Greg Rusedski
Gregory Rusedski is a British and Canadian former tennis player. He was the British No. 1 in 1997, 1999 and 2006, and reached the ATP ranking of world No. 4 for periods from 6 October 1997 to 12 October 1997 and from 25 May 1998 to 21 June 1998.
In 1997, he was the US Open finalist, which led to him receiving the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and the ITV Sports Champion of the Year Award. Also, he scored 30 wins and 13 losses with the Great Britain Davis Cup team.
Personal life
Rusedski was born in Montreal, Quebec to an English mother and a father of Polish and Ukrainian descent. He was a very promising junior player in Canada in the 1980s and subsequently caused some anger in Canada when he decided to adopt British citizenship and play for Great Britain in 1995.Rusedski has been with his wife Lucy Connor since 1991, they met while he was competing in a junior tournament where she was a ball girl. They married in a Roman Catholic ceremony at Douai Abbey in West Berkshire in December 1999. They have two children: a daughter born in 2006 and a son born in 2009.
Career
Rusedski's first career singles tournament title was at the Hall of Fame Championship in Newport, Rhode Island in 1993. He opted to compete for the United Kingdom rather than Canada from June 1995 onwards, a decision which was received poorly by Canadian fans; it was reported that he was given a "traitor's reception" by the crowd when he competed in his first Canadian Open after the switch.Rusedski reached the singles final of the US Open in 1997, where he lost to Pat Rafter in four sets. He also won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and the ITV Sports Champion of the Year Award. In 1998, Tim Henman eclipsed Rusedski as the UK number one tennis player. Rusedski, however, won the Grand Slam Cup in 1999.
In the 2002 US Open, after losing to Pete Sampras in the third round in a grueling five-set match, Rusedski described Sampras as "a half-step slow" and predicted that Sampras would lose his fourth-round match to young German star Tommy Haas. Sampras, however, went on to win the tournament.
At Wimbledon in 2003, Rusedski was playing in a second-round match against Andy Roddick. Roddick had won the first two sets, but Rusedski was 5–2 up in the third set. During a point on Roddick's service game, a member of the crowd loudly called one of Roddick's shots long, causing Rusedski to stop playing the point as he believed it was a line judge. The umpire ruled that the ball was good and that, as Roddick's next shot landed in court, Roddick was awarded the point. Rusedski, believing the point should have been replayed, launched into a long and expletive-riddled tirade at the umpire and, never regaining his composure, went on to lose the next five games without reply to concede the match. Rusedski apologized after the match, and Roddick reached the semifinals.
Rusedski tested positive for nandrolone in January 2004, but was cleared of the charges in a hearing on 10 March 2004.
Rusedski was defeated in the second round of Wimbledon in 2005 by Joachim Johansson of Sweden. Later that year, he defended his title at the Hall of Fame Championship, defeating Vince Spadea in the final. This was the first time he had successfully defended a title and the third time he had won the championship. He then reached the semifinals at both the RCA Championships in Indianapolis, losing to Taylor Dent, and the Canada Masters tournament in Montreal, losing to Andre Agassi.
Towards the end of 2005, Rusedski's ranking had risen to the high thirties. A poor end to the year by Henman almost allowed Rusedski to overtake him as UK No. 1 again. However, a defeat for Rusedski in the first round of the Challenger event in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, left him ranked 38th, just one place short of regaining the UK top spot. Rusedski finally reclaimed the UK number-one spot on 15 May 2006, overtaking Andy Murray by getting to the third round of the Rome Masters. He lost the top UK ranking again after a first-round exit at Wimbledon.
On 7 April 2007, Rusedski officially retired from tennis after partnering with Jamie Murray to a doubles victory over the Netherlands in a Davis Cup match, a result which gave Great Britain a winning 3–0 lead in the tie. He announced his retirement immediately after the win during a live interview with Sue Barker on BBC Television. Rusedski has stayed involved with professional tennis in his retirement, and currently works for the Lawn Tennis Association as a talent and performance ambassador. Rusedski held the record for fastest serve at 149 miles per hour until Andy Roddick broke it.
On 24 January 2009, Rusedski confirmed he had been seeking a return to professional tennis. However, Davis Cup captain John Lloyd turned down his offer to compete in the Davis Cup, and Rusedski was unable to obtain any wild-card tournament entries. Because of this, Rusedski quickly retracted his announcement and is still retired.
Rusedski vs. Henman
Rusedski was often overshadowed in the British press by Henman, especially at Wimbledon. They were generally closely matched over their careers; both reached a highest world ranking of 4. Rusedski won 15 singles titles compared to Henman's eleven, and also reached the final of the US Open in 1997, whereas Henman never made it past the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. However, Henman reached six Grand Slam semifinals and an additional four quarterfinals, whereas Rusedski reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals in total: at the US Open where he reached the final, and at Wimbledon the same year. Neither Rusedski nor Henman ever reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Henman reached the semifinals of the French Open, while Rusedski never made it past the fourth round at that tournament.His Davis Cup singles record was considerably poorer than Henman's. In Great Britain's two key Davis Cup ties in the World Group knockout stage, Rusedski lost all four singles rubbers, despite home advantage. However, as a doubles partnership, Rusedski and Henman won several Davis Cup matches, as well as other tournaments.
Rusedski's final match at a Grand Slam was against Henman, at the 2006 US Open. Henman won 7–6, 6–2, 6–3. Over their careers, in head-to-head encounters, Henman won 8–2.
Media career
Rusedski has an active media career, having written columns for The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Telegraph. He also works for the television channel British Eurosport providing analysis during the stations coverage of the Australian Open. He provides commentary and analysis for Sky Sports for their coverage of the US Open and ATP World Tour Events, and for the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon. He has done some acting, appearing in an episode of Agatha Christie's Marple as a tennis player. In 2008, he appeared as a contestant on the reality TV shows Dancing on Ice and Beat the Star. He has also appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown.Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
Other significant finals
Grand Slam Cup
Singles: 1 (1–0)
Masters Series
Singles: 2 (1–1)
Career finals
Singles: 27 (15 titles, 12 runners-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Hall of Fame Open, USA | World Series | Grass |  Javier Frana | 7–5, 6–7, 7–6 | |
| Loss | 1–1 | 1993 Salem Open-Beijing – Singles| | Salem Open, China | World Series | Carpet |  Michael Chang | 6–7, 7–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | 1995 Seoul Open – Singles| | Seoul Open, South Korea | World Series | Hard |  Lars Rehmann | 6–4, 3–1 ret. |
| Loss | 2–2 | 1995 International Tennis Championships – Singles| | Delray Beach Open, USA | World Series | Clay |  Todd Woodbridge | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 3–2 | 1996 Salem Open Beijing – Singles| | Salem Open, China | World Series | Carpet |  Martin Damm | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–3 | 1997 Croatian Indoors| | Zagreb Indoors, Croatia | World Series | Carpet |  Goran Ivanišević | 6–7, 6–4, 6–7 |
| Loss | 3–4 | 1997 Sybase Open – Singles| | Pacific Coast Championships, USA | World Series | Hard | Pete Sampras | 6–3, 0–5 ret. |
| Win | 4–4 | 1997 Nottingham Open – Singles| | Nottingham Open, UK | World Series | Grass |  Karol Kučera | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 4–5 | 1997 US Open – Men's Singles| | US Open, USA | Grand Slam | Hard | Patrick Rafter | 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Win | 5–5 | Swiss Indoors, Switzerland | World Series | Carpet | Mark Philippoussis | 6–3, 7–6, 7–6 | |
| Loss | 5–6 | 1997 CA-TennisTrophy – Singles| | Vienna Open, Austria | Champ. Series | Carpet | Goran Ivanišević | 6–4, 7–6, 6–7, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5–7 | 1998 Croatian Indoors – Singles| | Zagreb Indoors, Croatia | World Series | Carpet | Goran Ivanišević | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 6–7 | 1998 European Community Championships – Singles| | ECC Antwerp, Belgium | Champ. Series | Hard |  Marc Rosset | 7–6, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 6–8 | 1998 Newsweek Champions Cup – Singles| | Indian Wells Masters, USA | Super 9 | Hard |  Marcelo Ríos | 3–6, 7–6, 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 6–9 | 1998 Grand Prix de Tennis de Toulouse – Singles| | Grand Prix de Toulouse, France | World Series | Hard |  Jan Siemerink | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 7–9 | 1998 Paris Open – Singles| | Paris Masters, France | Super 9 | Carpet | Pete Sampras | 6–4, 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 7–10 | 1999 Guardian Direct Cup – Singles| | London Indoor, UK | Champ. Series | Carpet | Richard Krajicek | 6–7, 7–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 7–11 | U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, USA | World Series | Hard |  Marat Safin | 4–6, 6–7 | |
| Win | 8–11 | Grand Slam Cup#1999| | Grand Slam Cup, Germany | Grand Slam Cup | Carpet | Tommy Haas | 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6 |
| Win | 9–11 | 1999 CA-TennisTrophy – Singles| | Vienna Open, Austria | Champ. Series | Carpet | Nicolas Kiefer | 6–7, 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |
| Win | 10–11 | 2001 Sybase Open – Singles| | Pacific Coast Championships, USA | International | Hard | Andre Agassi | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 11–11 | 2002 Heineken Open – Singles| | Auckland Open, New Zealand | International | Hard |  Jérôme Golmard | 6–7, 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 12–11 | 2002 RCA Championships – Singles| | Indianapolis Tennis Championships, USA | Intl. Gold | Hard |  Félix Mantilla | 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 13–11 | 2003 Samsung Open – Singles| | Nottingham Open, UK | International | Grass | Mardy Fish | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 14–11 | 2004 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles| | Hall of Fame Open, USA | International | Grass | Alexander Popp | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 14–12 | 2004 Kremlin Cup – Men's Singles| | Kremlin Cup, Russia | International | Carpet | Nikolay Davydenko | 6–3, 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 15–12 | 2005 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships – Singles| | Hall of Fame Open, USA | International | Grass | Vince Spadea | 7–6, 2–6, 6–4 |
Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 1994 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships| | Hall of Fame Open, USA | World Series | Grass |  Alex Antonitsch | Kent Kinnear David Wheaton | 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | 1994 CA-TennisTrophy – Doubles| | Vienna Open, Austria | World Series | Carpet | Alex Antonitsch | Mike Bauer David Rikl | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Copenhagen Open, Denmark | World Series | Carpet | Guillaume Raoux | Mark Keil Peter Nyborg | 7–6, 4–6, 6–7 | |
| Win | 2–2 | 1996 Bournemouth International – Doubles| | Bournemouth International, UK | World Series | Clay | Marc-Kevin Goellner | Rodolphe Gilbert Nuno Marques | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 3–2 | 1999 Guardian Direct Cup – Doubles| | London Indoor, UK | Champ. Series | Carpet |  Tim Henman |  Byron Black Wayne Ferreira | 6–3, 7–6 |
Singles performance timeline
1 This event was held in Stockholm through 1994, Essen in 1995, and Stuttgart from 1996 through 2001.2 Rusedski was granted British citizenship in June 1995.