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Belgian tennis player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dick Norman (born 1 March 1971) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. He achieved a degree of folk popularity among tennis fans due to his height (6 feet 8 inches), his left-handed power game and, in the last few years of his career, his age (between late 2006 and his retirement in June 2013 he was the oldest player on the ATP Tour).
Country (sports) | Belgium |
---|---|
Residence | Waregem, Belgium |
Born | Waregem, Belgium | 1 March 1971
Height | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) |
Turned pro | 1991 |
Retired | 2013 |
Plays | Left-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Prize money | $2,019,581 |
Singles | |
Career record | 30–69 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 85 (6 November 2006) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2006) |
French Open | 3R (1997) |
Wimbledon | 4R (1995) |
US Open | 2R (2002) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 119–121 |
Career titles | 4 |
Highest ranking | No. 10 (26 April 2010) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2006, 2013) |
French Open | F (2009) |
Wimbledon | SF (2009, 2010) |
US Open | QF (2009, 2010) |
Other doubles tournaments | |
Tour Finals | RR (2010) |
Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2010, 2011) |
French Open | 2R (2011) |
Wimbledon | 3R (1995) |
US Open | 1R (2010) |
Last updated on: 10 April 2022. |
After retirement Norman became involved in coaching and organizing local tennis events. In March 2018, he became the tournament director of the European Open in Antwerp.
Turning professional in 1991, Norman notched up only his 14th Grand Slam appearance at the 2006 Wimbledon, where, at 35, he was the second oldest male competitor, to Andre Agassi. With Agassi's retirement immediately following the 2006 US Open, Norman succeeded him as the oldest active player on the ATP tour.
In 1995, he made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon, despite qualifying out of the lucky loser's draw. He defeated successive but aging former Wimbledon Champions Pat Cash and Stefan Edberg in the first and second rounds respectively, then doubles guru Todd Woodbridge in the third round, before falling to another former champion Boris Becker in the fourth round. At the time, it was the furthest that any player had ever advanced in a Grand Slam Tournament as a lucky loser.
He disappeared from the tennis scene after a few unimpressive seasons, but made a resurgence starting in 2003, at the age of 32, a common retirement age. He qualified for three of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Nine of his 14 Grand Slam appearances have come after his 32nd birthday, although except for a surprise run in doubles at the French Open in 2009, none as successful as his 1995 Wimbledon run. He mostly lost in the first or second round. Still he has exceeded $1 million in career earnings, in large part due to his Grand Slam successes.
In November 2006, at the age of 35 years and eight months, Norman attained his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 85.
In July 2007, at Newport, Norman made it to his very first ATP semifinal, defeating eighth seed Michael Berrer along the way. His first round win was over fellow "giant", 6'9" wild card John Isner, who was playing in his first-ever ATP match.
As of February 2008, he remained the oldest active player on the ATP Tour at 36 years and 11 months; and although his ranking had dropped back to world No. 169, partly as a result of his having taken a break of several months from the tour over the preceding autumn and winter following the birth of his first child, he appeared to remain committed to continuing his career on the circuit.
While Norman was the oldest player on the tour, Jimmy Connors continued to compete regularly until the week of 10 May 1993, when he was 40 years and 8 months of age and played another six isolated tournaments over the three years to follow, the last of which took place in the week of 29 April 1996, when he was 43 years and 7 months old.
He has won over ten titles on the Challenger circuit, the most recent being at Mexico City in April 2009, at the age of 38. In January 2007, he teamed with countryman Xavier Malisse to win the doubles title at the ATP event in Chennai. In early 2009, he made the conscious decision to focus more on doubles than singles, and in February he joined forces with American James Cerretani to win the doubles title at the ATP World Tour event in Johannesburg.
In 2009, Norman teamed with South African Wesley Moodie and advanced to the final of the French Open. They lost 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 to the third seeded pair of Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes. It is by far the furthest Norman has advanced in a Grand Slam tournament. It was the first time in his 19-year career that Norman had played doubles at the French Open, and only the third tournament in which Moodie (who with Stephen Huss won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2005) and Norman played together.
In the semifinals, Norman-Moodie saved three match points in a come-from-behind 0–6, 7–6, 6–4 victory over the defending champions, Bob and Mike Bryan, the second seeds. The Bryans had won the previous two Grand Slam titles, the 2008 US Open and the 2009 Australian Open. On their way to the final, Norman-Moodie had in the first round upset the seventh seed team of Max Mirnyi and Andy Ram.
In finishing runner-up for the 2009 French Open title, Norman earned 78,000 euros. The finish moved him to a career-high No. 32 in the ATP doubles rankings.
At 38 years and 3 months, Norman became the oldest male to reach a French Open final in the Open Era (since surpassed by Jean-Julien Rojer in winning the title at the 2022 French Open). He became the fifth player aged 38 or older to play in a men's doubles Grand Slam title match: Neale Fraser (39) was runner-up at Wimbledon in 1973, Ken Rosewall (38) lost the US Open final in 1973, Sherwood Stewart (38) won the Australian Open in 1984, and Bob Hewitt (38) won Wimbledon in 1978.
Two weeks later, he won the Ordina Open with his partner Wesley Moodie. It was his first grass-court title.
In November, he won the AXA Belgian Masters, as oldest man in the field.
In another career highlight, Dick (along with partner Moodie) qualified for the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals. This was the first time in his career that Dick qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals. Dick and Wesley entered the final tournament of the season, the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters, seeded eighth. Because Jürgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner won 2010 Wimbledon, only the top seven ranked pairs qualified for the finals. Due to Dick and Wesley reaching the quarterfinals in Paris and František Čermák and Michal Mertiňák failing to reach the finals in Paris, Dick and Wesley were able to secure qualification.
Norman retired in June 2013, following a first-round defeat in the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, having enjoyed a tennis career of 22 years.
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2009 | French Open | Clay | Wesley Moodie | Lukáš Dlouhý Leander Paes | 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0–1 | Oct 1995 | Beijing, China | World Series | Carpet | Fernon Wibier | Tommy Ho Sébastien Lareau |
6–7, 6–7 |
Win | 1–1 | Jan 2007 | Chennai, India | International Series | Hard | Xavier Malisse | Rafael Nadal Tomeu Salvá |
7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4) |
Win | 2–1 | Feb 2009 | Johannesburg, South Africa | 250 Series | Hard | James Cerretani | Rik de Voest Ashley Fisher |
6–7(7–9), 6–2, [14–12] |
Loss | 2–2 | Jun 2009 | Paris, France | Grand Slam | Clay | Wesley Moodie | Lukáš Dlouhý Leander Paes |
6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
Win | 3–2 | Jun 2009 | 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands | 250 Series | Grass | Wesley Moodie | Johan Brunström Jean-Julien Rojer |
7–6(7–3), 6–7(8–10), [10–5] |
Win | 4–2 | Feb 2011 | Zagreb, Croatia | 250 Series | Hard | Horia Tecău | Marcel Granollers Marc López |
6–3, 6–4 |
Loss | 4–3 | May 2012 | Munich, Germany | 250 Series | Clay | Xavier Malisse | František Čermák Filip Polášek |
4–6, 5–7 |
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0-1 | Mar 1995 | Garmisch, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Nicolas Kiefer | 6–7, 6–7 |
Win | 1-1 | Jul 1995 | Newcastle, United Kingdom | Challenger | Hard | David Nainkin | 6–1, 6–4 |
Win | 2-1 | May 1997 | Dresden, Germany | Challenger | Clay | Julian Alonso | 6–4, 6–4 |
Win | 3-1 | Nov 1997 | Neumünster, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | John Van Lottum | 6–7, 7–6, 7–6 |
Win | 4-1 | Jun 2000 | Poland F2, Zabrze | Futures | Clay | Jaroslav Levinský | 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
Win | 5-1 | Jul 2000 | Poland F3, Katowice | Futures | Clay | Kim Tiilikainen | 6–1, 6–4 |
Win | 6-1 | Aug 2000 | Luxembourg F1, Luxembourg | Futures | Clay | Petr Dezort | 6–3, 7–6(7–4) |
Loss | 6-2 | Sep 2000 | Brașov, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Alexandre Simoni | 5–7, 3–6 |
Win | 7-2 | Oct 2000 | France F19, Plaisir | Futures | Hard | Andrei Chesnokov | 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 |
Loss | 7-3 | Feb 2001 | Lübeck, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Zbynek Mlynarik | 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–4), 4–6 |
Win | 8-3 | Mar 2001 | France F6, Poitiers | Futures | Hard | Gregory Carraz | 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–4 |
Win | 9-3 | Apr 2001 | France F7, Melun | Futures | Carpet | Gregory Carraz | 6–3, 6–2 |
Win | 10-3 | May 2001 | Antwerp, Belgium | Challenger | Clay | Peter Wessels | 5–3 ret. |
Loss | 10-4 | Feb 2002 | Wolfsburg, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Jakub Herm-Zahlava | 4–6, 2–6 |
Win | 11-4 | Mar 2002 | Magdeburg, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Axel Pretzsch | 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 6–4 |
Win | 12-4 | Mar 2002 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Paul-Henri Mathieu | 2–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
Win | 13-4 | Jun 2002 | Andorra la Vella, Andorra | Challenger | Hard | Ivo Karlović | 6–4, 6–4 |
Win | 14-4 | Oct 2002 | Quito, Ecuador | Challenger | Clay | Giovanni Lapentti | 6–4, 6–3 |
Loss | 14-5 | Mar 2003 | Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Challenger | Hard | Richard Gasquet | 1–6, 6–7(7–9) |
Win | 15-5 | Apr 2003 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Federico Browne | 7–5, 0–6, 6–4 |
Loss | 15-6 | Nov 2003 | Prague, Czech Republic | Challenger | Carpet | Marc Rosset | 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–1), 6–7(3–7) |
Loss | 15-7 | Feb 2004 | Andrezieux, France | Challenger | Hard | Julien Benneteau | 7–6(10–8), 6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7) |
Win | 16-7 | Dec 2004 | Ischgl, Austria | Challenger | Carpet | Daniele Bracciali | 6–1, 3–6, 6–1 |
Win | 17-7 | Feb 2005 | Belgrade, Serbia | Challenger | Carpet | Jeroen Masson | 6–2, 6–3 |
Loss | 17-8 | Mar 2005 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Fernando Vicente | 4–6, 4–6 |
Win | 18-8 | Nov 2005 | Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine | Challenger | Hard | Raemon Sluiter | 7–6(7–2), 6–7(2–7), 6–3 |
Loss | 18-9 | Apr 2006 | León, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Phillip Simmonds | 6–3, 6–7(4–7), 2–6 |
Loss | 18-10 | Sep 2007 | Donetsk, Ukraine | Challenger | Hard | Roko Karanušić | 4–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 18-11 | Jul 2008 | Córdoba, Spain | Challenger | Hard | Iván Navarro | 7–6(7–4), 3–6, 6–7(10–12) |
Win | 19-11 | Apr 2009 | Mexico City, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Marcel Felder | 6–4, 6–7(6–8), 7–5 |
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Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1–0 | Aug 1992 | Poznań, Poland | Challenger | Clay | Tomasz Iwanski | Sergio Cortés Vicente Solves |
4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
Loss | 1–1 | May 1994 | Jerusalem, Israel | Challenger | Hard | Filip Dewulf | Ellis Ferreira Kevin Ullyett |
6–7, 3–6 |
Loss | 1–2 | Jul 1994 | Bristol, United Kingdom | Challenger | Grass | Massimo Bertolini | Pietro Pennisi Alexandru Radulescu |
4–6, 5–7 |
Loss | 1–3 | Oct 1994 | Ponte Vedra, United States | Challenger | Hard | Ross Matheson | Paul Annacone Kelly Jones |
7–6, 4–6, 3—6 |
Loss | 1–4 | Nov 1994 | Nantes, France | Challenger | Hard | Greg Rusedski | Olivier Delaître Guillaume Raoux |
4–6, 6–7 |
Win | 2–4 | Dec 1994 | Adelaide, Australia | Challenger | Grass | Mahesh Bhupathi | Scott Draper Peter Tramacchi |
7–6, 7–6 |
Loss | 2–5 | Mar 1995 | Garmisch, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Mathias Huning | Lionel Barthez Nuno Marques |
6–7, 6–7 |
Loss | 2–6 | Jul 1996 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Challenger | Grass | Fernon Wibier | Max Mirnyi Lior Mor |
5–7, 6–7 |
Win | 3–6 | Aug 2000 | Luxembourg F1, Luxembourg | Futures | Clay | Christopher Kas | Rik de Voest Willem-Petrus Meyer |
6–1, 7–6(7–2) |
Loss | 3–7 | Sep 2000 | Brașov, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Wolfgang Schranz | Ionuț Moldovan Yuri Schukin |
4–6, 1–6 |
Loss | 3–8 | Mar 2002 | Magdeburg, Germany | Challenger | Carpet | Djalmar Sistermans | Franz Stauder Orest Tereshchuk |
4–6, 3–6 |
Win | 4–8 | Mar 2002 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Orlin Stanoytchev | Ignacio Hirigoyen Sebastián Prieto |
walkover |
Win | 5–8 | May 2002 | Zagreb, Croatia | Challenger | Clay | Tom Vanhoudt | Jordan Kerr Grant Silcock |
6–3, 4–6, 6–3 |
Win | 6–8 | Sep 2006 | Orléans, France | Challenger | Hard | Gregory Carraz | Jérôme Haehnel Jean-Rene Lisnard |
7–6(8–6), 6–1 |
Loss | 6–9 | Mar 2007 | Cherbourg, France | Challenger | Hard | Łukasz Kubot | Michal Mertiňák Robin Vik |
2–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 6–10 | Mar 2007 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Fred Gil | Martin Garcia Diego Hartfield |
4–6, 6–3, [5–10] |
Loss | 6–11 | Aug 2007 | Istanbul, Turkey | Challenger | Hard | Kristof Vliegen | James Auckland Ross Hutchins |
7–5, 6–7(5–7), [7–10] |
Loss | 6–12 | Mar 2008 | Salinas, Ecuador | Challenger | Hard | Sebastián Decoud | Júlio Silva Caio Zampieri |
6–7(6–8), 2–6 |
Loss | 6–13 | May 2008 | Rijeka, Croatia | Challenger | Clay | Alex Kuznetsov | Dušan Karol Jaroslav Pospíšil |
4–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 6–14 | Jul 2008 | Córdoba, Spain | Challenger | Hard | James Cerretani | Johan Brunström Jean-Julien Rojer |
4–6, 3–6 |
Win | 7–14 | Aug 2008 | Freudenstadt, Germany | Challenger | Clay | Kristof Vliegen | Rainer Eitzinger Armin Sandbichler |
6–3, 6–3 |
Win | 8–14 | Sep 2008 | Donetsk, Ukraine | Challenger | Hard | Xavier Malisse | Harel Levy Noam Okun |
4–6, 6–1, [13—11] |
Loss | 8–15 | Sep 2008 | Grenoble, France | Challenger | Hard | Niels Desein | Martin Fischer Philipp Oswald |
7–6(7–5), 5–7, [7–10] |
Win | 9–15 | Oct 2008 | Rennes, France | Challenger | Carpet | James Auckland | Yves Allegro Horia Tecău |
6–3, 6–4 |
Win | 10–15 | Apr 2012 | Barletta, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Johan Brunström | Jonathan Marray Igor Zelenay |
6–4, 7–5 |
Win | 11–15 | Sep 2012 | Pétange, Luxembourg | Challenger | Hard | Christopher Kas | Jamie Murray André Sá |
2–6, 6–2, [10—8] |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | A | Q1 | A | A | Q1 | Q3 | 1R | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
French Open | A | A | 1R | 3R | Q1 | A | A | Q2 | Q2 | 1R | Q2 | 2R | 2R | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | A | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | 44% |
Wimbledon | A | 4R | Q2 | Q2 | Q1 | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | 1R | 1R | A | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | 43% |
US Open | A | Q2 | A | Q3 | A | A | A | A | 2R | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
Win–loss | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 14 | 9–14 | 39% |
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
Miami Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
Canada Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
Stuttgart Masters | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||||||||
Paris Masters | Q2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | Q2 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||||||||||||||
Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% |
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | SF | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 4 | 9–4 | 69% |
Wimbledon | 1R | Q1 | Q3 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | SF | SF | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 7 | 11–7 | 61% |
US Open | Q2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 4 | 8–4 | 67% |
Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 12–3 | 11–4 | 4–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0 / 21 | 30–21 | 59% |
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
Miami Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 1R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
Madrid | Not Held | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | ||||||
Canada Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | 2R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | SF | 1R | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | 57% |
Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 1R | A | A | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% |
Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | QF | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | |||||||||||||
Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 7–9 | 2–7 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 20 | 12–20 | 38% |
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