals, and for the first time, many songs composed on piano, which would become a hallmark of Mitchell's style in her most popular era. Her own version of "Woodstock", slower and darker than the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover, was performed on a Wurlitzer electric piano. The album also included the already-familiar song "The Circle Game" and the environmental anthem "Big Yellow Taxi", with its now-famous line, "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
Ladies of the Canyon was an instant smash on FM radio and sold briskly through the summer and fall, eventually becoming Mitchell's first gold album (selling over a half million copies). Mitchell made a decision to stop touring for a year and just write and paint, yet she was still voted "Top Female Performer" for 1970 by Melody Maker, the UK's leading pop music magazine. On the April 1971 release of James Taylor's Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon album, Joni Mitchell is credited with backup vocals – along with Carole King – on the track "You've Got A Friend". The songs she wrote during the months she took off for travel and life experience would appear on her next album, Blue, released in June 1971. Of Blue and in comparing Joni Mitchell's talent to his own, David Crosby said, "By the time she did Blue she was past me and rushing toward the horizon" (A 65th Birthday Tribute to Joni Mitchell, 2008).[29]
Blue was an almost instant critical and commercial success, peaking in the top 20 in the Billboard Album Charts in September and also hitting the British Top 3. Lushly produced "Carey" was the single at the time, but musically, other parts of Blue departed further from the sounds of Ladies of the Canyon in favor of simpler, rhythmic acoustic parts allowing a focus on Mitchell's voice and emotions ("All I Want", "A Case of You"), while others such as "Blue", "River" and "The Last Time I Saw Richard" were sung to her rolling piano accompaniment. In its lyrics, the album was regarded as an inspired culmination of her early work, with depressed assessments of the world around her serving as counterpoint to exuberant expressions of romantic love (for example, in "California"). Mitchell later remarked, "At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses. I felt like a cellophane wrapper on a pack of cigarettes. I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong."[15]
Mitchell made the decision to return to the live stage after the great success of Blue, and she presented many new songs on tour which would appear on her next album. Her fifth album, For the Roses, was released in October 1972 and immediately zoomed up the charts. She followed with the single, "You Turn Me On, I'm a Radio", which peaked at #25 in the Billboard Charts in February 1973, becoming her first bonafide hit single. The album was critically acclaimed and earned her success on her own terms, though it was somewhat overshadowed by the success of Blue and by Mitchell's next album.
Court and Spark, released in January 1974, would see Mitchell begin the flirtation with jazz and jazz fusion that marked her experimental period ahead, but it was also her most commercially successful recording, and among her most critically acclaimed. Court and Spark went to #1 on the Cashbox Album Charts. The LP made Joni Mitchell a widely popular act for perhaps the only time in her career, on the strength of popular tracks such as the rocker "Raised on Robbery", which was released right before Christmas 1973, and "Help Me", which was released in March of the following year, and became Mitchell's only Top 10 single when it peaked at #7 in the first week of June. "Free Man in Paris" was another hit single and staple in her catalog.
While recording Court and Spark, Mitchell had tried to make a clean break with her earlier folk sound, producing the album herself and employing jazz/pop fusion band the L.A. Express as what she called her first real backing group. In February 1974, her tour with the L.A. Express began, and they received rave notices as they traveled across the United States and Canada during the next two months. A series of shows at L.A.'s Universal Amphitheater from August 14–17 were recorded for a live album release. In November, Mitchell released a live album called Miles of Aisles, a two-record set including all but two songs from the L.A. concerts (one selection each from the Berkeley Community Center, on March 2, and the LA Music Center, on March 4, were also included in the set). The live album slowly moved up to #2, matching Court and Sparks's chart peak on Billboard. "Big Yellow Taxi", the live version, was also released as a single and did reasonably well (Mitchell would ultimately release yet another recording of "Big Yellow Taxi" in 2007).
In January 1975, Court and Spark received four nominations for Grammy Awards, including Grammy Award for Album of the Year, for which Mitchell was the only woman nominated. She won only the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)
1975–1980: Jazz explorations[link]
Mitchell went into the studio in the spring of 1975 to record acoustic demos of some songs that she had written since the Court and Spark tour ended. A few months later she recorded versions of the tunes with her band. Mitchell's musical interests were now diverging from both the folk and the pop scene of the era, toward less structured, more jazz-inspired pieces, with a wider range of instruments. On "The Jungle Line", she also made an early effort at sampling a recording of African musicians, something that would become more commonplace among Western rock acts in the 1980s. Meanwhile, "In France They Kiss on Main Street" continued the lush pop sounds of Court and Spark, and efforts such as the title song and "Edith and the Kingpin" chronicled the underbelly of suburban lives in Southern California.
The new song cycle was released in November 1975 as The Hissing of Summer Lawns. The album was initially a big seller, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, but it received mixed reviews at the time of its release.[citation needed] A common legend holds that Rolling Stone magazine declared it the "Worst Album of the Year"; in truth, it was called only the year's worst album title.[30] However, Mitchell and Rolling Stone have had a contentious relationship, beginning years earlier when the magazine featured a "tree" illustrating all of Mitchell's alleged romantic partners, primarily other musicians, which the singer said "hurt my feelings terribly at the time."[8] During 1975, Mitchell also participated in several concerts in the Rolling Thunder Revue tours featuring Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and in 1976 she performed as part of The Last Waltz by The Band. In January 1976, Mitchell received one nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the album The Hissing of Summer Lawns, though the Grammy went to Linda Ronstadt.
In early 1976, Mitchell traveled with friends who were driving cross country to Maine. Afterwards, Mitchell drove back to California alone and composed several songs during her journey which would feature on her next album, 1976's Hejira. She stated that "This album was written mostly while I was traveling in the car. That's why there were no piano songs..."[15] Hejira was arguably Mitchell's most experimental album so far, due to her ongoing collaborations with legendary jazz virtuoso bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius on several songs including the first single, "Coyote", the atmospheric "Hejira", the disorienting, guitar-heavy "Black Crow," and the album's last song "Refuge of the Roads." The album climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Charts, reaching gold status three weeks after release, and received airplay from album oriented FM rock stations. Yet "Coyote", backed with "Blue Motel Room", failed to chart on the Hot 100. While the album was greeted by many fans and critics as a "return to form",[citation needed] by the time she recorded it her days as a huge pop star were over. However, if Hejira "did not sell as briskly as Mitchell's earlier, more "radio friendly" albums, its stature in her catalogue has grown over the years."[31] Mitchell herself believes the album to be unique. In 2006 she said, "I suppose a lot of people could have written a lot of my other songs, but I feel the songs on Hejira could only have come from me."[31]
In the summer of 1977, Mitchell began work on new recordings, what would become her first double studio album. Close to completing her contract with Asylum Records, Mitchell felt that this album could be looser in feel than any album she'd done in the past. She invited Pastorius back, and he brought with him fellow members of jazz fusion pioneers Weather Report, including drummer Don Alias and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who had once worked closely with Miles Davis. Layered, atmospheric compositions such as "Overture / Cotton Avenue" featured more improvisatory collaboration, while "Paprika Plains" was a 16-minute epic that stretched the boundaries of pop, owing more to Mitchell's memories of childhood in Canada and her study of classical music. "Dreamland" and "The Tenth World", featuring Chaka Khan on backing vocals, were percussion dominated tracks. Other songs continued the jazz-rock-folk collisions of Hejira. Mitchell also revived "Jericho", written but never recorded years earlier (a version is found on her 1974 live album). Don Juan's Reckless Daughter was released in December 1977. The album received mixed reviews but still sold relatively well, peaking at No. 25 in the US and going gold within three months. The cover of the album created its own controversy; Mitchell was featured in several photographs on the cover, including one where she was disguised as a black man (this is a reference to a character in one song on the album).
A few months after the release of Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Mitchell was contacted by jazz great Charles Mingus, who had heard the orchestrated song, "Paprika Plains", and wanted her to work with him. Mitchell began a collaboration with Mingus, who died before the project was completed in 1979. She finished the tracks (most were her own Mingus-inspired compositions, though "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a Mingus instrumental standard to which Mitchell composed lyrics) and the resulting album, Mingus, was released in June 1979, though it was poorly received in the press. Fans were confused over such a major change in Mitchell's overall sound, and though the album topped out at No. 17 on the Billboard album charts—a higher placement than Don Juan's Reckless Daughter – Mingus still fell short of gold status, making it her first album since the 1960s to not sell at least a half-million copies.
Mitchell's summer tour to promote Mingus began in August 1979 in Oklahoma City and concluded six weeks later with five shows at Los Angeles' Greek Theater, where she recorded and filmed the concerts. It was her first tour in several years, and with Pastorius, jazz guitar great Pat Metheny, and other members of her band, Mitchell also performed songs from her other jazz-inspired albums. When the tour ended she began a year of work, turning the tapes from the Los Angeles shows into a two-album set and a concert film, both to be called Shadows and Light. Her final release on Asylum Records and her second live double-album, it was released in September 1980, and made it up to No. 38 on the Billboard Charts. A single from the LP, "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?", Mitchell's duet with The Persuasions (her opening act for the tour), bubbled under on Billboard, just missing the Hot 100.
1981–1993: Pop, electronics and protest[link]
For a year and a half, Mitchell worked on the tracks for her next album. During this period Mitchell recorded with bassist Larry Klein, eventually marrying him in 1982. While the album was being readied for release, her friend David Geffen, founder of Asylum Records, decided to start a new label, Geffen Records. Still distributed by Warner Bros., (who controlled Asylum Records), Geffen was able to negate the remaining contractual obligations Mitchell had with Asylum and signed her to his new label. 1982's Wild Things Run Fast marked a return to pop songwriting, including "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody", which incorporated the chorus and parts of the melody of the famous Righteous Brothers hit, and "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care", a remake of the Elvis chestnut which charted higher than any Mitchell single since her '70s sales peak when it climbed to No. 47 on the charts. However, The album peaked on the Billboard Charts in its fifth week at only No. 25.
As 1983 began, Mitchell began a world tour, visiting Japan, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and then going back to the United States. A performance from the tour was videotaped and later released on home video (and later DVD) as "Refuge Of The Roads." As 1984 ended, Mitchell was writing new songs, when she had a suggestion from Geffen that perhaps an outside producer with experience in the modern technical arenas that they wanted to explore might be a worthy addition. British synth-pop performer and producer Thomas Dolby was brought on board. Of Dolby's role, Mitchell later commented: "I was reluctant when Thomas was suggested because he had been asked to produce the record [by Geffen], and would he consider coming in as just a programmer and a player? So on that level we did have some problems... He may be able to do it faster. He may be able to do it better, but the fact is that it then wouldn't really be my music."[citation needed]
The album that resulted, Dog Eat Dog, released in October 1985, turned out to be only a moderate seller, peaking at No. 63 on Billboard's Top Albums Chart, Mitchell's lowest chart position since her first album peaked at No. 189 almost eighteen years before. One of the songs on the album, "Tax Free", created controversy by lambasting "televangelists" and what she saw as a drift to the religious right in American politics. "The churches came after me", she wrote, "they attacked me, though the Episcopalian Church, which I've described as the only church in America which actually uses its head, wrote me a letter of congratulation."[32]
Mitchell continued experimenting with synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers for the recordings of her next album, 1988's Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm. She also collaborated with artists including Willie Nelson, Billy Idol, Wendy & Lisa, Tom Petty, Don Henley, Peter Gabriel, and Benjamin Orr of The Cars. The album's first official single, "My Secret Place", was in fact a duet with Gabriel, and just missed the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song "Lakota" was one of many songs on the album to take on larger political themes, in this case the deadly battle between Native American activists and the FBI on the Lakota Sioux reservation in the previous decade. Musically, several songs fit into the trend of world music popularized by Gabriel during the era. Reviews were mostly favorable towards the album, and the cameos by well-known musicians brought it considerable attention. Chalk Mark ultimately improved on the chart performance of Dog Eat Dog, peaking at No. 45.
After its release, Mitchell, who rarely performed live anymore, participated in Roger Waters' The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. She performed the song, "Goodbye Blue Sky" and also was one of the performers on the concerts ending song, "The Tide Is Turning" along with Waters, Cyndi Lauper, Bryan Adams, Van Morrison and Paul Carrack.
Throughout the first half of 1990, Mitchell recorded songs that would appear on her next album. She delivered the final mixes for the new album to Geffen just before Christmas, after trying nearly a hundred different sequences for the songs. The album Night Ride Home was released in March 1991. In the United States, it premiered on Billboard's Top Album charts at No. 68, moving up to No. 48 in its second week, and peaking at No. 41 in its sixth week. In the United Kingdom, the album premiered at No. 25 on the album charts. Critically, it was better received than her '80s work and seemed to signal a move closer to her acoustic beginnings, along with some references to the style of Hejira. This album was also Mitchell's first since Geffen Records was sold to MCA Inc., meaning that Night Ride Home was her first album not to be initially distributed by WEA (now Warner Music Group).
1994–2001: Resurgence and vocal development[link]
To wider audiences, the real "return to form" for Mitchell came with the 1994's Grammy-winning Turbulent Indigo. While the recording period also saw the divorce of Mitchell and bassist Larry Klein, their marriage having lasted almost 12 years, Indigo was seen as Mitchell's most accessible set of songs in years. Songs such as "Sex Kills", "Sunny Sunday", "Borderline" and "The Magdalene Laundries" mixed social commentary and guitar-focused melodies for "a startling comeback."[33] The album won two Grammy awards, including Best Pop Album, and it coincided with a much-publicized resurgence in interest in Mitchell's work by a younger generation of singer-songwriters.
In 1996, Mitchell agreed to release a greatest Hits collection when label Reprise also allowed her a second Misses album to include some of the lesser known songs from her career. Hits charted at No. 161 in the US, but made No. 6 in the UK. Mitchell also included on Hits, for the first time on an album, her first recording, a version of "Urge for Going" which preceded Song to a Seagull but was previously released only as a B-side.
Two years later, Mitchell released her final set of "original" new work before nearly a decade of other pursuits, 1998's Taming the Tiger. She promoted Tiger with a return to regular concert appearances, most notably a co-headlining tour with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. On the album, Mitchell had played a "guitar synthesizer" on most songs, and for the tour she adapted many of her old songs to this instrument, and reportedly had to re-learn all her complex tunings once again.
It was around this time that critics also began to notice a real change in Mitchell's voice, particularly on her older songs; the singer later admitted to feeling the same way, explaining that "I'd go to hit a note and there was nothing there."[34] While her more limited range and huskier vocals have sometimes been attributed to her smoking (she has been described as "one of the world's last great smokers"), Mitchell believes that the changes in her voice that became noticeable in the nineties were due to other problems, including vocal nodules, a compressed larynx, and the lingering effects of having had polio.[34] In an interview in 2004, she denied that "my terrible habits" had anything to do with her more limited range and pointed out that singers often lose the upper register when they pass fifty. In addition, she contended that in her opinion her voice became a more interesting and expressive alto range when she could no longer hit the high notes, let alone hold them like she did in her youth.[35]
The singer's next two albums featured no new songs and, Mitchell has said, were recorded to "fulfill contractual obligations",[33] but on both she attempted to make use of her new vocal range in interpreting familiar material. Both Sides, Now (2000) was an album composed mostly of covers of jazz standards, performed with an orchestra, featuring orchestral arrangements by Vince Mendoza. The album also contained remakes of "A Case of You" and the title track "Both Sides Now", two early hits transposed down to Mitchell's now dusky, soulful alto range. It received mostly strong reviews and spawned a short national tour, with Mitchell accompanied by a core band featuring Larry Klein on bass plus a local orchestra on each tour stop. Its success led to 2002's Travelogue, a collection of re-workings of her previous songs with lush orchestral accompaniments.
2002–2005: Retirement and retrospectives[link]
Mitchell stated at the time that this would be her final album. In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, she voiced discontent with the current state of the music industry, describing it as a "cesspool."[8] Mitchell expressed her dislike of the record industry's dominance and her desire to control her own destiny, possibly by releasing her own music over the Internet.
During the next few years, the only albums Mitchell released were compilations of her earlier work. In 2003, Mitchell's Geffen recordings were collected in a remastered, four-disc box set, The Complete Geffen Recordings, including notes by Mitchell and three previously unreleased tracks. A series of themed compilations of songs from earlier albums were also released: The Beginning of Survival (2004), Dreamland (2004), and Songs of a Prairie Girl (2005), the last of which collected the threads of her Canadian upbringing and which she released after accepting an invitation to the Saskatchewan Centennial concert in Saskatoon. The concert, which featured a tribute to Mitchell, was also attended by Queen Elizabeth II. In Prairie Girl liner notes, she writes that the collection is "my contribution to Saskatchewan's Centennial celebrations."
In the early 1990s, Mitchell signed a deal with Random House to publish an autobiography.[36] In 1998 she told The New York Times that her memoirs were "in the works", that they would be published in as many as four volumes, and that the first line would be "I was the only black man at the party."[37] In 2005, Mitchell said that she was using a tape recorder to get her memories "down in the oral tradition."[38]
As well in the early 2000s, Mitchell worked with artist Gilles Hebert. She visited the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, where she and Giles produced a book called 'Voices'. The book received international attention and extended her fame, and the fame of Gilles Hebert.
Although Mitchell stated that she would no longer tour or give concerts, she has made occasional public appearances to speak on environmental issues.[39] Mitchell divides her time between her longtime home in Los Angeles, and the 80-acre (32 ha) property in Sechelt, British Columbia that she has owned since the early 1970s. "L.A. is my workplace", she said in 2006, "B.C. is my heartbeat."[40] According to interviews, today she focuses mainly on her visual art, which she does not sell and which she displays only on rare occasions.[41]
2006–2009: Late recordings and Morgellons advocacy[link]
In an interview with The Ottawa Citizen in October 2006, Mitchell "revealed that she was recording her first collection of new songs in nearly a decade", but gave few other details.[31] Four months later, in an interview with The New York Times, Mitchell said that the forthcoming album, titled Shine, was inspired by the war in Iraq and "something her grandson had said while listening to family fighting: 'Bad dreams are good—in the great plan.'"[42] Early media reports characterized the album as having "a minimal feel... that harks back to [Mitchell's] early work", and a focus on political and environmental issues.[34]
In February 2007, Mitchell also returned to Calgary and served as an advisor for the Alberta Ballet Company premiere of "The Fiddle and the Drum", a dance choreographed to both new and old songs. Mitchell also filmed portions of the rehearsals for a documentary that she is working on. Of the flurry of recent activity she quipped, "I've never worked so hard in my life."[42]
In summer 2007, Mitchell's official fan-run site confirmed speculation that she had signed a two-record deal with Starbucks' Hear Music label. Shine was released by the label on September 25, 2007,[43] debuting at number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart, her highest chart position in the United States since the release of Hejira in 1976, over thirty years previously, and at number 36 on the United Kingdom albums chart.
On the same day, Herbie Hancock, a longtime associate and friend of Mitchell's, released River: The Joni Letters, an album paying tribute to Mitchell's work. Among the album's contributors were Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Leonard Cohen, and Mitchell herself, who contributed a vocal to the re-recording of "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)" (originally on her album Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm).[44] On February 10, 2008, Hancock's recording won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. It was the first time in 43 years that a jazz artist took the top prize at the annual award ceremony. In accepting the award, Hancock paid tribute to Mitchell as well as to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. At the same ceremony Mitchell won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Pop Performance for the opening track "One Week Last Summer" from her album Shine.
On February 12, 2010, "Both Sides, Now" was performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Mitchell is currently receiving treatment for the controversial condition called "Morgellons syndrome".[45] Mitchell spoke to the Los Angeles Times on April 22, 2010 about the disease, saying, "I have this weird, incurable disease that seems like it's from outer space, but my health's the best it's been in a while." She described Morgellons as a "slow, unpredictable killer" but said she is determined to fight the disease. "I have a tremendous will to live: I've been through another pandemic – I'm a polio survivor, so I know how conservative the medical body can be." According to Mitchell, Morgellons is often misdiagnosed as "delusion of parasites," and sufferers of the disease are offered psychiatric treatment. Mitchell said she plans to leave the music industry to work toward giving people diagnosed with Morgellons more credibility.[46] In the same interview, Mitchell made the statement that singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, with whom she had worked closely in the past, was a fake and plagiarist. The controversial remark was widely reported by other media.[47][48] Mitchell did not explain the contention further, but it may have related to the allegations of plagiarism surrounding some lyrics on Dylan's 2006 album Modern Times.[47]
Musical legacy[link]
Guitar style[link]
While some of Mitchell's most popular songs were written on piano, almost every song she composed on the guitar uses an open, or non-standard, tuning; she has written songs in some 50 tunings, playing what she has called "Joni's weird chords." The use of alternative tunings allows guitarists to produce accompaniment with more varied and wide-ranging textures. Her right-hand picking/strumming technique has evolved over the years from an initially intricate picking style, typified by the guitar songs on her first album, to a looser and more rhythmic style, sometimes incorporating percussive "slaps."
In 1995, Mitchell's friend Fred Walecki, proprietor of Westwood Music in Los Angeles, developed a solution to alleviate her continuing frustration with using multiple alternate tunings in live settings. Walecki designed a Stratocaster-style guitar to function with the Roland VG-8 (Virtual Guitar), a system capable of configuring her numerous tunings electronically. While the guitar itself remained in standard tuning, the VG-8 encoded the pickup signals into digital signals which were then translated into the altered tunings. This allowed Mitchell to use one guitar on stage, while an off-stage tech entered the preprogrammed tuning for each song in her set.[49]
Mitchell's longtime archivist, the San Francisco-based Joel Bernstein, maintains a detailed list of all her tunings, and has assisted her in relearning the tunings for several older songs.[49][50]
Mitchell was also highly innovative harmonically in her early work (1966–72) using techniques including modality, chromaticism, and pedal points.[51]
In 2003 Rolling Stone named her the 72nd greatest guitarist of all time; she was the highest-ranked woman on the list.[52]
Influence on other artists[link]
Mitchell's work has had an influence on artists as disparate as S. J. Tucker, Led Zeppelin, Nancy Wilson, Sonic Youth, Morrissey, Courtney Love, Prince, Chaka Khan, Alanis Morissette, Björk, Counting Crows, Stevie Nicks, Jeff Buckley, Elvis Costello, Dan Fogelberg, Janet Jackson, Maynard James Keenan, Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Madonna, Kurt Cobain, Frank Turner, Cassandra Wilson, Cat Power, George Michael, Marillion,[53] Juice Newton, Conor Oberst, The Roots, Roxette, The Sundays, Clannad, Shawn Colvin, Brooke Fraser, Anita Baker, Fiona Apple, Holly Brook, KT Tunstall, Seal, Tori Amos, Keith Green, Spank Rock, Schuyler Fisk, Kate Voegele, Regina Spektor, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Keith Jarrett, Slash, Stephin Merritt, Laura Marling, Keri Noble, Joanna Newsom, Boards of Canada,[54] James Blake, Ani DiFranco and Sarah Dawn Finer.[citation needed]
For instance, Prince's song "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" on the album Sign 'O' the Times (1987), pays tribute to Mitchell, both through his evocative Mitchell-like harmonies and through the use of one of Mitchell's own techniques: as in Mitchell's song "This Flight Tonight", Prince references a song in his lyrics (Mitchell's own "Help Me") as the music begins to emulate the chords and melody of that song. Another Mitchell reference left by Prince can also be seen on the back cover of his 1981 Controversy record, where one of the headlines reads "★JONI★." His song "Raspberry Beret" also references "McGee's general store" from Mitchell's song "Paprika Plains".
Madonna has also cited Mitchell as the first female artist that really spoke to her as a teenager; "I was really, really into Joni Mitchell. I knew every word to Court and Spark; I worshipped her when I was in high school. Blue is amazing. I would have to say of all the women I've heard, she had the most profound effect on me from a lyrical point of view."[55]
Steve Hogarth, Steve Rothery and Mark Kelly of Marillion all cite Mitchell as a favorite artist.[53]
A number of artists have had success covering Mitchell's songs. Judy Collins's 1967 recording of "Both Sides Now" reached No. 8 on Billboard charts and was a breakthrough in the career of both artists (Mitchell's own recording did not see release until two years later, on her second album Clouds). This is Mitchell's most-covered song by far, with 587 versions recorded at latest count. Hole also covered "Both Sides Now" in 1990, renaming it Clouds and changing the lyrics. Pop group Neighborhood in 1970 and Amy Grant in 1995 scored hits with covers of "Big Yellow Taxi", the second most covered song in Mitchell's repertoire (with 223 covers). Recent releases of this song have been by Counting Crows in 2002 and Nena in 2007. Janet Jackson used a sample of the chorus of "Big Yellow Taxi" as the centerpiece of her 1997 hit single "Got 'Til It's Gone", which also features rapper Q-Tip saying "Joni Mitchell never lies." Rap artists Kanye West and Mac Dre have also sampled Mitchell's vocals in their music. In addition, Annie Lennox has covered "Ladies Of The Canyon" for the B-side of her 1995 hit "No More I Love You's". Mandy Moore covered "Help Me" in 2003. In 2004 singer George Michael covered her song "Edith And The Kingpin" for a radio show. "River" has been one of the most popular songs covered in recent years, with versions by Dianne Reeves (1999), James Taylor (recorded for television in 2000, and for CD release in 2004), Allison Crowe (2004), Rachael Yamagata (2004), Aimee Mann (2005), and Sarah McLachlan (2006). McLachlan also did a version of "Blue" in 1996, and Cat Power recorded a cover of "Blue" in 2008. Other Mitchell covers include the famous "Woodstock" by both Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Matthews Southern Comfort, "This Flight Tonight" by Nazareth, and well-known versions of "Woodstock" by Eva Cassidy and "A Case of You" by Tori Amos, Michelle Branch, Jane Monheit, Prince, and Diana Krall. A 40th anniversary version of "Woodstock" was released in 2009 by Nick Vernier Band featuring Ian Matthews (formerly of Matthews Southern Comfort).
Prince's version of "A Case of U" appeared on A Tribute to Joni Mitchell, a 2007 compilation released by Nonesuch Records, which also featured Björk ("The Boho Dance"), Caetano Veloso ("Dreamland"), Emmylou Harris ("The Magdalene Laundries"), Sufjan Stevens ("Free Man in Paris") and Cassandra Wilson ("For the Roses"), among others. Some of the recordings were made in the late 1990s when a project entitled A Case of Joni was developed but left incomplete. Among those who recorded tracks for the first tribute album, which remain unreleased, were Janet Jackson, Steely Dan, and Sheryl Crow. Chaka Khan recorded "Ladies Man" from Mitchell's LP Wild Things Run Fast on her 2007 CD titled Funk This.
Several other songs reference Joni Mitchell. The song "Our House" by Graham Nash refers to Nash's brief affair with Mitchell at the time that Crosby, Stills Nash and Young recorded the Déjà Vu album. Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" was said to be written about Robert Plant and Jimmy Page's infatuation with Mitchell, a claim that seems to be borne out by the fact that, in live performances, Plant often says "Joni" after the line "To find a queen without a king, they say she plays guitar and cries and sings." Jimmy Page uses a double dropped D guitar tuning similar to the alternative tunings Mitchell uses. The Sonic Youth song "Hey Joni" album is named for Mitchell. Alanis Morissette also mentions Mitchell in one of her songs, "Your House." British folk singer; Frank Turner mentions Mitchell in his song 'Sunshine State'. Fellow Canadian songwriter Ferron invokes Mitchell to open the song "Maya": "Last night I dreamed Joni Mitchell cut her hair and changed her name to Gaia. And she spoke to me in a confident air and said...'You better push the edge of Maya.'"
Also, on the 2004 album eMOTIVe by A Perfect Circle, Maynard James Keenan covered Mitchell's song Fiddle and the Drum.
Awards and honours[link]
In 1995, Mitchell received Billboard's Century Award. In 1996, she was awarded the Polar Music Prize. In 1997, Mitchell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but did not attend the ceremony.
She has received eight Grammy Awards during her career, with the first coming in 1969 and the most recent in 2008. She received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, with the citation describing her as "one of the most important female recording artists of the rock era" and "a powerful influence on all artists who embrace diversity, imagination and integrity."[56]
In fitting tribute to Mitchell, the TNT network presented an all-star celebration at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, April 6, 2000. Many legendary performers sang Mitchell's songs, including James Taylor, Elton John, Wynonna Judd, Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Krall, and Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention fame. Mitchell herself ended the evening with a rendition of "Both Sides Now" with a full 70 piece orchestra. The version was featured on the soundtrack to the hit movie, Love Actually.
Regarding her as a national treasure, Mitchell's home country Canada has bestowed a number of honours on her. She was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1981 and received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in 2000.[57] In 2002 she became only the third popular Canadian singer/songwriter (Gordon Lightfoot and Leonard Cohen being the other two), to be appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour. She received an honorary doctorate in music from McGill University in 2004. In January 2007 she was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. In June 2007 Canada Post featured Mitchell on a postage stamp.[58]
In November 2006, the album Blue was listed by TIME magazine as among the "All-Time 100 Albums."[59]
In 1999 Mitchell was listed as fifth on VH1's list of "The 100 Greatest Women of Rock N' Roll." In 2010, Vh1 would name her the #44 Greatest Artist of All Time.
In the 2010 film The Kids Are All Right, the character Joni is supposed to have been named after Joni Mitchell since the character Nic, Joni's mother, declares to be a fan of Mitchell.[60]
Grammy Awards[link]
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Best Folk Performance | Clouds | Won |
| 1974 | Album of the Year | Court and Spark | Nomination |
| 1974 | Record of the Year | "Help Me" | Nomination |
| 1974 | Pop Female Vocalist | Court and Spark | Nomination |
| 1974 | Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) | "Down To You" | Won |
| 1976 | Pop Female Vocalist | The Hissing of Summer Lawns | Nomination |
| 1977 | Best Album Package | Hejira | Nomination |
| 1988 | Pop Female Vocalist | Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm | Nomination |
| 1995 | Best Pop Album | Turbulent Indigo | Won |
| 1995 | Best Album Package | Turbulent Indigo | Won |
| 2000 | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Both Sides, Now | Nomination |
| 2000 | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album | Both Sides, Now | Won |
| 2002 | Lifetime Achievement Award | – | Won |
| 2007 | Album of the Year | River: The Joni Letters | Won* |
| 2007 | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | "One Week Last Summer" | Won |
*Although officially a Herbie Hancock release, Mitchell also received a Grammy due to her vocal contribution to the album.
Discography[link]
Main article: Joni Mitchell discography
- Studio releases
- 1968: Song to a Seagull
- 1969: Clouds
- 1970: Ladies of the Canyon
- 1971: Blue
- 1972: For the Roses
- 1974: Court and Spark
- 1975: The Hissing of Summer Lawns
- 1976: Hejira
- 1977: Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
- 1979: Mingus
- 1982: Wild Things Run Fast
- 1985: Dog Eat Dog
- 1988: Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm
- 1991: Night Ride Home
- 1994: Turbulent Indigo
- 1998: Taming the Tiger
- 2000: Both Sides Now
- 2002: Travelogue
- 2007: Shine
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ JoniMitchell.com – Biography[dead link]
- ^ "The Independent". The Independent (UK). August 10, 2007. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/joni-mitchell-the-legendary-singersongwriter-is-back-460871.html. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (Blue is listed at No. 30)". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. All Music Guide
- ^ "Mitchell, Joni (Roberta Joan Anderson) at Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians". Jazz.com. http://jazz.com/encyclopedia/mitchell-joni-roberta-joan-anderson. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ Interview with the Toronto Globe and Mail
- ^ allmusic ((( Joni Mitchell > Biography )))
- ^ a b c Wild, David (October 31, 2002). "Joni Mitchell" (reprint). Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927212822/http://jmdl.com/library/view.cfm?id=935. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ Irish Times Magazine, p. 14, July 19, 2008
- ^ a b "Heart of a Prairie Girl" by Mary Aikins in Reader's Digest (Canada), July 2005. Accessed at jonimitchell.com on 2011-04-04.
- ^ Townsend, Martin (December 15, 1987). "Joni be good". The Guardian. http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=1945. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ Yee, Min S (September 14, 1969). "Songwriting and Poetry". The Washington Post. http://jonimitchell.com/library/print.cfm?id=1485. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Brand, Stewart (June 1976). "The Education of Joni Mitchell". Co-Evolution Quarterly. http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=8. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ George McKay (2009) "Crippled with nerves". Popular Music 28:3, 341–365.
- ^ a b c d e f Crowe, Cameron (July 26, 1979). "Joni Mitchell" (reprint). Rolling Stone. http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/rs296-joni-mitchell/. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ McCormick, Neil (October 4, 2007). "Joni Mitchell: still smoking". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3668299/Joni-Mitchell-still-smoking.html. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
- ^ Feather, Leonard (September 6, 1979). "Joni Mitchell Makes Mingus Sing". Down Beat. http://jonimitchell.com/library/print.cfm?id=95. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ "The Way of Joni". Toronto Daily Star. April 20, 1968. http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=769&from=search. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ "Words and Music". JoniMitchell.com. http://jonimitchell.com/music/album.cfm?id=2. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ^ a b "Words and Music". JoniMitchell.com. http://jonimitchell.com/music/album.cfm?id=24. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
- ^ Wilson, Dave (February 14, 1968). "An interview with Joni Mitchell". Broadside. http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=1455. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Chronology of Appearances. http://jonimitchell.com/chronology/complete.cfm
- ^ Feather, Leonard (June 10, 1979). "Joni Mitchell Has Her Mojo Working". The Los Angeles Times. http://jonimitchell.com/library/print.cfm?id=595. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ^ Higgins, Bill (April 8, 1997). "Both sides at last". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1997-04-08/news/ls-46389_1_joni-mitchell. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ Pertman, Adam (March 16, 2011). Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming Our Families -- and America. Harvard Common Press. pp. 289–. ISBN 978-1-55832-716-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=RzCLgIfmegMC&pg=PA289. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ Johnson, Brian D (April 21, 1997). "Joni Mitchell's Secret". Maclean's. http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0011323. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ Irwin, J. (March 2005). "Joni Mitchell." JoniMitchell.com. Retrieved on: 2011-10-07.
- ^ "A Conversation with David Crosby". JoniMitchell.com/JMDL Library. March 15, 1997. http://www.jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=1357. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ (2008). A 65th Birthday Tribute to Joni Mitchell. Retrieved April 17, 2010
- ^ Morrissey (March 6, 1997). "Melancholy Meets the Infinite Sadness" (reprint). Rolling Stone. http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/interviews/1997/mitchell.htm. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ a b c Fischer, Doug (October 8, 2006). "The trouble she's seen: Doug Fischer talks to Joni Mitchell about her seminal album, Hejira". The Ottawa Citizen. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=c5551bd3-2dea-4fc5-b5b8-81115aab7836&k=4978. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ Irish Times Magazine, p 14, July 19, 2008
- ^ a b Gill, Alexandra (February 17, 2007). "Joni Mitchell in person" (reprint). Toronto Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927212703/http://jmdl.com/library/view.cfm?id=1575. Retrieved March 11, 2007.
- ^ a b c Eggar, Robin (February 11, 2007). "The Renaissance Woman" (reprint). Sunday Times (UK). Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927212841/http://jmdl.com/library/view.cfm?id=1569. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ National Public Radio.
- ^ Dickinson, Chrissie. "Court and No Spark" (book review, reprint), The Washington Post, June 15, 2005. Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
- ^ Strauss, Neil. "The Hissing of a Living Legend", The New York Times, October 4, 1998. Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
- ^ Brown, Ethan. "Influences: Joni Mitchell", New York, May 9, 2005. Retrieved on September 25, 2007.
- ^ "Joni Mitchell Audio". Commonwealthclub.org. http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/05/05-04mitchell-audio.html. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ "JoniMitchell.com/JMDL Library: Joni Mitchell's Fighting Words: Ottawa Citizen, October 7, 2006". Jonimitchell.com. October 7, 2006. http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=1460. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ "Contact Us". JoniMitchell.com. http://jonimitchell.com/contact.cfm. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Yaffe, David (February 4, 2007). "DANCE: Working Three Shifts, And Outrage Overtime". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E7D6143FF937A35751C0A9619C8B63. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
- ^ JoniMitchell.com[dead link]
- ^ Herbie Hancock News: Herbie Hancock's "River: The Joni Letters" Set For Release on September 25
- ^ "Joni Mitchell Hopes To Spread 'Fiddle'". Billboard. February 20, 2009. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/joni-mitchell-hopes-to-spread-fiddle-1003943464.story. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ Diehl, Matt (April 22, 2010). "It's a Joni Mitchell concert, sans Joni". The Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-jonimitchell-20100422,0,5684541.story?page=2.
- ^ a b "Mitchell: Dylan’s a ‘fake’". NBC Today Show. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36741933.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (April 23, 2010). "Bob Dylan is 'a plagiarist', claims Joni Mitchell". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/23/bob-dylan-joni-mitchell.
- ^ a b JMDL LIBRARY: The guitar odyssey of Joni Mitchell: My Secret Place: Acoustic Guitar, August 1996[dead link]
- ^ jmdl.com:[dead link]
- ^ "Harmonic Palette in Early Joni Mitchell", p. 173. Author(s): Lloyd Whitesell. Source: Popular Music, Vol. 21, No. 2, (May 2002), pp. 173–93. Published by: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5937559/the_100_greatest_guitarists_of_all_time. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ a b "Marillion website". http://www.marillion.com/band/top10.htm.
- ^ "A Bunker Full of Memories - bocpages - the unofficial boards of canada wiki". bocpages. http://bocpages.org/wiki/A_Bunker_Full_of_Memories. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
- ^ Hirshey, Gerri (November 13, 1997). "The Women In Rock Interviews". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Sony/ATV Music Publishing : Joni Mitchell". Sonyatv.com. http://www.sonyatv.com/en-it/index.php/articles/artist_writer/18. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ Canada's Walk of Fame[dead link]
- ^ CBC Arts (June 12, 2007). "Stamps honour iconic Canadian music stars". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/06/12/stamps-stars.html. Retrieved February 21, 2011.
- ^ Tyrangiel, Josh (November 13, 2006). "The All-TIME 100 Albums: Blue". Time. http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/0,27693,Blue,00.html. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
- ^ Burr, Ty (July 16, 2010). "The Kid Are All Right". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2010/07/16/all_right_in_the_family_annette_bening_and_julianne_moore_shine_in_a_near_masterpiece/. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
Further reading[link]
- Mercer, Michelle (2009), Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period, Free Press, ISBN 978-1-4165-5929-0, http://books.google.com/books/about/Will_you_take_me_as_I_am.html?id=ZHEIAQAAMAAJ
- Smith, Larry David (2004), Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, and the torch song tradition, Praeger, ISBN 0-275-97392-1, http://books.google.ca/books?id=OO5hQBVPoOAC&lpg=PP1&dq=Joni%20Mitchell&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
- Whitesell, Lloyd (2008), The music of Joni Mitchell, Oxford Univ. Press, ISBN 978-0-19-530757-3, http://books.google.ca/books?id=xSmJbcWcYA0C&lpg=PP1&dq=Joni%20Mitchell&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
External links[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Joni Mitchell |
- Official website
- Joni Mitchell's Secret - The full story of Joni giving up her daughter Kilauren Gibb (Kelly Dale Anderson) for adoption.
- Hear the public radio special "The Emergence of Joni Mitchell"
- Joni Mitchell at Allmusic
- Salon.com – Joni Mitchell
- Joni Mitchell at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- CBC Digital Archives – Joni Mitchell: All Sides Now
- The Governor General of Canada
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mitchell, Joni |
| Alternative names | Anderson, Roberta Joan |
| Short description | Canadian musician and painter |
| Date of birth | November 7, 1943 |
| Place of birth | Fort Macleod, Alberta, Canada |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
