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Greg Rusedski

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Greg Rusedski
Country (sports) United Kingdom
ResidenceLondon, England
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Turned pro1991
RetiredApril 7, 2007
PlaysLeft-handed; one-handed backhand
Prize moneyUS$8,944,841
Singles
Career record436–287
Career titles15
Highest ranking4 (6 October 1997)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2001)
French Open4R (1999)
WimbledonQF (1997)
US OpenF (1997)
Doubles
Career record62–53
Career titles3
Highest ranking63 (19 June 1995)
Last updated on: 7 April 2007.

Gregory "Greg" Rusedski (born 6 September 1973, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a former British Canadian tennis player who turned professional in 1991, and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33.

Rusedski was born in Canada to a British mother and a German-born father of Polish-Ukrainian descent[1]. He was a very promising junior player in Canada in the 1980s and subsequently caused some anger in Canada when he decided to adopt British citizenship and play for Britain in 1995.[2] Rusedski's highest ranking on the ATP was World No. 4.

Career

Rusedski's first career singles tournament title was at the Hall of Fame Championship in Newport, Rhode Island in 1993.

Rusedski reached the singles final of the U.S. Open in 1997, where he lost to Pat Rafter in four sets, (shortly thereafter reaching his career high rank of World No. 4). He also won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Throughout the very successful 1997/8 period he was coached by Tony Pickard.

In 1998, Tim Henman eclipsed Rusedski as Britain's number one tennis player. Rusedski, however, won the Grand Slam Cup in 1999.

Rusedski was defeated in the second round of Wimbledon in 2005 by Joachim Johansson of Sweden 7–6(10), 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(5). Following that disappointment, Rusedski had a successful July. He successfully defended his title at the Hall of Fame Championship, defeating Vince Spadea in the final. This was the first time he had successfully defended a title and the third time he had won the championship. He then reached the semifinals at both the RCA Championships in Indianapolis, losing to Taylor Dent, and the Canada Masters tournament in Montreal, losing to Andre Agassi.

Towards the end of 2005, Rusedski's ranking had risen to the high thirties. A poor end to the year by Henman almost allowed Rusedski to overtake him as British number one again. But a defeat for Rusedski in the first round of the Challenger Event in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, left him ranked 38th, just one place short of regaining the British top spot. Rusedski finally reclaimed the British number one spot on 15 May 2006, overtaking Andy Murray by getting to the third round of the Rome Masters Event. But Rusedski lost the top British ranking after a first round exit at Wimbledon.

On 7 April 2007, Rusedski officially retired from tennis after partnering Jamie Murray to a doubles victory over the Netherlands in a Davis Cup match, a result which gave Great Britain a winning 3–0 lead in the tie. He announced his retirement immediately after the win, during a live interview with Sue Barker on BBC Television.[3] Rusdeski plans to stay involved with professional tennis in his retirement, and has expressed an interest in working with the Davis Cup team and British junior players.[4] Rusedski held the record for fastest serve at 149 miles per hour until Andy Roddick broke it.[5]

Rusedski vs. Henman

Rusedski has often been overshadowed in the press by the more popular Henman, especially at Wimbledon.[6] It is arguable who had the better playing career. Rusedski won more singles titles than compatriot Henman, with 15 singles titles compared to Henman's 11. Rusedski also reached the final of the US Open in 1997 while Henman never made it past the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament. However, Henman reached six Grand Slam semi-finals and an additional four quarter-finals, whereas Rusedski reached just two Grand Slam quarter-finals in total - his US Open final performance, and at Wimbledon (also in 1997), a venue where he consistently under-performed. Neither Rusedski nor Henman ever reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Henman reached the semifinals of the French Open while Rusedski never made it past the fourth round at that tournament.

Rusedski's Davis Cup singles record was also considerably poorer than Henman. In Great Britain's two key Davis Cup ties in the World Group knockout stage, Rusedski lost all four singles rubbers, despite home advantage (against the USA in 1999 and Sweden in 2002).

Henman is exactly one year younger than Rusedski.

Controversies

Rusedski's career has featured some controversies. His temper has got him into trouble on several occasions. For example, at the 1999 U.S. Open, Rusedski's temper caused him to squander a lead against Todd Martin and lose the fourth round match; notable about that match was Rusedski losing 14-plus consecutive points during the fifth set.[7] Rusedski had made derogatory comments about Henman after a loss to his fellow Briton during the 2002 season.[citation needed] In the 2002 U.S. Open of that year, after being dispatched by Pete Sampras in the fourth round after a gruelling 5-set match, Rusedski made unsportsmanlike comments, calling Sampras "a half-step slow", and predicted that Sampras would lose his quarterfinal to young German star Tommy Haas.[8] Sampras however went on to win the tournament. In the 2003 Wimbledon tournament, Rusedski swore at the umpire in the second round after not being allowed to replay a point after fan interference, losing his temper and ultimately losing the match to Andy Roddick, 7–6, 7–6, 7–5.[9][10]

Rusedski was plagued by injuries in the last few seasons of his career. He also tested positive for nandrolone in January 2004, but was cleared of the charges in a hearing on 10 March 2004.[11][12]

On 25 January 2009, Rusedski announced a shock return to professional tennis. However he has been denied an opportunity to compete in his much loved Davis Cup.[13][14][15] Because of this, Rusedski quickly retracted his announcement and to date is still retired.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (0-1)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1997 US Open Hard Australia Patrick Rafter 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5

Masters Series finals

Singles: 2 (1-1)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1998 Indian Wells Hard Chile Marcelo Ríos 6–3, 6–7(15), 7–6(4), 6–4
Winner 1998 Paris Carpet United States Pete Sampras 6–3, 7–6, 6–4

Career finals

Singles: 27 (15-12)

Wins (15)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
1. July 1993 Newport, USA Grass Argentina Javier Frana 7–5, 6–7, 7–6
2. April 1995 Seoul, South Korea Hard Germany Lars Rehmann 6–4, 3–1
3. Oct 1996 Beijing, China Hard Czech Republic Martin Damm 7–6, 6–4
4. June 1997 Nottingham, UK Grass Slovakia Karol Kučera 6–4, 7–5
5. Oct 1997 Basel, Switzerland Carpet Australia Mark Philippoussis 6–3, 7–6, 7–6
6. Feb 1998 Antwerp, Belgium Hard Switzerland Marc Rosset 7–6, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4
7. Oct 1998 Paris, France Hard (i) United States Pete Sampras 6–4, 7–6, 6–3
8. Sep 1999 Grand Slam Cup, Munich, Germany Carpet Germany Tommy Haas 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6
9. Oct 1999 Vienna, Austria Carpet Germany Nicolas Kiefer 6–7, 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
10. Feb 2001 San José, USA Hard United States Andre Agassi 6–3, 6–4
11. Jan 2002 Auckland, New Zealand Hard France Jérôme Golmard 6–7, 6–4, 7–5
12. Aug 2002 Indianapolis, USA Hard Spain Félix Mantilla 6–7, 6–4, 6–4
13. June 2003 Nottingham, UK Grass United States Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–2
14 July 2004 Newport, USA Grass Germany Alexander Popp 7–6, 7–6
15. July 2005 Newport, USA Grass United States Vincent Spadea 7–6, 2–6, 6–4
Runner-ups (12)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
1. 25 October 1993 Beijing, China Carpet United States Michael Chang 7–6, 6–7, 6–4
2. 22 May 1995 Coral Springs, USA Clay Australia Todd Woodbridge 6–4, 6–2
3. 3 February 1997 Zagreb, Croatia Carpet Croatia Goran Ivanišević 7–6, 4–6, 7–6
4. 17 February 1997 San Jose, USA Hard (i) United States Pete Sampras 3–6, 5–0, ret.
5. 8 September 1997 US Open, New York City, USA Hard Australia Patrick Rafter 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5
6. 13 October 1997 Vienna, Austria Carpet Croatia Goran Ivanišević 3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 6–2, 6–3
7. 9 February 1998 Split, Croatia Carpet Croatia Goran Ivanišević 7–6, 7–6
8. 16 March 1998 Indian Wells, USA Hard Chile Marcelo Ríos 6–3, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4
9. 5 October 1998 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Netherlands Jan Siemerink 6–4, 6–4
10. 1 March 1999 London, UK Carpet Netherlands Richard Krajicek 7–6, 6–7, 7–5
11. 30 August 1999 Boston, USA Hard Russia Marat Safin 6–4, 7–6
12. 18 October 2004 Moscow, Russia Carpet Russia Nikolay Davydenko 3–6, 6–3, 7–5

Doubles: 4 (2-2)

Wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
1. 1996 Bournemouth, UK Hard Germany Marc-Kevin Goellner France Rodolphe Gilbert
Portugal Nuno Marques 		6–3 7–6
2. 1999 London, UK Carpet United Kingdom Tim Henman Zimbabwe Byron Black
South Africa Wayne Ferreira 		6–3 7–6

Doubles (2)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993
Australian Open - 2R 1R - 3R 4R - 2R 3R 1R 1R 3R 1R -
French Open 1R 1R 1R 1R - 2R 1R 4R 1R 1R 2R - 3R -
Wimbledon 1R 2R 2R 2R 4R 4R 1R 4R 1R QF 2R 4R 2R 1R
US Open 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R 3R 2R 4R 3R F 1R 1R 1R -

Media career

Rusedski has written a column for tabloid newspaper The Sun. He has also worked for the television channel British Eurosport, providing analysis during the station's coverage of the Australian Open in 2003 and 2007 and of the 2007 French Open. During the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Rusedski was both a commentator and an analyst for the BBC. He also has done some acting, appearing in an episode of Miss Marple as a tennis star. In 2008, he has appeared as a contestant on the reality TV shows Dancing On Ice and Beat the Star. Sky Sports contracted him to provide analysis for the 2008 US Open alongside former British tennis player Annabel Croft.

Personal life

Rusedski has been with partner Lucy Connor for 15 years; they married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at Douai Abbey in West Berkshire in 1999. They have a daughter, Scarlett Mary (born 27 January 2006, Kensington and Chelsea, London)[16], and a son, John James, born 1 October 2009.[17]

References

  1. ^ Sport's League of Nations
  2. ^ Ames' victory at the Players Championship didn't ignite any sense of patriotism
  3. ^ "Rusedski retires after GB victory". BBC News Online. 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
  4. ^ "Rusedski wants role in GB tennis". BBC News Online. 2007-04-08. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  5. ^ "Roddick clocks record 150-mph serves". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  6. ^ Greg Rusedski profile
  7. ^ Flushing Meadows men's memories
  8. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jan/09/uknews4.mainsection3
  9. ^ Roddick ends Rusedski dream
  10. ^ Rusedski fined for outburst
  11. ^ Rusedski fails drugs test
  12. ^ Rusedski cleared
  13. ^ John Lloyd snubs Greg Rusedski return
  14. ^ Rusedski comeback on ice as he struggles for wildcards
  15. ^ Rusedski plans surprise comeback
  16. ^ Marriages and Births England and Wales 1984-2006
  17. ^ http://www.confetti.co.uk/article/view/13773-8352-0-Greg_Rusedski_in_second_baby_joy_Christenings_Baby.do
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