Vladimir Voltchkov


Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Voltchkov reached the semifinals at the 2000 Wimbledon Championships, where, as a qualifier, he lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets. He represented Belarus in both the Davis Cup and the Olympic Games in 2000, also won the Wimbledon juniors competition in 1996. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 25.

Tennis career

Juniors

Voltchkov had excellent results as a junior capturing the Wimbledon juniors title defeating Ivan Ljubičić in 1996. He compiled a singles win/loss record of 69–34, reaching as high as No. 7 in the world in 1996.
Junior Grand Slam results:
Australian Open: –

French Open: 3R

Wimbledon: W

US Open: 3R

Pro tour

His highest achievement came in 2000, inspired by the film Gladiator. After watching the movie four times, he went on to reach the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships as a qualifier, causing the British press to dub him "The Vladiator". En route to the semifinals he beat Juan Ignacio Chela, Cédric Pioline, Younes El Aynaoui, Wayne Ferreira and Byron Black before losing to eventual champion Pete Sampras. Voltchkov has a 30–16 career Davis Cup record.

Career finals

Singles (13 titles)

No.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
1.March 23, 1998AshkelonHard Eyal Ran7–5, 6–4
2.November 16, 1998PueblaHard Christophe Rochus6–3, 6–3
3.February 1, 1999HamburgCarpet Axel Pretzsch4–6, 6–3, 7–6
4.May 3, 1999LjubljanaClay Dinu Pescariu7–5, 6–7, 6–4
5.May 8, 2000FerganaHard Igor Kunitsyn4–6, 6–0, 6–4
6.July 15, 2002ManchesterGrass Karol Beck6–4, 7–6
7.October 28, 2002AachenCarpet Marc Rosset7–6, 6–4
8.January 24, 2005WrexhamHard George Bastl4–6, 6–4, 6–3
9.March 14, 2005SarajevoHard Michal Mertiňák7–6, 6–3
10.March 20, 2006AndongHard Aleksandar Vlaski6–2, 7–5
11.August 20, 2007MoscowClay Artem Sitak7–6, 6–1
12.September 3, 2007KemptenClay Marcel Zimmermann6–4, 3–6, 6–2
13.November 5, 2007RedbridgeHard Frederik Nielsen6–1, 4–6, 6–4

Singles (1 runner-up)

Doubles wins (1)