2003 IN REVIEW

The No. 1 Hungarian dropped out of Top 100 in ATP Entry Rankings for first time since 2000…Had a 5-11 record in ATP circuit matches and 2-7 mark in Challengers…Reached 3rd RD at Roland Garros for second time in career by recording wins against Vinciguerra in four sets and Youhzny in five sets before losing to Coria in three sets…Lost in 1st RD at first four events of year before breaking streak in Dubai with three-set victory over Henman…His win against Henman was only hard court win of year after losing in next round to Ljubicic…Picked up first clay court win in Casablanca, defeating O. Hernandez in three sets before falling to Hrbaty in next round…Reached 2nd RD in Houston with win against Kiefer but lost to J. Blake in next match…Lost to Horna in 1st RD at Sopot, his final match of year…Began suffering from chest inflammation cause by virus in July and also had problems with his Achilles and shoulder.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

1993-94-Played total of three Satellites and one Challenger, picking up 24 points in Slovakia Satellite and five points in Hungary...1995-Competed in four Challengers, reaching QF in Prague...Also played four Satellites, highlighted by 27 points at Uruguay/Paraguay in October...In doubles, won Challenger title in Tashkent (w/Dunn)...1996-Played mainly on Challenger circuit, winning first title in Tampere (d. Diaz)...Also reached final at Budapest-2 (l. to Sabau) and won doubles title (w/Markovits)...Made Davis Cup debut against Russia (l. to Kafelnikov, d. Chesnokov)... 1997-Defended Tampere Challenger title (d. Larkham) without dropping a set...Advanced to SFs in Budapest and Cairo...1998-Made ATP debut in Casablanca, defeating Schuettler in 1st RD before losing to Portas in 2nd RD...In June, reached final in Split Challenger (l. to Stanoytchev)...Also reached 2nd RD in ATP event in Bucharest...Captured doubles titles in Challengers at Split (w/Grant) and Santiago (w/Fukarek)...1999-Enjoyed an excellent summer on Challenger circuit, winning two Challengers at Nettingsdorf (d. Hipfl) and Manerbio (d. Guardiola), reaching final in Edinburgh (l. to Moretti) and SFs in Sopot and Sylt...Also won doubles title at Sylt (w/ Nicklisch)...2000-Made Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros, reaching 3rd RD after qualifying...Defeated Rodriguez after coming from two sets down to win first career five-set match in 1st RD and beat Koubek in 2nd RD before losing to Hewitt... Reached Challenger final in Lugano (l. to D. Sanchez)...Made US Open debut (l. to Saulnier in 1st RD) after qualifying and represented country in Sydney Olympics (l. to Srichaphan)...2001 - Became only sixth player from Hungary to break into Top 100 and first to finish in that group since Sandor Noszaly in 1995...Won two Challenger titles in Sassuolo (d. Galimberti) and Manerbio (d. Labadze) to claim fifth and sixth of his career...Went 32-20 in Challengers...Reached first ATP doubles final in Sopot (w/Labadze)...Went 3-0 in Davis Cup singles and doubles play… 2002 - Finished in Top 100 in both ATP Champions Race and Entry System for first time in his career with personal best 14 match wins on ATP circuit...Played in all four Grand Slams for first time, reaching 2nd RD on Australian Open debut (d. Patience, l. to Federer)... Qualified for both TMS events in Monte Carlo (d. Kiefer, l. to Haas) and Hamburg (l. to Voinea)...After going 0-2 on grass at Halle and Wimbledon, reached QF in Gstaad (d. Lapentti, d. Kucera, l. to Stepanek) and first career SF in Sopot... In second appearance at US Open, retired in third set of 1st RD against Mirnyi with right elbow injury while trailing by two sets to love.

PERSONAL

Began playing tennis at age seven with his brother, who is a doctor...Speaks Hungarian, German and English ...Enjoys animals and owns two dogs and a cat...His favorite player growing up was former No. 1 Stefan Edberg...His favorite surface is clay and considers backhand as best shot... Member of Hungarian Davis Cup team and has a 20-13 career record (12-10 in singles) in 12 ties...Coached by Alberto Castellani (Since July 2001).