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Location | Indian Wells, California United States |
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Venue | Indian Wells Tennis Garden | |
Surface | Hard / Outdoors | |
Official website | ||
ATP World Tour | ||
Category | Masters 1000 | |
Draw | 96S / 48Q / 32D | |
Prize Money | US$3,645,000 | |
WTA Tour | ||
Category | Premier Mandatory | |
Draw | 96S / 48Q / 32D | |
Prize Money | US$4,500,000 |
The Indian Wells Masters (now sponsored by BNP Paribas and officially called the BNP Paribas Open) is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, United States.
The tournament is a Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and is a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour having as main sponsor the French bank BNP Paribas. Between 1974 and 1990 it was a major tournament of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour and part of the Grand Prix Championship Series. The event, held in March, is one of two tour events (besides the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida) in which main draw play extends beyond eight days. The women's main draw usually starts on Wednesday and the men's main draw starts on Thursday. Both finals are held on Sunday of the following week. Both singles main draws include 96 players in a 128-player grid, with the 32 seeded players getting a bye to the second round.
The tournament is played on hard courts and is the best attended tennis tournament outside the four Grand Slam tournaments, with over 300,000 visitors during the event. It has the second largest tennis stadium in the world.
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Indian Wells lies in the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area), about 125 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.[1]
The tournament is played in the Indian Wells Tennis Garden (built in 2000) which has 20 tennis courts, including the 16,100-seat main stadium and two smaller stadiums.[2]
The men's tournament was previously called the American Airlines Tennis Games (1974–1978), the Congoleum Classic (1979–1980, 1982–1984), the Grand Marnier/ATP Tennis Games (1981), the Pilot Pen Classic (1985–1987), the Newsweek Champions Cup (1988–1999), the Tennis Masters Series Indian Wells (2000–2001),[3] and the Pacific Life Open (2002–2008).
The women's tournament was previously called the Virginia Slims of Indian Wells (1989–1990); the Virginia Slims of Palm Springs (1991); the Matrix Essentials Evert Cup (1992–1993); the Evert Cup (1994, 1999), or the State Farm Evert Cup (1995–1998) in honor of Chris Evert; the Tennis Masters Series (2000–2001); and, the Pacific Life Open (2002–2008).
Originally the women's tournament was held a week before the men's event. In 1996, the championship became one of the few fully combined events on both the Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association tours.
It has also recently become one of the largest events on both tours, with 96 top professional players entered in both the men's and women's main draws.
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by San Diego Miami |
Favorite WTA Tier I - II Tournament 1997 2005, 2006 |
Succeeded by Toronto Stuttgart |
Preceded by Stuttgart (Tier I - II) |
Favorite WTA Premier Tournament 2009 |
Succeeded by Stuttgart |
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Coordinates: 33°43′26″N 116°18′21″W / 33.72389°N 116.30583°W / 33.72389; -116.30583
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Indian Wells Masters |
Coordinates: 51°12′26″N 2°39′07″W / 51.2073°N 2.6519°W / 51.2073; -2.6519
Wells | |
Aerial photograph of Wells |
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Wells shown within Somerset |
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Population | 10,406 [1] |
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OS grid reference | ST545455 |
District | Mendip |
Shire county | Somerset |
Region | South West |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WELLS |
Postcode district | BA5 |
Dialling code | 01749 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | Wells |
List of places: UK • England • Somerset |
Wells is a cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Although the population recorded in the 2001 census is 10,406,[1] it has had city status since 1205. It is the second smallest English city in terms of area and population after the City of London although, unlike the latter, Wells is not part of a larger metropolitan conurbation, and is consequently described in some sources as being England's smallest city.[2][3]
The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral.[4] There was a small Roman settlement around the wells, but its importance grew under the Saxons when King Ine of Wessex founded a minster church in 704, around which the settlement grew. Wells became a trading centre and involved in cloth making before its involvement in both the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion during the 17th century. In the 19th century, transport infrastructure improved with stations on three different railway lines.
The cathedral and the associated religious and architectural history have made Wells a tourist destination, which provides much of the employment. The city has a variety of sporting and cultural activities and houses several schools including The Blue School, a state coeducational comprehensive school originally founded in 1654 and the independent Wells Cathedral School, which was founded in 909 and is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in Britain. The historic architecture of the city has also been used as a location for several films and television programmes.
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The city was a Roman settlement but only became an important centre under the Saxons when King Ine of Wessex founded a minster church in 704.[5] Two hundred years later, this became the seat of the local bishop; but in 1088, this had been removed to Bath.[6] This caused severe arguments between the canons of Wells and the monks of Bath until the bishopric was renamed as the Diocese of Bath and Wells, to be elected by both religious houses. Wells became a borough some time before 1160 when Bishop Robert granted its first charter. Fairs were granted to the City before 1160.[6]
Wells was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Welle, from the Old English wiells,[7] which was not listed as a town, but included four manors with a population of 132, which implies a population of 500–600.[8] Earlier names for the settlement have been identified which include Fontanetum,[9] in a charter of 725 granted by King Ina to Glastonbury and Fontanensis Ecclesia.[9] Tidesput or Tithesput furlang relates to the area east of the bishops garden in 1245.[10] An established market had been created in Wells by 1136, and it remained under episcopal control until its city charter from Elizabeth I in 1589.[8]
During the English Civil War, Parliamentarian troops used the cathedral to stable their horses and damaged much of the ornate sculpture by using it for firing practice.[11] William Penn stayed in Wells shortly before leaving for America, spending a night at The Crown Inn. Here he was briefly arrested for addressing a large crowd in the market place, but released on the intervention of the Bishop of Bath and Wells.[12]
During the Monmouth Rebellion the rebel army attacked the cathedral in an outburst against the established church and damaged the west front. Lead from the roof was used to make bullets, windows were broken, the organ smashed and horses stabled in the nave.[13] Wells was the final location of the Bloody Assizes on 23 September 1685. In a makeshift court lasting only one day, over 500 men were tried and the majority sentenced to death.[14]
There was a port at Bleadney on the River Axe in the 8th century that enabled goods to be brought to within 3 miles (5 km) of Wells. In the Middle Ages overseas trade was carried out from the port of Rackley. In the 14th century a French ship sailed up the river and by 1388 Thomas Tanner from Wells used Rackley to export cloth and corn to Portugal, and received iron and salt in exchange.[15] Wells had been a centre for cloth making, however in the 16th and 17th centuries this diminished, but the town retained its important market focus.[16]
Wells has had three railway stations. The first station, Priory Road, opened in 1859 and was on the Somerset Central Railway (later the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway) as the terminus of a short branch from Glastonbury.[17] A second railway, the East Somerset, opened a branch line from Witham in 1862 and built a station to the east of Priory Road.[17] In 1870, a third railway, the Cheddar Valley line branch of the Bristol and Exeter Railway from Yatton, reached Wells and built yet another station, later called Tucker Street.[18] Matters were somewhat simplified when the Great Western Railway acquired both the Cheddar Valley and the East Somerset lines and built a link between the two that ran through the S&DJR's Priory Road station. In 1878, when through trains began running between Yatton and Witham, the East Somerset station closed, but through trains did not stop at Priory Road until 1934. Priory Road closed to passenger traffic in 1951 when the S&DJR branch line from Glastonbury was shut, though it remained the city's main goods depot. Tucker Street closed in 1963 under the Beeching Axe, which closed the Yatton to Witham line to passengers. Goods traffic to Wells ceased in 1964. A Pacific SR West Country, West Country Class steam locomotive no 34092 built by the British Railways Board was named City of Wells following a ceremony in the city's Priory Road station in 1949. It was used to draw the Golden Arrow service between London and the Continent. It was withdrawn from service in 1964, and rescued from a scrapyard in 1971. It is now undergoing a complete restoration on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway in Yorkshire.[19]
During World War II, Stoberry Park in Wells was the location of a Prisoner of War camp, housing Italian prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign, and later German prisoners after the Battle of Normandy. Penleigh Camp on the Wookey Hole Road was a German working camp.[20]
City status was confirmed and formalised by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent issued under the Great Seal dated 1 April 1974.[21][22]
Wells City Council has sixteen councillors, elected from three wards: Central, St.Thomas and St.Cuthbert.[23] It was previously known as Wells Municipal Borough.[24] The City Council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover the council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. They also evaluate local planning applications and work with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. This includes City Centre management including CCTV, an alcohol ban and regulating street trading permissions including the two funfairs held in the Market Place in May and November each year and the Wells In Bloom competition.[23]
The city council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of city facilities, as well as consulting with the district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. They are involved in the management of the Community Sports Development Centre at the Blue School, the skateboard park and allotments in the grounds of the Bishop's Palace, Burcott Road and Barnes Close. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council.[23] The Wells city arms show an ash tree surrounded by three wells, with the Latin motto Hoc fonte derivata copia (the fullness that springs from this well).[25]
The Town Hall was built in 1778, with the porch and arcade being added in 1861 and the balcony and round windows in 1932. It is a Grade II listed building.[26] It replaced the former on the site of the Market and Assize Hall in the Market Place,[27] and a Canonical House also known as 'The Exchequer', on the authority of an Act of Parliament dated 1779. The building also houses the magistrates courts and other offices. The Assize court last sat here in October 1970.[26]
Wells elects five councillors to Mendip District Council from the same three wards as are used for the City Council.[28] The Mendip District was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.
Wells has one councillor on the Somerset County Council,[29] which is responsible for running the largest and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning. Wells is part of the UK Parliament constituency of Wells. The current Member of Parliament is Tessa Munt of the Liberal Democrats.[30] Wells is within the South West England constituency of the European Parliament which elects six Members of the European Parliament using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.
Wells is twinned with Bad Dürkheim in Germany and Paray-le-Monial in the Burgundy region of France.[31][32] HMS Somerset, Mary Bignal-Rand, The Rifles and Harry Patch have the Freedom of the City.[33][34][35]
Wells lies at the foot of the southern escarpment of the Mendip Hills where they meet the Somerset Levels. The hills are largely made of carboniferous limestone, which is quarried at several nearby sites. In the 1960s, the tallest mast in the region, the Mendip UHF television transmitter, was installed on Pen Hill above Wells.[36]
The water from the springs fills the moat around the Bishops Place and then flows into Keward Brook, which carries it for approximately a mile west to the point where the brook joins the River Sheppey in the village of Coxley.[37]
Along with the rest of South West England, the Mendip Hills have a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of England. The annual mean temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F) with seasonal and diurnal variations, but due to the modifying effect of the sea, the range is less than in most other parts of the United Kingdom. January is the coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 1 °C (34 °F) and 2 °C (36 °F). July and August are the warmest months in the region with mean daily maxima around 21 °C (70 °F). In general, December is the dullest month and June the sunniest. The south west of England enjoys a favoured location, particularly in summer, when the Azores High extends its influence north-eastwards towards the UK.[38]
Cloud often forms inland, especially near hills, and reduces exposure to sunshine. The average annual sunshine totals around 1600 hours. Rainfall tends to be associated with Atlantic depressions or with convection. In summer, convection caused by solar surface heating sometimes forms shower clouds and a large proportion of the annual precipitation falls from showers and thunderstorms at this time of year. Average rainfall is around 800–900 mm (31–35 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, with June to August having the lightest. The predominant wind direction is from the south west.[38]
The population of the civil parish, recorded in the 2001 census, is 10,406.[1] Their average age is 44 years with 2,602 of the people being over the age of 65 years.[39] 4,208 of the population are considered to be economically active.[40] Within the 1,702 people living in the central ward 1,690 are white,[41] and the predominant religion is Christian.[42] Similar profiles are seen amongst the 4,577 people living in St Cuthberts Ward,[43] and the 4,126 living in St Thomas's ward.[44]
Following construction of the A39/A371 bypass, the centre of town has returned to being a quiet market city. It has all the modern conveniences plus shops, hotels and restaurants.[45] Wells is a popular tourist destination, due to its historical sites,[46] its proximity to Bath, Stonehenge and Glastonbury and its closeness to the Somerset coast. Also nearby are Wookey Hole Caves, the Mendip Hills and the Somerset Levels. Somerset cheese, including Cheddar, is made locally. Wells is part of the Wells & Shepton Mallet Travel to Work Area which also includes Glastonbury, Cheddar and surrounding areas.[47]
Wells is situated at the junction of three numbered routes. The A39 goes north-east to Bath and south-west to Glastonbury and Bridgwater. The A371 goes north-west to Cheddar and east to Shepton Mallet. The B3139 goes west to Highbridge and north-east to Radstock. Wells is served by FirstGroup bus services to Bristol, Bath, Frome, Shepton Mallet, Yeovil, Street, Bridgwater, Taunton, Burnham on Sea and Weston-super-Mare, as well as providing some local service. Some National Express coach services call at Wells. The bus station is in Princes Road. The Mendip Way and Monarch's Way long-distance footpaths pass through the city, as does National Cycle Route 3.[48]
The Blue School, founded in 1654,[49][50] is a state coeducational comprehensive school and has been awarded Specialist science college status. It has 1,453 students aged 11–18 of both sexes and all ability levels.[51]
Wells Cathedral School, founded in 909, is an independent school that has a Christian emphasis and is one of the five established musical schools for school-age children in Britain. The school teaches over 700 pupils between the ages of 3 and 18. The school's boarding houses line the northern parts of the city and the music school retains close links with Wells Cathedral.[52] The primary schools in Wells are Stoberry Park School, St Cuthbert's Church of England Infants School, St Joseph and St Teresa Catholic Primary School, and Wells Central CofE Junior School.
Wells and Mendip Museum includes many historical artefacts from the city and surrounding Mendip Hills.[53] Wells is part of the West Country Carnival circuit.
The Wells Film centre shows current releases and, in conjunction with the Wells Film Society shows less well known and historical films.[54] The previous cinema, The Regal in Priory Road, closed in 1993 and is now Kudos Nightclub. It was built in 1935 by ES Roberts from Flemish bond brickwork with Art Deco features. It is a Grade II listed building,[55] and was on the Buildings at Risk Register until its restoration which included the restoration and repair of the stained glass façade.[56] Wells Little Theatre is operated by a voluntary society which started in 1902. In 1989 they took over the old boy's building of Wells Blue School, where they put on a variety of operatic and other productions.[57]
A walled precinct, the Liberty of St Andrew, encloses the twelfth century Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, Vicar's Close and the residences of the clergy who serve the cathedral. Entrances include the Penniless Porch[58] The Bishop's Eye[59] and Brown's Gatehouse[60] which were all built around 1450.
The cathedral is of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells. Wells has been an ecclesiastical city of importance for hundreds of years. Parts of the building date back to the tenth century, and it is a grade I listed building.[61] It is known for its fine fan vaulted ceilings, Lady Chapel and windows, and the scissor arches which support the central tower. The west front is said to be the finest collection of statuary in Europe,[62] retaining almost 300 of its original medieval statues,[63] carved from the cathedral's warm, yellow Doulting stone.[64] The Chapter House, at the top of a flight of stone stairs, leading out from the north transept is an octagonal building with a fan-vaulted ceiling.[65] It is here that the business of running the cathedral is still conducted by the members of the Chapter, the cathedral's ruling body. Wells Cathedral clock is famous for its 24-hour astronomical dial and set of jousting knights that perform every quarter hour. The cathedral has the heaviest ring of ten bells in the world. The tenor bell weighs just over 56 CWT (6,272 lb, 2,844 kg).[66]
The Bishop's Palace has been the home of the bishops of the Diocese of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The hall and chapel date from the 14th century.[67] There are 14 acres (5.7 ha) of gardens including the springs from which the city takes its name. Visitors can also see the Bishop's private chapel, ruined great hall and the gatehouse with portcullis and drawbridge beside which mute swans ring a bell for food.[68] The Bishop's Barn was built in the 15th century.[69]
The Vicars' Close is the oldest residential street in Europe.[22] The Close is tapered by 10 feet (3.0 m) to make it look longer when viewed from the bottom. When viewed from the top, however, it looks shorter.[70][71][72][73][74][75] The Old Deanery dates from the 12th century,[76][77][78] and St John's Priory from the 14th.[79]
The Church of St Cuthbert (which tourists often mistake for the cathedral) has a fine Somerset stone tower and a superb carved roof. Originally an Early English building (13th century), it was much altered in the Perpendicular period (15th century).[22] The nave's coloured ceiling was repainted in 1963 at the instigation of the then Vicar's wife, Mrs Barnett.[80][81] Until 1561 the church had a central tower which either collapsed or was removed, and has been replaced with the current tower over the west door.[82] Bells were cast for the tower by Roger Purdy.[83]
The city has two football clubs, one being Wells City F.C., past winners of the Western League.[84] The oldest football club in Wells though is Belrose FC who play their football in the Mid-Somerset Football League at Haybridge Park. Wells Cricket Club runs eight sides across senior, junior and ladies cricket.[85] Wells Wanderers Cricket Club are based in Meare.[86]
Mid Somerset Hockey Club and Wells City Acorns Hockey Club both play on the Astroturf pitches at the Blue School,[87] where several other sports clubs are based.[88] Wells Leisure Centre has a 25 metres (82 ft) swimming pool, gymnasium, sports hall, sauna, steam room, relaxation area and solarium.[89] The 18 hole Wells Golf Club is on the outskirts of the city and also has a driving range.[90]
Elizabeth Goudge used Wells as a basis for the fictional cathedral city of Torminster, in her book City of Bells.[91]
Wells has been used as the setting for several films including: The Canterbury Tales (1973),[92] A Fistful of Fingers (1994),[93] The Gathering (2002),[94] The Libertine (2005),[95] The Golden Age (2007),[95] and Hot Fuzz (2007)[96] The cathedral interior stood in for Southwark Cathedral during filming for the Doctor Who episode The Lazarus Experiment.[95]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wells, England |
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Nalbandian at Boodles 2011. |
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Full name | David Pablo Nalbandian |
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Country | Argentina |
Residence | Unquillo, Córdoba Province, Argentina |
Born | (1982-01-01) January 1, 1982 (age 30) Unquillo, Córdoba, Argentina |
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
Weight | 174 pounds (79kg) |
Turned pro | 2000 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $10,904,957 |
Singles | |
Career record | 368–176 |
Career titles | 11 |
Highest ranking | No. 3 (March 20, 2006) |
Current ranking | No. 40 (May 21, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | SF (2006) |
French Open | SF (2004, 2006) |
Wimbledon | F (2002) |
US Open | SF (2003) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | W (2005) |
Olympic Games | 3R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 45–52 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 105 (October 5, 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 402 (April 2, 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2003) |
French Open | 1R (2003) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2003) |
Last updated on: April 2, 2012. |
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.
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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.[2]
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.[3] 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.
In 2004, Nalbandian achieved his best result at the French Open reaching the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Gastón Gaudio. Although he did not win any titles in 2004, he did finish runner-up at both the Rome Masters and the Madrid Masters, where he was completely overpowered and outclassed by Carlos Moyá and Marat Safin respectively. He broke into the top 5 for the first time in his career in August and finished 2004 ranked as the world no. 9 player.
In 2005, Nalbandian advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. More importantly, he won the Tennis Masters Cup, becoming only the second Argentine tennis player in history (after Guillermo Vilas in 1974) to win the year-end tournament. Having replaced American Andy Roddick, Nalbandian won two of his three group matches (to Roger Federer, Ivan Ljubičić, and Guillermo Coria). In the semifinals, he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko, and in the final, he beat world no. 1 Roger Federer in a fifth-set tiebreak. Nalbandian also became the first player to win the cup without previously attaining a Grand Slam or Masters Series title.
In January 2006, Nalbandian beat Fabrice Santoro of France, 7–5, 6–0, 6–0, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, becoming, at the time, only the second active player (along with Roger Federer) to have reached the semifinals of each Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the semifinals to Marcos Baghdatis in a hard-fought five-set match, despite holding a two-set-to-love advantage and four games to two in the final set. In May, Nalbandian won the Estoril Open Tournament in Portugal for the second time, being one of only three men to achieve this accomplishment (Carlos Costa, 1992 and 1994; and Thomas Muster, 1995 and 1996). One month later, Nalbandian reached his second French Open semifinal. It was the only time in his career that he reached two Grand Slam semifinals in one calendar year. He played Roger Federer and started strongly, winning the first set 6–3 and going 3–0 up in the second set. At 5–2 down in the third set, Nalbandian decided to retire from the match due to stomach injury. At Wimbledon, Nalbandian was beaten in the third round, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. At the US Open, Nalbandian was beaten in the second round by Marat Safin.
Nalbandian then competed in the Davis Cup semifinal tie against Australia. David easily won against Mark Philippoussis, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3, to give Argentina a 1–0 lead. Argentina went on to win 5–0 to reach the Davis Cup final.
Later in the year, Nalbandian reached semifinals at the Masters Series Madrid and the Masters Cup, where he lost to Roger Federer and James Blake, respectively.
Despite winning both of his single rubbers in the Davis Cup final against Marat Safin and Nikolay Davydenko, Nalbandian could not stop the Russian Davis Cup team. Argentina went on to lose 3–2.
2007 saw Nalbandian drop out of the world's top 20 for the first time since 2003, after losing in the fourth round of the 2007 French Open to Nikolay Davydenko. Nalbandian suffered various abdominal injuries, a back injury, and a leg injury during the year.
He fell to no. 26 in the world, until his season changed after winning the 2007 Madrid Masters. He won the tournament by defeating second seed Rafael Nadal, third seed Novak Djoković, and top seed Roger Federer in consecutive rounds, becoming the third player after Boris Becker and Djoković to defeat the world's top three players in a single tournament. He defeated Nadal, 6–1, 6–2, in the quarterfinals. His good form carried him to his second top-3 win of the tournament, defeating Djoković in the semifinals. He then stunned Federer in the final, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. He also reached the doubles semifinals with Guillermo Cañas in the tournament, before losing to top-seeded Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the semifinals. After the tournament, his singles ranking moved up from no. 25 on the tour to no. 18.
Nalbandian then played at the 2007 Paris Masters and again defeated Federer in the third round, 6–4, 7–6. He then beat David Ferrer in the quarterfinals in a closely fought match, 7–6, 6–7, 6–2. After beating Richard Gasquet, 6–2, 6–4 in the semifinals, Nalbandian won his second straight ATP Masters Series title over Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 6–0, thus, becoming the first player to win the Madrid and Paris Masters back to back since former world no. 1, Marat Safin in 2004. This win allowed Nalbandian to move back into the world's top 10 at no. 9. After Paris Masters Nalbandian became the first player to defeat no.1 and no. 2 players in consecutive tournaments and win them.
Nalbandian began his 2008 season back in the top 10. However, at the Australian Open, he failed to reach the quarterfinals, suffering a 6–1, 6–2, 6–3, loss to the 22nd seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round. On February 24, 2008, Nalbandian won the Copa Telmex on home soil in Buenos Aires, beating compatriot José Acasuso 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, in the final. With that win, he moved to world no. 8. The following week, He arrived at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico and cruised all the way to the finals, along the way defeating Boris Pašanski, Santiago Ventura, Potito Starace, and Luis Horna, dispatching them all in straight sets, but then lost in the final to Spaniard Nicolás Almagro 1–6, 6–7.
He entered his first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year at the 2008 Pacific Life Open, and received a bye in the first round because of his seventh seeding. In the second round, he defeated Ernests Gulbis 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, and then came back to beat Radek Štěpánek 7–6, 0–6, 7–6. In the fourth round, he avenged his defeat by beating Juan Carlos Ferrero, to whom he lost earlier in the year at the Australian Open, 6–2, 6–2. He lost, however, in the quarterfinals against Mardy Fish 3–6, 7–6, 6–7, in a very close match. He then lost at the Monte Carlo Masters to eventual finalist Roger Federer 7–5, 2–6, 2–6. In Barcelona, he was the third seed, but was eliminated by Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. At the 2008 Rome Masters, he fell in his opening match to Nicolás Almagro 4–6, 5–7.
At the French Open, Nalbandian suffered a shock loss in the second round to Frenchman Jérémy Chardy. After being two sets up and seemingly in control, he lost the next three to hand Chardy the win 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 1–6, 2–6. He also suffered early exits from both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the second round and third round, respectively. His indoor season, however, was a success, as he won his ninth career title at the 2008 Stockholm Open, defeating Robin Söderling 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, in the finals. He was defending champion at the Madrid Masters, but was quickly eliminated by fellow Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in the third round. He then entered both the Davidoff Swiss Indoors and the BNP Paribas Masters, where he was once again the defending champion. He did not win either of these tournaments, but found himself in the finals of both. To end the year, he participated in the 2008 Davis Cup and was up on an opening match against David Ferrer. Despite a victory, he ended up on the losing team against Spain in the Davis Cup finals in Argentina (The Argentine team lost 1–3). He then made numerous offensive comments in the press against Spain, the Spanish tennis team, and its top star Rafael Nadal. It was rumoured[4] that he and friend Agustín Calleri where involved in a fight after they lost their doubles rubber. Nalbandian strenuously denied this.[5] However, he was fined $10,000 for leaving the stadium after his and Calleri's defeat in doubles to the Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano López and his refusal to appear at a subsequent press conference to comment on the Argentine team's setback.
Nalbandian started his 2009 tour by winning his tenth career ATP title at the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, after defeating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, 6–3, 6–7, 6–2, in the final. At the Australian Open, he defeated Marc Gicquel in the first round, 6–1, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, before being upset by unseeded Taiwanese player Lu Yen-Hsun, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 4–6, 2–6, in the second round.
At the 2009 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Nalbandian lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–7, 0–6, in the fourth round for the first time, failing to convert on five match points in the second set.
In May, he announced that he would have to undergo a hip surgery, resulting in not being able to compete in the remaining Grand Slams and the Davis Cup. In August, he announced that he would return to practice and eventually to competitive tennis at the Australian Open in January. A few days before the beginning of the tournament, he was forced to withdraw from the event due to an abdominal injury.
Because of several knee injuries in the early part of the 2010 season, he finally made a return, beginning at the 2010 Copa Telmex, his hometown tournament. He beat Potito Starace in the first round 6–2, 7–6, over a period of two days due to a rain delay. In the second round, he beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–7, 6–4, 7–6. However, he pulled out of his quarterfinals match against fifth seed Albert Montañés due to a right leg injury. He made a return to tennis by playing doubles for Argentina in the Davis Cup against Sweden in Stockholm, which he won in straight sets. He also played the deciding singles rubber, defeating Vinciguerra 7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, and thus helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals.
Playing in his first Masters Series event since Monte Carlo the previous year, he appeared at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. There, he won his first round match against Stefan Koubek, 6–2, 7–6. In his next-round match, he played 22nd seed Jürgen Melzer and lost 4–6, 1–6.
He then entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami as a wildcard entrant. He beat Łukasz Kubot 6–3, 6–2, and 30th seed Viktor Troicki 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, before falling to the fourth seed Rafael Nadal in three sets 7–6, 2–6, 2–6.
Nalbandian entered the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, ranked no. 151 in the world, beating Andreas Beck in straight sets, before coming through 3–6, 6–4, 7–6 against world no. 13 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in the second round. Nalbandian beat Tommy Robredo, before losing in the quarterfinals to the second-ranked Novak Đoković 2–6, 3–6.
Nalbandian withdrew from the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia with a right leg injury. The injury persisted, and Nalbandian withdrew from both the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open and 2010 Roland Garros. He also withdrew from the 2010 Wimbledon Championships.
In July, Nalbandian played two singles matches for Argentina against Russia in the Davis Cup at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow. He defeated Nikolay Davydenko, 6–4, 7–6, 7–6, in the first rubber, and Mikhail Youzhny, 7–6, 6–4, 6–3, in the fifth and final rubber, giving Argentina a victory of 3–2 to qualify for the semifinals.
He made his return in the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, where he won the title, his first since 2009 Medibank International Sydney after wins over Rajeev Ram, 6–4, 6–0, Stanislas Wawrinka, 6–3, 6–1, Marco Chiudinelli, 6–1, 6–0, Gilles Simon, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3, and Marin Čilić, 6–2, 6–2. He defeated Marcos Baghdatis in the finals, 6–2, 7–6, guaranteeing a jump in the rankings up to the vicinity of world no. 45.[6] The following week, David had a successul run to the quarterfinals in the Roger's Masters Series in Toronto, defeating David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, and Robin Söderling, before Andy Murray ended his 11-match winning streak. This run took his rank up to world no. 37.
Nalbandian competed at the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters, where he lost to world no.4 Andy Murray, 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 in the second round.
Nalbandian began the year ranked no. 27 in the world. As sixth seed in the Auckland Open, David Nalbandian beat Fabio Fognini, Philipp Kohlschreiber, John Isner, and Nicolas Almagro, without losing a set. However, he lost in the final against favorite David Ferrer. His performance propelled him to the rank of no. 21 in the world, while also achieving the no. 1 Argentina position at the expense of Juan Martín del Potro, who was also injured. Subsequently, fate made Nalbandian face Lleyton Hewitt, his rival in the first round of the Australian Open. The match, dubbed the "Clash of the Titans", went in the fifth set as in 2005, but this time for Nalbandian, after 57 games. Nalbandian saved two match points, and the effects of this duel were felt in the second round, where he was forced to retire because of cramps and fatigue, 1–6, 0–6, 0–2, to Ričardas Berankis. After the Australian Open, Nalbandian played in the Movistar Open. He began his tour on clay by beating his compatriot Carlos Berlocq, before losing against another Argentine, Horacio Zeballos. Then, in Buenos Aires, Nalbandian lost in the quarterfinals against Tommy Robredo. David then played a Davis Cup match, winning in four sets against Romanian Adrian Ungur. Because of a torn hamstring and a hernia, Nalbandian missed many tournaments including Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome Masters. He lost to Roger Federer in the third round of Wimbledon.
In the Australian Open, Nalbandian had a five-set loss to Isner and was fined $8,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct following the match.[7] On February, David participated in two Davis Cup matches for Argentina against the German team, defeating Florian Mayer in a singles match[8] and then partnering with Eduardo Schwank to win a doubles match against Tommy Haas and Philipp Petzschner to help the Argentinian team advance to the quarterfinals.[9] Afterwards, Nalbandian played a string of clay tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals in the Brasil Open, semifinals in Buenos Aires and a first round exit at the Mexican Open. He then entered the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing in the quarterfinals to Rafael Nadal[10]. After the tournament, Nalbandian reached no. 1 in the ATP Rankings. Nalbandian failed to progress past the first round in the 2012 French Open as he was beaten by the Romanian, Adrian Ungur in four sets.
Nalbandian is an all-court player and a very clean ball striker.[11] He uses powerfully struck, sharply accurate groundstrokes which have very low error-percentage. He has a decent, but not particularly dominating service game compared to top 20 players. His signature play is the wide drive that swings out of court on both sides, low and spinning. He is able to take high balls on the backhand and forehand side and return them with acute angles and low trajectories and uses these skills with great tactical intelligence.[12] Given his adept use of angle, depth, and pace, his opponents often have difficulty breaking down one particular side.
His ground game is complemented by his anticipation, speed and ability to end points at the net. Nalbandian's trademark shot is his double-handed backhand down-the-line, which he often uses to set up a point, by either hitting a clean winner or forcing a weak return from the opponent. Nalbandian is also known to be one of the game's best returners. He is consistently able to knock balls back deep on the baseline time and time again to effectively set up the point or rip return winners off second serves, but he also has the ability to block it back deep when returning a more effective serve. He is also known to use a "chip-and-charge" technique against the opponents serves to surprise them.[13]
David Nalbandian is sponsored by Yonex. His racquet of choice is the Yonex VCORE 95D, although like many top players, it is likely that this is a paintjob of an earlier model Yonex. He wears Yonex shoes and Topper clothing. He strings with Luxilon Big Banger Original.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 2002 | Wimbledon | Grass | Lleyton Hewitt | 1–6, 3–6, 2–6 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2005 | Shanghai | Hard | Roger Federer | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(11–13), 6–2, 6–1, 7–6(7–3) |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2003 | Montréal | Hard | Andy Roddick | 1–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2004 | Rome | Clay | Carlos Moyà | 3–6, 3–6, 1–6 |
Runner-up | 2004 | Madrid | Hard (i) | Marat Safin | 2–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 2007 | Madrid | Hard (i) | Roger Federer | 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Winner | 2007 | Paris | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–4, 6–0 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Paris | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 1. | October 1, 2001 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Félix Mantilla | 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
Winner | 1. | April 8, 2002 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Jarkko Nieminen | 6–4, 7–6(7–5) |
Runner-up | 2. | July 8, 2002 | Wimbledon, London, UK | Grass | Lleyton Hewitt | 1–6, 3–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 2. | October 21, 2002 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Fernando González | 6–4, 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 3. | August 11, 2003 | Montreal, Canada | Hard | Andy Roddick | 1–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | October 27, 2003 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Guillermo Coria | W/O |
Runner-up | 5. | May 10, 2004 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Carlos Moyà | 3–6, 3–6, 1–6 |
Runner-up | 6. | October 18, 2004 | Madrid, Spain | Hard (i) | Marat Safin | 2–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 7. | October 25, 2004 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Jiří Novák | 7–5, 3–6, 4–6, 6–1, 2–6 |
Winner | 3. | May 1, 2005 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Andrei Pavel | 6–4, 6–1 |
Winner | 4. | November 20, 2005 | Year-End Championships, Shanghai, China | Carpet (i) | Roger Federer | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(11–13), 6–2, 6–1, 7–6(7–3) |
Winner | 5. | May 7, 2006 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Nikolay Davydenko | 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 6. | October 21, 2007 | Madrid, Spain | Hard (i) | Roger Federer | 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Winner | 7. | November 4, 2007 | Paris, France | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–4, 6–0 |
Winner | 8. | February 24, 2008 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | José Acasuso | 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 8. | March 1, 2008 | Acapulco, Mexico | Clay | Nicolás Almagro | 1–6, 6–7(1–7) |
Winner | 9. | October 4, 2008 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Robin Söderling | 6–2, 5–7, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 9. | October 26, 2008 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Roger Federer | 3–6, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 10. | November 2, 2008 | Paris, France | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
Winner | 10. | January 17, 2009 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Jarkko Nieminen | 6–3, 6–7(9–11), 6–2 |
Winner | 11. | August 8, 2010 | Washington, U.S. | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 6–2, 7–6(7–4) |
Runner-up | 11. | January 15, 2011 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | David Ferrer | 3–6, 2–6 |
Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score | Draw |
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Winner | 1. | January 17, 2004 | AAMI Classic, Kooyong, Australia | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–2, 6–3 | 8 |
Winner | 2. | December 11, 2005 | Indoor Master Tennis – Córdoba, Argentina | Carpet (i) | Mariano Puerta | 6–3, 6–4 | 4 |
Winner | 3. | December 18, 2005 | Copa Argentina – Buenos Aires, Argentina | Hard | Agustín Calleri | 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 | 12 |
Winner | 4. | December 11, 2006 | Indoor Master Tennis – Córdoba, Argentina | Carpet (i) | Nicolás Massú | 6–4, 6–3 | 12 |
Winner | 5. | December 16, 2007 | Copa Argentina – Buenos Aires, Argentina | Hard | Juan Mónaco | 6–4, 7–5 | 8 |
Winner | 6. | December 13, 2009 | Copa Minero – San Juan, Argentina | Carpet (i) | Gastón Gaudio | 6–2, 6–2 | 4 |
Winner | 7. | December 20, 2009 | Copa Argentina – Buenos Aires, Argentina | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 6–4, 6–4 | 6 |
Winner | 8. | December 19, 2010 | Copa Argentina – Buenos Aires, Argentina | Hard | Juan Mónaco | 6–3, 7–6(7–5) | 6 |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).
Current as far as the 2012 French Open.
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % | |||
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Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 2R | QF | QF | QF | SF | 4R | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | 0 / 10 | 26–10 | 72.22 | |||
French Open | A | LQ | 3R | 2R | SF | 4R | SF | 4R | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 8 | 20–8 | 74.07 | |||
Wimbledon | A | A | F | 4R | A | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | A | 3R | 0 / 7 | 19–7 | 73.08 | ||||
US Open | A | 3R | 1R | SF | 2R | QF | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | 3R | 3R | 0 / 10 | 21–10 | 67.74 | ||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 2–1 | 9–4 | 13–4 | 10–3 | 15–4 | 13–4 | 10–4 | 5–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–3 | 1–2 | 0 / 35 | 86–35 | 71.07 | |||
Year-End Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | RR | A | W | SF | A | A | A | A | A | 1 / 3 | 6–6 | 50.00 | ||||
Davis Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
Davis Cup Singles | A | A | SF | SF | QF | SF | F | QF | F | A | SF | F | QF | 0 / 10 | 23–6 | 79.31 | |||
Summer Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | A | Not Held | A | Not Held | 3R | Not Held | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 66.67 | ||||||||||
ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 4R | 4R | 4R | QF | 4R | 2R | A | QF | 0 / 9 | 17–9 | 65.38 | |||
Miami Masters | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | 3R | SF | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | A | 2R | 0 / 11 | 10–11 | 47.62 | |||
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | 3R | 2R | QF | A | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | QF | A | A | 0 / 8 | 16–8 | 66.67 | |||
Rome Masters | A | A | 2R | 1R | F | 1R | SF | A | 2R | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 7 | 11–7 | 61.11 | |||
Hamburg Masters | A | A | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | ATP 500 series | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | 50.00 | ||||||
Canada Masters | A | A | QF | F | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | A | QF | 1R | 0 / 8 | 14–8 | 63.64 | ||||
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | 1R | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | A | 3R | 2R | 0 / 7 | 8–7 | 53.33 | ||||
Shanghai | Not Held | NMS | Not Held | Not ATP Masters Series | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50.00 | |||||||||
Madrid Masters | A | A | 3R | A | F | SF | SF | W | 3R | A | A | A | 1R | 1 / 7 | 19–6 | 78.00 | |||
Paris Masters | A | A | 2R | A | A | 2R | A | W | F | A | 2R | A | 1 / 5 | 12–4 | 75.00 | ||||
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 9–9 | 14–7 | 12–5 | 8–8 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 13–6 | 4–3 | 12–6 | 2–3 | 6–4 | 2 / 67 | 112–65 | 63.28 | |||
Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
Tournaments played | 2 | 9 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 184 | |||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 11 / 184 | 11–22 | 50.00 | |||
Win–Loss | 0–2 | 17–9 | 36–24 | 42–20 | 34–14 | 44–19 | 44–19 | 31–18 | 44–16 | 14–7 | 28–10 | 22–12 | 15–11 | 11 / 184 | 371–181 | 67.21 | |||
Year End Ranking | 245 | 47 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 64 | 27 | 64 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Nalbandian |
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by Manu Ginóbili and Carlos Tévez |
Olimpia de Oro 2005 |
Succeeded by Germán Chiaraviglio |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Nalbandian, David |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Argentine tennis player |
Date of birth | January 1, 1982 |
Place of birth | Unquillo, Córdoba, Argentina |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
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Roger Federer (German pronunciation: [ˈfeːdəʁɐ]) (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2 February 2004 to 18 August 2008.[2] Federer has occupied the #1 ranking for 285 overall weeks, one week short of the record 286 weeks held by Pete Sampras. As of 28 May 2012, he is ranked World No. 3. Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open.[10] At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. During the course of his run at the 2012 French Open in Roland Garros, Federer eclipsed Jimmy Connors long standing record of 233 match wins in Grand Slam tournaments when he defeated Adrian Ungur in a second round match.
Federer has won a record six ATP World Tour Finals and 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record nine consecutive times (2003–2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record seven times overall and six times consecutively (2004–2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.[11][12]
As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008)[13] and in 2012 he topped a list of the "100 greatest tennis players of all time" (male or female) by Tennis Channel.[14] He is often referred to as the Federer Express[15] or abbreviated to Fed Express, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro,[15] or simply Maestro.[15][16][17][18]
Contents |
Federer was born in Binningen, Arlesheim near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand.[19] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships.[20] He grew up in nearby Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language.[19][21][22] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[23] Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation.[24] Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. "I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved," he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.[25]
Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.[26] They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).[27] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[28]
Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[29][30] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[31] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[32] At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami.[33] He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims.[34] He was named a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to society.[35]
Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
Federer is currently number 31 on Forbes top 100 celebrities as of May 2012. [36]
Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze,[37] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram.[38] In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals.[39] He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.
Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost.[40] Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset.[41] Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter.[41] Although he won his first ever title already in 1999 on the challenger tour, winning the doubles event in Segovia, Spain together with Dutchman Sander Groen, the finals was played on Federer´s 18th birthday. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court.[42] In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time.[42] Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[40][41][42][43][44] He also made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.[42][44]
In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis.[45] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[46] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[45] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[45] Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.[45]
During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick.[47] Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there.[47] Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada.[47] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.[47]
In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.[48] However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final.[48] Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay.[48] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[48] Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[48]
In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final.[49] Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis,[49] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion).[49] In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.[49]
In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal.[50] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles.[50] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.[50]
In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray.[51] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.[51] At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[51] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[51] However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[52]
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Federer on the Cover of Sports Illustrated After 2009 French Open Victory |
In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick.[53] Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open.[53] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay.[53] The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year.[53] Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.[53]
In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open,[54] where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and improved his Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles.[51] But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking.[54] At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[54][55] Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings.[54][56][57] At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic.[54] Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish.[58] In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial basis.[59] Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.
The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.
During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003.[60] Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals,[61] where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.[62]
Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2005. He beat del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7–8, and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, and defeated John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Rafael Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Federer then lost in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open to Andy Roddick in three sets. Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on new blue clay, where he beat Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomáš Berdych in the final and regained the world no. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal in the process. Federer then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome where he won over Carlos Berlocq, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andreas Seppi en route to the semifinal, where he was defeated in straight sets by the defending champion and 2012 runner up Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[63][64][65][66][67]
They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2).[68] They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[69]
Nadal leads their head-to-head 18–10. However, most of their matches have been on clay. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–2 and clay by 12–2.[70] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals.[71] From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[72][73][74][75] They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.
The two have met 25 times with Federer leading 14–11, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player to do it two times.
Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 25 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5.[76] Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).
Many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.[77]
Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7.[78] Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open[79] and 2010 Australian Open,[80] but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008[81] and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010.[82] Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.
Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record.[83] This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.
One of Federer's longstanding rivalries is with American Andy Roddick. Federer and Roddick have met on many occasions, including in four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open). Federer leads 21–3, making Roddick the ATP player with the most tournament losses to Federer. Roddick lost his World No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004.
In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. It included a fifth set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) and a match that was over 4 hours long. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.
Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."[84]
Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip,"[85] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport."[86] Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Though Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net.[85] His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph);[87][88][89] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[87][88] Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying,[90] and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career.[91] His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react.[citation needed] Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.[92]
Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet,[93] which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 357.2 grams, and thin beam of 17.5 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3).[94] Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.[94] When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."[95]
Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[96] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006.[97] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[98] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[99] Federer endorses Gillette,[100] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[101] as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[102] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[103] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[104] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[105]
Information in these tables is updated only once the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | LQ | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | W | SF | W | W | SF | F | W | SF | SF | 4 / 13 | 63–9 | 87.50 |
French Open | A | 1R | 4R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | F | F | W | QF | F | 1 / 14 | 52–12 | 81.25 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | W | W | W | W | W | F | W | QF | QF | 6 / 13 | 59–7 | 89.39 | |
US Open | A | LQ | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | W | W | W | W | W | F | SF | SF | 5 / 12 | 61–7 | 89.71 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 7–4 | 13–4 | 6–4 | 13–3 | 22–1 | 24–2 | 27–1 | 26–1 | 24–3 | 26–2 | 20–3 | 20–4 | 7–1 | 16 / 52 | 235–35 | 87.04 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Mark Philippoussis | 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3) |
Winner | 2004 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Marat Safin | 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 2004 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | US Open (1) | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
Winner | 2005 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Winner | 2005 | US Open (2) | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
Winner | 2006 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2006 | French Open (1) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |
Winner | 2006 | US Open (3) | Hard | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
Winner | 2007 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Fernando González | 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2007 | French Open (2) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 2007 | US Open (4) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2008 | French Open (3) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |
Winner | 2008 | US Open (5) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |
Winner | 2009 | French Open (1) | Clay | Robin Söderling | 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |
Runner-up | 2009 | US Open (1) | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |
Runner-up | 2011 | French Open (4) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YEC | NQ | NQ | NQ | NQ | SF | W | W | F | W | W | RR | SF | W | W | 6 / 10 | 39–7 | 84.78 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 5–0 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Houston | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | Houston | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Shanghai | Carpet (i) | David Nalbandian | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | James Blake | 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | David Ferrer | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
Winner | 2011 | London | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2008 | Beijing | Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |
6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 |
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
Career Grand Slam | Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
16 titles | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
23 finals | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open |
10 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
23 consecutive semifinals[106][107] | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open |
31 consecutive quarterfinals | Stands alone |
2004 & 2006–2007 | 3 years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 & 2009 | 5 years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 | 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 | 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2003–2010 | 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title[107] | Björn Borg Pete Sampras |
2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open |
8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
4+ titles at 3 different Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
5+ finals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2001 French Open — 2011 US Open |
8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open |
5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors[107] | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open |
7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open |
First 7 finals won | Stands alone |
2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open |
9 hard-court titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 & 2009 | All 4 Major finals in 1 season | Rod Laver |
2006 French Open — 2009 US Open |
Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
235 match wins overall[108] | Stands alone |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
50+ match wins at all 4 Majors[109] | Stands alone |
2006 | 27 match wins in 1 season | Stands alone |
2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon |
18 consecutive No. 1 seeds | Stands alone |
2006 US Open — 2007 French Open |
36 consecutive sets won | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | 35 consecutive service points won | Stands alone |
2009 Wimbledon | 50 aces in a final | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | $2.4 million earned at one event | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2 winning streaks of 25+ matches | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
3 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
5 winning streaks of 15+ matches | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 4 titles overall | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2006–2007 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Novak Djokovic |
Australian Open | 2004–2007 | 3 titles in 4 years | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 5 finals overall | Stefan Edberg |
Australian Open | 2004–2012 | 9 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
Australian Open | 2007 | Won without dropping a set[110] | Ken Rosewall |
Australian Open | 2000–2012 | 63 match wins overall[110] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2009 | 4 consecutive finals | Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |
French Open | 2006–2008, 2011 | 4 runner-ups[111] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2008 | 3 consecutive runner-ups | Stands alone |
French Open | 2005–2009 | 5 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
French Open—Wimbledon | 2009 | Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year | Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |
Wimbledon | 2003–2007 | 5 consecutive titles[112] | Björn Borg |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 finals overall | Boris Becker Pete Sampras |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 titles overall | Jimmy Connors Pete Sampras |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 consecutive titles | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2009 | 40 consecutive match wins[113] | Stands alone |
US Open | 1999–2011 | 89.71% (61–7) match winning percentage | Stands alone |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 |
237 consecutive weeks at No. 1[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents | Stands alone |
2005–2006 | 56 consecutive hard court match victories | Stands alone |
2003–2008 | 65 consecutive grass court match victories[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 24 consecutive tournament finals won[107] | Stands alone |
2001–2012 | 10+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts | Stands alone |
2003–2009 | 11 grass court titles | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 51 hard court titles | Stands alone |
2006 | 9 hard court titles in 1 season | Jimmy Connors |
1998–2012 | 315 tiebreaks won[114] | Stands alone |
1999–2011 | 87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage[115] | Stands alone |
1998–2012 | 83.20% (515–104) hard court match winning percentage[116] | Stands alone |
2006 | 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season | Stands alone |
2003–2011 | 6 ATP World Tour Finals titles overall[117] | Stands alone |
2002–2011 | 39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins[117] | Ivan Lendl |
2002–2012 | 32 combined Championship Masters Series finals | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 44 Masters 1000 semifinals | Stands alone |
2000–2012 | 261 Masters 1000 match wins | Stands alone |
2004–2012 | 14 Masters 1000 hard court titles | Andre Agassi |
2004–2012 | 4 Indian Wells Masters titles[118] | Stands alone |
2004–2008 | 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Jimmy Connors |
2003–2010 | Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2 | Jimmy Connors |
2007 | $10 million prize money earned in a season | Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic |
2005–2007 | 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches | Björn Borg |
2004–2012 | 7 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Roger Federer |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roger Federer |
Book: Roger Federer | |
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. |
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Persondata | |
---|---|
Name | Federer, Roger |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Swiss tennis professional |
Date of birth | 8 August 1981 |
Place of birth | Binningen (near Basel), Switzerland) |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Isner at the 2009 US Open |
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Country | United States |
---|---|
Residence | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
Born | (1985-04-26) April 26, 1985 (age 27) Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)[1] |
Weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
College | University of Georgia |
Turned pro | 2007 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $3,790,558 |
Official web site | www.johnisner.com |
Singles | |
Career record | 122–89 |
Career titles | 3 |
Highest ranking | No. 9 (April 16, 2012) |
Current ranking | No. 11 (May 28, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 4R (2010) |
French Open | 3R (2010) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2010, 2011) |
US Open | QF (2011) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 61–48 |
Career titles | 3 |
Highest ranking | No. 27 (May 17, 2010) |
Current ranking | No. 32 (August 30, 2010) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2009) |
French Open | 3R (2008) |
US Open | 2R (2009) |
Last updated on: January 10, 2011[2]. |
John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 9 on March 19, 2012, and is currently the second highest-ranked American tennis player.[4] His most famous victories were against Roger Federer in the Davis Cup encounter in February 2012, Top seed Novak Djokovic at the 2012 Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, Andy Roddick in the 2009 US Open, and against Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships where he played the longest ever professional tennis match, which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes over the course of three days.
Unlike many top tennis players, who have brilliant juniors careers and hit the ATP Tour in their teens, Isner didn't decide that he wanted to play professional tennis until he was 21.
Contents |
Isner played collegiate tennis at the University of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and became the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles victories, earning All-American honors each of his four years and leading Georgia to the 2007 NCAA championship.[2]
Isner began his professional career in earnest in the summer of 2007. With a world ranking of no. 839, he needed wildcard entries into the main draws of every tournament, even at the Futures level.[5]
He won his first tournament of the fall, the USA F14 Futures, beating the top three seeds along the way. Then, after first round losses in an Challenger-level and an ATP-level tournament, he beat five top-300 players and three seeds to win the Lexington Challenger in July to improve his ranking to no. 416 after just one month.
At the following week's tournament at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., Fernando González's late withdrawal freed a wildcard spot, which was given at the last minute to Isner.[6] Isner took full advantage of his good fortune, recording his first wins over top-100 players. He won third-set tiebreakers on five consecutive days, beating no. 73 Tim Henman, no. 47 Benjamin Becker, no. 189 qualifier Wayne Odesnik, no. 12 Tommy Haas, and no. 54 Gaël Monfils, to reach the final, where he fell to fellow American Andy Roddick. His incredible week raised his ranking to no. 193 in the world after just six weeks on the pro tour.
Isner's Washington success earned him wildcard entries into three more ATP tournaments: the Masters Series event in Cincinnati a week later, New Haven, and the US Open. He lost in the first round in Cincinnati to quarterfinalist no. 15 David Ferrer. The following week in New Haven, he beat no. 49 Becker a second time, before falling to Ferrer for the second week in a row.
In his US Open debut, he defeated the 26th-seeded player, former quarterfinalist Jarkko Nieminen, and fired 34 aces along the way. He proceeded to win his second round match vs. Rik de Voest, before losing in the third round to top-seed and eventual champion Roger Federer. Isner was one of only two players to take a set from Federer in the championship. His US Open performance improved his ranking to no. 144.
After the US Open, Isner continued to play exclusively in North America and finished the year ranked no. 107. That year, Isner was added to the United States Davis Cup team as a practice partner.[7]
Isner's no. 106 ranking in November, 2007 was just good enough to get him direct entry into his first Australian Open, after several players ranked above him dropped out.[8] He was defeated in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open by veteran Fabrice Santoro of France. Teamed with Croat Ivo Karlović (currently the tallest player on the ATP tour and 2cm longer than John), Isner also lost in the first round of doubles.[9]
Isner broke into the top-100 at no. 93 in February with a quarterfinal appearance at the ATP stop in San Jose, beating no. 90 Florent Serra and no. 26 Tommy Haas. He established himself as a top-100 player in the first three months of the year, beating six players in the top 100, while playing exclusively in ATP-level events. Isner played in his first French Open and Wimbledon, losing in the first round of each. He also played in the US Open, where he lost in the first round. He ended the year ranked no. 144 in the world.
Isner qualified for the singles draw of the 2009 Heineken Open in Auckland, after winning three consecutive three-set matches in qualifying. His final match saw him bounce back from a 0–3 deficit in the third set to eventually beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in a tie-breaker. In the main draw, Isner beat Albert Montañés and countryman Robby Ginepri, before bowing out in the quarterfinals to Robin Söderling.
Isner received a wildcard entry into the 2009 Australian Open, after winning the United States Tennis Association's wildcard tournament, beating Donald Young and Jesse Levine along the way.[10] Despite serving 39 aces against his first-round opponent, Slovakia's Dominik Hrbatý, he lost in four sets. Isner began working with new coach, Craig Boynton, who had previously coached former world no. 1 Jim Courier in the 1990s, in March 2009.[11]
At the 2009 Indian Wells tournament, Isner pulled off a major upset by defeating ninth seed Gaël Monfils. This was Isner's first win over a top-10 player, after four previous defeats. He then went on to defeat former world no. 1 Marat Safin, before losing to world no. 6 Juan Martín del Potro in the fourth round.
In April 2009 at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas at River Oaks Country Club, Isner made it as far as the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by fellow American Wayne Odesnik.[12] Isner qualified for the French Open, but had to withdraw after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, which caused him to miss Wimbledon as well.[13]
In August 2009, he defeated world no. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world no. 18 Tomáš Berdych en route to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington, before losing to world no. 5 Andy Roddick. This performance brought him to a career-high ranking of no. 55 and a special exemption into the Masters 1000 Series event in Montreal, where he defeated Jesse Levine, before losing to Mikhail Youzhny. He earned a wildcard into the Masters 1000 Series event in Cincinnati, where he defeated world no. 21 Tommy Haas, before losing to world no. 35 Jérémy Chardy in the second round.
Unseeded and ranked no. 55 in the world entering the US Open, Isner defeated world no. 29 Victor Hănescu in the first round, which was his first in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2007 US Open, ending a streak of six consecutive defeats. He then advanced to the third round, where he defeated world no. 5 and fellow American Andy Roddick in five sets for his first victory over Roddick, his first victory in a five-set match, and the first time he advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. He was then defeated in the fourth round by world no. 10 Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His US Open performance brought his ranking to a career-high no. 39.
After playing in Vienna, Basel, and the Paris Masters, Isner finished the year at a career-high no. 34 in the world. He has credited his work with Boynton for helping him get back on track following his disappointing 2008 season.[11]
His progress was acknowledged by his peers, as he was voted the ATP Most Improved Player for 2009,[14] becoming the tenth American to win the award, and the first since Andre Agassi in 1998.
Isner began the year at the 2010 Heineken Open in Auckland. Unseeded, he reached his second career ATP final and first since Washington in 2007. In the final, he saved a championship point to defeat 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clément.[15][16] The victory in Auckland was Isner's first ATP tour title; after the victory he donated $5,000 of his winnings to aid rescue action for the 2010 Haiti earthquake.[17]
The victory catapulted Isner into the top 30 for the first time and also allowed him to surpass Sam Querrey to become the second-highest ranked American for the first time, behind only Andy Roddick.[11] Isner said he intended to finish the year in the top 20,[17] and given his ascendency in the world rankings combined with the absence of Roddick and James Blake for the 2010 Davis Cup season, it became increasingly likely that Isner would qualify to play singles for the US Davis Cup team for the first time in his career.[11]
After Gilles Simon withdrew, Isner became the final seed for the 2010 Australian Open.[18] In the first round, he defeated world no. 49 Andreas Seppi for his first victory at the Australian Open and his first victory at a Grand Slam other than the US Open. He then advanced to the round of 16, before bowing out to world no. 4 and eventual finalist Andy Murray.
After the Australian Open, Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe announced that Isner and Querrey would be first and second singles on the 2010 United States Davis Cup team for the team's 2010 Davis Cup World Group first-round match in Serbia on indoor clay in March 2010; Isner described the selection as "a dream come true".[19]
Isner next entered the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis. Seeded sixth, he made it to the finals, before losing to Sam Querrey. In the doubles event, Isner teamed up with Querrey to win the tournament, defeating British-Australian pair of Ross Hutchins and Jordan Kerr.
Prior to the Davis Cup tie, Isner competed at the 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel Championships, an ATP World Tour 500 series event on clay, where he was the fifth seed. He lost in the first round to Simon Greul. Despite the loss, Isner following the tournament moved into the top 20 for the first time.
Isner appeared at the 2010 Davis Cup first round, where USA was up against Serbia. In his two singles matches, he faced Serbia's team of world no. 2 Novak Djokovic and world no. 35 Viktor Troicki. He lost the first singles match against Viktor Troicki, but bounced back by winning the doubles match with Bob Bryan, as a replacement for food-poisoned Mike Bryan. In his second singles match, he lost to Novak Djokovic, which enabled Serbia to defeat the United States.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, he was seeded 15th and advanced to the fourth round, before losing to world no. 2 and defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Afterwards, he appeared in the second master series tournament of the season, the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open Masters 1000 in Miami as the 17th seed. He advanced to the third round, before losing to 12th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Isner began the clay-court season with an opening-round loss to world no. 89 Xavier Malisse at the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championship, followed by a round of 32 showing at his first-ever Rome Masters, where he defeated Horacio Zeballos, before losing to Thomaz Bellucci. However, he teamed with Querrey to reach the doubles final in Rome, before losing to Bob and Mike Bryan; his doubles performance raised his doubles ranking to the top 30 for the first time.
His next tournament was the 2010 Serbian Open, where he was the second seed behind defending champion, tournament host, and world no. 2 Djokovic. Isner advanced to the first clay-court final of his career, third final of the year, and fourth final of his career. In the final, he lost to Querrey, despite having a match point while serving up 6–3, 5–4; this was the second consecutive final Isner lost to Querrey after serving for the championship. However, Isner's finals performance improved his ranking to a career-high no. 19.
Isner's next tournament was his debut appearance at the Madrid Masters. Seeded thirteenth, he advanced to the round of 16, before losing to world no. 3 and eventual champion Nadal.
Isner then played in the 2010 French Open; his ranking assured his first direct seed into a Grand Slam event. Seeded 17th, he defeated Andrey Golubev in the first round for his first singles victory at the French Open. He advanced to the third round, before losing to no. 15 seed and eventual semifinalist Tomáš Berdych. In doubles, he and Querrey were the 12th seeds, but withdrew prior to the start of the tournament after Querrey's first-round loss in singles.
Despite being ranked no. 19 in the world entering the Wimbledon, Isner was seeded 24th by the tournament committee due to his lack of experience on grass, but was moved up to 23rd following the withdrawal of Radek Štěpánek. In the first round, Isner played Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history, prevailing 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68.[20] However, fatigued and having little time to recover his energy, Isner was beaten by Thiemo de Bakker in the second round, 0–6, 3–6, 2–6, having served no aces. He also pulled out of the doubles, where he and Querrey had been 12th seeds.[21] Despite having been eliminated in the second round, Isner's total of 113 aces[22] were more than any other player throughout the championship. His Wimbledon performance brought his ranking to a career-high no. 18 in the world.
Isner's next tournament was the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he played doubles with James Blake and reached the semifinals. In singles, Isner was second seed and made it to his fourth final of the year, before losing to Mardy Fish, which dropped his career record in finals to 1–4 (0–4 against Americans).
Isner next competed at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, the ATP World Tour 500 series event in Washington, D.C. and site of his breakthrough performance in 2007. Isner was also to compete in the doubles with Sam Querrey, but withdrew due to shoulder concerns. Seeded fifth in singles, Isner made it to the round of 16, before losing to Xavier Malisse.
Isner next played in the Cincinnati Masters, where he was unseeded. After defeating Łukasz Kubot in the first round, he faced 2002 Wimbledon finalist and 2005 Tennis Masters Cup champion David Nalbandian, but was forced to retire up a break at 5–4 in the first set after injuring his right ankle. Although Isner was found to have suffered ligament damage to the ankle, he chose not to withdraw from the US Open singles tournament.[23]
At the 2010 US Open, Isner was 18th seed and defeated Frederico Gil in the first round. After the match he revealed that although the initial diagnosis was a right ankle ligament tear, a second opinion revealed that the damage was a strain and not a tear, and he declared his ankle 90% healed.[24][25] He then advanced to the third round, before losing to 12th seed and 2006 US Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny. The loss dropped Isner out of the top 20, and from the no. 2 to the no. 4 ranked American player. Due to his ankle injury, he chose not to compete in doubles.
Following the US Open, Isner participated with Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey in the Davis Cup tie against Colombia, winning the doubles match with Fish as his partner. The US won the match 3–1 to remain in the 2011 Davis Cup world group.[26] Isner was next granted a wildcard to participate in the 2010 China Open, his first time competing in Beijing. In doubles, he teamed with Querrey, losing in the first round to Bob and Mike Bryan. In singles, Isner was unseeded, but made it to the semifinals, before losing to world no. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic 6–7, 2–6. Isner next competed in the Shanghai Masters, where he was unseeded, and made it to the second round, before losing to world no. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Roger Federer in their first meeting since the 2007 US Open.
Isner began the year by teaming with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win the (mixed doubles) Hopman Cup Final for the US, defeating Belgium's Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans.
Following his win in Perth, Isner returned to Auckland to defend his ATP title at the 2011 Heineken Open. After a bye in his first round, the third seed faced Dutch world no. 52[27] Robin Haase. Isner defeated Hasse[28] to go through to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by David Nalbandian in straight sets.[29]
Isner next played in the Australian Open. He entered the tournament seeded 20th[30] and received a tough draw, including Radek Štěpánek, Marin Čilić, and Rafael Nadal. Isner came up against French world no. 69 Florent Serra, whom he easily defeated. Isner faced Radek Štěpánek in the second round. After losing the first set, Isner rallied to defeat Stepanek to progress into the third round. In the third round, Isner faced fellow top-20 player Marin Čilić. The match went to five sets, with Cilic emerging as the eventual winner.
At the 2011 French Open, Isner was drawn against top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal. Isner took what was considered a surprise two-sets-to-one lead against Nadal, who had never played a five-set match at Roland Garros before. Nadal went on to win the title.[31] Ironically, in the 2011 Wimbledon men's singles draw, Isner was paired against Mahut in the first round, a rematch of the world's longest match from the previous year's tournament, which he went on to win in straight sets. However, he lost in the second round to the 16th seed Nicolas Almagro in four sets, dropping his 2011 record to 11–14.
Isner next took a last-minute wild card to participate in the 2011 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, replacing compatriot and defending champion Mardy Fish, who was chosen to play in the Davis Cup for the United States during the that weekend. Isner was the top seed and defeated Karol Beck, 2001 Australian Open finalist Arnaud Clement, Alex Bogomolov, Jr., and Tobias Kamke without dropping a set, to reach his first career grass-court final. In the final, he defeated Olivier Rochus to become the first top seed in 35 years to win the event. The title was his first of 2011 and second of his career, raising his record in ATP finals to 2–0 against non-Americans, and ending a three-match losing streak in finals. The championship raised Isner's world ranking from no. 48 to no. 36.
Isner next played in the 2011 Atlanta Tennis Championships, where he was the third seed. He defeated James Blake, Lu Yen-hsun, and Gilles Müller to reach his second consecutive tour final. In the final, he faced Mardy Fish in a rematch of the 2010 final. Isner was ultimately defeated by Fish. He then reached the semifinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, defeating Tobias Kamke, James Blake, Victor Troicki, before losing to Gael Monfils.
At the Rogers Cup, Isner defeated Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to Viktor Troicki in the second round. Isner won the Winston-Salem Open as the fourth seed, defeating Dudi Sela, Jarkko Nieminen, Marcos Baghdatis, and Andy Roddick in the semifinals, before defeating Julien Benneteau in the final.
In the US Open, Isner defeated Marcos Baghdatis, Robby Ginepri, Alex Bogomolov Jr., and Gilles Simon on the way to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. There, he was defeated by Andy Murray.
John reached the semifinals at the Master's 1000 in Paris, where he held three match points before losing to Jo-Willifried Tsonga in the semifinals. The result brought him back into the world top 20. He finished the year ranked no. 18, his second consecutive year-end top 20 ranking, and his highest year-end ranking to date.
He defeated David Nalbandian in the second round of the 2012 Australian Open in an epic five-set match, but was defeated in the third round by Feliciano Lopez. He kept his good form and stunningly beat world no. 3 Roger Federer in Switzerland in the Davis Cup first round, as well as beating Marco Chiudinelli in another singles rubber, to help propel the US team to victory over the Swiss. He then reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters by beating world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in three sets in the semifinals, before being defeated by Federer in straight sets in the final. Isner also reached the doubles final of the same tournament partnering Sam Querrey.
Isner continued his fine form in the U.S. Davis Cup Quarterfinals against France. Isner defeated Gilles Simon in the first live rubber of the tie in straight sets. Two days later, Isner clinched the tie and propelled the United States into the semifinals by defeating French no. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets.
A week before Roland Garros, he was top seed in Nice, but was upset by Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.
In the French Open, he defeated Rogério Dutra da Silva 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round before being defeated by wildcard Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round: 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 18–16 in the second-longest ever Roland Garros match at 5 hours and 41 minutes.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Isner, who was seeded 23rd, faced qualifier Nicolas Mahut in the first round. Isner won the match 6–4, 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 70–68.
In the match, Isner set the record for most aces in a match, breaking Ivo Karlović's record of 78; Mahut passed the old mark as well.[32] Isner served an all-time record of 113 aces, ahead of the 103 aces served by Mahut.
At 21:13 BST on June 23 the match was suspended due to darkness for a second day at 59–59 in the fifth set. The match resumed on 24 June, at 15:30 BST,[33] starting the third day of the match. Overall, the match lasted eleven hours and five minutes. Isner also set the record for most games won in a Wimbledon match with 92.
The match brought Isner a measure of fame, particularly in the United States. He had guest appearances on "Good Morning America" and the "Late Show with David Letterman", and threw the ceremonial first pitch at a New York Yankees game in Yankee Stadium.[34][35] He and Mahut also won the 2010 ESPY Award for Best Record-Breaking Performance in sport.[36]
1 (32') | 2 (29') | 3 (49') | 4 (64') | 5 (491') | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nicolas Mahut (Q) | 4 | 6 | 7 | 63 | 68 |
John Isner (23rd) | 6 | 3 | 67 | 7 | 70 |
Isner has a powerful serve, thanks in part to his 6-ft, 9-in (206cm) height he gets a good angle, only Ivo Karlovic is taller among the current players.[37] Commentators[who?] have also praised his composure; in five consecutive third-set tiebreaker wins in Washington, he delivered huge serves when it mattered most.[38] Isner also has a very powerful forehand as well. On serve, Isner often goes for one-two points, a big serve followed up by a big forehand. He is also known to back up his serves with approaches to the net, though he does not strictly serve-and-volley. Isner's movement around the court is hampered by his body, and he is hurt by players who move him around the court. Isner's fitness has improved considerably over the years, and he displayed this during his win in the longest tennis match ever at Wimbledon against Nicolas Mahut.
He is sponsored by Lacoste, as of January 2012, and Prince for his attire and racquets respectively.[39][40]
Isner was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has two older brothers, Nathan and Jordan. Isner started playing tennis seriously at age 11 under the tutelage of Oscar Blacutt and Rob Stephens at the Carolina Tennis Academy. He is a graduate of Walter Hines Page Senior High School, in Greensboro, and the University of Georgia, where he majored in Speech Communication. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where he trains at the Saddlebrook Academy alongside other American tennis pros such as James Blake and Mardy Fish.
Tournament | Year | Record accomplished | Player tied |
Wimbledon | 2010 | 113 aces in an ATP singles match[22] | Stands alone |
113 aces in a Grand Slam singles match | Stands alone | ||
85 aces in a single set | Stands alone | ||
92 games won in a single match | Stands alone | ||
246 winners in a single match | Stands alone | ||
Longest singles match ever played (11 hours, 5 minutes) | Nicolas Mahut | ||
Longest play in a single day (7 hours, 6 minutes) | Nicolas Mahut | ||
118 games in a single day | Nicolas Mahut |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 1. | 5 August 2007 | Washington, D.C., United States | Hard | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 1. | 16 January 2010 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Arnaud Clément | 6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 2. | 21 February 2010 | Memphis, United States | Hard (i) | Sam Querrey | 7–6(7–3), 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
Runner-up | 3. | 9 May 2010 | Belgrade, Serbia | Clay | Sam Querrey | 6–3, 6–7(4–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | 25 July 2010 | Atlanta, United States | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2. | 10 July 2011 | Newport, United States | Grass | Olivier Rochus | 6–3, 7–6(8–6) |
Runner-up | 5. | 24 July 2011 | Atlanta, United States (2) | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 2–6 |
Winner | 3. | 27 August 2011 | Winston-Salem, United States | Hard | Julien Benneteau | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 6. | 18 March 2012 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | Roger Federer | 6–7(7–9), 3–6 |
Runner-up | 7. | 15 April 2012 | Houston, United States | Clay | Juan Monaco | 2–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Winner | 1. | July 7, 2008 | Newport, United States | Grass | Mardy Fish | Rohan Bopanna Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi |
6–4, 7–6(7–1) |
Winner | 2. | February 21, 2010 | Memphis, United States | Hard | Sam Querrey | Ross Hutchins Jordan Kerr |
6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 1. | May 2, 2010 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Sam Querrey | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
2–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | April 9, 2011 | Houston, United States | Clay | Sam Querrey | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
7–6(7–4), 2–6, [5–10] |
Winner | 3. | May 15, 2011 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Sam Querrey | Mardy Fish Andy Roddick |
w/o |
Runner-up | 3. | March 18, 2012 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | Sam Querrey | Marc López Rafael Nadal |
2–6, 6–7(3–7) |
In January 2011, Isner teamed with Bethanie Mattek-Sands for the USA, and they reached the mixed doubles Hopman Cup final. They won, 6–1, 6–3, against Justine Henin and Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium.
Updated till 2012 French Open.
Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | |
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Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 5 | 7–5 | |
French Open | A | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | ||
US Open | 3R | 1R | 4R | 3R | QF | 0 / 5 | 11–5 | ||
Win–Loss | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 8–4 | 7–4 | 3–2 | 0 / 17 | 23–17 | |
Year-End Championship | |||||||||
ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||
Olympic Games | |||||||||
Summer Olympics | NH | A | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | 2R | 4R | 4R | 3R | F | 0 / 5 | 12–5 | |
Miami Masters | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 0 / 5 | 5–5 | |
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | |
Rome Masters | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | |
Madrid Masters | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | |
Canada Masters | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | ||
Cincinnati Masters | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | ||
Shanghai Masters | NMS | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | |||
Paris Masters | A | A | 2R | 2R | SF | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | ||
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 2–3 | 7–6 | 8–7 | 9–7 | 7–4 | 0 / 28 | 33–28 | |
Career Statistics | |||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3 / 10 | 3–10 | |
Year End Ranking | 106 | 144 | 34 | 19 | 18 | $3,886,223 |
Isner's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked world no. 10 or higher is as follows:
Players who have been ranked world no. 1 are in bold.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Isner |
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
ATP Most Improved Player 2009 |
Succeeded by Andrey Golubev |
Preceded by Michael Phelps |
Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award (with Nicholas Mahut) 2010 |
Succeeded by Rory McIlroy |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Isner, John |
Alternative names | |
Short description | American tennis player |
Date of birth | 1985-04-26 |
Place of birth | Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
The Indian Wells Masters (now sponsored by BNP Paribas and officially called the BNP Paribas Open) is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, United States.
The tournament is a Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and is a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour having as main sponsor the French bank BNP Paribas. Between 1974 and 1990 it was a major tournament of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour and part of the Grand Prix Championship Series. The event, held in March, is one of two tour events (besides the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida) in which main draw play extends beyond eight days. The women's main draw usually starts on Wednesday and the men's main draw starts on Thursday. Both finals are held on Sunday of the following week. Both singles main draws include 96 players in a 128-player grid, with the 32 seeded players getting a bye to the second round.
The tournament is played on hard courts and is the best attended tennis tournament outside the four Grand Slam tournaments, with over 300,000 visitors during the event. It has the second largest tennis stadium in the world.