Michael Russell (tennis)

Michael Russell

Country	United States
Residence	Houston, Texas, USA
Born	(1978-05-01) May 1, 1978 Detroit, Michigan, USA
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg)
Turned pro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,650,913
Singles
Career record	58–117 (June 27, 2012)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 60 (August 13, 2007)
Current ranking	No. 72 (February 25, 2013)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2008, 2011)
French Open	4R (2001)
Wimbledon	2R (2010, 2012)
US Open	1R (1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Doubles
Career record	15–34
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 164 (June 11, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 185
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open	1R (2012)

Michael Craig Russell is an American tennis player. He reached a career high ranking of 60 in August 2007 and is best known for, on two occasions, holding surprise two-set leads in Grand Slam tournaments against former Grand Slam champions before eventually being defeated both times. In the fourth round of the 2001 French Open (his best run at a Grand Slam tournament) against defending and eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten, Russell led two sets to love and 5–3 in the third set, also missing a match point. In the 2007 Australian Open, he held a two sets to love lead over former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt before succumbing in five sets. Other career highlights include a fourth round showing at the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, semifinal appearance at the 2012 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships and wins against Mardy Fish and Thomas Berdych.

Personal life

Both his mother and father are tennis coaches.

Career

2007–present

In the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, he made it to the final 16 players in a 96-player field, after upsetting 11th seed – and 12th-ranked – Tomáš Berdych in round 2.

Russell made his first ATP semi-final at the 2012 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Singles in Houston, Texas. He came through qualifying and beat top seed, world no. 9 and compatriot Mardy Fish in straight sets on his way to a three set loss to Juan Mónaco. The win against Fish was his first over a top 10 player.

Russell, as a Lucky Loser, made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, losing to Denis Istomin in straight sets.

Playing style

Russell is a defensive counter-puncher, known for his footspeed and consistency. John McEnroe described him as a particularly dogged competitor, saying that "no one's going to try harder on a tennis court than Michael Russell".

ATP career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0) ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)

Titles by Surface Hard (0–1) Clay (0–0) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	22 July 2012	Atlanta, US	Hard	Xavier Malisse	Matthew Ebden Ryan Harrison	3–6, 6–3, [6–10]

Challenger and Future titles (20)

Challengers (12)

Futures (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	May 17, 1999	Vero Beach, Florida	Clay	Irakli Labadze	7–6, 6–3
2.	May 31, 1999	Weston, Florida	Clay	Hugo Armando	6–3, 6–2
3.	January 31, 2000	Amarillo, Texas	Hard(i)	Stefano Pescosolido	7–5, 6–2
4.	May 31, 1999	Mobile, Arizona	Hard	Martin Verkerk	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
5.	June 21, 2004	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Domenic Marafiote	6–3, 6–3
6.	June 28, 2004	Buffalo, New York	Clay	Jorge Aguilar	6–3, 6–0
7.	July 5, 2004	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Clay	Kean Feeder	6–1, 6–0
8.	July 12, 2004	Granby, Quebec	Hard	Davide Sanguinetti	6–3, 6–2
9	October 17, 2005	Arlington, Texas	Hard	Benedikt Dorsch	6–1, 6–3
10.	November 28, 2005	Orlando, Florida	Hard	Todd Widom	6–4, 6–2
11	February 20, 2006	Brownsville, Texas	Hard	Brendan Evans	6–2, 6–1
12.	August 14, 2006	Bronx, New York	Hard	Paul Capdeville	6–0, 6–2
13.	November 27, 2006	Maui, Hawaii	Hard	Sam Warburg	6–1, 6–0
14.	January 1, 2007	Nouméa, New Caledonia	Hard	David Guez	6–0, 6–1
15.	January 22, 2007	Waikoloa, Hawaii	Hard	Jamie Baker	6–1, 7–5
16.	February 12, 2007	Joplin, Missouri	Hard(i)	Frédéric Niemeyer	6–4, 6–1
17.	May 3, 2009	Carson, California	Clay	Michael Yani	6–1, 6–1
18.	November 21, 2009	Champaign, Illinois	Hard(i)	Taylor Dent	7–5, 6–4
19.	January 31, 2010	Honolulu, Hawaii	Hard(i)	Grega Žemlja	6–0, 6–3
20.	November 11, 2012	Knoxville, Tennessee	Hard	Bobby Reynolds	6–3, 6–2

Singles performance timeline

Tournament	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	A	1R	1R	A	A	A	A	1R	2R	A	1R	2R	1R	1R	2–8
French Open	A	A	A	4R	1R	A	A	A	A	1R	A	Q1	1R	1R	Q2		3–5
Wimbledon	A	A	1R	A	1R	A	A	A	A	1R	A	A	2R	1R	2R		2–6
US Open	1R	A	1R	1R	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	A	Q2	1R	1R	1R		0–8
Win–Loss	0–1	0–0	0–2	3–3	0–3	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–4	1–1	0–0	1–4	1–4	1–3	0–1	7–27
Career Statistics
Titles–Finals	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	0–0	0–0	0–0
Year End Ranking	288	232	155	87	157	502	250	256	144	82	242	83	99	99	87

Doubles performance timeline

Tournament	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open													1R				0–1
French Open										1R			1R	1R	1R		0–4
Wimbledon										1R				2R	1R		1–3
US Open	1R			1R									1R	1R	1R		0–5
Win–Loss	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–2	0–0	0–0	0–3	1–3	0–3	0–0	1–13

External links

• Michael Russell at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Russell Recent Match Results
• Russell World Ranking History