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Xavier Malisse
|
| Country |
 Belgium |
| Residence |
Sarasota, Florida, USA |
| Date of birth |
July 19, 1980 |
| Place of birth |
Kortrijk, Belgium |
| Height |
6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight |
170 lb (77 kg) |
| Turned Pro |
1998 |
| Plays |
Right-handed |
| Career Prize Money |
$2,983,845 |
| Singles |
| Career record: |
183 - 154 |
| Career titles: |
1 |
| Highest ranking: |
19 (August 12, 2002) |
| Grand Slam results |
| Australian Open |
3rd (2003) |
| French Open |
4th (2002, 2004) |
| Wimbledon |
SF (2002) |
| U.S. Open |
4th (2004, 2005) |
| Doubles |
| Career record: |
52 - 52 |
| Career titles: |
2 |
| Highest ranking: |
28 (July 7, 2004) |
|
Infobox last updated on: August 14, 2006.
|
Xavier Malisse (born July 19, 1980) is a Belgian tennis player known mostly for his enormous right-handed forehand, great power and bad temper. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, Malisse is considered the biggest Belgian tennis talent on the ATP tour. Malisse's brother, Olivier, is a lawyer in Belgium. Malisse was at one time romantically linked to former world number one female tennis player Jennifer Capriati.
[edit] Career
Xavier Malisse turned pro in 1998. In his professional career, Malisse had reached seven finals in which he won only one: Delray Beach, 2005. Xavier Malisse and Olivier Rochus won the French Open doubles championship in 2004. Malisse started the 2006 tennis season in good form, reaching the finals in Adelaide and the second round of the Australian Open beating Mikhail Youzhny in the first round and losing a five-set thriller to Thomas Johansson in the second round.
One of Malisse's most notable matches occurred at the 2005 U.S. Open. In the fourth round, he was down two sets to Andre Agassi and was two points from elimination (down 5-3) in the third-set tiebreaker when he fought back to take that set. In the next set, he dominated Agassi. Agassi later remarked that Malisse was "hitting winners off of both sides." This unanticipated comeback led CBS Announcer Mary Carillo to remark that Malisse is "oozing with talent." Just as it looked that Andre Agassi was tiring, Agassi came firing back, managing to take the final set 6-2. On match point, Malisse was at the net preparing for a volley and Agassi struck backhand down the line to Malisse's forehand side. Malisse spun through the air in an attempt to get to the volley, but the ball bounced off the frame of his racket and landed way out of bounds. Had Malisse won the match, it would have matched his best performance at the U.S. Open, which was 2003 when he lost in three tight sets to eventual champion Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals.
Another notable match occurred in the quarter-finals of the 2006 Rogers Cup in a three-set thriller against the world number one, Roger Federer. Federer took the first set in a tiebreaker but Malisse charged back, winning the second set in another tiebreaker. The third set was decided by one break of service, which Federer took and served out the set 6-3. Malisse had not lost a set in the tournament prior to playing Federer and pushed the world number one throughout the match with some unbelievable shot-making along with great hustle.
[edit] Titles
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (1) |
[edit] Singles (1)
[edit] Losing finalist (8)
[edit] Performance timeline
[edit] External links
Jiří Novák
