Ivan Navarro

PERSONAL

Began playing tennis at age four and has practiced in Alicante all his life...Father, Remigio, works in a litography...Mother, Rosa, is a school teacher in San Vicente where family lives...Younger brother, Pablo, is studying physical education but also teaches tennis on weekends in local club...Supports soccer team FC Barcelona...Likes to spend time with family and likes to play on Playstation and be on his computer...Enjoys going to the cinema (favourite movie is Gladiator)...Reads a lot especially when on planes as it takes his mind away from his fear of flying...Would most like to win either Roland Garros or Wimbledon...Idol was Ivan Lendl when growing up and now admires Roger Federer...Best shot is his serve and favorite surface is clay...Most memorable moment is qualifying for Roland Garros in 2007, winning one round and breaking into Top 100...Coached by Israel Sevilla (since 2001).

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

1998 -- Won his first Futures match at Spain #8 at age 16 in August.

1999 -- Played in nine Futures matches with his best result a SF at Spain #1.

2000 -- Reached final at Spain #4 Futures, defeating David Ferrer in 2nd RD. Won first Futures title at Spain #5.

2001 -- Captured titles at Spain Futures #1 and #4 events. Posted 7-6 Challenger record and reached final at Brasov (l. to Galvani).

2002 -- Played in 12 Futures or Challenger events during year and reached Spain #6 Futures final.

2003 -- Reached four Futures finals, winning Spain #4 and #17. Posted 7-5 Challenger record.

2004 -- Competed at Wimbledon for first time, losing to Mardy Fish in opening round. Posted a 17-18 Challenger record, including SF at Sassuolo and Segovia. Reached final at Spain #2 Futures stop and won title at Spain #6 Futures.

2005 -- Began season reaching two Future finals in February, winning Spain #3. In ATP event in Valencia, defeating No. 26 Fernando Gonzalez to reach SF (l. to Andreev) and move to No. 142 at end of year.

2006 -- Continued to play more ATP events, with best week in Barcelona where he defeated No. 39 Srichaphan and Gimeno-Traver before falling to No. 2 Nadal in 3rd RD. Won Challenger titles at Seville (d. Ruiz-Cadenas) and Bratislava (d. Craciun) on clay and also reached grass court final in Nottingham (l. to Dupuis). Posted 2-7 record in ATP events.

2007 -- The Spaniard finished a year-end best No. 114 highlighted by a career-high 10 match wins at ATP level. Also compiled a 17-17 mark in Challenger play. Reached a career-best No. 90 on June 11. In March, advanced to SF at Barletta Challenger and following month in ATP stop in Valencia, reached first SF (l. to Starace). Continued success in May with SF at Prague Challenger (l. to Vanek) and won first Grand Slam match at Roland Garros (d. Pashanski, l. to Nalbandian). In final three month stretch, reached QF at Genova Challenger, final at Banja Luka Challenger (l. to Economidis) along with 2nd RD at Mumbai and 3rd RD in Tokyo (d. Haase, Querrey, l. to Hewitt). In doubles, best result was SF in Kitzbuhel (w/Almagro). Earned a career-high $190,480.

2008 -- The Spaniard finished in Top 100 for first time, highlighted by three Challenger titles and two ATP QF. Compiled 36-14 record at Challenger level (28-11 on clay) and 7-14 in ATP competition. Reached first of five Challenger finals in March at Bogota (l. to Daniel). Two weeks later, won clay title at Meknes (d. Vanek). Continued strong showings on clay, reaching SF in May at Aarhus and in June at Constanta. Followed with Challenger titles on hard court at Cordoba (d. Norman) and on clay at Medjugorje (d. Riba). In between, notched first ATP match wins on grass in reaching QF at Newport (l. to eventual champion Santoro). Returned to Challenger action and reached SF at Segovia (l. to Stakhovsky) and final at Alphen aan den Rijn (l. to Greul). Made fifth appearance in Grand Slam tournament, losing to No. 11 Gonzalez in four sets at the US Open. In final ATP clay tournament, reached QF at Bucharest (l. to Acasuso). Went 0-1 vs Top 10 opponents. Earned a career-high $223,089.

2009 IN REVIEW

The Spaniard failed to win a match on ATP World Tour until Casablanca in April, when he reached the second round (l. to Hanescu)…Reached first semi-final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, defeating World No. 19 David Ferrer in quarter-final before losing to Raemon Sluiter…