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- published: 15 Dec 2012
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- author: SJKshow
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Country | ![]() |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
Born | (1978-11-27) 27 November 1978 (age 33) Karviná, Czechoslovakia (now Czech republic) |
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
Weight | 76 kg (170 lb; 12.0 st) |
Turned pro | 1996 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $8,005,185 |
Singles | |
Career record | 318–229 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 5 |
Highest ranking | No. 8 (10 July 2006) |
Current ranking | No. 27 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 3R (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009) |
French Open | 4R (2008) |
Wimbledon | QF (2006) |
US Open | 4R (2009) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | RR (2008) |
Olympic Games | 1R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 215–138 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 15 |
Highest ranking | No. 13 (16 September 2002) |
Current ranking | No. 13 (14 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (2012) |
French Open | SF (2007) |
Wimbledon | 3R (2004) |
US Open | F (2002) |
Last updated on: 19 April 2012. |
Radek Štěpánek ((Czech pronunciation: [ˈradɛk ˈʃcɛpaːnɛk]; born 27 November 1978 in Karviná) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 8.
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Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles. He is known for his after-the-shot grunting, his over-the-top celebrations and his many relationships with WTA players.
Štěpánek first came to mainstream notice when he defeated former world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten in five sets on his way to the third round of the 2003 Australian Open.
2006 was Štěpánek's best year to date; he found himself on the verge of getting into the top ten of ATP rankings, as he defeated José Acasuso in the semi-finals of the Masters Series event in Hamburg. He went on to lose the final in straight sets against Spain's Tommy Robredo. At that point, he achieved a career-high ATP world ranking of No. 11 in singles.
Earlier in 2006, he won his first ATP singles title, beating Christophe Rochus in Rotterdam, but he had yet to progress beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament until he got into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he was eliminated by 34-year-old Jonas Björkman, after holding match point at 7–6 in the 4th-set tie-break.
This performance helped Štěpánek break into the top 10 and achieve his highest world ranking of No. 8 using a Völkl DNX 9. However, after Wimbledon, Štěpánek was out of action for the rest of the year due to a chronic neck injury.
In the second round of the 2007 US Open, Štěpánek played a match against third seed Novak Djokovic, which he ended up losing after 4h 44 of play in a fifth-set tiebreak 7–6, 6–7, 7–5, 5–7, 6–7.
Earlier in 2007, he won his second ATP singles title, beating James Blake in Los Angeles in three sets.
In 2008, he achieved some good results such as reaching the final in San Jose but lost to Andy Roddick. He also made it to the semi-finals in the Rome Masters losing to Novak Djokovic after he retired due to heat exhaustion. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he lost to Michaël Llodra in the first round in 3 sets. The final score was 6–4, 6–7, 9–11. Štěpánek finished the season ranked 27, but attended the end of year Masters Cup as an alternate. He was vacationing in Thailand so was able to come to the tournament held in Shanghai without delay. Since he did not have his own tennis gear which got stuck in customs (they were sent from home), he had to borrow a racquet from Novak Djokovic and socks from Andy Murray.[1] After Andy Roddick pulled out through injury before his second match, Štěpánek entered the tournament with two round robin ties to play against Roger Federer and Gilles Simon. He gave the Number 2 seed Federer a tough match, losing 7–6, 6–4. But he was beaten comprehensively by Simon, losing 6–1, 6–4.
Štěpánek started his 2009 season at the Brisbane International with a new Bosworth racquet, where he claimed his third ATP title after coming back from a set down to defeat Fernando Verdasco 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the final.[2] Then, at the Australian Open, he made it to the third round and was overpowered by Verdasco, 6–4, 6–0, 6–0.
At the SAP Open in San Jose, he won his fourth ATP singles title beating American Mardy Fish in a three set final. He also snapped a four-match losing streak in the tournament against Andy Roddick, upsetting him 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 in the semi-final. He also captured the doubles title after teaming up with German Tommy Haas, making it his first time ever to win the singles and doubles titles at the same tournament week.
In the Davis Cup first round tie against France, he lost his opening match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. But he regained his confidence and won the doubles rubber the next day and his second singles match against Gilles Simon in straight sets to give the Czech Republic its way to the quarter-finals. Then, in the Davis Cup quarter-finals, he won the deciding fifth rubber to lead his country to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, Stepanek battled Ivo Karlović to a 6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–7, 16–14 victory in a marathon opener in which the 82 games played equalled the highest number in a Davis Cup rubber since the introduction of the tiebreak in 1989.[3] In that match, he was aced 78 times, but overall hit more winners – over 170 (including service winners).[citation needed] The match was one of the longest in the history of the Davis Cup, lasting 5 h 59 min. There were only three breaks of serve in this match.[4] In the finals of the Davis Cup versus Spain, Stepanek lost to David Ferrer after being 2 sets up, 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 8–6. The Czech Republic lost 5–0 to Spain.
Stepanek returned to the Brisbane International to defend the title he won in the previous year (d. Verdasco). He managed to make a second-successive final appearance; but failed to defend the title, losing to Andy Roddick 6–7, 6–7. He also teamed up with Tomáš Berdych to reach the doubles quarter-finals, only to lose to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel. Seeded 13th at the 2010 Australian Open, he lost in the 1st round to Ivo Karlović in five sets; 6–2, 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6.
Stepanek began the 2011 ATP season with a third successive appearance at the 2011 Brisbane International, hoping for a third successive finals appearance, despite only being ranked No.62 in the ATP rankings. For the first round he was drawn against world #67, German Tobias Kamke. Despite struggling for the first set of the match, he eventually won 5–7, 6–1, 6–4, to set up a second round match against the American Mardy Fish, the fourth seed in the tournament. Stepanek blazed through the match, thrashing the world No.16 Fish 6–3, 6–1. In the quarter-final against seventh seed and world No.37 Florian Mayer he had a dominant start, leading 5–1 in the first set before Mayer managed to break Stepanek's service. However, he continued his winning streak, emerging victorious 6–3, 6–3 to place himself in the first semi-final against Robin Söderling, where he lost.
Stepanek exited the 2011 French Open in the first round, losing in straight sets to Frenchman Richard Gasquet. He defeated Gael Monfils in the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Always the entertainer, Stepanek performed his dance move—"The Worm"—after his victory. Stepanek said the idea for the move actually came to him while he was enjoying himself at a bar.[citation needed]
In January 2012, Stepanek won the Australian Open Men's doubles title, partnering Leander Paes. They beat top seeds Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan in the final.
In April 2012, Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic defeated Czech veteran Radek Stepanek 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 9–7 to pull his country level at 1–1 in their Davis Cup quarterfinal after a stormy, five-hour match. Tipsarevic, his country’s top player in the absence of world number one Novak Djokovic, saved three match points before he secured victory. After losing a 5 hour and 7 minutes long match, Stepanek was accused by Tipsarevic of using his middle finger inappropriately during their handshake and calling him a "stinky bastard". Czech player himself later stated he has done neither of the things he was accused of. There has been some footage taken, yet none of it clearly shows what happened. There was a photo published in Serbian online newspapers with a shot aiming specifically on hands of both players.[5]. Stepanek pointed the picture has been taken in the moment he was already pulling his hand back. Footage provided by Czech TV station has not shown anything supporting Tipsarevic´s side of a story. Stepanek later stated that what he actually said to Janko was "You don't need to cheat", referring to how Tipsarevic won a point after the ball has bounced twice, and how the Serbian erased a mark before the chair umpire could check whether the ball was in or out.[6]
He had been engaged to Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis, but they split up in August 2007.[7][8] Štěpánek was engaged to former top-ten Czech tennis player Nicole Vaidišová.[9] They married on 17 July 2010.
Stepanek's father Vlastimil was a tennis coach, his brother a policeman and his mother a librarian.[10] His cousin is Jaromír Blažek, successful football goalkeeper.
Stepanek also owns a condominium in Bradenton, Florida. He is coached by former Australian Open champion Petr Korda. He endorses ALEA clothing-apparel, Nike shoes and Bosworth racquets.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Runner-up | 2002 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
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6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
Winner | 2012 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
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7–6(7–1), 6–2 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 2004 | ![]() |
Carpet (i) | ![]() |
3–6, 6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2006 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
1–6, 3–6, 3–6 |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012) |
![]() Berdych at the 2011 US Open |
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Country | ![]() |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco[1] |
Born | (1985-09-17) September 17, 1985 (age 26)[1] Valašské Meziříčí, Czech Republic[1] |
Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] |
Weight | 91 kg (200 lb)[1] |
Turned pro | 2002[1] |
Plays | Right-handed[1] (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $11,202,961[1] |
Singles | |
Career record | 334-196[1] (61.59%) |
Career titles | 7 [1] |
Highest ranking | No. 6 (October 18, 2010)[1] |
Current ranking | No. 7 (May 14, 2012)[1] |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2011, 2012) |
French Open | SF (2010) |
Wimbledon | F (2010) |
US Open | 4R (2004, 2006, 2007) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2011) |
Olympic Games | QF (2004) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 75-91[1] |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 54 (April 10, 2006)[1] |
Current ranking | No. 112 (April 16, 2012)[1] |
Last updated on: April 19, 2012. |
Tomáš Berdych (Czech pronunciation: [ˈtomaːʃ ˈbɛrdɪx]; born September 17, 1985, in Valašské Meziříčí) is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semi-finals of the 2010 French Open.[2] He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters (which is a part of the ATP Masters 1000) in 2005. He has since reached the finals of the Miami Masters in 2010 and the Madrid Open in 2012, losing to Andy Roddick and Roger Federer, respectively. He reached a career high of World No. 6 on October 18, 2010.
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Berdych turned pro in 2002, winning two Futures events, both in his country of the Czech Republic, in Czech F8 defeating Pavel Šnobel in the finals 6–2, 6–3, and in Czech F5 defeating Ladislav Chramosta 6–4, 6–3.
In 2003, Berdych won three Futures events in Great Britain F5 over Peter Clarke 6–1, 6–4, in the Challenger in Budaors, Hungary over Ivaylo Traykov 6–2, 6–3, and Challenger of Graz, Austria Julian Knowle 6–4, 5–7, 6–2. He also reached the final of Great Britain F1, losing to Wesley Moodie 6–7, 6–7. He also reached six other semifinals. He won his first ATP Tour match in the 2003 US Open over Tomas Behrend 5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3, but lost in the next round to Juan Ignacio Chela 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 3–6.
In 2004, Berdych focused on Challengers and the ATP Tour. In Challengers, he won in Besançon, France over Julien Benneteau 6–3, 6–1, and in Braunschweig, Germany over Daniel Elsner 4–6, 6–1, 6–4. On the ATP Tour, he began with the 2004 Australian Open, defeating Nicolas Mahut 6–4, 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, before losing to fourth seed Andre Agassi 0–6, 2–6, 4–6. He also earned victories over Galo Blanco, Björn Phau, and Potito Starace on the ATP Tour. He made his debut in the 2003 French Open and at Wimbledon, but lost in the first rounds.
He then played at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He won in the first round against Florian Mayer 6–3, 7–5. He caused a major upset in the second round, defeating world no. 1 Roger Federer 4–6, 7–5, 7–5, despite having only five ATP Tour victories under his belt. He went on to defeat 15th seed Tommy Robredo 7–6, 4–6, 8–6, in the round of 16. He was finally defeated in the quarterfinals by Taylor Dent 4–6, 1–6.
After his run at the Olympics, he reached the fourth round of the 2004 US Open with victories over Jonas Björkman 6–3, 2–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, Tuomas Ketola 6–3, 7–6, 6–3, and Mikhail Youzhny 2–6, 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1, before losing to Tommy Haas 6–7, 1–6, 5–7. He won his first title in Palermo, defeating David Ferrer 7–5, 6–4, in the semifinals and Filippo Volandri 6–3, 6–3, in the finals
The start of Berdych's 2005 season brought losses in the first rounds in Adelaide, Sydney, and the Australian Open. He then lost in second rounds of Marseille, Rotterdam, and Dubai. He then recorded his first back-to-back win in Indian Wells, including a win over Mario Ančić, but lost to Ivan Ljubičić. He then lost in the first rounds of Miami, Estoril, Rome, and London. He also reached the second rounds of Monte Carlo, Hamburg, the French Open, and Nottingham.
He then made it to the third round at Wimbledon, losing to Taylor Dent. He then had a good run and a runner-up finish in the 2005 Swedish Open to Rafael Nadal, losing 2–6, 6–2, 6–4, the quarterfinals of the 2005 MercedesCup, losing to Nikolay Davydenko 4–6, 2–6, and the semifinals of the 2005 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, losing to James Blake 4–6, 3–6. He then made it to the second round of the 2005 Rogers Cup and Cincinnati, after upsetting Rafael Nadal in the first round, and the third round of the 2005 US Open. He then lost early in Vienna, Madrid, Palermo, and Basel. At the 2005 Paris Masters, he won his first career ATP Masters Series title. En route to the final, he beat Jiří Novák, second seed Guillermo Coria, 13th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, seventh seed Gastón Gaudio, eighth seed Radek Štěpánek, and sixth seed Ivan Ljubičić in the final 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4.
In 2006, Berdych started the year at the 2006 Next Generation Adelaide International, where he reached the semifinals, losing to Xavier Malisse 4–6, 0–6. However, he lost early in Sydney, the Australian Open, Marseille, Rotterdam, and Dubai. He then made it to the fourth round of the 2006 Pacific Life Open, where he defeated Lleyton Hewitt, before losing to Marcos Baghdatis, and the third round of the 2006 NASDAQ–100 Open, losing to David Nalbandian. He then lost in the second rounds at Barcelona and Monte Carlo, and the third round at Rome. He then reached his first French Open fourth round, losing to Roger Federer 3–6, 2–6, 3–6.
He then reached his first grass-court final at the 2006 Gerry Weber Open, falling to world no. 1 Roger Federer 0–6, 7–6, 2–6, and the fourth round at Wimbledon, once again losing to Federer 3–6, 3–6, 4–6. He then made it to the semifinals at the 2006 Mercedes Cup, losing to eventual champion David Ferrer. He then played in the 2006 Rogers Cup, where he upset Rafael Nadal 6–1, 3–6, 6–2, before losing to Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. He then made it to his third straight fourth round in a Major at the 2006 US Open, losing to James Blake.
He then reached the finals of the 2006 Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, where he lost to Dmitry Tursunov 3–6, 6–4, 6–7. In the 2006 Madrid Masters, Berdych delivered back-to-back upsets over former world no. 1 Andy Roddick 7–6, 6–3, and Rafael Nadal 6–3, 7–6, but lost to Fernando González in the semifinals. In the 2006 BNP Paribas Masters as the defending champion, he lost in the quarterfinals to Dominik Hrbatý 4–6, 6–1, 2–6. In earlier rounds, he defeated Olivier Rochus 6–7, 6–4, 6–2, and Robby Ginepri 6–3, 6–3.
Berdych defeated Rafael Nadal in Madrid 6–3, 7–6. Berdych never found his rhythm in his semifinal match against Fernando González as he slumped to a 3–6, 1–6 defeat.
Berdych began the year with a quarterfinal in the 2007 Medibank International and the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open, losing to world no. 3 Nikolay Davydenko. He then had early losses in Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami. He then reached the semifinals on clay in the Monte Carlo Masters event, his best result at the event, defeating Nicolás Almagro, Benjamin Becker, fifth seed Tommy Robredo, and Robin Söderling, before losing to second seed Rafael Nadal. He also made it to the semifinals of the 2007 BMW Open, losing to Mikhail Youzhny, 6–4, 6–3, despite not a dropping a set before the loss. He also made it to the quarterfinals of the 2007 Rome Masters. However, despite his good run on clay, he lost in the first round of the 2007 French Open to Guillermo García López, 5–7, 4–6, 4–6.
He then won his third ATP singles title in Halle, defeating Marcos Baghdatis 7–5, 6–4, and not dropping a set en route to the title. At Wimbledon, he made it to the quarterfinals in his best performance at a Grand Slam, defeating Nicolás Massú, Michaël Llodra, Hyung-Taik Lee, and 19th seed (35th-ranked) Jonas Björkman, before losing to Nadal again 6–7, 4–6, 2–6. In the Canadian Masters event, his first tournament since Wimbledon, as 10th seed and defending quarterfinalist, he lost in the first round to Robin Haase, who was making his Canadian debut. The following week in Cincinnati, as 10th seed, he made it to the third round, before losing to Nikolay Davydenko, after which he rose to a new career high of no. 9. He then made it through the fourth round at the 2007 US Open, retiring against Andy Roddick. He then reached the semifinals of the 2007 Thailand Open, losing to Benjamin Becker and the 2007 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, losing to Richard Gasquet. His last tournament of the year was the 2007 Paris Masters, losing to David Ferrer.
Berdych began 2008 by competing in the Hopman Cup, but his event was effected by a stomach virus. He then entered the 2008 Medibank International, being upset by Chris Guccione in the quarterfinals. Entering the Australian Open as 13th seed, he reached the fourth round, where he fell to Roger Federer 4–6, 6–7, 3–6. He had a bad run in Rotterdam, Dubai, and Indian Wells. However, in the 2008 Miami Masters, he made it through the semifinals, including a win over Juan Carlos Ferrero and not dropping a set en route, but he lost to Rafael Nadal 6–7, 2–6. He had a bad run on clay and grass, as he dropped out of the top 20 due to a sprained right ankle which caused him to miss the 2008 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2008 Rome Masters. He then reached the finals of the 2008 Swedish Open, losing to Tommy Robredo 4–6, 1–6. Representing his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Berdych advanced to the third round before being defeated by Roger Federer in their second meeting at an Olympics tennis tournament. He also had a bad run in North America, as he suffered early losses and a first-round loss in the 2008 US Open to Sam Querrey. He then made it to the semifinals of the 2008 Thailand Open, losing to Novak Djokovic. He then won his only title of the year in the 2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, with wins over four top-20 players: Tommy Robredo, Fernando González, Andy Roddick, and Juan Martín del Potro in the finals.
Berdych's season did not have a good start, as he had a 2–6 record, excluding the 2009 Australian Open, where he advanced to the fourth round to face Roger Federer. Berdych took a two sets to love lead over Federer, but ended by being defeated in a tough five-setter 6–4, 7–6, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6. He then competed in the Challenger in 2010 BMW Tennis Championship, where he lost to Robin Söderling in the finals. He then reached the fourth round of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Novak Djokovic after upsetting James Blake.
In the clay season, Berdych did not do well except for the 2009 French Open and the Masters as he lost in the first two rounds in all four events. He then reached the round of 16 at the 2009 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, losing to Fernando Verdasco 5–7, 7–5, 4–6, and he won his only title of the year and the only time he reached a result better than the quarterfinals in the 2009 BMW Open, defeating Mikhail Youzhny 6–4, 4–6, 7–6. In the 2009 Gerry Weber Open, he lost to Mischa Zverev 6–3, 2–6, 6–7, and at Wimbledon, he lost to eventual finalist Andy Roddick 6–7, 4–6, 3–6. He then lost in the first rounds of Stuttgart and the Rogers Masters, but reached the quarterfinals of 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, losing to John Isner 3–6, 7–6, 2–6, and 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, losing to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 5–7.
In the US Open, he reached the round of 32, losing to Fernando González. He then reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Proton Malaysian Open and the 2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. He then suffered back-to-back losses to Gilles Simon at the 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 and the 2009 Valencia Open 500. He then reached the second round in Paris, losing to Tommy Robredo.
In the Davis Cup first-round tie against France, he won the opening match, defeating top-ranked Frenchman Gilles Simon and joined Radek Štěpánek to beat French duo Richard Gasquet and Michaël Llodra. He later helped his country to reach the Davis Cup final against Spain, after winning the semifinal tie 3–2 against Croatia. The tie ended 5–0 in favor of the defending champions, with Berdych losing to Nadal in the first rubber 5–7, 0–6, 2–6.
Berdych began the year at the 2010 Brisbane International, where he reached the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Andy Roddick 6–1, 3–6, 4–6. He then suffered second-round upsets at the 2010 Medibank International Sydney to Peter Luczak and the 2010 Australian Open to Evgeny Korolev. He then recorded three straight quarterfinals in the 2010 SAP Open, once again losing to Andy Roddick 6–7, 6–7, at the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships upset by Ernests Gulbis 6–3, 3–6, 6–7, and the first Masters of the year at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open to Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–7, after upsetting Fernando Verdasco 6–0, 6–3, en route.
In the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, he stunned an error-filled top seed Roger Federer 6–4, 6–7, 7–6, in the round of 16, after saving a match point on Federer's serve in the tiebreak at 6–5, which he won 8–6. This was his second victory over Roger and ended an eight straight losing streak to the Swiss. He then went on to defeat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 4–6, 7–6, 6–4, for a spot in the semifinals. Berdych overpowered fifth seed Robin Söderling in two sets in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2, but lost in the final to Roddick 5–7, 4–6.
He began his clay season at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, losing to eventual finalist Fernando Verdasco 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, in the third round, after cruising through the first two rounds. At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka 6–2, 3–6, 6–7. At the 2010 BMW Open, he was upset by Philipp Petzschner 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, in the quarterfinals. He then withdrew from the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open due to a right hip injury. He then represented Czech Republic at the 2010 ARAG World Team Cup and won all his three singles matches, but failed to reach the final after losing the tie against USA. In the 2010 French Open, Berdych enjoyed his best performance to date in a Grand Slam tournament. He reached the semifinals, where he was defeated by fifth seed Robin Söderling 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 3–6. En route to the semifinals, he defeated three seeded opponents in straight sets: John Isner in the third round, world no. 4 Andy Murray in the fourth round, and Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals.
He reached his first career slam final at Wimbledon after beating Andrey Golubev and Benjamin Becker in straight sets, Denis Istomin in five, and Daniel Brands in four sets. He also defeated defending champion Roger Federer in four sets 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, to record his second straight victory over the Swiss.[3] The win also made him only the fourth Czech-born man to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, after Jaroslav Drobný, Jan Kodeš, and Ivan Lendl. In the semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, Berdych won in straight sets 6–3, 7–6, 6–3, to reach his first Grand Slam final, against world no. 1 Rafael Nadal. There, he lost to the Spaniard 3–6, 5–7, 4–6, to finish as runner-up.[4]
Afterwards, he played at the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington as the top seed. He made the quarterfinals, after beating both Dmitry Tursunov and Andrey Golubev in three sets en route. However, he lost to Xavier Malisse 4–6, 6–3, 2–6, in the quarterfinal round.
At the 2010 Rogers Cup held in Toronto, he was seventh seed. He beat two Ukrainian players, Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–2, 6–4, (in the opening round) and Alexandr Dolgopolov 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, (in the third round) to reach the quarterfinals. There, he lost to Roger Federer 3–6, 7–5, 6–7, despite serving for the match at 5–3 in the third set while being two points away from victory numerous times.
At the 2010 US Open as seventh seed, Berdych was upset in the first round by Michaël Llodra, 6–7, 4–6, 4–6.
Appearing at the 2010 Proton Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, he made the quarterfinals, where he lost to David Ferrer, 6–4, 5–7, 4–6. Berdych then made a first-round exit at the 2010 China Open, where he lost to Michael Berrer, 6–4, 5–7, 4–6.
At the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters as seventh seed, Berdych lost to Guillermo García López in the third round, 6–7, 3–6.
He then suffered two successive opening-round losses, first at the 2010 If Stockholm Open in Stockholm (Sweden) falling to Jarkko Nieminen for the first time, 1–6, 4–6, and at the 2010 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel (Switzerland), losing to Tobias Kamke, 4–6, 1–6.
At the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters as fifth seed, Berdych lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round, 6–4, 6–7, 0–6. With Andy Roddick defeating Ernests Gulbis, while including Fernando Verdasco failing to make the final, Berdych automatically qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, taking the sixth spot, which allowed him to make his first appearance at the year-end championships.
He was sixth seed at the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals. His lack of confidence showed in his opening round-robin loss to Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 3–6. However, as a surprise to many, Berdych somehow defeated Andy Roddick in the second round-robin match, 7–5, 6–3. In his last round-robin match, Berdych was defeated by Rafael Nadal in two sets, which meant that he could not advance to the semifinals.
Berdych began the year at the 2011 Aircel Chennai Open, where he reached the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka 4–6, 1–6. At the 2011 Australian Open, Berdych advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by eventual champion Novak Djokovic 1–6, 6–7, 1–6.[5] He then recorded two straight quarterfinals and a semifinal in the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, pulling out against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga citing injury, at the 2011 Open 13 falling to Marin Cilic 3–6, 4–6, and at the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, retiring with a thigh injury against the eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, whilst trailing 7–6, 2–6, 2–4.
At the 2011 Davis Cup World Group, the Czech Republic were defeated by Kazakhstan 2–3 meaning that the Czechs would have to go through the Play-offs. Berdych won his first singles rubber against Mikhail Kukushkin and in the doubles, Berdych and his partner, Lukáš Dlouhý, defeated Evgeny Korolev and Yuri Schukin, both in straight sets. In his second rubber, Berdych was beaten by Andrey Golubev 5–7, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6.
In the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, Berdych reached the round of 16, after defeating Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, Carlos Berlocq, and Florian Mayer, before falling to eventual finalist Rafael Nadal 2–6, 6–3, 3–6.
He began his clay season at the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, losing in the round of 16 to Ivan Ljubicic 4–6, 2–6. At the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open, Berdych reached the quarterfinals, before losing to Thomaz Bellucci 6–7, 3–6. At the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he reached the quarterfinals, before falling to Richard Gasquet 6–4, 2–6, 4–6. At the 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, Berdych reached his first semifinal of the clay season, before losing to eventual champion Nicolás Almagro 4–6, 4–6.[6] At the 2011 French Open, Berdych was seeded sixth. In the first round, Berdych suffered a shocking loss to Stephane Robert 6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 2–6, 7–9.
In preparation for Wimbledon, Berdych played in the 2011 Gerry Weber Open held in Halle, Germany. In the first round, Berdych defeated Ruben Bemelmans 5–7, 7–6, 6–4, after saving three match points.[7] He then defeated Jan Hernych and Viktor Troicki in the second round and quarterfinals respectively, both in straight sets.[8] In the semifinals, he lost to Philipp Petzschner 6–7, 6–2, 3–6. At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Berdych won his first, second, and third-round matches in straight sets against Filippo Volandri,[9] Julien Benneteau, and Alex Bogomolov Jr.[10] respectively. In the fourth round, Berdych suffered a straight-set loss to Mardy Fish 6–7, 4–6, 4–6.
His next tournament was the 2011 Swedish Open, where he reached the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Robin Soderling 1–6, 0–6.[11]
Berdych kicked off his US Open Series at the 2011 Rogers Cup. As he was seeded seventh, he received a bye into the second round. In the second round, he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 4–6, 6–2, 6–3. From that match onward, Berdych changed his racket to the Head YouTek™ IG Instinct MP.[12] In the Round of 16, Berdych defeated Ivo Karlovic with the scoreline of 6–3, 7–6.[13] In the quarterfinals, Berdych fell to Janko Tipsarević 4–6, 4–6.
Berdych competed in the 2011 Western & Southern Open held in Cincinnati, United States. As the eighth seed, he received a bye into the second round. In the second round, Berdych beat Juan Mónaco 7–6, 6–0. In the third round, Berdych dispatched ninth seed Nicolás Almagro 6–2, 6–2. In the quarterfinals, Berdych stunned the two-time defending champion, Roger Federer 6–2, 7–6.[14] In the semifinals, Berdych faced world no. 1 Novak Djokovic. Berdych retired after losing the first set 5–7, citing injury to the right shoulder.[15]
The next tournament Berdych played in was the 2011 US Open, the final Grand Slam of 2011. In the first round, Berdych defeated French qualifier Romain Jouan 6–2, 7–6, 6–1.[16] In the second round, Berdych dominated against Fabio Fognini 7–5, 6–0, 6–0.[17] In the third round, Berdych retired against 20th seed, Janko Tipsarević, after re-aggravating the shoulder injury he suffered at the 2011 Western & Southern Open. He was trailing 4–6, 0–5 when he retired.[18]
Berdych played with the Czech Republic Davis Cup team against Romania in the 2011 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs. In his singles rubber, Berdych defeated Victor Crivoi 6–3, 6–3, 7–6.[19] Berdych then teamed up with Radek Štěpánek in the doubles rubber, and they defeated Marius Copil and Horia Tecău 3–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–2. Štěpánek also won his singles rubber to guarantee the Czech Republic a spot in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group.[20][21]
After pulling out of the 2011 Proton Malaysian Open due to a recurring shoulder injury, Berdych competed at the 2011 China Open as the third seed. Berdych defeated Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first and second rounds, respectively, both in straight sets.[22] In the quarterfinals, Berdych dominated against Fernando Verdasco, thrashing him 6–1, 6–0.[23] Berdych reached his first final since the 2010 Wimbledon Championships after a hard-fought 6–4, 4–6, 6–1 victory over top seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.[24] Berdych won his sixth title of his career and his first title since the 2009 BMW Open, after defeating Marin Čilić in the final 3–6, 6–4, 6–1.[25]
Berdych's next tournament was the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters. As sixth seed, he received a bye into the second round. Berdych continued his good run of form by defeating compatriot Radek Štěpánek 6–4, 6–3, before falling to Feliciano López 4–6, 4–6. Berdych next played at the 2011 Swiss Indoors Basel. He lost in the first round to eventual finalist Kei Nishikori 6–3, 3–6, 2–6.
Berdych then competed at the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters held in Paris, France, the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season. As the fifth seed, Berdych received a bye into the second round. In the second round, Berdych defeated Fernando Verdasco 6–3, 7–5.[26] In the third round, Berdych defeated Janko Tipsarević 7–5, 6–4. Because of this victory, Berdych qualified for the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, along with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish. This was Berdych's second consecutive year to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.[27] In the quarterfinals, Berdych shocked the 2nd seed, Andy Murray 4–6, 7–6, 6–4, ending the Scotsman's 17-match winning streak.[28] In the semifinal, Berdych lost to the 3rd seed (and eventual champion), Roger Federer 4–6, 3–6.[29]
Berdych's final tournament of the 2011 season was the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals. He came into the year-end championships as the 7th seed and was placed in Group A along with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray (Later replaced by Janko Tipsarević), and David Ferrer. In the first tie, Berdych lost to top seed, Novak Djokovic 6–3, 3–6, 6–7, after Berdych squandered match point at 5–4 in the final set.[30] In the second tie, Berdych was meant to face Andy Murray, but he was replaced by the alternate, Janko Tipsarević, after Murray pulled out of the tournament with a groin injury. Berdych was forced to come back from a set down and hold match point in the final set tie-breaker, but he eventually won 2–6, 6–3, 7–6.[31] In the final tie of the group stages, Berdych faced the 5th seed, David Ferrer. Berdych once again came back from a set down to defeat Ferrer 3–6, 7–5, 6–1.[32] This victory meant that Berdych won his group and he qualified for the semifinals for the first time in his career. In the semifinals, Berdych fell to the 6th seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3–6, 5–7.[33] Berdych ended the season ranked 7th.
Berdych kicked off the 2012 season with a bang, winning the 2012 Hopman Cup for the Czech Republic along with compatriot, Petra Kvitová.[34] They were seeded first and they won all their ties. Berdych finished the tournament with a 4–0 singles record, defeating Grigor Dimitrov, Mardy Fish and Frederik Nielsen in the group stages. In the final, Berdych and Kvitova both won their singles ties against France, with Berdych defeating Richard Gasquet 7–6(0), 6–4.[35]
At 2012 AAMI Classic, Berdych was unfortunate to lose his ties against Bernard Tomic and Andy Roddick respectively, after being a set up in each match. At the 2012 Australian Open, Berdych reached the quarterfinals after battling past Nicolás Almagro in the fourth round 4–6, 7–6(5), 7–6(3), 7–6(2).[36] The match was marred with controversy as Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand because he believed Almagro intentionally aimed a shot towards him during the match. Because of this Berdych was booed whilst leaving the court. [37] In the quarterfinals, Berdych lost to the 2nd seed and eventual finalist, Rafael Nadal in four sets after winning the first set.[38]
Berdych won his first ATP tournament of 2012 at the 2012 Open Sud de France, after defeating the 3rd seed, Gael Monfils 6–2, 4–6, 6–3.[39][40] This is Berdych's 7th career title and his fourth ATP World Tour 250 series title. This was followed by Berdych reaching the semifinals at the 2012 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, before falling to Juan Martin del Potro.
Berdych played at the 2012 BNP Paribas Open as the 7th seed where he faced Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round after receiving a bye. After winning the second round, Berdych defeated Andy Roddick 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, but then lost to Almagro 4–6, 0–6. This was followed by another upset in the 3rd round of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Grigor Dimitrov 3–6, 6–2, 4–6.
Berdych kicked off his clay-court season at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he reached the semifinals after upsetting the 3rd seed Andy Murray 6–7(4), 6–2, 6–3 in the quarterfinals.[41] He was defeated by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6–4, 3–6, 2–6 in the semifinals. [42] Berdych is currently competing at the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open as the 6th seed. In the earlier rounds, Berdych had straight set victories over Kevin Anderson and Gaël Monfils. He thrashed Fernando Verdasco 6–1, 6–2 in the quarterfinals and in the semifinals, Berdych defeated 10th seed Juan Martín del Potro 7–6(5), 7–6(6) for a place in the final.[43][44] He was beaten by Roger Federer in 3 sets in the final. Federer leads their head-to-head 11-4.
Berdych represented the Czech Republic at the 2012 Power Horse World Team Cup where they reached the finals before being defeated by Serbia. Berdych is currently competing at the 2012 French Open and is the 7th seed. He defeated Dudi Sela in the first round and Michael Llodra in the second round, both in straight sets.[45][46] In the 3rd round, Berdych was pushed to 5 sets in a four-hour marathon against 31st seed Kevin Anderson, before he eventually prevailed 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–4.[47] He will face either Juan Martín del Potro or Marin Čilić for a place in the quarterfinals.
Tomáš Berdych is known for having one of the cleanest and hardest-hitting games on the ATP tour. He is capable of generating great pace on both his groundstrokes and his serve, making him dangerous on every surface, especially on grass, a surface on which he has reached three ATP finals, including one at Wimbledon. At the same time, Berdych has reasonably sound footwork for being one of the taller players on the tour. However, his footwork becomes a problem when the ball gets behind him. Despite the technical strengths of his game, Berdych was known to be mentally fragile in important matches. However, since 2010 he has improved greatly in this regard, especially in Grand Slam events. One of his most notable shots is his Forehand. He has been known to boast one of the most powerful forehands, being able to generate speeds of 150 km/h and over from the baseline. This combined with his great accuracy makes it one of the deadliest forehands on tour. Berdych is great at the centre of the baseline, being able to produce angles which are unreturnable in most cases. He frequently goes for cross-court shots in his game and generally hits more flat than topspin.
Berdych is sponsored by Head for his rackets and he is using the Head YouTek™ IG Instinct MP from the 2012 season onward.[12] Since the start of 2010 until the end of the 2011 season, Berdych used the Pro Stock Head YouTek Radical MP with a 16/19 string pattern. Before the 2010 season, Berdych was sponsored by Dunlop Sport and used the Dunlop Aerogel 4D 200.[48] He is sponsored by Nike for his attire and footwear.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 2010 | Wimbledon | Grass | ![]() |
3–6, 5–7, 4–6 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2005 | ![]() |
Carpet (i) | ![]() |
6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2010 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2012 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
6–3, 5–7, 5–7 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | September 27, 2004 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
6–3, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 1. | July 4, 2005 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
6–2, 2–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2. | October 31, 2005 | ![]() |
Carpet | ![]() |
6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2. | June 12, 2006 | ![]() |
Grass | ![]() |
0–6, 7–6(7–4), 2–6 |
Runner-up | 3. | September 25, 2006 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
3–6, 6–4, 6–7(5–7) |
Winner | 3. | June 11, 2007 | ![]() |
Grass | ![]() |
7–5, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 4. | July 7, 2008 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
4–6, 1–6 |
Winner | 4. | October 5, 2008 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
6–1, 6–4 |
Winner | 5. | May 11, 2009 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–5) |
Runner-up | 5. | April 4, 2010 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 6. | July 4, 2010 | ![]() |
Grass | ![]() |
3–6, 5–7, 4–6 |
Winner | 6. | October 9, 2011 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
3–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
Winner | 7. | February 5, 2012 | ![]() |
Hard (i) | ![]() |
6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 7. | May 13, 2012 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
6–3, 5–7, 5–7 |
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Winner | 1. | February 24, 2008 | ![]() |
Hard (i) | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
7–5, 3–6, [10–7] |
Runner-up | 1. | August 8, 2010 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–7(7–9), [7–10] |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | SF-B | F | NMS |
Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).
Updated till 2012 Power Horse World Team Cup.
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||||||
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Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 2R | QF | QF | 0 / 9 | 20–9 | 68.96 | ||||||
French Open | A | 1R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 2R | 1R | SF | 1R | 0 / 8 | 10–8 | 55.56 | |||||||
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 3R | 4R | QF | 3R | 4R | F | 4R | 0 / 7 | 23–8 | 74.19 | |||||||
US Open | 2R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 9 | 16–9 | 64.00 | |||||||
Win–Loss | 1–1 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 10–4 | 10–4 | 6–4 | 8–4 | 12–4 | 9–4 | 4–1 | 0 / 33 | 69–33 | 67.65 | ||||||
ATP World Tour Finals | |||||||||||||||||||
Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | RR | SF | 0 / 2 | 3–4 | 42.86 | |||||||
Davis Cup | |||||||||||||||||||
Davis Cup Singles | 1R | 1R | 1R | PO | 1R | QF | F | SF | 1R | QF | 0 / 10 | 17–11 | 60.71 | ||||||
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | NH | QF | Not Held | 3R | Not Held | 0 / 2 | 5–2 | 71.43 | |||||||||||
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells | A | A | 3R | 4R | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | 4R | 4R | 0 / 8 | 11–8 | 57.89 | ||||||
Miami | A | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | SF | 4R | F | QF | 3R | 0 / 8 | 17–8 | 68.00 | ||||||
Monte Carlo | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | SF | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | SF | 0 / 8 | 12–8 | 56.25 | ||||||
Rome | A | LQ | 1R | 3R | QF | A | 1R | 2R | QF | QF | 0 / 7 | 10–7 | 57.14 | ||||||
Madrid | A | 1R | 1R | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | QF | F | 0 / 8 | 11–8 | 58.82 | ||||||
Montreal / Toronto | A | A | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | QF | 0 / 7 | 9–7 | 56.25 | |||||||
Cincinnati | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | SF | 0 / 7 | 11–7 | 61.11 | |||||||
Shanghai | Not Held | Not ATP Masters Series | 3R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | 51.14 | |||||||||||
Paris | A | A | W | QF | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | SF | 1 / 7 | 16–6 | 72.73 | |||||||
Hamburg | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | NMS | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33.33 | |||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 12–8 | 14–9 | 12–9 | 9–7 | 9–9 | 16–8 | 19–9 | 12–5 | 1 / 67 | 103–66 | 60.95 | ||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
Tournaments Played | 2 | 15 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 9 | 196 | ||||||||
Titles–Finals | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 7 / 14 | 7–7 | 50% | ||||||
Overall Win–Loss | 2–2 | 16–15 | 34–29 | 48–24 | 46–24 | 35–21 | 36–26 | 45–27 | 53–23 | 31–9 | 7 / 196 | 346–200 | 63.37% | ||||||
Win % | 50% | 52% | 54% | 67% | 66% | 63% | 58% | 63% | 70% | 775% | 63.37% | ||||||||
Year End Ranking | 113 | 45 | 24 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 7 | $10,379,451 |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tomáš Berdych |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Berdych, Tomas |
Alternative names | |
Short description | |
Date of birth | September 17, 1985 |
Place of birth | Valašské Meziříčí, Czechoslovakia A great small town right around where Christine Reichl was born. |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
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Country | ![]() |
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Residence | Austin, Texas |
Born | (1982-08-30) August 30, 1982 (age 29) Omaha, Nebraska |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] |
Weight | 88.6 kilograms (195 lb)[1] |
Turned pro | 2000 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money |
$20,228,866 |
Singles | |
Career record | 571–184 (75.66%) |
Career titles | 30 |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (November 3, 2003) |
Current ranking | No. 27 (April 2, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | SF (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009) |
French Open | 4R (2009) |
Wimbledon | F (2004, 2005, 2009) |
US Open | W (2003) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2003, 2004, 2007) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 58–38 |
Career titles | 4 |
Highest ranking | No. 50 (January 11, 2010) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
French Open | 1R (2009) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2001) |
US Open | 2R (1999, 2000) |
Last updated on: October 12, 2009. |
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the third highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish and John Isner.
He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 US Open, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the finals, which currently makes him the last North American male player to win a grand slam singles event. Roddick has reached four other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon in 2004, 2005 and 2009, and the US Open in 2006), losing to Roger Federer each time. He is married to Brooklyn Decker, a Sports Illustrated swimwear model and actress.
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Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska[2] to Jerry and Blanche Roddick. Roddick's father was a businessman and his mother was a school teacher. She now directs the Andy Roddick Foundation. Roddick has two older brothers, Lawrence and John (All-American tennis player at University of Georgia (1996–98) and head tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma), who were both promising tennis players at a young age.
Roddick lived in Austin, Texas, from age 4 until he was 11, and then moved to Boca Raton, Florida, in the interest of his brother's tennis career,[3] attending Boca Prep International School, and graduating from the Class of 2000.[4] Roddick played varsity basketball in high school alongside his future Davis Cup teammate Mardy Fish, who trained and lived with Roddick in 1999. During that time period, he intermittently trained with Venus and Serena Williams; he later moved back to Austin. His tennis idol growing up was Andre Agassi.
It was while Roddick was flipping through a previous swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated that Roddick first noticed Brooklyn Decker, to whom he is now married. (According to Decker, as she stated in an interview with David Letterman, Roddick had his agent contact her agent to arrange a initial meeting.) The two began dating in 2007, and on March 31, 2008, Roddick announced on his website that he and Decker had become engaged. The couple were married in Austin on April 17, 2009.[5]
Roddick's good friends include James Blake, Mardy Fish, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
Roddick considered quitting competitive tennis at the age of 17, when he had a losing streak in the juniors. His coach, Tarik Benhabiles, talked him into giving tennis four more months of undivided attention.[6] Roddick finished as the No. 6 junior in the U.S. in 1999, and as the No. 1 junior in the world in 2000. He won six world junior singles titles and seven world junior doubles titles, and won the US Open and Australian Open junior singles titles in 2000.[7] In March, in Miami, in the first round Roddick had his first ATP level victory as he beat world No. 41 Fernando Vicente of Spain, 6–4, 6–0. In August, in Washington, D.C., he beat world No. 30 Fabrice Santoro of France, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. Roddick played the Banana Bowl in the city of São Paulo and won, beating Joachim Johansson in the final.[8] Roddick also won the Australian Junior Open, defeating Mario Ančić in the final. In 2001, Roddick defeated former French Open champion Michael Chang in 5 sets in the second round of the tournament, despite clay being Roddick's worst surface. During the following Wimbledon, he further showed potential by taking a set from eventual winner Goran Ivanišević. He also defeated 7-time Wimbledon champion, world No. 4, and fellow American Pete Sampras, at the age of 19, at the Miami Masters 7–6, 6–3, and world No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 in August.
Roddick's breakthrough year was in 2003, in which he defeated Younes El Aynaoui in the quarterfinals of the 2003 Australian Open. Roddick and the Moroccan battled for five hours, with the fifth set (21–19 in favor of Roddick) at the time the longest fifth set in a Grand Slam tournament during the open era, at 2 hours and 23 minutes. Despite a lackluster French Open, Roddick enjoyed success in the United Kingdom by winning Queen's Club, beating World No. 2 Andre Agassi 6–1, 6–7, 7–6 along the way, and reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. He avenged that loss in August, beating then World Number 3 Federer in Montreal, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6.[9] It is one of three times that Roddick has defeated him in an official ATP tournament as of yet.
Roddick's hardcourt record in 2003 included his first Masters Series titles—coming at Canada and Cincinnati–and his only Grand Slam title. At the US Open, Roddick rallied from two sets down and a match point in the semifinals to beat David Nalbandian of Argentina, 6–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, 6–3. He then defeated world no. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, 6–3, 7–6, 6–3. At the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston, he defeated world no. 7 Carlos Moyá of Spain, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, and world no. 4 Guillermo Coria of Argentina, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3, before losing to Roger Federer in the semifinals. By the end of the year, at age 21, he was ranked no. 1, the first American to finish a year at no. 1 since Andre Agassi in 1999. He also became the youngest American to hold this rank since computer rankings were started in 1973.
Roddick's reign at no. 1 ended the following February, when Roger Federer ascended to the top position, after winning his first Australian Open; the 2004 Australian Open would be the only time in Roddick's career where he was the no. 1 seed in a Grand Slam. In April, Roddick again beat world no. 6 Moya, this time 5–7, 6–2, 7–5. In June, Roddick advanced to his first Wimbledon final, and after taking the first set from defending champion Federer, lost in four sets. Roddick was knocked out during the 2004 US Open in a five-set quarterfinal against another big server, Joachim Johansson. Later in September in Bangkok, he beat world no. 9 Marat Safin of Russia, 7–6, 6–7, 7–6. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Roddick lost to Chilean Fernando González, the eventual bronze medal winner, in the third round. In November he beat world no. 7 Tim Henman of Great Britain, 7–5, 7–6, world no. 4 Safin, 7–6, 7–6, and world no. 6 Guillermo Coria, 7–6, 6–3. Later that year, Roddick teamed up with Mardy Fish and Bob and Mike Bryan on the U.S. Davis Cup team that lost to Spain in the final in Seville. Roddick lost his singles match against Rafael Nadal, who would in the following year win the French Open. Towards the end of 2004, Roddick fired his coach of 18 months, Brad Gilbert, and hired assistant Davis Cup coach Dean Goldfine. Roddick finished 2004 ranked as the world no. 2, the U.S. no. 1, and the player with the most aces (,017). In 2004, Roddick saved fellow tennis player Sjeng Schalken and other guests (including close friends Ben Campezi and Dean Monroe) from a hotel fire.[10]
Roddick's first 2005 tournament victory was the SAP Open in San Jose, California, where he became the first to win the event in consecutive years since Mark Philippoussis in 1999 and 2000. The top-seeded Roddick defeated Cyril Saulnier, 6–0, 6–4, in 50 minutes, the event's first championship shutout set since Arthur Ashe beat Guillermo Vilas in 1975. In March, he defeated world no. 7 Carlos Moyá, 6–7, 6–4, 6–1. In April, Roddick won the U.S. Men's Claycourt Championships, reclaiming the title he won in 2001 and 2002. (He lost in 2003 to Agassi, and in 2004 to Tommy Haas.) In May, Roddick had match point against Spain's Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco was attempting to save the match point on his second serve, when the linesman erroneously called the serve out. If this call had held, Roddick would have won the match. Roddick motioned to the umpire, pointing to the clear ball mark on the clay indicating the ball was in, and the call was consequently changed. Verdasco went on to win the match. At the French Open, Roddick lost to unseeded Argentine José Acasuso in the second round, and at Wimbledon, Roddick lost to Federer in the final for the second consecutive year. In August, he defeated world no. 3 Lleyton Hewitt, 6–4, 7–6, at the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati. At the US Open, Roddick was defeated by world no. 70 Gilles Müller in the first round. Roddick's last US Open first-round loss had been in 2000. At the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Roddick defeated Gaël Monfils to wrap up a tournament without losing a set or getting his serve broken.
Roddick's first ATP event of the year was the Australian Open. There, he reached the fourth round, before being upset by unseeded and eventual finalist, Marcos Baghdatis. At the French Open, Roddick retired in the first round, after sustaining a foot injury during the match. Two weeks later at Wimbledon, Roddick was upset in the third round by British hopeful Andy Murray. This loss caused Roddick to fall below the top 10 for the first time since 2002. After Wimbledon, Roddick began working with a new coach, tennis legend Jimmy Connors. In his first event with his new coach, Roddick reached the final of Indianapolis, before losing to good friend and fellow American, James Blake. His resurgence finally came at the Cincinnati Masters, where he won the event by defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, making this the first masters event he won since 2004. At the US Open, Roddick easily won his first two matches against Florent Serra and Kristian Pless. He then played a thriller five-set match against Fernando Verdasco, winning 6–2 in the final set. Next, he beat Benjamin Becker, who was coming off a huge win against recently retired Andre Agassi. In the quarterfinals, Roddick beat Lleyton Hewitt, avenging his loss in 2001, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. Now in the semifinals for the first time since he won in 2003, Roddick played Mikhail Youzhny and beat him, 6–7, 6–0, 7–6, 6–3. In the finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon a year prior, Roddick played world no. 1 Federer. He lost, however, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7, 1–6. He then qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, where he defeated world no. 4 Ivan Ljubičić of Croatia, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1, but lost in the round robin to world no. 1 Federer, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6, in a tough three-set battle.
Roddick entered the 2007 Australian Open as the sixth seed. In his first-round match, he lost a marathon first-set tiebreak 20–18, but eventually won the match in four sets against wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France. Roddick defeated 26th-seeded Marat Safin in the third round, and ninth-seeded Mario Ančić in a five-set fourth-round match. Roddick won his quarterfinal match against fellow American Mardy Fish, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. His run was ended in the semifinals by world no. 1 Federer, who defeated him in straight sets, 6–4, 6–0, 6–2, making his head-to-head record against Federer 1–13. In first-round Davis Cup action, Roddick helped the US defeat the Czech Republic, winning his singles matches against Ivo Minář and Tomáš Berdych. Roddick reached at least the semifinals of his next two tournaments. He bowed out to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the SAP Open in San Jose, California, a reprise of 2006. Roddick then defeated Murray in the semifinals of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, before losing in the final to defending champion Tommy Haas, 6–3, 6–2. Reaching the final, however, enabled Roddick to overtake Nikolay Davydenko for the world no. 3 position, his first week inside the top three since March 6, 2006. At the first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year, after beating world no. 8 Ivan Ljubičić, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1, Roddick reached the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, but lost to world no. 2 Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 6–3.
Roddick then played the Miami Masters, where he retired from his quarterfinal match against Andy Murray due to a left hamstring injury. Roddick then helped the U.S. defeat Spain and advance to the Davis Cup semifinals, winning his lone singles match against Fernando Verdasco, 7–6, 6–1, 6–4. However, Roddick re-aggravated his hamstring injury during the Davis Cup tie, and was subsequently forced to pull out of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas. Roddick also announced that he would withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters, citing the injury. His next tournament was the Internazionali d'Italia. After a first-round bye, he won his first match against Gastón Gaudio, where he saved three break points and fired nine aces. However, he was unable to stop Juan Ignacio Chela in the third round, losing 6–0, 6–4. Roddick then withdrew from the Masters Series Hamburg tournament because, according to his website, he needed time to physically prepare himself for the upcoming French Open. Roddick was seeded third at the French Open, but was eliminated in the first round by Russian Igor Andreev in four sets, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6, 4–6. Roddick was victorious at the Stella Artois Championships for the fourth time, when he defeated Nicolas Mahut in the final, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6. At Wimbledon, Roddick was seeded third and considered one of the pre-tournament favorites behind Federer and Nadal. He reached the quarterfinals after wins against Justin Gimelstob of the U.S., Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, Fernando Verdasco of Spain, and Paul-Henri Mathieu of France. In the quarterfinals, Roddick lost in five close sets to Richard Gasquet of France, 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 6–8.
During the summer hardcourt season, Roddick played four tournaments in four weeks. Roddick made it to the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, where he was upset by Frank Dancevic of Canada, 6–4, 7–6. The next week, however, Roddick claimed his second ATP title of the year by winning the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. for the third time, when he beat American newcomer John Isner, 6–4, 7–6. He then lost in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Novak Djokovic, and in the third round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio to David Ferrer of Spain. At the US Open, Roddick defeated Gimelstob in the first round, 7–6, 6–3, 6–3. He won his next three matches, one in straight sets and the other two when his opponent retired. In the quarterfinals, Roddick once again lost to Federer, 7–6, 7–6, 6–2, bringing his head-to-head record with Federer 1–14. There were no breaks of serve and only one break point total in the first two sets, that being on Federer's serve. Two weeks later, Roddick anchored the U.S. Davis Cup team during its 4–1 semifinal defeat of Sweden. Roddick won both his singles matches, opening the tie with a defeat of Joachim Johansson, 7–6, 7–6, 6–3, and clinching it with a 6–2, 7–6, 6–4 victory over Jonas Björkman. This was the ninth time in nine tries that Roddick had clinched a tie for the American team.[citation needed]
Roddick then set his sights on the Madrid Masters, but pulled out, citing a knee injury. At his next tournament two weeks later in Lyon, France, Roddick lost in the first round to Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, 7–6, 2–6, 6–4. Roddick then withdrew from the Paris Masters, incurring a $22,600 fine for not fulfilling his media obligations at the tournament.[11] At the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, Roddick defeated world no. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, in his first round-robin match, and then defeated world no. 7 Fernando González in his next match to become the first player to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament. In his third and final round-robin match, Roddick lost once again to Federer, 6–4, 6–2, for the 15th time in 16 career matches. In the semifinals, Roddick lost, 6–1, 6–3, to no. 6 seed David Ferrer, who had won all three of his round-robin matches. This was Roddick's third semifinal finish out of the last five years at the Tennis Masters Cup (he reached the semifinals in 2003 and 2004, withdrew in 2005, and failed to advance to the semifinals in 2006 after a 1–2 round-robin record). Roddick finished the year by helping the U.S. defeat Russia and win the 2007 Davis Cup, its 32nd Davis Cup victory, but first since 1995. Roddick won his rubber against Dmitry Tursunov, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2, before James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan completed the victory. Having secured the tie with an unassailable 3–0 lead, Roddick decided to sit out his second singles match of the tie.
Roddick started 2008 strongly, defeating Ivan Ljubičić, 6–3, 6–0, and Safin, 6–3, 6–3, to reach the AAMI Kooyong Classic final for the fourth consecutive season. In the final, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis, 7–5, 6–3, to win the tournament for the third consecutive year. Roddick was seeded sixth in the 2008 Australian Open. In the first round, he defeated Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic, 6–3, 6–4, 7–5. In the second round, he defeated German Michael Berrer, 6–2, 6–2, 6–4. He then lost to the no. 29 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round in a 5-set match, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7, 7–6, 6–8. Despite losing, Roddick served a career-high of 42 aces in a match. Roddick won his 24th career title and his third title of the year at the SAP Open in San Jose, California. He defeated the Czech Radek Stepanek in straight sets, 6–4, 7–5. Roddick's next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships. He made it to the semifinals by defeating world no. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain, 7–6, 6–2, his first victory over Nadal since the second round of the 2004 US Open. The win also marked Roddick's first victory over a player ranked in the top two since June 2003. He progressed through to the finals by defeating world no. 3 and 2008 Australian Open singles champion Novak Djokovic, 7–6, 6–3, in the semifinal. By making it to the final, he became the first American to reach the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships final in the tournament's 16-year history. In the final he defeated Feliciano López, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2, to win his 25th career title. He never lost his serve during the entire tournament.
Following Roddick's quarterfinal match in Dubai, he announced that he had split with his coach of two years, Jimmy Connors. Connors had resigned a week earlier, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.[12] Roddick would continue to be coached by his brother, John Roddick. He then fell to former world no. 2 Tommy Haas at the Pacific Life Open in the second round, 6–4, 6–4. At the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open, Roddick advanced to the semifinals after defeating world no. 1 Roger Federer, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3, an hour after proposing to Brooklyn Decker, bringing his head-to-head record against Federer to 2–15. Roddick improved to 3–0 against top-3 players in 2008. Roddick lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko, 6–7, 2–6. Roddick's next tournament was the Masters tournament in Rome. There, he equaled his best result by reaching the semifinals, where he retired against Stanislas Wawrinka in the pair's first encounter, due to a back injury.
Roddick was forced to pull out of the 2008 French Open due to a shoulder injury. After a visit to a doctor in New York, it was determined this was nothing more than an inflammation of the rotator cuff. His first tournament after the shoulder injury was the Artois Championship, his annual Wimbledon preparation, where he was the defending champion. Roddick defeated Mardy Fish and Andy Murray, before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. At Wimbledon, Roddick suffered a second-round defeat to Serbia's Janko Tipsarević, 6–7, 7–5, 6–4, 7–6. This was his earliest exit at Wimbledon. Roddick was beaten at the Rogers Cup in the third round by Marin Cilic, 4–6, 6–4, 4–6. He was then forced to pull out of the Cincinnati Masters following a neck injury, which he said may have been caused by a poor sleeping posture. He stated in an interview that the neck injury had nothing to do with his shoulder injury. Roddick did not participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics, with his reason being to concentrate on the 2008 US Open.[13] In order to prepare for the US Open, Roddick then played in the smaller hard court tournaments in the US Open Series, including those at Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. At the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, Roddick lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the final, 1–6, 6–7.
At the 2008 US Open, Roddick defeated Fabrice Santoro in the first round, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. Roddick then won his next three matches against Ernests Gulbis, Andreas Seppi, and Fernando González. In the quarterfinals, Roddick lost to world no. 3 Novak Djokovic, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7, bringing his head-to-head record with Djokovic to 1–2.
Roddick captured his 26th ATP title in Beijing at the China Open on September 28, 2008. He defeated Dudi Sela of Israel, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3. The victory was part of Roddick's strong showing in Asia, as he reached the semifinal round of the AIG Japan Open, where he lost to eventual champion Tomás Berdych, after squandering a 5–3 lead in the third and deciding set. In the third round of the Madrid Masters, he lost to Gaël Monfils in three sets, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6. Two weeks later, Roddick reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters by defeating Gilles Simon, 6–3, 7–5, before losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Due to his performance in the tournament, Roddick automatically qualified for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. At the Masters Cup in Shanghai, he played Andy Murray in his first round-robin match and lost, 4–6, 6–1, 1–6. He was then scheduled to play Roger Federer, but retired due to an ankle injury and was replaced by Radek Štěpánek.
Roddick hired Larry Stefanki as his new coach and started working with him on December 1, 2008. Stefanki had previously trained John McEnroe, Marcelo Ríos, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Fernando González, and Tim Henman. Under Stefanki's guidance, both Rios and Kafelnikov rose to world no. 1 ranking, and Henman and González reached the top five, including a 2007 Australian Open runner-up finish by Gonzalez.
Roddick began official tournament competition at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. He defeated Gaël Monfils in the semifinals, 7–6, 3–6, 6–3, before losing to Andy Murray in the final. At the Australian Open, Roddick defeated Xavier Malisse in the second round, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6, 6–2. After victories over Fabrice Santoro and 21st-seeded Tommy Robredo, Roddick played the defending champion and world no. 3 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Djokovic retired in the fourth set while trailing, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2, 2–1, which allowed Roddick to reach the fourth Australian Open semifinal of his career. Roddick was defeated there by eventual runner-up Roger Federer, 2–6, 5–7, 5–7.
His next tournament was the SAP Open in San Jose, U.S. He snapped a three-match losing streak against Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals, 7–5, 6–4, before losing in the semifinals to Radek Štěpánek for the first time in his career, 3–6, 7–6, 6–4. At the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, U.S., Roddick defeated Australian Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals, 2–6, 7–6, 6–4, to reach the final. He took his first title of the year by beating Štěpánek in the final, 7–5, 7–5.
Roddick chose not to defend his Dubai title, with prize money of $2 million, to protest the refusal of the United Arab Emirates to grant Israeli Shahar Pe'er a visa for the Women's Tennis Association event.[14][15] "I really didn't agree with what went on over there", Roddick said.[14][15]
Roddick played both of the spring ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in the U.S. He was seeded seventh at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, 6–3, 6–2. His run was ended by world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–7. However, he won the doubles title with partner Mardy Fish. It was his fourth doubles title overall and his second partnering Fish. At the Miami Masters, Roddick beat ninth-seeded Gaël Monfils in the fourth round, 7–6, 6–2, to secure a place in the quarterfinals, where he lost to Roger Federer, 3–6, 6–4, 4–6.
After a break from tournament tennis to get married, Roddick returned to action at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court event in Madrid. In his first match, Roddick survived two match points in the second-set tiebreaker to defeat Tommy Haas, 1–6, 7–6, 6–4. In the quarterfinals, Roddick again lost to Federer, 7–5, 6–7, 6–1. Roddick had his career-best result at the French Open, when he defeated Marc Gicquel in the third round. He lost in the fourth round to Monfils, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3.
A twisted ankle forced Roddick to retire from his semifinal match against James Blake at the AEGON Championships, his first grass court tournament of the year. He was seeded sixth at Wimbledon. He defeated Leyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals, 6–3, 6–7, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4, serving a career-high 43 aces, and third-seeded Andy Murray in the semifinals, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6.[16] He then lost to Federer for the third time in a Wimbledon final, 5–7, 7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 16–14. Roddick was praised for his performance and received a lot of compliments.[17] Even though Roddick lost this match, he set a record for number of games won in a Wimbledon final at 39. This was their fourth meeting in a Grand Slam final, all having been won by Federer. The match set records for the longest men's Grand Slam final in history at 77 games and the longest fifth set in a men's grand slam final.[18] Following the match, when asked to elaborate on his marathon performance, Roddick replied, "I lost."[19] On the strength of his Wimbledon performance, Roddick returned to the top five on July 13, 2009.
Roddick returned to action as the top seed at the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington. He defeated Benjamin Becker, 6–3, 6–2, and then Sam Querrey, 7–6, 6–4. He defeated Ivo Karlović in the quarterfinals, 7–6, 7–6, and John Isner, 6–7, 6–2, 7–5 in the semifinals. In the final, he lost to defending champion Juan Martín del Potro, 6–3, 5–7, 6–7, despite saving three match points.
Roddick played the next week at the ATP World Tour 1000 event in Montreal, where he was seeded fifth. He defeated Igor Andreev, 6–1, 7–6, then world no.11 Fernando Verdasco, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, and in the quarterfinals defeated world no.4 Novak Djokovic, 6–4, 7–6, improving his career record against Djokovic to 4–2 (3–0 in 2009). He then lost to world no.6 Juan Martín del Potro, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, in the semifinals, despite having a match point. The loss dropped his career record against del Potro to 0–3 (0–2 in 2009).
Roddick next played at the ATP World Tour 1000 event in Cincinnati, where he was seeded fifth. He lost to Sam Querrey, 7–6, 7–6, in his first match, after having received a bye in the first round.
Roddick entered the US Open as the fifth-seeded player. In his first-round match, he defeated the German veteran Björn Phau, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. On September 3, 2009 during the US Open, he faced Frenchman Marc Gicquel and won, 6–1, 6–4, 6–4, as his parents and newly-wed wife watched from the stands. In the third round, he was eliminated by fellow American John Isner, 6–7, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–7. Ironically, he lost his serve only once during the match, as was the case in the Wimbledon final.
Roddick's next tournament was the 2009 China Open in Beijing, where he was the defending champion. In a shocking upset, he was defeated in the first round by Polish qualifier and world no. 143 Łukasz Kubot, 2–6, 4–6. He also played doubles at the event with Mark Knowles. The pair reached the final, losing to Bob and Mike Bryan, 4–6, 2–6.
Roddick was forced to retire from his first-round match at the 2009 Shanghai Masters against Stanislas Wawrinka while leading 4–3. It was later announced that Roddick would return to the United States to seek medical advice on a left-knee injury.[20] Once again, he qualified for the Year-End Masters in London, securing the sixth spot. However, Roddick withdrew from the 2009 Valencia Open 500, the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters, and the 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals due to the injury he suffered at the Shanghai Masters. He finished 2009 as the no. 7 in the world.
Roddick started his 2010 campaign at the 2010 Brisbane International as the top seed. In the final, Roddick defeated defending champion Radek Štěpánek, 7–6, 7–6, for his first ATP Tour title since February 2009, and making 2010 his tenth consecutive season with at least one ATP singles title. Roddick teamed with James Blake in the men's doubles and made it to the semifinals, before losing to eventual champions Jérémy Chardy and Marc Gicquel. Roddick announced that he would not represent the United States in Davis Cup competition for the 2010 season.
Roddick entered the 2010 Australian Open as the seventh seed. He lost in the quarterfinals to Marin Čilić, despite coming back from two sets down while battling an apparent shoulder injury, 6–7, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6.[21]
He then played in the 2010 SAP Open, where, in the semifinals, he lost the first set 2–6 to Sam Querrey, but came back winning the final two sets in tie-breaks 7–6, 7–6 and went to the finals, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6. He then entered the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, where he lost in the quarterfinals in a rematch of the San Jose semifinals to Sam Querrey, 5–7, 6–3, 1–6.
Playing in the 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Roddick went to the semifinals, where he faced Robin Söderling, and despite a 0–2 record against him, won 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. Roddick lost to Ivan Ljubičić, 7–6, 7–6 in the finals. This was Roddick's first Masters Series finals since the 2006 Cincinnati Masters.
In the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, Roddick defeated Igor Andreev, Sergiy Stakhovsky, Benjamin Becker, and Nicolás Almagro. In the semifinals he upset fourth-seed Rafael Nadal, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, to reach his fourth final of the year. In the final, Roddick won his second Sony Ericsson Open title, after defeating Thomas Berdych, 7–5, 6–4. This was Roddick's 29th title in 49 finals, fifth ATP Masters 1000 title, and first Masters 1000 title since 2006.
Roddick did not fare well during the clay-court season, withdrawing from Rome due to personal reasons and from Madrid due to a stomach virus. Roddick then lost in the third round of the 2010 French Open to Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6.
Failure at Roland Garros was followed by another disappointment when Roddick suffered his earliest ever exit in the 2010 AEGON Championships, a grass court, Wimbledon tune-up event. On June 10, 2010, he was beaten 6–4, 7–6 by Dudi Sela in the third round.
At Wimbledon, Roddick was seeded fifth, which was two spots higher than his ATP ranking of seven. He was defeated in the fourth round by Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan in five sets, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 7–6, 7–9. Like his final match with Roger Federer the previous year, his serve was broken only once during the match, in the fifth set.
Roddick next took a wild card to play in the Atlanta Tennis Championships, the first event of the US Open Series, where he was the top seed. He was eliminated in the semifinals by eventual champion Mardy Fish, 6–7, 3–6. His next tournament was in Washington D.C., where he lost in the round of 16 to Gilles Simon, 3–6, 3–6. The only American man in the ATP top ten prior to the tournament, the loss dropped him from the list. For the first time since the inception of the ATP world rankings, there was no American man in the top ten. Following the Washington tournament, Roddick withdrew from the Canada Masters due to illness, leading to a drop in ranking to no. 13, his lowest rank since 2002.
On August 14, 2010, Roddick revealed that he had been diagnosed with mononucleosis, the same illness that hurt rival Roger Federer's form in 2008, although he said his doctor believed it was in its later stages and he would make a complete recovery soon.[22]
In the Cincinnati Masters, he defeated world no. 5 Robin Söderling, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6, to reach the quarterfinals, where he defeated no. 2 seed Novak Djokovic, 6–4, 7–5. The win was Roddick's fourth consecutive over Djokovic, raising his career head-to-head record against Djokovic to 5–2 and ensuring Roddick's return to the top ten. In the semifinals, Roddick faced Mardy Fish, but lost, 4–6, 7–6, 6–1, failing to serve out the match at 5–3 in the second set.
In the second round of the 2010 US Open, Roddick was beaten by Janko Tipsarević of Serbia in four sets, 6–3, 5–7, 3–6, 6–7.
Roddick was seeded tenth at the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000. In the first round, Roddick defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber after Kohlschreiber retired in the second set (3–6, 1–2). Roddick second round opponent was Guillermo García López. Leading 6–3, 2–3, Roddick suffered a groin injury and was forced to retire from the match.
At the 2010 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Roddick was seeded fourth. He defeated Sam Querrey, Andrey Golubev, and David Nalbandian, earning a semifinal match against Roger Federer, their first meeting since the 2009 Wimbledon final. He lost to Federer, 2–6, 4–6.
At the BNP Paribas Masters, Roddick was the eighth seed and received a bye in the first round. He advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Jarkko Nieminen and Ernests Gulbis in the second and third round, respectively. Roddick then fell to world no. 5 Robin Söderling, 5–7, 4–6. With Fernando Verdasco failing to reach the final, Roddick automatically qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the eighth consecutive year. Though he had dropped out of top ten in the ATP rankings after his early exit from the US Open, his victory over Gulbis in Paris assured his return to the top ten at year end, making him and Federer the only players to maintain year-end top-ten ATP rankings from 2002 through 2010.
Roddick played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Roddick was placed in Group A with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Tomáš Berdych. In the tournament Roddick lost all of his round-robin matches, losing to Nadal, 6–3, 6–7, 4–6, Berdych, 5–7, 2–6, and Djokovic, 2–6, 3–6, respectively. Roddick ended the year world no. 8, his eighth consecutive season finishing in the top ten.
Roddick won two titles in 2010 and was the runner up at San Jose and Indian Wells. Roddick also qualified for the year-end championships, his eighth consecutive season of qualification. This season saw Roddick make back-to-back finals at the Masters Series 1000 tournament (a feat he has not done since 2003) in Indian Wells and Miami, and also his first Masters Series 1000 title since his victory at Cincinnati in 2006.
Roddick began his 2011 campaign in the Brisbane International as the second seed and the defending champion, where he was defeated 6–3 7–5 by Swedish no. 1 seed Robin Söderling in the final.
In the Australian Open, Roddick was the no. 8 seed. In the round of 16, Roddick lost to Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, 3–6, 4–6, 4–6. He then won the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, defeating Milos Raonic in the final, 7–6, 6–7, 7–5, along with Ričardas Berankis, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, Janko Tipsarević, 6–1, 7–6, Lleyton Hewitt, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, and Juan Martín del Potro, 6–3, 6–4.
Roddick began his 2011 Davis Cup campaign for the United States against Chile. He faced Nicolas Massu in the opener and defeated him in four sets, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. He then faced Paul Capdeville to clinch the victory for the U.S., and he did so by winning in four sets, 3–6, 7–6, 6–3, 6–3. Roddick improved his record to 12–0 in Davis Cup clinchers. In his next Davis Cup match against Spain, Roddick drew David Ferrer first, but lost in three tight sets, 6–7, 5–7, 3–6. Roddick was supposed to play Feliciano Lopez in reverse singles, but after David Ferrer wrapped up the victory for Spain by defeating Mardy Fish, their match was cancelled.
At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open, he was beaten by Richard Gasquet in the fourth round, 3–6, 6–7. In the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, as the defending champion, Roddick was upset by Pablo Cuevas in the second round, 4–6, 6–7. This loss dropped Roddick to no. 12 in the rankings and the second-ranked American behind compatriot Mardy Fish.
Roddick then began his clay-court season at the 2011 Madrid Open, but he was upset in the first round by Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla in three sets, 4–6, 7–6, 3–6. Roddick continued to warm up for the 2011 French Open in Italy, playing the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but lost in the first round for the second straight tournament to Gilles Simon of France, 3–6, 3–6. He teamed with Mardy Fish to play doubles in Rome, and they went to the final before Roddick had to withdraw because of a shoulder injury. Roddick also withdrew from the Nice Open in France and pulled out of the 2011 French Open, after failing to recover.
Roddick returned to action at the 2011 AEGON Championships, where he was a four-time champion. In the semifinals, he played Andy Murray, their first meeting since the Wimbledon 2009 semifinals, but Roddick was defeated, 3–6, 1–6. Andy Roddick was seeded no. 8 for Wimbledon, and in the first round, he beat Andreas Beck of Germany in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6, 6–3. In the second round, Roddick defeated Victor Hanescu, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4. In the third round, Roddick was beaten in straight sets by left-handed Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6–7, 6–7, 4–6. The upset loss to Lopez means that Roddick failed to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam since the 2010 Australian open. This was the longest Roddick had ever gone in his career without reaching the quarterfinals of a major.
Roddick withdrew from the Legg Masson Tennis Classic, and Rogers Cup, after partially tearing his oblique muscle while practicing. He returned to action after a couple of week rest from his injury and played at the 2011 Cincinnati Masters. He lost in the first round to Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7–6, 5–7, 1–6. This loss made him drop out of the top 20 for the first time since August 2001.
After suffering an early exit at Cincinnati, Roddick played at the Winston-Salem Event in North Carolina, where he received the top seed at the tournament, after the withdrawal of the top-ranked American Mardy Fish. Roddick lost in the semifinal to John Isner, 6–7, 4–6.
Roddick was seeded no. 21 at the U.S. Open. He begun his campaign with a straight sets win over fellow American Michael Russell, 6–2, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. He then defeated another American Jack Sock in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4, In the third round he defeated Julien Benneteau, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6. He then backed it up with a four-set win over David Ferrer to advance to his first grand slam quarterfinal since the 2010 Australian Open. He eventually fell to world no. 2 Rafael Nadal.
After this, he played at Beijing, where he lost to Kevin Anderson, 6–4, 7–5. Still in China, his next tournament was the Masters 1000 of Shanghai, where he fell to Spanish David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.
After this, he played at the ATP 500 of Basel, where he lost to Roger Federer, 6–3, 6–2, in the quarterfinals. Going straight to Masters 1000 of Paris after this, he had a third-round loss to British Andy Murray, 6–2, 6–2. This loss ended Roddick's 2011 season, which left him out of the Top 10, after being there for nine consecutive years.
Roddick began his 2012 season playing at the AAMI Classic. In the main draw first round, he lost to Gael Monfils 7–6(2), 7–6(3). After this loss, he played at the play-offs of the tournament, where he won against Tomas Berdych 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–3 and lost to Kei Nishikori double 6–3. His next tournament was the 2012 Australian Open. In the first round, he beat Robin Haase 6–3, 6–4, 6–1. In the second round, he was forced to retire against Australian Lleyton Hewitt, while trailing 6–3, 3–6, 4–6 due to a hamstring injury. Following the injury, Roddick entered the SAP Open in San Jose, CA. He beat Denis Kudla 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 in the round of 16 but lost in the quarter-finals to Denis Istomin 2–6, 4–6.
In February, Roddick traveled to Memphis to defend his title at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. His title defense was short lived though, as he dropped his first round match to Xavier Malisse 6–7, 5–7. After the disappointment in Memphis, Roddick entered the ATP 250 event in Delray Beach, FL. He defeated Philipp Petzschner and Denis Istomin in the first and second rounds respectively, before falling to Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6–2, 6–7, 4–6.
After a disappointing first two months of the season, and his ranking falling all the way to world #31, Roddick went to Madison Square Garden to play Roger Federer in the BNP Paribas Showdown, an entertaining exhibition event that is part of Tennis Night in America. Though the results did not count towards ATP rankings or H2H records, Roddick delighted the sellout crowd with a victory over Federer, 7–5, 7–6.
In March, Roddick entered the first Masters 1000 event of the season at Indian Wells, CA where he received a first round bye. He beat Lukasz Kubot in the second round, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3, but then lost in the next round to world #7 Tomas Berdych 3–6, 6–4, 2–6. Later in the month, Roddick had better results in Miami at the Sony Ericson Open, where he beat Gilles Muller 6–3, 6–2 in the second round. That win set up a 3rd round match with world #3 Roger Federer, this being the first time they played each other before the quarterfinals of any tournament. Roddick defeated Federer for only the third time in his career, 7–6 1–6 6–4, to reach the 4th round, but then lost 7–5, 6–0 to Juan Monaco of Argentina. Roddick then elected not to play in the final 3 clay court masters leading up to the French Open where he looked to reach his best result he achieved in 2009. He fell to Nicholas Mahut in the first round, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
Roddick is often called "A-Rod", referring to his first initial and the first three letters of his last name.[23]
Roddick is famous for his frequent outbursts against umpires and linesmen on the court.[24] His most notable outburst was during his third-round match at the Australian Open in 2008 where he abused umpire Emmanuel Joseph[25] saying, "You're an idiot! Stay in school kids or you'll end up being an umpire."[26]
He lost his temper again at the 2010 Australian Open, but later admitted to his mistake[27] and later again that year launched into a tirade at a female official over a foot fault call, at the 2010 US Open, a match he eventually lost to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.[28] 2011 saw Andy throwing another tantrum and snapping at the chair umpire at Indian Wells on his way to losing to Richard Gasquet.[29]
At the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, Roddick was given a penalty point, which resulted in a critical break of serve in favor of Philipp Kohlschreiber, Roddick's opponent in the second round. The penalty point was given due to ball abuse, when Roddick smashed a ball into the stands in frustration, after he had already been warned earlier in the match by umpire Carlos Bernardes for an episode of racquet abuse. This triggered another series of altercations with the umpire, with Roddick expressing his displeasure at the umpire's call. Roddick subsequently lost the match to Kohlschreiber and suffered an early exit from the tournament.[30] At the 2011 China Open in Beijing, Andy Roddick was asked by the Chinese press about his potential retirement, given drop in the rankings. Roddick refused to answer.
Roddick, however, is also known for his funny on-court behavior and witty answers off-court in interviews and press conferences.[31] He and Novak Djokovic are especially known for imitating players, with both doing impersonations of Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, and each other. Roddick was also coached by Jimmy Connors for two years, who was known for his flamboyant personality during his playing career.
Roddick uses a discontinued version of the Babolat Pure Drive, extended to 27.5 inches. The racquet itself is heavily customised with additional weight placed in the head via the use of lead tape. The resulting racquet exhibits a more head heavy balance point and a higher swingweight than the stock model with a higher overall weight, though this is similar to the model he endorses at approximately 12 oz. Modifications of this sort are common for professional players.
Roddick's racquets are painted to resemble the Pure Drive Roddick GT Plus in order to market the current model of the same name which Babolat sells. The cortex in particular is visibly painted onto the racquet. For marketing purposes Roddick endorses the Pure Drive Roddick GT Plus Cortex Racquet, a signature racquet designed for him by racquet sponsor Babolat, which is slightly heavier (11.9 oz), stiffer (Babolat RDC index 72), and longer (27.5") than the standard Pure Drive Series (11.3 oz, Babolat RDC 71, 27"). The racquet is designed for a strong service due to its weight, stiffness, and length.[32] According to Tennis Warehouse, it is the best one for this fundamental stroke. He strings with a custom hybrid (RPM Blast + VS Gut). Roddick previously used Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour and Babolat Revenge (used only for a short period of time) as his mains, until he began using Babolat's new string, RPM Blast. Roddick's tensions varies, he strings roughly at 65 lbs.
Roddick also uses Babolat Propulse III tennis shoes, which are his signature gear.[33] In matches, Roddick wears shirts, shorts, and caps manufactured for him by Lacoste.
Roddick's serve is known for its power, usually serving at around 130–150 mph (209~242 km/h), often resulting in unhittable serves (an ace).[34] Roddick's favorite shot is his off-forehand which he uses in combination with his kicker out wide. In the past, Roddick used to play his off-forehand frequently but has since adjusted and used it to create points. He usually targets the two corners to win aces. As for his second serve, he usually employs a heavy kick serve, then tries to use a variety of spins, slices, and angles in the rally to throw off his opponent. He is noted to use heavy topspin on both his serves and his twist serve is probably the highest-kicking serve anyone hits.[35]
Roddick will also occasionally use the serve-and-volley tactic on both first and second services to surprise his opponent, though he generally prefers to remain near the baseline after a serve. He has developed a more all-court playing style compared to the aggressive baseline style he played with for most of his early career. Although Roddick's backhand is still a weakness today, it is considered to have improved somewhat in 2009 under Stefanki's guidance.[36]
On April 5, 2002, Roddick guest-starred on the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch as himself. In the episode, Sabrina summoned him so he could give her tennis lessons.[37][38]
Roddick appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn talk show in 2002 and 2003, Late Show with David Letterman in 2003 and 2009, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Live with Regis and Kelly in 2003, Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2004 and 2005, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2005 and 2007, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2006.[37] Roddick also appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in 2007 and 2010.
Roddick hosted Saturday Night Live on November 8, 2003, becoming the second professional tennis player to host (Chris Evert being the first during the show's 15th season) and the first (and, as of May 2012, only) male tennis player to host.[39]
Roddick also appeared on a 2004 episode of the Anne Robinson version of The Weakest Link, but ended up being voted off.[40]
Roddick is in a This is SportsCenter ad with Stuart Scott, in which he confronts the Sports Center anchor about the anchors not calling him "A-Rod", and asks him "Did Alex Rodriguez put you up to this?" Scott replies "Who?" Roddick says "A-Rod!" Scott gets a sneaky look on his face, and Roddick leaves disgusted.
The June/July issue of Men's Fitness magazine carried an article on Roddick. The cover shot featured the tennis ace in a t-shirt, straining to contain massive, pumped-up biceps and hulking shoulder and chest muscles. The image set off widespread online speculation that the magazine had altered Roddick's likeness, a suspicion echoed by Roddick himself. Roddick has quipped that he saw the photo, and that "Nadal wanted his arms back."[41]
In March 2009, Andy Roddick appeared in the "Speed Feels Better" music video for singer/songwriter Michael Tolcher. Other athletes in the video included Amanda Beard, Barry Sanders, Kimmie Meissner, and Rick Ankiel.
Andy Roddick played tennis while using a frying pan instead of a racquet for the book "Andy Roddick Beat Me With a Frying Pan" by Todd Gallagher.[42]
In 2011, Roddick made a cameo at the end of the film Just Go With It, as the new lover of the film's jilted bride (played by Brooklyn Decker, his actual wife).
In 2011 Roddick co-hosted a radio show for one day on Fox Sports Radio with his good friend Bobby Bones of the Bobby Bones Show.[43]
Due to the success of that one-time show, Fox Sports Radio offered Andy and Bobby a nationally-syndicated sports radio show. The show debuted on January 7, 2012. The show can be heard nationally on Saturdays from 12pm-3pm CST. The show is a mix of sports, pop culture and entertainment.[44][45]
According to an interview his wife, Brooklyn, gave on February 16, 2012, Roddick plans on retiring within two years and turning the radio show into a daily show and into his new career.[46]
In 2004, Roddick produced what was then the fastest serve in professional tennis: 249.4 km/h (155 mph) during a Davis Cup semi-final match with Vladimir Voltchkov on hard court in Charleston. Roddick's record serve has since been superseded by Ivo Karlović, who served at 251 km/h (156 mph) playing at the Davis Cup in March 2011.[47] Roddick also had the fastest serve in U.S. Open history: 244 km/h (152 mph) against American Scoville Jenkins.[48] Roddick also won the 2004 ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Player.
That same year he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award of the Year because of his charity efforts, which included: raising money for the survivors of the tsunami following 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake through Serving for Tsunami Relief and other efforts; auctioning off several rackets and autographs to raise money for UNICEF; and creating the Andy Roddick Foundation to help at-risk youth. The foundation is partly funded through the sale of blue wristbands inscribed "No Compromise", inspired by Lance Armstrong's yellow Livestrong wristbands.
In 2007 Roddick and the Andy Roddick Foundation was awarded by the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. Roddick was the first male tennis player ever to receive the award.
Serve records:
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 2R | SF | QF | SF | 4R | SF | 3R | SF | QF | 4R | 2R | 0 / 11 | 38–11 |
French Open | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 4R | 3R | A | 1R | 0 / 10 | 9–10 |
Wimbledon | A | 3R | 3R | SF | F | F | 3R | QF | 2R | F | 4R | 3R | 0 / 11 | 39–11 | |
US Open | 1R | QF | QF | W | QF | 1R | F | QF | QF | 3R | 2R | QF | 1 / 12 | 40–11 | |
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 17–3 | 15–4 | 12–4 | 11–4 | 13–4 | 7–3 | 16–4 | 10–4 | 9–3 | 1–1 | 1 / 43 | 126–42 |
Championship | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
Wimbledon | 2009 | 39 games won in a Grand Slam final | Stands alone |
ATP World Tour | 2007 | 18 consecutive tie-breaks won | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004 | Fastest serve in a Grand Slam tournament (152 mph) | Stands alone |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | US Open | Hard | ![]() |
6–3, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 |
Runner-up | 2004 | Wimbledon | Grass | ![]() |
6–4, 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Wimbledon | Grass | ![]() |
2–6, 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2006 | US Open | Hard | ![]() |
2–6, 6–4, 5–7, 1–6 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Wimbledon | Grass | ![]() |
7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 14–16 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2002 | Montreal | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 5–7 |
Winner | 2003 | Montreal | Hard | ![]() |
6–1, 6–3 |
Winner | 2003 | Cincinnati | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4) |
Winner | 2004 | Miami | Hard | ![]() |
6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–1, ret. |
Runner-up | 2004 | Toronto | Hard | ![]() |
5–7, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Cincinnati | Hard | ![]() |
3–6, 5–7 |
Winner | 2006 | Cincinnati (2) | Hard | ![]() |
6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2010 | Indian Wells | Hard | ![]() |
6–7(3–7), 6–7(5–7) |
Winner | 2010 | Miami (2) | Hard | ![]() |
7–5, 6–4 |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andy Roddick |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Roddick, Andrew Stephen |
Alternative names | |
Short description | American tennis player |
Date of birth | August 30, 1982 |
Place of birth | Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
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This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a specific audience. Please help relocate any relevant information, and remove excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia inclusion policy. (December 2011) |
![]() Andy Murray at the 2011 Japan Open |
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Country | ![]() |
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Residence | London, England |
Born | (1987-05-15) 15 May 1987 (age 25) Glasgow, Scotland[1][2] |
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Weight | 84 kg (190 lb; 13.2 st) |
Turned pro | 2004 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $20,376,752[3] |
Official web site | www.andymurray.com |
Singles | |
Career record | 345–114 (75%) |
Career titles | 22 |
Highest ranking | No. 2 (17 August 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 4 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | F (2010, 2011) |
French Open | SF (2011) |
Wimbledon | SF (2009, 2010, 2011) |
US Open | F (2008) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2008, 2010) |
Olympic Games | 1R (2008) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 45–53 |
Career titles | 2 |
Highest ranking | No. 51 (17 October 2011) |
Current ranking | No. 70 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2006) |
French Open | 2R (2006) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2005) |
US Open | 2R (2008) |
Other Doubles tournaments | |
Olympic Games | 2R (2008) |
Last updated on: 28 May 2012. |
Andrew "Andy" Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a Scottish professional tennis player, ranked No. 4 in the world,[3] and was ranked No. 2 from 17 to 31 August 2009.[4] Murray achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on 16 April 2007. He has been runner-up in three Grand Slam finals: the 2008 US Open, the 2010 Australian Open and the 2011 Australian Open, losing the first two to Roger Federer and the third to Novak Djokovic. In 2011, Murray became only the seventh player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year.[5]
Contents |
Andy Murray was born to Will and Judy in Glasgow, Scotland.[1][2] His maternal grandfather, Roy Erskine, was a professional footballer who played reserve team matches for Hibernian and in the Scottish Football League for Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath.[6][7][8][9] Murray's brother, Jamie, is also a professional tennis player, playing on the doubles circuit.[10] Following the separation of his parents when he was nine years old, Andy and Jamie lived with their father.[11] Murray later attended Dunblane High School.[12][13] Murray is in a five-year relationship with Kim Sears, who is regularly seen attending his matches. The relationship ended briefly in 2009 before they reconciled a short time later in 2010.[14][15][16]
At 15, Murray was asked to train with Rangers Football Club at their School of Excellence, but declined, opting to focus on his tennis career instead.[17] Murray's tennis idol is Andre Agassi.[18]
Murray was born with a bipartite patella, where the kneecap remains as two separate bones instead of fusing together in early childhood.[19] He was diagnosed at the age of 16 and had to stop playing tennis for six months. Murray is seen frequently to hold his knee due to the pain caused by the condition and has pulled out of events because of it,[20] but manages it through a number of different approaches.[21]
Murray attended Dunblane Primary School, and was present during the 1996 Dunblane school massacre.[22] Thomas Hamilton killed 17 people before turning one of his four guns on himself. Murray took cover in a classroom.[23] Murray says he was too young to understand what was happening and is reluctant to talk about it in interviews, but in his autobiography Hitting Back he says that he attended a youth group run by Hamilton, and that his mother gave Hamilton lifts in her car.[24]
Murray began playing tennis at age 5.[25] Leon Smith, Murray's tennis coach from 11 to 17,[26] said he had never seen a five-year-old like Murray, describing him as "unbelievably competitive". Murray attributes his abilities to the motivation gained from losing to his older brother Jamie. He first beat Jamie in an under-12s final in Solihull, afterwards teasing Jamie until his brother hit him hard enough to lose a nail on his left hand.[27] At the age of 12, Murray won his age group at the Orange Bowl, a prestigious event for junior players.[28] He briefly played football before reverting to tennis.[29] When Murray was 15 years old he decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. There he studied at the Schiller International School and trained on the clay courts of the Sánchez-Casal Academy. Murray described this time as "a big sacrifice".[13] While in Spain, he trained with Emilio Sánchez, formerly the world no. 1 doubles player.[13]
In July 2003, Murray started out on the Challenger and Futures circuit. In his first tournament, he reached the quarterfinals of the Manchester challenger. In his next tournament, Murray lost on clay in the first round to future world top-tenner Fernando Verdasco. In September, Murray won his first senior title by taking the Glasgow Futures event. He also reached the semifinals of the Edinburgh Futures event.[citation needed] In July 2004 Murray played a Futures event in Nottingham, where he lost to future Grand Slam finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round. Murray then went on to win events in Xàtiva and Rome.
In September 2004, he won the Junior US Open by beating Sergiy Stakhovsky, now a top-100 player. He was selected for the Davis Cup match against Austria later that month;[30] however, he was not selected to play. Later that year, he won BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.[31]
Murray began 2005 ranked 407 in the world.[32] In March, he became the youngest Briton ever to play in the Davis Cup,[33] as he helped Britain win the tie with a crucial doubles win. Following the tie, Murray turned professional in April,[34] as he played his first ATP tournament. Murray was given a wild card to a clay-court tournament in Barcelona, the Open SEAT, where he lost in three sets to Jan Hernych.[35] Murray then reached the semifinals of the boys' French Open, which was his first junior tournament since the US Open.[36] In the semi finals Murray lost in straight sets to Marin Čilić,[37] after he had defeated Juan Martín del Potro in the quarter-finals.[38]
Given a wild card to Queen's,[39] Murray progressed past Santiago Ventura in straight sets for his first ATP win.[citation needed] He followed this up with another straight-sets win against Taylor Dent. In the last 16, he played former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, where he lost the match in three sets. After losing the opener on a tie-break, Murray won the second on a tie-break, but the onset of cramp and an ankle injury sealed the match 6–7, 7–6, 5–7 in Johansson's favour.[40][41] Following his performance at Queen's, Murray received a wild card for Wimbledon.[42] Ranked 312, he defeated George Bastl and 14th seed Radek Štěpánek in the opening two rounds in straight sets, thereby becoming the first Scot in the open era to reach the third round of the men's singles tournament at Wimbledon.[43] In the third round, Murray played 2002 Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian[44] and lost 7–6, 6–1, 0–6, 4–6, 1–6.
Following Wimbledon, Murray played in Newport at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, where he lost in the second round. He had a wild card for the US Open, as he was the Junior champion. In the run-up to the tournament, Murray won Challengers on the hard courts of Aptos, which sent him into the top 200, and Binghamton, New York. He also experienced his first Masters event at Cincinnati, where he beat Dent again in straight sets, before losing in three sets to world no. 4 Marat Safin. Murray played Andrei Pavel in the opening round of the US Open. Murray recovered from being down two sets to one to win his first five-set match,[45] despite being sick on court.[46] He lost in the second round to Arnaud Clément in another five set contest.[47] Murray was again selected for the Davis Cup match against Switzerland. He was picked for the opening singles rubbers, losing in straight sets to Stanislas Wawrinka.[48] Murray then made his first ATP final at the Thailand Open. In the final, he faced world no. 1 Roger Federer, losing in straight sets. On 3 October, Murray achieved a top-100 ranking for the first time.[49] In his last tournament of the year, an ATP event in Basel Murray faced British no. 1 Tim Henman in the opening round.[50] Murray defeated him in three sets, before doing the same to Tomáš Berdych. He then suffered a third-round loss to Fernando González. He completed the year ranked 64 and was named the 2005 BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year.[51]
2006 saw Murray compete on the full circuit for the first time and split with his coach Mark Petchey[52] and team up with Brad Gilbert.[53]
Getting his season under way at the Adelaide International, Murray won his opening match of 2006 against Paolo Lorenzi in three sets, before bowing out to Tomáš Berdych. Murray's season then moved to Auckland, where he beat Kenneth Carlsen. Murray then lost three matches in a row including a first round matche at the Australian Open. Murray stopped the run as he beat Mardy Fish in straight sets when the tour came to San Jose, California; going on to win his first ATP title, the SAP Open, defeating world no. 11 Lleyton Hewitt in the final.[54] The run to the final included his first win over a top-ten player, Andy Roddick,[55] the world no. 3, to reach his second ATP final, which he won. Murray backed this up with a quarterfinal appearance in Memphis, falling to Söderling. Murray won just three times between the end of February and the middle of June, the run included a first round defeat to Gael Monfils at the French Open, in five sets.[56] After the French Open, where Murray was injured again, he revealed that his bones hadn't fully grown, causing him to suffer from cramps and back problems.[57]
At the Nottingham Open, Murray recorded consecutive wins for the first time since Memphis, with wins over Dmitry Tursunov and Max Mirnyi, before bowing out to Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinals. He progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon, beating Nicolás Massú, Julien Benneteau, and Roddick, before succumbing to Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Murray reached the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, defeating Ricardo Mello, Sam Querrey, and Robert Kendrick, with his first main tour whitewash (also known as a double bagel). He exited in the semifinals to Justin Gimelstob. Murray then won a Davis Cup rubber against Andy Ram, coming back from two sets down, but lost the doubles alongside Jamie Delgado, after being 2 sets to 1 up. The tie was over before Murray could play the deciding rubber. His good form continued as the tour moved to the hard courts of the USA, where he recorded a runner-up position at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic losing to Arnaud Clément in the final. Murray then reached his first Masters Series semifinal in Toronto at the Rogers Cup, beating David Ferrer, Tim Henman, Carlos Moyá, and Jarkko Nieminen along the way, before exiting to Richard Gasquet in straight sets. At the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, Murray defeated Henman, before becoming only one of two players, alongside Rafael Nadal, to defeat Roger Federer in 2006. This was followed by a win over Robbie Ginepri and a loss to Andy Roddick. He also reached the fourth round of the US Open losing in four sets to Davydenko, including a whitewash in the final set.[citation needed] In the Davis Cup, Murray won both his singles rubbers, but lost the doubles, as Britain won the tie. As the tour progressed to Asia, he lost to Henman for the first time in straight sets in Bangkok. In the final two Masters events in Madrid and Paris, Murray exited both tournaments at the last-16 stage ending his season, with losses to Novak Djoković and Dominik Hrbatý.
In November Murray split with his coach Brad Gilbert[58] and added a team of experts along with Miles Maclagan, his main coach.[59] Ahead of the first event of the season Murray signed a sponsorship deal with Highland Spring worth £1m. It was reportedly the biggest shirt-sponsorship deal in tennis.[60] The season started well for Murray as he reached the final of the Qatar Open. He defeated Filippo Volandri, Christophe Rochus, Max Mirnyi and Nikolay Davydenko, before falling to Ivan Ljubičić in straight sets. Murray reached the fourth round of the Australian Open.[61] After defeating Alberto Martín for the loss of one game, then beating Fernando Verdasco and Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets, in the round of 16 Murray lost a five-set match against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6.[62] He then successfully defended his San Jose title, defeating Kevin Kim, Kristian Pless, Hyung-Taik Lee, Andy Roddick and Ivo Karlović to retain the tournament.[63]
Murray then made the semi-finals of his next three tournaments. Making the semis in Memphis, he defeated Frank Dancevic, Pless and Stefan Koubek before a reverse to Roddick. In Indian Wells, Murray won against Wesley Moodie, Nicolas Mahut, Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Haas before falling to Novak Djoković. At Miami, Murray was victorious against Paul Goldstein, Robert Kendrick, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Roddick, before going down to Djokovic for the second tournament running.
Before the clay season Murray defeated Raemon Sluiter in the Davis Cup to help Britain win the tie. In his first tournament in Rome, Murray lost in the first round to Gilles Simon in three sets. In Hamburg, Murray played Volandri first up. In the first set, Murray was 5–1 when he hit a forehand from the back of the court and snapped the tendons in his wrist.[64]
Murray missed a large part of the season including the French Open and Wimbledon.[65] He returned at the Rogers Cup in Canada. In his first match he defeated Robby Ginepri in straight sets[66] before bowing out to Fabio Fognini. At the Cincinnati Masters Murray drew Marcos Baghdatis in the first round and won only three games. At the US Open Murray beat Pablo Cuevas in straight sets before edging out Jonas Björkman in a five-setter. Murray lost in the third round to Lee in four sets.
Murray played in Great Britain's winning Davis Cup tie against Croatia, beating Marin Čilić in five sets. Murray hit form, as he then reached the final at the Metz International after knocking out Janko Tipsarević, Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Guillermo Cañas. He lost to Tommy Robredo in the final, despite winning the first set 6–0. Murray had early exits in Moscow and Madrid; falling to Tipsarević after winning against Evgeny Korolev in Moscow and to Nadal after defeating Radek Štěpánek and Chela in Madrid.
Murray improved as he won his third ATP title at the St. Petersburg Open, beating Mirnyi, Lukáš Dlouhý, Dmitry Tursunov, Mikhail Youzhny and Fernando Verdasco to claim the title. In his final tournament in Paris, Murray went out in the quarter-finals. He beat Jarkko Nieminen and Fabrice Santoro before falling to Richard Gasquet. With that result he finished at No. 11 in the world, just missing out on a place at the Masters Cup.
Murray re-entered the top-ten rankings early in 2008, winning the Qatar ExxonMobil Open with wins over Olivier Rochus, Rainer Schüttler, Thomas Johansson, Nikolay Davydenko and Stanislas Wawrinka for the title. He was the ninth seed at the Australian Open but was defeated by eventual runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round.[67]
Murray took his second title of the year at the Open 13 after beating Jesse Huta Galung, Wawrinka, Nicolas Mahut, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Marin Čilić. But Murray exited to Robin Haase in straight sets in Rotterdam. In Dubai Murray defeated Roger Federer in three sets before doing the same to Fernando Verdasco and falling short against Davydenko. At Indian Wells Murray defeated Jürgen Melzer and Ivo Karlović in three sets and crashed out to Tommy Haas, before a first-match exit to Mario Ančić in Miami.
On the clay courts in Monte Carlo Murray defeated Feliciano López and Filippo Volandri before winning just four games against Novak Djoković. Ančić then handed Murray another first-match defeat in Barcelona. In Rome Murray first played Juan Martín del Potro in an ill-tempered three-set match. Murray won his first match in Rome[68] when Del Potro retired with an injury. Murray was warned for bad language and there was disagreement between the two players where Murray claimed that Del Potro insulted his mother, who was in the crowd, and deliberately aimed a ball at his head.[69][70] In the next round Murray lost in straight sets to Wawrinka. In his last tournament before the French Open Murray participated in Hamburg. He defeated Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon before a defeat against Rafael Nadal. At Roland Garros he overcame local boy Jonathan Eysseric in five sets and clay-courter José Acasuso, where he lost just four games. He ended the tournament after a defeat by Nicolás Almagro in four sets in the third round.
At Queen's Murray played just two games of his opening match before Sébastien Grosjean withdrew. Against Ernests Gulbis Murray slipped on the damp grass and caused a sprain to his thumb.[71] He won the match in 3 but withdrew ahead of his quarter-final against Andy Roddick.[72] Any thought that he would pull out of Wimbledon was unfounded as he made the start line to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. Murray defeated Fabrice Santoro, Xavier Malisse in three sets and Tommy Haas in 4, before the one of the matches of the tournament. Murray found himself two sets down to Richard Gasquet who was serving for the match. Murray broke and took the set to a tie-break, before the shot of the tournament on set point. Murray hit a backhand winner from way off the court, when he was almost in the stands.[73] Murray progressed through the fourth set before an early break in the 5th. Gasquet failed to break back in the next game and made a complaint about the light. But Murray completed a 5–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 win.[74] In the next round Murray was defeated by world No. 2 Nadal in straight sets.
In his first tournament after Wimbledon, the Rogers Cup, Murray defeated Johansson, Wawrinka and Djokovic before losing to Nadal in the semi-finals. The Nadal loss was Murray's last defeat in ATP events for three months. In Cincinnati Murray went one better than in Canada as he reached his first ATP Masters Series final. He beat Sam Querrey, Tursunov, Carlos Moyá and Karlovic to make the final. Murray showed no signs of nerves as on debut he won his first Masters Shield, defeating Djokovic in two tie-breakers. At the Olympics, which is ITF organised, Murray was dumped out in round one by Yen-Hsun Lu,[75] citing a lack of professionalism on his part.[76]
Murray then went to New York to participate in the US Open. He became the first Briton since Greg Rusedski in 1997 to reach a Grand Slam final. Murray defeated Sergio Roitman, Michaël Llodra and won against Melzer after being two sets down.[77] He then beat Wawrinka to set up a match with Del Potro;[78] he overcame Nadal in the semi-finals after a four-set battle, beating him for the first time, in a rain-affected match that lasted for two days.[79] In the final he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer.[80][81]
Murray beat Alexander Peya and Jürgen Melzer in the Davis Cup tie against Austria, but it was in vain as Great Britain lost the deciding rubber. He returned to ATP tournaments in Madrid, where he won his second consecutive Masters shield. He defeated Simone Bolelli, Čilić (for the first time in 2008) and Gaël Monfils before avenging his US Open final loss against Federer in three sets, and taking the title against Simon. Murray then made it three ATP tournament wins on the bounce with his 5th title of the year at the St Petersburg Open, where Murray beat Viktor Troicki, Gulbis, Janko Tipsarević, without dropping a set, before thrashing Verdasco for the loss of just three games in the semi-final and Andrey Golubev for the loss of two games in the final. He thus became the first British player to win two Master tournaments and the first Briton to win five tournaments in a year.[82] Heading into the final Masters event of the season, Murray was on course for a record third consecutive Masters shield.[83] Murray defeated Sam Querrey and Verdasco, before David Nalbandian ended Murray's run, of 14 straight wins, when he beat him in straight sets. This was Murray's first defeat on the ATP tour in three months, since Nadal beat him in Canada.[84]
Now at No. 4 in the world, Murray qualified for the first time for the Masters Cup. He beat Roddick in three sets, before the American withdrew from the competition. This was followed by a win over Simon to qualify for the semi-finals.[85] In his final group match against Federer, Murray defeated him in three sets.[86][87] In the semi-final Murray faced Davydenko, but after leaving it all on the court against Federer, Murray succumbed to the Russian in straight sets.[88]
Murray ended 2008 ranked fourth in the world.
Murray began 2009 by beating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. He followed this with a successful defence of his title at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Andy Roddick in straight sets to win the final.[89] At the Australian Open, Murray made it to the fourth round, losing to Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round.[90] After the loss to Verdasco, Murray was delayed from going home, as he was found to be suffering from a virus.
Murray got back to winnning ways quickly though as he won his eleventh career title in Rotterdam. In the final, Murray faced the world no. 1, Nadal, defeating him in the third set.[91] However, an injury, sustained in the semifinal forced his withdrawal from the Marseille Open, which he had won in 2008.[92] Returning from injury, Murray went to Dubai and withdrew before the quarterfinals with a re-occurrence of the virus that had affected him at the Australian Open.[93] The virus caused Murray to miss a Davis Cup tie in Glasgow. Returning from the virus, Murray made it to the final at Indian Wells. Murray defeated Federer in the semifinal but lost the final against Nadal, winning just three games in windy conditions.[94] However a week later and Murray made another final in Miami and defeated Novak Djokovic for another masters title.
Murray got his clay season underway at the Monte Carlo Masters. With a series of impressive performances, Murray made it to the semifinals losing in straight sets to Nadal. Murray then moved to the Rome Masters, where he lost in the second round, after a first-round bye, to Juan Mónaco in three sets. Despite an early exit of the Rome Masters Murray achieved the highest ever ranking of a British male in the open era when he became world no. 3 on 11 May 2009.[95] Murray celebrated this achievement by trying to defend his Madrid Masters title, which had switched surfaces from hard to clay. He reached the quarterfinals, after beating Simone Bolelli and Robredo in straight sets, before losing to Del Potro. Murray reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open, but was defeated by Fernando González in four sets.
Murray won at Queen's, without dropping a set, becoming the first British winner of the tournament since 1938. In the final Murray defeated American James Blake. This was Murray's first tournament win on grass and his first ATP title in Britain.[96] Murray was initially seeded third at Wimbledon, but after the withdrawal of defending champion Nadal, Murray became the second-highest seeded player, after Federer and highest-ever seeded Briton in a senior event at Wimbledon.[97] Rain meant that Murray's fourth-round match against Stanislas Wawrinka was the first match to be played entirely under Wimbledon's retractable roof, also enabling it to be the latest finishing match ever at Wimbledon. Murray's win stretched to five sets and 3 hours 56 minutes, resulting in a 22:38 finish that was approximately an hour after play is usually concluded.[98] However Murray lost a tight semifinal to Andy Roddick, achieving his best result in the tournament to date.
Murray returned to action in Montreal, defeating del Potro in three sets to take the title.[99] After this victory, he overtook Nadal in the rankings and held the number two position until the start of the US Open.[100] Murray followed the Masters win playing at the Cincinnati Masters, where Federer beat him for the first time since the US Open in straight sets. At the US Open, Murray was hampered by a wrist injury and suffered a straight-sets loss to Čilić.[101] Murray competed in the Davis Cup tie in Liverpool against Poland. Murray won both his singles matches, but lost the doubles as Britain lost the tie and was relegated to the next group. During the weekend, Murray damaged his wrist further and was forced to miss six weeks of the tour, and with it dropped to no. 4 in the world.[102]
Murray returned to the tour in Valencia, where he won his sixth and final tournament of the year.[103] In the final Masters event of 2009, in Paris, Murray beat James Blake in three sets, before losing to Štěpánek in three. At the World Tour Finals in London, Murray started by beating del Potro in three sets, before losing a three-set match to Federer. He won his next match against Verdasco, but because Murray, Federer, and del Potro all ended up on equal wins and sets, it came down to game percentage, and Murray lost out by a game,[104] bringing an end to his 2009 season.
Murray and Laura Robson represented Britain at the Hopman Cup. The pair progressed to the final, where they were beaten by Spain.[105] At the Australian Open Murray progressed through his opening few matches in straight sets to set up a quarterfinal clash with the world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. Murray led by two sets and a break before the Spaniard had to retire with a torn quadriceps. Murray became the first British man to reach more than one Grand Slam final in 72 years when he defeated Marin Cilic.[106] Murray lost the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer in straight sets.[107]
At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Murray reached the quarterfinals. He was defeated by Robin Söderling in straight sets. Murray next played at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, but lost his first match of the tournament, afterwards he said that his mind hadn't been fully on tennis.[108][109]
Switching attention to clay, Murray requested a wild card for Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. He suffered another first match loss, this time to Philipp Kohlschreiber. He also entered the doubles competition with Ross Hutchins and defeated world no. 10 doubles team Cermak and Meritmak, before losing to the Bryan Brothers on a champions tie-breaker. Murray then went on to reach the third round in the Rome Masters 1000, where he lost to David Ferrer in straight sets. At the Madrid Masters, he reached the quarterfinals, where he subsequently lost to Ferrer again in a closely fought battle. Murray completed his preparations for the second Grand Slam of the year by defeating Fish in an exhibition match 11–9 in a champions tie-breaker.[110] At the French Open, Murray was drawn in the first round against Richard Gasquet. Murray battled back from two sets down to win in the final set.[111] In the third round, Murray lost a set 0–6 against Marcos Baghdatis, something he had not done since the French Open quarterfinals the previous year.[112] Murray lost in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in the fourth round and credited his opponent for outplaying him.[113][114]
Murray's next appearance was at the grass courts of London. Attempting to become the first Briton since Gordon Lowe in 1914 to defend the title successfully,[115] Murray progressed to the third round, where he faced Mardy Fish. At 3–3 in the final set with momentum going Murray's way (Murray had just come back from 3–0 down), the match was called off for bad light, leaving Murray fuming at the umpire and tournament referee. Murray was quoted as saying he (Fish) only came off because it was 3–3.[116] Coming back the next day, Murray was edged out by the eventual finalist in a tie-breaker for his second defeat to him in the year.[117] In Murray's second-round match at Wimbledon, he defeated Jarkko Nieminen,[118] a match which was viewed by Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to the Championships since 1977.[119] Murray lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.[120]
On 27 July 2010, Andy Murray and his coach Maclagan split, and Murray replaced him with Àlex Corretja just before he competed in the Farmers Classic as a wild-card replacement for Novak Djoković.[121] Murray stated that their views on his game differed wildly and that he didn't want to over-complicate things.[122] He thanked Maclagan for his 'positive contribution' and said that they have a great relationship. Jonathan Overend, the BBC's tennis journalist, reported that the split happened over Maclagan's annoyance at what he saw as Corretja's increasing involvement in Murray's coaching. But Murray had no intention of sacking him,[123] despite the press report that Murray was ready to replace him with Andre Agassi's former coach Darren Cahill.[124]
Starting the US hard-court season with the 2010 Farmers Classic, Murray reached the final. During Murray's semifinal win against Feliciano López,[125] whilst commentating for ESPN, Cahill appeared to rule himself out of becoming Murray's next coach.[126] In Murray's first final since the Australian Open, he lost against Sam Querrey in three sets This was his first loss to Querrey in five career meetings and the first time he had lost a set against the American.[127] In Canada, Murray successfully defended a Masters title for the first time. He became the first player since Andre Agassi in 1995 to defend the Canadian Masters. Murray also became the fifth player to defeat Rafael Nadal (the fifth occasion that Murray has beaten the player ranked world no. 1) and Roger Federer (Murray had achieved this previously at the unofficial 2009 Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition) in the same tournament. Murray defeated Nadal and Federer in straight sets. This ended his title drought dating back to November 2009.[128][129] At the Cincinnati Masters, Murray complained about the speed of the court after his first match.[130] Before his quarterfinal match with Fish, Murray complained that the organisers refused to put the match on later in the day. Murray had played his two previous matches at midday, and all his matches in Toronto between 12 and 3 pm.[131]
I don't ever request really when to play. I don't make many demands at all during the tournaments." "I'm not sure, the way the tennis works, I don't think matches should be scheduled around the doubles because it's the singles that's on the TV."
The reason given for turning down Murray's request was that Fish was playing doubles. Murray had no option but to play at midday again, with temperatures reaching 33°C in the shade. Murray won the first set on a tie-breaker, but after going inside for a toilet break, he began to feel ill. The doctor was called on court to actively cool Murray down. Murray admitted after the match that he had considered retiring. He lost the second set, but forced a final-set tie-breaker, before Fish won.[132] At the US Open, Murray played Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. Murray bowed out of the tournament, losing in four sets.[133] However, questions about Murray's conditioning arose, as he called the trainer out twice during the match.[134]
His next event was the China Open in Beijing, where Murray reached the quarterfinals, losing to Ivan Ljubičić.[135] At the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Murray reached his seventh Masters Series final.[136] There, he faced Roger Federer and dismissed the Swiss player in straight sets.[137] He did not drop a single set throughout the event, taking only his second title of the year and his sixth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. Murray returned to Spain to defend his title at the Valencia Open 500 but lost in the second round to Juan Mónaco.[138] However in doubles, Murray partnered his brother Jamie Murray to the final, where they defeated Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi. The victory was Murray's first doubles title and the second time he had reached a final with his brother.[139][140] Murray reached the quarter finals at the BNP Paribas Masters losing to Gaël Monfils in three sets.[141] Combined with his exit and Söderling's taking the title, Murray found himself pushed down a spot in the rankings, down to no. 5 from no. 4.[142] At the Tour finals in London, Murray opened with a straight-sets victory over Söderling.[143] In Murray's second round-robin match, he faced Federer, whom he had beaten in their last two meetings. On this occasion, however, Murray suffered a straight-sets defeat.[144] Murray then faced David Ferrer in his last group match. Murray lost the first two games, but came back to take six in a row to win the set 6–2 and to qualify for the semifinals. Murray closed out the match with a 6–2 second set to finish the group stage with a win,[145] before facing Nadal in the semifinal. They battled for over three hours, before Murray fell to the Spaniard in a final-set tie-breaker, bringing an end to his season.[146]
Murray started 2011 by playing alongside fellow Brit Laura Robson in the 2011 Hopman Cup. They did not make it past the round-robin stage, losing all three ties against Italy, France, and the USA. Despite losing all three ties, Murray won all of his singles matches. He beat Potito Starace, Nicolas Mahut, and John Isner . Murray, along with other stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djoković, participated in the Rally for Relief event to help raise money for the flood victims in Queensland.[147]
Seeded fifth in the Australian Open, Murray met former champion Novak Djoković in the final and was defeated in straight sets. Murray made a quick return, participating at Rotterdam. He was defeated by Marcos Baghdatis in the first round.[148] Murray reached the semifinals of the doubles tournament with his brother Jamie. Murray lost in the first round at the Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami. Murray lost to American qualifiers Donald Young and Alex Bogomolov Jr. respectivly. After Miami, Murray split with Àlex Corretja, who was his coach at the time.[149]
Murray made a return to form at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he faced Nadal in the semifinals. Murray sustained an elbow injury before the match but put up a battle losing to the Spaniard after nearly three hours.[150] Murray subsequently withdrew from the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell due to the injury.[151] Murray played at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he was then beaten in the third round by Thomaz Bellucci.[152] After Madrid, Murray proceeded to the Rome Masters where he lost in the semifinals against Novak Djoković.[citation needed] At the 2011 French Open, Murray twisted his ankle during his third round match with Berrer and looked like he may have to withdraw but limped round to with the match.[153] However Murray carried on and battled back from two sets down against Troicki in the fourth round. A ball boy inadvertantly interfered with play at a start of a game and eventually found Murray found himself broken and 5–2 down before recovering to win the set.[154] Murray lost in the his first semifinal at Roland Garros, against Rafael Nadal.[155]
Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to win his second Queen's Club title..[156] At Wimbledon, Murray lost in the semifinal to Nadal, despite taking the first set.[157] At the Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and Luxembourg, Murray lead the British team to victory.[158]
Murray was the two-time defending 2011 Rogers Cup champion, but lost his first match in the second round, to South African Kevin Anderson.[159] However, the following week, he won the 2011 Western & Southern Open, beating Novak Djoković, 6–4, 3–0 (ret), after Djokovic retired due to injury.[citation needed] At the 2011 US Open, Murray defeated Somdev Devvarman in straights sets in the first round, and battled from two sets down to win a five set encounter 6–7, 2–6, 6–2, 6–0, 6–4 with Robin Haase. He then defeated Feliciano López and Donald Young in straight sets in the third and fourth round. He then fought out a four set encounter with American giant John Isner 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6. He reached the semi-finals for a third time in a row this year, but again lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets 4–6, 2–6, 6–3, 2–6.
His next tournament was the Thailand Open, Murray went on to win the tournament defeating Donald Young 6–2, 6–0 in 48 minutes. He only dropped one set all tournament. The following week he won his third title in four tournaments by winning the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. His opponent in the final was Rafael Nadal who he beat for the first time in the year by winning in three sets 3–6, 6–2, 6–0. Murray dropped only four points in the final set. He then completed his domination in Tokyo by winning the doubles partnering brother Jamie Murray defeating František Čermák and Filip Polášek 6–1, 6–4. This is his second doubles title and with this victory, he became the first person in the 2011 season to capture both singles and doubles titles at the same tournament. Murray then successfully defended his Shanghai Masters crown with a straight sets victory over David Ferrer in the final 7–5, 6–4.
The defence of the title meant he overtook Roger Federer in ranking points and moved up to no. 3 in the world. At the ATP World Tour Finals, Murray lost to David Ferrer in straight sets, 4–6, 5–7, and withdraw from the tournament after the loss with a groin pull. With the early loss and withdrawal from the tournament and with Roger Federer winning the title, Murray dropped one position back in the rankings to end the year as no. 4 in the world behind Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer.
Murray started the season once again ranked world no. 4 and appointed former world no. 1 Ivan Lendl as his new full-time coach.[160] He began the season by playing in the 2012 Brisbane International for the first time as the top seed in singles. He also played doubles with Marcos Baghdatis.[161] He overcame a slow start in his first two matches to win his 22nd title by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, 6–1, 6–3 in the final.[162] In doubles, he lost in the quarterfinals against second seeds Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in a tight match which ended 6–3, 3–6, 13–15.[citation needed]
In the week prior to the Australian Open, Murray appeared in a one-off exhibition match against David Nalbandian at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, home of the unofficial AAMI Classic. Murray emerged victorious, defeating Nalbandian, 6–3, 7–6, after coming from a break down in the second set.[163] At the Australian Open, Murray started off with a 4-set win against Ryan Harrison. In the second round, he beat Édouard Roger-Vasselin in three sets, and in the third round, he beat Michaël Llodra, also in three sets, to proceed to the last sixteen.[164] Murray went on to beat Mikhail Kukushkin in the fourth round, 6–1, 6–1, 1–0 (ret), after his opponent retired due to the searing heat in Melbourne. Murray also beat Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the quarterfinals. Murray played a 4 hour and 50 minute semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, but was defeated, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6, 1–6, 5–7.[165]
At the Dubai Open, Murray defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, 6–2, 7–5,[166] but lost in the final to Roger Federer, 5–7, 4–6.[167] At the 2012 BNP Paribas Open, Murray lost his opening second-round match to Spanish qualifier Guillermo García López, in straight sets, 4–6, 2–6. This was the second successive time that Murray had lost his opening match at the event.[168] Following Indian Wells, Murray made the finals of the Miami Masters, losing to Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 6–7.[169]
In Rome, he was eliminated in the third round by Richard Gasquet, 7–6(1), 3–6, 2–6.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2008 | US Open | Hard | ![]() |
2–6, 5–7, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 2010 | Australian Open | Hard | ![]() |
3–6, 4–6, 6–7(11–13) |
Runner-up | 2011 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
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). This table is current through to the 2012 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | 4R | 1R | 4R | F | F | SF | 0 / 7 | 23–7 | 76.67 | ||||||||
French Open | A | 1R | A | 3R | QF | 4R | SF | 0 / 5 | 14–5 | 73.68 | |||||||||
Wimbledon | 3R | 4R | A | QF | SF | SF | SF | 0 / 6 | 24–6 | 80.00 | |||||||||
US Open | 2R | 4R | 3R | F | 4R | 3R | SF | 0 / 7 | 22–7 | 75.86 | |||||||||
Win–Loss | 3–2 | 6–4 | 5–2 | 12–4 | 15–4 | 16–4 | 21–4 | 5–1 | 0 / 25 | 83–25 | 76.85 |
Murray is best described as a defensive counter-puncher;[170] professional tennis coach Paul Annacone stated that Murray "may be the best counterpuncher on tour today."[171] His strengths include groundstrokes with low error rate, the ability to anticipate and react, and his transition from defence to offence with speed, which enables him to hit winners from defensive positions. His playing style has been likened to that of Miloslav Mečíř.[172] Murray's tactics usually involve passive exchanges from the baseline, usually waiting for an unforced error. However, Murray has been criticised for his generally passive style of play and lack of offensive weapons, prompting some to call him a pusher.[173] He is capable of injecting sudden pace to his groundstrokes to surprise his opponents who are used to the slow rally. Murray is also one of the top returners in the game, often able to block back fast serves with his excellent reach and uncanny ability to anticipate. For this reason, Murray is rarely aced.[174] Murray is also known for being one of the most intelligent tacticians on the court, often constructing points.[175][176] Murray is most proficient on a fast surface (such as hard courts),[177] although he has worked hard since 2008 on improving his clay court game.[178]
Early in his career, most of his main tour wins came on hard courts. However, he claimed to prefer clay courts,[179][180] because of his training in Barcelona as a junior player.[181]
Murray is sponsored by Head and plays the YOUTEK Radical Pro with a Prestige grommet. He wore Fred Perry apparel until early 2010, when he signed a five-year £10m contract with adidas. This includes wearing their range of tennis shoe.[182]
Murray identifies himself as Scottish and British.[183][184] Prior to Wimbledon 2006, Murray caused some public debate when he was quoted as saying he would "support anyone but England" at the 2006 World Cup.[185] He received large amounts of hate mail on his website as a result.[186] It was also reported that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt on the day of England's World Cup match with the South American team.[185]
Murray explained that his comments were said in jest during a light-hearted interview with sports columnist Maurice Russo,[187] who asked him if he would be supporting Scotland in the World Cup, in the knowledge that Scotland had failed to qualify for the tournament.[188] Sports journalist Des Kelly wrote that another tabloid had later "lifted a couple of [the comments] into a 'story' that took on a life of its own and from there the truth was lost" and that he despaired over the "nonsensical criticism".[189]
Murray protested that he is "not anti-English and never was"[183] and he expressed disappointment over England's subsequent elimination by Portugal.[190] In an interview with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, Tim Henman confirmed that the remarks had been made in jest and were only in response to Murray being teased by Kelly[187] and Henman.[191] He also stated that the rumour that Murray had worn a Paraguay shirt was untrue.[191]
In an interview with Gabby Logan for the BBC's Inside Sport programme, Murray said that he was both Scottish and British and was comfortable and happy with his British identity.[192] He said he saw no conflict between the two and was equally proud of them. He has also pointed out that he is quarter English with some of his family originating from Newcastle, and that his girlfriend, Kim Sears, is English.[193]
In 2006 Murray caused an uproar during a match between him and Kenneth Carlsen. Murray was first given a warning for racket abuse then he stated that he and Carlsen had "played like women" during the first set.[194] Murray was heavily booed for the remainder of the interview, but explained later that the comment was in jest to what Svetlana Kuznetsova had said at the Hopman Cup.[195] A few months later Murray was fined $2,500 for swearing at the umpire during a Davis Cup doubles rubber with Serbia and Montenegro. Murray refused to shake hands with the umpire at the end of the match.[196]
In 2007 Murray suggested that tennis had a match fixing problem, stating that everyone knows it goes on,[197] in the wake of the investigation surrounding Nikolay Davydenko.[198] Both Davydenko and Rafael Nadal questioned his comments, but Murray responded that his words had been taken out of context.[199]
In 2008, Murray withdrew from a Davis Cup tie, leading his brother to question his heart for the competition.[200][dead link]
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Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by![]() |
US Open Series Champion 2010 |
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Awards
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Preceded by![]() |
BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2004 |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Murray, Andy |
Alternative names | Murray, Andrew |
Short description | Tennis player |
Date of birth | 15 May 1987 |
Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
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Country | ![]() |
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Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
Born | (1987-05-22) 22 May 1987 (age 25) Belgrade, Serbia |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Weight | 80.0 kg (176 lb; 12.60 st) |
Turned pro | 2003 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money |
$36,889,162 |
Singles | |
Career record | 427–116 (78.64%) |
Career titles | 30 |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (4 July 2011) |
Current ranking | No. 1 (28 May 2012)[1] |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | W (2008, 2011, 2012) |
French Open | SF (2007, 2008, 2011) |
Wimbledon | W (2011) |
US Open | W (2011) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | W (2008) |
Olympic Games | ![]() |
Doubles | |
Career record | 31–44 (41.33%) |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 114 (30 November 2009) |
Current ranking | No. 546 (28 May 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2006, 2007) |
French Open | 1R (2006) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2006) |
US Open | 1R (2006) |
Last updated on: 19:34, 1 June 2012 (UTC). |
Olympic medal record | ||
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Competitor for ![]() |
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Men's Tennis | ||
Bronze | 2008 Beijing | Singles |
Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Новак Ђоковић or Novak Đoković; pronounced [nɔ̂ʋaːk dʑɔ̂ːkɔʋitɕ] ( listen); born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) since 4 July 2011. He has won five Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008, 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open. By winning three Majors in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the open era to win three Majors in a calendar year.
He is the first male player representing Serbia to win a Major singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively.[4] Amongst other titles, he won the Tennis Masters Cup in 2008 and was on the team which won the 2010 Davis Cup. He also won the bronze medal in singles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He has won 11 Masters 1000 series titles placing him joint fourth on the all time list. Djokovic has quickly moved up in the rankings of history. Tennis Channel ranked him number 40 [5], and former player Pat Cash said he is one of the greatest ever. [6]
Contents |
Djokovic was born 22 May 1987, in Belgrade, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to father Srđan (Срђан) and mother Dijana (Дијана). His two younger brothers, Marko and Đorđe (Ђорђе) are also tennis players with professional aspirations.[2] Residing in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Djokovic has been coached since 2006 by a former Slovak tennis player Marián Vajda.[7] Similar to fellow pro Roger Federer, Djokovic is a self-described fan of languages, speaking four himself: his native Serbian, English, German, and Italian.[8][9] Since the end of 2005, Djokovic has been dating Jelena Ristić (Јелена Ристић).[10]
He started playing tennis at the age of four. In the summer 1993, the six-year-old was spotted by Yugoslav tennis legend Jelena Genčić[11] at Serbian Mount Kopaonik where Djokovic's parents ran a fast-food parlour.[12] Upon seeing the dedicated and talented youngster in action, she stated: "This is the greatest talent I have seen since Monica Seles."[2] Genčić worked with young Djokovic over the following six years before realizing that, due to his rapid development, going abroad in search of increased level of competition was the best option for his future. To that end, she contacted Nikola Pilić, and in September 1999, the 12-year-old moved to the Pilić tennis academy in Oberschleißheim, Germany, spending four years there.[13] At age 14, he began his international career, winning European championships in singles, doubles, and team competition.[2]
Djokovic is known for his often humorous off-court impersonations of his fellow players, many of whom are his friends. This became evident to the tennis world after his 2007 US Open quarterfinal win over Carlos Moyà, where he entertained the audience with impersonations of Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.[14] He also did an impression of John McEnroe after his final preliminary game at the 2009 US Open, before playing a brief game with McEnroe, much to the delight of the audience. It is because of this jovial personality that he earned the nickname "Djoker", a portmanteau of his surname and the word joker. Novak Djokovic is a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organization.[15]
Djokovic is a Serbian Orthodox Christian. On 28 April 2011, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church, because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Kosovo and Metohija.[16]
He is a keen fan of Serbian football club Red Star Belgrade,[17] Italian Serie A side A.C. Milan[18] and Portuguese club S.L. Benfica. Djokovic is good friends with fellow Serbian tennis player Ana Ivanović, whom he has known since the two were children growing up in Serbia.
As a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team, he reached the finals of the 2001 Junior Davis Cup for players under 14, in which he lost his match in singles.[19]
At the beginning of his professional career, Djokovic mainly played in Futures and Challenger tournaments, winning three of each type from 2003 to 2005. His first tour-level tournament was Umag in 2004, where he lost to Filippo Volandri in the round of 32. He made his first Grand Slam tournament appearance by qualifying for the 2005 Australian Open, where he was defeated by Marat Safin in the first round.
Djokovic briefly considered plans to move from Serbia to play for Britain.[20] He reached the top-40 world ranking due to a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open, and reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Three weeks after Wimbledon, he won his maiden ATP title at the Dutch Open in Amersfoort without losing a set, defeating Nicolás Massú in the final. Djokovic won his second career title at the Open de Moselle in Metz, and moved into the top 20 for the first time in his career.
Djokovic began the year by defeating Australian Chris Guccione in the final of the ATP Adelaide, before losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets. His performances at the Masters Series events in Indian Wells, California, and Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was the runner-up and champion respectively, pushed him into the world's top 10. Djokovic lost the Indian Wells final to Rafael Nadal, but defeated Nadal in Key Biscayne in the quarterfinals before defeating Guillermo Cañas for the title in the finals.
Right after his first master series title, he went back home to contribute to his country's attempt to get into the World Group of the Davis Cup competition. Serbia faced off the Republic of Georgia, and Djokovic won a point by defeating Georgia's George Chanturia. This was a tournament where he prepared for the later clay court season. Djokovic played in the Masters Series Monte Carlo Open, where he was defeated by David Ferrer in the third round, and in the Estoril Open, where he defeated Richard Gasquet in the final. Djokovic then reached the quarterfinals of both the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Masters Series Hamburg, but lost to Nadal and Carlos Moyà respectively. At the French Open, Djokovic reached his first Major semifinal, losing to eventual champion Nadal.
During Wimbledon, Djokovic won a five-hour quarterfinal against Marcos Baghdatis. In his semifinal match against Rafael Nadal, he was forced to retire with elbow problems in the 3rd set after winning the first and losing the 2nd set.
Djokovic went on to win the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal. He defeated world no. 3 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, world no. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, and world no. 1 Federer in the final. This was the first time a player had defeated the top three ranked players in one tournament since Boris Becker in 1994.[21] Djokovic was also only the second player, after Tomáš Berdych, to have defeated both Federer and Nadal since they became the top two players in the world. After this tournament, Björn Borg stated that Djokovic "is definitely a contender to win a Grand Slam (tournament)."[22] However, the following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic lost in the second round to Moyà in straight sets. Djokovic nevertheless reached the final of the US Open. Djokovic had five set points in the first set and two in the second set, but lost them all before losing the final to top-seeded Federer in straight sets. During the 2007 tournament, Djokovic emerged as a fan favorite with his on-court impressions of other players including Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, and Maria Sharapova.
Djokovic won his fifth title of the year at the BA-CA TennisTrophy in Vienna, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. His next tournament was the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, where he lost to David Nalbandian in the semifinals. Djokovic, assured of finishing the year as world no. 3, qualified for the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, but did not advance beyond the round robin matches.
He received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete in Serbia, and the Olympic Committee of Serbia declared him the best athlete.[23]
Djokovic started the year by playing the Hopman Cup with fellow Serbian world no. 3 Jelena Janković. While he won all his round-robin matches, the team lost 1–2 in the final to the second-seeded American team consisting of Serena Williams and Mardy Fish.
At the Australian Open, Djokovic reached his second consecutive Major final without dropping a set, including a victory over two-time defending champion Roger Federer in the semifinals. By reaching the semifinals, Djokovic became the youngest player to have reached the semifinals in all four Majors. In the final, Djokovic defeated unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to earn Serbia's first Grand Slam singles title.[24] This marked the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam singles title was not won by Federer or Nadal.
Djokovic's next tournament was the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where he lost in the semifinals to Andy Roddick.
At the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Djokovic won his ninth career singles title, defeating American Mardy Fish in the three-set final.
Djokovic won his tenth career singles title and fourth Master Series singles crown at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. The following week at the Hamburg Masters, Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals. At the French Open, Djokovic was the third-seeded player behind Federer and Nadal. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets.
On grass, Djokovic once again played Nadal, this time in the Artois Championships final in Queen's Club, London, losing in two sets. At Wimbledon, Djokovic was the third-seeded player; however, he lost in the second round to Marat Safin. This ended a streak of five consecutive Majors where he had reached at least the semifinals.
Djokovic then failed to defend his 2007 singles title at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Toronto. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eighth-seeded Andy Murray. The following week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Djokovic advanced to the final, beating Nadal. In the final, he again lost to Murray in straight sets.
His next tournament was the Beijing Olympics, his first Olympics. He and Nenad Zimonjić, seeded second in men's doubles, were eliminated in the first round by the Czech pairing of Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner. Seeded third in singles, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nadal. Djokovic then defeated James Blake, the loser of the other semifinal, in the bronze medal match.
After the Olympics, Djokovic entered the US Open as the third seed. He defeated Roddick in the quarterfinals. To a smattering of boos in a post-match interview, Djokovic criticized Roddick for accusing him of making excessive use of the trainer during matches. His run at the US Open ended in the semifinals when he lost to Federer in four sets, in a rematch of the 2007 US Open final.
Djokovic played four tournaments after the US Open. In a rematch of the 2008 Australian Open final, he lost in the final of the Thailand Open to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. In November, Djokovic was the second seed at the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. In his first round-robin match, he defeated Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in straight sets. He then beat Nikolay Davydenko in three sets, before losing his final round robin match against Tsonga. Djokovic qualified for the semifinals, where he defeated Gilles Simon. In the final, Djokovic defeated Davydenko again to win his first Tennis Masters Cup title.
Djokovic started the year at the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia, where he was upset by Ernests Gulbis in the first round.[25] At the Medibank International in Sydney, he lost to Jarkko Nieminen in the semifinals.[26]
As defending champion at the Australian Open, Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match with former world no. 1 Andy Roddick.[27]
After losing in the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament in Marseille to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Djokovic won the singles title at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating David Ferrer to claim his twelfth career title. The following week, Djokovic was the defending champion at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, but lost to Roddick in the quarterfinals. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic beat Federer in the semifinals, before losing to Andy Murray in the final.
Djokovic reached the final of the next ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on clay, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, another ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was the defending champion, but again lost in the final.
Djokovic was the top seed at his hometown tournament, the Serbia Open in Belgrade. He defeated first-time finalist Łukasz Kubot to win his second title of the year.[28] As third seed at the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, Djokovic advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set. There, he faced Nadal and lost despite holding three match points. The match, at 4 hours and 3 minutes, was the longest three-set singles match on the ATP World Tour in the Open Era.[29] At the French Open, he lost in the third round to German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Djokovic began his grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open where, after the withdrawal of Federer, he competed as the top seed. He advanced to the final, where he lost to German Tommy Haas.[30] Djokovic also lost to Haas in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.[31]
During the US Open Series, Djokovic made the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, before losing to Andy Roddick. At the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated world no. 3 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He lost in the final to world no. 1 Roger Federer.[32] At the 2009 US Open, Djokovic made the semifinals, having dropped only two sets, defeating Ivan Ljubičić, 15th seed Radek Štěpánek and 10th seed Fernando Verdasco. He then lost to Roger Federer.[33]
At the China Open in Beijing, he defeated Victor Hănescu, Viktor Troicki, Fernando Verdasco, and Robin Söderling en route to the final, where he defeated Marin Čilić in straight sets to win his third title of the year.[34] At the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, Djokovic lost in the semifinals to Nikolay Davydenko.
At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic defeated Jan Hernych to make it to the quarterfinals.[35] He then recovered from a deficit to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. He won the semifinals against Radek Štěpánek. In the final, he defeated home favourite and three-time defending champion Roger Federer to win his fourth title of the year.[36]
At the last Masters 1000 event of the year at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Djokovic won his first Masters 1000 title of the year. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.[37] In the final, Djokovic prevailed over Gaël Monfils.[38]
Coming into the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London as the defending champion, Djokovic defeated Nikolay Davydenko in his first round-robin match.[39] In his second match, he lost to Robin Söderling.[40] Despite victory over Rafael Nadal in his third round-robin match, Djokovic failed to make the semifinals.[41]
Djokovic ended the year as the world no. 3 for the third consecutive year. Djokovic played 97 matches throughout the year, the most of any player on the ATP World Tour, with a 78–19 win-loss record. In addition to leading the ATP World Tour in match wins, he reached a career best 10 finals, winning 5 titles.
Djokovic started his year by playing in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event. In his first match, he defeated Tommy Haas, but lost to Fernando Verdasco in his second.[42]
At the Australian Open, Djokovic was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in five sets.[43] Despite the loss, Djokovic attained a career-high ranking of world no. 2.
He reached the semifinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, losing to Mikhail Youzhny. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in the U.A.E., Djokovic reached the final, defeating Mikhail Youzhny to win his first title of the year.[44]
He then took part in Serbia's Davis Cup tie against the USA on clay in Belgrade. He helped Serbia reach their first quarterfinal in the Davis Cup 3–2 victory, defeating Sam Querrey and John Isner.
At the Indian Wells Masters, he lost in the fourth round to Ivan Ljubičić. At the Miami Masters, he lost in his opening match to Olivier Rochus. Djokovic then announced that he had ceased working with Todd Martin as his coach.[45]
In his first clay-court tournament of the year at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, top-seeded Djokovic reached the semifinals with wins over Stanislas Wawrinka and David Nalbandian. There, he lost to Fernando Verdasco. Djokovic again lost to Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, this time in the quarterfinals.[46]
As the defending champion at his hometown event, the Serbia Open in Belgrade, he withdrew in the quarterfinals while trailing Filip Krajinović.[47]
Djokovic entered the 2010 French Open seeded third. He defeated Evgeny Korolev, Kei Nishikori, Victor Hănescu, and Robby Ginepri en route to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Jürgen Melzer in five sets.[48]
Djokovic entered the 2010 Wimbledon Championships as third seed, defeating Olivier Rochus, Taylor Dent, Albert Montañés, Lleyton Hewitt, and Yen-Hsun Lu en route to the semifinals, which he lost to Tomáš Berdych in straight sets.
Djokovic then competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals. Djokovic also competed in doubles with Rafael Nadal in a one-time, high-profile partnership. That hadn't happened since 1976, when Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe as world no.1 and no.2 paired together as a doubles team.[49] They lost in the first round to Canadians Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati to Andy Roddick.
As the third seed at the US Open, Djokovic came very close to losing in his opening round against Viktor Troicki in extreme heat. He then defeated Philipp Petzschner, James Blake and Mardy Fish, and number 17 seed Gaël Monfils, all in straight sets to reach the US Open semifinals for the fourth consecutive year. In the semifinals, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in five sets after saving 2 match points with forehand winners while serving to stay in the match at 4–5 in the 5th set. It was Djokovic's first victory over Federer at the US Open in four attempts, and his first victory over Federer in a Major since the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic lost to Nadal in the final, a match that saw Nadal complete his career Grand Slam.
After helping Serbia defeat the Czech Republic 3–2 to make it to the Davis Cup final, Djokovic competed at the China Open as the top seed and defending champion. He won the title for the second successive year, after defeating Maoxin Gong, Mardy Fish (walkover), Gilles Simon, and John Isner en route to the final. Djokovic then defeated David Ferrer in the final.
At the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic made a semifinal appearance, losing to Roger Federer.
Djokovic played his final tournament of the year at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Djokovic was placed in Group A along with Rafael Nadal, Tomáš Berdych, and Andy Roddick. Djokovic won his first round-robin match against Berdych. He next lost to Nadal. He defeated Roddick in his final round-robin match and advanced to the semifinals. He lost to Roger Federer in two sets.
Djokovic went on to win his two singles rubbers in Serbia's Davis Cup finals victory over France. This started a long unbeaten run that went on into 2011. Djokovic finished the year ranked world no. 3, his fourth successive finish at this position.
He was awarded the title "Serbian Sportsman of the year" by the Olympic Committee of Serbia[50] and "Serbian Athlete of the year" by DSL Sport.[51]
Djokovic won ten tournaments in 2011,[12] including Grand Slam tournament victories at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.[12] Djokovic also captured a record-breaking five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles,[12][52] and set a new record for the most prize money won in a single season on the ATP World Tour (12.0 million dollars).[12] His level dropped at season's end beginning with a back injury and ended with a poor showing at the ATP World Tour Finals. Djokovic finished the season with a 70–6 record and No. 1 in the world. Pete Sampras declared Djokovic's season as the best he has ever seen in his lifetime, calling it "one of the best achievements in all of sports."[53] Boris Becker called Djokovic's season "one of the very best years in tennis of all time," adding that it "may not be the best statistically, but he’s beaten Federer, he’s beaten Nadal, he’s beaten everybody that came around to challenge him in the biggest tournaments in the world."[54] Rafael Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in six finals on three different surfaces, described Djokovic's performances as "probably the highest level of tennis that I ever saw."[55] Djokovic was named 2011 ITF World Champion.[56]
Djokovic began his season winning at the 2012 Australian Open. He won his first four rounds against Paolo Lorenzi,[57] Santiago Giraldo, Nicolas Mahut and Lleyton Hewitt respectively. In the quarter-finals he defeated David Ferrer in three sets. In the semifinal, Djokovic beat Andy Murray in five sets (7–5 in the fifth set) after 4 hours and 50 minutes, coming back from a two-sets-to-one deficit and fending off break points at 5-all in the fifth set .[58] In the final, Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in five sets, coming from a break down in the final set to win 7–5. At 5 hours and 53 minutes, the match was the longest final in Open Era Grand Slam history, as well as the longest match in Australian Open history, surpassing the 5 hour and 14 minute 2009 semifinal between Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.[59]
Djokovic was beaten by John Isner in the semifinals at Indian Wells. He successfully defended his title in Miami.
In the Monte Carlo final, he lost in straight sets 3-6 1-6 to Nadal, unable to prevent Nadal from earning his record-breaking eighth consecutive title there.
Djokovic also lost in straight sets 7-5 6-3 to Nadal at the Rome Masters 2012 final.[60]
In 2006, Djokovic got the decisive win on 9 April, against Great Britain by defeating Greg Rusedski in four sets in the fourth match, giving his team an unsurmountable 3–1 lead in their best-of-five series, thus keeping Serbia and Montenegro in the Group One Euro/African Zone of Davis Cup. Following this match-up, a lot of media buzz appeared about Djokovic's camp negotiating with the Lawn Tennis Association about changing his international loyalty by joining British tennis ranks.[20] Nineteen-year-old Djokovic, who was no.63 on the ATP list at the time, mostly dismissed the story at first by saying that the talks were not serious, describing them as "the British being very kind to us after the Davis Cup".[61] However, more than three years later, in October 2009, Djokovic confirmed that the talks between his family and the LTA throughout April and May 2006, were indeed serious:
Britain was offering me a lot of opportunities and they needed someone because Andy [Murray] was the only one, and still is. That had to be a disappointment for all the money they invest. But I didn't need the money as much as I had done. I had begun to make some for myself, enough to afford to travel with a coach, and I said, 'Why the heck?' I am Serbian, I am proud of being a Serbian, I didn't want to spoil that just because another country had better conditions. If I had played for Great Britain, of course I would have played exactly as I do for my country but deep inside, I would never have felt that I belonged. I was the one who took the decision.[62]
By winning all three of his matches, Djokovic played a key role in the 2007 play-off win over Australia, promoting the Serbia Davis Cup team to World Group in 2008. In Serbia's tie against Russia in early 2008, in Moscow, Djokovic was sidelined due to influenza and was forced to miss his first singles match. He returned to win his doubles match, teaming with Nenad Zimonjić, before being forced to retire during his singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Djokovic also had a big role in promoting Serbia to the 2009 World Group. On 6–8 March 2010, he played the key role in bringing Serbia to World Group quarterfinals for the first time in its independent history, winning both singles matches in the home tie against United States (against Sam Querrey and John Isner). Later, Serbia progressed to the Davis Cup final, following the victories over Croatia (4–1) and Czech Republic (3–2). Serbia came from 1–2 down to defeat France in the final tie 3–2 in Belgrade to win the nation's first Davis Cup Championship. In the final, Djokovic scored two singles points for Serbia, defeating Gilles Simon and Gaël Monfils.[63] He was the backbone of the Serbian squad, going 7–0 in singles rubbers to lead the nation to the title, although the honour of winning the deciding rubber in the final went to compatriot Viktor Troicki.
In the semi finals of the 2011 Davis Cup Djokovic played a crucial rubber match for Serbia against Juan Martin Del Potro playing for Argentina, which he lost 6–7, 0–3 having to retire after reaggravating a back injury sustained during the US Open tournament, which secured Argentina's place in the final defeating Serbia 3–2. This marked Djokovic's third loss of his 2011 season, and his second retirement.[64]
Djokovic and Nadal have met 32 times (the sixth-most head-to-head meetings in the Open Era)[65] with Nadal having a 18–14 advantage.[66] Nadal leads on grass 2–1 and clay 11–2, but Djokovic leads on hard courts 11–5.[66] This rivalry is listed as the third greatest rivalry in the last decade by ATPworldtour.com[67] and is considered by many to be the emerging rivalry.[68][69] Djokovic is the first player to have at least ten match wins against Nadal and the only person to defeat Nadal seven times consecutively.[70] The two share the record for the longest Australian Open and Grand Slam final match ever played (5 hours and 53 minutes), which was the 2012 Australian Open final,[71] as well as the record for the longest match played in a best-of-three sets (4 hours and 3 minutes) which was the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semifinal.[72] In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets, which was his first victory over Nadal in a Major.[73] By doing so, he became the only person other than Federer to defeat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament final. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final to capture his third major title of the year and fourth overall. By beating Nadal, Djokovic became the second player to defeat Nadal in more than one Grand Slam final (the other being Federer), and the only player to beat Nadal in a Slam final on a surface other than grass. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final which made Nadal the first player to lose in three consecutive Grand Slam finals.
At the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, Nadal finally beat Djokovic for the first time since November 2010. They had met in seven finals from January 2011 to January 2012, all of which Djokovic won. In the final at Monte Carlo, an in-form Nadal defeated Novak, 6–3, 6–1.
Djokovic and Federer have met 25 times, with Federer leading 14–11. Federer leads on all surfaces, although they have never met on grass. Djokovic is the only player other than Nadal who has defeated Federer in consecutive Grand Slam tournament matches.[4] Federer ended Djokovic's 41-match winning start to the 2011 season at the 2011 French Open semi-finals which many consider to be a classic match.[74] Djokovic played Federer in his first Major final at the 2007 US Open and lost in three sets.[75] Djokovic has the second-most wins against Federer (after Nadal). The two have met twice in Australian Open (in 2008 and 2011) both of which Djokovic won in straight sets. The two have met five years in a row at the US Open with Federer triumphant in their first three encounters while their last two meetings (in 2010 and 2011) were five-set matches in which Djokovic saved two match points before going on to win.
Djokovic and Murray have met 13 times with Djokovic leading 8–5. Djokovic leads 2–0 on clay, and 6–5 on hard courts. The two went to training camp together, and Murray won the first match they ever played as teenagers. The pair have met 5 times in finals, with Murray leading 3–2, however, their most important final was the 2011 Australian Open final, in which Djokovic won in straight sets.[76] The other four finals were all ATP Masters 1000 finals, with Murray winning the first three in straight sets. But Djokovic defeated Murray in the most recent final in straight sets. They also played a nearly five-hour long semifinal match in the 2012 Australian Open, which Djokovic won 7–5 in the fifth set after Murray led 2 sets to 1.
Djokovic is an all-court player with emphasis on aggressive baseline play.[77] His groundstrokes from both wings are consistent, deep, and penetrating. His backhand is widely regarded as the best in today's game. His best weapon is his backhand down the line, with great pace and precision. He is also known as one of the greatest movers on the court with superior agility, court coverage and defensive ability. After great technical difficulties during the 2009 season, his serve is one of his major weapons again, winning him many free points; his first serve is typically hit flat, while he prefers to slice and kick his second serves wide.[77] Occasionally, Djokovic employs a well-disguised backhand underspin drop shot and sliced backhand. His drop shots still tend to be a drawback when hit under pressure and without proper preparation.[78]
Djokovic commented on the modern style of play, including his own, in interview with Jim Courier after his semifinal win against Andy Murray in the 2012 Australian Open tournament:[79]
“ | I had a big privilege and honour to meet personally today Mr. Laver, and he is one of the biggest, and greatest players ever to play the game, thank you for staying this late, sir, thank you ... even though it would actually be better if we played a couple times serve and volley, but we don’t know to play ... we are mostly around here [points to the area near the baseline], we are running, you know, around the baseline ... | ” |
Entering the pro circuit, Djokovic used Wilson rackets, continuing so until the end of 2008. At that time, he switched to Head rackets, using a custom paint job of the Head YouTek Speed Pro racquet. Starting with 2011 Australian Open, he began using Head's YouTek IG Speed MP 18/20. Djokovic uses a hybrid of Head Natural Gut in the mains and Luxilon Alu Power in the crosses.
After his 2011 victory in Montreal, tennis coach Nick Bollettieri stated that Djokovic is the most "complete" player of all time.[80] He has the backhand, forehand, serve, second serve, movement, mentality, and can play equally well on any surface. In assessing his 2011 season, Jimmy Connors said that Djokovic gives his opponents problems by playing "a little bit old-school, taking the ball earlier, catching the ball on the rise, (and) driving the ball flat." Connors adds that a lot of the topspin that Djokovic's opponents drive at him comes right into his zone, thus his ability to turn defense into offense well.[81]
From fall 2005 until June 2006, Djokovic was coached by Riccardo Piatti who divided his time between the 18-year-old and Ivan Ljubičić. Player and coach reportedly parted ways over the latter's refusal to work full time with Djokovic.[82]
Since June 2006, Djokovic has been coached by Slovakian former professional tennis player Marián Vajda. They met for the first time during that year's French Open, after which Vajda got hired to be the 19-year-old's coach. On occasion Djokovic employed additional coaches on part-time basis: in 2007, during the spring hardcourt season, he worked with Australian doubles ace Mark Woodforde with specific emphasis on volleys and net play while from August 2009 until April 2010 American Todd Martin joined the coaching team, a period marked by his ill-fated attempt to change Djokovic's serve motion.[83]
Since early 2007, Djokovic has been working with physiotherapist Miljan Amanović who was previously employed by Red Star Belgrade basketball team and NBA player Vladimir Radmanović.[84] In April 2009, Djokovic hired Austrian Gebhard Phil-Gritsch (formerly worked with Thomas Muster) to join the team in fitness coach capacity.[85][86]
In July 2010, before the Davis Cup clash away at Croatia, Djokovic made another addition to his team – nutritionist Igor Četojević who additionally focuses on Chinese medicine and does acupuncture.[87] He discovered the tennis player suffers from gluten intolerance and cannot eat gluten, purging it from his diet. It appeared to have worked as Djokovic began feeling stronger, quicker, and much more fit. After Djokovic's Wimbledon win in July 2011, Četojević left the team.[88]
Djokovic endorses Serbian telecommunications company Telekom Srbija and German nutritional supplement brand FitLine.[89]
Since turning professional in 2003, Djokovic wore Adidas clothing and footwear. At the end of 2009, Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with the Italian clothing company Sergio Tacchini after Adidas refused to extend his clothing contract (choosing instead to sign Andy Murray).[90] Since Sergio Tacchini doesn't make shoes, he continued with Adidas as his choice of footwear. From 2011, Djokovic began to wear custom Red and Blue Adidas Barricade 6.0's shoes, referring to the colours of the Serbian national flag. On May 23, 2012, Uniqlo has appointed Djokovic as its global brand ambassador. The five-year partnership, will see Djokovic promoting the Uniqlo brand where Djokovic debut his newly designed Uniqlo match wear to spectators in Paris' Roland-Garros French Open Tennis Tournament and to a worldwide TV audience on May 27.
Djokovic did television commercial spots and print ads for supermarket chain Idea, the Serbian arm of Croatian supermarket retailer Konzum as well as for rival Serbian supermarket chain DIS Trgovina.
In August 2011, Djokovic became the brand ambassador of Swiss watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet.[91] Less than a month later, Djokovic signed a sponsorship deal with German car company Mercedes-Benz.[92] In March 2012, Djokovic was announced by Bombardier Aerospace as its latest Learjet brand ambassador, thus joining the likes of actor and pilot John Travolta, architect Frank Gehry, maestro Valery Gergiev, and classical pianist Lang Lang.[93]
The business end of Djokovic's career was initially handled by Israeli managers Amit Naor and Allon Khakshouri. In June 2008, he signed with CAA Sports.[94]
In 2005, as Djokovic moved up the tennis rankings, his family founded a legal entity in Serbia named Family Sport. Registered as a limited liability company, its initial focus was the restaurant business. The company's day-to-day operations are mostly handled by Novak's father Srdjan and uncle Goran expanded its activities into real estate, sports/entertainment event organization, and sports apparel distribution.[citation needed]
The company opened theme cafés named Novak Café, as well as Novak Café & Restaurant in the Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd.
In February 2008, the company reached an agreement with local authorities in the city of Kragujevac about jointly entering into a real estate development deal that was to include 4 hectares of city-owned land at Veliki Park being developed into a tennis center with 14 courts. But by 2010 the company pulled out of these plans.[95][96]
In March 2008, Family Sport won a municipal authority-organized tender in Novi Beograd by submitting an €11 million bid for the 3.8 hectares of land located in Ivan Ribar neighbourhood;[97] with the ambitious plan to build a big tennis center there.[98][99][100] As of fall 2011, construction is yet to commence.
In 2009, the company managed to buy an ATP tournament known as the Dutch Open and bring it to Serbia where it became – Serbia Open. With the help of Belgrade city authorities, the tournament's inaugural edition was held during May 2009 at the city-owned 'Milan Gale Muškatirović' courts, located at an attractive spot in Dorćol neighbourhood.[101]
On Monday, 4 July 2011, one day after Djokovic won Wimbledon, Family Sport organized the homecoming reception in front of the National Assembly building with more than 80,000 people gathering to greet him.[102][103]
From the 2010 Davis Cup finals to the 2011 French Open, Djokovic had a 43-match win streak, placing him behind Guillermo Vilas (46 matches in 1977) and Ivan Lendl (44 matches in 1981/1982).[104][105]
He won 41 straight matches from the start of 2011 until the French Open semi-finals,[105] second only to John McEnroe's record (he started 42–0 in 1984[106]).
Novak Djokovic is one of only four players (besides David Nalbandian, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal) to beat Roger Federer three times in one calendar year, and one of only two players (Juan Martin Del Potro being the other) to beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam in consecutive matches. He is the only player who can claim to have beaten both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament on 4 different occasions (Montreal 2007, Indian Wells 2011, US Open 2011,). He is also the youngest player in the Open Era to defeat the top three players in succession and he achieved this when he defeated world number three Andy Roddick, world number two Nadal, and World number one Federer in the 2007 Rogers Cup. He is one of only two players to have defeated Federer at the semifinal stage or later on more than one occasion in Grand Slam tournaments, and also at consecutive tournaments (the other being Nadal).[citation needed]
His five Masters titles in 2011 are a season record.[citation needed]
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2012 Australian Open.
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 4R | W | QF | QF | W | W | 3 / 8 | 32–5 | 86.49 |
French Open | A | A | 2R | QF | SF | SF | 3R | QF | SF | 0 / 7 | 25–7 | 78.12 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 4R | SF | 2R | QF | SF | W | 1 / 7 | 27–6 | 81.81 | |
US Open | A | A | 3R | 3R | F | SF | SF | F | W | 1 / 7 | 33–6 | 84.62 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 19–4 | 18–3 | 15–4 | 19–4 | 25–1 | 7–0 | 5 / 29 | 117–24 | 82.98 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2007 | US Open | Hard | ![]() |
6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
Winner | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 2010 | US Open (2) | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 2011 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
Winner | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | ![]() |
6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |
Winner | 2011 | US Open | Hard | ![]() |
6–2, 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–1 |
Winner | 2012 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | ![]() |
5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 |
On 28 April 2011, in Belgrade, Patriarch Irinej of Serbia awarded Djokovic the Order of St. Sava I class, the highest decoration of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The order was given to him because he demonstrated love for the church, and because he provided assistance to the Serbian people, churches and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija.[16]
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2007 French Open — 2008 Australian Open |
Youngest player to have reached the semi-finals of all four Majors (20 years, 250 days old) | Stands alone |
2012 Australian Open | Longest Grand Slam final match (with Rafael Nadal)[111] | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2011–2012 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Roger Federer |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2011 | Winner of the hard court treble (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami) | Pete Sampras Roger Federer |
2011 | Player to qualify earliest for the ATP World Tour Finals – 18 weeks, 6 days | Stands alone |
2011 | 5 Masters 1000 titles in 1 season | Stands alone |
2011 | 3 consecutive Masters 1000 titles | Rafael Nadal |
2011 | 31 consecutive Masters 1000 match victories | Stands alone |
2011 | 6 Masters 1000 finals in 1 season | Roger Federer |
2009 | Longest best-of-three sets men's singles match ever played (4 hours, 3 minutes)[112] | Rafael Nadal |
2007 | Youngest player to defeat the top 3 players in succession | Stands alone |
2007–2009 | 91 consecutive weeks at World number 3 | Stands alone |
2011 | 5 consecutive match wins against World No. 1 player in finals (Rafael Nadal)[a] | Stands alone |
2011 | Most prize money in one season ($12,619,803) | Stands alone |
2007–2010 | 4 years ended at World number 3 | Jimmy Connors |
In 2009, and 2010, Djokovic won an Oscar Of Popularity for the most popular male athlete in Serbia.[113]
He was a special guest in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade. He threw a big tennis ball into the crowd, announcing the start of the voting. Together with the presenter of the show Željko Joksimović, Djokovic sang a song about Belgrade.[114]
Djokovic is also featured in the music video for the song "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette. The video, filmed at Stade Roland Garros, shows Solveig facing off against Bob Sinclar, another DJ, in a tennis match. When the referee calls a crucial ball "Out", Djokovic enters the arena and convinces the referee otherwise.[115]
In 2010, the Serbian blues-rock band Zona B recorded the song "The Joker", dedicating it to Djokovic.[116][117]
On 25 June 2011, its seventieth Congress in Chicago, all the members unanimously awarded Djokovic the Order of Serbian National Defense in America I class, the highest decoration of the SND. The order was given to him because of his merits in the international sport scene and his contributions to the reputation of Serbs and Serbia around the world.[118]
Owing to his extroverted personality, fluency in several languages, and willingness to go along with comedic concepts, Djokovic became a fixture on entertainment-based TV talk shows around the globe immediately upon achieving a measure of prominence via results on the tennis court. After winning the Australian Open, his first major, in early 2008, Djokovic appeared on American late-night programme The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Throughout spring 2009, during ATP Master Series tournaments in Madrid and Rome, respectively, the Serb was a guest on Pablo Motos' show El Hormiguero[119] followed by an appearance on the Fiorello Show hosted by Italian comedian Rosario Fiorello.[120] Djokovic's television appearances particularly intensified during his amazing run of form throughout 2011: after winning Wimbledon and reaching number one spot on the ATP list, he again appeared on Leno's Tonight Show as well as on Conan O'Brien's show on TBS. Djokovic's dramatic win at the US Open was followed by another television blitz including spots on Live with Regis and Kelly, CBS' The Early Show, NBC's Today as well as a walk-on appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In mid-November 2011, he made a triumphant return to Rai 1's Fiorello Show. In late November during the ATP World Tour Finals in London he was a guest on Sir David Frost's interview programme Frost Over the World on Al Jazeera English.
He was voted the 19th most influential man on AskMen.com's Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2011. On invitation from film producer Avi Lerner, Djokovic became part of the high-budget Hollywood movie production The Expendables 2 in a cameo playing himself,[121] which he shot on 29 November 2011 in a warehouse in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.[122] He appeared on the cover of Italian GQ's March 2012 issue.[123]
He was a guest on the CBS show 60 minutes. He was one of TIME magazines 100 Most Influential People in 2012.
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Persondata | |
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Name | Đoković, Novak |
Alternative names | Ђоковић, Новак; Djokovic, Novak |
Short description | Serbian tennis player |
Date of birth | 22 May 1987 |
Place of birth | Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia |
Date of death | |
Place of death |