Oscar Hernandez

Full name is Oscar Hernandez Perez. Began playing tennis at age three with his father. Nickname is "Guindi" Father, Domingo, is a bank director; mother, Pilar, is a housewife. Has one sister, Sandra. Speaks Spanish, Italian and English. His idol growing up was Jimmy Connors. Favorite band is Joaquin Sabina and soccer team is FC Barcelona. Says his most memorable match he ever watched was 1996 US Open QF match between Corretja-Sampras. Favorite surface is clay and considers forehand as best shot. Fitness trainer is Nacho Torreno and coached by Marcos Roy and Ignasi Verdonces.

2001 -- For third year in a row, won another Futures title, at Spain #11. Advanced to QF at Brindisi Challenger. In doubles, won two Futures titles and reached finals at Sopot and Sofia Challengers (w/Vlasov).

2002 -- Captured three Futures titles and in fourth Challenger of season in Maia, reached final (l. to Hanescu) and followed with SF at Barcelona (l. to Ramirez Hidalgo). In doubles, won Turin Challenger title (w/Hanescu) and three Futures events with as many partners.

2003 -- Made a major breakthrough in first full season of Challenger play, compiling a 38-14 match record and capturing three titles in Birmingham (d. A. Kim), Genova (d. Santopadre) and Tehran (d. Scherrer); Broke Top 100 in September and finished there for first time at No. 91; Also runner-up at Furth Challenger (l. to Andersen) and advanced to QF at ATP stop in Amersfoort (l. to Horna); Followed Challenger success back to ATP circuit where he reached second QF (in Palermo) of year; In doubles, reached final at Scheveningen Challenger (w/Navarro) and advanced to SF in six other events, including ATP stop in Valencia (w/Navarro).

2004 -- Finished in Top 100 for second straight season at No. 84. Compiled a successful year in Challenger events, going 32-10 with three titles in Seville (d. Waske), Barcelona (d. Ventura) and Santiago (d. N. Lapentti). Also reached final at Montauban Challenger (l. to Calatrava) and SF at Weiden and Manerbio Challengers. In March, reached second ATP QF in Acapulco (l. to Chela). Made AMS debut in Hamburg and reached 2nd RD when Schalken retired. Reached second QF of year in Casablanca (l. to Hrbaty).

2005 -- Finished in Top 115 for third straight year while enjoying a successful season on the Challenger circuit. Compiled a 23-16 mark in Challenger play, winning one title. Reached SF at Barletta, Bucharest and QF at Tunis Challengers. At Roland Garros, reached 2nd RD for first time at a Grand Slam (l. to Ancic). In June, won Challenger title in Braunscwheig (d. N. Lapentti) and following month reached QF at ATP stop in Bastad (l. to Vanek). Finished season on Challenger circuit, advancing to SF in Santiago in October. In doubles, won Challenger title in Barcelona (w/Trujillo-Soler).

2006 -- Compiled a 29-22 mark in Challenger play, reaching Barcelona final (l. to Granollers-Pujol) and advancing to four SF and four QF. Posted best win of season over No. 47 Simon in 1st RD at Roland Garros (l. to No. 4 Ljubicic in 2nd RD).

2007 -- Compiled his best season to finish in Top 60 (at No. 58) for first time in his career. Compiled a 25-8 record in Challenger play with two titles and went 9-18 in ATP competition. In February, captured title at Florianopolis Challenger (d. Zabaleta). In March, reached QF at Barletta Challenger and followed with SF at Napoli Challenger. In his hometown tournament in Barcelona, reached QF with wins over Tursunov, Becker and No. 20 Nieminen (l. to Calleri). Then beat No. 20 Hewitt in 1st RD at AMS Rome (l. to Robredo) and Becker in 1st RD at AMS Hamburg (l. to Nadal). Turned in best Grand Slam showing at Roland Garros with 3rd RD (l. to Bjorkman). In June, captured second Challenger title in Braunschweig (d. Mayer) and broke Top 50 for first time on June 25 (later reached career-high No. 48 in October). Closed season with SF showings at Banja Luka and Tarragona Challengers. In doubles, captured first ATP title in Vina del Mar (w/Capdeville). Compiled marks of 9-11 on clay and 0-4 on hard.

2008

The Spaniard compiled his best season with a career-high 19 match wins to finish in Top 100 for second straight year and fourth time in six years...Enjoyed solid clay results, reaching two SF and three QF at ATP events in addition to a runner-up finish on Challenger circuit...Notched first win at Australian Open by defeating Minar (l. to Berdych), and followed with QF at Costa do Sauipe (l. to Moya)...Advanced to first ATP SF in April at Houston (l. to Blake)...In three-week stretch in May, reached Challenger QF at Rijeka, SF at Aarhus and ATP QF at Casablanca (l. to Benneteau)...Lost in 1st RD at Roland Garros to Mathieu, then advanced to QF in Warsaw (l. to Robredo)...In July, made SF showing at Amersfoort (l. to Montanes) and was a finalist at Cordenons Challenger (l. to Volandri)...In doubles, won Braunschweig Challenger (w/Crugnola)...Earned a career-high $389,628.