Sébastien René Grosjean (French pronunciation: [sebastjɛ̃ ʁəne ɡʁoˈʒɑ̃]; born 29 May 1978) is a retired tennis player from France. His career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 4, achieved in October 2002. Grosjean retired from tennis on 27 May 2010.[1]
Career
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 semi-finals 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 semi-finals 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 7–6, 6–4 victory over countryman Marc Gicquel. He also won the doubles final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who Grosjean beat in the singles semifinals), entering the tournament as a wildcard team where they upset the first and third seeds. They beat Łukasz Kubot and Lovro Zovko 6–4, 6–3 in the final, and the Kubot-Zovko team was the only team that was not all-French.
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
Grosjean married his wife Marie-Pierre on November 16, 1998 and has a daughter named Lola (born October 11, 1998), a son named Tom (2002) and a daughter named Sam (2006). The family currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida, United States, where Grosjean trains at the Evert Tennis Academy. He is sponsored by Lacoste in apparel and Head rackets. He used the Head Prestige Classic 660 throughout his career.
Major finals
Year-End Championships finals
Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome |
Year |
Championship |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
Runner-up | 2001 | Sydney | Hard (i) | Lleyton Hewitt | 3–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
Masters Series finals
Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Career finals
Singles: 13 (4–9)
- Wins (4)
Legend |
Grand Slam (0–0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0–1) |
ATP Masters Series (1–1) |
ATP Championship Series (0–0) |
ATP Tour (3–7) |
|
Titles by surface |
Hard (1–4) |
Clay (0–3) |
Grass (1–2) |
Carpet (2–0) |
|
Outcome |
No. |
Date |
Championship |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
Runner-up |
1. |
March 29, 1999 |
Miami, USA |
Hard |
Richard Krajicek |
6–4, 1–6, 2–6, 5–7 |
Runner-up |
2. |
May 3, 1999 |
Atlanta, USA |
Clay |
Stefan Koubek |
1–6, 2–6 |
Runner-up |
3. |
April 17, 2000 |
Casablanca, Morocco |
Clay |
Fernando Vicente |
4–6, 6–4, 6–7(3–7) |
Winner |
1. |
June 25, 2000 |
Nottingham, UK |
Grass |
Byron Black |
7–6(9–7), 6–3 |
Runner-up |
4. |
February 19, 2001 |
Marseille, France |
Hard (i) |
Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
6–7(5–7), 2–6 |
Winner |
2. |
November 4, 2001 |
Paris, France |
Carpet (i) |
Yevgeny Kafelnikov |
7–6(7–3), 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 6–4 |
Runner-up |
5. |
November 12, 2001 |
Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney, Australia |
Hard (i) |
Lleyton Hewitt |
3–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner |
3. |
October 27, 2002 |
St. Petersburg, Russia |
Hard (i) |
Mikhail Youzhny |
7–5, 6–4 |
Runner-up |
6. |
June 16, 2003 |
London (Queen's Club), United Kingdom |
Grass |
Andy Roddick |
3–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up |
7. |
October 6, 2003 |
Tokyo, Japan |
Hard |
Rainer Schüttler |
6–7(5–7), 2–6 |
Runner-up |
8. |
June 14, 2004 |
London (Queen's Club), United Kingdom |
Grass |
Andy Roddick |
6–7(4–7), 4–6 |
Runner-up |
9. |
April 25, 2005 |
Houston, USA |
Clay |
Andy Roddick |
2–6, 2–6 |
Winner |
4. |
October 28, 2007 |
Lyon, France |
Carpet (i) |
Marc Gicquel |
7–6(7–5), 6–4 |
Doubles
- Wins (5)
No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Partnering |
Opponents in the final |
Score |
1. |
April 10, 2000 |
Casablanca, Morocco |
Clay |
Arnaud Clément |
Lars Burgsmüller
Andrew Painter |
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
2. |
July 22, 2002 |
Los Angeles, California, United States |
Hard |
Nicolas Kiefer |
Justin Gimelstob
Michaël Llodra |
6–4, 6–4 |
3. |
February 10, 2003 |
Marseille, France |
Hard (i) |
Fabrice Santoro |
Tomáš Cibulec
Pavel Vízner |
6–1, 6–4 |
4. |
March 8, 2004 |
Indian Wells, California, United States |
Hard |
Arnaud Clément |
Wayne Black
Kevin Ullyett |
6–3, 4–6, 7–5 |
5. |
October 22, 2007 |
Lyon, France |
Carpet (i) |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
Łukasz Kubot
Lovro Zovko |
6–4, 6–3 |
Singles
Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Career SR |
Grand Slams |
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 |
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 |
References
External links