Sam Groth
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Country (sports) | ![]() |
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Residence | Narrandera, New South Wales |
Born | Narrandera, New South Wales | 19 October 1987
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
Turned pro | 2006 |
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Prize money | $782,740 |
Singles | |
Career record | 13–19 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour level, and Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 75 (10 November 2014) |
Current ranking | No. 81 (24 November 2014) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2009, 2014) |
French Open | Q3 (2014) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2014) |
US Open | 2R (2014) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 30–21 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour level, and Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 31 (20 October 2014) |
Current ranking | No. 31 (17 November 2014) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2011, 2013) |
French Open | SF (2014) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2013) |
US Open | 2R (2014) |
Last updated on: 20 November 2014. |
Samuel "Sam" Groth (born 19 October 1987) is a professional Australian tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is World No. 75, which he reached in November 2014. His career high in doubles was World No. 31, in October 2014. Groth's best singles result to date is a semi-final appearance at the 2014 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. He is best known for hitting the fastest serve on record at 163.4 mph (263 km/h) in 2012 at the ATP Challenger in Busan. Association of Tennis Professionals does not formally recognise this serve speed record: Ivo Karlovic still holds the official record for the fastest serve of 251 km/h (156 mph).
Tennis career
Groth and Andrew Kennaugh of Great Britain lost in the finals of the 2005 Wimbledon boys' doubles championship to Jesse Levine and Michael Shabaz 6–4, 6–1.[1]
Groth beat Mark Philippoussis in a 2007 match; Philippoussis has focused on the seniors tour since then. Groth qualified for the ATP event in Nottingham where he defeated Britain's Jamie Baker 7–6, 6–3 in the first round. He played well, but lost his second round match to seeded Gilles Simon 7–6, 4–6, 4–6.
Helped by a large frame (6 foot 4, 215 lbs), he holds the record for the 2009 Australian Open for the fastest serve by a male individual (232 km/h). He lost in the qualification to Wimbledon 2009 to Jesse Levine 4-6, 7-6, 5-7.[1]
In 2012, in an ATP Challenger in Busan, Groth hit the fastest serve on record at 163.4 mph (263 km/h) which was an ace, but Groth still lost to Uladzimir Ignatik - 4-6, 3-6.[2]
In November 2013, made the final of the Champaign Challenger, eventually losing in 3 tight sets to Tennys Sandgren 6-3, 3-6, 6-7. However, by reaching the final there, and the semi final of Toyota Challenger the following week, his ranking improved to a career high of #173.
In 2014, Groth was awarded a wild card into the main draw at the Brisbane International where he made the quarter finals. This is his first ATP World Tour quarter final appearance.
On January 8, Groth was awarded a wild card into the 2014 Australian Open [3] but lost in round one to 28th seed, Vasek Pospisil in straight sets.
In March, Groth qualified for Indian Wells Masters but lost in round 1 to Mikhail Kukushkin, 4-7 in the third set tie-break.
On the 17th of March, Groth entered and won the Rimouski Challenger in Canada. This was his first Challenger tour title. Two weeks later, he made the final of the León Challenger, but lost to #1 seed, Rajeev Ram. This gave him a new career high ranking of 136.
At the 2014 French Open, Groth made it to the last round of qualifying, but lost to Simone Bolelli 4-6, 2-6. This was his best French Open result to date. He partnered Andrey Golubev in the Men's doubles where they made it to the semi final. This increased his doubles ranking to a career high of #41. In June, Groth made the final of the 2014 Aegon Nottingham Challenge but lost to compatriot Nick Kyrgios 6-7, 6-7. Groth made his WImbledon debut after winning his way through qualifying, but lost in round 1 to Alexandr Dolgopolov in three sets. In July. Groth entered the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships where he reached his maiden ATP semi-final, defeating defending champion Nicholas Mahut in the quarter finals. This achievemant broke him into the top 100 rankings for the first time.[4]
In August, Groth won his first Grand Slam match, defeating Albert Ramos-Viñolas 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the 2014 US Open. In the second round, he was defeated by Roger Federer in straight sets 4-6, 4-6, 4-6.
Australian football
Groth was a member of Vermont Football Club reserve squad during a hiatus from tennis in 2011.[5]
Personal
From 2009 to 2011, Groth was married to Jarmila Gajdošová who competed under the name Jarmila Groth during this time.[6]
ATP career finals
Doubles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)
Legend |
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Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) |
Year-End Championships (0–0) |
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) |
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) |
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–2) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 20 July 2014 | Claro Open Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia | Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
7–6(7–5), 6–7(3–7), [11–9] |
Runner-up | 1. | 3 August 2014 | Citi Open, Washington DC., United States | Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
5–7, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 27 September 2014 | Shenzhen Open, Shenzhen, China | Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
Runner-up | 4. | 19 October 2014 | Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia | Hard (i) | ![]() |
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6–7(2–7), 5–7 |
Tour titles
Legend (Singles) |
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Grand Slam (0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
ATP Masters Series (0) |
ATP Tour (0) |
Challengers (1) |
Futures (7) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 5 April 2009 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
6–2, 3–0 ret |
2. | 3 October 2010 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
6–3, 6–1 |
3. | 10 October 2010 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 6–2 |
4. | 5 December 2010 | ![]() |
Plexicushion | ![]() |
7–6(9–7), 6–4 |
5. | 25 March 2012 | ![]() |
Clay | ![]() |
5–7, 6–3, 6–2 |
6. | 20 May 2012 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
6–7, 6–4, 6–1 |
7. | 24 February 2013 | ![]() |
Grass | ![]() |
6-1, 6-4 |
8. | 24 March 2014 | ![]() |
Hard | ![]() |
7-6(7–3), 6-2 |
Grand Slam Singles performance timeline
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Current till 2014 US Open.
Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | W–L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | Q2 | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | A | Q1 | 1R | 0–2 |
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q3 | 0–0 |
Wimbledon | A | Q1 | A | A | A | Q2 | 1R | 0–1 |
US Open | Q2 | Q1 | A | A | A | Q1 | 2R | 1–1 |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 |
Grand Slam Doubles performance timeline
Current till 2014 US Open.
Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | W–L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 2–6 |
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 4–1 |
Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1–2 |
US Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 0–0 |
Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 7–9 |
References
- ^ "University of Miami Online High School Student Wins Junior Doubles at Wimbledon," ereleases.com, 12 July 2005, Retrieved 15 July 2009
- ^ "Aussie smashes tennis serve speed record". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-08/eight-aussie-wildcards-announced-for-australian-open/5190168
- ^ "GROTH UPSETS DEFENDING CHAMPION IN NEWPORT, MEETS KARLOVIC IN SFS". ATP World Tour. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- ^ "Solid Groth's back on the ball". 21 May 2013.
- ^ "Gajdosova flying the flag for Australia". 3 January 2009.