Greg Rusedski

Gregory Rusedski (born 6 September 1973) is a British and Canadian former tennis player. He was the British No. 1 in 1997, 1999 and 2006, and reached the ATP ranking of world No. 4 for periods from 6 October 1997 to 12 October 1997 and from 25 May 1998 to 21 June 1998.[2]

Greg Rusedski
Rusedski in 2014
Country (sports) Great Britain (from 1995)
Canada (1991–95)[1]
ResidenceLondon, England
Born (1973-09-06) 6 September 1973
Montreal, Canada
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro1991
Retired7 April 2007
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$8,944,841
Singles
Career record436–287 (60.3%)
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 4 (6 October 1997)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open4R (2001)
French Open4R (1999)
WimbledonQF (1997)
US OpenF (1997)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1997, 1998)
Grand Slam CupW (1999)
Olympic Games3R (1996)
Doubles
Career record62–53
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 63 (19 June 1995)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open2R (1995)
French Open1R (2006)
Wimbledon2R (1994)
US Open2R (1994)
Team competitions
Davis CupWorld Group 1R (1999, 2002)

In 1997, he was the US Open finalist, which led to him receiving the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and the ITV Sports Champion of the Year Award. Also, he scored 30 wins and 13 losses with the Great Britain Davis Cup team.

Personal life

Rusedski was born in Montreal, Quebec to an English mother and a father of Polish and Ukrainian descent.[3] 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 Great Britain in 1995.[4]

Rusedski has been with his wife Lucy Connor since 1991, they met while he was competing in a junior tournament where she was a ball girl.[5] They married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at Douai Abbey in West Berkshire in December 1999.[6] They have two children: a daughter born in 2006[7] and a son born in 2009.[8]

Career
Rusedski at the 2004 US Open

Rusedski's first career singles tournament title was at the Hall of Fame Championship in Newport, Rhode Island in 1993. He opted to compete for the United Kingdom rather than Canada from June 1995 onwards, a decision which was received poorly by Canadian fans; it was reported that he was given a "traitor's reception" by the crowd when he competed in his first Canadian Open after the switch.[9]

Rusedski reached the singles final of the US 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 and the ITV Sports Champion of the Year Award. In 1998, Tim Henman eclipsed Rusedski as the UK number one tennis player. Rusedski, however, won the Grand Slam Cup in 1999.

In the 2002 US Open, after losing to Pete Sampras in the third round in a grueling five-set match, Rusedski described Sampras as "a half-step slow" and predicted that Sampras would lose his fourth-round match to young German star Tommy Haas.[10] Sampras, however, went on to win the tournament.

At Wimbledon in 2003, Rusedski was playing in a second-round match against Andy Roddick. Roddick had won the first two sets, but Rusedski was 5–2 up in the third set. During a point on Roddick's service game, a member of the crowd loudly called one of Roddick's shots long, causing Rusedski to stop playing the point as he believed it was a line judge. The umpire ruled that the ball was good and that, as Roddick's next shot landed in court, Roddick was awarded the point. Rusedski, believing the point should have been replayed, launched into a long and expletive-riddled tirade at the umpire and, never regaining his composure, went on to lose the next five games without reply to concede the match. Rusedski apologized after the match, and Roddick reached the semifinals.[11][12]

Rusedski tested positive for nandrolone in January 2004, but was cleared of the charges in a hearing on 10 March 2004.[13][14]

Rusedski was defeated in the second round of Wimbledon in 2005 by Joachim Johansson of Sweden. Later that year, he 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 UK No. 1 again. However, 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 UK top spot. Rusedski finally reclaimed the UK number-one spot on 15 May 2006, overtaking Andy Murray by getting to the third round of the Rome Masters. He lost the top UK ranking again after a first-round exit at Wimbledon.

On 7 April 2007, Rusedski officially retired from tennis after partnering with 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.[15] Rusedski has stayed involved with professional tennis in his retirement, and currently works for the Lawn Tennis Association as a talent and performance ambassador.[16] Rusedski held the record for fastest serve at 149 miles per hour until Andy Roddick broke it.[17][18]

On 24 January 2009, Rusedski confirmed he had been seeking a return to professional tennis. However, Davis Cup captain John Lloyd turned down his offer to compete in the Davis Cup, and Rusedski was unable to obtain any wild-card tournament entries.[19][20][21][22] Because of this, Rusedski quickly retracted his announcement and is still retired.

Rusedski vs. Henman

Rusedski was often overshadowed in the British press by Henman, especially at Wimbledon.[23] They were generally closely matched over their careers; both reached a highest world ranking of 4. Rusedski won 15 singles titles compared to Henman's eleven, and also reached the final of the US Open in 1997, whereas Henman never made it past the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. However, Henman reached six Grand Slam semifinals and an additional four quarterfinals, whereas Rusedski reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals in total: at the US Open where he reached the final, and at Wimbledon the same year. 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.

His Davis Cup singles record was considerably poorer than Henman's. 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). However, as a doubles partnership, Rusedski and Henman won several Davis Cup matches, as well as other tournaments.

Rusedski's final match at a Grand Slam was against Henman, at the 2006 US Open. Henman won 7–6, 6–2, 6–3. Over their careers, in head-to-head encounters, Henman won 8–2.

Media career

Rusedski has an active media career, having written columns for The Sun, The Daily Mirror[24][25] and The Daily Telegraph.[26] He also works for the television channel British Eurosport providing analysis during the stations coverage of the Australian Open. He provides commentary and analysis for Sky Sports for their coverage of the US Open and ATP World Tour Events, and for the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon.[24] He has done some acting, appearing in an episode of Agatha Christie's Marple as a tennis player.[27] In 2008, he appeared as a contestant on the reality TV shows Dancing on Ice and Beat the Star. He has also appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown.

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1997US OpenHard Patrick Rafter3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7

Other significant finals

Grand Slam Cup

Singles: 1 (1–0)
Result Year Location Surface Opponent Score
Win1999Munich, GermanyHard (i) Tommy Haas6–3, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–5)

Masters Series

Singles: 2 (1–1)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1998Indian Wells MastersHard Marcelo Ríos3–6, 7–6(17–15), 6–7(4–7), 4–6
Win1998Paris MastersCarpet (i) Pete Sampras6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–3

Career finals

Singles: 27 (15 titles, 12 runners-up)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
Grand Slam Cup (1–0)
ATP Super 9 /
ATP Masters Series (1–1)
ATP Championship Series /
ATP International Series Gold (3–2)
ATP World Series /
ATP International Series (10–8)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–5)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (5–0)
Carpet (5–6)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (8–6)
Indoor (7–6)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1993 Hall of Fame Open, USA World Series Grass Javier Frana 7–5, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–5)
Loss 1–1 Oct 1993 Salem Open, China World Series Carpet (i) Michael Chang 6–7(5–7), 7–6(8–6), 4–6
Win 2–1 May 1995 Seoul Open, South Korea World Series Hard Lars Rehmann 6–4, 3–1 ret.
Loss 2–2 May 1995 Delray Beach Open, USA World Series Clay Todd Woodbridge 4–6, 2–6
Win 3–2 Oct 1996 Salem Open, China World Series Carpet (i) Martin Damm 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss 3–3 Feb 1997 Zagreb Indoors, Croatia World Series Carpet (i) Goran Ivanišević 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 6–7(6–8)
Loss 3–4 Feb 1997 Pacific Coast Championships, USA World Series Hard (i) Pete Sampras 6–3, 0–5 ret.
Win 4–4 Jun 1997 Nottingham Open, UK World Series Grass Karol Kučera 6–4, 7–5
Loss 4–5 Sep 1997 US Open, USA Grand Slam Hard Patrick Rafter 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7
Win 5–5 Oct 1997 Swiss Indoors, Switzerland World Series Carpet (i) Mark Philippoussis 6–3, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3)
Loss 5–6 Oct 1997 Vienna Open, Austria Champ. Series Carpet (i) Goran Ivanišević 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7), 2–6, 3–6
Loss 5–7 Feb 1998 Zagreb Indoors, Croatia World Series Carpet (i) Goran Ivanišević 6–7(3–7), 6–7(5–7)
Win 6–7 Feb 1998 ECC Antwerp, Belgium Champ. Series Hard (i) Marc Rosset 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 6–8 Mar 1998 Indian Wells Masters, USA Super 9 Hard Marcelo Ríos 3–6, 7–6(17–15), 6–7(4–7), 4–6
Loss 6–9 Oct 1998 Grand Prix de Toulouse, France World Series Hard (i) Jan Siemerink 4–6, 4–6
Win 7–9 Nov 1998 Paris Masters, France Super 9 Carpet (i) Pete Sampras 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss 7–10 Feb 1999 London Indoor, UK Champ. Series Carpet (i) Richard Krajicek 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–5), 5–7
Loss 7–11 Aug 1999 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, USA World Series Hard Marat Safin 4–6, 6–7(11–13)
Win 8–11 Oct 1999 Grand Slam Cup, Germany Grand Slam Cup Carpet (i) Tommy Haas 6–3, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–5)
Win 9–11 Oct 1999 Vienna Open, Austria Champ. Series Carpet (i) Nicolas Kiefer 6–7(5–7), 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Win 10–11 Mar 2001 Pacific Coast Championships, USA International Hard (i) Andre Agassi 6–3, 6–4
Win 11–11 Jan 2002 Auckland Open, New Zealand International Hard Jérôme Golmard 6–7(0–7), 6–4, 7–5
Win 12–11 Aug 2002 Indianapolis Tennis Championships, USA Intl. Gold Hard Félix Mantilla 6–7(6–8), 6–4, 6–4
Win 13–11 Jun 2003 Nottingham Open, UK (2) International Grass Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–2
Win 14–11 Jul 2004 Hall of Fame Open, USA (2) International Grass Alexander Popp 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2)
Loss 14–12 Oct 2004 Kremlin Cup, Russia International Carpet (i) Nikolay Davydenko 6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Win 15–12 Jul 2005 Hall of Fame Open, USA (3) International Grass Vince Spadea 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–4

Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Super 9 /
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series /
ATP International Series Gold (1–0)
ATP World Series /
ATP International Series (2–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (1–2)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (2–0)
Indoor (1–2)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1994 Hall of Fame Open, USA World Series Grass Alex Antonitsch Kent Kinnear
David Wheaton		 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Oct 1994 Vienna Open, Austria World Series Carpet (i) Alex Antonitsch Mike Bauer
David Rikl		 6–7, 4–6
Loss 1–2 Mar 1995 Copenhagen Open, Denmark World Series Carpet (i) Guillaume Raoux Mark Keil
Peter Nyborg		 7–6, 4–6, 6–7
Win 2–2 Sep 1996 Bournemouth International, UK World Series Clay Marc-Kevin Goellner Rodolphe Gilbert
Nuno Marques		 6–3, 7–6
Win 3–2 Feb 1999 London Indoor, UK Champ. Series Carpet (i) Tim Henman Byron Black
Wayne Ferreira		 6–3, 7–6(8–6)

Singles performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS 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)
 Canada  United Kingdom
Tournament1992199319941995219961997199819992000200120022003200420052006SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R 3R 1R 1R 3R 2R A 4R 3R A 1R 2R A 0 / 10 11–10 47.62
French Open A A 3R A 2R 1R 1R 4R 1R 2R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 11 7–11 38.89
Wimbledon LQ 1R 2R 4R 2R QF 1R 4R 1R 4R 4R 2R 2R 2R 1R 0 / 14 21–14 60.00
US Open LQ A 1R 1R 1R F 3R 4R 2R 3R 3R 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 13 16–13 55.17
Win–Loss 0–0 0–1 3–4 5–3 2–4 10–4 4–4 10–4 1–3 9–4 7–3 1–3 1–4 2–4 0–3 0 / 48 55–48 54.37
Year-end championships
Tennis Masters Cup Did Not Qualify RR RR Did Not Qualify 0 / 2 2–2 50.00
Grand Slam Cup Did Not Qualify SF DNQ W Not Held 1 / 2 6–1 85.71
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells Masters A 1R 1R A 1R A F 3R 2R 1R 2R A A 2R 1R 0 / 10 9–10 47.37
Miami Masters A A 1R A 2R A 4R 4R 4R 2R 2R A A 2R 2R 0 / 9 11–9 55.00
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A A A 2R 2R 1R 1R A A A 1R 1R 0 / 6 0–6 0.00
Hamburg Masters A A 1R A A A 3R 1R A 1R A A A 2R 1R 0 / 6 2–6 25.00
Rome Masters A A 1R A 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R A A 1R 3R 0 / 10 4–10 28.57
Canada Masters 3R 2R 1R 1R A A A A A 1R 1R 2R A SF 1R 0 / 9 8–9 47.06
Cincinnati Masters A A 2R 2R 2R 1R A A A QF 2R 2R 3R 2R 1R 0 / 10 11–10 52.38
Madrid Masters1 A A A 2R 2R 2R QF SF QF 1R A A A 1R A 0 / 8 9–8 52.94
Paris Masters A A A A A QF W 2R 1R 1R A A A 2R A 1 / 6 8–5 61.54
Win–Loss 2–1 1–2 1–6 2–3 3–5 2–4 14–6 7–7 6–6 5–9 3–5 2–2 2–1 9–9 3–7 1 / 74 62–73 45.93
Career statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 1–2 0–0 1–2 1–1 2–6 2–5 2–4 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 15 / 27 15–12 55.56
Year-end ranking 161 50 114 37 48 6 9 13 69 31 31 119 46 37 191

1 This event was held in Stockholm through 1994, Essen in 1995, and Stuttgart from 1996 through 2001.

2 Rusedski was granted British citizenship in June 1995.

Top 10 wins
Season199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006Total
Wins02001363255010129
No. Player Rank Event Surface Rd. Score RR
1993
1. Richard Krajicek 10 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet (i) 3R 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–2) 130
2. Michael Chang 7 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet (i) QF 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(8–6) 130
1996
3. Wayne Ferreira 10 Stockholm Open, Sweden Hard (i) 1R 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 53
1997
4. Thomas Enqvist 10 Zagreb Indoors, Croatia Carpet (i) SF 6–4, 6–4 56
5. Michael Chang 4 San Jose, United States Hard (i) QF 7–6(7–4), 6–4 39
6. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 4 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet (i) QF 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–1 10
1998
7. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 9 Vienna Open, Austria Carpet (i) 1R 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–3) 17
8. Pat Rafter 2 Vienna Open, Austria Carpet (i) QF 6–3, 7–6(7–3) 17
9. Pat Rafter 3 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) 3R 7–6(7–4), 6–7(5–7), 6–4 13
10. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 8 Paris Masters, France Carpet (i) SF 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 13
11. Pete Sampras 1 Paris Masters, France Carpet (i) F 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 13
12. Tim Henman 9 ATP Tour Championships, Hanover Hard (i) RR 6–2, 6–4 11
1999
13. Gustavo Kuerten 5 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Hard (i) 1R 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 6
14. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 2 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Hard (i) QF 7–5, 7–6(8–6) 6
15. Todd Martin 4 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) QF 4–6, 7–6(12–10), 6–4 6
2000
16. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7 Vienna Open, Austria Hard (i) 1R 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–3 44
17. Marat Safin 2 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) 3R 7–6(7–2), 6–4 89
2001
18. Gustavo Kuerten 1 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard 2R 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 65
19. Marat Safin 1 Milan Indoor, Italy Carpet (i) QF 6–0, 7–6(7–5) 52
20. Lleyton Hewitt 6 San Jose, United States Hard (i) QF 5–7, 6–1, 6–4 58
21. Andre Agassi 4 San Jose, United States Hard (i) F 6–3, 6–4 58
22. Juan Carlos Ferrero 4 Wimbledon, London Grass 3R 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 40
2002
23. Thomas Johansson 10 Marseille, France Hard (i) 1R 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 30
24. Juan Carlos Ferrero 4 Indian Wells Masters, United States Hard 1R 6–4, 6–3 38
25. Marat Safin 2 Cincinnati Masters, United States Hard 1R 7–6(9–7), 6–2 38
26. Lleyton Hewitt 1 Indianapolis Championships, United States Hard 3R 7–6(7–3), 6–4 41
27. Tommy Haas 3 Indianapolis Championships, United States Hard SF 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 41
2004
28. Gastón Gaudio 9 Cincinnati Masters, United States Hard 2R 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 96
2006
29. Tommy Robredo 10 Rome Masters, Italy Clay 1R 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 45
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References
  1. "Greg Rusedski | Bio | ATP World Tour | Tennis". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  2. "Greg Rusedski: Player Profile". atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  3. "Sport's League of Nations". BBC Sport. 19 March 2001.
  4. "Rusedski Plays for England". The Canadian Encyclopedia. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  5. "Greg Rusedski's career in pictures". BBC Sport. 7 April 2007.
  6. "Rusedski weds sweetheart Lucy". BBC Sport. 4 December 1999.
  7. "Rusedski delighted with new baby". BBC Sport. 27 January 2006.
  8. "Greg Rusedski in second baby joy". Confetti. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  9. "Canadians give Rusedski a rough reception". Independent. 26 July 1995.
  10. "People". Guardian. 9 January 2008.
  11. "Roddick ends Rusedski dream". BBC News. 25 June 2003.
  12. "Rusedski fined for outburst". BBC Sport. 26 June 2003.
  13. "Rusedski fails drugs test". BBC Sport. 9 January 2004.
  14. "Rusedski cleared". BBC Sport. 10 March 2004.
  15. "Rusedski retires after GB victory". BBC Sport. 7 April 2007.
  16. "Davis Cup: LTA deny Greg Rusedski poised to replace John Lloyd as Great Britain captain". Telegraph. 8 March 2010.
  17. "Newsweek Champions Cup – Interview with Greg Rusedski". ASAP Sports Inc. 14 March 1998.
  18. "Roddick clocks record 150-mph serves". USA Today. 7 February 2004.
  19. "Rusedski confirms surprise comeback". Guardian. 24 January 2009.
  20. "John Lloyd snubs Greg Rusedski return". Times. 25 January 2009.
  21. "Rusedski comeback on ice as he struggles for wildcards". Guardian. 12 February 2009.
  22. "Rusedski plans surprise comeback". BBC Sport. 24 January 2009.
  23. "Greg Rusedski profile". BBC Sport. 10 March 2004.
  24. "Greg Rusedski bio". ATP. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  25. "All articles by Greg Rusedski - journalisted.com". journalisted.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  26. Rusedski, Greg (28 February 2016). "Greg Rusedski: 'I believe in the integrity of tennis. It's time to name names'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  27. "Agatha Christie's Marple Series 3 - 4 Towards Zero". Radio Times. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
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