Àlex Corretja

Àlex Corretja i Verdegay (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈaləks kuˈrɛdʒə j βəɾðəˈɣaj]; born 11 April 1974) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he finished runner-up twice at the French Open (in 1998 and 2001). He won the ATP Tour World Championships in 1998 and reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1999. He also played a key role in helping Spain win its first-ever Davis Cup title in 2000. He became a temporary coach of British tennis player Andy Murray in April 2008 for the duration of the clay-court season and resumed the role in 2009.[1] On 29 March 2011, Corretja and Murray parted company by mutual agreement.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Corretja and the second or maternal family name is Verdegay.

Àlex Corretja
Country (sports) Spain
ResidenceBarcelona, Spain
Born (1974-04-11) 11 April 1974
Barcelona
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro1991
Retired2005
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$10,411,354
Singles
Career record438–281 (60.9%)
Career titles17
Highest rankingNo. 2 (1 February 1999)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open3R (1998)
French OpenF (1998, 2001)
Wimbledon2R (1994, 1996)
US OpenQF (1996)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsW (1998)
Olympic Games3R (2000)
Doubles
Career record103–115 (47.2%)
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 50 (9 June 1997)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (1998)
Wimbledon3R (1996)
US Open3R (1996)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (2000)
Medal record
Olympic Games – Tennis
2000 SydneyDoubles

From 2012 until 2013, Corretja coached the Spanish Davis Cup team. He was replaced by Carlos Moyá.

Early career

Corretja was born in Barcelona, and first came to the tennis world's attention as a promising junior player who won the Orange Bowl 16s title in 1990. He turned professional in 1991 and won his first top-level singles title in 1994 at Buenos Aires. His first doubles title came in 1995 at Palermo.

1996

In 1996, Corretja faced Pete Sampras in an epic five-set quarterfinal match at the US Open. Pete Sampras threw up in the fifth set tiebreak, where Corretja held a match point later on, but he eventually lost to Sampras on a double fault in 4 hours and 9 minutes.

1997

In 1997, Corretja captured three titles, including his first Tennis Masters Series title in Rome, where he defeated Marcelo Ríos. (He won a second Masters Series title in 2000 at Indian Wells.)

1998

1998 saw Corretja reach his first Grand Slam final at the French Open. In the third round, he defeated Argentina's Hernán Gumy in (at the time) the longest match in the tournament's history. Corretja won the 5-hour 31-minute marathon. In the final, Corretja lost to fellow-Spaniard Carlos Moyà in straight sets.

Corretja finished 1998 by winning the most significant title of his career, the ATP Tour World Championships (now known as the World Tour Finals). In the semifinals, he saved three match points on the way to beating Sampras. In the final, Corretja faced Moyà in a five-set marathon and came back from two sets down to win in 4 hours and 1 minute. Corretja's win made him the first man to ever win the Tour Championships without having ever won a Grand Slam tournament (David Nalbandian, Nikolay Davydenko, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas have since repeated the feat.)

In total, Corretja won a career-high five singles titles in 1998 and finished the year ranked world No. 3. This year Corretja won in Lyon, played on carpet, a "damned" surface for Spanish tennis in the 90's. This year also won in Dubai (hard court), defeating countryman Felix Mantilla. These results, joining with the good results on clay, made Corretja the most versatile Spanish player for several years. In February 1999, Corretja reached his career-high ranking of world No. 2.

Later career

2000

In 2000, Corretja helped Spain win its first-ever Davis Cup title. He went 3–0 in singles rubbers during the earlier rounds, and then teamed up with Joan Manuel Balcells to win the doubles match in the final as Spain beat Australia 3–1. Corretja also won a men's doubles bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney, partnering Albert Costa.

2001

In 2001, Corretja reached the men's singles final at the French Open for the second time. He lost in the final to defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in four sets. In July of that year, Corretja won a five-set marathon match in the final at Amsterdam against Younes El Aynaoui. The 53-game match was the year's longest tour final.

2002

Corretja's biggest win of 2002 came in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, where he rallied from two sets down to beat Sampras on grass. (Spain eventually lost the tie 3–1.) At the French Open, Corretja saved four match points in the third round against Arnaud Clément, before going on to win. Corretja then progressed to the semifinals, where he lost in four sets to Albert Costa (who went on to win the title). One week later, Corretja was the best man at Costa's wedding.

2003-05

In 2003, Corretja was again part of a Spanish team which reached the Davis Cup final. He won two doubles and one singles rubber in the earlier rounds. However, in the final, Corretja and Feliciano López lost the doubles rubber, as Spain were beaten 3–1 by Australia.

Corretja announced his retirement on 24 September 2005. He won a total of 17 top-level singles titles and three doubles titles during his career.

After retirement

Corretja coached Britain's Andy Murray from 2008 to 2011.

As of 2015, he works for Eurosport as a field interviewer at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up1998French OpenClay Carlos Moyá3–6, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up2001French OpenClay Gustavo Kuerten7–6(7–3), 5–7, 2–6, 0–6

Career finals

Singles (17–13)
Legend
Grand Slam (0–2)
Tennis Masters Cup (1–0)
ATP Masters Series (2–3)
ATP International Series Gold (5–0)
ATP International Series (9–8)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–3)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (10–10)
Carpet (2–0)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 2 November 1992 Guarujá, Brazil Hard Carsten Arriens 6–7, 3–6
Loss 2. 3 October 1994 Palermo, Italy Clay Alberto Berasategui 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 4–6
Win 1. 14 November 1994 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay Javier Frana 6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 3. 13 May 1996 Hamburg, Germany Clay Roberto Carretero 6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 4. 29 July 1996 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Alberto Berasategui 2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 5. 7 October 1996 Marbella, Spain Clay Marc-Kevin Goellner 6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7)
Win 2. 14 April 1997 Estoril, Portugal Clay Francisco Clavet 6–3, 7–5
Loss 6. 28 April 1997 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Marcelo Ríos 4–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 7. 5 May 1997 Munich, Germany Clay Mark Philippoussis 6–7, 6–1, 4–6
Win 3. 19 May 1997 Rome, Italy Clay Marcelo Ríos 7–5, 7–5, 6–3
Win 4. 21 July 1997 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Karol Kučera 6–2, 7–5
Win 5. 16 February 1998 Dubai, UAE Hard Félix Mantilla 7–6(7–0), 6–0
Loss 8. 11 May 1998 Hamburg, Germany Clay Albert Costa 2–6, 0–6, 0–1 ret.
Loss 9. 8 June 1998 French Open, Paris Clay Carlos Moyà 3–6, 5–7, 3–6
Win 6. 13 July 1998 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Boris Becker 7–6(7–5), 7–5, 6–3
Win 7. 24 August 1998 Indianapolis, U.S. Hard Andre Agassi 2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win 8. 26 October 1998 Lyon, France Carpet (i) Tommy Haas 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1
Win 9. 30 November 1998 Tennis Masters Cup, Hannover Carpet (i) Carlos Moyà 3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5
Loss 10. 18 January 1999 Sydney, Australia Hard Todd Martin 3–6, 6–7
Loss 11. 30 August 1999 Long Island, U.S. Hard Magnus Norman 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 3–6
Loss 12. 20 September 1999 Mallorca, Spain Clay Juan Carlos Ferrero 6–2, 5–7, 3–6
Win 10. 20 March 2000 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Thomas Enqvist 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Win 11. 17 July 2000 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Mariano Puerta 6–1, 6–3
Win 12. 30 July 2000 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Emilio Benfele Álvarez 6–3, 6–1, 3–0 ret.
Win 13. 21 August 2000 Washington, U.S. Hard Andre Agassi 6–2, 6–3
Win 14. 23 October 2000 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–2
Loss 13. 11 June 2001 French Open, Paris Clay Gustavo Kuerten 7–6(7–3), 5–7, 2–6, 0–6
Win 15. 23 July 2001 Amsterdam, Netherlands Clay Younes El Aynaoui 6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–0), 3–6, 6–4
Win 16. 15 July 2002 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Gastón Gaudio 6–3, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–3)
Win 17. 29 July 2002 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Juan Carlos Ferrero 6–4, 6–1, 6–3

Singles performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (P) postponed; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Tournament19921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 2R 2R 4R 2R 2R A 1R 1R 2R A 0 / 8 8–8
French Open 1R 1R 3R 4R 2R 4R F QF QF F SF 1R 3R A 0 / 13 36–13
Wimbledon A A 2R A 2R A 1R A A A A A 1R A 0 / 4 2–4
US Open 1R 1R 1R 2R QF 3R 4R 1R 3R 3R 3R 1R 1R A 0 / 13 16–13
Win–Loss 0–2 0–2 3–3 4–2 7–4 6–2 11–4 5–3 7–3 8–2 7–3 0–3 3–4 0–0 0 / 38 61–38
Year-end championships
Tennis Masters Cup Did Not Qualify W DNQ RR Did Not Qualify 1 / 2 5–3
Grand Slam Cup Was Not Invited 1R WNI Not Held 0 / 1 0–1
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells Masters A A A 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R W 3R 2R 2R 3R A 1 / 10 14–8
Miami Masters A A A 1R 2R 3R SF 4R 2R 4R 4R 2R A A 0 / 9 13–9
Monte Carlo Masters A QF 3R 3R 1R F QF A QF 1R 3R 1R 2R A 0 / 11 20–11
Rome Masters 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R W 2R SF SF QF 1R 2R 1R A 1 / 13 24–12
Hamburg Masters 2R A 3R 1R F 3R F A 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R A 0 / 11 18–11
Canada Masters A A A A 2R A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 1–1
Cincinnati Masters A A A 1R 1R 3R 2R 2R 1R A A 1R A A 0 / 7 2–7
Madrid Masters A A A A 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 2R 3R 2R 2R A 0 / 9 5–9
Paris Masters A A A A 1R 2R 1R 2R QF 2R A A A A 0 / 6 3–6
Win–Loss 2–2 4–2 5–3 4–6 8–8 18–7 12–8 7–6 17–7 8–7 8–6 3–7 4–5 0–0 2 / 77 100–74
Year-end ranking 86 76 22 48 23 12 3 27 8 16 19 100 114 525

Top 10 wins
Season1990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005Total
Wins000032038154311031
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score
1994
1. Jim Courier 5 Barcelona, Spain Clay 2R 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
2. Jim Courier 10 Indianapolis, United States Hard 2R 1–6, 6–4, 6–3
3. Stefan Edberg 4 Indianapolis, United States Hard QF 1–6, 6–2, 6–4
1995
4. Wayne Ferreira 8 French Open, Paris Clay 3R 6–4, 7–5, 6–2
5. Thomas Muster 4 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay 1R 7–5, 6–1
1997
6. Carlos Moyá 8 Italian Open Clay 3R 6–4, 6–4
7. Goran Ivanišević 6 Italian Open Clay SF 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4)
8. Marcelo Ríos 9 Italian Open Clay F 7–5, 7–5, 6–3
1998
9. Jonas Björkman 4 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard SF 6–3, 6–3
10. Gustavo Kuerten 10 Davis Cup, Porto Alegre Clay RR 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
11. Gustavo Kuerten 8 Hamburg, Germany Clay QF 4–6, 7–6(10–8), 6–4
12. Greg Rusedski 7 Indianapolis, United States Hard QF 6–4, 6–3
13. Andre Agassi 8 Indianapolis, United States Hard F 2–6, 6–2, 6–3
14. Andre Agassi 4 ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover Hard (i) RR 5–7, 6–3, 2–1 ret.
15. Pete Sampras 1 ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover Hard (i) SF 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
16. Carlos Moyá 5 ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover Hard (i) F 3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5
1999
17. Karol Kučera 8 Sydney, Australia Hard SF 7–5, 6–4
2000
18. Magnus Norman 5 Indian Wells, United States Hard QF 4–6, 6–2, 6–2
19. Nicolás Lapentti 8 Indian Wells, United States Hard SF 6–3, 6–4
20. Thomas Enqvist 10 Indian Wells, United States Hard F 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
21. Andre Agassi 1 Washington D.C., United States Hard F 6–2, 6–3
22. Lleyton Hewitt 6 Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon Hard (i) RR 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3
2001
23. Lleyton Hewitt 7 Italian Open Clay 3R 7–6(7–2), 6–4
24. Lleyton Hewitt 6 World Team Cup, Düsseldorf Clay RR 3–6, 6–2, 6–3
25. Magnus Norman 9 World Team Cup, Düsseldorf Clay RR 6–0, 6–4
26. Sébastien Grosjean 10 French Open, Paris Clay SF 7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4
2002
27. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 4 Hamburg, Germany Clay 1R 6–1, 6–2
28. Albert Costa 6 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay QF 6–1, 6–2
29. Juan Carlos Ferrero 8 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay F 6–4, 6–1, 6–3
2003
30. Sébastien Grosjean 10 St. Petersburg, Russia Hard (i) QF 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
2004
31. Juan Carlos Ferrero 3 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay 1R 6–2, 6–3

References
  1. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article5928127.ece
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