Albert Costa

Full name is Albert Costa Casals... No relation to retired ATP pro Carlos Costa... Reached 1993 Roland Garros Junior final... Won 1993 Rolex Orange Bowl... Grew up looking up to idol John McEnroe... Comes from Catalan origin and beat Portas in first all-Catalan final in Barcelona in 1997... Enjoys playing cards, table tennis, golf, and soccer (supports hometown Lerida FC) and Barcelona... Favorite movie of all time is Ben-Hur... Admires Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo... Named ATP Newcomer of the Year in 1994... Played in 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games... Has an 11-7 career Davis Cup record (9-5 in singles) in 12 ties since 1996... Wife, Cristina Ventura (married June 14, 2002) and best man was Alex Corretja, the man he had defeated in SF at Roland Garros one week earlier... Twin daughters Claudia and Alma (born nine minutes apart on Apr. 21, 2001).

2005 -- The Spaniard finished out of Top 100 for first time since his rookie season in 1993 and played fewest matches (30) since then...His best results were SF in first week of year in Doha (l. to Ljubicic) and in April in Valencia where he defeated Davydenko in 1st RD before losing to countryman Ferrer... Followed with 2nd RD showings in AMS Monte Carlo, Estoril, AMS Rome and AMS Hamburg... Lost in 1st RD at Roland Garros for third time in 12 appearances and then underwent left knee surgery to repair meniscus on May 30... Returned in mid-July and reached 2nd RD in Stuttgart and Sopot... Played last two tournaments at US Open and AMS Madrid.

2003 -- Finished in Top 25 for seventh time in nine years, highlighted by SF showings at Tennis Masters Miami and Roland Garros...In March, defeated Massu, Coria and Federer in succession before losing to eventual champion Agassi in Miami...During clay court circuit, advanced to 3rd RD in Barcelona and TMS Roma (l. to Mantilla) and came into Roland Garros as defending champion where he won four five-set matches en route to SF...Spent a total of 21 hours and 15 minutes on court in Paris, defeating Roitman (1st), Stepanek (2nd), Lapentti (3rd) and Robredo (QF) in five sets before losing to eventual champion Ferrero...Did not win back-to-back matches rest of season, compiling a 4-8 record...Finished with a 12-8 record on clay and 11-11 on hard.

2002 -- Finished in Top 10 for first time in his career highlighted by first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros...One of a record three Spaniards to rank in year-end Top 10 (No. 4 Ferrero, No. 5 Moya)...Qualified for Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai and went 1-2 in round robin play...His most memorable tournament came in Paris where road to the title included a straight-sets win over three-time champion Kuerten in Round of 16, a five-set triumph over Canas in QF followed by back-to-back four-set victories over countrymen Corretja in SF and Ferrero in final...Went 9-2 against fellow Spaniards during season...It was third all-Spanish final in Grand Slam history...He came into Roland Garros No. 22 on ATP Entry System and afterwards climbed to No. 8, his first Top 10 appearance in five years...In April, reached final in Barcelona (l. to Gaudio)...Went 3-0 at ATP World Team Cup in Dnsseldorf with wins over Henman, Kafelnikov and Kiefer before his magical run in Paris...Married his long-time girlfriend Cristina Ventura on June 14, five days after his Roland Garros title...In July, reached final in Amersfoort (l. to Chela)...Compiled a 28-8 record on clay, his most wins in three years (30-9), and 7-11 on hard courts...With his first year-end Top 10 ranking, became ninth Spaniard to finish in that elite group...Earned a career-high $1,434,439.

2001 -- Reached one ATP final, in Kitzbuhel (l. to Lapentti), and advanced to SF at TMS Hamburg...Turned in his best result at US Open by getting to 4th RD (d. Hrbaty, Ivanisevic, l. to Kuerten)...Compiled records of 16-12 on clay, 8-8 on hard and 2-2 on carpet.

2000 -- Five-year ATP title streak came to an end but still finished in Top 30 for sixth straight season...Advanced to three SF - Dubai, Scottsdale and Gstaad along with QF in three TMS events - Montre Carlo, Roma and Paris, his best indoor result...Also reached QF at Roland Garros for first time in five years (d. Enqvist, Hewitt, l. to Squillari)...Had a 3-2 Davis Cup record in singles during year in leading his country to its first ever title...Accounted for one win in 1st RD, QF and SF victories...Played in opening rubber of Davis Cup final and lost to Hewitt in five sets but Spain prevailed with a 3-1 victory over Australia...Finished with 12-13 record on hard and 17-11 on clay...In doubles, won bronze medal at Sydney Olympics (w/Corretja).

1999 -- Finished as No. 1 Spaniard for second time in four years (1996), captured three titles-Estoril (d. T. Martin), Gstaad (d. Lapentti) and Kitzbnhel (d. Vicente)-all on his favorite clay surface...Broke 0-18 career indoor record with win over Arazi at TMS Stuttgart...Following week at TMS Paris, beat Norman and Rusedski to reach 3rd RD...Finished with 30-9 record on clay and 8-10 on hard.

1998 -- Won titles at TMS Hamburg and Kitzbnhel and finalist in TMS Roma, Bournemouth..Served as alternate in ATP Tour World Chp. and went 0-2 in round robin play...Earned a career-high $1,013,446.

1997 -- Broke Top 10 for first time, reaching a career-best No. 9 on Apr. 21...Won clay court titles in Barcelona and Marbella...Helped Spain to ATP Tour World Team Championship title with 4-0 record...Advanced to second Grand Slam QF at Australian Open (l. to Sampras in five sets).

1996 -- Won a career-high three ATP titles in five finals, personal-best 52 matches and ranked in Top 20 all but eight weeks, finishing No. 13...Reached first TMS final in Monte Carlo (d. Agassi, Rios, l. to Muster).

1995 -- Beat two-time champion Courier in 4th RD at Roland Garros and took eventual champ Muster to five sets in QF...Won first ATP Tour title in Kitzbuehel (d. Muster)...Broke Muster's unbeaten streak of 24 clay court finals going back to May 1990.

1994 -- In Estoril, ousted Bruguera en route to SF for his first Top 10 win.

1993 -- QF at Tour stop in Santiago (d. Berasategui).