Delray Beach International Tennis Tuesday Results and 2/13/08 Order of Play
Sela and Hanescu had to retired from the Delray Beach tournament, the first because of personal reason and the second because of an illness.
Sela was replaced by Bogomolov Jr. and Hanescu by Mirnyi.
Bogomolov Jr. lost in the first round against Michell Russell, wild card Levine also said goodbye today after being defeated by Muller.
Check out all the results from the Delray Beach International Tennis and the order of play for Wednesday.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Singles - First Round
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Singles - First Round
[8] M Fish (USA) d [Q] M Crugnola (ITA) 61 75
M Russell (USA) d [LL] A Bogomolov Jr. (USA) 61 60
G Muller (LUX) d [WC] J Levine (USA) 75 76(4)
I Kunitsyn (RUS) d B Becker (GER) 63 76(1)
[LL] M Mirnyi (BLR) d [Q] L Gregorc (SLO) 76(5) 62
[1] J Blake (USA) vs R Kendrick (USA) 32 - postponed due to rain
Y Schukin (RUS) vs [3] S Querrey (USA) 16 13 - postponed due to rain
[6] V Spadea (USA) vs D Gremelmayr (GER) 30 - postponed due to rain
D Young (USA) vs [Q] A Delic (USA) - postponed due to rain
[LL] A Bogomolov Jr. (USA) replaced [4] D Sela (ISR) - personal
**[LL] M Mirnyi (BLR) replaced [7] V Hanescu (ROU) - illness
Doubles - First Round
[3] E Butorac (USA) / T Perry (AUS) vs M Fish (USA) / M Knowles (BAH) - postponed due to rain
[Alt]S Huss (AUS) / A Kuznetsov (USA) vs [4] I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Thomas (USA) - postponed due to rain
**[Alt]S Huss (AUS) / A Kuznetsov (USA) replaced D Sela (ISR) / P Capdeville (CHI)
Delray Beach International Tennis Wednesday 2/13/08 Order of Play
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Singles - Second Round
I Navarro (ESP) vs [8] M Fish (USA)
M Russell (USA) vs [WC] R Ginepri (USA)
Singles - First Round
[1] J Blake (USA) vs R Kendrick (USA) 32 - To be Finished
Y Schukin (RUS) vs [3] S Querrey (USA) 16 13 - To be Finished
[5] F Mayer (GER) vs [Q] K Nishikori (JPN)
[6] V Spadea (USA) vs D Gremelmayr (GER) 30 - To be Finished
D Young (USA) vs [Q] A Delic (USA)
Doubles - First Round
[1] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) vs [WC] H Armando (USA) / X Malisse (BEL)
[3] E Butorac (USA) / T Perry (AUS) vs M Fish (USA) / M Knowles (BAH)
S Huss (AUS) / A Kuznetsov (USA) vs [4] I Kunitsyn (RUS) / J Thomas (USA)
R Kendrick (USA) / S Querrey (USA) vs [WC] J Blake (USA) / K Jones (USA)
A Delic (USA) / R Ram (USA) vs A Qureshi (PAK) / B Reynolds (USA)
B Becker (GER) / J Levinsky (CZE) vs V Hanescu (ROU) / R Hutchins (GBR)
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) / F Serra (FRA) vs [2] M Mirnyi (BLR) / J Murray (GBR)
Photo credit should read DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Delray Beach International Tennis Tuesday Results and 2/13/08 Order of Play
Brasil Open Costa do Sauipe Tuesday Results and 2/13/08 order of play
Brasil Open Costa do Sauipe Tuesday Results and 2/13/08 order of play
The action keeps getting ebtter and better at the Brasil Open.
Second seed, Nicolas Almagro, defeated Nicolas Massu in 2 easy sets today.
Qualifier Eduardo Schwank from Argentina had a great win over third seed, Igor Andreev.
Another argentine who got a great win was Guillermo Coria who won his first ATP Match in more than a year.
Check out all the results of the Brasil Open and the order of play for Wednesday.
Matches are still being played.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Singles - First Round
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Singles - First Round
[2] N Almagro (ESP) d N Massu (CHI) 63 62
[Q] E Schwank (ARG) d [3] I Andreev (RUS) 63 62
I Minar (CZE) d [4] P Starace (ITA) 64 46 62
[5] F Volandri (ITA) d [Q] D Munoz-De La Nava (ESP) 62 64
S Roitman (ARG) d [6] A Calleri (ARG) 63 62
[Q] S Decoud (ARG) d [7] J Acasuso (ARG) 63 16 76(3)
G Coria (ARG) d [Q] F Aldi (ITA) 64 75
P Luczak (AUS) d [WC] M Daniel (BRA) 75 64
O Patience (FRA) d J Brzezicki (ARG) 63 75
C Berlocq (ARG) d [WC] G Kuerten (BRA) 75 61
O Hernandez (ESP) d P Cuevas (URU) 76(5) 64
Doubles - First Round
[2] F Cermak (CZE) / L Friedl (CZE) d J Brzezicki (ARG) / H Zeballos (ARG) 36 63 10-8
N Almagro (ESP) / M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) d O Hernandez (ESP) / S Roitman (ARG) 63 64
[4] M Granollers-Pujol (ESP) / R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP) d P Luczak (AUS) / B Pashanski (SRB) 63 62
L Arnold Ker (ARG) / S Prieto (ARG) d N Devilder (FRA) / O Patience (FRA) 64 61
Brasil Open Order of Play 2/13/08
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Singles - Second Round
[1] C Moya (ESP) vs O Patience (FRA)
[8] A Montanes (ESP) vs F Fognini (ITA)
O Hernandez (ESP) vs S Roitman (ARG)
C Berlocq (ARG) vs I Minar (CZE)
Doubles - Quarterfinals
F Fognini (ITA) / F Volandri (ITA) vs [4] M Granollers-Pujol (ESP) / R Ramirez Hidalgo (ESP)
Doubles - First Round
[1] M Melo (BRA) / A Sa (BRA) vs L Azzaro (ITA) / P Starace (ITA)
[3] M Garcia (ARG) / O Marach (AUT) vs [WC] T Bellucci (BRA) / M Daniel (BRA)
A Montanes (ESP) / S Ventura (ESP) vs C Berlocq (ARG) / G Coria (ARG)
photo from www2.uol.com.br
Brasil Open Costa do Sauipe - Carlos Moya Outlasts Ventura in Three-Set Challenge
Carlos Moya Outlasts Ventura in Three-Set Challenge
Top seed Carlos Moya won his first match in three tries at the Brasil Open, needing two hours and 28 minutes to get past fellow Spaniard Santiago Ventura 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on Monday in Costa do Sauipe.
Moya dropped serve just once as Ventura succeeded in leveling the match at a set apiece, but the former World No. 1 regrouped to win all but four of his service points in the decisive set and converted on one of his three break point chances.
Moya, the 1998 Roland Garros champion, is making his first appearance on clay this season and last year compiled a 25-10 mark on the surface. He reached the Chennai semifinals in the opening week of the 2008 season, and held four match points in his loss to Rafael Nadal in a match that spanned three tie-breaks.
Ventura came into the week at a career-high No. 68 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings after reaching the Vina del Mar semifinals two weeks ago.
Eighth-seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes opened proceedings on Monday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Nicolas Devilder. Montanes also won their only other meeting, last year in Bucharest.
Montanes, 27, is making his fifth consecutive appearance in Costa do Sauipe and has advanced to the second round twice previously. He will look to secure his spot in the Brasil Open quarterfinals for the first time when he next confronts Italian Fabio Fognini.
Fognini toughed out a 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(3) victory over Czech Jiri Vanek in two hours and 43 minutes to continue his recent success. The 20-year-old advanced to his first ATP quarterfinal two weeks ago in Vina del Mar, the first stop of the Latin America clay swing.
Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti eased past Brazilian wild card Thomaz Bellucci as he won 85 percent of his service points and converted on four of his 15 break point chances to seal the 6-2, 6-2 win. Bellucci, 20, was making his first appearance in an ATP tournament.
It marked the first ATP-level win this year for former World No. 6 Lapentti, currently ranked No. 112 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. He finished last season on a high note with Challenger titles at Grenoble and Guayaquil, and opened 2007 by reaching the quarterfinals at the La Serena Challenger.
Serb Boris Pashanski also picked up his first match win of the 2008 season by defeating Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello in 6-4 sets. He will face either Spanish No. 2 seed Nicolas Almagro or 2006 champion Nicolas Massu in the second round.
This article is from atptennis.com
Photo © Joao Pires
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships - Top seed James Blake in action at Delray Beach
Top seed James Blake in action at Delray Beach
After helping the United States open defense of its Davis Cup title, James Blake looks to keep rolling this week at the $411,000 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
The top seed at this hardcourt event, Blake will take on fellow American Robert Kendrick in Tuesday's opening round.
In his only Davis Cup singles match this past weekend against Austria, Blake overcame a slow start to defeat Stefan Koubek, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. It was part of the Americans' 4-1 first-round victory over the Austrians.
Ranked 12th in the world, the 28-year-old Blake reached the final here last year, losing to Belgium's Xavier Malisse, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Three of Blake's 10 career titles have come on American soil.
Blake's path to career title No. 11 became less bumpy Monday, when Malisse and No. 2 seed Tommy Haas both were ousted.
Three other seeded Americans - No. 3 Sam Querry, No. 6 Vincent Spadea and No. 8 Mardy Fish - all are scheduled to play Tuesday.
First prize is $68,800.
This article is from Yahoo Sports Tennis.
Photo credit should read TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/Getty Images
Open 13 - Marseille, France - Murray advances at Open 13
Murray advances at Open 13
Andy Murray appears to be on the road to recovery.
The fourth seed from Britain, Murray posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jesse Huta Galung of the Netherlands during Tuesday's opening round of the $775,000 Open 13.
Playing in his first tournament since his opening-round loss to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open, Murray fired seven aces and won 23-of-29 first-serve points, needing just 72 minutes to oust the world No. 190 Galung.
The world's 11th-ranked player, Murray opened the season by claiming his fourth career ATP title at Doha before suffering an embarrassing 5-7, 4-6, 6-0, 6-7 (7-5) setback to Tsonga in the year's first grand slam.
No. 5 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain avoided a third straight loss in Marseille with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee in their opening-round match Tuesday.
Unseeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut also advanced to the second round Tuesday, posting a business-like 6-3, 6-3 victory over Russian Michail Elgin.
Sixth seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus also is in action Tuesday. Julien Benneteau of France highlights the unseeded schedule when he faces Romania's Andrei Pavel.
Rounding out Tuesday's play will be unseeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who will face Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, while German Michael Berrer takes on Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili.
First prize is $124,000.
This article is from Yahoo Sports Tennis.
Photo: Getty Images
Open 13 - Marseille, France - Tuesday Results and 2/13/08 Order of Play
Open 13 - Marseille, France - Tuesday Results and 2/13/08 Order of Play
The first round at the Open 13 continues and we have more winners.
Andy Murray, 4th seed, began with a 2 set win over qualifier, Huta Galung.
Other seed that made it today to the second round is Juan Carlos Ferrero who defeated Lee also in 2 sets.
Local players Banneteau and Mahut were victorious today as well.
Check out all the scores and order of play for the Open 13.
Matches are still being played.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Singles - First Round
[4] A Murray (GBR) d [Q] J Huta Galung (NED) 64 64
[5] J Ferrero (ESP) d H Lee (KOR) 64 61
[6] M Baghdatis (CYP) d A Clement (FRA) 63 64
J Benneteau (FRA) d A Pavel (ROU) 62 10 ret. (lower back)
N Mahut (FRA) d [Q] M Elgin (RUS) 63 63
[Q] T Gabashvili (RUS) d M Berrer (GER) 76(5) 64
S Wawrinka (SUI) d S Grosjean (FRA) 36 64 64
Doubles - First Round
M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL) d I Karlovic (CRO) / L Zovko (CRO) 75 64
S Bolelli (ITA) / A Seppi (ITA) d [WC] C Haggard (RSA) / N Mahut (FRA) 46 63 10-8
Open 13 Wednesday 2/13/08 Order of Play
Centre court 11.00 am
David GUEZ vs Gilles SIMON
followed by
Marin CILIC vs Mikhail YOUZHNY
Not Before 2.30 pm
Simone BOLELLI vs Richard GASQUET
followed by
Jo-Wilfried TSONGA vs Mario ANCIC
Not Before 7.30 pm
Novak DJOKOVIC vs Ivan DODIG
followed by
Nicolas MAHUT vs Juan Carlos FERRERO
Court 1 11.00 am
Jordan KERR / David SKOCH vs Robert LINDSTEDT / Jarkko NIEMINEN
followed by
Michael LLODRA vs Andreas SEPPI
followed by
Simon ASPELIN / Julian KNOWLE vs Marcos BAGHDATIS / Marc GICQUEL
followed by
Feliciano LOPEZ vs Ivo KARLOVIC
followed by
Doubles to be arranged
followed by
Yves ALLEGRO / Jeff COETZEE vs Paul HANLEY / Daniel NESTOR
AFP/File/William West
Fernando Gonzalez withdraws from SAP Open
Fernando Gonzalez withdraws from SAP Open
Fernando Gonzalez, the world's 16th-ranked player, has withdrawn from the next week's SAP Open, the tournament announced on Monday.
A native of Chile, Gonzalez dropped out of both the singles and doubles competition due to a pulled stomach muscle.
Expected to have been one of the $436,000 hardcourt tournament's top seeds, Gonzalez is coming off a win at his native Vina del Mar earlier this month.
Gonzalez was to be making his first appearance in the event.
Also dropping out of the field was Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro, who withdrew due to a back injury.
The tournament, which was won by Britain's Andy Murray last year, will open play on February 18.
This article is from Yahoo Sports Tennis.
Photo credit should read MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP/Getty Images
Brasil Open Costa do Sauipe - Potito Starace to make season debut in Brazil
Potito Starace to make season debut in Brazil
Potito Starace of Italy returns from a six-week suspension this week at the $485,000 Brasil Open, which opens play Monday.
The world's 35th-ranked player and Italian No. 1, Starace was suspended and fined $30,000 on December 27 for betting on matches.
Fellow Italian Daniele Bracciali also was penalized, receiving a three-month suspension and $20,000 fine. Neither player bet on matches in which they were involved.
Starace wagered on tennis matches between February and May 2006. According to investigators, the 26-year-old Starace made five bets amounting to a total of around $130.
The ATP has grown increasingly concerned about betting and possible match-fixing since August, when online betting company Betfair reported unusual betting patterns during a match between Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina.
A heavy favorite several hours before the match, Davydenko retired with an injury trailing 2-1 in the third set. In an unprecedented move, Betfair voided all bets on the match.
The Italian Tennis Federation stated last December that both Starace and Bracciali were unaware of the ATP's betting rules and that they stopped taking part in the activity as soon as they learned of the regulations.
Seeded fourth in this claycourt event, Starace has not played an ATP match since losing in the opening round of the Paris Masters Series last October. He will take on unseeded Czech Ivo Minar in the first round here.
The top seed, Carlos Moya of Spain needed three sets Monday to end his first-round struggles here.
Having dropped his previous three opening-round matches here, Moya battled past fellow Spaniard Santiago Ventura, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
No. 8 Albert Montanes of Spain posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Nicolas Devilder of France in Monday's early first-round match.
Seeded second is another Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, who will take on Nicolas Massu of Chile in the opening round. Russian Igor Andreev is the third seed.
In the three other matches Monday that did not involve seeded players, Fabio Fognini of Italy, Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador and Serbia's Boris Pashanski all advanced.
First prize is $77,300.
This article is from Yahoo Sports Tennis
Defending champion Malisse and 2nd seed Haas upset at Delray Beach
Defending champion Malisse and 2nd seed Haas upset at Delray Beach
In a night of upsets, both No. 2 Tommy Haas and defending champion, Xavier Malisse, fell to players who had never won a match at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
27-year-old Diego Hartfield of Argentina knocked off Haas and 25-year-old American, Bobby Reynolds, beat two-time champion and five-time finalist Malisse.
Earlier in the day, wild card Robby Ginepri also won his first match here. The 25-year-old Ft. Lauderdale native played flawless tennis against Frenchman Mathieu Montcourt, dropping only three games and winning in just 45 minutes. It was Ginepri's first ATP match victory since October 2007.
Hartfield bagged his first hard court pro win in upsetting Haas, the 2006 champion, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. In fairness to Haas, the featured night match was his first match of any kind in 2008, and also his first after undergoing in November his third shoulder operation since 2002. The German did not hit a serve over 110-miles-per-hour and said that his (right hitting) shoulder "left me a little bit at the end of the second set. I didn't have the pop I really needed."
Haas, who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open last year and finished the year at No. 12, said his shoulder started hurting him last year in May. He thought about retiring, but at 29 he said he still considers himself "pretty young so I'm going to see what this game brings to me. It's a tough game, but I love it so I'm trying to come back."
Hartfield reached the semifinals of a clay court event in Buenos Aires last year around this time, but he decided to come and play on the hard courts in Delray Beach when his ranking dropped this year and he would have had to qualify in Buenos Aires. Instead, he received entry into the main draw here and knocked off Haas tonight.
At 22-years-old, Hartfield held a ranking in the 500s, but he had faith that his hard work would pay off. In 2007, he broke into the Top 100 for the first time in his career, and in beating Haas, he defeated the second-highest ranked opponent in his career. On a fast carpet indoor court in Lyon, France last October, Hartfield beat his compatriot, Juan Monaco, who was ranked No. 20 at the time. Haas came into tonight's match ranked No. 25.
Reynolds held a 6-3, 3-0 advantage in the nightcap, but then Malisse stormed back and won the second set 6-4. But the No. 111th-ranked Reynolds recovered to take the third set 6-3 and win his first match of the year. Malisse, who missed most of the 2007 season with a wrist injury, was not happy with the way he played tonight.
"I tried to battle," said Malisse, a quarterfinalist in Chennai in January, who's ranking had dropped to No. 351. "But I didn't have much confidence. The wind made it tougher. I played bad and made some bad decisions. I don't mind losing if I'm playing well."
Ginepri, on the other hand, was pleased with the way he played. "I'm happy," said Ginepri afterwards. "It's been awhile since I felt that way on the court. I played within myself, and I kind of felt like the old Robby."
The "old" Robby reached a career-high No. 15 and reached the U.S. Open semifinals in 2005, before seeing his ranking slide all the way to No. 169. In the off-season, he spent six weeks in Palm Springs, California with his new coach, Jose Higueras, and expected to do better in Australia, but a neck injury waylaid his efforts to qualify for the Australian Open.
"I have nowhere else to go but back up in the rankings," said Ginepri. "I'm playing more relaxed and I'm starting to get my rhythm back."
Florida State freshman Clint Bowles, playing on a wild card, lost to tour veteran Paul Capdeville of Chile, and Wayne Odesnik fell to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain, who reached the semifinals and beat Andre Agassi here in 2006. In one of only two three-set matches of the day, Spain's Ivan Navarro outlasted France's Florent Serra.
In the early qualifying rounds on Monday, Amer Delic, the 25-year-old American, followed up winning a Challenger event in Dallas earlier in the year by qualifying for the main draw here. In two tie-break sets, Delic defeated Belarus' Max Mirnyi to give Delray Beach 13 of the top 17-ranked Americans in its draw.
"I just won the Dallas Challenger and I won three quality matches here," said Delic. "So I'm trying to keep the streak alive.
Americans Alex Bogomolov and Phillip Simmonds didn’t fare as well, falling in the last round of the qualifying tournament to tour newcomer, 18-year-old Kei Nishikori of Japan, and Marco Crugnola of Italy, respectively. But Bogomolov later entered the draw as the lucky loser, replacing Israel’s Dudi Sela. Luka Gregorc of Slovenia became the fourth qualifier into the main draw by beating Slovakian Kamil Capkovic.
In the first doubles match of the tournament, Scott Lipsky and David Martin, the former Stanford University duo, ranked No. 55 and 58, respectively in the doubles ranking, made quick work of Vince Spadea and Donald Young, 6-4, 6-2. Spadea and Young were playing as a team for the first time together and had a cumulative doubles ranking of No. 442.
This article and photo are from yellowtennisball.com
Brasil Open Costa do Sauipe - Gustavo Kuerten begins farewell tour with a doubles loss
Gustavo Kuerten begins farewell tour with a doubles loss
Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten began his professional tennis farewell tour with a first-round doubles loss at the Brazil Open on Monday.
Kuerten and Andre Baran lost 6-3, 6-3 to Italy's Fabio Fognini and Filippo Volandri.
The 31-year-old Kuerten, who held the No. 1 ranking in December 2000, announced last month he will retire from professional tennis after the French Open, which starts May 26 at Roland Garros.
He won the last of his 20 ATP Tour titles in 2004, before he had hip surgery.
Also Monday, top-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain defeated countryman Santiago Ventura 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti beat wild-card entry Thomas Bellucci of Brazil 6-2, 6-2 and eighth-seeded Albert Montanes of Spain downed France's Nicolas Devilder 6-4, 6-4.
Italy's Fabio Fognini defeated Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), and Serbia's Boris Pashanski had a 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentina's Martin Vasallo Arguello.
This article is from Yahoo Sports Tennia (AP)
Photo credit should read MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty Images
Guga Kuerten, Former World No. 1, to Retire This Season
Guga Kuerten, Former World No. 1, to Retire This Season
Former World No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten announced that this will be his final ATP season and he will retire from professional tennis at either Roland Garros, where he is a three-time champion, or the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The 31-year-old Kuerten has been hampered by a right hip injury in recent years, limited to just 26 ATP-level matches (8-18 record) since ungoing his second arthroscopic surgery in September 2004.
"In the past years my physical condition has limited me to play at my best," he said. "I still love to practice and compete in the best events but obviously I am not able to play as well as I wanted. The pain limits me from playing in the same level as the top players in the world."
The Brazilian will make his farewell tour with appearances at five ATP-level tournaments, his hometown Challenger in Florianópolis and the Olympics Games. But at No. 679 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Kuerten will need to receive wild cards in order to play in the tournaments.
February 11 Brasil Open, Costa do Sauipe
March 24 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami
April 14 Florianópolis (Challenger)
April 21 Masters Series Monte-Carlo
May 5 or 12 Internazional BNL d'Italia or Masters Series Hamburg
May 26 Roland Garros, Paris
August 11 Olympic Games, Beijing
"I did my schedule based on my favorite tournaments," Kuerten said. "Each of these events bring back different memories... It will be special to play in each of these events. People will have the chance to see me playing for one last time and I will be able to revive all the special moments I lived in these tournaments.
"Roland Garros is my favorite tournament because of all the good memories. I would like to finish my career there. However if I have the chance to play my third Olympic Games in Beijing I would be glad to do so."
Kuerten compiled a 358-191 singles record and captured 20 singles titles and eight doubles titles during his 14-year professional career. He won his first career title in 1997 at Roland Garros, and won the clay court Slam again in 2000 and '01.
He became the first South American to finish No. 1 in the history of the ATP Rankings, securing the top spot at the 2000 Tennis Masters Cup in Lisbon after coming into the circuit finale at 75 points behind Race leader Marat Safin. Following round robin wins over Magnus Norman, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and a victory over Pete Sampras in the semifinals, Kuerten defeated Andre Agassi in the final to clinch the No. 1 ranking. It marked the only time in men's tennis history when the No. 1 year-end position came down to the final match of the season.
"I was very happy on a tennis court," Kuerten said. "For me, playing tennis was never a sacrifice. I've always done with tremendous passion. And I feel I have exceeded all my expectations during my career."
Kuerten compiled an impressive list of on- and off-court honors throughout his career, including including Brazil’s Athlete of the Year from 1999-2000, recipient of the UNESCO 2001 youth and citizenship prize and the Brazilian Cross of Merit in 2003, and 2003 ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of Year. He said:"I'm glad I was able to inspire people around the world and this matters a lot to me."
Kuerten, who launched the Institute Guga Kuerten in 2000 to help the handicapped, will continue his contributions to his community and to tennis following his retirement.
He said: "Once my career is over I plan on keep working for my Institute to help more children across Brazil. I would also like to get involved in the development of tennis in Brazil, hopefully being able to put some Brazilians back in the Top 50."
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships - Tommy Haas, Malisse Upset in First Round Action
Tommy Haas, Malisse Upset in First Round Action
A new champion will be crowned at the end of the 2008 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships after the last two winners, German Tommy Haas and Belgian Xavier Malisse, were dealt first round upsets on Monday night.
Argentine Diego Hartfield upset No. 2 seed and 2006 champion Haas in the German's first appearance of the 2008 ATP season, and American Bobby Reynolds followed by closing out his match against defending champion Malisse in an identical time of one hour and 55 minutes.
Hartfield, who is making his Delray Beach debut this week, delivered on five of his 17 break point chances to oust Haas, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. It marked the first hard court win in Hartfield's career after going 0-4 in his other appearances.
"I'm very happy," said Hartfield, who is currently ranked No. 99. "I always knew I could play good on hard courts. I was practicing in Buenos Aires on hard courts before Australia and I was playing good."
Haas, who had shoulder surgery in November, struggled to serve over 110 MPH the entire evening. He said: "Overall (the shoulder) feels good. It's my first test. Unfortunately the shoulder went away a bit at the end of the second set. I didn't have the pop anymore. I didn't really have any pain, just no power."
Last season, Haas spent 22 weeks inside the Top 10 last year as he repeated his title effort in Memphis and advanced to Australian Open semifinals and US Open quarterfinals.
In his opener, Malisse managed to convert on only two of his 17 break point opportunities as he fell to Reynolds, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Reynolds, ranked No. 111, made his only appearance at Delray Beach in a first round loss two years ago.
"It's nice to get a good first win of the year," said Reynolds. "He obviously does well here. It's tough conditions. It was windy, it was swirling. It's tough under the lights. I felt like I served well at times and played pretty solid and got the job done."
Malisse, who was limited to just five tournaments last year due to a wrist injury, was looking to reach the Delray Beach final for the third year in a row. He won the title in 2005 and claimed the 'double' last year by defeating James Blake in the singles final and teaming up with Hugo Armando to win the doubles title. He also reached the final in 1999 and 2003.
"I just played bad overall," said Malisse. "I don't have much confidence right now and then the wind, it's even tougher. I just couldn't find my game... I don't mind losing if I'm playing well because at least I get some good matches in, but this just puts a dent in my confidence and makes it even tougher to come back."
Former World No. 15 Robby Ginepri claimed his first ATP-level match win in his first main-draw appearance of the 2008 season. The American, who has slipped to No. 169 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, enjoyed a 6-3, 6-0 win over Frenchman Mathieu Montcourt.
Ginepri dropped just six points on serve and did not face a break point. Montcourt won just 10 points in the second set as Ginepri powered to the finish line.
"It's been a while since I've felt like that on court," Ginepri said. "It felt like the old Robby."
Ginepri, who was relegated to the qualifying rounds during the recent Australian Open swing, won his first ATP-level match since the first round of Masters Series Madrid in mid October. He won just 11 of 31 matches in 2007 and finished outside the Top 100 for the first time in five years.
The 2005 US Open finalist and two-time ATP title winner next meets the winner of fourth-seeded Israeli Dudi Sela and fellow American Michael Russell.
Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez saved eight of 10 break points he faced in his 6-4, 6-2 win over American Wayne Odesnik. He will play the winner of Yuri Schukin and third seed Sam Querrey.
AFP/File/Romeo Gacad
