Andrew Ilie
| Country (sports) |
 Australia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Melbourne, Australia |
| Born |
18 April 1976 Bucharest, Romania |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Turned pro | 1994 |
| Retired | 2003 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $1,327,838 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 89-116 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 38 (29 May 2000) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4R (1999, 2001) |
| French Open | 3R (1995, 1998, 1999) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1999) |
| US Open | 2R (2001) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 3-13 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 296 (12 June 2000) |
| Last updated on: 9 August 2012. | |
Andrew Ilie (born 18 April 1976 in Bucharest, Romania) is a former tennis player. Ilie fled Romania at age 10 with his family, spending a year at a refugee camp in Austria before emigrating to Australia.[1] He turned professional in 1994 and became a citizen of Australia. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.[2] He won two ATP Tour singles titles (Coral Springs in 1998 and Atlanta in 2000), as well as five Challenger Series tournaments. Ilie reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 38 on 29 May 2000.
Career
Juniors
| Tournament | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||
| Australian Open | Q1 | 3R | QF | F | |||||
| French Open | A | A | 2R | 1R | |||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | 2R | 2R | |||||
| US Open | A | A | 1R | QF | |||||
Pro Tour
Ilie never progressed past the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament, but was a fan-favorite, especially in Australia. Described in 2001 by tennis writer Jon Wertheim as "an emerging cult hero", Ilie developed an avid following whenever he played at the Australian Open in Melbourne.[3] He became well known for adventurous and occasionally outrageous shots, and by ripping his shirt in glee whenever he won a particularly important or hard-fought match.[4] The latter ritual began at the French Open in 1999, as Ilie celebrated his first-round victory in five sets over Jonas Bjorkman, and then repeated the gesture after his second-round victory, also in five sets, over Martin Rodriguez.[5]
The last years of Ilie's career were marred by persistent injuries, including chronic osteitis pubis, which hampered his play. Ilie retired in November 2004.[6] Following retirement, Ilie married and settled in Hong Kong.[4]
References
- ↑ Collins, Bud (24 August 1999), "Ilie has things covered in opener", Boston Globe: E8
- ↑ AIS at the Olympics
- ↑ Wertheim, L. Jon; Albert Kim; Mark Mravic (28 May 2001), "Passion Play", Sports Illustrated 94 (22): 30–31
- 1 2 "Profiles: Andrew Ilie". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- ↑ Collins, "Ilie has things covered in opener"
- ↑ Schlink, Leo (6 November 2004), "Injuries force Ilie to call it quits", Melbourne Herald Sun: 72