Started playing tennis at age four...Nickname is "Bennet"...Parents are Andre, who works for a glasses company, and Laurence, who is a lawyer...Has one brother (Antoine), who also plays professional tennis; and two sisters (Dominique and Marie-Sophie)...Captured US Open junior doubles title in 1999 (w/Mahut)...Tennis idols growing up were Yannick Noah and Jimmy Connors...Also idolised Michael Jordan...Favourite surfaces are indoor hard courts and clay...Likes to play soccer and ski in his spare time...Favourite soccer team is Olympic de Marseille.
2012 -- The Frenchman finished a year-end high No. 35, highlighted by ATP World Tour finals in Sydney (l. to Nieminen) and Kuala Lumpur (d. No. 5 Ferrer in SF, l. to Monaco)...Has played in 203 tournaments going into 2013 without a title...Also made SF in San Jose (l. to Istomin) and reached 3R in each Grand Slam with 3 losses coming to Top 10 opponents – No. 8 Tipsarevic at Roland Garros, No. 3 Federer in 5 sets at Wimbledon and No. 2 Djokovic at US Open...Suffered right wrist and elbow injuries in Monte-Carlo and missed a month...Posted Top 20 wins over No. 19 F. Lopez in Sydney and No. 14 Simon at Australian Open...Went 1-8 vs. Top 10 foes and compiled records of 19-16 on hard, 4-3 on clay and 4-4 on grass...In doubles, won bronze medal at London Olympics (w/Gasquet)...
2011 -- The Frenchman finished just outside Top 50…Started 8-14 through mid-July, and had 14-7 finish...In August, qualified and reached 5th career ATP World Tour final in Winston-Salem, (l. to Isner in 3 sets)…It was his 1st final on U.S. soil…Then followed with 3R at US Open (l. to Roddick)...In fall, reached final at Mons Challenger in Belgium (l. to Seppi) and won Rennes Challenger title in France (d. O. Rochus)…Went 14-3 in Challenger play...
2010 -- This Frenchman equaled his personal-high for match wins (26) while reaching a career-best ranking of No. 32 in July…Began year with SF in Sydney and QF in Rotterdam before reaching final on home soil in Marseille (l. to Llodra)…Played well on grass, with 3rd RD at Queen’s and QF at Eastbourne before reaching career-best 4th RD at Wimbledon (l. to Tsonga)…Represented France in Davis Cup ties versus Germany and Spain...Injured left wrist at US Open, retiring in 2nd RD vs. Robredo, and missed rest of season…Reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 15 and won title in Marseille, final in Toronto* and QF at Wimbledon (all w/Llodra).
2009 -- The Frenchman finished in Top 50 for third time in four years, winning a personal-best 26 matches while reaching his third career ATP World Tour final…In February, turned in back-to-back QF showings in Rotterdam (d. Davydenko, l. to Monfils) and Marseille (l. to Simon)…Posted his two best results as a lucky loser, reaching final in Kitzbühel (l. to Garcia-Lopez) and QF at Cincinnati* (l. Murray in three sets)…Advanced to career-best 3rd RD at US Open (l. to Tsonga)…Reached QF in Lyon (l. Simon)…Reached 3rd RD of Masters 1000 Paris (d. No.1 Federer, l. to Monfils)…In doubles, won first Masters 1000 title in Shanghai (w/ Tsonga) and fifth overall title in Lyon (w/ Mahut)…Compiled marks of 16-16 on hard, 8-9 on clay and 2-3 on grass…Earned a career-high $749,270.
2008 -- The Frenchman finished in Top 50 for second time in three years, highlighted by reaching two ATP finals. Began season with SF in Auckland (l. to Ferrero) and in February, reached final at Bergamo Challenger in Italy (l. to Seppi). Following month, advanced to QF in Las Vegas (l. to Querrey) and 4th RD at AMS Miami (d. Karlovic, No. 12 Tsonga, l. to Roddick). In May, reached first ATP final in Casablanca (l. to Simon) and followed with 4th RD at Roland Garros (l. to Federer). Did not win back-to-back matches again until October in his final tournament in Lyon where he was runner-up (d. Tsonga in SF, l. to Soderling). Went 1-3 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled marks of 10-13 on hard, 7-3 on clay and 1-3 on grass. In doubles, won title in Las Vegas (w/Llodra). Earned a career-high $576,412.
2007 -- Reached QF or better on all four surfaces. Began year by reaching hard court QF at Chennai and Marseille. Advanced to 4th RD at AMS Indian Wells, defeating No. 6 Blake in 3rd RD (l. to Djokovic. Reached QF on clay at Casablanca, SF on grass at 's-Hertogenbosch (l. to Ljubicic) and QF on carpet at Lyon. Achieved doubles success (23-20 record), reaching final at AMS Monte Carlo (w/ Gasquet) and three SF, including US Open (w/Mahut). Finished No. 26 in doubles.
2006 -- Achieved first Top 50 finish (No. 40) and personal-high 24 match wins. Qualified four times during year, including three in first four tournaments played. Opened with 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Roddick) and followed with SF in Memphis (d. No. 3 Roddick, l. to Haas). At AMS Indian Wells, reached 3rd RD (Djokovic, Chela, l. to Nalbandian). Turned in his career-best Grand Slam showing at Roland Garros with QF (d. Baghdatis, Stepanek; l. to Ljubicic). Afterwards, did not win consecutive matches again until AMS Toronto where he defeated No. 10 Baghdatis and Hrbaty (l. to Acasuso). Finished year with 3rd RD at AMS Paris (d. Santoro, No. 8 Gonzalez, l. to Ancic). Went 3-4 vs. Top 10 opponents. In doubles, captured his second ATP title in Lyon (w/Clement).
2005 -- Qualified in four ATP tournaments, including AMS events in Monte Carlo and Rome. In doubles, won three Challenger titles.
2004 -- Finished in Top 100 for first time and advanced to first ATP SF in Casablanca. Also captured Andrezieux Challenger (d. D. Norman) and a finalist at Besancon Challenger (l. to Berdych).Qualified into AMS Miami and reached 4th RD (l. to eventual finalist Coria). At Roland Garros, reached 3rd RD (d. Mirnyi, Ferrer; l. to Andreev). In doubles, reached SF at US Open and AMS Paris (w/Mahut).
2003 -- Won three ATP matches and reached SF at three Challenger events...Won first ATP doubles title in Metz (w/Mahut). Also finalists in Lyon and claimed Challenger titles in Bronx and St. Jean de Luz.
2002 -- Compiled an 11-14 mark in Challengers. Claimed French Futures doubles title (w/Mahut).
2001 -- Made ATP debut as a qualifier in Lyon and reached 2nd RD. Reached two Futures finals.
2000 -- Compiled 23-20 record in Futures, reaching two SF at French Futures events. Won a Futures and Challenger doubles title (w/Mahut).
2013
The Frenchman failed to convert two match points at 6-5 and 7-6 in 3rd set TB versus Anderson in Sydney SFs…Lost to Tipsarevic in 3R at Australian Open and has won at least one round in 13 straight Grand Slam tournaments played...
Beat Federer in Rotterdam QFs to record his 200th match win (on 16 February) and went onto finish runner-up (l. to del Potro); was the fifth Frenchman to reach the title match and dropped to 0-8 in ATP World Tour finals…Fell in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells 2R (l. to Dodig)…Fell in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami 2R (l. to Blake)…
In partnership with Zimonjic, on 21 April, the duo won ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo doubles title after saving seven M.P. versus Bryans in 14-12 Match TB win…Rain-interrupted final finished at 9:32pm local time…
Beat No. 12 seed Almagro in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome 1R, fell in 2R (l. to Paire)…
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