Francisco Clavet
| Full name | Francisco Javier Clavet |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |
 Spain |
| Residence | Aranjuez, Spain |
| Born |
24 October 1968 Madrid, Spain |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Turned pro | 1988 |
| Retired | 2003 |
| Plays | Left-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $4,278,632 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 388–340 |
| Career titles | 8 |
| Highest ranking | No. 18 (13 July 1992) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002) |
| French Open | 4R (1991, 1996, 1998) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1998) |
| US Open | 3R (1991, 1995) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 53–84 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 89 (1 January 1990) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (2000) |
Francisco Javier Clavet González (usually known as "Pato" Clavet) (born 24 October 1968) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He won eight singles titles; reached the semifinals of the 1992 Indian Wells Masters and the 1999 Miami Masters; and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 18 in July 1992.
He is the best male Spanish player in Wimbledon during the 90´s, reaching the fourth round in 1998, with victories over second-seeded (Marcelo Ríos) in the first round in five sets and Thomas Johansson in 3rd round. He also reached the 3rd round in Wimbledon 1999. Clavet holds the record for the fastest ever ATP Tour victory when he beat Shan Jiang 6–0, 6–0 in only 25 minutes at the Shanghai Open in 2001.[1] During his career he had several victories over one of the best players of that period. Clavet defeated some currents, futures or pasts number 1 of the ranking: John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, Thomas Muster, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Gustavo Kuerten, Carlos Moya, Jim Courier, Marcelo Ríos (previously mentioned) and Roger Federer in his only duel (Clavet won in 2000 at the Cincinnati Masters).
Clavet is a reference in tennis in the capital of Spain, Madrid. Spanish player Daniel Muñoz de la Nava sees in Clavet a reference to keep fighting in the ATP World tour:
“Francisco Clavet has always been my idol. I practised with him a lot when I was 20-23 and he was at the end of his career. He inspired me because he was always focused, professional and working hard. I have to work hard at every point and he really taught me a lot about how to be a professional player.”[2]
Tennis career
Clavet turned pro in 1988 and won his first ATP singles title two years later at the Dutch Open in Hilversum. He became a lucky loser at the 1990 Dutch Open, and went on to win five consecutive matches to capture the title. He is one of only eight men and women to accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task since 1978.[3] Of his eight ATP singles titles, seven were won on clay. But he showed, specially in his last years of career, that he could also play well in hard and grass courts. 2001 was the year with his best performance on hard courts, reaching the final at ATP Auckland Open losing to Dominik Hrbaty, and winning in Scottsdale losing only one set, defeating Agassi at 1st round, Lleyton Hewitt in semifinals and Magnus Norman in the final (ranked number 4, 6 and 5 respectively by this date at ATP Tour). After winning in Scottsdale he declared: "I think this is the happiest day of my life as tennis player. I am living a dream. I am a clay court player, and I have won all I have could in that surface, so winning a tournament at hard court aged 32, and winning over three top ten during this, is something very special. I will save this moment in my heart for all the rest of my life".[4] That year, in hard courts, he also reached the semifinal in Shanghai and the quarterfinals in Japan losing respectively to the eventual champions. In spite of not winning a tournament, his best year was 1992, and resulted in his best ranking (No. 18). That year he reached the final in Gstaad and San Marino, semifinals in Philadelphia, in Indian Wells, in Madrid, in Palermo and in Athens, and quarterfinals in Indianapolis, and in Schenectady.
His Davis Cup debut came in 1999 (with 30 years old) in New Zealand in a playoff that Spain had to win in order to stay in the World Group. That year, due to several injuries and some refuses, the Spanish top players didn't participate in the Davis Cup and Manolo Santana called Felix Mantilla and Clavet to play the singles matches on a difficult surface for the Spanish tennis: hard indoor. Clavet won easily over Brett Steven in three sets showing a powerful and accurate style, and with the favourable result in the playoff (4–0) won over Mark Nielsen in straight sets, losing only four games.[5]
In 2000, Clavet played for the Spain Davis Cup team at the Davis Cup first round against Italy in Murcia. Clavet gave Spain the 4-1 definitive result with the victory over Vincenzo Santopadre. Eventually, Spain was the winner of the championship.[6] Clavet played this one as his last match in Davis Cup, finishing his contribution with a 3–0 career Davis Cup record in two ties.
In national competitions, Clavet played the singles finals from 1994 to 1997 at the National Tennis Masters competition in Spain (national version of ATP World Tour Finals) losing all of them. In 1999, in Madrid, the region where he was born, he defeated Alex Corretja, the previous champion, recovering from a 1–6 in the first set, to claim the trophy.[7] He also won for two times (1995: Juan Antonio Marín and 1999: Juan Carlos Ferrero) the National Championship of Spain, and reached the final in 2000 losing to Alex Corretja.
Pato was coached by his brother, José Clavet, until 1999. From 2001 until his retirement, he was coached by Uruguayan Bebe Pérez. He retired from professional tennis in 2003. From 2009 to 2011 he was coaching his countryman Feliciano López.
Playing style
Clavet used to play back of the court behind the line, but he often used his drive to move the rival and throwing an open ball that made the opponent went out off the court, then Clavet used to finished the point going up to the net and volleying or smashing. His best hit, is the opened drive with much strength. His backhand was also quite good and consistent, but not as powerful as his drive. He is also an exceptional fighter at the court. Former tennis player and commentator for spanish television Andrés Gimeno said about him: "Clavet never gives up, he reaches all the balls, you must win him each point"
It is said, but this is not official, that Clavet was the inventor of the two-handed backhand while jumping in the air, For someone, this is considered only an aesthetic hit with no relevance. Other people opine that, with the hip rotation, it can be obtained more angle, therefore, it could be useful while attacking. This has been used until nowadays by players like Sébastien Grosjean or Marcelo Rios.
Career finals
Singles (8 titles, 7 runners-up)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0–0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0–0) |
| ATP Tour (8–7) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 23 July 1990 | Hilversum | Clay |  Eduardo Masso |
3–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–0 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 6 July 1992 | Gstaad | Clay | Sergi Bruguera |
6–1, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 27 July 1992 | Saint-Marin | Clay |  Karel Nováček |
7–5, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 24 October 1994 | Santiago | Clay | Alberto Berasategui |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 31 October 1994 | Montevideo | Clay | Alberto Berasategui |
6–4, 6–0 |
| Winner | 2. | 25 September 1995 | Palermo | Clay | Jordi Burillo |
6–7(3–7), 6–3, 7–6(7–1) |
| Winner | 3. | 29 July 1996 | Amsterdam | Clay |  Younes El Aynaoui |
7–5, 6–1, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 7 April 1997 | Estoril | Clay | Àlex Corretja |
6–3, 7–5 |
| Winner | 4. | 20 October 1997 | Acapulco | Clay | Juan Albert Viloca |
6–4, 7–6(9–7) |
| Winner | 5. | 27 October 1997 | Bogotá | Clay |  Nicolás Lapentti |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Winner | 6. | 4 September 1998 | Bucharest | Clay |  Arnaud Di Pasquale |
6–4, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Winner | 7. | 9 November 1998 | Santiago | Clay | Younes El Aynaoui |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 10 April 2000 | Estoril | Clay | Carlos Moyá |
6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 8. | 5 March 2001 | Scottsdale | Hard |  Magnus Norman |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 8 January 2001 | Auckland | Hard |  Dominik Hrbatý |
6–4, 2–6, 6–3 |
References
- ↑ Cianfarani, Rob (2015-05-07). "Why losing can be lucky in tennis". Tennis Canada. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
- ↑ "Challenger Tour Finals Preview Munoz de la Nava | ATP World Tour | Tennis". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- ↑ "Why losing can be lucky in tennis". Retrieved 2015-09-17.
- ↑ País, Ediciones El. "Clavet, la felicidad, a los 32 años". Retrieved 2015-09-08.
- ↑ http://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie/details.aspx?tieId=10003305
- ↑ "Davis Cup 2000". Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ↑ "ABC (Madrid) - 22/11/1999, p. 81 - ABC.es Hemeroteca". hemeroteca.abc.es. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
External links
- Francisco Clavet at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Francisco Clavet at the International Tennis Federation
- Francisco Clavet at the Davis Cup