Tommy Robredo
ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup) | |
Career titles | 5 |
---|---|
Highest ranking | No. 16 (20 April 2009) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | QF (2003) |
French Open | QF (2009) |
Wimbledon | QF (2010) |
US Open | SF (2004, 2008, 2010) |
Mixed doubles | |
Career record | 3–2 |
Career titles | 0 |
Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
Australian Open | SF (2009) |
Wimbledon | 1R (2010) |
Team competitions | |
Davis Cup | W (2004, 2008, 2009) |
Hopman Cup | W (2002, 2010) |
Tomás Robredo Garcés, known as Tommy Robredo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtomi roˈβɾeðo ɣaɾˈθes],[a][3] Catalan: [ɡəɾˈses]; born 1 May 1982), is a Spanish former professional tennis player.[4] His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the Hamburg Masters earlier in the year. Robredo reached the quarterfinals at seven singles major tournaments. He was also a three-time semifinalist at the US Open men's doubles tournament, and a semifinalist at the Australian Open in mixed doubles.
Robredo turned professional in 1998 and was coached by
Tennis career
Early years
Robredo began playing tennis regularly when he was five and his family moved to Olot, where his father Ángel became the director of the local tennis club, Club Natació Olot. (Robredo's mother Dolores is herself a former assistant coach.) He was coached by his father until 1996 when he joined the Spanish Tennis Federation at the Centre d'Alt Rendiment ("High Performance Center"), a famous center for professional sports training in Sant Cugat del Vallès. He turned professional in 1998.
As a junior player, Robredo won the
2000–2001: First ATP title
In 2000 Robredo reached the singles and doubles finals of the boys' event at Roland Garros, losing to Paul-Henri Mathieu in singles but winning the doubles with López.[8] He also won the boys' doubles title at the Australian Open[9] (with Nicolas Mahut). Robredo began the year with a final at a Challenger event in Bartella, Italy losing to Germán Puentes. He then eventually won two Challenger events in Espinho, Portugal defeating Jimy Szymanski and in Seville, Spain defeating Óscar Serrano. He played two ATP events main draw in the year, losing in the first round of both at the Torneo Godó and Davidoff Swiss Indoors
Robredo began his 2001 season by reaching his first ATP semifinals at the Gold Flake Open losing to Russian Andrei Stoliarov 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. He made his slam debut at the Australian Open but lost to eventual runner-up and 18th ranked Arnaud Clément in straight sets. He then fell early at the Chevrolet Cup and the Copa AT&T.
He then reached his first ATP final at the Grand Prix Hassan II losing to Guillermo Cañas 5–7, 2–6 in the final, the result pushed him inside the top 100 for the first time. He backed it up with a third round appearance at the Open SEAT Godó after defeating his first top 20 player in then world no. 13 Sébastien Grosjean before losing to Michel Kratochvil. He played in Spain again at the Majorca Open reaching the second round.
He then won his first slam match at the French Open defeating Raemon Sluiter 7–5, 7–5, 7–6(11–9) and surprisingly reached the fourth round losing the former French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3–6, 4–6, 6–1, 4–6. He then backed it up with a semifinal showing at the
At the Idea Prokom Open, he was able to win his first title of the year defeating compatriot Albert Portas 1–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–2). He then fell early at the RCA Championships and Legg Mason Tennis Classic. At the US Open, he earn his first top ten win defeating world number five Juan Carlos Ferrero in a tight five setter 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–1) before losing in the 4th Round to Andy Roddick in straight sets. He followed it up with a semifinal at the Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia. He ended the year with a four match losing streak, in the second round of the CA-TennisTrophy, and the first rounds of Stuttgart Masters, Davidoff Swiss Indoors, and Paris Masters. He was the second youngest player to end the season inside the world's top thirty, behind Roddick.
2002–2003: first Grand Slam quarterfinal
Robredo began 2002 by partnering with
In 2003, Robredo began with four first round loses, including in the
He got his best result of the year at the French Open, where he reached his first slam quarterfinals, where he took out world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in five sets 4–6, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 in the third round and three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten in the fourth round, before eventually falling in a second five-set match to defending champion Albert Costa 6–2, 6–3, 4–6, 5–7, 2–6. Robredo remarked before his match against Costa: "I've beaten the ace, I've beaten the king", in reference to his wins over Hewitt and Kuerten. "Now I need to beat the jack, don't I? If I beat Costa, I'll have beaten the entire pack of cards."[12]
After a quarterfinal at the
2004: First Davis Cup title
Robredo had a great start to his 2004 season with a semifinal at the
In the grass season, he was able to reach the semifinals of the
2005: Second French Open quarterfinal
He began the year with a first round loss at the Heineken Open. At the first slam of the year, the Australian Open, he was upset by 155th ranked Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets in the third round 6–7(2–7), 4–6, 1–6. He reached his first semifinal at the Dubai Tennis Championships losing to Croatian Ivan Ljubičić in straight sets. At the Master events of Pacific Life Open and NASDAQ-100 Open, he reached the fourth round losing to Tim Henman and withdrew with a neck injury in the third round, respectively. The injury made him miss some events.
He began his European clay season at the
Robredo then played on clay after Wimbledon. He began with a semifinal showing at the
2006: Hamburg Masters title, Top 5 career-high ranking
Robredo 2006 season didn't start well, losing in the second round of the
Robredo had a great European clay season, which began with a quarterfinal at the
At his US Open preparation, he was upset in the second round Rogers Cup by José Acasuso. He then reached the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters after upsetting then world no. 3 Ivan Ljubičić 7–6(8–6), 6–2, but lost to a resurgent former world no. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 3–6, 4–6. Despite the loss he entered the top 5. At the US Open, he reached the fourth round for the third consecutive year, this time losing to Mikhail Youzhny 2–6, 0–6, 1–6.
As the top seed at the
2007: Maiden Australian Open and third French Open quarterfinals
Robredo began 2007 by reaching the final of the Heineken Open losing to compatriot David Ferrer 4–6, 2–6, in his first hardcourt final. He then followed it up by reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open for the first time in his career after defeating Richard Gasquet 6–4, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, before losing to World No. 1 Roger Federer in straight sets.
He then suffered 3 back-to-back loses starting with the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament to Novak Djokovic in three sets, it is then followed by loses at the Dubai Tennis Championships and Pacific Life Open. At the Sony Ericsson Open, he was able to reach the quarterfinals losing to eventual runner-up Guillermo Cañas 6–7(5–7), 1–6.
At the European clay season, he reached back-to-back 3rd round rounds of the
At the grass courts, as the top seed he was upset by qualifier
2008: Second Davis Cup title
Robredo started the season with back-to-back loses at the first rounds of the
At
2009: Third Davis Cup title
Robredo started the year at the Medibank International Sydney, where he lost to Mario Ančić, 6–2, 6–1 in the second round. In the Australian Open, he was the 21st seed, where he reached the fourth round without dropping a set, but eventually lost to semifinalist Andy Roddick 5–7, 1–6, 3–6. Robredo had a great South American clay season, he began with a semifinal at the Movistar Open losing to José Acasuso 7–5, 2–6, 4–6. He then claim back-to-back titles at the Brasil Open and the Copa Telmex, defeating Thomaz Bellucci, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 and Juan Mónaco, 7–5, 2–6, 7–6(7–5), respectively. He also won the doubles with Marcel Granollers at the Brasil Open defeating Lucas Arnold Ker and Juan Mónaco in the final 6–4, 7–5. His streak ended at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel losing to José Acasuso 5–7, 2–6 in the quarterfinals.[15][16]
At the
Seeded second, he lost to
2010: Out of top 30, late season success, third consecutive US Open fourth round
Robredo began the year by winning the Hopman Cup for Spain with partner María José Martínez Sánchez. Here, he won all of his singles matches defeating John Isner, 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 7–6(7–4), Victor Hănescu, 6–3 ret, and over Lleyton Hewitt, 6–2, 6–4. He then defeated Andy Murray, 1–6, 6–4, 6–3 in the final and won the decisive mixed doubles 7–6(7–5), 7–5 win to clinch the tie 2–1 over the Great Britain team.[18] This was the second time he has been part of a winning Hopman Cup team.
His first ATP event of 2010 was at the Heineken Open, where he was the top seed, but was upset by John Isner, 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 4–6 in the quarterfinals. At the Australian Open as the 16th seed, he was upset by a no. 114 player in Santiago Giraldo in straight sets, 4–6, 2–6, 2–6 in the first round. He then played in ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, where he was upset by Florian Mayer, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, in the second round. He also suffered early exits in the second rounds of Open 13 and Dubai Tennis Championships, which cause him to slip out of the top 20.
He then had a resurgence at the BNP Paribas Open. After receiving a bye, he defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky, 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, in the second round, Dudi Sela, 6–3, 6–0, in the third round, and Marcos Baghdatis, 7–5, 0–6, 6–4, in the fourth round, before finally succumbing to Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 5–7. In the Sony Ericsson Open, he was upset by Benjamin Becker in the third round, losing 6–1, 4–6, 6–7, despite recovering from a break down in 5–6.
He then suffered a 5 match losing streak, starting in the third round of the
He played in the
However, at the
2011-2012: Continued loss of form, out of the top 100
Tommy started his 2011 season at the Heineken Open, where he lost to Thomaz Bellucci, 4–6, 6–3, 1–6 in the second round. At the 2011 Australian Open, he reached the fourth round with wins against Somdev Devvarman, 16th seed Mardy Fish, and Sergiy Stakhovsky, before losing to second seed and defending champion Roger Federer in four sets, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6.
He then played at the Latin-American Swing at the
In 2012, Robredo did not play for the first five months due to a knee injury. He came back at the
2013: Resurgence, Fifth French Open quarterfinal, First US Open quarterfinal
Robredo's start of the 2013 season was not promising; he only won two matches in his first five events. Losing in the first rounds of Apia International Sydney, Australian Open, and Brasil Open and the second rounds of the Brisbane International and the VTR Open. However, he entered the top 100 once again due to not having to defend any points. He then reached his first semifinal in two years at the Copa Claro, losing to eventual champion David Ferrer. This form did not continue, as he lost in the second round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel and the first round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Robredo bounced back by winning his first title in two years in Casablanca, beating Kevin Anderson in the final. At the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, he defeated world no. 6 Tomáš Berdych in the third round, his first win over a top-10 player in three years. However, he lost in the quarterfinals to Milos Raonic. He followed it up with another quarterfinal at the Portugal Open, losing to Andreas Seppi. Robredo was able to earn a win at the Mutua Madrid Open, before falling to Tommy Haas.
Robredo then reached his fifth
At the
At the US Open, he reached the fourth round for the eighth time. There, he overcame a 0–10 head-to-head against Federer to win in three sets and reach his first US Open quarterfinal. This was Federer's first time to lose before the quarterfinals at a hard-court Grand Slam since 2003. He lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He began the Asian swing by losing in the first round of the China Open to Fabio Fognini. He then retired in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters against Fognini due to a wrist injury; the injury ended his season. Robredo ended the year as the world no. 18. Robredo was named the Spanish Tennis Writers Association player of the year.[20]
2014: Three Grand Slam fourth rounds and three ATP finals, top 20 year-end ranking
Seeded 17th, Robredo reached the fourth round of the
2021–2022: Retirement
Robredo announced his plans to retire after his final tournament at the 2022 Barcelona Open.[21][22] He played his final career match against countryman Bernabé Zapata Miralles, losing in the first round in straight sets.[23]
Playing style
Robredo is a baseline player, who can play both offensively and defensively. He is known for his versatility and solid groundstrokes on both wings. Robredo's baseline play is exceptional, and is considered one of the most consistent and dangerous baseliners on the tour. Like most traditional Spanish players like Rafael Nadal, Robredo puts a very high amount of topspin on both his forehand and single-handed backhand. This makes his groundstrokes both consistent and penetrating at the same time. His backhand is also considered one of the best single-handed backhands on the tour, being very powerful and clutch during important points. However, his slice is weaker than most one-handers'. Mainly playing from the baseline, Robredo uses his solid groundstrokes to dictate points by moving opponents around and forcing weak replies. Due to the top-spin on his groundstrokes, Robredo has an edge against one-handed backhand players, who might find it hard to return high balls to their backhand. Because of this, he has sometimes been accused of being a "moonballer".
Robredo is also versatile in his baseline play. Due to the penetrating nature of his groundstrokes, he can effectively control points and force weak returns from his opponents, finishing points quickly. However, he can also counter-punch, the height of his balls giving him enough time to recover and preventing opponents from capitalising on weak returns. Robredo usually only flattens out his groundstrokes more when hitting weak returns from opponents, and even then they are not completely flat and still have a substantial amount of topspin.
Robredo's first serve is not considered his weapon due to its lack of any significant pace, but it is not weak to the point that opponents can capitalise on it. He employs a high amount of top-spin for his second serve, making it slow but pushing his opponents further back, preventing his opponents from hitting return aces.
However, Robredo's main weaknesses is his over-defensiveness. At times, even though he has gained a significant advantage through his groundstrokes, Robredo does not make an effort to end off the point cleanly by hitting a clean winner or by coming up to the net to volley. Instead, he usually stays around the baseline, not capitalising on the advantage he has. This makes him especially vulnerable against clutch players who can make use of their opponents' speed or direction to turn the point around, such as Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.
Personal life
Robredo is named after the rock opera
Robredo is currently sponsored by
, and the Ukrainian Food Company.Robredo's childhood tennis idol was Stefan Edberg, along with John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and various Spanish tennis players. He cites Arantxa Sánchez (with whom he won the 2002 Hopman Cup for Spain) as his favorite female player among retired players; among recently active players his favorite male and female players are Roger Federer and Justine Henin.
Some fans refer to Robredo as "Disco Tommy" for the long, wavy hairstyle he began cultivating during the 2006 tennis season; after Robredo mentioned that he calls his coach "
2007 marked increased media exposure for Robredo. He was recognized by the Spanish editions of
On 16 November 2019, Robredo married his long-time girlfriend, Patricia Berga Alzamora.[25] Their first child, a girl, was born in 2021.[26]
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | Q2 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 4R | QF | 2R | 4R | 1R | 4R | A | 1R | 4R | 1R | 2R | A | A | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | 0 / 15 | 21–15 | 58% |
French Open | Q2 | 4R | 3R | QF | 4R | QF | 4R | QF | 3R | QF | 1R | A | A | QF | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | Q1 | Q1 | Q2 | Q1 | A | 0 / 14 | 37–14 | 73% |
Wimbledon
|
A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 3R | 4R | 1R | A | A | A | A | NH | Q1 | A | 0 / 14 | 14–14 | 50% |
US Open | Q1 | 4R | 3R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | A | 2R | QF | 4R | 3R | A | A | 1R | Q2 | A | A | A | 0 / 15 | 35–15 | 70% |
Win–loss | 0–0 | 7–4 | 5–4 | 6–4 | 7–4 | 9–4 | 10–4 | 11–4 | 7–4 | 12–4 | 3–4 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 10–4 | 11–4 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 58 | 107–58 | 65% |
Notes
References
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- ^ "The pronunciation by Tommy Robredo himself". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Tommy Robredo". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- ^ "Dimitrov, Carreno Busta Storm into Second Round | ATP Tour | Tennis". Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
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- ^ "Spain Snatch Hopman Cup Title". Hopman Cup. 5 January 2002. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Robredo claims Kuerten scalp". BBC Sport. 2 June 2003. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
- ^ "Robredo edges gruelling Barcelona final". ABC News. 3 May 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Robredo wins Hamburg crown". rediff. 22 May 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Robredo Wins Brasil Open". ATP. 14 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Back to back titles for Robredo". Tennis in Depth. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Israel's Dudi Sela wins through to third round at Wimbledon - Haaretz - Israel News". Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009.
- ^ "Spain clinches third Hopman Cup". ABC Sport. 9 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Robredo makes history at French Open". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "News | ATP Tour | Tennis". Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ "Tommy Robredo vol posar el punt i final a la carrera com a tennista professional al Godó de l'any que ve". 10 August 2021. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ "Tommy Robredo to Retire: Spaniard Announces Farewell Appearance in Barcelona | ATP Tour | Tennis". Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Tommy Robredo's Unforgettable Career | ATP Tour | Tennis". Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ "Robredo Honoured with Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award | ATP Tour | Tennis". Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ "Tommy Robredo se casa en Sant Cugat con Patricia Berga". El Periódico (in Spanish). 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- ^ "Robredo presenta a su hija Alèxia". ATP (in Spanish). 14 March 2021. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
External links
- Tommy Robredo at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Tommy Robredo at the International Tennis Federation
- Tommy Robredo at the Davis Cup
- Tommy Robredo at Olympedia