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- published: 19 Aug 2012
- views: 6667
- author: laminarflow1979
Country | Great Britain |
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Residence | Oxfordshire, England, UK |
Born | (1974-09-06) 6 September 1974 (age 37) Oxford, England |
Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
Weight | 77 kg (170 lb; 12.2 st) |
Turned pro | 1993 |
Retired | 23 September 2007 |
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $11,635,542 |
Singles | |
Career record | 496–274 |
Career titles | 11 |
Highest ranking | No. 4 (8 July 2002) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 4R (2000, 2001, 2002) |
French Open | SF (2004) |
Wimbledon | SF (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002) |
US Open | SF (2004) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 89–81 |
Career titles | 4 |
Highest ranking | No. 62 (21 February 2000) |
Last updated on: 1 February 2008. |
Olympic medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Men's Tennis | ||
Silver | 1996 Atlanta | Doubles |
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE (born 6 September 1974) is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. Henman never reached the finals of any Grand Slam but having reached six Grand Slam semi-finals, won 15 career ATP titles (11 in singles and 4 in doubles), and been ranked number 4 in the world, Henman was one of Britain's most successful open era male tennis players.[1] He retired after helping Great Britain defeat Croatia in a Davis Cup match played in September 2007.[2] Nicknamed "Tiger Tim", Henman is worth £17 million and remains a celebrity among the public.[3]
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Tim Henman comes from a talented sporting family: his father Tony, a solicitor[4], was accomplished at various sports, including tennis and squash. His mother Jane, a dress designer, played Junior Wimbledon and introduced Tim and his older brothers Michael and Richard to tennis as soon as they could walk on the family's grass tennis court.[5] His great grandfather played at Wimbledon. His maternal grandfather, Henry Billington, played at Wimbledon between 1948 and 1951,[6] plus representing Britain in the Davis Cup in 1948, 1950 and 1951.[5][7] In 1901 his maternal great-grandmother, Ellen Stanwell-Brown (or Ellen Mary Stowell-Brown),[8] was reputedly the first woman to serve overarm at Wimbledon.[6][9] His maternal grandmother, Susan Billington, appeared regularly at Wimbledon in the 1950s, playing mixed doubles on Centre Court with her husband Henry, reaching the third round of the ladies' doubles in 1951, 1955 and 1956.[7][9]
Henman was privately educated at the Dragon School, Oxford and later at Reed's School, Cobham, Surrey, where he passed 10 GCSE exams, combining school with a tennis scholarship. Between the ages of 10 and 17 he was a member of the David Lloyd Slater Squad, where he trained alongside a number of other young British tennis hopefuls. Henman won many titles at various different tournaments.
While at school, Henman was diagnosed with osteochondritis, a bone disease (one form of chondritis). However, he continued to play tennis. In 1992 won the National Junior titles in singles and doubles, deciding to join the professional tour in 1993.
On 11 December 1999, Henman married his longtime girlfriend, TV producer Lucy Heald, in Hampshire.[10] Together they have three daughters, Rose Elizabeth ("Rosie", born Hammersmith and Fulham,[10] London, 19 October 2002),[11] Olivia Susan (born Hammersmith and Fulham,[10] 15 December 2004),[12] and Grace (born 14 September 2007).[13] Since 2003, the family have live in a property in the Oxfordshire village of Aston Tirrold.[14]
Henman supports Oxford United Football Club and is a keen golfer, playing off scratch.[15][16]
Henman climbed up the rankings very quickly. In 1994, he was among the top 200 players in the world; by 1995, among the top 100; and by 1996, he had made it into the top 30 and won a medal at the Atlanta Olympics. He was the UK's highest ranked player that year, and won the Most Improved Player trophy at the ATP awards. He was subsequently elected to the ATP Tour Player Council and went on to win his first championship in January 1997. In March of that year, he underwent surgery on his elbow which kept him out of action for two months.
During his early career he became the first player ever to be disqualified from the Wimbledon tournament in 1995. The young Henman thrashed a ball in a fit of pique during a doubles match, striking ball girl Caroline Hall on the head.[17] He made a public apology after the incident.[18]
Henman came to the attention of the wider tennis world in 1996 when he came from match point down to beat Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the first round at Wimbledon, going on to reach the quarter finals before losing to Todd Martin. By the time he reached the last 16 at the US Open later in the year, he was firmly established as a top player.
He won his first ATP Tour title in January 1997, beating Carlos Moyá at the Sydney International event. He again reached the quarter-final at Wimbledon. In 1998 he went one better, reaching the semi-final for the first time, by which time he was ranked as one of the top 10 ATP players.
Henman came close to reaching the final on a number of occasions, losing in the semi-finals in 1998, 1999, 2001 (when just two points from victory at one point) and 2002. In 2000 he reached the fourth round and in 1996, 1997, 2003 and 2004 he lost in the quarter-finals. Two of those semi-final losses were to Pete Sampras. In another, he lost to Lleyton Hewitt who was ranked number 1 in the world at the time.
One of the tournaments in which he has been most successful is Queen's Club. He reached the final in 1999, where he lost to Pete Sampras, and went on to reach the final again in 2001 and 2002, where both times he lost to Lleyton Hewitt.
In 2001 he split with his coach of nine years David Felgate and had arguably his best Wimbledon year. He beat the emerging Roger Federer in a four set quarter-final match to reach the semi-finals, which wouldn't feature defending champion Pete Sampras who had been knocked out by Federer. Henman faced three-time finalist Goran Ivanišević, who was likewise seeking his first Wimbledon title. Ivanišević won in five sets, after rain had stopped the match in the fourth when Henman was in a dominant position, two sets to one up. He came to within two points of victory during the fourth set tiebreak.
At the 2002 Australian Open, Henman had a good opportunity to win his first Grand slam title. When he reached the fourth round, Henman was the highest seeded player still in the tournament. In one of the most disappointing defeats of his career, Henman lost in straight sets to the unseeded Swedish doubles specialist Jonas Björkman.
At Wimbledon, Henman again reached the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets. He reached a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings in July under the tutelage of coach Larry Stefanki.
In 2003 Henman took his first and only ATP Masters Series title, winning the Paris Masters against Andrei Pavel. Henman beat several high-ranked players on his way to the final, including Nikolay Davydenko, Sébastien Grosjean, Gustavo Kuerten, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. He only lost one set in the entire competition. Later in the year, Henman was created an OBE in the 2003 New Year Honours. He was painted by Royal artist Christian Furr in 2005.[19]
2004 was arguably Henman's best year on tour. Until 2004, Henman had never progressed beyond the fourth round of any grand slam apart from Wimbledon. However, at the French Open he reached the semi-finals beating many accomplished clay-court players on the way using a serve and volley technique uncommon to clay courts. He was beaten by tournament favourite and eventual runner-up Guillermo Coria after winning the first set,[20] the first that the Argentine had lost during the championships. Henman then continued his form and reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. Later that year, he added another grand slam semi-final appearance, at the U.S. Open, losing to eventual champion Roger Federer. Finally, at the end of year he qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, due to the above results. In the 2004 Summer Olympics tennis event, Henman was seeded fourth, but lost in the first round.
In 2005, he lost in straight sets to Nikolay Davydenko in the third round of the Australian Open. This was considered a disappointing result considering his improvement at Grand Slams the previous year, it would however turn out to be the last time he progressed beyond the second round of a major in his career. He went out in the second round at both the French Open and Wimbledon. In France, he lost in four sets to Luis Horna. At Wimbledon, he lost in five sets to Dmitry Tursunov. At the US Open he lost in straight sets in the first round to Fernando Verdasco.
Henman ended an eight-match losing streak against Lleyton Hewitt on 25 March 2006, with a 7–6, 6–3 victory at the Nasdaq-100 event in Miami. However, 3 months later at the 2006 Stella Artois Championships, Henman lost to Lleyton Hewitt 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 in the semi-finals.
Henman's results in the latter part of his career saw him slip down the rankings to number 62, leading to his being unseeded at Wimbledon in 2006 for the first time in a number of years. At that Wimbledon championships, he lost in the second round to eventual champion Federer, 6–4, 6–0, 6–2, after a five-set victory over Robin Söderling of Sweden in the first round. After this, Henman's results saw an improvement and his world ranking increased to number 39. However, he continued to suffer from injury problems.
In September 2006, Henman played two tournaments in the far east. Starting in Bangkok, Henman reached the Quarter Finals where he lost to Paradorn Srichaphan 6–7 6–4 7–6. Henman then reached his first final since 2004 (Indian Wells) at the AIG Open in Tokyo, losing to Roger Federer 6–3 6–3.
Although Henman was scheduled to play in both Basel & Paris at the end of the 2006 season, he lost in the second round in Basel against the rising Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka 2–6, 7–6, 6–4. He twisted a knee; he did not retire but resorted to a less mobile game that saw Wawrinka win.
On Henman's last practice session before departing for the Australian Open at the start of 2007, having recovered from his knee injury, he injured his hamstring which forced him to withdraw from the tournament. He returned in time to enter Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Miami after withdrawing from Rotterdam & Zagreb but lost in the first round in both of them.
After these tournaments Henman travelled back to the UK to help defeat the Netherlands 4–1 by winning both his rubbers in straight sets in the Davis Cup Euro-Africa Zone match at the Birmingham NEC. The victory allowed Great Britain a play off against Croatia for the World Group in October 2007, played on Court 1 at Wimbledon. Henman took part alongside Andy Murray.
Henman's poor luck with injury and form continued into the 2007 clay court season with first round losses to Juan Carlos Ferrero 7–5, 6–2 in Monaco, Nicolás Almagro 7–5, 6–1 in Rome and a poor showing against 18 year old grand slam debutant Ernests Gulbis 6–4, 6–3, 6–2 in the French Open. Henman's clay court season ended without a single set won. His Grass court season got underway on 12 June 2007 at Queens Club, but was put to an abrupt end by Croatian wildcard entry Marin Čilić. However, he ended the day with a doubles victory with partner Lleyton Hewitt over Australian Jordan Kerr and Austrian Alexander Peya. An early loss at a grass court event in Nottingham was followed up with a poor showing at Wimbledon, with Henman losing in the second round to Feliciano López in 5 sets.
Henman announced at a press conference on 23 August 2007 that he would retire from tennis after playing in the US Open and Britain's Davis Cup tie against Croatia in September 2007.[21][22]
Henman defeated his rival Dmitry Tursunov (who had won five of their six previous matches[23] ) in the 1st round of the US Open 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in what many had assumed would be his final grand slam match. He did in fact compete in his final grand slam match on 31 August 2007 and was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7–6 (7–2), 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 in the second round. Henman seemed slugglish compared to his first round match and threw away serving for the first set.[24]
Henman played his final match in the Davis Cup tie against Croatia on 22 September 2007. The doubles match with Jamie Murray was played on Court 1 at Wimbledon which they won 4–6, 6–4, 7–6, 7–5. The match put Great Britain in an unassailable 3–0 lead and back in the World Group, with the doubles win being added to singles wins the previous day from Henman and Andy Murray. After the match Henman told Sue Barker in an interview on BBC Television and in front of the Court 1 crowd, "It's occasions like this and fans like this that I will miss so much".
At the time of his retirement Henman, had already committed to playing a Charity Exhibition at London's Royal Albert Hall during the Seniors Tennis Event The Blackrock Masters in December 2007. Henman's opponent was veteran Swede and former Wimbledon Champion Stefan Edberg, Tim won the pro-set 8–4.
Henman became part of the commentary team for the BBC coverage of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and has remained there since.
Henman took part in a test event for the adoption of the centre court roof in May 2009 and played mixed doubles with Kim Clijsters against husband and wife team Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
Legend (Singles) |
Grand Slam (0–0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) |
ATP Masters Series (1–3) |
ATP 500 Series (1–5) |
ATP Tour (9–9) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
Runner-up | 1. | 30 December 1996 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Jim Courier | 5–7, 7–6(7-5), 2–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 17 February 1996 | Antwerp, Belgium | Hard (i) | Marc Rosset | 2–6, 5–7, 4–6 |
Winner | 1. | 6 January 1997 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Carlos Moyà | 6–3, 6–1 |
Winner | 2. | 8 September 1997 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Hard | Marc Rosset | 7–6(7-2), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 3. | 12 January 1998 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Karol Kučera | 5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | 27 July 1998 | Los Angeles, USA | Hard | Andre Agassi | 4–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 3. | 14 September 1998 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Hard | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 7–5, 6–4 |
Winner | 4. | 5 October 1998 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Andre Agassi | 6–4, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 5. | 4 January 1999 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Rainer Schüttler | 4–6, 7–5, 1–6 |
Runner-up | 6. | 15 February 1999 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 2–6, 6–7(3-7) |
Runner-up | 7. | 7 June 1999 | London (Queen's Club), UK | Grass | Pete Sampras | 7–6(7-1), 4–6, 6–7(4-7) |
Runner-up | 8. | 4 October 1999 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Karol Kučera | 4–6, 6–7(10-12), 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(2-7) |
Runner-up | 9. | 14 February 2000 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Cédric Pioline | 7–6(7-3), 4–6, 6–7(4-7) |
Runner-up | 10. | 6 March 2000 | Scottsdale, USA | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 4–6, 6–7(2-7) |
Runner-up | 11. | 7 August 2000 | Cincinnati, USA | Hard | Thomas Enqvist | 6–7(5-7), 4–6 |
Winner | 5. | 9 October 2000 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | Tommy Haas | 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 |
Winner | 6. | 20 November 2000 | Brighton, UK | Hard (i) | Dominik Hrbatý | 6–2, 6–2 |
Winner | 7. | 12 February 2001 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Hard (i) | Andreas Vinciguerra | 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 12. | 11 June 2001 | London (Queen's Club), UK | Grass | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–7(3-7), 6–7(3-7) |
Winner | 8. | 22 October 2001 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Roger Federer | 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 9. | 31 December 2001 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Mark Philippoussis | 6–4, 6–7(6-8), 6–3 |
Runner-up | 13. | 18 February 2002 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Nicolas Escudé | 6–3, 6–7(6-8), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 14. | 11 March 2002 | Indian Wells, USA | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 1–6, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 15. | 10 June 2002 | London (Queen's Club), UK | Grass | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–4, 1–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 10. | 28 July 2003 | Washington, USA | Hard | Fernando González | 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 11. | 27 October 2003 | Paris, France | Carpet (i) | Andrei Pavel | 6–2, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–2) |
Runner-up | 16. | 8 March 2004 | Indian Wells, USA | Hard | Roger Federer | 3–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 17. | 2 October 2006 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Roger Federer | 3–6, 3–6 |
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score |
1. | 1997 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet | Marc Rosset | Karsten Braasch Jim Grabb |
7–6, 6–7, 7–6 |
2. | 1999 | London, UK | Carpet | Greg Rusedski | Byron Black Wayne Ferreira |
6–3, 7–6 |
3. | 1999 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Olivier Delaître | Jiří Novák David Rikl |
6–2, 6–3 |
4. | 2004 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Nenad Zimonjić | Gastón Etlis Martín Rodríguez |
7–5, 6–2 |
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score |
1. | 1996 | Summer Olympics, Atlanta, USA | Hard | Neil Broad | Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde |
6–4, 6–4, 6–2 |
2. | 2000 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | David Adams John-Laffnie de Jager |
5–7, 6–2, 6–3 |
Tournament | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR | Career Win-Loss |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 10 | 18–10 |
French Open | A | A | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 3R | SF | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 12 | 16–12 |
Wimbledon | LQ | LQ | 1R | 2R | QF | QF | SF | SF | 4R | SF | SF | QF | QF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 14 | 42–14 |
U.S. Open | A | A | A | 2R | 4R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | SF | 1R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 13 | 20–13 |
Grand Slam Win-Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 7–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–4 | 12–4 | 11–4 | 6–3 | 16–4 | 4–4 | 3–4 | 2–3 | N/A | 98–49 |
Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | A | A | RR | SF | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4–4 |
ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | QF | 2R | 3R | F | 2R | F | QF | 2R | 1R | 0 / 10 | 20–10 |
Miami Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | SF | 3R | QF | 2R | 4R | 2R | 2R | QF | 3R | 1R | 0 / 12 | 16–12 |
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | SF | A | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 11–9 |
Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 11 | 12–11 |
Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 3R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | A | A | 0 / 8 | 11–8 |
Canada Masters | A | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | SF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 11 | 10–11 |
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | QF | F | SF | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 12 | 16–12 |
Madrid Masters (Stuttgart) | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | QF | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | A | 0 / 11 | 10–11 |
Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | W | 3R | A | A | A | 1 / 9 | 10–8 |
ATP Tournaments Won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 11 |
Year End Ranking | 778 | 372 | 167 | 95 | 29 | 17 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 6 | 36 | 39 | 292 | N/A | N/A |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim Henman |
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by Thomas Enqvist |
ATP Most Improved Player 1996 |
Succeeded by Patrick Rafter |
|
Persondata | |
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Name | Henman, Tim |
Alternative names | |
Short description | British tennis player |
Date of birth | 6 September 1974 |
Place of birth | Oxford, England |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
Country | United States |
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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 | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 6–3, 7–6(7–2), 6–3 |
Runner-up | 2004 | Wimbledon | Grass | Roger Federer | 6–4, 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Wimbledon | Grass | Roger Federer | 2–6, 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2006 | US Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 2–6, 6–4, 5–7, 1–6 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Wimbledon | Grass | Roger Federer | 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 | Guillermo Cañas | 4–6, 5–7 |
Winner | 2003 | Montreal | Hard | David Nalbandian | 6–1, 6–3 |
Winner | 2003 | Cincinnati | Hard | Mardy Fish | 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4) |
Winner | 2004 | Miami | Hard | Guillermo Coria | 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–1, ret. |
Runner-up | 2004 | Toronto | Hard | Roger Federer | 5–7, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Cincinnati | Hard | Roger Federer | 3–6, 5–7 |
Winner | 2006 | Cincinnati (2) | Hard | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2010 | Indian Wells | Hard | Ivan Ljubičić | 6–7(3–7), 6–7(5–7) |
Winner | 2010 | Miami (2) | Hard | Tomáš Berdych | 7–5, 6–4 |
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 |
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 | Great Britain |
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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 | Roger Federer | 2–6, 5–7, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 2010 | Australian Open | Hard | Roger Federer | 3–6, 4–6, 6–7(11–13) |
Runner-up | 2011 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 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 % | ||||||||
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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]
See more Wikipedia articles related to this topic. |
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Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Sam Querrey |
US Open Series Champion 2010 |
Succeeded by Mardy Fish |
Awards
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Preceded by Kate Haywood |
BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded by Harry Aikines-Aryeetey |
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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 |
Country | Argentina |
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Residence | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Born | (1979-08-30) August 30, 1979 (age 32) Ciudad Evita, Argentina |
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
Weight | 75 kg (170 lb) |
Turned pro | 1998 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Career prize money | $5,601,394 |
Singles | |
Career record | 326–272 |
Career titles | 6 |
Highest ranking | No. 15 (August 9, 2004) |
Current ranking | No. 43 (May 21, 2012) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 4R (2006) |
French Open | QF (2004, 2011) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2003, 2004, 2007, 2011) |
US Open | QF (2007) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 104–122 |
Career titles | 3 |
Highest ranking | No. 34 (May 17, 2004) |
Current ranking | No. 43 (April 2, 2012) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 3R (2004) |
French Open | 3R (2004, 2008) |
Wimbledon | SF (2010) |
US Open | 2R (2006) |
Last updated on: April 2, 2012. |
Juan Ignacio Chela , known as "El Flaco," (born August 30, 1979) is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like most Argentine players he is comfortable on Clay courts and owns all six of his career titles on the surface. He was born in Ciudad Evita, Provincia de Buenos Aires.
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In February, he reached the quarterfinals in Salvador, defeating Flavio Saretta and David Ferrer, before falling to Agustin Calleri 3–6, 6–3, 3–6. He won in doubles at Viña del Mar, partnering Gaston Gaudio.
At Acapulco and Indian Wells, he reached the quarterfinals, but lost to Oscar Hernandez Perez and Roger Federer, respectively. In Acapulco, he also reached the final in doubles, partnering Nicolas Massu, but they lost to the Bryan brothers 2–6, 3–6.
In April, Chela won in Estoril against Marat Safin 6–7, 6–3, 6–3. He also won in doubles, partnering Gaston Gaudio.
He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, where he lost to Tim Henman 2–6, 4–6, 4–6. In doubles, he reached the quarterfinals in Rome, where he and Guillermo Cañas lost to the Bryan brothers, and in Hamburg, where he also partnered with Cañas.
On August 9, 2004, he reached his career-high singles ranking of world no. 15.
Chela (The Torino) was involved in a controversy during a third-round loss to Lleyton Hewitt in the Australian Open in 2005, when he attempted to spit on Hewitt.[1]
As part of the Argentine team for the Davis Cup, he holds a record of six victories and four losses, the most important of his victories in April 2006, giving Argentina the third point to beat defending champions Croatia in the quarterfinals.
In May 2007, he appeared in the quarterfinals of his sixth different Masters event at Rome, also his personal best showing, with wins over Marc Gicquel, Igor Andreev, and world no. 3 Andy Roddick, the latter being Chela's best victory since defeating no. 3 Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the second round in Mallorca in May 2000. He also partnered Pablo Cuevas in doubles, reaching the quarterfinals in Barcelona, where they lost to the Bryan brothers 1–6, 2–6.
In July, he reached the semifinals in Stuttgart, where he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka 7–6, 4–6 1–6.
He reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, but lost to David Ferrer, 2–6, 3–6 5–7.
In October, he reached the quarterfinals in Vienna, where he lost to Novak Djokovic 3–6, 7–5, 6–7. He also reached the semifinals in doubles, partnering Fernando Gonzalez.
In February, he reached the semifinals in Buenos Aires, only to lose to David Nalbandian 1–6, 2–6.
In April, he reached the quarterfinals in Barcelona, where he lost to Rafael Nadal, 4–6, 2–6.
In 2009, Chela played mostly Challenger tournaments, although he did reach the quarterfinals in Viña del Mar, where he lost to Tommy Robredo 6–0, 3–6, 4–6.
In 2010, Chela won the US Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston, beating Sam Querrey 5–7, 6–4, 6–3, for his first ATP Tour championship in over three years. After he beat Rajeev Ram in straight sets, Chela won a controversial three-set second-round match, in which fellow countryman Eduardo Schwank was fined for his use of tactics when injured. Chela then beat defending champion Lleyton Hewitt and another Argentine Horacio Zeballos in straight sets to reach the final. Also in 2010, Chela won the BCR Open Romania in singles, defeating Pablo Andújar in the final 7–5, 6–1, and doubles partnering Łukasz Kubot.[2] The singles title was his sixth career ATP World Tour victory.
He reached the quarterfinals in Vienna and Santiago, and the semifinals in Costa do Sauipe, where he lost to Nicolás Almagro 6–1, 2–6 4–6. He reached the final in Buenos Aires, where he again lost to Almagro 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. In doubles, he reached the semifinals in Santiago, partnering Santiago Gonzalez.
In April, he reached the final in doubles in Monte Carlo, partnering Bruno Soares, but they lost to the Bryan brothers 3–6, 2–6.
He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, where he lost to Andy Murray 6–7, 5–7, 2–6. In August, he reached the semifinals in Kitzbühel, where he lost to Albert Montañés 2–6, 4–7.
He reached his career-high doubles ranking of no. 32 on 6 June 2011.
At the US Open, he made the third round, where he was defeated by young American Donald Young 5–7, 4–6, 3–6.
His trainer and fitness coach (and also a close friend) is Fernando Aguirre.
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 1. | 21 February, 2000 | Mexico City, Mexico | Clay | Mariano Puerta | 6–4, 7–6(7–4) |
Runner-up | 1. | 28 January, 2001 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay | Fernando Vicente | 4–5, 6–7(6–8) |
Runner-up | 2. | 13 January 13, 2002 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Roger Federer | 3–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 2. | 15 July, 2002 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay | Albert Costa | 6–1, 7–6(7–4) |
Runner-up | 3. | 25 August, 2002 | Long Island, United States | Hard | Paradorn Srichaphan | 7–5, 2–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 3. | 12 April, 2004 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Marat Safin | 6–7(2–7), 6–3, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 4. | 5 March, 2006 | Acapulco, Mexico | Clay | Luis Horna | 6–7(6–8), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 5. | 24 July, 2006 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Agustín Calleri | 6–7(9–11), 2–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 4. | 26 February, 2007 | Acapulco, Mexico | Clay | Carlos Moyà | 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
Winner | 5. | 11 April, 2010 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | Sam Querrey | 5–7, 6–4, 6–3 |
Winner | 6. | 26 September, 2010 | Bucharest, Romania | Clay | Pablo Andújar | 7–5, 6–1 |
Runner-up | 6. | 20 February, 2011 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Nicolás Almagro | 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
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Current through the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | W–L | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 14–11 | |
French Open | 2R | A | 1R | 3R | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | 15–12 | |
Wimbledon | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | 1R | 2R | 4–8 | ||
US Open | 1R | A | 4R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 3R | 13–10 | ||
Win–Loss | 1–3 | 2–1 | 4–4 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 8–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 8–4 | 2–1 | 46–40 | |
ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | 2R | QF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 12–12 | |
Miami Masters | A | 1R | QF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 4R | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 13–12 | |
Monte Carlo Masters | 3R | A | 3R | QF | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 12–11 | |
Rome Masters | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 8–12 | |
Madrid Masters | A | A | 1R | QF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 6–10 | |
Canada Masters | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 4–9 | ||
Cincinnati Masters | 1R | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | 9–8 | ||
Paris Masters | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | 1R | A | 1–6 | ||
Hamburg Masters | A | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | 2R | ATP 500 series | 7–7 | ||||
Win–Loss | 2–4 | 0–2 | 11–9 | 12–9 | 10–9 | 9–8 | 7–9 | 12–9 | 2–5 | 1–5 | 3–6 | 3–7 | 0–5 | 72–87 | |
Career Statistics | |||||||||||||||
Titles–Finals | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 6–12 | |
Year-End Ranking | 63 | 70 | 23 | 38 | 26 | 39 | 33 | 20 | 140 | 73 | 38 | 29 |
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Persondata | |
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Name | Chela, Juan Ignacio |
Alternative names | Chela, Juan Ignacio |
Short description | |
Date of birth | 1979–8–30 |
Place of birth | Ciudad Evita, Argentina |
Date of death | |
Place of death |
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Roger Federer (German pronunciation: [ˈfeːdəʁɐ]) (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP No. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2 February 2004 to 18 August 2008.[2] Federer has occupied the #1 ranking for 285 overall weeks, one week short of the record 286 weeks held by Pete Sampras. As of 28 May 2012, he is ranked World No. 3. Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass, and hard courts). He is the only male player in tennis history to have reached the title match of each Grand Slam tournament at least five times and also the final at each of the nine ATP Masters 1000 Tournaments. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men's record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, the lone exception being the 2008 Australian Open. He holds the record of reaching the semifinals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years, from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open.[10] At the 2012 Australian Open, he reached a record 31st consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. During the course of his run at the 2012 French Open in Roland Garros, Federer eclipsed Jimmy Connors long standing record of 233 match wins in Grand Slam tournaments when he defeated Adrian Ungur in a second round match.
Federer has won a record six ATP World Tour Finals and 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. He also won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He spent eight years (2003–2010) continuously in the top 2 in the year-end rankings and nine (2003–2011) in the Top 3, also a record among male players. His rivalry with Rafael Nadal is considered one of the greatest of all time in the sport. Federer is greatly respected by fans and by fellow players alike as shown by the fact that he has won the ATPWorldTour.com Fans' Favorite Award a record nine consecutive times (2003–2011) and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award (which is voted for by the players themselves) a record seven times overall and six times consecutively (2004–2009, 2011). Federer also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2006. In 2011, he was voted the second most trusted and respected person in the world, second only to Nelson Mandela.[11][12]
As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for a record four consecutive years (2005–2008)[13] and in 2012 he topped a list of the "100 greatest tennis players of all time" (male or female) by Tennis Channel.[14] He is often referred to as the Federer Express[15] or abbreviated to Fed Express, or FedEx, the Swiss Maestro,[15] or simply Maestro.[15][16][17][18]
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Federer was born in Binningen, Arlesheim near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South African-born Lynette Durand.[19] He holds both Swiss and South African citizenships.[20] He grew up in nearby Münchenstein, close to the French and German borders and speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently, Swiss German being his native language.[19][21][22] He was raised as a Roman Catholic and met Pope Benedict XVI while playing the 2006 Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome.[23] Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his military obligation.[24] Federer himself also credits the range of sports he played as a child—he also played badminton and basketball—for his hand-eye coordination. "I was always very much more interested if a ball was involved," he says. Most tennis prodigies, by contrast, play tennis to the exclusion of all other sports.[25]
Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. He met her while both were competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Vavrinec retired from the tour in 2002 because of a foot injury and has since been working as Federer's public relations manager.[26] They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa (municipality of Riehen).[27] On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.[28]
Federer supports a number of charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.[29][30] In 2005, he auctioned his racquet from his US Open championship to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.[31] He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF in 2006.[32] At the 2005 Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Federer arranged an exhibition involving several top players from the ATP tour and WTA tour called Rally for Relief. The proceeds from the event went to the victims of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Since then, he has visited South Africa and Tamil Nadu, one of the areas in India most affected by the tsunami.[33] He has also appeared in UNICEF public messages to raise public awareness of AIDS. In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Federer arranged a collaboration with fellow top tennis players Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, Lleyton Hewitt, and Sam Stosur to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a special charity event called Hit for Haiti, in which all proceeds went to Haiti earthquake victims.[34] He was named a 2010 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in recognition of his leadership, accomplishments, and contributions to society.[35]
Similar to the 2010 event, Hit for Haiti, Federer organized and participated in a charity match called Rally for Relief on 16 January 2011, to benefit those that were affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.
Federer is currently number 31 on Forbes top 100 celebrities as of May 2012. [36]
Federer's main accomplishments as a junior player came at Wimbledon in 1998, where he won both the boys' singles tournament over Irakli Labadze,[37] and in doubles teamed up with Olivier Rochus, defeating the team of Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram.[38] In addition, Federer lost the US Open Junior tournament in 1998 to David Nalbandian. He won four ITF junior singles tournaments in his career, including the prestigious Orange Bowl, where he defeated Guillermo Coria, in the finals.[39] He ended 1998 as the junior world no. 1.
Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998 (12th grade), where he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the round of 32 and lost.[40] Federer's first final came at the Marseille Open in 2000, where he lost to fellow Swiss Marc Rosset.[41] Federer won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. The duo defeated the American pair of Monica Seles and Jan-Michael Gambill in the finals. Federer's first win was at the 2001 Milan Indoor tournament, where he defeated Julien Boutter.[41] Although he won his first ever title already in 1999 on the challenger tour, winning the doubles event in Segovia, Spain together with Dutchman Sander Groen, the finals was played on Federer´s 18th birthday. In 2001, Federer made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the French Open, and at Wimbledon that same year defeated four-time defending champion Pete Sampras to reach the quarterfinals. The most prestigious event final he reached during this period was the 2002 Miami Masters event, where he lost to Andre Agassi, on hard court.[42] In addition, Federer won his first Master Series event at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay, over Marat Safin; the victory made him a top-10 player for the first time.[42] Federer made 10 singles finals between 1998 and 2002, of which he won four and lost six.[40][41][42][43][44] He also made six finals in doubles. Of note are Federer and partner Max Mirnyi's defeat in the final of the Indian Wells Masters in 2002, and their victory in the same year in the final of the Rotterdam 500 series event. Federer had won the latter a year earlier with partner Jonas Björkman.[42][44]
In 2003, Federer won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, beating Mark Philippoussis.[45] Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi,[46] and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 event in Rome on clay, which he lost.[45] Federer made it to nine finals on the ATP Tour and won seven of them, including the 500 series events at Dubai and Vienna.[45] Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships over Andre Agassi.[45]
During 2004, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles for the first time in his career and became the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. His first Grand Slam hard-court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin. He then won his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick.[47] Federer defeated the 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt, at the US Open for his first title there.[47] Federer won three ATP Masters Series 1000 events. One was on clay in Hamburg, and the other two were on hard surfaces at Indian Wells and in Canada.[47] Federer took the ATP 500 series event at Dubai and wrapped up the year by winning the year-end championships for the second time.[47]
In 2005, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two Grand Slam tournaments, losing the Australian Open semifinal to eventual champion Safin and the French Open semifinal to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.[48] However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick. At the US Open, Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last Grand Slam final.[48] Federer also took four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court, and Hamburg on clay.[48] Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai.[48] Federer lost the year-end championships to David Nalbandian in the final.[48]
In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the other, with the only loss coming against Nadal in the French Open. This was the two men's first meeting in a Grand Slam final.[49] Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final. In the Australian Open, Federer defeated Marcos Baghdatis,[49] and at the US Open, Federer defeated Roddick (2003 champion).[49] In addition, Federer made it to six ATP Masters Series 1000 finals, winning four on hard surfaces and losing two on clay to Nadal. Federer won one ATP 500 series event in Tokyo and captured the year-end championships for the third time in his career.[49]
In 2007, Federer reached all four Grand Slam singles finals, winning three of them. He won the Australian Open over Fernando González, Wimbledon over Rafael Nadal for the second time, and the US Open over Novak Djokovic. Federer lost the French Open to Nadal.[50] Federer made five ATP Masters Series 1000 finals in 2007, winning the Hamburg and Cincinnati titles.[50] Federer won one 500 series event in Dubai and won the year-end championships.[50]
In 2008, Federer won one Grand Slam singles title, which came at the US Open over Briton Andy Murray.[51] Federer was defeated by Nadal in two Grand Slam finals, at the French Open, and at Wimbledon, when he was going for six straight wins to break Björn Borg's record.[51] At the Australian Open, Federer lost in the semifinals to Djokovic, which ended his record of 10 consecutive finals.[51] Federer lost twice in Master Series 1000 finals on clay to Nadal, at Monte Carlo and Hamburg.[51] However, Federer captured two titles in 250-level events at Estoril and Halle and one title in a 500 level event in Basel. In doubles, Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[52]
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Federer on the Cover of Sports Illustrated After 2009 French Open Victory |
In 2009, Federer won two Grand Slam singles titles, the French Open over Robin Söderling, and Wimbledon over Andy Roddick.[53] Federer reached two other Grand Slam finals, losing to Nadal at the Australian Open, and to Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open.[53] Federer won two more events, the first at the Madrid Masters over Nadal in the final on clay.[53] The second was in Cincinnati over Djokovic, although Federer lost to Djokovic in Basel, later in the year.[53] Federer completed a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title and won a men's record fifteenth Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Pete Sampras's mark of fourteen.[53]
In 2010, Federer slowed down in his milestones and achievements. The year started with a win at the Australian Open,[54] where he defeated Andy Murray in the final and improved his Grand Slam singles record to sixteen titles.[51] But at the French Open, Federer failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2004 French Open, losing to Söderling, in the quarterfinals, and losing his no. 1 ranking.[54] At the French Open, Federer won his 700th tour match and 150th tour match on clay.[54][55] Federer was just one week away from equaling Pete Sampras's record of 286 weeks as world no. 1. In a big surprise at Wimbledon, Federer lost in the quarterfinal to Tomáš Berdych, and fell to world no. 3 in the rankings.[54][56][57] At the 2010 US Open, Federer reached the semifinals, avenging his French Open loss to Söderling in the quarterfinals, but then lost a five-set match to third seed Novak Djokovic.[54] Federer made it to four Masters 1000 finals, losing three of them (the Madrid Open, the Canadian Masters, and the Shanghai Masters) while winning the Cincinnati Masters against Mardy Fish.[58] In 2010 Federer equaled Agassi for the number of Masters wins at 17 and tied Bjorn Borg's mark for number of total titles won, moving to just one behind Sampras. Towards the middle of July, Federer hired Pete Sampras' old coach Paul Annacone to put his tennis game and career on the right path on a trial basis.[59] Federer won two lesser titles at the Stockholm Open and the Davidoff Swiss Indoors which brought his tally to 65 career titles. Lastly, Federer won the year-end championships by beating rival Rafael Nadal, for his fifth title at the event. He showed much of his old form, beating all contenders except Nadal in straight sets. Since Wimbledon 2010, Federer had a win-loss record of 34–4 and had multiple match points in two of his losses: to Novak Djokovic in the semifinal of the US Open, and to Gaël Monfils in the semifinal of the Paris Masters. Federer did not play in the 2010 Davis Cup.
The year 2011, although great by most players' standards, was a lean year for Federer. He was defeated in straight sets in the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open by eventual champion Novak Djokovic, marking the first time since July 2003 that he did not hold any of the four Major titles. In the French Open semifinal, Federer ended Djokovic's undefeated streak of 43 consecutive wins with a stunning four-set victory. However, Federer then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. At Wimbledon, Federer advanced to his 29th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal, but lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It marked the first time in his career that he had lost a Grand Slam match after winning the first two sets. At the US Open, Federer lost a much-anticipated semifinal match with Novak Djokovic, after squandering two match points in the fifth set which repeated his previous year's result against Djokovic and added a second loss from two sets up in Grand Slam play to his record. The loss at Flushing Meadows meant that Federer did not win any of the four Majors in 2011, the first time this has happened since 2002.
During this 2011 season, Federer won the Qatar Open, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the final. However, he lost the final in Dubai to Djokovic and lost in the Miami Masters and Madrid Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal. In pulling out of the 2011 Shanghai Masters, Federer dropped out of the top 3 for the first time since June 2003.[60] Later in the season, things picked up for Federer. He ended a 10-month title drought and won the Swiss Indoors for the fifth time, defeating youngster Kei Nishikori, who had defeated an ailing Djokovic in the semifinals. Federer followed this up with his first win at the Paris Masters, where he reached his first final at the event and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Federer crushed Rafael Nadal in exactly one hour en route to the semifinals,[61] where he defeated David Ferrer to reach the final at the year-end championships for the seventh time, his 100th tour-level final overall. As a result of this win, Federer also regained the world no. 3 ranking from Andy Murray. In the final, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third consecutive Sunday and, in doing so, claimed his record sixth ATP World Tour Finals title.[62]
Federer began his 2012 season with the Qatar Open, where he withdrew in the semifinals. He then played in the 2012 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals, setting up a 27th career meeting with Nadal, a match he lost in four tight sets. He then participated in the Davis Cup representing Switzerland in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group, but Switzerland was eliminated in a home tie against the United States played on indoor clay in Fribourg. The loss included a four-set defeat for Federer at the hands of John Isner as well as a tight four-set loss with Stanislas Wawrinka in the doubles rubber against Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan. He then played the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2005. He beat del Potro in the final to clinch his second title in Rotterdam. Federer then played in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships where he defeated Andy Murray in the final, improved his record against him to 7–8, and won the championship title for the fifth time in his career. Federer then moved on to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinal, and defeated John Isner in the final. Federer won the title for a record fourth time, and, in doing so, equalled Rafael Nadal's record of 19 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Federer then lost in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open to Andy Roddick in three sets. Federer went on to compete at the Madrid Masters on new blue clay, where he beat Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Janko Tipsarevic and Tomáš Berdych in the final and regained the world no. 2 ranking from Rafael Nadal in the process. Federer then participated in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in Rome where he won over Carlos Berlocq, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andreas Seppi en route to the semifinal, where he was defeated in straight sets by the defending champion and 2012 runner up Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[63][64][65][66][67]
They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 until 14 September 2009, when Nadal fell to World No. 3 (Andy Murray became the new No. 2).[68] They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top. Federer was ranked number 1 for a record 237 consecutive weeks beginning in February 2004. Nadal, who is five years younger, ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[69]
Nadal leads their head-to-head 18–10. However, most of their matches have been on clay. Federer has a winning record on grass (2–1) and indoor hard courts (4–0) while Nadal leads the outdoor hard courts by 5–2 and clay by 12–2.[70] Because tournament seedings are based on rankings, 19 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record 8 Grand Slam finals.[71] From 2006 to 2008 they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and then they met in the 2009 Australian Open final and the 2011 French Open final. Nadal won six of the eight, losing the first two Wimbledons. Three of these matches were five set-matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[72][73][74][75] They have also played in a record 9 Masters Series finals, including their lone five hour match at the 2006 Rome Masters which Nadal won in a fifth-set tie-break having saved two match points.
The two have met 25 times with Federer leading 14–11, and 5–4 in Grand Slam events. Djokovic is the only player besides Nadal to have defeated Federer more than once in a Grand Slam tournament since 2004, the only player besides Nadal to defeat Federer in consecutive grand slam tournaments (2010 US Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player besides Nadal who has "double figure" career wins over Federer. Djokovic is one of two players (the other again being Nadal) currently on tour to have defeated Federer in straight sets at a Grand Slam (2008 Australian Open and 2011 Australian Open) and the only player to do it two times.
Because of the continuously improving game and general rise of Djokovic in the last 3 years, many experts include Djokovic when talking about Nadal and Federer (all 3 have played each other at least 25 times) and Federer has cited his rivalry with Djokovic as his second favorite after his rivalry with Nadal. Experts such as John McEnroe have said that this is the beginning of a new change in tennis. Djokovic's recent back-to-back-to-back wins against Federer at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells tournament have made this rivalry even more intense. During that span, Djokovic had gone on a 43–0 winning streak dating back to the Davis Cup final the previous year. Federer ended Djokovic's perfect 41–0 season defeating him in the semifinals of the 2011 French Open, but Djokovic was able to avenge his loss at the 2011 US Open, and Federer lost with a score of 6–7, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5.[76] Federer cited this as one of the greatest losses in his career, as he had 2 consecutive match points in set five, with his serve, and was 2 sets up before Djokovic came back in what has become one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history (according to John McEnroe). McEnroe claimed that Djokovic's crosscourt forehand return was "one of the great all-time shots in tennis history" and that the semifinal was one of the greatest matches in history. Djokovic contributed to ending Federer's eight-year streak of winning at least one Grand Slam title per year and Djokovic became the second male tennis player to have at least 10 wins against Federer (the other being Nadal).
Many experts have included the rivalry between Federer and Djokovic as one of the best hard-court rivalries in the Open Era.[77]
Federer and Murray have met 15 times, all hard courts, with Murray leading 8–7.[78] Federer has won each of their Grand Slam matches (both were in the final) in straight sets at the 2008 US Open[79] and 2010 Australian Open,[80] but Murray leads 5–1 in ATP 1000 tournaments. They have met three times in the ATP World Tour Finals, with Murray winning in Shanghai in 2008[81] and Federer in London in 2009 and 2010.[82] Their most recent encounter was in the 2012 Dubai final where Federer was victorious. Apart from Nadal, Murray is the only other active player to have a positive head to head record against Federer.
Federer and Lleyton Hewitt have played each other on 26 occasions. Early in their careers, Hewitt dominated Federer, winning seven of their first nine meetings, including a victory from two sets down in the 2003 Davis Cup semifinal which allowed Australia to defeat Switzerland. However, from 2004 onward, Federer has dominated the rivalry, winning 16 of the last 17 meetings to emerge with a 18–8 overall head-to-head record.[83] This is Federer's longest rivalry as these two first played each other as juniors in 1996. They have met in one Grand Slam final, the 2004 US Open final, where Federer won to win his first US Open title. Federer is 9–0 against Hewitt in Grand Slams, and has won six of the Grand Slams in which he has defeated Hewitt.
One of Federer's longstanding rivalries is with American Andy Roddick. Federer and Roddick have met on many occasions, including in four Grand Slam finals (three at Wimbledon and one at the US Open). Federer leads 21–3, making Roddick the ATP player with the most tournament losses to Federer. Roddick lost his World No. 1 ranking to Federer after Federer won his first Australian Open in 2004.
In the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost to Federer in five sets. It included a fifth set made up of 30 games (a Grand Slam final record) and a match that was over 4 hours long. With that victory, Federer broke Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
David Nalbandian was Federer's biggest rival earlier in his career. Both players had an outstanding junior career, Federer won the Wimbledon junior title and Nalbandian won the US Open junior title (beating Federer). Even though Federer has a narrow advantage against Nalbandian, leading their meetings 11–8, Nalbandian beat Federer in their first five meetings after turning professional, including the fourth round of both the Australian Open and US Open in 2003. Their most impressive match was in the 2005 Shanghai Tennis Master Cup, where Nalbandian came back from being two sets to love down against Federer and ultimately prevailed in a fifth set tiebreak. The loss prevented Federer from tying John McEnroe's 82–3 all-time single year record, set in 1984. Nalbandian, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have beaten Federer 8 times, with only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic recording more victories over Federer.
Federer's versatility was summarised by Jimmy Connors: "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."[84]
Federer is an all-court, all-round player known for his speed, fluid style of play, and exceptional shot making. Federer mainly plays from the baseline but is also comfortable at the net, being one of the best volleyers in the game today. He has a powerful, accurate smash and very effectively performs rare elements in today's tennis, such as backhand smash, half-volley and jump smash (slam dunk). David Foster Wallace compared the brute force of Federer's forehand motion with that of "a great liquid whip,"[85] while John McEnroe has referred to Federer's forehand as "the greatest shot in our sport."[86] Federer is also known for his efficient movement around the court and excellent footwork, which enables him to run around shots directed to his backhand and instead hit a powerful inside-out or inside-in forehand, one of his best shots. Though Federer plays with a single-handed backhand which gives him great variety. Federer's forehand and backhand slice are both known as the best ever to enter the game. He employs the slice, occasionally using it to lure the opponent to the net and pass him. Federer can also fire topspin winners and possesses a 'flick' backhand where he can generate pace with his wrist; this is usually used to pass the opponent at the net.[85] His serve is difficult to read because he always uses a similar ball toss regardless of what type of serve he is going to hit and where he aims to hit it, and turns his back to his opponents during his motion. He is often able to produce big serves on key points during a match. His first serve is typically around 200 km/h (125 mph);[87][88][89] however, he is capable of serving at 220 km/h (137 mph).[87][88] Federer is also accomplished at serve and volleying,[90] and employed this tactic especially frequently in his early career.[91] His speciality is a half-volley from the baseline which enables him to play close to the baseline and to pick up even the deeper shots very early after they bounce, giving his opponents less time to react.[citation needed] Later in his career Federer added the drop shot to his arsenal, and can perform a well-disguised one off both wings. He sometimes uses a between-the-legs shot, which is colloquially referred to as a "tweener." His most notable use of the tweener was in the semifinals of the 2009 US Open against Novak Djokovic, bringing him triple match point, on which he capitalised for a straight-set victory over the Serb.[92]
Federer currently plays with a customised Wilson Pro Staff Six.One 90 BLX tennis racquet,[93] which is characterised by its smaller hitting area of 90 square inches, heavy strung weight of 357.2 grams, and thin beam of 17.5 millimeters. His grip size is 4 3/8 inches (sometimes referred to as L3).[94] Federer strings his racquets at 21.5 kg mains/20 kg crosses pre stretched 20%, utilizing Wilson Natural Gut 16 gauge for his main strings and Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power Rough 16L gauge (polyester) for his cross strings.[94] When asked about string tensions, Federer stated "this depends on how warm the days are and with what kind of balls I play and against who I play. So you can see – it depends on several factors and not just the surface; the feeling I have is most important."[95]
Federer is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world. He has a contract with Nike footwear and apparel.[96] For the 2006 championships at Wimbledon, Nike designed a jacket emblazoned with a crest of three tennis racquets, symbolising the three Wimbledon Championships he had previously won, and which was updated the next year with four racquets after he won the Championship in 2006.[97] In Wimbledon 2008 and again in 2009, Nike continued this trend by making him a personalised cardigan.[98] He also has his own logo, an R and F joined together.[99] Federer endorses Gillette,[100] Jura, a Swiss-based coffee machine company,[101] as well as Mercedes-Benz and NetJets. Federer also endorses Rolex watches,[102] although he was previously an ambassador for Maurice Lacroix.[103] Also in 2009 Federer became brand ambassador for Swiss chocolate makers Lindt.[104] In 2010 his endorsement by Mercedes-Benz China was extended into a global Mercedes-Benz partnership deal.[105]
Information in these tables is updated only once the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | LQ | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | W | SF | W | W | SF | F | W | SF | SF | 4 / 13 | 63–9 | 87.50 |
French Open | A | 1R | 4R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | F | F | W | QF | F | 1 / 14 | 52–12 | 81.25 | |
Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | W | W | W | W | W | F | W | QF | QF | 6 / 13 | 59–7 | 89.39 | |
US Open | A | LQ | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | W | W | W | W | W | F | SF | SF | 5 / 12 | 61–7 | 89.71 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 7–4 | 13–4 | 6–4 | 13–3 | 22–1 | 24–2 | 27–1 | 26–1 | 24–3 | 26–2 | 20–3 | 20–4 | 7–1 | 16 / 52 | 235–35 | 87.04 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Mark Philippoussis | 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–6(7–3) |
Winner | 2004 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Marat Safin | 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 2004 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | US Open (1) | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–0, 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
Winner | 2005 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Winner | 2005 | US Open (2) | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
Winner | 2006 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 5–7, 7–5, 6–0, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2006 | French Open (1) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 6–0, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |
Winner | 2006 | US Open (3) | Hard | Andy Roddick | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
Winner | 2007 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Fernando González | 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2007 | French Open (2) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 2007 | US Open (4) | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2008 | French Open (3) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 1–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Wimbledon (1) | Grass | Rafael Nadal | 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(10–8), 7–9 |
Winner | 2008 | US Open (5) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2009 | Australian Open (1) | Hard | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 2–6 |
Winner | 2009 | French Open (1) | Clay | Robin Söderling | 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |
Runner-up | 2009 | US Open (1) | Hard | Juan Martín del Potro | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(13–11) |
Runner-up | 2011 | French Open (4) | Clay | Rafael Nadal | 5–7, 6–7(3–7), 7–5, 1–6 |
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YEC | NQ | NQ | NQ | NQ | SF | W | W | F | W | W | RR | SF | W | W | 6 / 10 | 39–7 | 84.78 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 5–0 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2003 | Houston | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 |
Winner | 2004 | Houston | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2005 | Shanghai | Carpet (i) | David Nalbandian | 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11), 2–6, 1–6, 6–7(3–7) |
Winner | 2006 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | James Blake | 6–0, 6–3, 6–4 |
Winner | 2007 | Shanghai | Hard (i) | David Ferrer | 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | London | Hard (i) | Rafael Nadal | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
Winner | 2011 | London | Hard (i) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 2008 | Beijing | Hard | Wawrinka | Aspelin Johansson |
6–3, 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 |
Time span | Selected Grand Slam tournament records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
Career Grand Slam | Rod Laver Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
16 titles | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
23 finals | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 US Open |
10 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
23 consecutive semifinals[106][107] | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2012 Australian Open |
31 consecutive quarterfinals | Stands alone |
2004 & 2006–2007 | 3 years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 & 2009 | 5 years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 | 2 consecutive years winning 3+ titles | Stands alone |
2004–2007 | 4 consecutive years winning 2+ titles | Stands alone |
2003–2010 | 8 consecutive years winning 1+ title[107] | Björn Borg Pete Sampras |
2004 Australian Open — 2011 US Open |
8 consecutive years winning 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2010 Australian Open |
4+ titles at 3 different Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
5+ finals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 French Open |
6+ semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2001 French Open — 2011 US Open |
8+ quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2008 US Open |
5 consecutive titles at 2 different Majors[107] | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2+ consecutive finals at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2003 Wimbledon — 2009 French Open |
5+ consecutive semifinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2011 US Open |
7+ consecutive quarterfinals at all 4 Majors | Stands alone |
2003 Wimbledon — 2006 Australian Open |
First 7 finals won | Stands alone |
2004 Australian Open — 2010 Australian Open |
9 hard-court titles | Stands alone |
2006–2007 & 2009 | All 4 Major finals in 1 season | Rod Laver |
2006 French Open — 2009 US Open |
Runner-up finishes at all 4 Majors | Ivan Lendl |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
235 match wins overall[108] | Stands alone |
2000 Australian Open — 2012 French Open |
50+ match wins at all 4 Majors[109] | Stands alone |
2006 | 27 match wins in 1 season | Stands alone |
2004 French Open — 2008 Wimbledon |
18 consecutive No. 1 seeds | Stands alone |
2006 US Open — 2007 French Open |
36 consecutive sets won | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | 35 consecutive service points won | Stands alone |
2009 Wimbledon | 50 aces in a final | Stands alone |
2007 US Open | $2.4 million earned at one event | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2007 French Open |
2 winning streaks of 25+ matches | Stands alone |
2005 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
3 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
2004 Wimbledon — 2009 US Open |
5 winning streaks of 15+ matches | Stands alone |
Grand Slam tournaments | Time Span | Records at each Grand Slam tournament | Players matched |
---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 4 titles overall | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2006–2007 | 2 consecutive titles | Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Jim Courier Andre Agassi Novak Djokovic |
Australian Open | 2004–2007 | 3 titles in 4 years | Andre Agassi |
Australian Open | 2004–2010 | 5 finals overall | Stefan Edberg |
Australian Open | 2004–2012 | 9 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
Australian Open | 2007 | Won without dropping a set[110] | Ken Rosewall |
Australian Open | 2000–2012 | 63 match wins overall[110] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2009 | 4 consecutive finals | Björn Borg Ivan Lendl Rafael Nadal |
French Open | 2006–2008, 2011 | 4 runner-ups[111] | Stands alone |
French Open | 2006–2008 | 3 consecutive runner-ups | Stands alone |
French Open | 2005–2009 | 5 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
French Open—Wimbledon | 2009 | Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year | Rod Laver Björn Borg Rafael Nadal |
Wimbledon | 2003–2007 | 5 consecutive titles[112] | Björn Borg |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 finals overall | Boris Becker Pete Sampras |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive finals | Stands alone |
Wimbledon | 2003–2009 | 7 consecutive semifinals | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 titles overall | Jimmy Connors Pete Sampras |
US Open | 2004–2008 | 5 consecutive titles | Stands alone |
US Open | 2004–2009 | 40 consecutive match wins[113] | Stands alone |
US Open | 1999–2011 | 89.71% (61–7) match winning percentage | Stands alone |
Time span | Other selected records | Players matched |
---|---|---|
2 February 2004 — 17 August 2008 |
237 consecutive weeks at No. 1[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 26 consecutive match victories vs. top 10 opponents | Stands alone |
2005–2006 | 56 consecutive hard court match victories | Stands alone |
2003–2008 | 65 consecutive grass court match victories[107] | Stands alone |
2003–2005 | 24 consecutive tournament finals won[107] | Stands alone |
2001–2012 | 10+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts | Stands alone |
2003–2009 | 11 grass court titles | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 51 hard court titles | Stands alone |
2006 | 9 hard court titles in 1 season | Jimmy Connors |
1998–2012 | 315 tiebreaks won[114] | Stands alone |
1999–2011 | 87.18% (102–15) grass court match winning percentage[115] | Stands alone |
1998–2012 | 83.20% (515–104) hard court match winning percentage[116] | Stands alone |
2006 | 94.12% of tournament finals reached in 1 season | Stands alone |
2003–2011 | 6 ATP World Tour Finals titles overall[117] | Stands alone |
2002–2011 | 39 ATP World Tour Finals match wins[117] | Ivan Lendl |
2002–2012 | 32 combined Championship Masters Series finals | Stands alone |
2002–2012 | 44 Masters 1000 semifinals | Stands alone |
2000–2012 | 261 Masters 1000 match wins | Stands alone |
2004–2012 | 14 Masters 1000 hard court titles | Andre Agassi |
2004–2012 | 4 Indian Wells Masters titles[118] | Stands alone |
2004–2008 | 2 consecutive Olympic games as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 consecutive calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Stands alone |
2005–2007 | 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire No. 1 | Jimmy Connors |
2003–2010 | Ended 8 years ranked inside the top 2 | Jimmy Connors |
2007 | $10 million prize money earned in a season | Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic |
2005–2007 | 2 winning streaks of 35+ matches | Björn Borg |
2004–2012 | 7 winning streaks of 20+ matches | Stands alone |
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Book: Roger Federer | |
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Name | Federer, Roger |
Alternative names | |
Short description | Swiss tennis professional |
Date of birth | 8 August 1981 |
Place of birth | Binningen (near Basel), Switzerland) |
Date of death | |
Place of death |