Steve Darcis
 |
| Country |
 Belgium |
| Residence |
Saive, Belgium |
| Born |
(1984-03-13) 13 March 1984 (age 29)
Liège, Belgium |
| Height |
1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight |
73 kg (160 lb; 11.5 st) |
| Turned pro |
2003 |
| Plays |
Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money |
$1,748,333 |
| Singles |
| Career record |
72–80 |
| Career titles |
2 |
| Highest ranking |
No. 44 (12 May 2008) |
| Current ranking |
No. 135 (24 June 2013) |
| Grand Slam Singles results |
| Australian Open |
1R (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013) |
| French Open |
3R (2011) |
| Wimbledon |
2R (2009, 2013) |
| US Open |
2R (2008, 2011, 2012) |
| Other tournaments |
| Olympic Games |
3R (2012) |
| Doubles |
| Career record |
19–29 |
| Career titles |
0 |
| Highest ranking |
No. 126 (5 January 2009) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results |
| US Open |
1R (2012) |
|
Last updated on: 24 June 2013.
|
Steve Darcis // (born 13 March 1984) is a Belgian professional tennis player. He has won two ATP titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 44 on 12 May 2008. On the 24th June 2013 Darcis defeated 12-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the first round of Wimbledon.
Personal life[edit]
Steve Darcis was born in Liège, Belgium, the son of Marie Agnes, a sports intructor, and Alain Darcis, a tennis coach. He has a sister named Céline. Growing up, he looked up to Pete Sampras.[1] On 29 May 2013, his girlfriend Lauranne gave birth to daughter Camille.[2][3]
2007–2009[edit]
Darcis won his first ATP World Tour event at the Dutch Open in July 2007 and achieved his first Top 100 ranking on 26 November 2007 by winning a Challenger event in Finland.
Darcis competed at the 2008 Australian Open and the French Open, losing in the first round in both. He and Olivier Rochus, however, reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament at the French Open. He reached the second round at the US Open. He won a second ATP event at Memphis in March 2008, defeating Robin Söderling in the final.[4] He reached the final of the Dutch Open again, but lost to Albert Montañés.[5] In 2009, Darcis played in three Grand Slam tournaments: the 2009 Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, reaching the second round only at Wimbledon. He also reached the quarterfinals at Queens.
2010–2013[edit]
Darcis qualified for the 2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, retiring in his third-round match against Rafael Nadal. He failed to qualify for the Australian Open.
At the 2011 French Open, he advanced to the main draw as a qualifier, and in the first round pulled off a shock victory over 22nd seed Michaël Llodra. Darcis followed this up by beating Philipp Petzschner, to advance into the third round, where he was defeated by Frenchman Gaël Monfils in straight sets.
He made the quarterfinals in Vienna, beating Nikolay Davydenko en route, but was defeated by Daniel Brands.
In 2012, he made the final of the Dallas Challenger tournament, but lost to Jesse Levine. In the first round of the San Jose tournament, he beat Steve Johnson in a hard-fought match Darcis lost against top-seeded Janko Tipsarević in the Mercedes Cup.[6]
At the 2012 Summer Olympics Darcis beat Tomáš Berdych in the first round.
In the first round at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Darcis defeated fifth-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets, 7–6(4), 7–6(8), 6–4.[7] This made him the first player ever to defeat Nadal in the first round of any grand slam. Darcis was 130 places lower than 5th ranked Nadal. This makes him the lowest ranked player ever to beat Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament.
ATP career finals[edit]
Singles: 3 (2–1)[edit]
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour 1000 Series (0–0) |
| ATP 500 Series (1–0) |
| ATP 250 Series (1–1) |
| Winner |
1. |
16 July 2007 |
Dutch Open, Amersfoort, Netherlands |
Clay |
 Werner Eschauer |
6–1, 7–6(7–1) |
| Winner |
2. |
2 March 2008 |
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Memphis, United States |
Hard (i) |
 Robin Söderling |
6–3, 7–6(7–5) |
| Runner-up |
3. |
20 July 2008 |
Dutch Open, Amersfoort, Netherlands |
Clay |
 Albert Montañés |
6–1, 5–7, 3–6 |
Singles performance timeline[edit]
Current till 2013 French Open.
Doubles performance timeline[edit]
Current through the 2012 US Open (tennis).
References[edit]
