Nicolás Massú
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| Country |  Chile |
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| Residence | Viña del Mar, Chile | |
| Date of birth | October 10, 1979 | |
| Place of birth | Viña del Mar, Chile | |
| Height | 180 cm (6 ft 0 in) | |
| Weight | 80 kg (177 lbs) | |
| Turned Pro | 1998 | |
| Plays | Right | |
| Career Prize Money | $3,559,621 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 224 - 182 | |
| Career titles: | 6 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 9 (September 13, 2004) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | 2nd (2005) | |
| French Open | 3rd (2004, 2006) | |
| Wimbledon | 3rd (2001) | |
| U.S. Open | 4th (2005) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 70 - 76 | |
| Career titles: | 1 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 31 (July 25, 2005) | |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Competitor for the Chile |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Tennis | |||
| Gold | 2004 Athens | Singles | |
| Gold | 2004 Athens | Doubles | |
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (born October 10, 1979, in Viña del Mar, Chile), nicknamed Vampiro (Spanish: "vampire"), is a Chilean tennis player.
Contents |
[edit] Tennis career
Massú was introduced to tennis at age five by his Hungarian grandfather, Ladislao Fried. From age 12, he was trained by Leonardo Zuleta, with whom he perfected his forehand and double-handed backhand.
He became a professional tennis player in 1997. That year he won the prestigious juniors year-end Orange Bowl tournament.
In late 2003, Massú reached the final at the Madrid Tennis Masters Series tournament, losing to Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero.
In 2004 Massú attained his best ATP Singles Ranking, reaching the 9th spot. In mid-2004, he parted ways with Argentinian coach Gabriel Markus, whom he replaced with Chilean Patricio Rodríguez. The Olympic champion underwent groin surgery in November 2004, and therefore entered the 2005 season off top form.
[edit] Olympics
Massú represented Chile at the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Australia, and was the country's standard bearer at the Games' opening ceremony, after Marcelo Ríos failed to show up.
In August, at the Olympic Games in Athens, he and doubles partner Fernando González gave their country its first-ever Olympic gold medal, when they defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler of Germany to win the men's doubles tournament. The next day, he captured his second gold medal by defeating American Mardy Fish in five sets in the men's singles final.
He was overwhelmed that he had won two gold medals: "I was so happy because this is my best memory in my sport career. If I look back in 10 more years, I look back on this, I'm gonna be so happy. Now I can die happy."[1]
[edit] Playing style
Massú has a style characteristic of a clay court specialist, with strong baseline play characterized by a solid forehand and backhand. However, his play at the net is weaker, and he relies on long rallies from the baseline to win points. His serve is average.[citation needed]
Massú is known for his fighting spirit, especially when playing for Chile, as he has demonstrated at the 2004 Olympics and at numerous Davis Cup matches. He has also turned around difficult matches.
[edit] Personal life
Massú, who is Jewish, was born in Viña del Mar, Chile. His mother is Sonia Fried, and his father, Manuel Massú, is of Lebanese ancestry.
[edit] ATP Masters Series finals
[edit] Singles runners-up
| Year | Tournament | Opponent in final | Score in final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Madrid |  Juan Carlos Ferrero |
3-6, 4-6, 3-6 |
[edit] All finals
[edit] Singles wins
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 24 February 2002 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay |  Agustín Calleri |
2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 |
| 2. | 20 July 2003 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay |  Raemon Sluiter |
6-4, 7-6(3), 6-2 |
| 3. | 28 September 2003 | Palermo, Italy | Clay |  Paul-Henri Mathieu |
1-6, 6-2, 7-6(0) |
| 4. | 25 July 2004 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Gastón Gaudio |
7-6(3), 6-4 |
| 5. | 22 August 2004 | Athens Olympic Games | Hard |  Mardy Fish |
6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| 6. | 26 February 2006 | Costa do Sauípe, Brazil | Clay | Alberto Martin |
6-3, 6-4 |
[edit] Singles runners-up
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | May 7, 2000 | Orlando, Florida, U.S. | Clay | Fernando González |
2-6, 3-6 |
| 2. | January 7, 2001 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard |  Tommy Haas |
3-6, 1-6 |
| 3. | July 27, 2003 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Guillermo Coria |
1-6, 4-6, 2-6 |
| 4. | September 14, 2003 | Bucharest, Romania | Clay | David Sánchez |
2-6, 2-6 |
| 5. | October 19, 2003 | Madrid Masters | Hard (i) | Juan Carlos Ferrero |
3-6, 4-6, 3-6 |
| 6. | February 5, 2006 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay | José Acasuso |
4-6, 3-6 |
| 7. | April 30, 2006 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay |  Daniele Bracciali |
1-6, 4-6 |
| 8. | July 23, 2006 | Amersfoort, Netherlands | Clay |  Novak Đoković |
6-7(5), 4-6 |
| 9. | February 4, 2007 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay |  Luis Horna |
5-7, 3-6 |
[edit] Doubles wins
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score |
| 1. | August 21, 2004 | Athens Olympics | Hard | Fernando González |
Nicolas Kiefer Rainer Schüttler |
6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 |
[edit] Team competition wins
- 2003 - World Team Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany (Clay)
- 2004 - World Team Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany (Clay)
[edit] Trivia
- Chosen as Athlete of the Day on August 23 by the 2004 Athens Olympics' organization, following his victory in singles.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
Olympic Champion 2004 |
Succeeded by reigning champion |
| 1896: John Pius Boland • 1900: Lawrence Doherty • 1904: Beals Wright • 1908: Josiah Ritchie, Arthur Gore (indoors) • 1912: Charles Winslow, André Gobert (indoors) • 1920: Louis Raymond • 1924: Vincent Richards • 1988: Miloslav Mečíř • 1992: Marc Rosset • 1996: Andre Agassi • 2000: Yevgeny Kafelnikov • 2004: Nicolás Massú |
| Association of Tennis Professionals | Top ten South American male tennis players as of March 19, 2007 | |
|---|---|
| 1. Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) (5) • 2. David Nalbandian (Argentina) (11) • 3. Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) (25) • 4. Agustin Calleri (Argentina) (30) • 5. José Acasuso (Argentina) (37) • 6. Gastón Gaudio (Argentina) (44) • 7. Nicolás Massú (Chile) (50) • 8. Juan Monaco (Argentina) (54) • 9. Guillermo Cañas (Argentina) (55) • 10. Nicolás Lapentti (Ecuador) (60) | |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1979 births | Living people | Chilean tennis players | Olympic tennis players of Chile | Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics | Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics | Chilean Jews | Jewish tennis players | People from Chile
