Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a German retired professional tennis player. He was known for his hard-hitting forehand and bursts of speed around the court. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 9, which he achieved in April 2011.
Career
Juniors
As a junior Petzschner reached as high as No. 8 in the world in 2002. He reached the semi-finals of the 2001 Jr Wimbledon tournament, and won the 2002 French Open Jr doubles event.2007
In 2007 US Open qualifying, he defeated fellow German player Benjamin Becker in the first round, before losing to Tommy Haas in four sets.2008
In 2008 he qualified for Wimbledon, where he fell to Croatian Mario Ančić in the second round.In October, he captured his first ATP title in Vienna, after he won his qualifying round matches and defeating top seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round.
2009
At the 2009 Australian Open, he was defeated by Brian Dabul in the first round. At Roland Garros, Petzschner reached the second round after defeating Canadian Peter Polansky in five sets. There, he lost to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. At the 2009 Gerry Weber Open, he took revenge for that defeat. He won in three sets before losing to Olivier Rochus from Belgium in the second round.At Wimbledon, he beat Rajeev Ram in the first round, then Mischa Zverev in the second round, but lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the third round. He reached the last sixteen in Washington, D.C. and Montreal. Petzschner was defeated by Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of the 2009 US Open after leading two sets to love.
He was not able to defend his title in Vienna as he had to pull out due to an injury.
2010
He lost in the first round of the 2010 Australian Open when comfortably leading two sets to love against Florian Mayer. In February, he won his first doubles title with Jürgen Melzer at the 2010 PBZ Zagreb Indoors. At the same event, he reached the singles semifinal, where he lost to Michael Berrer. In late February, he reached his second semifinal of the season in Memphis, but he was defeated by American John Isner. At the Gerry Weber Open in Halle/Westfalen in June, Petzschner lost to world no. 2 Roger Federer in a tough semifinal encounter. At Wimbledon he competed as the 33rd seed and Petzschner was defeated after a comeback of eventual champion and world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in five sets after leading 2–1 in the third round. In the Wimbledon Championships Doubles, Petzschner won his first Grand Slam title with Jürgen Melzer. They were the first unseeded players to win this competition in five years. This also made Petzschner the first German man to win a Grand Slam tournament since Boris Becker won the Australian Open in 1996.At the 2010 US Open Petzschner lost in straight sets to Novak Djokovic in the second round.
At the end of August, he qualified for the World Tour Doubles Finals in London with Jürgen Melzer.
They were knocked out in the group stage of the competition, finishing third.
Petzschner finished the year as world no. 57 in singles and world no. 20 in doubles. He earned a career-high prize money of $702,058, with a match record of 21–19 in singles and 22–16 in doubles.
2011
Petzschner and Melzer reached the doubles quarterfinal at the 2011 Australian Open, when they lost to Bob and Mike Bryan. In singles play, Petzschner was defeated in five sets by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round of the tournament. In Rotterdam, Petzschner won his third doubles title partnering Jürgen Melzer.The height of Petzschner's season was reached when he and his partner Jürgen Melzer won the US Open Men's Doubles final, defeating the sixth seeded Polish team of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. A controversy occurred at 2–2 in the second set, when a ball bounced on Petzschner's left shin and the chair umpire ruled the play valid. When asked, Petzschner nodded ambiguously, even though the video replay later confirmed that the ball was returned illegally. Nevertheless, the incident did not affect the match's final result 6–2, 6–2.
Petzschner reached his first singles quarterfinal of the season in Dubai, defeating Andreas Seppi and Philipp Kohlschreiber, before falling to Tomáš Berdych. He represented Germany in the Davis Cup first-round tie against Croatia in Zagreb. Partnering Christopher Kas, he defeated Ivo Karlović and Ivan Dodig in five sets to give Germany a 2–1 lead. In the deciding fifth rubber, Petzschner replaced Florian Mayer and secured Germany's quarterfinal spot with a three-set win against Karlović.
At the 2011 BMW Open in Munich, he reached his first singles semifinal of the season. He defeated Ivan Dodig, Mikhail Youzhny, and Potito Starace, before losing to Florian Mayer. At the World Team Cup in Düsseldorf, Petzschner won the deciding doubles match partnering Philipp Kohlschreiber in the final against Argentina. In singles, he gave Germany a 1–0 lead against Russia, defeating Igor Andreev in straight sets.
Petzschner reached his second career singles final in Halle, on grass. He retired injured while trailing compatriot Kohlschreiber love-two in the second set.
2012
Petzschner reached the finals of the UNICEF Open, losing to David Ferrer in straight sets.2015
Petzschner failed to qualify for any ATP singles events this year. However, in doubles he and partner Jonathan Erlich achieved success by reaching the Wimbledon semifinal as qualifiers. His year-end doubles ranking was no. 50.2016
At the beginning of the year Petzschner and partner Alexander Peya got to three finals, but lost them all.In March he reached a quarterfinal of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in three and a half years at the Miami Open.
2017
Petzschner won the Swedish Open with partner Julian Knowle.2018
Petzschner won the title at the Stuttgart Open, partnering Tim Pütz as a wild card entry. In October, he played his last professional match on the tour at the European Open in Antwerp.Playing style
Petzschner has a powerful serve and forehand. His slice backhand is very flat and dangerous, which he utilises so much to the extent that he comparably rarely hits a topspin or flat two-handed backhand. He is also an excellent player at the net, which makes him a better doubles player.Personal life
He married singer Dewi Sulaeman of the pop group Bellini in September 2010. They have one son and 2 daughters.Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 2 (2 titles)
ATP career finals
Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy – Singles| | Vienna Open, Austria | Intl. Gold | Hard |  Gaël Monfils | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | 2011 Gerry Weber Open – Singles| | Halle Open, Germany | 250 Series | Grass |  Philipp Kohlschreiber | 6–7, 0–2 ret. |
| Loss | 1–2 | 2012 UNICEF Open – Men's Singles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | 250 Series | Grass |  David Ferrer | 3–6, 4–6 |
Doubles: 15 (8 titles, 7 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2008 Bank Austria-TennisTrophy – Doubles| | Vienna Open, Austria | Intl. Gold | Hard |  Alexander Peya |  Max Mirnyi Andy Ram | 1–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 1–1 | 2010 PBZ Zagreb Indoors – Doubles| | Zagreb Indoors, Croatia | 250 Series | Hard | Jürgen Melzer | Arnaud Clément Olivier Rochus | 3–6, 6–3, |
| Win | 2–1 | 2010 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles| | Wimbledon, United Kingdom | Grand Slam | Grass | Jürgen Melzer |  Robert Lindstedt Horia Tecău | 6–1, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–2 | 2010 MercedesCup – Doubles| | Stuttgart Open, Germany | 250 Series | Clay | Christopher Kas |  Carlos Berlocq Eduardo Schwank | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 3–2 | 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles| | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | 500 Series | Hard | Jürgen Melzer | Michaël Llodra Nenad Zimonjić | 6–4, 3–6, |
| Win | 4–2 | 2011 MercedesCup – Doubles| | Stuttgart Open, Germany | 250 Series | Clay | Jürgen Melzer | Marcel Granollers Marc López | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 5–2 | 2011 US Open – Men's Doubles| | US Open, United States | Grand Slam | Hard | Jürgen Melzer |  Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–3 | 2012 Brisbane International – Men's Doubles| | Brisbane International, Australia | 250 Series | Hard | Jürgen Melzer | Max Mirnyi Daniel Nestor | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 6–3 | 2014 Erste Bank Open – Doubles| | Vienna Open, Austria | 250 Series | Hard | Jürgen Melzer | Andre Begemann Julian Knowle | 7–6, 4–6, |
| Loss | 6–4 | 2016 Qatar ExxonMobil Open – Doubles| | Qatar Open, Qatar | 250 Series | Hard | Alexander Peya | Feliciano López Marc López | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 6–5 | 2016 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles| | Rotterdam Open, Netherlands | 500 Series | Hard | Alexander Peya | Nicolas Mahut Vasek Pospisil | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 6–6 | 2016 Abierto Mexicano Telcel – Men's Doubles| | Mexican Open, Mexico | 500 Series | Hard | Alexander Peya |  Treat Huey Max Mirnyi | 6–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 6–7 | 2017 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell – Doubles| | Barcelona Open, Spain | 500 Series | Clay | Alexander Peya | Florin Mergea Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 7–7 | 2017 Swedish Open – Men's Doubles| | Swedish Open, Sweden | 250 Series | Clay | Julian Knowle |  Sander Arends Matwé Middelkoop | 6–2, 3–6, |
| Win | 8–7 | 2018 MercedesCup – Doubles| | Stuttgart Open, Germany | 250 Series | Grass | Tim Pütz | Robert Lindstedt Marcin Matkowski | 7–6, 6–3 |
Team competition: 1 (1 title)
| Result | W–L | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partners | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2011 | World Team Cup, Germany | Clay | Florian Mayer Philipp Kohlschreiber Christopher Kas | Juan Mónaco Juan Ignacio Chela Máximo González | 2–1 |
ATP Challenger Tour finals
Singles: 5 (1–4)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Eckental, Germany | Carpet |  Ernests Gulbis | 3–6, 0–6 | |
| Loss | 0–2 | Oberstaufen, Germany | Clay | Gabriel Trujillo Soler | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 1–2 | Rennes, France | Hard |  Gilles Muller | 6–3, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 1–3 | Heilbronn, Germany | Carpet |  Andrey Golubev | 6–2, 1–6, 1–3 ret. | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Belgrade, Serbia | Carpet |  Roko Karanusic | 7–5, 1–6, 6–7 |
Doubles: 39 (21–18)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Eckental, Germany | Carpet | Simon Stadler |  Yves Allegro Lovro Zovko | 6–4, 6–7, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 0–2 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Emilio Benfele Álvarez | Álex López Morón Andrés Schneiter | 4–6, 7–5, 6–7 | |
| Loss | 0–3 | Aschaffenburg, Germany | Clay |  Jan Frode Andersen | Karsten Braasch Franz Stauder | 4–6, 5–7 | |
| Win | 1–3 | Mönchengladbach, Germany | Clay | Christopher Kas | Karsten Braasch Franz Stauder | 3–6, 6–2, 7–6 | |
| Win | 2–3 | Eckental, Germany | Carpet | Christopher Kas |  Daniele Bracciali Petr Luxa | 6–4, 7–6 | |
| Win | 3–3 | Wolfsburg, Germany | Carpet | Alexander Peya | Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Lovro Zovko | 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 3–4 | Lübeck, Germany | Carpet | Lars Übel | Pavel Šnobel Martin Štěpánek | 6–7, 7–5, 5–7 | |
| Win | 4–4 | Dresden, Germany | Clay | Christopher Kas | Bart Beks Martijn van Haasteren | 6–7, 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 4–5 | Rimini, Italy | Clay | Christopher Kas | David Škoch Martin Štěpánek | 3–6, 7–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 4–6 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay | Lars Übel | Leonardo Azzaro Sergio Roitman | 3–6, 7–5, 3–6 | |
| Win | 5–6 | Mons, Belgium | Carpet | Christopher Kas | Tomáš Cibulec Tom Vanhoudt | 7–6, 6–2 | |
| Win | 6–6 | Eckental, Germany | Carpet | Christopher Kas | Torsten Popp Jasper Smit | 6–3, 7–5 | |
| Loss | 6–7 | Helsinki, Finland | Hard | Christopher Kas | Yves Allegro Michael Kohlmann | 6–4, 1–6, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 6–8 | Sunderland, United Kingdom | Hard | Christopher Kas | Frank Moser Sebastian Rieschick | 4–6, 7–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 7–8 | Heilbronn, Germany | Carpet | Christopher Kas | Lukáš Dlouhý David Škoch | 6–7, 6–3, | |
| Loss | 7–9 | Bergamo, Italy | Carpet | Christopher Kas | Daniele Bracciali Giorgio Galimberti | 5–7, 6–0, | |
| Win | 8–9 | Besançon, France | Hard | Christopher Kas | Jean-Claude Scherrer Lovro Zovko | 6–2, 6–2 | |
| Win | 9–9 | Cardiff, United Kingdom | Hard | Alexander Peya | Filip Prpic Björn Rehnquist | 4–6, 6–3, | |
| Loss | 9–10 | Dresden, Germany | Clay | Christopher Kas | Yves Allegro Michal Mertiňák | 3–6, 0–6 | |
| Win | 10–10 | Donetsk, Ukraine | Hard | Simon Stadler |  Patrick Briaud Nicholas Monroe | 3–6, 7–5, | |
| Loss | 10–11 | Mons, Belgium | Hard | Alexander Peya | Tomasz Bednarek Filip Polášek | 2–6, 7–5, | |
| Win | 11–11 | Rennes, France | Hard | Björn Phau | Filip Polášek Igor Zelenay | 6–2, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 11–12 | Kolding, Denmark | Hard | Alexander Peya |  Frederik Nielsen Rasmus Nørby | 6–4, 3–6, | |
| Win | 12–12 | Aachen, Germany | Carpet | Alexander Peya | Dominik Meffert Mischa Zverev | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Win | 13–12 | Eckental, Germany | Carpet | Alexander Peya | Philipp Marx Lars Übel | 6–3, 6–4 | |
| Win | 14–12 | Besançon, France | Hard | Alexander Peya | Yves Allegro Horia Tecău | 6–3, 6–1 | |
| Loss | 14–13 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Hard | Alexander Peya | František Čermák Łukasz Kubot | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 14–14 | 2009 Intersport Heilbronn Open – Doubles| | Heilbronn, Germany | Carpet | Benedikt Dorsch | Karol Beck Jaroslav Levinský | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 15–14 | 2009 Open Costa Adeje – Isla de Tenerife – Doubles| | Tenerife, Spain | Hard | Alexander Peya |  James Auckland Josh Goodall | 6–2, 3–6, |
| Loss | 15–15 | 2011 Internazionali Tennis Val Gardena Südtirol – Doubles| | Ortisei, Italy | Carpet | Alexander Waske | Dustin Brown Lovro Zovko | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 16–15 | 2013 Dallas Tennis Classic – Doubles| | Irving, United States | Hard | Jürgen Melzer | Eric Butorac Dominic Inglot | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 16–16 | 2014 Bauer Watertechnology Cup – Doubles| | Eckental, Germany | Carpet | Andreas Beck | Ruben Bemelmans Niels Desein | 3–6, 6–4, |
| Loss | 16–17 | 2014 IPP Open – Doubles| | Helsinki, Finland | Hard | Jonathan Marray |  Henri Kontinen Jarkko Nieminen | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 17–17 | 2015 Wrocław Open – Doubles| | Wrocław, Poland | Hard | Tim Pütz | Frank Dancevic Andriej Kapaś | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 17–18 | 2015 Irving Tennis Classic – Doubles| | Irving, United States | Hard | Benjamin Becker | Robert Lindstedt Sergiy Stakhovsky | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 18–18 | 2015 Ethias Trophy – Doubles| | Mons, Belgium | Hard | Ruben Bemelmans |  Rameez Junaid Igor Zelenay | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 19–18 | 2015 Bauer Watertechnology Cup| | Eckental, Germany | Carpet | Ruben Bemelmans | Ken Skupski Neal Skupski | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 20–18 | 2018 Irving Tennis Classic – Doubles| | Irving, United States | Hard | Alexander Peya |  Radu Albot Matthew Ebden | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 21–18 | 2018 Open du Pays d'Aix – Doubles| | Aix-en-Provence, France | Clay | Tim Pütz | Guido Andreozzi Kenny de Schepper | 6–7, 6–2, |
Junior Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Performance timelines
Singles
Doubles
Wins over top 10 players
Records
• Record of consecutive five-set Grand Slam matches| Record | Time Span | Matches | Players matched |
| 7 consecutive matches | 2009–2010 | vs.  Sergiy Stakhovsky 7–6, 6–7, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 W 2009 US Open 1Rvs. Juan Carlos Ferrero 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 2–6, 4–6 L 2009 US Open 2Rvs. Florian Mayer 6–0, 6–2, 4–6, 2–6, 2–6 L 2010 Australian Open 1Rvs. Carsten Ball 6–3, 7–6, 2–6, 5–7, 7–9 L 2010 Roland Garros 1Rvs. Stéphane Robert 6–4, 7–6, 4–6, 2–6, 6–4 W 2010 Wimbledon 1Rvs. Łukasz Kubot 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 W 2010 Wimbledon 2Rvs. Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–4, 7–6, 2–6, 3–6 L 2010 Wimbledon 3R | Viktor Troicki |