Sébastien Grosjean

Sébastien René Grosjean (French pronunciation: ​[sebastjɛ̃ ʁəne ɡʁoˈʒɑ̃]; born 29 May 1978) is a former top-five professional tennis player from France. He reached the Australian Open and French Open Grand Slam semifinals in 2001, and was Wimbledon semifinalist in both 2003 and 2004. He finished eight consecutive seasons in the top-30 (1999-2006), peaking at world No. 4 in October 2002. Grosjean retired from professional tennis on 27 May 2010.[1] In December 2018, he was named Davis Cup captain for France.[2]

Sébastien Grosjean
Country (sports) France
ResidenceBoca Raton, Florida
Born (1978-05-29) 29 May 1978
Marseille, France
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1996
Retired27 May 2010
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$8,131,804
Singles
Career record341–247
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 4 (28 October 2002)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenSF (2001)
French OpenSF (2001)
WimbledonSF (2003, 2004)
US Open3R (2000, 2005, 2007)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsF (2001)
Olympic GamesQF (2000)
Doubles
Career record82–99
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 52 (12 April 2004)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (2001)
French Open1R (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009)
US Open3R (2008)
Mixed doubles
Career record2–2
Career titles0
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open3R (1998)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (2001)
Coaching career
* Richard Gasquet, * Nick Kyrgios

Career
Grosjean at the 2007 Australian Open

Juniors

As a junior, Grosjean posted a 90-20 singles record and a 58-12 doubles record, winning the 1996 French Open boys' doubles. He reached No. 1 in the world in both singles and doubles in December 1996.

Pro tour

Grosjean joined the professional tour in 1996. In 2003 and 2004, he reached the final of the Queen's London Tournament. In the same two years, he also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. He finished 2001 as the No. 1 player from his country and for the first time in the top 10 becoming the first Frenchman to finish a year in the top 10 since Cédric Pioline in 1993. In 2001, Grosjean won the Davis Cup with the French team.

Grosjean is known for his extreme forehand, his best shot, he utilizes something of a western grip, which is hit at high velocities. He has appeared in four Grand Slam semifinal matches. As well as his two Wimbledon runs, he also reached the French Open semifinals in 2001. His most famous chance was at the 2001 Australian Open against Arnaud Clément. Grosjean led two sets to love and had a match point in the fourth set before Clément prevailed. This was long considered the worst 'choke' in five-set history, until the 2004 French Open final.

He won his fourth singles title at the 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, with a victory over countryman Marc Gicquel. He also won the doubles final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as a wildcard team, where they upset the first and third seeds.

Considered one of the more popular players on the circuit, he is lauded for his attractive, graceful style and classical skills. He is affectionately nicknamed 'Big John' by fans, a literal translation of his surname into English.

Personal life

Grosjean married his wife Marie-Pierre on 16 November 1998 and has a daughter named Lola (born 11 October 1998), a son named Tom (2002), and a daughter named Sam (2006). The family resides in Boca Raton, Florida (U.S.), where Grosjean trains at the Evert Tennis Academy. He is sponsored by Lacoste in apparel and Head rackets. He used the Head Radical Tour TwinTube 630 XL under various paint jobs throughout his career.

Major finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss2001Masters CupHard (i) Lleyton Hewitt3–6, 3–6, 4–6

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1999Miami MastersHard Richard Krajicek6–4, 1–6, 2–6, 5–7
Win2001Paris MastersCarpet (i) Yevgeny Kafelnikov7–6(7–3), 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 6–4

Career finals

Singles: 13 (4 titles, 9 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–1)
ATP Masters Series (1–1)
ATP Tour (3–7)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–4)
Clay (0–3)
Grass (1–2)
Carpet (2–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Mar 1999 Miami, US Hard Richard Krajicek 6–4, 1–6, 2–6, 5–7
Loss 2. May 1999 Atlanta, US Clay Stefan Koubek 1–6, 2–6
Loss 3. Apr 2000 Casablanca, Morocco Clay Fernando Vicente 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(3–7)
Win 1. Jun 2000 Nottingham, UK Grass Byron Black 7–6(9–7), 6–3
Loss 4. Feb 2001 Marseille, France Hard (i) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–7(5–7), 2–6
Win 2. Nov 2001 Paris Masters, France Carpet (i) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7–6(7–3), 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 6–4
Loss 5. Nov 2001 Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney Hard (i) Lleyton Hewitt 3–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win 3. Oct 2002 St. Petersburg, Russia Hard (i) Mikhail Youzhny 7–5, 6–4
Loss 6. Jun 2003 Queen's Club, UK Grass Andy Roddick 3–6, 3–6
Loss 7. Oct 2003 Tokyo, Japan Hard Rainer Schüttler 6–7(5–7), 2–6
Loss 8. Jun 2004 Queen's Club, UK Grass Andy Roddick 6–7(4–7), 4–6
Loss 9. Apr 2005 Houston, US Clay Andy Roddick 2–6, 2–6
Win 4. Oct 2007 Lyon, France Carpet (i) Marc Gicquel 7–6(7–5), 6–4

Doubles: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. Apr 2000 Casablanca, Morocco Clay Arnaud Clément Lars Burgsmüller
Andrew Painter		 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Loss 1. Oct 2001 Lyon, France Carpet (i) Arnaud Clément Daniel Nestor
Nenad Zimonjić		 1–6, 2–6
Win 2. Jul 2002 Los Angeles, US Hard Nicolas Kiefer Justin Gimelstob
Michaël Llodra		 6–4, 6–4
Win 3. Feb 2003 Marseille, France Hard (i) Fabrice Santoro Tomáš Cibulec
Pavel Vízner		 6–1, 6–4
Win 4. Mar 2004 Indian Wells, US Hard Arnaud Clément Wayne Black
Kevin Ullyett		 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
Win 5. Oct 2007 Lyon, France Carpet (i) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Łukasz Kubot
Lovro Zovko		 6–4, 6–3
Loss 2. Oct 2009 Lyon, France Hard (i) Arnaud Clément Julien Benneteau
Nicolas Mahut		 4–6, 6–7(6–8)

Performance timeline

Singles
Tournament1995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010Career SR
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q2 1R 3R SF 2R QF QF 2R QF 3R 3R A 1R 0 / 11
French Open A A 1R 1R 3R 3R SF QF 2R 2R 4R 2R 1R A A A 0 / 11
Wimbledon A A Q3 4R 3R 1R 3R A SF SF QF 3R 2R 2R A A 0 / 10
US Open A A Q1 1R 1R 3R 1R 2R 1R 2R 3R 2R 3R 1R A A 0 / 11
Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 43
Year-end championships
Tennis Masters Cup Did Not Qualify F Did Not Qualify 0 / 1
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A A A A 3R 3R 1R 3R 4R 2R 4R 1R 1R A Q1 0 / 9
Miami A A A A F 3R 3R 3R 2R 4R 3R 3R 2R 2R A A 0 / 10
Monte Carlo A A Q1 2R 3R 1R SF SF A 2R A 2R A 1R A A 0 / 8
Rome A A A A 1R 1R 3R 3R 1R 2R 2R 1R A A A A 0 / 8
Madrid (Stuttgart) A A A A 2R SF 3R SF QF A 2R 2R A A A A 0 / 7
Canada A A A A 2R 3R A QF 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R A A A 0 / 8
Cincinnati A A A 1R 1R 2R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R Q2 A A A 0 / 8
Shanghai Not Held A A 0 / 0
Paris A A A 1R 1R 3R W 3R 2R A 1R 2R 1R A 1R A 1 / 10
Hamburg A A A A A 2R 3R 2R 2R 1R 3R 3R Q2 A NM1 0 / 7
Masters Series SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 7 0 / 9 1 / 7 0 / 9 0 / 8 0 / 7 0 / 8 0 / 9 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 0 1 / 75
Year-end ranking 861 405 145 88 26 19 6 17 10 15 25 28 53 170 677 722 N/A

Top 10 wins
Season199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010Total
Wins00023702011000016
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score GR
1999
1. Carlos Moyá 1 Miami, United States Hard 4R 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(11–9) 74
2. Gustavo Kuerten 6 Indianapolis, United States Hard QF 6–4, 6–3 32
2000
3. Tim Henman 9 Indian Wells, United States Hard 2R 6–3, 3–6, 7–5 19
4. Lleyton Hewitt 10 Toronto, Canada Hard 2R 6–3, 7–6(7–5) 27
5. Gustavo Kuerten 3 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) 3R 7–6(11–9), 6–3 32
2001
6. Magnus Norman 4 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard 4R 7–6(9–7), 6–3, 0–6, 6–4 19
7. Marat Safin 2 World Team Cup, Düsseldorf Clay RR 7–6(8–6), 6–3 10
8. Andre Agassi 3 French Open, Paris Clay QF 1–6, 6–1, 6–1, 6–3 10
9. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 Paris Masters, France Carpet (i) F 7–6(7–3), 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 6–4 8
10. Pat Rafter 5 Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney Hard (i) RR 7–6(7–4), 6–3 7
11. Andre Agassi 3 Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney Hard (i) RR 6–3, 6–4 7
12. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney Hard (i) SF 6–4, 6–2 7
2003
13. Lleyton Hewitt 1 Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass QF 6–3, 6–4 20
14. Juan Carlos Ferrero 3 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass 4R 6–2, 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–3) 14
2005
15. Andre Agassi 10 Houston, United States Clay QF 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 30
2006
16. Guillermo Coria 9 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard 3R 6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4 28

References
  1. "Grosjean ends his pro tennis career". Yahoo Sports. 27 May 2010.
  2. https://www.daviscup.com/en/news/298527.aspx
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