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Men's tennis circuit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF)), the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World Team Championship, the Davis Cup (organized by the ITF), and the ATP World Tour Finals. Also included in the 2009 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which does not distribute ranking points, and is organised by the ITF.[1][2]
Roger Federer finished the year as world No. 1 for the fifth time in his career. He won four tournaments during the season, including two majors at the French Open (completing the career Grand Slam) and the Wimbledon Championships. He also won two Masters events and finished runner-up at the other two majors, the Australian Open and the US Open. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | January 3, 2009 – November 30, 2009 |
| Tournaments | 68 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) World Tour Masters 1000 (9) World Tour 500 (11) World Tour 250 (40) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most titles |  Andy Murray (6) |
| Most finals |  Novak Djokovic (10) |
| Prize money leader |  Roger Federer ($8,761,805) |
| Points leader | Roger Federer (10,550) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Roger Federer |
| Doubles team of the year |  Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
| Most improved player of the year | John Isner |
| Newcomer of the year |  Horacio Zeballos |
| Comeback player of the year | Marco Chiudinelli |
← 2008 2010 → | |
The ATP reinstated the world tour to its name as the organisation rebranded itself as the ATP World Tour.[3] ATP World Tour tournaments in 2009 are classified as ATP World Tour Masters 1000, ATP World Tour 500, and ATP World Tour 250. Broadly speaking the Tennis Masters Series tournaments became the new Masters 1000 level and ATP International Series Gold and ATP International Series events became ATP 500 level and 250 level events.
The World Tour Masters 1000 includes tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai, and Paris. The end-of-year event, the Tour Finals, moved to London. Hamburg has been displaced by the new clay court event at Madrid, which is a new combined men's and women's tournament, and the indoor hard court event in Madrid was replaced by an outdoor hard court Masters tournament in Shanghai. From 2011, Rome and Cincinnati will also be combined tournaments. Severe sanctions will be placed on top players skipping the Masters 1000 series events, unless medical proof is presented.[4] Plans to eliminate Monte Carlo and Hamburg as Masters Series events led to controversy and protests from players as well as organisers. Hamburg and Monte Carlo filed lawsuits against the ATP,[5] and as a concession it was decided that Monte Carlo remains a Masters 1000 level event, with more prize money and 1000 ranking points, but it would no longer be a compulsory tournament for top-ranked players. Monte Carlo later dropped its suit. Hamburg was "reserved" to become a 500 level event in the summer.[6] Hamburg did not accept this concession, but later lost its suit.[7]
The World Tour 500 level includes tournaments at Rotterdam, Dubai, Acapulco, Memphis, Barcelona, Hamburg, Washington, Beijing, Tokyo, Basel, and Valencia.
The ATP & ITF declared that 2009 Davis Cup World Group and World Group Playoffs award a total of up to 500 points. Players accumulate points over the four rounds and the playoffs and these are counted as one of a player's four best results from the 500 level events. An additional 125 points are given to a player who wins all eight live rubbers and wins the Davis Cup. [8]
Otherwise, the domain name of their website was changed to "www.atpworldtour.com".[9]
The 2009 ATP World Tour season saw Roger Federer break Pete Sampras's Grand Slam record of 14 men's singles titles, capturing his first French Open title and his sixth Wimbledon title in the process, marking 15 Grand Slam tournament victories to his name. This success came after losing to his main rival, Rafael Nadal, in the Australian Open final 7–5, 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–2 in what has been lauded as one of the greatest Australian Open finals of all-time.[10] This victory gave Nadal his first Grand Slam title on hard court, his sixth major title overall and put an end to Federer’s 8–0 record in slam finals on hard court.
This defeat for Federer came at his first opportunity in a slam final to tie Sampras’s record of most Grand Slams won in men’s singles and came on the back of consecutive defeats to Nadal at the previous years French Open and Wimbledon. It also marked the first and only time in Nadal’s career that he’d win a slam having come through 5 set matches in both the semifinals and final, beating fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in an epic that lasted 5 hours, 14 minutes in the semis. Nadal would continue his dominance of the tour by winning titles in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome before falling to Federer in the final of Madrid. This was Federer's first Masters Series title since winning Cincinnati in 2007 and his first win over Nadal since the 2007 Tennis Masters cup, having lost the previous 5 matches they played.
Nadal was shocked in the fourth round of the French Open by big hitting Swede Robin Söderling, marking the first ever defeat Nadal had endured at the French Open. This has been described as one of the biggest upsets in tennis history.[11] Federer came through tough tests earlier in the French Open, coming from 2 sets down to defeat Tommy Haas in the fourth round and beating Juan Martín del Potro in a 5-setter in the semis to advance to his fourth French Open final. Söderling himself would come through a 5-setter in the semis against Fernando González, only to lose to Federer in the final in straight sets 6–1, 7–6(7–1), 6–4.[12] With this win, Federer captured his first and only French Open title, equalling Pete Sampras’s then record of 14 Grand Slam titles and in the process becoming the sixth man in singles history to complete the Career Grand Slam.
Federer then captured his sixth Wimbledon and 15th slam overall by defeating Andy Roddick in the final 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 in the longest men’s singles major final in history (in terms of games played). This was the third and final time the two would play in a Wimbledon final with Federer winning all three encounters. By winning this, Federer became the first player to win 15 men’s singles Grand Slam titles passing Pete Sampras’s prior record of 14.[13] By winning the French Open and Wimbledon back to back, Federer became the eighth man of all time to complete the channel slam and the fourth man of the open era (along with Rod Laver, Björn Borg and Rafael Nadal). This win also saw Federer regain the No. 1 position at the top of the ATP rankings and would later end the season ranked No. 1. Later in the summer, Federer would win his third Cincinnati Masters title beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
At the US Open, 20 year old Argentine Juan Martín del Potro captured his first and only major title and in doing so became the first man to defeat both Nadal and Federer back to back in a Grand Slam tournament. This came in a period in time when both Federer and Nadal had dominated the game for the past 5 seasons, winning 17 of the past 18 slams from the 2005 French Open onwards, with the exception being Novak Djokovic’s first slam victory at the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic also became the only other man that would later be able to defeat both Nadal and Federer back to back to win a slam title. Del Potro defeated Federer in a 5 set epic 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2, thus ending Federer’s 40-match winning streak at the US Open.
After the US Open, Nikolay Davydenko would win his third career Masters Series title by beating Nadal in the finals of Shanghai and would go on to achieve his biggest career achievement by winning the ATP World Tour Finals.[14] Davydenko successfully defeated Nadal, Söderling, Federer and del Potro en route and became the inaugural winner of the Year-End Championships during its stretch held in London (2009–2020). Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were two other competitors who also had good success during the 2009 season, with Djokovic winning the Paris Masters, 3 500 Series tournaments in Dubai, Beijing and Basel, and the inaugural Serbia Open in Djokovic’s home city of Belgrade. Murray won 2 Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Montreal and also won 4 other titles in Doha, Rotterdam, London and Valencia.
Spain successfully defended their Davis Cup title by defeating Czech Republic 5–0 in the final with the help of Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano López on clay in Barcelona. In doubles, Lukáš Dlouhý and Leander Paes won 2 Grand Slam titles in 2009, winning both the French Open and the US Open. However, Bob and Mike Bryan successfully captured the Australian Open and ATP World Tour Finals titles, ending the season both ranked No. 1. Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić were victorious at Wimbledon.
This is the complete schedule of events on the 2009 calendar, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage.[15][16]
| Grand Slam |
| ATP World Tour Finals |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |
| ATP World Tour 500 |
| ATP World Tour 250 |
| Team Events |
These tables present the number of singles (S), doubles (D), and mixed doubles (X) titles won by each player and each nation during the season, within all the tournament categories of the 2009 ATP World Tour: the Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Finals, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, and the ATP World Tour 250 series.[15] The players/nations are sorted by: 1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation); 2) cumulated importance of those titles (one Grand Slam win equalling two Masters 1000 wins, one ATP World Tour Finals win equalling one-and-a-half Masters 1000 win, one Masters 1000 win equalling two 500 events wins, one 500 event win equalling two 250 events wins); 3) a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy; 4) alphabetical order (by family names for players).
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| ATP World Tour Finals |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 |
| ATP World Tour 500 |
| ATP World Tour 250 |
| All titles |
| Total | Nation | Grand Slam | ATP Finals | Masters 1000 | Tour 500 | Tour 250 | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | D | X | S | D | S | D | S | D | S | D | S | D | X | ||
| 21 | United States (USA) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 2 | |||
| 17 |  Spain (ESP) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 0 | ||||||
| 16 |  Czech Republic (CZE) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 0 | |||||||
| 14 | Serbia (SRB) | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 0 | |||||
| 10 |  Russia (RUS) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 10 |  France (FRA) | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | |||||||
| 9 |  Canada (CAN) | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||
| 8 | Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| 6 |  Slovakia (SVK) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||
| 6 |  Austria (AUT) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||||||||
| 5 | Switzerland (SUI) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 5 | Argentina (ARG) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |||||||
| 5 |  Sweden (SWE) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||||||||
| 5 |  Poland (POL) | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 4 |  India (IND) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
| 4 |  Germany (GER) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||
| 3 |  Bahamas (BAH) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 |  Australia (AUS) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 3 |  South Africa (RSA) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||
| 3 |  Croatia (CRO) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 3 |  Brazil (BRA) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2 |  Belgium (BEL) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 2 |  Uruguay (URU) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Belarus (BLR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Israel (ISR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Chile (CHI) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Cyprus (CYP) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Ukraine (UKR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Latvia (LAT) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 |  Zimbabwe (ZIM) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
The following players won their first main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:
Rajeev Ram – Newport (singles) Guillermo García López – Kitzbühel (singles) Benjamin Becker – 's-Hertogenbosch (singles) Jérémy Chardy – Stuttgart (singles) Thomaz Bellucci – Gstaad (singles) Marc López – Doha (doubles) Rajeev Ram – Chennai (doubles) Brian Dabul – Viña del Mar (doubles) Tommy Haas – San José (doubles) Marcel Granollers – Costa do Sauípe (doubles) Łukasz Kubot – Casablanca (doubles) Jan Hernych – Munich (doubles) Ivo Minář – Munich (doubles) Marco Chiudinelli – Gstaad (doubles) Michael Lammer – Gstaad (doubles) Colin Fleming – Metz (doubles) Ken Skupski – Metz (doubles)The following players defended a main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:
Fernando González – Viña del Mar (singles) Mark Knowles – Memphis (doubles) Rafael Nadal – Monte Carlo (singles), Barcelona (singles) Nicolás Almagro – Acapulco (singles) Michal Mertiňák – Acapulco (doubles), Umag (doubles) Bob Bryan – French Open (mixed doubles) Daniel Nestor – Wimbledon Championships (doubles) Nenad Zimonjić – Wimbledon Championships (doubles) Juan Martín del Potro – Washington (singles) Robert Lindstedt – Washington (doubles) Kevin Ullyett – Stockholm (doubles)These are the ATP rankings of the top twenty singles players, doubles players, and the top ten doubles teams on the ATP Tour, at the end of the 2008 ATP Tour,[17][18][19] and of the 2009 season,[20][21][22] with number of rankings points, number of tournaments played, year-end ranking in 2008, highest and lowest position during the season (for singles and doubles individual only, as doubles team rankings are not calculated over a rolling year-to-date system), and number of spots gained or lost from the 2008 to the 2009 year-end rankings. The 2008 year-end rankings include the number of points under the 2008 points system, and doubled, as they were at the end of the year by the ATP, to fit the 2009 points system[2] (the doubles (team) rankings points were not doubled, as they were calculated under the ATP Race points system in 2008). The doubled year-end rankings were never officially published though, as the first rankings of 2009 already counted the drop of the 2008 season openers' points due to a calendar change.
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| # | Country | Player | Singles | Doubles | Year-to-date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | SUI | Roger Federer | $8,761,805 | $6,305 | $8,768,110 |
| 2. | ESP | Rafael Nadal | $6,414,604 | $51,911 | $6,466,515 |
| 3. | SRB | Novak Djokovic | $5,438,063 | $38,408 | $5,476,471 |
| 4. | ARG | Juan Martín del Potro | $4,712,743 | $40,344 | $4,753,087 |
| 5. | GBR | Andy Murray | $4,397,231 | $23,826 | $4,421,057 |
| 6. | RUS | Nikolay Davydenko | $3,636,773 | $22,387 | $3,659,160 |
| 7. | USA | Andy Roddick | $2,333,357 | $145,362 | $2,478,719 |
| 8. | SWE | Robin Söderling | $2,294,548 | $19,237 | $2,313,785 |
| 9. | ESP | Fernando Verdasco | $1,863,864 | $52,766 | $1,916,630 |
| 10. | FRA | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | $1,633,191 | $185,361 | $1,818,552 |
As of December 21, 2009. Source
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| Event | Round | Surface | Winner | Opponent | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Wimbledon | F | Grass | Roger Federer | Andy Roddick | 5–7, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 16–14 |
| 2. | Madrid Open | SF | Clay | Rafael Nadal | Novak Djokovic | 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(11–9) |
| 3. | Australian Open | SF | Hard | Rafael Nadal | Fernando Verdasco | 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–2), 6–7(1–7), 6–4 |
| 4. | US Open | R2 | Hard | Taylor Dent | Iván Navarro | 6–4, 5–7, 6–7(1–7), 7–5, 7–6(11–9) |
| 5. | ATP Finals | SF | Hard (i) | Nikolay Davydenko | Roger Federer | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 |
| Tournament Category | W | F | SF (3rd/4th) | QF | R16 | R32 | R64 | R128 | Additional qualifying points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam | 2000 | 1200 | 720 | 360 | 180 | 90 | 45 | 10 | 25 |
| ATP World Tour Finals | 1500^ 1100m | 1000^ 600m | 600^ 200m | (200 for each round robin match win, +400 for a semifinal win, +500 for the final win) | |||||
| Masters 1000 | 1000 | 600 | 360 | 180 | 90 | 45 | 10 (25) | (10) | 25 |
| 500 | 500 | 300 | 180 | 90 | 45 | (20) | 20 | ||
| 250 | 250 | 150 | 90 | 45 | 20 | (10) | 12 | ||
| Davis Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubber category | Match win | Match loss | Team bonus | Performance bonus | Total achievable | |
| Singles | Play-offs | 5 / 101 | 15 | |||
| First round | 40 | 102 | 80 | |||
| Quarterfinals | 65 | 130 | ||||
| Semifinals | 70 | 140 | ||||
| Final | 75 | 753 | 1254 | 150 / 2253 / 2754 | ||
| Cumulative total | 500 | 500 to 5353 | 6254 | 6254 | ||
| Doubles | Play-offs | 10 | 10 | |||
| First round | 50 | 102 | 50 | |||
| Quarterfinals | 80 | 80 | ||||
| Semifinals | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Final | 95 | 355 | 95 / 1305 | |||
| Cumulative total | 315 | 3505 | 3505 | |||
The Davis Cup World Group and World Group Play-Off matches awarded ATP Ranking points from 2009 to 2015.[24]
Only live matches earn points; dead rubbers earn no points. If a player does not compete in the singles of one or more rounds he will receive points from the previous round when playing singles at the next tie. This last rule also applies for playing in doubles matches.[24]
1 A player who wins a singles rubber in the first day of the tie is awarded 5 points, whereas a singles rubber win in tie's last day grants 10 points for a total of 15 available points.[24]
2 For the first round only, any player who competes in a live rubber, without a win, receives 10 ranking points for participation.[24]
3 Team bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 7 live matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition.[24]
4 Performance bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 8 live matches in a calendar year. In this case, no Team bonus is awarded.[24]
5 Team bonus awarded to an unchanged doubles team who wins 4 matches in a calendar year and his team wins the competition.[24]
| World Team Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match type | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals | Points | Bonus | Total |
| Singles 1 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 95 | 200 | 50 | 250 |
| Singles 2 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 125 | 50 | 175 |
| Deciding match (doubles) | 35 | 35 | 35 | 95 | 200 | 50 | 250 |
| Dead rubber (doubles) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 50 | 50 | |
Following is a list of notable players (winners of a main tour title, and/or part of the ATP rankings top 100 (singles) or top 50 (doubles) for at least one week) who announced their retirement from professional tennis during the 2009 season:
Agustín Calleri (born September 14, 1976, in Río Cuarto, Argentina) started his pro career in 1995, reaching his best singles ranking, no. 16, in 2003. A clay court specialist, Calleri titled twice in singles and thrice in doubles during his time on the main tour, but never went further than the third round in any Grand Slam tournament. He played his last professional match in July on the ATP Challenger Tour in Bogotá.[26][27] Guillermo Coria (born January 13, 1982, in Rufino, Argentina) joined the pro circuit in 2000, reaching his best singles ranking, no. 3, in 2004, and finishing three seasons within the top 10 (2003–2005). Junior French Open singles champion and Junior Wimbledon doubles champion in 1999, Coria collected nine singles titles on the main tour, among which two ATP Masters Series titles (Hamburg 2003 and Monte Carlo 2004). Two-time quarterfinalist at the US Open (2003, 2005), Coria lost the 2004 French Open final to countryman Gastón Gaudio, despite leading by two sets to love and later holding two match points in the final set. He played his last match in March at a Challenger event in Bangkok.[28] Nicolas Coutelot (born February 9, 1977, in Strasbourg, France) became a professional in 1996, reaching his highest singles ranking, no. 87, in 2002. Coutelot mostly competed on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ITF Men's Circuit, where he played his last match in a Futures tournament in April.[29] Werner Eschauer (born April 26, 1974, in Hollenstein an der Ybbs, Austria) turned professional in 1998, reaching his career-high singles ranking of no. 52 in 2007. Eschauer competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ITF Men's Circuit during his career, playing his last match in a Futures tournament in November.[30]
Luis Horna (born September 14, 1980, in Lima, Peru) came on the tour in 1998, reaching career-high rankings of singles no. 33 in 2004 and doubles no. 16 in 2008. A French Open and Wimbledon Junior doubles champion, Horna took home two singles and six doubles titles on the main circuit, clinching his biggest win at the French Open (2008), which he won with Pablo Cuevas. Horna last competed at the Lima Challenger in November.[31] Thomas Johansson (born March 25, 1975, in Linköping, Sweden) turned professional in 1993 and ranked as high as no. 7 in mid-2002, though he never finished a season in the top 10. Twice a quarterfinalist at the US Open (1998, 2000), once a semifinalist in Wimbledon (2005), Johansson won one Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (2002, def. Safin). Over his career, he collected eight more singles titles, one doubles title, and a silver medal in doubles at the 2008 Olympics. Johansson last competed in the Miami qualifying in March.[32]
Hyung-taik Lee (born January 3, 1976, in Hoengseong, South Korea) joined the tour in 1995, reaching a career-high ranking of no. 36 in 2007. Lee won one singles and one doubles titles on the main circuit, posting his best results on the ATP Challenger Tour where he last played in Seoul in October.[33] Petr Pála (born October 2, 1975, in Prague, Czech Republic, then Czechoslovakia) turned professional in 1993, peaking at the no. 10 doubles spot in 2001. Pála collected seven doubles titles in his career, also finishing runner-up, alongside Pavel Vízner, at the 2001 French Open and the 2001 doubles championships. Pála played his last professional match in Gstaad in July.[34]
Andrei Pavel (born January 27, 1974, in Constanța, Romania) entered the circuit in 1995, reaching the no. 13 in singles in 2004, and in doubles in 2007. A French Open junior champion in 1992, Pavel collected three trophies in singles (including the 2001 Montreal Masters) and five in doubles during his career on the main tour. He last competed in singles and in doubles during the Bucharest tournament in September.[35] Mariano Puerta (born September 19, 1978, in San Francisco, Argentina) turned pro in 1998, reaching a career-high singles ranking of no. 9 in 2005. He won three singles and one doubles titles on the main tour, and reached one Grand Slam final, at the French Open (2005, lost to Nadal). Puerta was sanctioned for doping offenses in 2003 (nine months) and 2005 (eight years, later reduced to two). He came back from suspension in 2007, competing until the Lima Challenger in November.[36] Sergio Roitman (born May 16, 1979, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) became a pro player in 1996, peaking at no. 62 in singles in 2007, and no. 45 in doubles in 2008. Roitman titled twice in doubles on the main circuit, but most of his victories came on the ATP Challenger Tour, where he played his last match at the Guayaquil Challenger in November.[37] Marat Safin (born January 27, 1980, in Moscow, Russia, then USSR) turned professional in 1997, and became the 18th man to lead the ATP rankings as world no. 1 on November 20, 2000, holding the position for nine weeks over three spells. Over his 12-year career, Safin collected 15 singles titles (including five ATP Masters Series shields in Toronto (2000), Madrid (2004) and Paris (2000, 2002, 2004)) and two doubles trophies. A semifinalist at the French Open (2002) and at Wimbledon (2008), Safin won two Grand Slam titles out of four finals, his first coming at the US Open (2000, def. Sampras), his second at the Australian Open (2005, def. Hewitt) after two runner-up finishes in Melbourne (2002, lost to Johansson, 2004, lost to Federer). Three time a Top Ten finisher at the end of the season (2000, 2002, 2004), Safin also contributed to the two first Davis Cup victories for Russia in 2002 and 2006. He retired during the BNP Paribas Masters in November, playing his last match against Juan Martín del Potro before a ceremony was held for him on center court.[38][39] Jim Thomas (born September 24, 1974, in Canton, United States) turned professional in 1996, and peaked at no. 29 doubles ranking in 2006. Thomas won six doubles titles on the main circuit during his career, and last competed in June on the ATP Challenger Tour in Reggia Emilia.[40] Alexander Waske (born May 31, 1975, in Frankfurt, Germany, then West Germany) joined the circuit in 2000, reaching career-high rankings of no. 89 in singles in 2006, and no. 16 in doubles in 2007. Waske won four doubles titles on the main tour, and played his last tournament at the French Open in May.[41] Tomáš Zíb (born January 31, 1976, in Písek, Czech Republic, then Czechoslovakia) joined the circuit in 1995, and reached his best singles ranking, no. 51, in 2005. Also a top-100 player in doubles, Zíb won one doubles title in his career, playing his last tournament in Rome on the ATP Challenger Tour in April.[42]Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
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