Simon Aspelin

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Simon Aspelin
Country (sports) Sweden
ResidenceLondon, England
Born (1974-05-11) 11 May 1974 (age 49)
Saltsjöbaden, Sweden
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1998
Retired17 July 2011
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$2,121,037
Singles
Career record0–2
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 436 (17 August 1998)
Grand Slam singles results
WimbledonQ1 (1998, 1999)
Doubles
Career record348–303 (53%)
Career titles12
Highest rankingNo. 7 (3 March 2008)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2006)
French Open3R (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
WimbledonQF (2004, 2006, 2009)
US OpenW (2007)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsF (2007)
Olympic GamesF (2008)
Mixed doubles
Career record14–20
Career titles0
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (2006, 2008, 2009)
French OpenQF (2000)
Wimbledon3R (2008)
US Open2R (2007)
Medal record
Men's Tennis
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Men's doubles

Simon Aspelin (pronounced [ˈsîːmɔn aspɛˈliːn]; born 11 May 1974) is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998. His success mainly came in doubles, winning 12 titles and reaching World No. 7 in March 2008. In men's doubles, Aspelin won the 2007 US Open and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Simon Aspelin at the 2010 US Open

A memorable part of Aspelin's career was when he and doubles partner Todd Perry were playing in the 2006 Wimbledon Championships men's doubles quarterfinals as the eighth-seeded doubles team against third-seeded Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. Knowles and Nestor won the match by winning the final set 23–21.

At the 2007 U.S. Open, seeded tenth with his partner Julian Knowle, Aspelin achieved the greatest triumph of his career by winning the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam. In the first two rounds, they won against Kubot/Skoch and got a walkover over Calleri/Horna. They went on to upset the eighth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the third round. In the quarterfinals, they shocked the top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan, having lost to them only weeks before. In the semifinal, they held off unseeded Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, before winning the final in two sets over the ninth seeds, Pavel Vízner and Lukáš Dlouhý. He had never before reached a Grand Slam semifinal. This win put them into the No. 5 position in the ATP Doubles Race, and also gave Aspelin his career-high ranking of No. 13. His Davis cup record in March 2009 is 3–5 in doubles.

Another notable performance in 2007 was the final against Knowles/Nestor in Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, which he lost with Julian Knowle.

In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he and fellow Swede Thomas Johansson defeated French pair Michaël Llodra and Arnaud Clément 7–6, 4–6, 19–17 in the semi-finals. The match that lasted 4 hours and 46 minutes. They went on to win the silver medal.

Prior to his pro career, Aspelin competed for four seasons at Pepperdine University, in Malibu, Calif. He was one of just two Waves to earn All-American status all four seasons,[1] and was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame in the fall of 2010.

In May 2011, he was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame.[2]

In July 2011, Aspelin announced his retirement from professional tennis. He played his last tournament in Båstad, where he reached the final but failed to claim his thirteenth ATP title.[3][4]

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 title)

Result Year Championship Surface Pertner Opponents Score
Win 2007 U.S. Open Hard Austria Julian Knowle Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–5, 6–4

Olympics

Doubles: 1 (1 Silver)

Result Year Championship Surface Pertner Opponents Score
Silver 2008 Beijing Olympics Hard Sweden Thomas Johansson Switzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stan Wawrinka
3–6, 4–6, 7–6 (7–4) , 3–6

Career finals

Doubles (12 wins, 21 losses)

Legend
Grand Slam (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP International Series Gold (3)
ATP Tour (8)
Titles by surface
Hard (5)
Clay (5)
Grass (1)
Carpet (1)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. Feb 2000 Marseille Hard Sweden Johan Landsberg Spain Juan Ignacio Carrasco
Spain Jairo Velasco, Jr.
7–6(7–2), 6–4
Loss 1. Jul 2001 Båstad Clay Australia Andrew Kratzmann Germany Karsten Braasch
Germany Jens Knippschild
6–7(3–7), 6–4, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 2. Jul 2001 Kitzbühel Clay Australia Andrew Kratzmann Spain Àlex Corretja
Spain Luis Lobo
3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Loss 3. Feb 2002 Buenos Aires Clay Australia Andrew Kratzmann Argentina Gastón Etlis
Argentina Martín Rodríguez
6–3, 3–6, [4–10]
Loss 4. Apr 2002 Estoril Clay Australia Andrew Kratzmann Germany Karsten Braasch
Russia Andrei Olhovskiy
3–6, 3–6
Win 2. May 2003 St. Pölten Clay Italy Massimo Bertolini Armenia Sargis Sargsian
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 6–7(8–10), 6–3
Win 3. Jul 2003 Båstad Clay Italy Massimo Bertolini Argentina Lucas Arnold
Argentina Mariano Hood
6–7(3–7), 6–0, 6–4
Loss 5. Sep 2003 Bucharest Clay South Africa Jeff Coetzee Germany Karsten Braasch
Armenia Sargis Sargsian
6–7(7–9), 2–6
Loss 6. Jul 2004 Båstad Clay Australia Todd Perry India Mahesh Bhupathi
Sweden Jonas Björkman
6–4, 6–7(2–7), 6–7(6–8)
Loss 7. Jul 2004 Stuttgart Clay Australia Todd Perry Czech Republic Jiří Novák
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
2–6, 4–6
Loss 8. Jan 2005 Adelaide Hard Australia Todd Perry Belgium Xavier Malisse
Belgium Olivier Rochus
6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss 9. Jan 2005 Auckland Hard Australia Todd Perry Switzerland Yves Allegro
Germany Michael Kohlmann
4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 4. Jan 2005 Delray Beach Hard Australia Todd Perry Australia Jordan Kerr
United States Jim Thomas
6–3, 6–3
Win 5. Feb 2005 Memphis Hard (i) Australia Todd Perry United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
6–4, 6–4
Loss 10. Jun 2005 Nottingham Grass Australia Todd Perry Israel Jonathan Erlich
Israel Andy Ram
6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Loss 11. Jul 2005 Indianapolis Hard Australia Todd Perry Australia Paul Hanley
United States Graydon Oliver
2–6, 1–3 ret.
Loss 12. Oct 2005 Tokyo Hard Australia Todd Perry Japan Satoshi Iwabuchi
Japan Takao Suzuki
4–5(3–7), 4–5(13–15)
Loss 13. Jan 2006 Auckland Hard Australia Todd Perry Romania Andrei Pavel
Netherlands Rogier Wassen
2–6, 7–5, [4–10]
Win 6. Oct 2006 St. Petersburg Carpet Australia Todd Perry Austria Julian Knowle
Austria Jürgen Melzer
6–1, 7–6(7–3)
Loss 14. Jan 2007 Auckland Hard South Africa Chris Haggard South Africa Jeff Coetzee
Netherlands Rogier Wassen
7–6(11–9), 3–6, [2–10]
Win 7. May 2007 Pörtschach Clay Austria Julian Knowle Czech Republic Leoš Friedl
Czech Republic David Škoch
7–6(8–6), 5–7, [10–5]
Win 8. Jun 2007 Halle Grass Austria Julian Knowle France Fabrice Santoro
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Win 9. Jul 2007 Båstad Clay Austria Julian Knowle Argentina Martin García
Argentina Sebastián Prieto
6–2, 6–4
Win 10. Sep 2007 U.S. Open Hard Austria Julian Knowle Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
Czech Republic Pavel Vízner
7–5, 6–4
Loss 15. Nov 2007 Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai Hard (i) Austria Julian Knowle The Bahamas Mark Knowles
Canada Daniel Nestor
2–6, 3–6
Loss 16. Aug 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing Hard Sweden Thomas Johansson Switzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka
4–6, 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 3–6
Loss 17. Apr 2009 Casablanca Clay Australia Paul Hanley Poland Łukasz Kubot
Austria Oliver Marach
6–7(4–7), 6–3, [6–10]
Loss 18. May 2009 Madrid Clay South Africa Wesley Moodie Canada Daniel Nestor
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
4–6, 4–6
Win 11. Jul 2009 Hamburg Clay Australia Paul Hanley Brazil Marcelo Melo
Slovakia Filip Polášek
6–3, 6–3
Loss 19. Oct 2009 Stockholm Hard (i) Australia Paul Hanley Brazil Bruno Soares
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett
4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 20. Feb 2010 Rotterdam Hard (i) Australia Paul Hanley Canada Daniel Nestor
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
4–6, 6–4, [7–10]
Win 12. Feb 2010 Dubai Hard Australia Paul Hanley Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
India Leander Paes
6–2, 6–3
Loss 21. Jul 2011 Båstad Clay Sweden Andreas Siljeström Sweden Robert Lindstedt
Romania Horia Tecău
3–6, 3–6

Doubles Performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A 3R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R QF 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R 0 / 12 13–12 52.00
French Open A A A 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 3R 3R 3R 1R 3R 0 / 12 11–12 47.83
Wimbledon A A A 1R 2R 1R 2R QF 1R QF 1R 1R QF 2R 3R 0 / 12 14–12 53.85
US Open A A A 1R 1R 2R 1R 3R QF 2R W 2R 1R QF A 1 / 11 16–10 61.54
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–4 2–4 2–4 2–4 6–4 7–4 8–4 8–3 3–4 5–4 6–4 3–3 1 / 47 54–46 54.00
ATP World Tour Finals
Tour Doubles Finals A A A SF A NH A A A A F A A A A 0 / 2 6–3 66.67
Davis Cup
Davis Cup Doubles A A A A SF A A A PO PO SF QF PO PO QF 0 / 8 6–6 50.00
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics Not Held A Not Held A Not Held F Not Held 0 / 1 4–1 80.00
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells A A A A A 1R A 1R 1R SF 1R 1R 1R SF 1R 0 / 9 6–9 40.00
Miami A A A 2R 2R 2R A 1R 1R 1R 2R QF 1R 2R 1R 0 / 11 6–11 35.29
Monte Carlo A A A A 1R 1R A A 2R QF SF QF 2R SF A 0 / 8 7–8 46.67
Hamburg A A A 1R QF 1R A A 1R QF SF QF Madrid (C) 0 / 7 5–7 41.67
Madrid (Clay) Held as Hamburg F 2R A 0 / 2 4–2 66.67
Rome A A A QF 2R 2R A A 2R QF 2R 2R 1R 2R A 0 / 9 6–9 40.00
Canada A A A A A A A A 1R QF 2R 2R 1R 2R A 0 / 6 3–6 33.33
Cincinnati A A A A A A A A 2R QF QF QF A 1R A 0 / 5 5–5 50.00
Stuttgart A A A A A Held as Madrid (Hard) Shanghai 0 / 0 0–0
Madrid (Hard) Held as Stuttgart A A A 1R 1R QF QF Shanghai 0 / 4 2–4 33.33
Shanghai Held as Stuttgart Held as Madrid (Hard) 2R 2R A 0 / 2 2–2 50.00
Paris A A A A A A A A 1R 1R SF QF QF 1R A 0 / 6 5–6 45.45
Career statistics
Tournaments played 0 0 3 22 26 31 22 23 30 25 31 27 30 24 15 309
Titles 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 1 4 0 1 1 0 12
Finals reached 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 2 7 2 6 1 4 2 1 33
Hard Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–2 11–9 9–10 12–14 3–8 9–11 30–15 23–15 22–19 24–20 10–18 22–14 5–6 5 / 164 180–161 52.79
Grass Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 3–3 1–2 1–1 3–2 5–4 3–2 4–1 0–2 5–2 3–3 2–3 1 / 26 30–26 53.57
Clay Win–loss 0–0 0–0 1–1 13–10 15–12 9–14 13–8 7–8 8–8 5–7 17–8 7–6 19–9 3–6 9–7 5 / 107 126–104 54.78
Carpet Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–2 1–2 4–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 1 / 12 12–12 50.00
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–0 1–3 25–21 28–26 22–31 19–19 20–23 44–29 35–25 44–30 31–28 35–29 28–23 16–16 12 / 309 348–303 53.46
Win % 25% 54% 52% 42% 50% 47% 60% 58% 59% 53% 55% 55% 50% 53.46%
Year-end ranking 355 322 111 51 50 55 40 45 17 19 8 22 23 26 74 $2,121,037

References

  1. ^ Tennis news[dead link]
  2. ^ Hall of Fame ITA[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Lindstedt-Tecau Retain Bastad Title; Aspelin Retires From Pro Tennis". atpworldtour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  4. ^ "Swedish Doubles Player Simon Aspelin to Retire". 10sballs.com. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.

External links