Alex Kuznetsov

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Alex Kuznetsov
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceTampa, Florida, United States
Born (1987-02-05) February 5, 1987 (age 37)
Kyiv, USSR (now Ukraine)
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro2004
Retired2016
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$909,591
Singles
Career record9–30
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 120 (September 30, 2013)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2007)
French Open1R (2013)
Wimbledon1R (2013, 2014)
US Open1R (2006, 2007)
Doubles
Career record9–14
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 78 (September 24, 2007)
Last updated on: July 17, 2016.

Alex Kuznetsov (born February 5, 1987) is a retired American professional tennis player. He is a former hitting partner of Maria Sharapova.

Personal life[edit]

Kuznetsov was born in Ukraine. His family moved to the United States when he was three years old, settling just outside Philadelphia.

He now resides in Tampa, Florida, where he trains at Saddlebrook Resort Club with John Isner and Tim Smyczek. He is married and enjoys playing golf in his spare time.

Kuznetsov is not related to Russian tennis players Svetlana Kuznetsova or Andrey Kuznetsov.[1]

Tennis career[edit]

Juniors[edit]

Kuznetsov was coached by Jason Katzer during his youth. As a junior, Kuznetsov compiled a singles win–loss record of 67–27 (50-21 in doubles), reaching a combined junior world ranking of number 4 in July 2004.

Junior Slam results – Singles:

Australian Open: -
French Open: F (2004)
Wimbledon: 2R (2004)
US Open: 3R (2005)

Nike offered Kuznetsov a one-million dollar sponsorship contract as soon as he turned pro, which he accepted.

He was involved in a serious car accident soon after. Projected to take a full year to recover from breaking his femur due, he returned to tennis just six months later after having a titanium rod inserted into his right thigh.[citation needed]

2006[edit]

In July 2006, Kuznetsov played in the Comerica Challenger in Aptos, defeating Go Soeda for the 2006 singles title. At the 2006 US Open, he lost to fourteenth seed Tommy Haas.

That same year, Kuznetsov appeared in the video game Top Spin 2 as an up-and-coming star.

2007[edit]

Kuznetsov reached the second round of the 2007 Australian Open, defeating Australian Peter Luczak before losing to fellow American James Blake, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2. Kuznetsov gave Blake an early scare by breaking Blake's first two service games.

In April 2007, he reached his career-high singles ranking of World number 158.

In the 2007 US Open he played doubles with American Jesse Levine. They won their first round match over Dominik Hrbatý of Slovakia and Harel Levy of Israel, 6–1, 6–4, and their second round match, upsetting seventh-seeded Frenchmen Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra 7–6(5), 6–4, before losing in the third round to ninth-seeded Czechs Lukáš Dlouhý and Pavel Vízner, 6–4, 7–5.

In December, Kuznetsov, Levine, and Wayne Odesnik were invited by the USTA to play off in a round-robin for the wild-card berth in the Australian Open.[2] Levine won the wild card.[3]

Performance timelines[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles[edit]

Current through 2015 Australian Open.

Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R Q2 A Q1 Q3 1R Q1 Q3 Q3 1–2
French Open A Q2 Q1 A A Q1 Q2 1R Q1 A 0–1
Wimbledon A Q2 Q1 A Q2 Q2 Q1 1R 1R 0–2
US Open 1R 1R Q3 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q3 Q1 2–3
Win–loss 0–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–3 0–1 0–0 3–8
Career statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Year-end ranking 223 180 344 198 250 169 224 142 182

Doubles[edit]

Current till US Open.

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2013 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 0-0
French Open 0–0
Wimbledon 1R 0–1
US Open 1R 2R 1R 3R 1R 1R 1R 3-7
Win–loss 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 3–8
Career statistics
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://challengertennis.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/know-your-kuznetsovs-%E2%80%93-a-field-guide/ [user-generated source]
  2. ^ "Isner on outside looking in at Australian Open ... for now" ESPN, 12/11/07, accessed 12/13/07
  3. ^ "Madison Brengle and Jesse Levine Win Australian Open Wild Cards". United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.

External links[edit]