 |
|
| Friday, June 23 Men's player profiles ESPN.com news services |
||||||||||
|
(1) Pete Sampras, United States
His 12 Grand Slam titles are tied with Roy Emerson for the all-time lead; became the only ever to win six Wimbledon titles in one decade (1990s); he and Bjorn Borg are the only players to win at least one Grand Slam title in seven consecutive years (Borg did it over eight seasons); owns nine grasscourt titles and is 86-15 lifetime on the surface; only loss at the All-England Club over the last eight years came in the 1996 quarterfinals to Richard Krajicek; dropped only two sets, was broken just five times and fired 108 aces en route to last year's title; hampered by a hip flexor injury, the 28-year-old reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, which he lost in an epic five-setter to Andre Agassi, and won the Ericsson Open; reached the final in his lone Wimbledon warm-up event, the Stella Artois Championships.
(2) Andre Agassi, United States
Claimed his first of six career Grand Slam titles in 1992 at the
All-England Club; completed his personal Grand Slam last year at
the French Open and added crowns at the U.S. and Australian
Opens; has reached the final of four of his last five Grand Slam
events, losing the championship match at Wimbledon last year to
Pete Sampras; has gone 7-5 since reaching the semifinals at the
Ericsson Open in Miami; fell in the second round at the French
Open and was forced to retire from this third-round match at the
Stella Artois Championships last week with a back injury.
(3) Magnus Norman, Sweden
Played in his first career Grand Slam final at the French Open
last month but lost to Gustavo Kuerten; was a semifinalist at
the Australian Open in January; won his first title of the
season at the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand in January
and later claimed his first Tennis Masters Series event in Rome;
24-year-old was a semifinalist in Barcelona and a
quarterfinalist in Hamburg; has fallen in the third round or
earlier in 12 of 16 Grand Slam events; is 4-3 lifetime at
Wimbledon, where he reached the third round two of the last
three years.
(4) Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil
Won his second career Grand Slam title with his second victory
at the French Open; did not play a preparatory tournament on
grass this season; lost in the first round in his first two
visits to the All-England Club before advancing to the
quarterfinals last season; has reached at least the
quarterfinals at four of his last five Grand Slam events;
trying to become the first man to win the French Open and
Wimbledon in the same year since Borg accomplished the feat in
1980; has won three events this season, also taking titles at
the Chevrolet Cup and Tennis Masters Series -- Hamburg; also
reached finals at Miami and Rome.
(5) Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia
Has not won a title in 2000 -- the longest he has gone
without a tournament victory to start a season since he turned
pro in 1993; started this year promisingly, reaching his third
career Grand Slam final at the Australian Open, and claimed
another runner-up finish in London; made a spirited run at the
French Open, reaching the quarterfinals while playing four
five-setters out of five matches; made his grasscourt season
debut last week at Halle, Germany and advanced to the
semifinals; owns two titles on the surface; is just 11-6
lifetime at the All-England Club, reaching the quarterfinals in
1995; a pulled groin caused the Russian to retire from his
third-round match last season.
(6) Cedric Pioline, France
Having his best year as a professional by winning two titles in
a season for the first time, including the Tennis Masters Series
event in Monte Carlo; also took the crown at the ABN/AMRO World
Tennis Tournament at Rotterdam and made the quarterfinals in
Hamburg; has lost in the first round five times in his last
eight Grand Slam events, but reached the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon and semifinals at the U.S. Open in 1999 over that
span; reached the fourth round at last month's French Open; won
the Nottingham Open on grass last season for his only title on
the turf; is 22-9 lifetime at Wimbledon, with one of his two
Grand Slam finalist trophies coming at the All-England Club in
1997; was the first Frenchman to reach the Wimbledon final since
Yvon Petra won in 1946; advanced to the quarterfinals at the
season's third Grand Slam for the fourth time last season.
(7) Lleyton Hewitt, Australia
Leads the ATP Tour with four titles, winning at Adelaide,
Sydney, Scottsdale, and the Stella Artois Championships in
London, and began the year with 13 consecutive match wins; had
his best career showing at a Grand Slam tournament with
fourth-round appearances at the Australian and French Opens;
reached the semifinals at Tennis Masters Series tournaments in
Miami and Rome; won his first grasscourt event last week at
Queen's Club, beating Sampras in the final. Injured his left
ankle during that match and is on anti-inflammatory medication;
was forced to pull out of tune-up event in `s-Hertogenbosch,
the Netherlands.
(8) Tim Henman, Great Britain
The number one British player brings a three-match losing streak
into Wimbledon, his favorite event and the site of his most
emotional triumphs; is 19-6 lifetime at Wimbledon, advancing to
at least the quarterfinals the last four seasons and the
semifinals the past two, where he fell to Sampras; has not won a
title since the Swiss Indoors at Basel, Switzerland in 1998 but
has reached six finals since; grandfather Henry Billington was a
regular competitor at the All-England Club in the 1940s and early
50s, reaching the third round in 1948, 1950-51.
(9) Thomas Enqvist, Sweden
Has failed to advance past the third round at a Grand Slam
event since losing the Australian Open final in 1999; reached
the finals at the Australian Hardcourt Championships in January
and the Tennis Masters Series -- Indian Wells in March, both
hardcourt events, but is 0-1 this season on grass; has lost four
of his last six matches entering Wimbledon, where he is 5-5;
has reached the third round the last two years.
(10) Mark Philippoussis, Australia
Advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the second
consecutive year in 1999 but retired in the second set against
eventual champion Sampras after winning the first set; he
suffered a moderate cartilage tear in his left knee and
underwent arthroscopic surgery in July. Returned in time to
help guide Australia to the Davis Cup championship; won the
Sybase Open in San Jose earlier this season and is 23-10
overall; since reaching the fourth round at the Ericsson Open in
March, has gone 5-7 with a fourth-round appearance at the French
Open, his best result over that span.
(11) Richard Krajicek, Netherlands
Became the first Dutchman to win a Grand Slam singles title with
his Wimbledon triumph in 1996, losing just one set the entire
tournament; is 24-8 at the All-England Club but fell in the
third round last season; best result this season is a runner-up
showing at the Gerry Weber Open on grass last week after
undergoing knee surgery last winter; possesses one of the hardest
serves in the game, and the grass suits his serve-and-volley
style; has won 14 of his last 17 matches on grass and has claimed
three titles on the surface; has lost before the fourth round in
six of his last seven Grand Slam tournaments.
(12) Patrick Rafter, Australia
Trying to return to form after undergoing rotator cuff surgery
last winter; best results this season are a pair of quarterfinal
appearances, including this week at the Heineken Open, where he
is hoping to capture his fourth career grasscourt title; had his
best performance at the All-England Club last season when he
reached the semifinals; is 17-7 at Wimbledon, making it to at
least the fourth round four straight seasons after never getting
out of the third round in his previous three visits; has won 14
of his last 17 grascourt matches.
(13) Nicolas Kiefer, Germany
An ankle injury has kept him out of action since March; has lost
seven of his last nine matches; started the season by winning
the Dubai Open and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian
Open; owns a grasscourt tournament victory at Halle, Germany and
reached the quarterfinals of that event this year; has lost in
the third round or earlier in 10 of 13 Grand Slam tournaments;
is 7-3 lifetime at Wimbledon, advancing to the quarterfinals in
1997.
(14) Greg Rusedski, Great Britain
Due to injuries, owns just an 11-10 overall record this season,
with best result being a semifinal showing at the AXA Cup in
London; has used booming lefty serve and strong volleys to
capture two grasscourt titles; had a string of three straight
fourth-round appearances at Grand Slams snapped with a
first-round setback at the French Open; a quarterfinal
showing in 1997 was his best at the All-England Club, where he
owns a 12-7 record; reached his first career Grand Slam final
at 1997 U.S. Open, losing to Rafter.
(15) Marat Safin, Russia
Started 2000 with a 1-5 record, but after taking on former
player Andrei Chesnokov as coach, captured consecutive events in
Barcelona and Mallorca before losing in the final of the Tennis
Masters series tournament in Hamburg; has won 26 of his last 31
matches; won his first career grasscourt match last week at
Queen's Club, reaching the quarterfinals of the Stella Artois
Championships; appeared in his first career Grand Slam
quarterfinal at the French Open; is working with veteran coach
Tony Picard on his grasscourt game; lost in the first round at
the Australian Open, where he was fined for tanking his match
with Grant Stafford; dropped his Wimbledon debut in 1998 and did
not play the All-England Club last season.
(16) Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador Since advancing to his first Grand Slam semifinal at the 1999 Austrlian Open, has lost in the second round in four of his next five majors; reached fourth round of last month's French Open; is without a title this season after capturing two last year; his best results in 2000 are semifinal showings at Indian Wells and Estoril and quarterfinal finishes at Mexico City, Scottsdale, Miami, and Barcelona; owns a 2-4 record lifetime at the Wimbledon, never reaching the third round in four appearances.
|
|
|||||||||
