Thiago Alves

Full name is Thiago Hernandez Alves...Grew up playing on clay at age five with his father, Joao Luis Alves, who took his son to local Pallestra Sport Club...Father owns a marble/granite company...Mother, Marcia Regina Rodrigues Hernandez, is a housewife...Has one older sister Larissa, who is a lawyer...Uncle, Geraldo, was a pro soccer player in Division I in Brazil...A big supporter of Sao Paulo soccer club and used to play for city's junior team (Sao Jose do Rio Preto) until age 10...Was a big fan of Romario (retired famous Brazilian soccer player)... Childhood idol was Andre Agassi and countryman Gustavo Kuerten...As a junior, practiced/warmed up with Kuerten in Paris when he won Roland Garros in 2000...As a junior, won four titles in 1999, including three in a row (in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia) in January-February...Considers best shot his forehand and favorite surface hard courts...Coached by Edvaldo Oliveira and physical trainer is Georges Bezas.

1999 -- Reached 2nd RD at pair of South American Futures; Won a Brazilian Futures doubles title (w/A. Ferreira)

2000 -- Reached QF in Lima Futures events; Claimed one Futures doubles title in Lima (w/ Soares);

2001 -- Made ATP debut as wild card in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Canas); Claimed first career Futures title in Brazil (d. Veronelli); Reached SF at Sao Paulo Challenger; Was 13-9 in Futures and 11-13 in Challengers...

2002 -- Reached a pair of Challenger SF; Was 6-6 in Challengers, 6-9 in Futures

2003 -- In May, reached back-to-back Colombian Futures finals, winning one title (d. Soares, l. to Falla); Complied a 26-11 Futures record and a 2-3 Challenger mark; Claimed a pair of Futures doubles titles (w/Soares); Doubles finalist at two other Futures

2004 -- Did not play until August due to; Reached SF of first four tournaments; In last six Futures events of the year, won three titles in five finals appearances; Compiled 39-9 mark in Futures; Won three Futures doubles titles with three different partners

2005 -- Won three titles and reached another final in first eight Futures events of the year; Reached first career Challenger final at Tarzana (l. to Bogomolov); In October, won back-to-back Challengers in Ecuador (d. Joseph and Daniel); Finished year with 25-15 Challenger mark and a 22-4 Futures record; Reached one Futures doubles final (w/Soares).

2006 -- The No. 1 Brazilian for first time in his career finished just outside Top 100 after cracking century mark in September...Compiled an impressive record (40-20) in Challenger play, winning two titles and reaching two other finals...In July, reached 2nd RD at back-to-back ATP events on grass in Newport, defeated Behrend before falling to Fish, then followed on hard courts in Indianapolis, defeating Reynolds before losing to Mahut...Made Grand Slam debut at US Open and reached 2nd RD with a four-set win over Zabaleta (l. to Verdasco)...Opened year by reaching final of Sao Paulo Challenger (l. to Saretta)...In April, reached SF of Aguascalientes Challenger (l. to del Potro)...Won two Challenger titles in span of three weeks in August, in Belo Horizonte (d. Sa) and Manta (d. Dabul)...In September, reached Gramado Challenger final, retiring at 5-6 in third set against Ferreiro...In doubles, claimed first career Challenger title at Sao Paulo (w/Saretta) and won another in Salinas (w/Silva)...Also doubles finalist at Florianopolis Challenger (w/Silva)...Earned a career-high $91,725.