Alexander Volkov (tennis)
Alexander Vladimirovich Volkov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Во́лков; 3 March 1967 – 19 October 2019[1]) was a Russian professional tennis player.
 | |
| Country (sports) |  Soviet Union Russia |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 March 1967 Kaliningrad, Soviet Union |
| Died | 19 October 2019 (aged 52) Kaliningrad, Russia |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Turned pro | 1988 |
| Retired | 1998 |
| Plays | Left-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $3,362,786 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 304–256 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 14 (23 August 1993) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4R (1994) |
| French Open | 3R (1990, 1992) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1987, 1990, 1991, 1994) |
| US Open | SF (1993) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 34–57 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 136 (9 October 1989) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1988) |
| US Open | 1R (1989) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | F (1994, 1995) |
Tennis career
Volkov turned professional in 1988.
Volkov finished runner-up in three tournaments over 1989 and 1990; in the latter year he defeated World No. 1 Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the first round of the US Open. Volkov won his first top-level professional singles title in 1991 at Milan. At Wimbledon that year, he lost a close match in the fourth round to the eventual tournament champion Michael Stich, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 1–6, 7–5 despite winning the same number of games as Stich overall in the match, which hinged on a lucky shot hit by the German when he was trailing 3–5 in the final set. As Volkov served for the match, with the score at 30–15 in his favour, a shot hit by Stich was heading out, but the ball made contact with the inside edge of the top of the net post, sailed over Volkov's head, and landed inside the line, sparing the German from having to face two successive match-points during Volkov's service game, and bringing the scoreline instead to 30–30. Stich went on to take the game; and subsequently Volkov would not win another.[2]
Volkov was runner-up in three tournaments in 1992 and won his second title in 1993 in Auckland. Later in 1993, Volkov defeated Björn Borg in the first round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, in a match which proved to be the last of Borg's career. Volkov won the Kremlin Cup a year later in 1994 to claim his third (and final) career title. He reached one more final in 1997 in Shanghai.
His best Grand Slam singles performance was reaching the semifinals of the 1993 US Open, where he defeated Jonathan Stark, Kevin Ullyett, Amos Mansdorf, Chuck Adams and Thomas Muster before losing to Pete Sampras.
Volkov was part of the Russian team that reached the final of the Davis Cup in 1994. He won singles rubbers over Patrick Rafter of Australia in the first round and Michael Stich of Germany in the semifinals. However, he lost both his singles rubbers in the final as Russia was defeated by Sweden 4–1.
Volkov retired from the professional tour in 1998. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 14 in 1994. His career prize-money earnings totalled $3,362,786.
He was Marat Safin's coach before the duo split in July 2007.
Career singles finals
Wins (3–7)
|
|
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Jun 1990 | Rosmalen, Netherlands | Grass |  Amos Mansdorf |
3–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Oct 1990 | Berlin, Germany | Carpet (i) |  Ronald Agénor |
6–4, 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | Feb 1991 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) |  Cristiano Caratti |
6–1, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Jan 1992 | Wellington, New Zealand | Hard |  Jeff Tarango |
1–6, 0–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1–4 | Mar 1992 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) |  Boris Becker |
6–7, 6–4, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1–5 | Apr 1992 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Aaron Krickstein |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–5 | Jan 1993 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | MaliVai Washington |
7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–6 | Jan 1994 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–6 | Nov 1994 | Moscow, Russia | Carpet (i) | Chuck Adams |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–7 | Feb 1997 | Shanghai, China | Carpet (i) |  Ján Krošlák |
2–6, 6–7 |
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | Career SR | Career Win-Loss | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 8 | 8-8 | ||||||
| French Open | A | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 9 | 6–9 | ||||||
| Wimbledon | 4R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 11 | 20–11 | ||||||
| U.S. Open | 1R | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | QF | SF | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 10 | 17–10 | ||||||
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 38 | N/A | ||||||
| Annual Win-Loss | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 7–4 | 4–4 | 10–4 | 8–4 | 7–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 1–3 | N/A | 51–38 | ||||||
Top 10 wins
| Season | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | Total |
| Wins | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score | VR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | |||||||
| 1. |  Miloslav Mečíř |
8 | Davis Cup, Prague, Czechoslovakia | Carpet (i) | RR | 6–2, 6–7, 6–0 | 64 |
| 2. |  Jakob Hlasek |
8 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | 2R | 7–6, 7–5 | 61 |
| 1990 | |||||||
| 3. | Tim Mayotte |
10 | Miami, USA | Hard | 2R | 6–1, 6–4 | 100 |
| 4. |  Stefan Edberg |
1 | US Open, New York, USA | Hard | 1R | 6–3, 7–6, 6–2 | 52 |
| 5. |  Emilio Sánchez |
8 | Stockholm, Sweden | Carpet (i) | 2R | 7–5, 6–3 | 34 |
| 1991 | |||||||
| 6. | Karel Nováček |
9 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | QF | 6–1, 6–7, 6–3 | 24 |
| 1992 | |||||||
| 7. | Karel Nováček |
10 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | 1R | 7–6, 7–6 | 25 |
| 8. | Ivan Lendl |
7 | Stuttgart, Germany | Carpet (i) | 2R | 7–6, 5–7, 6–1 | 28 |
| 9. |  Guy Forget |
6 | Stuttgart, Germany | Carpet (i) | QF | 6–4, 6–4 | 28 |
| 10. |  Goran Ivanišević |
5 | US Open, New York, USA | Hard | 3R | 6–4, 6–0, 6–3 | 20 |
| 11. | Stefan Edberg |
3 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | QF | 6–3, 3–6, 7–5 | 17 |
| 1993 | |||||||
| 12. | Pete Sampras |
2 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | 3R | 7–5, 6–4 | 22 |
| 1994 | |||||||
| 13. | Michael Chang |
8 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–4, 1–6, 6–3 | 18 |
| 14. | Michael Stich |
2 | World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, Germany | Clay | RR | 6–4, 7–6 | 22 |
| 15. | Michael Stich |
2 | Davis Cup, Hamburg, Germany | Hard | RR | 7–5, 1–6, 7–6, 6–4 | 42 |
| 16. | Alberto Berasategui |
8 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | Carpet (i) | 1R | 7–6, 6–4 | 44 |
| 1995 | |||||||
| 17. | Sergi Bruguera |
4 | Stuttgart, Germany | Carpet (i) | 1R | 6–4, 2–3 ret. | 40 |
References
- James Buddell (19 October 2019). "Alexander Volkov: 1967–2019". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
- Philip, Robert (29 June 2007). "Recent recollection by Stich of the manner of his victory over Volkov". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
