PETE SAMPRAS

Petros "Pete" Sampras (born August 12, 1971, in Washington, D.C.) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from the United States of America. During his 15-year career, he won a record 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles (two Australian Open, seven Wimbledon, five US Open), and had a 203–38 win-loss record over 52 Grand Slam singles tournament appearances.

He debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and played his last top-level game in 2002. He was the year-end World No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993–1998), a record for the open era and tied for third all-time. His seven Wimbledon singles championships is a record shared with William Renshaw. His five US Open singles titles is an open era record shared with former World No. 1s Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. He is considered to be one of the greatest male players of all time. The American journalist and television sportscaster Bud Collins has named Sampras as one of the top five men's tennis players of all-time,and Tennis Magazine has named him the greatest tennis player from 1965 to 2005.[3] On July 17, 2007, Sampras was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

career

1988–1990

Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked World No. 97 after starting the year at World No. 893.[11] His first professional match was a loss to Sammy Giammalva, Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia. But just one week later at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami, Sampras defeated two top-40 players before losing to World No. 18 Emilio Sánchez. He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, when he defeated World No. 39 Michiel Schapers at a US Open warm-up tournament in Rye Brook, New York. In his first Grand Slam singles match, Sampras lost to World No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in the first round of the US Open 6–7, 6–7, 6–4, 7–5, 6–2. Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over World No. 79 Jim Courier, in their first career match-up, and World No. 8 Tim Mayotte.[12]

The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending World No. 81.[13] He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–3. He won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time at the French Open before losing in the second round to Michael Chang 6–1, 6–1, 6–1 in their first career match-up. At the US Open, Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round 5–7, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4 before losing to World No. 13 Jay Berger in the fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round of four consecutive tournaments.[14]

Sampras finished 1990 at World No. 5 but began the year in Australia with a World No. 61 ranking.[15] He lost to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Mayotte in the first round 7–6, 6–7, 4–6, 7–5, 12–10 before losing to thirteenth-ranked Yannick Noah in the fourth round in four sets. His first professional singles title came in February at the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia, where he defeated sixth-ranked Andre Agassi, eighth-ranked Mayotte, and eighteenth-ranked Andrés Gómez in the final. This title elevated his ranking into the top-20 for the first time. Sampras did not play the French Open and again lost in the first round of Wimbledon, this time to Christo Van Rensburg 7–6, 7–5, 7–6. Sampras played seven consecutive weeks during the North American summer hard court season. He defeated John McEnroe in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open but then lost to Chang in the semifinals. He also reached the semifinals of the tournament in Los Angeles where he lost to World No. 2 Stefan Edberg. He did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, losing to Chang, Richey Reneberg, and Goran Ivanišević. In September, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Along the way, he defeated sixth-ranked Thomas Muster in the fourth round and third-ranked Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive US Open finals. He then defeated 20th-ranked McEnroe in a four-set semifinal to set up a final with fourth-ranked Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the US Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days.[16] He played five tournaments to complete the year, winning only the Grand Slam Cup.[17]

1991–1992

Sampras in 1991 captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. Upon entering the US Open as the defending champion that year, he caused controversy when, after losing in the quarterfinals to Jim Courier, Sampras said that he was not disappointed and felt relieved that the pressure to defend his title was no longer on him. This led to widespread criticism, which included disparaging remarks from Courier and Jimmy Connors.[18]

In 1992, Sampras reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first of three consecutive years, made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, and was the runner-up at the US Open to Stefan Edberg. Sampras later stated that his loss in the US Open final that year was a "wake-up call" and that he needed to figure out how to become the World No. 1.[19] He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup, duplicating the feat in 1995.

1993–1996

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 1993, and matched the previous year's quarterfinal performance at the French Open. In April 1993, Sampras attained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the No. 1 spot was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles. But he justified the ranking three months later by claiming his first Wimbledon title, beating former World No. 1 Jim Courier in the final. This was swiftly followed by his second US Open title. He finished the year as the clear No. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a season.

Sampras dominated Wimbledon for the rest of the decade, and won three consecutive titles from 1993 through 1995. He lost a 1996 quarterfinal match to Richard Krajicek, who won the title that year. Sampras, however, then won four consecutive titles from 1997 through 2000 to become the most successful male player in Wimbledon history. His victory in 2000 also broke Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam men's singles titles.

Sampras won two Australian Open titles. In 1994, he defeated American Todd Martin in the final, and in 1997, he defeated Carlos Moyà of Spain in the final. One of Sampras's most memorable matches there came in 1995 when he played Courier in the quarterfinals. Sampras's longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullickson was later diagnosed with brain cancer to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullickson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match, but somehow managed to win. Sampras then lost the final to Agassi. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras's full time coach after Gullickson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching..

Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts. He was also known for his all-round game and strong competitive instinct. He won back-to-back US Open titles in 1995 and 1996. Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won the prestigious Italian Open in 1994, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final.

1997

He won his second Australian Open title in January, defeating Carlos Moyà in the final, and Wimbledon for the fourth time in July, defeating Cedric Pioline in the final. He also won singles titles in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich, and Paris and the ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover, Germany. His title in Munich was his 50th overall title.

He had a career-best[citation needed] 10-1 win-loss record versus top 10 opponents and was undefeated in eight singles finals. He held the World No. 1 ranking for the entire year and joined Jimmy Connors (1974-1978) as the only male players to hold the year-end World No. 1 ranking for five consecutive years. His prize money earnings of US$6,498,211 for the year was a career high.

1998

In 1998, Sampras's number-one ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Ríos. (In 1993, 1994, 1996, and 1997, Sampras had dominated the ATP tour.) Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the quarterfinals, and won Wimbledon only after a hard fought five-set victory over Goran Ivanišević. Sampras lost a five-set US Open semifinal to the eventual winner Patrick Rafter after suffering a leg injury in the third set while leading the match. He lost another semifinal at the Tennis Masters Cup. Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top ranked player for the sixth year in a row.

1999

1999 also started out disappointingly, as Sampras withdrew from the Australian Open and failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then went on a 24-match winning streak, including the Stella Artois Championships, Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. That run ended when he was forced to retire from the RCA Championships and the US Open because of a herniated disc in his back. Sampras's ranking was hurt through a combination of withdrawing from the Australian and US Opens, tournaments in which he had strong performances during the previous year, and the resurgence of longtime rival Andre Agassi, putting an end to Sampras' six consecutive years of finishing as the World No. 1. Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat him in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the fifth and final time, enabling Sampras to place 3rd in the rankings.

2000s

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000 (falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match), and won the Miami Masters tournament for the third time in March. He then won a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, battling through a painful shin injury in the process.After this victory, Sampras did not win another title for two years. He lost in the final of the 2000 and 2001 US Open to Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively, leading many to speculate that Sampras would never capture another major title. At the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, Sampras lost to Roger Federer, who was 19 at the time, 7–6(7), 5–7, 6–4, 6–7(2), 7–5 in the fourth round, ending Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon. The match also marked the first and only time that the two men ever played each other on the ATP tour.

2002

In 2002, Sampras suffered another early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to 145th ranked George Bastl of Switzerland, whose best surface was red clay. Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open. Greg Rusedski, whom Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the US Open, said that Sampras was "a step and a half slower" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young and upcoming stars of the game, Tommy Haas in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight US Open final. This time, he faced Agassi, whom he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors's record of five US Open singles championships. The tournament was the last of Sampras's career.

Although he played no tour events in the following 12 months, Sampras did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the US Open. Sampras chose not to defend his title, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the open. After retirement, many regarded Sampras to be the greatest player of all time.

During his career, Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slams, 11 ATP Masters Series events, and five Tennis Masters Cup titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the World No. 1 for a record 286 weeks and was year-end No. 1 for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

Rivalry with Andre Agassi

The rivalry between Agassi and Sampras was the dominant rivalry in men's tennis during the 1990s,[citation needed] with Sampras winning 20 of the 34 matches they played.

The rivalry actually started in their childhoods when they played each other in a 1979 tournament in Northridge, California at ages 8 and 9, respectively.

The 1990 US Open was their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final. Agassi was favored because he was ranked World No. 4 compared to the World No. 12 ranking of Sampras and because Agassi had defeated Sampras in their only previously completed match. However, Agassi lost the final to Sampras in straight sets.

The Sampras-Agassi rivalry reached its height in 1995.The two players traded the World No. 1 ranking several times that year, and each player agreed to participate in the Davis Cup only if the other also played.They were concerned that if one played while the other rested during the weeks leading up to the French Open, the one who rested would have a competitive advantage heading into the year's second Grand Slam event. Both ended up playing, and the U.S. won the Davis Cup that year. Notable Sampras-Agassi matches of 1995 included the finals of the Australian Open, the Newsweek Champions Cup, the Lipton International Players Championships, the Canadian Open, and the US Open, with Sampras winning the Newsweek Champions Cup and the US Open. The US Open was the highest-rated match among U.S. television audiences,[citation needed] as Agassi declared that it would decide the year-ending World No. 1 ranking.

The next time Sampras and Agassi met in a Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon in 1999, where Sampras won in straight sets. For both, it was considered a career rejuvenation, as Sampras had suffered a string of disappointments in the last year while Agassi was regaining his status as a top-ranked player after winning the French Open. Sampras forfeited the World No. 1 ranking to Agassi when injury forced Sampras to withdraw from that year's US Open. They faced each other twice in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships, with Sampras losing the round robin match but winning the final.

They played each other only once in 2000. The top-ranked Agassi defeated World No. 3 Sampras in the semifinals of the Australian Open 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(5), 6–1.

In arguably their most memorable match, Sampras defeated Agassi in the 2001 US Open quarterfinals 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5). There were no breaks of serve during the entire match. Reruns of the match are frequently featured on television, especially during US Open rain delays.

The second highest-rated match of their rivalry[citation needed] was the final of the 2002 US Open. It was their first meeting in a US Open final since 1995. The match also was notable because they had defeated several up-and-coming players en route to the final. Sampras had defeated World No. 3 Tommy Haas in the fourth round and future World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals while Agassi had defeated current World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals. Sampras defeated Agassi 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4. This was the final ATP tour singles match of Sampras's career.

Playing style

Sampras was an all-court player who would often serve-and-volley. In the early years of his career, when not serving, his strategy was to be aggressive from the baseline, put opponents in a defensive position, and finish points at the net. In his later years, he became even more aggressive and would either employ a chip-and-charge strategy—just chip back the return and run up to the net, waiting for a volley or try to hit an offensive shot on the return and follow his return to the net.

The Serve

He used both first and second serves as opportunities to win the point with one swing. The ability to strike quickly with an aggressive serve was the key to his game. Indeed, the serve and Sampras are practically synonymous. As a serve-and-volleyer, he looked to capitalize on his delivery and move to net and attack. His second serve was the equal of many players' first and allowed him to be ultra-aggressive on his first offering. He had an effortless motion that incorporates every power source beginning with his feet pushing off the ground.

Sampras's classically smooth service motion gave him many easy points on aces or service winners. The keys to Sampras's serve was the height of his elbow in the back stretch position, the contact at full extension, the speed of the racquet head through the contact zone. The speed of his serves was frequently 120-140 mph (192-224 km/h)on 1st and 100–120 mph (160-192 km/h) on second serves. Sampras is considered by many to have had the best second serve in history. He was known for producing aces on critical points, even with his second serves.[30][31] He had an accurate and powerful first serve, one of the best of all time;[32] His second serve was nearly as powerful as his first, possibly his most dangerous weapon. He had great disguise on both his first and second serves.

Return of Serve

Because he held serve at such a high percentage, he could be opportunistic with his return game. Depending on the situation, he would vary his return of serve. Against a good server, he usually looked to block or chip his return with an abbreviated swing on first serves to get the point started. But on second serves he'd be more aggressive, going after his forehand or slicing his backhand and attacking the net. To get a forehand on the ad side, he positioned himself in the doubles alley just as his opponent started his delivery.

Forehand

This was a weapon that put his opponent on the extreme defensive or won the point outright. He held the racquet with an Eastern Forehand grip, which allowed him to hit flat, penetrating drives to the corners of the court. He could put more topspin on the ball if he desired, but that wasn't his style. He wanted to draw a mid-court shot (an opportunity ball) from his opponent and then punish it to either corner and follow it to net. His forehand, and in particular his "Running Forehand" (a forehand hit on the run), was considered the best in the world. He was known for hitting his Running Forehand with a Reverse Forehand, a shot in which the racket rises on a much more vertical plane and finishes with the entire instrument above the player's head and pointing backward.

Backhand

With his one-hander, he could drive the ball flat, slice it, or roll it with topspin. The stroke also provided great flexibility for his attacking game. At a young age, he switched from a two-handed to a one-handed backhand with an Eastern Backhand grip. This was done to help his transition game and make him an all-court player. Although not the weapon his forehand was, his backhand kept him in the rally from the baseline and could deliver the goods on passes or carve out specialty shots when needed. Over the years, he developed an effective slice that changed the pace of a rally or he used to approach the net.

Opponents frequently played to his backhand, which was considered to be his weaker side. To counter this, Sampras often camped on the backhand side while rallying from the baseline and often baited opponents for his great running forehand. Later on in his career, as his foot speed slightly declined, Sampras was forced to play closer to the center of the court.

Net Game

He had every volley in the book and set them up with his huge serves and approach shots. His volley technique is flawless. He could hurt you with high, half, and shoestring volleys, and he had a devastating overhead. With his firm hold on his Continental grip and an upright racquet head, he used his athleticism to smother the net and was rarely caught out of position. He was also very smart with his shot selection at net, always cutting down the passing lanes and anticipating his opponent's next move. If he didn't have a clear putaway, he'd volley straight ahead, forcing his opponent to create a difficult angle. His overhead smash is regarded as the greatest of all time, as he could hit it from almost any position for a winner.

Strategy

The consummate front-runner, he came into a match with the mind-set that if he was never behind, he wouldn't lose. When he was playing his best, he was forcing his opponent to catch up in the points. He used his big shots and athleticism to close in on the net and finish points quickly. If he happened to get behind in the point, he'd look for a shot (like his running forehand) that would immediately grab the momentum back. It was the same with the match as a whole. All Sampras wanted was that one service break a set and then he could cruise. He had so much confidence in his serve that he believed he could hold it every time. And if he couldn't find the break during the set, he felt he'd get a mini-break during the tiebreaker. His relaxed intensity and big serve have allowed him to handle the big points better than any player ever has.

Grass Courts

On grass, the serves retain more of their speed when they hit the service box and bounce relatively lower than on any other surface. This significantly improved Sampras' single biggest advantage. That was certainly the case at Wimbledon, where Sampras's second serve was almost unreturnable and the more worn the grass got the better it was for Sampras. In addition, his one-two punch was considered the best in the world. On grass courts, Sampras served and volleyed on both serves throughout his career.

His secondary advantage was his net game because it's important to move in after the serve and win the point with a volley or overhead from the short/mid-court ball. One of Sampras's major advantages on grass was that points were kept short: this allowed him to play long matches without the same fatigue he'd feel on clay courts or hard courts.

Another advantage Sampras had was that on grass the ball bounces around knee height, his most comfortable strike zone. This also turned his backhand into a lethal weapon due to his particular stroke. The additional advantage Sampras had was the comparative flatness of his groundstrokes. He did hit topspin on both sides, but not nearly as much as a typical clay-court specialist. His lower, flatter groundstrokes had more power and penetrated the court much more quickly than his opponents' shots could. This took away much of their reaction time, often forcing opponents to try and run even before he hit the stroke.

Hard Courts

His style changed dramatically between the early 1990s and the time he retired. He served and volleyed on his first serve and frequently stayed back on his second serve. Towards the latter part of his career on hard courts, Sampras played a serve and volley game on both his first and second serves.

Clay Courts

On clay, serves slow down more when they hit the service box than on any other surface. This reduced Sampras' single biggest advantage. The other difficulty for Sampras was that the topspinning shots caused the ball to kick up high and he was less comfortable meeting the ball up high, especially on his backhand. His backhand was a world-class shot, but because of his grip and technique, he preferred to hit the ball lower. When the ball really kicked high he struggled and he often dropped the ball short and into the centre of the court.

Another factor that made it tough for Sampras on clay was the comparative flatness of his groundstrokes. He did hit topspin on both sides, but not nearly as much as a typical clay-court specialist. Lower, flatter groundstrokes slow down relatively more on clay than do those with more topspin, and they don't kick up above the opponent's comfort zone the way higher, heavy topspins do.


Personal Information

Name:Pete Sampras

Nickname(s):Pistol Pete, King of Swing

Country:United States

Residence:Los Angeles, California

Date of birth:August 12, 1971 (1971-08-12) (age 37)

Place of birth:Washington, D.C.

Height:1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight:170 lb (77 kg)[1]

Turned pro:1988

Retired:2002

Plays Right-handed; one-handed backhand

Career prize money US$ 43,280,489

*2nd All-time leader in earnings

Sir VIV RICHARDS

Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards is a former West Indian cricketer. Better known by his second name, Vivian or, more popularly, simply as Viv, Richards was voted one of the five Cricketers of the Century in 2000, by a 100-member panel of experts, along with Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs and Shane Warne.In February 2002, he was judged by Wisden to have played the best One Day International (ODI) innings of all time.In December 2002, he was chosen by Wisden as the greatest ODI batsman of all time, as well as the third greatest Test batsman of all time.

International career

Richards made his Test match debut for the West Indian cricket team in 1974 against India in Bangalore. He made an unbeaten 192 in the second Test of the same series in New Delhi. The West Indies saw him as a strong opener and he kept his profile up in the early years of his promising career.

In his Test career, he scored 8,540 runs in 121 Test matches at an average of 50.23 (including 24 centuries). Richards also scored 5 centuries in World Series Cricket between 1977-79. These are not recognised by the ICC as "official" Test centuries, but the high standard of cricket played in this series means that they can arguably be ranked alongside his 24 Test centuries. Richards won 27 of 50 matches as a Test captain, and lost only 8. He is also the scorer of the fastest-ever Test century, from just 56 balls against England in Antigua during the 1986 tour. He hit 84 sixes in test cricket. His highest innings of 291 is sixth on the list of West Indies' highest individual scores.

In 1975 Richards helped the West Indies to win the inaugural Cricket World Cup, a feat he later described as the most memorable of his career.[citation needed] He starred in the field, running out Alan Turner, Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell. The West Indies were again able to win the following World Cup in 1979, thanks to a Richards century in the final at Lord's, and Richards believes that on both occasions, despite internal island divisions, the Caribbean came together.He was until 2005 the only man to score a century and take 5 wickets in the same one-day international, against New Zealand at Dunedin in 1986-87. He rescued his side from a perilous position at Old Trafford in 1984 and, in partnership with Michael Holding, smashed 189 to win the game off his own bat.

1976 was perhaps Richards' finest year: he scored 1710 runs, at an astonishing average of 90.00, with seven centuries in 11 Tests. This achievement is all the more remarkable considering he missed the second Test at Lord's after contracting glandular fever; yet he returned to score his career-best 291 at the Oval later in the summer. This tally stood as the world record for most Test runs by a batsman in a single calendar year for 30 years until broken by Mohammad Yousuf of Pakistan on November 30, 2006.

Richards captained the West Indies in fifty test matches from 1984-1991. He is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series, and it is said that his fierce will to win contributed to this achievement. His captaincy was, however, not without controversy: one incident was his aggressive, "finger-flapping" appeal leading to the incorrect dismissal of England batsman Rob Bailey in the Barbados Test in 1990.

Personal information

Full name :Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards

Nickname :Master Blaster, Smokey, Smokin Joe

Born :7 March 1952 (1952-03-07) (age 56)
St John's, Antigua

Height :5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Batting style : Right-handed

Bowling style:Right-arm medium/off-break

Role :Batsman

RAFAEL NADAL

Rafael Nadal Parera (born June 3, 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player who has been ranked World No. 1 since August 18, 2008. He has won five Grand Slam singles titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. He has captured the last four French Open singles titles, joining Björn Borg in 2008 as the only men to have won four consecutive singles titles there. In 2008, Nadal became the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. Nadal is the only player in the open era to have won the French Open, the London Queen's club, and Wimbledon in the same year. For much of his career, Nadal has had a rivalry with Roger Federer, which many critics consider to be the greatest rivalry in tennis history.They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in six Grand Slam finals,with Nadal winning four of those matches. Nadal was ranked World No. 2 behind Federer for a record 160 weeks before earning the top spot.Nadal has won 12 of their 18 singles matches. He has been especially successful on clay courts. He has a 22–1 record in clay court tournament finals and is undefeated in 43 best-of-five-set matches on clay.[8] In each of the last four years, he has won both the French Open and two clay court Masters Series tournaments. He also owns the longest single-surface winning streak in the open era, having won 81 consecutive matches on clay from April 2005 to May 2007.As a result, some tennis critics and top players already regard him as the greatest clay-court player of all time. On October 18, 2008, Nadal clinched the year-end World No. 1 ranking for 2008.The same year, he was given the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for his achievements in sports.

Career

2002–2004 In April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the World No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado, and became the ninth player in the open era to do so before the age of 16.The following year, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year in the top 50. He is the second-youngest man to be ranked this high.[citation needed] At his Wimbledon debut, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984.During 2004, Nadal played his first match against World No. 1 Roger Federer at the Miami Masters, and won in straight sets. He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle. Nadal at 18 years and six months became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation. By beating World No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 title over the United States in a 3-2 win. He finished the season at No. 49 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings.

2005

At the Australian Open, Nadal lost in the fourth round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt in five sets. Two months later, Nadal reached the final of the Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straights-set victory, he was defeated in five sets by World No. 1 Roger Federer. Both performances were considered to be breakthroughs for Nadal. He then dominated the spring clay court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, which broke Andre Agassi's open era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager.Nadal won the tournament in Barcelona, Spain and beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the ATP Masters Series tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome. These victories raised his ranking to World No. 5and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in the French Open semifinals, preventing the Swiss from potentially achieving a career Grand Slam. Two days later, he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the first male player to win the French Open on his first attempt since Mats Wilander in 1982and the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19. Winning the French Open increased Nadal's ranking to World No. 3. Three days after his victory in Paris, Nadal's 24-match winning streak was snapped in the first round of the grass court tournament in Halle, Germany.He then lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg. Immediately after Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments. Winning the clay court events in Båstad and Stuttgart caused Nadal's ranking to rise to World No. 2 on July 25, 2005. At age 19 years, 1 month, and 22 days, he became the third teenager to reach World No. 2 in the history of the ATP computer rankings, which began in 1973, joining Boris Becker (age 18 years, 9 months, and 17 days) and Björn Borg (age 18 years, 10 months, and 2 days) as the only teenagers to be ranked second. Nadal started his North American summer hard court season by defeating Agassi in the final of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Montreal, Canada but losing in the first round of the ATP Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nadal was seeded second at the US Open, where he was upset in the third round by World No. 49 James Blake in four sets. Nadal played only three events the remainder of the year. In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the tournament in Madrid. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup. Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005, thus Nadal broke Mats Wilander’s previous teenage record of nine in 1983. Eight of Nadal's titles were on clay and the remainder on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005 with eleven 6–0 sets during the year.Also he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

2006

Nadal missed the Australian Open because of a foot injury.In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open. To complete the spring hard court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California and in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open. On European clay, Nadal won all four tournaments he entered and 24 consecutive matches. He defeated Federer in the final of the Masters Series Monte Carlo in four sets. The following week, he defeated Tommy Robredo in the final of the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. After a one week's break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Federer in a fifth set tiebreaker in the final after saving two match points, thus Nadal equaled Bjorn Borg’s tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. Nadal then broke Argentinan Guillermo Vilas' 29-year record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories when he first round at the French Open. Vilas presented Nadal with a trophy, but commented later that Nadal's feat was less impressive than his own because Nadal's winning streak covered two years and was accomplished by adding easy tournaments to his schedule. Nadal went on to play Federer in the final of the French Open. The first two sets of the match were hardly competitive as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily and served for the match in the fourth set before Federer broke him and forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker and became the first player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final.also he became the youngest back-to-back champion at Roland Garros since Borg in 1974-75. On grass, Nadal injured his shoulder while playing a quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played at Queen's Club in London.Nadal was unable to complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal was seeded second at Wimbledon but was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. In the third round, Nadal defeated World No. 20 Andre Agassi in straight sets at Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal also won his next three matches in straight sets, which set up another final with Federer, who had won this tournament the three previous years,becoming the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966 to reach the Wimbledon final. Federer won the match in four sets. Nadal and Federer were the only pair of men during the open era who had reached the Wimbledon final after having just played each other in the French Open final. During the lead up to the US Open, Nadal played only the two Masters Series tournaments in North America. He was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Nadal was seeded second, but lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets. Nadal played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked World No. 690, upset Nadal in the second round of the if... Stockholm Open 6–4, 7–6. The following week, Nadal lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. Afterwards Nadal blamed mental and physical exhaustion for his recent losses.[citation needed] During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Tommy Robredo. Because of those two victories, Nadal qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to Federer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer. He went on to become the first player since Andre Agassi in 1994-95 to finish as the World No. 2 in back-to-back years.

2007

Nadal started the year by playing in six hard court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the Masters Series Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California before Novak Djokovic defeated him in the quarterfinals of the Masters Series 2007 Master Series Miami. He had comparatively more success after returning to Europe to play five clay court tournaments. He won the titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, and the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome before losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Masters Series Hamburg. This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay, which is the male open era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He then rebounded to win the French Open for the third straight year, defeating Federer once again in the final. Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Majorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay. Nadal played the Artois Championships at Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before losing to Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001. In July, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open but was defeated in the fourth round by World No. 15 David Ferrer. After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him 6–4, 6–1. During the second half of the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon final. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005 caused long term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".

2008

Nadal began the year in India, where he was the runner-up to Mikhail Youzhny at the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. He also reached the final of the 2008 Master Series Miami for the second time. During the spring clay court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his open era record fourth consecutive title there. He won in straight sets, despite Federer holding a 4–0 lead in the second set.[38] He then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlantico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in the three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming only the fifth man in the open era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set.[39] He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999.This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record. Nadal became only the fourth male player during the open era to win the same Grand Slam singles tournament four consecutive years (the others being Borg, Pete Sampras, and Federer). Nadal then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass court title at the Artois Championships,becoming the first Spanish man to win a grass-court title since Andres Gimeno in 1972, staged at Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer had won his record fifth grass court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle without facing a break point and then reached the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win.They played the longest final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9-7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some long-time tennis critics[who?] even calling it the greatest match in tennis history. By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became only the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year (after Rod Laver in 1969 and Borg in 1978-80) as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. He became the first player to remain No. 2 for three consecutive (non calendar) years from 25 July, 2005 to 24 July, 2008. After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto and then made it into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series and, combined with Federer's early round losses in both of those tournaments, finally earned Nadal the World No. 1 ranking on August 18, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half year reign at the top. Nadal is also the fifth left-hander to rank No. 1, the first since Chilean Marcelo Rios in 1998. Other left-handers to hold the top position are Austrian Thomas Muster (1996), and Americans John McEnroe (1980) and Jimmy Connors (1974). At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals 6–4, 1–6, 6–4 and Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic gold medal. Nadal became the first male player ranked in the top five to win the gold medal. At the US Open, Nadal was the top-seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did not lose a set during his first three matches, defeating qualifiers in the first and second rounds and Viktor Troicki in the third round. He then needed four sets to defeat both Sam Querrey in the fourth round and Mardy Fish in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he lost to Andy Murray 6–2, 7–6(5), 4–6, 6–4. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals. At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Gilles Simon 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6). His performance at this event however, guarantees that he will become the first Spaniard during the open era to finish the year as the World No. 1.Two weeks later at the BNP Paribas Masters in France, Nadal, received a first round bye and defeated two French favorites Florent Serra and Gaël Monfils before making it to the quarterfinals where he faced Nikolay Davydenko. Nadal would lose the first set 6-1, before retiring in the second with a knee injury.The following week, Nadal then announced his withrawal from the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai citing tendinitis of the knee. On 10 November Nadal withdrew from his Davis Cup tie final against Argentina as his injury to his knee had not healed well enough.

2009

After losing to Andy Murray in the final of the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi,Nadal began his participation on the official 2009 ATP Tour by playing the 250 series Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. In the first round, Nadal and Fabrice Santoro played each other for the first time in their careers, with Nadal winning 6–0, 6–1 in only 46 minutes. Immediately after the match, Nadal was awarded the 2008 ATP World Tour Champion trophy.Nadal then defeated Karol Beck in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to World No. 13 Gaël Monfils 6–4, 6–4. This was Monfils's first win over Nadal in four matches. Nadal, however, was successfull on the doubles in Qatar, winning with Marc Lopez on the final round over the world's number one doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.

Playing style

Nadal plays with well-angled topspin heavy strokes, a strong two-handed backhand, fast mobility on the court, and a preference to play from the deep court. Though naturally right-handed, Nadal plays left-handed, and uses his dominant right hand as an anchor for his two-handed backhand. In addition, being naturally right-handed allows him to stay balanced regardless of which foot he puts his weight on, an exceptional talent when one tries to hit the ball after starting a move in the wrong direction. Although, a natural right-hander, Nadal claims he is left footed and that it is difficult for him to play with his right hand.Known for his excellent defense, Nadal hits well on the run and creates many winners from seemingly defensive positions. Because of his extreme athleticism, Nadal tends to go after every shot, even apparent winners from his opponents.Historically, Nadal's playing style has worked best on clay courts, and he was once considered a clay-court specialist. Recent success on other surfaces has helped Nadal shed that label, though he is still considered most dominant on clay. Nadal uses a full western grip forehand, which allows him to hit heavy, powerful topspin forehands, giving him a bigger margin of error because of the height at which his shot clears the net and the speed at which the ball drops due to the topspin that is applied to the ball. Nadal's heavy topspin makes the ball bounce up high in the air for his opponent, making it difficult to return. These types of shots tend to be returned short in length, but the spin kicks it up so high that this kind of play is sufficient on clay. For many years, Nadal's serve was not considered one of his strengths. However, it has become more of a weapon lately; Nadal currently possesses a highly effective first serve and a moderate second serve. Usually employing a hard lefty slice towards most of his opponents' backhands (right-handed opponents), his serve can be relied upon for consistency and also for some short-point wins such as aces and bad service-returns. Another one of Nadal's strengths is the mental aspect of his tennis game. His ability to come back from behind in a match greatly assists him. He also has good footwork, which helps him to prepare for tennis strokes and get around the court efficiently. In addition, he can put away short balls and comes to the net quite often. Rafael Nadal has an under-emphasized net game. He is able to volley deep, but his main strength at the net is his touch and feel. Nadal is good at angling volleys away from his opponents and can hit drop volleys well after running extremely quickly up to the net to return any drop shot made by his opponent.

Equipment

Nadal uses a Babolat AeroPro Drive racquet without the cortex system. However, his racquet has the paintjob of the Aero Pro Drive with Cortex, in order to commercialize and promote the current model that Babolat sells. This model's handle is with no replacement grip, instead Nadal wraps 2 over grips, and the racquet strung between 53 and 55 pounds with Duralast 15L strings, although he promotes Babolat's Pro Hurricane Tour strings. His clothing sponsor is Nike and he is known for his unconventional wear, turning up in sleeveless tops and Capri pants in a variety of colours. He also wears the Nike Air Max Breathe Cage II shoes which have been customized for him with the famous "Vamos Rafa" slogan written on the back of them.Currently, his shoes display his nickname "Rafa" on one shoe and a logo specifically designed by Nike featuring a stylistic bull head on the other. His Babolat tennis bag displays his nickname as well as 4 brown stars symbolizing his 4 victories at the French Open and 1 green star symbolizing his victory at Wimbledon.

ANDY RODDICK

Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American ach time. Roddick is known for his powerful serves and forehands, and holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, clocked at 155 mph (249.4 km/h).

Roddick was on the victorious United States Davis Cup team when it won the 2007 Davis Cup. Roddick defeated Dmitry Tursunov of the Russian Davis Cup team, the defending champions, in the finals.
professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the eighth-ranked player in the world as of November 17, 2008. He finished sixth in the 2006, 2007 ATP Race. He became a Grand Slam singles champion when he won the title at the 2003 U.S. Open. Roddick has reached three other Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon twice and the U.S. Open), losing to Roger Federer e

Playing style

Roddick's style is that of an offensive baseliner. Roddick is known for his powerful first serve, which is usually around 130-150mph (209~242km/h), which he uses to earn free points with aces or put himself into position to hit a forehand winner. His first serve is known to some as the "Roddick Serve", since he abbreviates the serve by removing part of the motion. He usually targets the two corners to win aces. For his second serve, Roddick 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 and position himself for a winning shot. Despite all this, Roddick is sometimes criticized for his lack of variety. Roddick will also occasionally use the serve and volley tactic on both first and second services to surprise his opponent, although he generally prefers to remain near the baseline after a serve.


career

2000

Andy Played the Banana Bowl in the city of São José dos Campos and won.

2001

In 2001, Roddick defeated Michael Chang in 5 sets in the second round of the French Open. During Wimbledon, he further showed potential by taking a set from eventual winner Goran Ivanišević. He also defeated 7-time Wimbledon champion and fellow American Pete Sampras at the age of 19 at the Miami Masters in 2001.

2003

Roddick's breakthrough year was in 2003, in which he defeated Younes El Aynaoui in the quarterfinals of 2003 Australian Open. Roddick and the Moroccan battled for five hours, with the fifth set (21-19 in favor of Roddick) being the longest fifth set in a Grand Slam tournament during the open era, at 2 hours 23 minutes. (This was beaten in 2007 during a Wimbledon men's doubles second round match, when Brazilians Marcelo Melo and André Sá beat Paul Hanley of Australia and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe in a 3 hour 5 minute 28-26 fifth set.) Despite a lackluster French Open, Roddick enjoyed success in the United Kingdom by winning Queen's Club and reaching the Wimbledon semifinals where he lost to eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets.

Roddick's hardcourt record in 2003 included his first Masters Series titles – coming at Canada and Cincinnati – and his first Grand Slam title. At the U.S. Open, Roddick rallied from two sets down and a match point against him in the semifinals to beat David Nalbandian. He then defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final 6–3, 7–6, 6–3. 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.

2004

Roddick was knocked out during the 2004 U.S. Open in a five set quarterfinal against another big server, Joachim Johansson. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Roddick lost to Chilean Fernando González, the eventual bronze medal winner, in the third round. 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. By 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's No. 2, the U.S.'s No. 1, and the player with the most aces (1017).

In 2004 Roddick saved fellow tennis player Sjeng Schalken and other guests from a Hotel fire, including close friends Ben Campezi and Dean Monroe.

2005

Roddick's first 2005 tournament victory was the SAP Open in San Jose, California, where he was 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 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 2005, Roddick had match point against Spanish big-hitter Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco was serving, attempting to save the match point on his second serve, when the linesman erroneously called the serve out. If this call had held, Roddick wouldhave 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. Many in the American media[who?] echoed sentiments that Roddick had chosen "sportsmanship over a win." However, by Roddick's own admission, the umpire would certainly have come down from his chair since Verdasco was about to challenge the call anyway, and would have been able to see the clear ball mark indicating that the serve was in. Roddick said that he was just saving the umpire a trip.[citation needed]

At the 2005 French Open, Roddick lost to the unseeded Argentine José Acasuso in the second round, and at Wimbledon 2005, Roddick lost to Roger Federer in the final for the second consecutive year. At the 2005 U.S. Open, Roddick was defeated by World No. 70 Gilles Müller in the first round. Roddick's last U.S. Open first round loss had been in 2000. At the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in 2005, Roddick defeated Gaël Monfils to wrap up a tournament without losing a set or getting his serve broken. Even though he reached the Wimbledon final and Australian Open semifinals, TENNIS Magazine and others criticized Roddick's poor game in 2005.

2006

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 outside of 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 his first masters event he won since 2004. At the U.S. Open, Roddick easily won his first two matches against Florent Serra and Kristian Pless respectably. He then played a thriller five set match against Fernando Verdasco winning 6-2 in the final set. Next he played and 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 2002 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. Now in the finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon a year ago, Roddick was to play world #1 Roger Federer. He lost however, in four sets. 2-6, 6-4, 5-7, 1-6 was the final score. He then qualified for the year ending Tennis Masters Cup where he lost in the round robin to Roger Federer 6–4, 6–7(8), 4–6 after a tough three set battle.

2007

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 9th 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 ended in the semifinals by Roger 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 U.S. defeat the Czech Republic, winning both of 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 #3 position, his first week inside the top three since March 6, 2006.

At the first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year, Roddick reached the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, where he lost to 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(5), 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 this injury.

His next tournament was at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome. After a first round bye, he won his first match against Gastón Gaudio where he saved all 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 tournament, 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), 7–6(2).

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 United States, 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 4–6, 4–6, 7–6(2), 7–6(3), 8–6, despite winning the first two sets.

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(1). 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(4). He then lost in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal to Novak Đoković and in the third round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio to David Ferrer of Spain.

At the U.S. Open, Roddick defeated Gimelstob in the first round 7–6(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(5), 7–6(4), 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(4), 7–6(3), 6–3 and clinching it with a 6–2, 7–6(3), 6–4 victory over Jonas Björkman. This is the ninth time in nine tries that Roddick has clinched a tie for the American team.[citation needed]

Roddick's would then set his sights on the Madrid Masters, but he 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(5), 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.

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 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 Roger Federer 6–4, 6–2 for the 15th time in 16 career matches. In the semifinals, Roddick lost 6–1, 6–3 to #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 United States 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.

2008

Roddick started 2008 strongly, defeating Croatian Ivan Ljubičić 6–3, 6–0 and Russian Marat Safin 6–3, 6–3 to reach AAMI Kooyong Classic final for four consecutive seasons. In the final, he defeated Marcos Baghdatis 7–5, 6–3 to win the tournament for three consecutive years.

Roddick was seeded sixth in the 2008 Australian Open. In the first round, he defeated Lukáš Dlouhý 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 # 29 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the third round in a 5 set match 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(9), 7–6(3), 6–8. Despite losing, Roddick served a career high of 42 aces in a match.

Roddick won his 24th career title and his 3rd title at the SAP Open in San Jose, California. He defeated the Czech Radek Štěpánek in straight sets, 6–4, 7–5.

Roddick's next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships. He made it to the semi-finals by defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain 7–6(5), 6–2, his first victory over Nadal since the second round of the 2004 US Open. This 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(5), 6–3 in the semi-final. 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(8), 6–4, 6–2, to win his 25th career title.

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.[10] Roddick would continue to be coached by his brother, John Roddick. He then fell to former world #2 Tommy Haas at the Indian Wells Masters in the 2nd round, 6–4, 6–4.

At the 2008 Miami Masters, Roddick advanced to the semifinals after defeating Federer 7-6(4), 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 semi-finals to Davydenko 6-7(5), 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 after winning the title last year, one of four wins at the tournament. In the tournament, Roddick defeated Mardy Fish and Andy Murray before losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.

In the 2008 Wimbledon, Roddick suffered a 2nd round defeat to Serbia's Janko Tipsarević 6–7(5), 7–5, 6–4, 7–6(4). This is his earliest exit at Wimbledon.

Roddick was beaten at the Toronto Masters in the third round by Marin Čilić, 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. However, he has stated in an interview that the neck injury has 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.[11]

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, Washington, D.C. At the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, Roddick lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the final, losing 1-6, 6-7(2).

At the 2008 US Open, Roddick defeated Fabrice Santoro in the first round 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Roddick then won his next 3 matches against Ernests Gulbis, Andreas Seppi, and Fernando González. In the quarterfinals, Roddick lost to the World No.3 and reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 2-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(5) bringing his head-to-head record at 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), 6-3. This 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 Tomáš Berdych after squandering a 5-3 lead in the third and deciding set.

In the third round of the Madrid Masters he lost to Frenchman Gaël Monfils in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 3-6. Two weeks later, Roddick would reach the quarter finals of Paris Masters by defeating Frenchman 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 Stepanek.

He hired Larry Stefanki as his new coach and started working with him on December 1 ahead of the 2009 season. Stefanki, has previously trained John McEnroe, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Fernando González, and Tim Henman. Under his guidance both Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov became world number one.

2009

After losing the exhibition championship Capitala World Tennis in Abu Dhabi, Roddick begins his 2009 career by joining the ATP World Tour 250 series Qatar ExxonMobil Open, along with top seeds Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. He defeated Ivan Navarro 6-1, 6-3 in the first round in 61 minutes. Next, he played Frenchman Arnaud Clement and won 6-3, 7-5. In the Quarterfinals, Roddick beat Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2. In the Semi finals he beat Monfils in a closely fought match 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a final with Andy Murray.

Davis Cup

With his 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu on April 13, for the deciding victory in the best-of-five 2008 quarterfinal Davis Cup match with France, Roddick improved to 10-0 in clinching situations for the United States.

His second singles victory in three days for his country, he was held to 17 aces, down from 30 against Michaël Llodra a few days before.

Roddick improved to 29-9 for the United States in Davis Cup matches, trailing only John McEnroe (41) and Andre Agassi (30). His win against the 12th-ranked Mathieu was part of a strong month in which he beat the tour's top three players -- Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Equipment

Roddick uses the Pure Drive Roddick Plus Cortex Racquet with Babolat Pro Hurricane Tour string (yellow color), 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"). This racquet is designed for a strong service due its weight, stifness and length.According to Tennis Warehouse, the best one for this fundamental.

Roddick also uses Babolat Propulse tennis shoes which are Roddick's signature gear.In matches, Roddick wears shirts, shorts and caps manufactured for him by Lacoste. He formerly wore Reebok. He strings with a custom hybrid (Pro Hurricane Tour + VS). Roddick's tension varies but he mostly strings his racquets to a tension of roughly 64 or 65 pounds.

WAYNE MARK ROONEY

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985 in Croxteth, Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English footballer who currently plays for English Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.


CLUB CAREER

Everton F.C.

After excelling for Liverpool Schoolboys and Dynamo Brownwings, Everton signed Rooney on schoolboy terms at the age of ten.He was part of the youth squad, and after scoring in an FA Youth Cup match, he revealed a T-shirt under his jersey that read, "Once a Blue, always a Blue." Since he was underage at the time and therefore ineligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £80 a week and living with his family on one of the country's council estates.

On 19 October 2002, five days before his seventeenth birthday, Rooney scored a match-winning goal against reigning league champions Arsenal F.C.; in addition to ending Arsenal's thirty-match unbeaten run,it made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice by James Milner and currently James Vaughan. He was named BBC Sports' 2002-03 Young Personality of the Year.

At the end of the 2003-04 season, Rooney, citing Everton's inability to challenge for European competition, requested a transfer that Everton refused to oblige if the transfer fee was less than £50 million. A three-year, £12,000-a-week contract offer from the club was snubbed by Rooney's agent in August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United F.C. to compete for his signature. The Times reported that Newcastle were close to signing Rooney for £18.5 million, as confirmed by Rooney's agent, but Manchester United ultimately won the bidding war and Rooney signed at the end of the month after a £31 million deal with Everton was reached. It marked the most expensive transfer for a teenaged player, as Rooney was several weeks shy of his nineteenth birthday at the time of the signing.

On 1 September 2006, Everton manager David Moyes sued Rooney for libel after the tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail published excerpts from Rooney's 2006 autobiography that accused the coach of leaking Rooney's reasons for leaving the club to the press.[ case was settled out of court for £500,000 on 3 June 2008, and Rooney apologized to Moyes for "false claims" he had made in the book regarding the matter.

Manchester United

Rooney made his United debut on 28 September 2004 in a 6-2 Champions League group stage win over Fenerbahçe S.K., scoring a hat-trick along with an assist.One year later, he was sent off for dissent in a goalless Champions League group draw with Villarreal CF in Spain on 14 September 2005, after he sarcastically applauded referee Kim Milton Nielsen when he was booked for a foul.His first trophy with United came in the 2006 League Cup, and he was also named man of the match after scoring twice in United's 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the final.

Rooney was sent off in an Amsterdam Tournament match against F.C. Porto on 4 August 2006 after hitting Porto defender Pepe with an elbow.He was punished with a three-match ban by the FA, following their receipt of a 23-page report from referee Ruud Bossen that explained his decision.Rooney wrote a letter of protest to the FA, citing the lack of punishment handed down to other players who were sent off in friendlies. He also threatened to withdraw the FA's permission to use his image rights if they did not revoke the ban, but the FA had no power to make such a decision.

During the first half of the 2006-07 season, Rooney ended a ten-game scoreless streak with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers F.C., and he signed a two-year contract extension the next month that tied him to United until 2012. By the end of April, a combination of two goals in an 8-3 aggregate quarterfinal win over A.S. Roma and two more in a 3-2 semifinal first leg victory over A.C. Milan brought Rooney's total goal amount to twenty-three in all competitions and tied him with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo for the team goalscoring lead.

United announced during the postseason that Rooney had taken over the #10 jersey that was vacated by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had left for Real Madrid a year earlier. He was presented with the shirt at a press conference on 28 June 2007 by former United striker Denis Law, who had also worn the number during his tenure with the club.


On 12 August 2007, Rooney fractured his left metatarsal in United's opening-day goalless draw against Reading F.C.He had suffered the same injury to his right foot in 2004.After being sidelined for six weeks, he returned for United's 1-0 CL group stage win over Roma on 2 October, scoring the match's only goal. However, barely a month into his return, Rooney injured his ankle during a training session on 9 November, and missed an additional two weeks. His first match back was against Fulham F.C. on 3 December, in which he played seventy minutes.Rooney missed a total of ten games and finished the 2007-08 season with eighteen goals, as United clinched both the Premiership and the Champions League, in which they defeated league rivals Chelsea F.C. in the competition's first-ever all-English final.

International career

Rooney became the youngest player to play for England when he earned his first cap in a friendly against Australia on 12 February 2003 at seventeen, the same age in which he also became the youngest player to score an England goal. Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott broke Rooney's appearance record by 36 days in June 2006.

His first tournament action was at Euro 2004, in which he became the youngest scorer in competition history on 17 June 2004, when he scored twice against Switzerland; however, this record was topped by Swiss midfielder Johan Vonlanthen four days later. Rooney suffered an injury in the quarterfinal match against Portugal as England were eliminated on penalties.

Following a foot injury in an April 2006 Premier League match, Rooney faced a race to fitness for the 2006 World Cup. England attempted to hasten his recovery with the use of an oxygen tent, which allowed Rooney to enter a group match against Trinidad and Tobago and start the next match against Sweden. However, he never got back into game shape and went scoreless as England bowed out in the quarterfinals, again on penalty kicks.

Rooney was red-carded in the 62nd minute of the quarterfinal for stomping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho as both attempted to gain possession of the ball, an incident that occurred right in front of referee Horacio Elizondo. Rooney's United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo openly protested his actions, and was in turn shoved by Rooney. Elizondo sent Rooney off, after which Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portugal bench. Rooney denied intentionally targeting Carvalho in a statement on 3 July, adding, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not teammates."Elizondo confirmed the next day that Rooney was dismissed solely for the infraction on Carvalho.Rooney was fined CHF5,000 for the incident.

Personal information
Full name	Wayne Mark Rooney
Date of birth	24 October 1985 (1985-10-24) (age 23)
Place of birth	Croxteth, Liverpool, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Striker Second striker