Denis Istomin

Denis Olegovich Istomin (born 7 September 1986, Orenburg, Russian SFSR) is an Uzbek tennis player. He has won one singles title (at the 2015 Aegon Open Nottingham) and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 33 in August 2012.

Personal

Denis Istomin was born in Orenburg to Oleg and Klaudiya Istomin. His father, an Uzbek, moved the family to Tashkent, when Denis was 3 months old. Denis is coached by his mother, who introduced him to the sport at an early age. Injuries resulting from a car crash in 2001 en route to an event kept Istomin away from tennis for 2 years, with doctors initially stating that he would never hold a racquet again. Despite this, Istomin resumed training in April 2003.

Career

2005

Istomin broke into the top–200 late in 2005 and finished the year at No. 196. He won his first Challenger tournament in Bukhara.

2006

Istomin received the Asian wildcard into the 2006 Australian Open, where he played world No. 1 Roger Federer. Federer won in straight sets. He spent much of 2006 in the top 200, reaching a career-high of No. 186 on 1 May, and finished the year at No. 200 in singles.

Denis

According to Christian tradition, Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred, with his companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after 250 AD. Denis is said to have picked his head up after being decapitated, walked ten kilometres (six miles), while preaching a sermon of repentance the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France, and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius.

Life

Gregory of Tours states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the "Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii" dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to the poet Venantius Fortunatus, and is legendary. Nevertheless, it appears from the Passio that Denis was sent from Italy to convert Gaul in the third century, forging a link with the "apostles to the Gauls" reputed to have been sent out with six other missionary bishops under the direction of Pope Fabian. There Denis was appointed first Bishop of Paris. The persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian community at Lutetia. Denis, with his inseparable companions Rusticus and Eleutherius, who were martyred with him, settled on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine. Roman Paris lay on the higher ground of the Left Bank, away from the river.

Australian Open

The Australian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over the last fortnight of January in Melbourne, Australia. First held in 1905, the tournament is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year – the other three being the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It features men's and women's singles; men's, women's and mixed doubles and junior's championships; as well as wheelchair, legends and exhibition events. Prior to 1988 the tournament had been played on grass. Since 1988 two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used at Melbourne Park – green Rebound Ace to 2007 and blue Plexicushion from 2008.

The Australian Open typically has high attendance, second only to the US Open. It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, the Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena and the refurbished Margaret Court Arena equipped with retractable roofs.

History

The Australian Open is managed by Tennis Australia, formerly the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia (LTAA), and was first played at the Warehouseman's Cricket Ground in Melbourne in 1905. This facility is now known as the Albert Reserve Tennis Centre.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (Serbian: Novak Đoković / Новак Ђоковић, pronounced [nôʋaːk d͡ʑôːkoʋit͡ɕ]; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He is generally considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He is coached by former Slovak tennis player Marián Vajda and former German tennis player and six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker.

Djokovic has won 11 Grand Slam singles titles which is ranked fourth in the open era tied with Björn Borg and has held the No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings for a total of 186 weeks. By winning three Grand Slam titles in 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player to win three Grand Slams in a calendar year. He repeated this achievement in 2015. In Grand Slams, Djokovic has won an all-time record six Australian Open titles (tied with Roy Emerson), including an open era record of three consecutive titles from 2011–2013 (the first and only player to achieve this). He has also won three Wimbledon titles and two US Open titles.

Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Григор Димитров Димитров pronounced [ˈgrigɔr ˈdimitrɔf]; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 8, which he achieved in August 2014, shortly after reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon.

Dimitrov is the most successful Bulgarian male tennis player, both in terms of ranking reached—as of 2015 he was the only Bulgarian tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10 ATP Singles—and prize money won, being the only Bulgarian player to reach US$1m and later $5m.

Dimitrov is also the first (and only) Bulgarian male tennis player to win an ATP title in singles (after he won in October 2013 at Stockholm) and reach a final in doubles (in 2011) as well as the only Bulgarian male player to reach the third round or better at a Grand Slam tournament. He has won 4 ATP singles titles to date. Prior to his professional career, Dimitrov enjoyed a successful junior career, in which he held the world No. 1 ranking and won the Boys' Singles titles at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and the 2008 US Open.