Julien Benneteau

Started playing tennis at age four. Nicknames are "Bennet" and "Muffle". Parents are Andre, who works for a glasses company, and Laurence, who is a lawyer. Has one brother (Antoine), who briefly played Futures events from 2004-07; 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 idolized Michael Jordan. Favorite surfaces are indoor hard courts and clay. Likes to play soccer and ski in his spare time. Favorite soccer team is Olympic de Marseille. A member of "Team Lagardere" and coached by countrymen Olivier Malcor and Olivier Soules.

2000 -- Compiled 23-20 record in Futures, reaching two SF at French Futures events. Won a Futures and Challenger doubles title (w/Mahut).

2001 -- Made ATP debut as a qualifier in Lyon and reached 2nd RD. Reached two Futures finals.

2002 -- Compiled an 11-14 mark in Challengers. Claimed French Futures doubles title (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.

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).

2005 -- Qualified in four ATP tournaments, including AMS events in Monte Carlo and Rome. In doubles, won three Challenger titles.

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).

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.

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.