2005 IN REVIEW
The German finished outside Top 100 for second time in five years, reaching lone QF in ‘s-Hertogenbosch... Compiled 13-9 record in Challenger play... Season highlight came in doubles, winning ATP title in Ho Chi Minh City... After 0-2 start in Chennai and Australian Open, turned to Challengers and reached final in Heilbronn (l. to Vanek) and followed with SF in Wolfsburg... Went 1-2 on South American clay courts before changing to hard in North America, reaching 2nd RD in Scottsdale... Lost next eight matches before turning things around on grass in The Netherlands, advancing to QF in s-Hertogenbosch before losing to defending champion Llodra... Following week reached 2nd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Berdych)... Went 1-8 on ATP circuit in next four months before finishing season in Challengers, reaching QF in Aachen and SF in Eckental... In doubles, won first career ATP doubles title in Ho Chi Minh City (w/Kohlschreiber).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1995 – Won first Challenger title in Lippstadt (d. J. Svensson) and reached final in Weiden (l. to Pescariu)… Did not play from July until late October after undergoing a hernia operation on Aug. 22 in Munich… 1996 – Advanced to his first ATP SF in St. Petersburg (as qualifier), losing to eventual winner Gustafsson… Suffered left hand injury in August and missed two months of play… Continued consistency in German Challengers, reaching SF in Wolfsburg and Hamburg… 1997 – Reached his second ATP SF in Copenhagen (as qualifier)… Reached his lone final at Portoroz Challenger (l. to Stanoytchev)… In doubles, won title in Wismar (w/Kohlmann)…1998 – Reached QF in Chennai and Moscow while also winning Magdeburg Challenger…1999 – Qualified for Australian Open (l. to Squillari in 1st RD) and second week of Melbourne, reached SF at Heilbronn Challenger in Germany… Best ATP run came in Munich, where he reached QF … In doubles, won Challenger title in Aachen (w/Suzuki)… 2000 – Advanced to QF in Moscow and in Challenger play, reached SF in Wrexham and Charleroi… In doubles, reached first ATP final in Casablanca (w/Painter) as well as Challenger final in Edinburgh (w/Fukarek)… 2001 – Finished in Top 100 for first time… Reached Grand Slam career-best 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Rusedski) and Roland Garros (l. to Blanco)… Advanced to consecutive QF in Copenhagen and Dubai… On grass, reached QF in Halle… 2002 – Claimed first career ATP title in Copenhagen, where he posted victories over Fukarek, Godwin, Mamiit, Larsson and O. Rochus in final… In July, claimed Challenger title in Wrexham (d. Heuberg)… Added second Challenger title of year in last event in Eckental (d. Phau)… 2003 – Finished a year-end best No. 76 after posting a personal-best 17-match wins on ATP circuit… Also achieved solid results in Challengers (15-6)… Advanced to final in Calabasas Challenger (l. to Golmard)…In ATP play, reached 3rd RD in Indianapolis and Washington…At US Open, recorded five-set win over Horna before losing to Schalken in five sets…Closed out ATP play with QF in St. Petersburg… Went 1-2 in Davis Cup singles play during year…Earned a career-high $275,810...2004 – Finished out of Top 100 for first time in four years… Reached his second career ATP final in Shanghai (l. to Canas) and also compiled an 18-9 record in Challenger with runner-up showings in three German stops � Heilbronn (l. to Elseneer), Aachen (l. to Djokovic) and Eckental (l. to Waske) …In doubles, reached second career ATP final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch (w/J. Vacek)… Also a doubles finalist in Heilbronn Challenger (w/Carlsen).
PERSONAL
Began playing tennis at age six with his parents, Rainer, who is a pharmacist and mother, Jutta, who is a bookkeeper for her husband... Has one older brother, Jens... At age 16, won German Junior Championships and became part of Federation team... In 1993, reached SF of Roland Garros and QF at Wimbledon juniors that year... Enjoys golf, skiing and movies... Has a 1-2 career Davis Cup record in two ties... Coached by Dirk Hordoff (since October 1998).
