Fernando Gonzalez

Full name is Fernando Francisco Gonzalez Ciuffardi...Father, Fernando, is a former manager of a flour mill in Santiago and helps with his son's business affairs in South America... Mother, Patricia, a native Italian, is a housewife...Has one older sister, Patricia, who played at Miami-Dade College, and one younger sister, Jessica, who is studying to be a veterinarian in Santiago...Favorite fruit is home-grown avocados and part of his diet since childhood...

Enjoyed an outstanding junior career, finishing No. 4 in singles world junior rankings and No. 2 in doubles in 1998... Captured Roland Garros junior title (d. Ferrero) and won doubles (w/de Armas) in '98...Also won US Open junior doubles title (w/Massu) in 1997...Has a 29-12 career Davis Cup record (18-6 in singles) in 20 ties since 1998... Carried his country's flag at Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in 2008...Won Chilean National Sports Award in 2003 for winning ARAG ATP World Team Championship title (w/Massu, Rios) and presented by Chile's president...Coached by Argentine and former ATP pro Martin Rodriguez (since December 2008) and fitness trainer is Carlos Burgos.

1998 -- Won in hometown of Santiago at Futures #3 stop...Made Davis Cup singles debut against Argentina...

1999 -- In doubles, (w/Massu) defeated Black-Black in five sets in Davis Cup World Group playoff tie in Zimbabwe...

2000 -- Captured first career ATP title at Orlando as a qualifier (d. Massu)...It was first all-Chilean ATP final since Jaime Fillol defeated Ricardo Acuna in 1982 Itaparica final...Suffered a stress fracture in his right hand and retired in second set of 1st RD match at Biella Challenger in September and did not play rest of season...

2001 -- Played mostly Challengers (18-13 record), reaching final in Montevideo (l. to Nalbandian)...

2002 -- Finished as No. 1 Chilean for first time...Won ATP titles in Vña del Mar (d. N. Lapentti) and Palermo (d. Acasuso)... Also a finalist in Basel (l. to Nalbandian)...At AMS Cincinnati, beat Clement, Henman, Krajicek and Roddick before losing to No. 1 Hewitt in three sets in SF...Continued strong play at US Open (d. Ferrero in 3rd RD, l. to Schalken 7-6 in fifth set in QF)...Served as second alternate at Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai...

2003 -- Reached clay SF in Stuttgart and QF at AMS Hamburg (d. No. 1 Hewitt, l. to Nalbandian), Roland Garros (l. to Ferrero in five sets) and Umag...Won ATP World Team Chp. title, joining John McEnroe as only players to go undefeated (8-0) in singles and doubles at event...Defeated No. 1 Agassi in SF en route to final in Washington (l. to Henman)...During European indoor circuit, reached final in Metz (l. to Clement)...

2004 -- The No. 2 Chilean (behind Massu) finished in Top 25 for second time in three years highlighted by his fourth career ATP title in Vña del Mar (d. Kuerten)...Also helped his country repeat title at ATP World Team Chp. by going 4-0 in singles... In July, advanced to SF in Bsstad (l. to Zabaleta) and followed with runner-up in Amersfoort (l. to Verkerk)...

Biggest moment of season came at Athens Olympics where he captured bronze medal in singles and gold medal in doubles (w/Massu)...Outlasted American Dent 16-14 in third set (saving 2 M.P.) in singles, then saved four match points against Germany's Kiefer-Schuettler in doubles gold medal match...Helped Chile back into '05 Davis Cup World Group for first time since 1985 by winning two singles matches against Japan in playoff tie...

2005 -- The No. 1 Chilean for second time won a career-high three ATP titles on three different surfaces to finish at a year-end No. 11...Only player on ATP circuit to finish in Top 25 in singles and doubles...Served as alternate at Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, playing two matches (d. Puerta, l. to Gaudio)...Advanced to 3rd RD or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a season for first time in his career...Opened campaign by winning his first career hard court title in Auckland (d. O. Rochus) and followed with a 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Nalbandian)...Made his season debut on clay in Viña del Mar and reached final (l. to Gaudio) for third time in four years...Played in 1st RD Davis Cup tie in Moscow and defeated Youzhny in opening rubber before falling to Safin in five sets...Went 9-7 in next two months before reaching 3rd RD at Roland Garros (l. to Federer)...

At Wimbledon, became first Chilean to reach QF at All England Club since Ricardo Acuna in 1985...Posted his first Top 10 win of year over No. 10 J. Johansson in 3rd RD before losing to eventual champion Federer...Returned to clay in July and captured title in Amersfoort (d. Calleri) without dropping a set...Went 4-4 in next month before reaching 3rd RD at US Open (l. to Nalbandian)...Finished rest of season with an 11-4 record...Helped his country back into '06 Davis Cup World Group with a win over Pakistan...

In last four weeks, reached QF in Vienna and AMS Madrid (l. to Ljubicic in both) and captured his first career indoor title in Basel (d. Baghdatis)...Also won doubles title (w/Calleri), joining Federer as only double winners on circuit during year...Compiled a career-best 26-16 mark in doubles, winning title in Valencia (w/Rodriguez) and reaching final in Amersfoort (w/Massu)...Also turned in a Grand Slam-best SF at Roland Garros (w/Massu)...Finished a year-end best No. 25 in doubles...Went 3-10 vs. Top 10 opponents, including wins over No. 7 Coria at AMS Madrid and No. 10 Puerta in Shanghai...

2006 -- Finished in ATP Top 10 Rankings for first time in his career despite not winning an ATP title...Became first Chilean to finish in Top 10 since Marcelo Rios in 1999...Won a career-best 49 matches for second straight year and advanced to three indoor finals in a row in October, including his first in an ATP Masters Series...Only lost three times in an opening round match in 20 tournaments...From July-on, put together a 26-9 mark...Opened season with a QF in Auckland (l. to Ancic) and after a 1st RD loss at Australian Open (l. to Bogomolov), reached SF on clay in Viña del Mar (l. to Massu)...

In first two AMS tournaments, lost in opening match to Soderling in Indian Wells and reached 3rd RD in Miami (l. to Kiefer)...Played in Davis Cup QF tie against U.S. (on grass) and rallied from a two-sets deficit against No. 8 Blake and won 10-8 in fifth set (in 4:20)...Then lost reverse singles match to Roddick in four sets...During European clay circuit, advanced to SF at AMS Monte Carlo, QF at AMS Rome (d. Berdych, l. to Nadal) and 3rd RD at AMS Hamburg (l. to Verdasco)...On Apr. 24 after Monte Carlo, climbed from 21 to No. 10 after posting wins over Moya, Lopez (saved 3 M.P.), Soderling and No. 5 Ljubicic before losing to Federer...Joined Rios and Massu as only Chileans to rank in Top 10 (since 1973)...

On grass, reached QF at Queen’s (l. to Roddick) and followed with 3rd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Ferrer in five sets)...Finished second in US Open Series standings, reaching three SF and one QF...Opened North American summer circuit with QF in in Indianapolis (l. to Malisse)...In Los Angeles, defeated defending champion Agassi in what would be his last event appearance, then lost to Tursunov... Also reached SF at next two appearances, at AMS events in Toronto and Cincinnati, falling to eventual champions Federer and Roddick, respectively...

After falling to Murray in five sets in 3rd RD at US Open, put together an impressive three-week stretch during European indoor circuit...Reached consecutive finals in Vienna with back-to-back wins over No. 4 Nalbandian and No. 6 Roddick (l. to Ljubicic), AMS Madrid (d. Berdych, l. to Federer) and Basel (l. to Federer)...Surpassed $1 million for second straight year...

2007 -- The top South American player was first Chilean to finish in Top 10 in back-to-back seasons since Marcelo Rios from 1997-99...Made breakthrough by reaching his first Grand Slam final at Australian Open, dropping only one set in wins over Hewitt (3rd RD), No. 5 Blake (4th RD), No. 2 Nadal (QF) and No. 12 Haas (SF) before falling to Federer in straight sets...Afterwards, climbed from No. 9 to a career-high No. 5...

In March, reached 4th RD at AMS Indian Wells (l. to Haas) and 3rd RD in Miami (l. to Mathieu)...Did not win back-to-back matches again until May when he advanced to final at AMS Rome (l. to Nadal)...Followed with QF at AMS Hamburg, losing to Nadal again...Won two of three singles matches in ATP World Team Chp., then lost in 1st RD at Roland Garros to Stepanek...On grass, reached QF at Queen's in London (l. to Tursunov) and 3rd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Tipsarevic in five sets)...

During summer hard court circuit, struggled with an 0-4 mark before turning things around with his first career title on Asian soil in Beijing (d. Robredo)...Played in Davis Cup World Group playoff tie in Israel and defeated Okun in four sets before losing 5:01 marathon in reverse singles to Dudi Sela, which clinched Israel's 3-2 victory...Finished European indoor circuit by reaching QF in three of last four tournaments – Vienna, AMS Madrid and Basel...

Surpassed $1 million for third straight year...Qualified for Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai and went 1-2 in round robin play, defeating No. 1 Federer for first time (1-10)...Compiled 4-6 mark vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled marks of 22-14 on hard, 11-8 on clay and 4-2 on grass.

2008 -- The top Chilean finished in Top 15 for a fourth straight season highlighted by two ATP titles and a silver medal showing at Beijing Olympics...Jumped off to a 20-5 start through Roland Garros where he reached QF (l. to Federer)...In February, captured title on home soil in Viña del Mar (d. Monaco by W/O) after saving two match points in SF win over Pablo Cuevas...

Did not win back-to-back matches again until May when he collected title in Munich (d. Bolelli)...Followed with 3rd RD at AMS Rome (W/O vs. Almagro due to leg injury) and QF in Paris...On grass, reached 3rd RD at Queen's (l. to Karlovic) and 2nd RD at WImbledon (l. to Bolelli)...In August, lost to Nadal in gold medal match in Beijing after saving three match points in 11-9 third set SF win over Blake ...Then reached 4th RD at US Open (l. to Roddick)...

In September, lifted Chile into '09 Davis Cup World Group by winning both of his singles matches over Australia's Luczak and Guccione...Finished out strong with consecutive QF showings in Beijing, Tokyo and Vienna...Ranked in Top 10 every week from Oct. 9, '06 until falling from No. 7 to No. 24 on Jan. 28...Went 2-3 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled marks of career-best 18-1 on clay, 18-12 on hard and 3-2 on grass.

2009

The top Chilean opened the season by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open (l. to eventual champ Nadal) after defeating Frenchman Richard Gasquet 12-10 in the fifth set...Then repeated his title on home soil in Vina del Mar (d. Acasuso) and for fourth time in his career…Withdrew from first round Davis Cup tie vs. Croatia due to back injury…

Returned in March to reach the fourth round (after a bye) at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with wins over former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and No. 13 James Blake before losing to No. 2 Roger Federer in three sets…Afterwards improved ranking from No. 17 to No. 13… He then made a third-round exit (after a bye) at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, defeating Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-4 before falling to No. 18 seed Radek Stepanek 7-6(1), 6-4…In late April, took a wild card into Barcelona and reached the SFs with a win over No. 7 ranked Fernando Verdasco before losing to David Ferrer in a third set tie-break…He then advanced to the SFs in Rome, losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-3.

Posted a personal-best semi-final effort at Roland Garros, ousting World No. 3 Andy Murray in the quarter-finals before losing to Robin Soderling in five sets…Afterwards returned to Top 10 (No.10) of South African Airways ATP Rankings for the first time since 8th September 2008…Stayed at No. 10 for six weeks, during which time he reached the third round at Wimbledon (l. to Ferrero in five sets).

Opened Olympus US Open Series with a semi-final showing in Washington, lost out to defending champion Juan Martin del Potro. The following week in Montreal he reached the third round (l. to Davydenko).