Finnish tennis player
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his career. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarterfinals of the 2005 US Open , the 2006 Wimbledon Championships , and the 2008 Australian Open .
Statistically Finland's best player to date, Nieminen is also the first and so far only Finnish player to have won an ATP singles title and to have reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles event. He is also notable for winning the shortest recorded Masters Tour tennis match in Open Era history, defeating Bernard Tomic in just 28 minutes and 20 seconds in the first round of the 2014 Sony Open Tennis .[1] He was ranked inside the Top 75 for 11 times in 14 years (2001 to 2014).[2]
On 23 June 2015, he announced his retirement from professional tennis at the end of the season, playing 2015 Stockholm Open as his last event.
His wife, Anu Nieminen , is Finland's top-ranked badminton women's single player.[2]
On April 2016, it was announced that Nieminen will compete in floorball in season 2016–2017 at Finnish Salibandyliiga representing SC Classic .[3]
Junior career [ edit ]
As a junior Nieminen reached as high as No. 9 in the world in 1999 (and No. 20 in doubles), and won the 1999 Jr US Open .[2]
Career highlights [ edit ]
2001: Breaking the top 100 [ edit ]
2002: Breaking the top 50 [ edit ]
Represented Finland at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens , losing to Max Mirnyi in the second round.
Finished in the top 100 for the fourth consecutive year, despite missing nearly three months due to injury.
Defeated world no. 7 Andre Agassi in a first round five-setter at the 2005 French Open .
Was defeated in five sets by Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals of the 2005 U.S. Open, having become the first Finn to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
2006: First ATP title [ edit ]
2007: 200 wins [ edit ]
Defeated top seed Novak Djokovic in the 2009 Medibank International semifinal, 6–4, 7–6. He lost to David Nalbandian in the final, 4–6, 7–6, 2–6.
Withdrew from the 2009 Australian Open halfway through his first-round clash with 28th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu .
Underwent surgery for a wrist injury and sidelined for three months, thus missing Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Returned to professional tennis at the New Haven tournament in the US in August.
Defeated Frenchman Stéphane Robert in the ATP Challenger tournament final in Jersey, United Kingdom in November.
Defeated Nick Lindahl in the first round of the Australian Open, before losing a tight five-set match to Florent Serra in the second round after having two match points in the fourth set. In the doubles competition, he reached the semifinals with partner Michael Kohlmann , losing to the top seeds Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan .
Reached his first semifinal of the season at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships , beating Paolo Lorenzi , 6–3, 6–4, in the first round, Evgeny Korolev , 5–7, 6–1, 6–0, in the second round, winning 12 consecutive games to close out the match, and finally third seed Benjamin Becker in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he lost against Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, who ended up winning the tournament against Ivo Karlović in the final.
Won his second doubles title with Swede Johan Brunström in Gstaad, Switzerland on clay courts.
Lost to Guillermo García-López in the PTT Thailand Open final, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4.
2011: 300 wins [ edit ]
Reached his 11th career ATP final in Stockholm, losing to Gaël Monfils .
2012: 2nd ATP Title [ edit ]
2015: 400 wins and retirement [ edit ]
At Wimbledon, Nieminen, who had already announced his retirement at the end of the season, played Lleyton Hewitt in the first round, with Hewitt also stating his intention to retire before the 2016 event. Nieminen earned his first win over Hewitt in five gruelling sets. At the US Open, Nieminen faced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round, with Tsonga prevailing in straight sets despite Jarkko's best efforts. Afterwards, he confirmed that this was his last match at a grand slam.
Nieminen played his final ATP match on 20 October at the 2015 Stockholm Open , losing 6–3, 6–7, 4–6 to Nicolas Almagro . Jarkko had match points in the second-set tiebreaker but narrowly missed one and was very unlucky to lose the other. Fellow Scandinavian tennis player Robin Söderling was in attendance to pay tribute to Jarkko and the Finn was visibly moved as he gave his farewell speech.[7] His final official match was against his old friend and rival Roger Federer at the Hartwall Arena, Helsinki on the ninth of November.
2016: Comeback at the Davis Cup [ edit ]
Nieminen came out of retirement in order to play for his country at the Davis Cup against Zimbabwe. He won his singles tie with a so-called triple bagel .[8]
ATP career finals [ edit ]
Singles: 13 (2 titles, 11 runner-ups) [ edit ]
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 (2–11)
Titles by surface
Hard (2–7)
Clay (0–4)
Grass (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (2–6)
Indoor (0–5)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Opponent
Score
Loss
0–1
Oct 2001
Stockholm Open , Sweden
International
Hard (i)
Sjeng Schalken
6–3, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Loss
0–2
Apr 2002
Estoril Open , Portugal
International
Clay
David Nalbandian
4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss
0–3
May 2002
Majorca Open , Spain
International
Clay
Gastón Gaudio
2–6, 3–6
Loss
0–4
May 2003
Bavarian Championships , Germany
International
Clay
Roger Federer
1–6, 4–6
Win
1–4
Jan 2006
Auckland Open , New Zealand
International
Hard
Mario Ančić
6–2, 6–2
Loss
1–5
Oct 2006
Stockholm Open, Sweden
International
Hard (i)
James Blake
4–6, 2–6
Loss
1–6
Oct 2007
Swiss Indoors , Switzerland
International
Hard (i)
Roger Federer
3–6, 4–6
Loss
1–7
Jan 2008
Adelaide International , Australia
International
Hard
Michaël Llodra
3–6, 4–6
Loss
1–8
Jan 2009
Sydney International , Australia
250 Series
Hard
David Nalbandian
3–6, 7–6(11–9) , 2–6
Loss
1–9
Oct 2010
Thailand Open , Thailand
250 Series
Hard (i)
Guillermo García-López
4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss
1–10
Oct 2011
Stockholm Open, Sweden
250 Series
Hard (i)
Gaël Monfils
5–7, 6–3, 2–6
Win
2–10
Jan 2012
Sydney International, Australia
250 Series
Hard
Julien Benneteau
6–2, 7–5
Loss
2–11
May 2013
Düsseldorf Open , Germany
250 Series
Clay
Juan Mónaco
4–6, 3–6
Doubles: 9 (5 titles, 4 runner-ups) [ edit ]
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 (5–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–4)
Clay (4–0)
Grass (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (5–1)
Indoor (0–3)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Loss
0–1
Sep 2003
Thailand Open , Thailand
International
Hard (i)
Andrew Kratzmann
Jonathan Erlich Andy Ram
3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win
1–1
Sep 2007
Mumbai Open , India
International
Hard
Robert Lindstedt
Rohan Bopanna Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
7–6(7–3) , 7–6(7–5)
Loss
1–2
Feb 2009
Pacific Coast Championships , US
250 Series
Hard (i)
Rohan Bopanna
Tommy Haas Radek Štěpánek
2–6, 3–6
Win
2–2
Aug 2010
Swiss Open , Switzerland
250 Series
Clay
Johan Brunström
Marcelo Melo Bruno Soares
6–3, 6–7(4–7) , [11–9]
Loss
2–3
Oct 2010
Stockholm Open , Sweden
250 Series
Hard (i)
Johan Brunström
Eric Butorac Jean-Julien Rojer
3–6, 4–6
Loss
2–4
Jan 2012
Sydney International , Australia
250 Series
Hard
Matthew Ebden
Bob Bryan Mike Bryan
1–6, 4–6
Win
3–4
May 2013
Bavarian Championships , Germany
250 Series
Clay
Dmitry Tursunov
Marcos Baghdatis Eric Butorac
6–1, 6–4
Win
4–4
Aug 2014
Austrian Open Kitzbühel , Austria
250 Series
Clay
Henri Kontinen
Daniele Bracciali Andrey Golubev
6–1, 6–4
Win
5–4
Mar 2015
Argentina Open , Argentina
250 Series
Clay
André Sá
Pablo Andújar Oliver Marach
4–6, 6–4, [10–7]
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals [ edit ]
Singles: 15 (10–5) [ edit ]
Legend (Singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (10–4)
ITF Futures Tour (0–1)
Finals by Surface
Hard (4–2)
Clay (5–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Opponent
Score
Win
1–0
Feb 2001
Wolfsburg , Germany
Challenger
Carpet
Andy Fahlke
3–6, 6–2, 7-5
Loss
1–1
May 2001
Great Britain F5, Newcastle
Futures
Clay
Sebastien de Chaunac
4–6, 2–6
Loss
1–2
May 2001
Budapest , Hungary
Challenger
Clay
Giorgio Galimberti
4–6, 7–5, 1-6
Win
2–2
Jul 2001
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Mattias Hellstrom
6–1, 6-0
Win
3–2
Aug 2001
Cordoba , Spain
Challenger
Hard
Paul-Henri Mathieu
6–4, 2-6, 6-3
Win
4–2
Sep 2001
Maia , Portugsl
Challenger
Clay
Feliciano Lopez
5–7, 6-3, 6-4
Win
5–2
Jul 2002
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Richard Gasquet
7–5, 7-6(7-2)
Win
6–2
Nov 2002
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Lovro Zovko
7–5, 4-6, 7-5
Win
7–2
Jun 2005
Prostejov , Czech Republic
Challenger
Clay
Ivo Minar
6–1, 6-3
Win
8–2
Nov 2009
Jersey, Great Britain
Challenger
Hard
Stephane Robert
4–6, 6-1, 7-5
Loss
8–3
Dec 2009
Salzburg , Austria
Challenger
Hard
Michael Berrer
7–6(7-4) , 4-6, 4-6
Win
9–3
Mar 2010
Marrakesh , Morocco
Challenger
Clay
Alexandr Dolgopolov
6–3, 6-2
Loss
9–4
Nov 2012
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Lukas Lacko
3-6, 4-6
Win
10–4
Nov 2013
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Ricardas Berankis
6-3, 6-1
Loss
10–5
Jul 2014
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
David Goffin
6-7(3-7) , 3-6
Doubles: 14 (6–8) [ edit ]
Legend (Doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (4–6)
ITF Futures Tour (2–2)
Finals by Surface
Hard (2–3)
Clay (3–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–2)
Result
W–L
Date
Tournament
Tier
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Loss
0–1
Jul 1999
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Timo Nieminen
Petr Dezort Radomir Vasek
1–6, 1–6
Win
1–1
Mar 2000
Japan F2, Shirako
Futures
Carpet
Scott Barron
Mitsura Takada Akira Matsushita
6–3, 6–3
Win
2–1
May 2000
Austria F2, Telfs
Futures
Clay
Scott Barron
Stefan Leiner Patrick Sommer
7–6(7-2) , 6–1
Loss
2–2
Jun 2000
Ireland F1, Dublin
Futures
Carpet
Kristian Pless
Gilles Elseneer Jean-Michel Pequery
6–7(2-7) , 6–4, 3-6
Win
3–2
Jul 2000
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Ville Liukko
Steven Randjelovic Dusan Vemic
6–0, 4–6, 6-3
Loss
3–3
Oct 2000
Finland F2, Helsinki
Futures
Carpet
Tero Vilen
Karol Beck Igor Zelenay
2–6, 4–6
Loss
3–4
Jul 2001
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Tuomas Ketola
Stephen Huss Lee Pearson
5–7, 7–6(7-5) , 4-6
Win
4–4
Sep 2001
Budapest , Hungary
Challenger
Clay
Oliver Marach
Yuriy Schukin Orest Tereshchuk
6–2, 6-2
Loss
4–5
Jul 2002
Tampere , Finland
Challenger
Clay
Tuomas Ketola
Doug Bohaboy Nick Rainey
4–6, 2–6
Loss
4–6
Nov 2009
Jersey, United Kingdom
Challenger
Hard
Henri Kontinen
Frederik Nielsen Joseph Sirianni
5–7, 6–3, [2-10]
Loss
4–7
Nov 2009
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Henri Kontinen
Rohan Bopanna Aisam Qureshi
2–6, 6–7(7-9)
Loss
4–8
Nov 2010
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Henri Kontinen
Dustin Brown Martin Emmrich
6–7(17-19) , 6–0, [7–10]
Win
5–8
Nov 2013
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Henri Kontinen
Dustin Brown Philipp Marx
7–5, 5–7, [10–5]
Win
6–8
Nov 2014
Helsinki , Finland
Challenger
Hard
Henri Kontinen
Jonathan Marray Philipp Petzschner
7–6(7–2) , 6–4
Junior Grand Slam finals [ edit ]
Singles: 1 (1 title) [ edit ]
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up) [ edit ]
Performance timelines [ edit ]
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
A
NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Singles [ edit ]
Doubles [ edit ]
Top 10 wins [ edit ]
Season
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Total
Wins
0
0
1
2
1
1
0
2
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
11
#
Player
Rank
Event
Surface
Rd
Score
2002
1.
Marat Safin
7
Estoril , Portugal
Clay
QF
4–6, 7–5, 6–3
2003
2.
Paradorn Srichaphan
10
Rome , Italy
Clay
1R
6–1, 6–2
3.
Carlos Moyá
6
Bangkok , Thailand
Hard (i)
QF
6–7(5–7) , 6–4, 6–4
2004
4.
David Nalbandian
8
Dubai , United Arab Emirates
Hard
1R
6–3, 6–4
2005
5.
Andre Agassi
7
French Open , Paris, France
Clay
1R
7–5, 4–6, 6–7(6–8) , 6–1, 6–0
2007
6.
Tommy Robredo
7
Cincinnati , United States
Hard
2R
6–4, 6–1
7.
Fernando González
8
Basel , Switzerland
Hard (i)
QF
6–3, 7–5
2009
8.
Novak Djokovic
3
Sydney , Australia
Hard
SF
6–4, 7–6(7–3)
2010
9.
Tomáš Berdych
6
Stockholm , Sweden
Hard (i)
2R
6–1, 6–4
2011
10.
David Ferrer
6
Rotterdam , Netherlands
Hard (i)
1R
6–3, 6–4
2013
11.
Juan Martín del Potro
7
Monte Carlo , Monaco
Clay
3R
6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–4)
Records [ edit ]
These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
Tournament
Year
Record accomplished
Player tied
Sony Open Tennis
2014
Won the shortest recorded tennis match in Open Era history (28m20s)[5] [6]
Stands alone
References [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]