Nicolás Massú
Massú at 2007 Australian Open | |
Country (sports) | Chile |
---|---|
Residence | Viña del Mar |
Born |
Viña del Mar | October 10, 1979
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
Turned pro | 1997 |
Retired | 27 September 2013[1] |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Prize money | $4,286,614 |
Singles | |
Career record | 257–233 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 6 |
Highest ranking | No. 9 (September 13, 2004) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2005) |
French Open | 3R (2004, 2006) |
Wimbledon | 3R (2001) |
US Open | 4R (2005) |
Other tournaments | |
Olympic Games | Gold Medal (2004) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 81–98 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 1 |
Highest ranking | No. 31 (July 25, 2005) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (2008) |
French Open | SF (2005) |
Wimbledon | 2R (2005) |
US Open | QF (2004) |
Other doubles tournaments | |
Olympic Games | Gold Medal (2004) |
Team competitions | |
Davis Cup | QF (2006, 2010) |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Men's tennis | ||
Representing Chile | ||
Olympic Games | ||
2004 Athens | Singles | |
2004 Athens | Men's Doubles |
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (born October 10, 1979), nicknamed Vampiro (Spanish: "vampire"), is a Chilean former tennis player, a former World No. 9 in singles, and a winner of two Olympic gold medals. He is the only male player to have won both the singles and doubles gold medals during the same games in modern Olympic tennis (since 1988).[2] Massú also reached the final of the 2003 Madrid Masters and won six singles titles.
Tennis career
Early years
Massú was born in a family of Palestinian and Hungarian-Jewish descent and introduced to tennis at age five by his grandfather, Ladislao Fried. From age 12, he was trained at the Valle Dorado tennis academy, near Villa Alemana, by Leonardo Zuleta, with whom he perfected his forehand and double-handed backhand. He later trained at the Nick Bollettieri academy, in Florida, United States, alongside Marcelo Ríos, and later at the High Performance Center in Barcelona, Spain.
Juniors
Massú became a professional tennis player in 1997. That year, he won the prestigious juniors year-end Orange Bowl tournament. He also claimed the boys doubles competitions at Wimbledon (with Peru's Luis Horna) and the US Open (with countryman Fernando González), and was junior doubles world champion in 1997 (and No. 5 in singles).
Junior Slam results – Singles:
Australian Open: –
French Open: 3R (1997)
Wimbledon: QF (1996)
US Open: QF (1997)
ATP Tour
In August 1998, Massú won his first Futures tournament, in Spain. The following month, he claimed his first Challenger event, in Ecuador. He won his second Challenger tournament in June 1999, in Italy. In September 1999, he successfully defended his title in Ecuador. In November 1999, he won the Santiago Challenger event, and cracked the top 100 in singles for the first time.
In May 2000, Massú reached his first ATP tournament final, at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Orlando, Florida, where he lost to Fernando González. Later in August, he lost again to another Chilean—Marcelo Ríos—in his US Open debut. In January 2001, Massú reached his second ATP event final, in Adelaide, Australia.
Massú's first ATP title came in February 2002 in Buenos Aires, where he defeated Argentine Agustín Calleri in a three-set final, after being down match point. At the 2003 event, Calleri took revenge and defeated him in the first round, a loss that pushed Massú out of the top 100 in singles and forced him to play Challengers once again. In April 2003, he reached the Bermuda Challenger final.
Massú claimed his second ATP title in July 2003 in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. The following week, he reached the final of the Kitzbühel, Austria tournament, cracking the top 50 in singles for the first time. In September he made three consecutive tournament finals, including a win at a Challenger event and his third ATP title at Palermo, Italy. In October, he reached the final at the Madrid Tennis Masters Series tournament, losing to Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. He ended the year at World No. 12.
In mid-2004, Massú parted ways with Argentine coach Gabriel Markus, whom he replaced with Chilean Patricio Rodríguez. In July 2004, Massú won his fourth ATP title in Kitzbühel, and then went on to win two gold medals at the Athens Olympics in August (see below). Thanks to his outstanding performance at the Olympics, he reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 9. In November, he underwent groin surgery, and therefore entered the 2005 season off top form. He ended an unremarkable 2005 with a six-match losing streak, although ironically 2005 also saw his best performance at a Grand Slam tournament as he reached the fourth round of the US Open, losing to Guillermo Coria.
He was the first player to be beaten by Stan Wawrinka in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2005 French Open.[3][4]
In January 2006, Massú lost his hometown event at Viña del Mar to José Acasuso in the final. In February, he won his sixth ATP event at Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. In April, he reached the final of the Casablanca event in Morocco. In July, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Amersfoort tournament.
In January 2007, Massú repeated his Viña del Mar showing of 2006, losing to Luis Horna in straight sets. In July, he began an eight-match losing streak, ended in October in Saint Petersburg.
Massú had an early exit at the Viña del Mar tournament in January 2008, losing to Sergio Roitman in the first round. Because he was defending points from a final showing in 2007, the following week he fell to no. 97 in the world. In July, his singles ranking plummeted to no. 138, his worst since November 1999. Later in the year, he won the Florianópolis II Challenger event and was finalist in two other tournaments at that level.
Massú began 2009 by not winning a match during his first five tournaments and losing his opening Davis Cup singles match against Croatia in March. He broke his losing streak at the Indian Wells Masters, beating Argentine Eduardo Schwank in three sets in the first round.
Olympics
Massú has represented Chile in three Summer Olympics: 2000 Sydney, Athens 2004, and 2008 Beijing. At the 2000 event's opening ceremony, he was his country's standard bearer, after Marcelo Ríos failed to show up. In his first-round match, he beat Slava Doseděl, but lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the next round.
The story was different in Athens, where Massú captured both singles and doubles titles. On August 21, he and partner Fernando González, defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler of Germany to win the doubles competition, making history by giving Chile its first-ever Olympic gold medal. Massú and Gonzalez came from 4 straight match points at the fourth set tie-break to claim the gold. The following day, he captured his second gold medal by defeating American Mardy Fish in five sets in the men's singles final. Following his victory in singles he was declared as Athlete of the Day by the 2004 Athens Olympics' organization.
"I was so happy because this is my best memory in my sport career. If I look back in 10 more years, I look back on this, I'm gonna be so happy. Now I can die happy."[5]
Because of his low ranking, Massú was granted a wild card to compete in both singles and doubles events in Beijing.[6] He only managed to reach the second round in singles and was ousted on his first match in doubles, where he partnered with Fernando González.
Davis Cup
Massú began playing for Chile in Davis Cup matches in 1996. He currently is 29–17, including 17–4 on clay.[7] Actually, Massú is the current captain of the Chile Davis Cup team, with former no. 1 Marcelo Ríos as coach.
Maccabiah Games
Massú is a veteran of the 2001 Maccabiah Games, the international Jewish Olympics.[8]
Playing style
Massú has a style characteristic of a clay-court specialist, with strong baseline play characterized by a solid forehand and backhand.
Massú is known for his fighting spirit, especially when playing for Chile, as he has demonstrated at the 2004 Olympics and at numerous Davis Cup matches. He has also turned around difficult matches.
Personal life
Massú is Jewish,[5][9] as is his mother, Sonia Fried.[5][10] His father, Manuel Massú, is of Palestinian[11][12] ancestry. He has four brothers, Stefano, Jorge, Geza, and Yuri.
Significant finals
Olympic finals
Singles: 1 (1–0)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold | 2004 | Athens Olympics | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
Doubles: 1 (1–0)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold | 2004 | Athens Olympics | Hard | Fernando González | Nicolas Kiefer Rainer Schüttler | 6–2, 4–6, 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–4 |
Masters Series finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 2003 | Madrid | Hard (i) | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 3–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
ATP career finals
Singles: 15 (6–9)
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Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 1. | May 7, 2000 | Orlando, US | Clay | Fernando González | 2–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | January 7, 2001 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Tommy Haas | 3–6, 1–6 |
Winner | 1. | February 24, 2002 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Agustín Calleri | 2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2 |
Winner | 2. | July 20, 2003 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay | Raemon Sluiter | 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 6–2 |
Runner-up | 3. | July 27, 2003 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Guillermo Coria | 1–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | September 14, 2003 | Bucharest, Romania | Clay | David Sánchez | 2–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 3. | September 28, 2003 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Paul-Henri Mathieu | 1–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–0) |
Runner-up | 5. | October 19, 2003 | Madrid, Spain | Hard (i) | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 3–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 4. | July 25, 2004 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Gastón Gaudio | 7–6(7–3), 6–4 |
Winner | 5. | August 22, 2004 | Athens 2004 Summer Olympics | Hard | Mardy Fish | 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 6. | February 5, 2006 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay | José Acasuso | 4–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 6. | February 26, 2006 | Costa do Sauípe, Brazil | Clay | Alberto Martín | 6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 7. | April 30, 2006 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Daniele Bracciali | 1–6, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 8. | July 23, 2006 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 6–7(5–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up | 9. | February 4, 2007 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay | Luis Horna | 5–7, 3–6 |
Doubles: 3 (1–2)
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Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | March 7, 2004 | Acapulco, Mexico | Clay | Juan Ignacio Chela | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
2–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 1. | August 21, 2004 | Athens 2004 Summer Olympics | Hard | Fernando González | Nicolas Kiefer Rainer Schüttler |
6–2, 4–6, 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2. | July 24, 2005 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay | Fernando González | Martín García Luis Horna |
4–6, 4–6 |
ATP Challengers & ITF Futures finals: 18 (10–8)
Legend |
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ATP Challenger Tour (8–5) |
ITF Futures (2–3) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | May 24, 1998 | Vero Beach, Florida, US | Clay | Ronald Agénor | 3–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | May 31, 1998 | Boca Raton, Florida, US | Clay | Ronald Agénor | 1–6, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 3. | June 21, 1998 | Lafayette, California, US | Hard | Cecil Mamiit | 6–0, 3–6, 0–6 |
Winner | 1. | August 23, 1998 | Vigo, Spain | Clay | Tommy Robredo | 6–4, 6–2 |
Winner | 2. | August 30, 1998 | Irun, Spain | Clay | Maxime Boyé | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
Winner | 3. | September 7, 1998 | Quito, Ecuador | Clay | Mariano Sánchez | 3–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
Winner | 4. | June 21, 1999 | Biella, Italy | Clay | Oleg Ogorodov | 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–3 |
Winner | 5. | September 6, 1999 | Quito, Ecuador | Clay | Luis Adrián Morejón | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
Winner | 6. | November 1, 1999 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Karim Alami | 6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 4. | November 28, 1999 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Clay | Francisco Costa | 6–4, 5–7, 3–6 |
Winner | 7. | September 15, 2003 | Szczecin, Poland | Clay | Albert Portas | 6–4, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 5. | April 14, 2003 | Paget, Bermuda | Clay | Flávio Saretta | 1–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 8. | May 5, 2008 | Rijeka, Croatia | Clay | Christophe Rochus | 6–2, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 6. | August 3, 2008 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Hard | Santiago González | 4–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 9. | October 6, 2008 | Florianópolis, Brazil | Clay | Olivier Patience | 6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–1 |
Runner-up | 8. | October 13, 2008 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Clay | Peter Luczak | W/O |
Runner-up | 8. | October 23, 2009 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Eduardo Schwank | 2–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 10. | November 22, 2009 | Cancún, Mexico | Clay | Grega Zemlja | 6–3, 7–5 |
Team titles
- 2003 – World Team Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany (Clay)
- 2004 – World Team Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany (Clay)
Performance timeline
W | F | SF | QF | R# | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | G | F-S | SF-B | NMS | NH |
Singles performance timeline
Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | Q3 | A | A | 1–8 | |
French Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | Q2 | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | 8–9 | |
Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 4–9 | |
US Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | Q2 | 1R | A | A | A | A | 9–9 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 22–35 | |
Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | A | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | G | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | A | NH | 8–2 | |||||||||
Davis Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||
Davis Cup | Z1 | Z1 | PO | PO | PO | Z1 | PO | 1R | QF | 1R | PO | 1R | QF | 1R | 22–12 | |||||
ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | 4–6 | |
Miami | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 3R | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | Q1 | 3R | 1R | Q2 | A | A | 7–8 | |
Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 4–4 | |
Rome | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | Q2 | A | A | A | A | 6–5 | |
Hamburg1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 1–4 | |
Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0–4 | |
Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0–3 | |
Madrid2 | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | F | 2R | 1R | 2R | Q2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | 6–5 | |
Paris | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | Q2 | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2–4 | |
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 8–5 | 6–9 | 2–6 | 4–9 | 3–5 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 30–43 | |
Career Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Overall Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 26–25 | 23–28 | 29–19 | 36–20 | 42–28 | 18–22 | 38–27 | 17–26 | 9–12 | 9–12 | 4–8 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 257–238 | |
Year End Ranking | 882 | 583 | 188 | 97 | 87 | 80 | 56 | 12 | 19 | 66 | 44 | 79 | 76 | 112 | 186 | 450 | 618 | 876 | $4,343,298 |
Doubles performance timeline
Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | 1R | 2R | 1–2 | |||||||||||||||||
French Open | SF | 1R | 4–2 | |||||||||||||||||
Wimbledon | 1R | 2R | 1–2 | |||||||||||||||||
US Open | 1R | QF | 3R | 2R | 2R | 7–5 | ||||||||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 7–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 13–11 | |
Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | G | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | NH | 5–2 | |||||||||||
Davis Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||
Davis Cup | PO | Z1 | PO | PO | PO | Z1 | PO | 1R | QF | 1R | PO | 1R | QF | 1R | 10–12 | |||||
ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||
Indian Wells | 1R | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Miami | 1R | 1R | 0–2 | |||||||||||||||||
Monte Carlo | QF | 1R | 2–2 | |||||||||||||||||
Rome | 1R | 1R | SF | 3–3 | ||||||||||||||||
Hamburg1 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2–2 | ||||||||||||||||
Canada | 2R | 1R | 1–2 | |||||||||||||||||
Cincinnati | QF | 1R | 2–2 | |||||||||||||||||
Madrid2 | 1R | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Paris | 1R | QF | 1–1 | |||||||||||||||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 7–6 | 1–4 | 3–5 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 11–16 | |
Career Statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Overall Win–Loss | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–8 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 5–6 | 30–21 | 13–15 | 8–12 | 6–11 | 5–6 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 82–102 | |
Year End Ranking | – | 470 | 319 | 356 | 243 | 1263T | 389 | 291 | 36 | 58 | 139 | 257 | 221 | 490 | 342 | 376 | – | 935 | $362,632 |
1Held as Hamburg Masters till 2008. Held as Madrid Masters 2009–2013.
2Held as Stuttgart Masters till 2001, Madrid Masters from 2002–2008, and Shanghai Masters 2009–2013.
See also
References
- ↑ "Chile's Nicolas Massu retires from tennis". USA Today. August 27, 2013.
- ↑ "United States Tennis Association – USTA Yearbook – Olympic Games". Retrieved February 23, 2010.
- ↑ Bollettieri, Nick (26 May 2009). "2009 French Open – Nick's picks – Men's Singles Round 2". Nick's picks. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ "2004 – 2005, Roland Garros". The History of Men's Tennis. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Nicolás Massú (1979– )". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ↑ Wine, Steven (June 30, 2008). "Massu granted special place in Olympic tennis". Seattle Times. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ↑ "Davis Cup – Players; Nicolas MASSU". Official website of the Davis Cup. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ↑ "Massu Records Double Gold!". JewishSports.com. August 22, 2004. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ↑ Also ,
- ↑ Also ,
- ↑ Miranda Valderrama, Luis (April 12, 2008). "nicolás Massú en la intimidad; Volveré a estar arriba". El Mercurio. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
- ↑ "Crónica: Palestino vs Colo Colo – Primera División de Chile". ESPNdeportes.com. December 14, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nicolás Massú. |
- Nicolás Massú at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Nicolás Massú at the International Tennis Federation
- Nicolás Massú at the Davis Cup
- "Nicolas MASSU". Athens2004.com. ATHENS 2004 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 2004-08-23.
- "Nicolas MASSU". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 2008-09-03.
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
Olympic Tennis Champion 2004 |
Succeeded by Rafael Nadal |
Olympic Games | ||
Preceded by Sebastián Keitel |
Flagbearer for Chile 2000 Sydney |
Succeeded by Kristel Köbrich |
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