Julián Alonso
| Country (sports) |
 Spain |
|---|---|
| Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Born |
2 August 1977 Canet de Mar |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Turned pro | 1996 |
| Retired | 2001 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $852,531 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 52–64 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 30 (15 June 1998) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1998, 1999) |
| French Open | 1R (1998, 1999) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1998, 1999) |
| US Open | 1R (1997, 1998) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 34–48 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 53 (31 August 1998) |
Julián Alonso Pintor (born 2 August 1977) is a retired tennis player from Catalonia, Spain, who turned professional in 1996 and retired in 2001. He was known in tennis because of his incredible serve, many times compared with the Goran Ivanisevic´s service. In 1997, playing against Ivanisevic (4th seeded), in Long Island, beat him for first Top 10 victory en route to SF and in that match fired a 140 mph serve to become just third player (Philippoussis, Rusedski) to register a serve of at least 140 mph[1]
Tennis career
Alonso was awarded the ATP Newcomer of the Year prize after winning his first ATP title in Santiago and finishing in the Top 40 in 1997. In the final of the tournament, he defeated Marcelo Ríos, who went on to reach the World No. 1 ranking less than four months later. Previously, that same year, Tim Henman after being defeated by an impressive show of big serves and incredible hits by Alonso at "The Lipton" Key Biscaine (current Miami open) declared: "Julian will be the next number 1 before Wimbledon"[2]
After this very promising start, however, his career is considered underwhelming; he only won one more title (Bologna, 1998) and retired in 2001 after one and a half years playing only Challengers. He confessed that the decline of his career started with the relationship with Martina Hingis. The pressure of the media and his mother-in-law made Alonso's ranking and selfconfidence fall.[3] He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 30 in June 1998 (after winning his second and final title). He used to play the doubles in Davis Cup Spanish team with Joan Ballcells during Manolo Santana captaincy, and several single matches.
Career titles
Singles (2)
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 3 November 1997 | Santiago, Chile | Clay |  Marcelo Ríos |
6–2, 6–1 |
| 2. | 8 June 1998 | Bologna, Italy | Clay |  Karim Alami |
6–1, 6–4 |
Doubles (2)
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score |
| 1. | 8 September 1997 | Marbella, Spain | Clay | Karim Alami |
Alberto Berasategui Jordi Burillo |
4–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2. | 24 August 1998 | Long Island, United States | Hard | Javier Sánchez |
 Brandon Coupe Dave Randall |
6–4, 6–4 |
References
- ↑ "Julian Alonso´s career". ATP World tour. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ↑ "Julián Alonso, una carrera truncada por el amor (a Martina Hingis)". ELMUNDO. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
- ↑ "Julián Alonso, una carrera truncada por el amor (a Martina Hingis)". ELMUNDO. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
External links
- Julián Alonso at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Julián Alonso at the International Tennis Federation
- Julián Alonso at the Davis Cup
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dominik Hrbatý |
ATP Newcomer of the Year 1997 |
Succeeded by Marat Safin |