Wayne Arthurs (tennis)
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| Country |  Australia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Melbourne, Australia |
| Born | 18 March 1971 Adelaide, Australia |
| Height | 6'3" (190 cm) |
| Weight | 177 lb (80 kg) |
| Turned pro | 1990 |
| Retired | 2007 |
| Plays | Left-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | $3,565,838 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 131–158 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour level, and Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | 44 (9 July 2001) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | 3rd (2001,2007) |
| French Open | 4th (2001) |
| Wimbledon | 4th (1999, 2002) |
| US Open | 4th (2000) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 310–249 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour level, and Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 12 |
| Highest ranking | 11 (3 November 2003) |
Wayne Arthurs (born 18 March 1971 in Adelaide, Australia) is a retired Australian professional tennis player.
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[edit] Career
His serve was his strongest weapon by far, and had been referred to as the "best in the world" by several of his fellow players, including Jim Courier [1], Andre Agassi [2] and Thomas Johansson [3]. He consistently had one of the highest ace counts on the ATP Tour and favors a serve-and-volley style of play. Because of this, his game is best suited to fast surfaces.
A doubles specialist, Arthurs has won 12 ATP doubles titles in his career. In February 2005 he achieved a belated breakthrough in singles by winning the ATP event in Scottsdale, United States, the Tennis Channel Open, in straight sets over Croat Mario Ančić. No other player in history has won his first ATP singles title at such an advanced age (Arthurs was almost 34 at the time). He also was a runner-up there for doubles with Paul Hanley, and lost to American team Bob and Mike Bryan. He is an Australian hero when it comes to Davis Cup, winning countless doubles rubbers for Australia. Throughout his singles career Arthurs experienced victory over no fewer than six players to reach the number 1 world ranking: Pete Sampras, Marat Safin, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Patrick Rafter, Andy Roddick and Gustavo Kuerten. [4]
In his last ever Australian Open match the Aussie retired just three games into his third-round match against American Mardy Fish due to a rare reaction to a local anesthetic. In practice that morning he tried out a short-term local anesthetic that worked well against his sore hip. Just before the match began, he took another shot that was supposed to last for the duration of the match. The stronger dose deadened his leg and he could not coordinate his movements. He refused to blame his doctors who said that this adverse reaction happens to about 1 in 1000 patients. Arthurs became emotional during the match once he realized he couldn't compete. After the in-between-game break, down 3–0 he waved to the crowd who thanked him for an outstanding career. It was the last Australian Open match of his career. At the time, he was the oldest participant in the Australian Open.
Arthurs played his final tournament at Wimbledon in 2007. He managed to win qualifying matches to advance to the main draw of the major tournament. In the first round he came back from two sets down to finally win in five sets against Dutch teenager Thiemo de Bakker. In the second round Arthurs caused a major boilover by defeating the 11th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo in straight sets. Arthurs was defeated in the third round by 19th seed Jonas Björkman in straight sets.
On 30 August 2000, Arthurs was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his strong commitment to tennis.[5]
[edit] Singles wins (1)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 28 February 2005 | Scottsdale, United States | Hard |  Mario Ančić |
7–5, 6–3 |
[edit] Major tournament singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 9 |
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 7 |
| Wimbledon | A | 4R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 9 |
| U.S. Open | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 8 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 33 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Arthurs a legitimate cup No. 2 - Tennis". www.theage.com.au. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Tennis/Arthurs-a-legitimate-cup-No-2/2005/02/28/1109546796818.html. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ Clarey, Christopher (2002-05-30). "FRENCH OPEN TENNIS - Ferrero's hope fades before match begins - NYTimes.com". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2002/05/30/tennis_ed3__11.php. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Tennis - ATP World Tour - Tennis Players – Wayne Arthurs". ATP World Tour. http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Ar/W/Wayne-Arthurs.aspx?t=pa&y=0&m=s&e=0. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
- ^ "Wayne Arthurs". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=977239&search_type=advanced&showInd=true. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
[edit] External links
- Wayne Arthurs at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Wayne Arthurs at the Davis Cup
- Arthurs Recent Match Results
- Arthurs World Ranking History
- 1971 births
- Living people
- Australian male tennis players
- Hopman Cup competitors
- Olympic tennis players of Australia
- Sportspeople from Adelaide
- Sportspeople from Melbourne
- Tennis people from South Australia
- Tennis people from Victoria (Australia)
- Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
