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Vince Spadea

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Vincent Spadea
Spadea, 2009 at Delray Beach International Championships
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceBoca Raton, Florida, US
Born (1974-07-19) July 19, 1974 (age 50)
Chicago, Illinois, US
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Turned pro1993
Retired2011
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$5,004,860
Singles
Career record311–359
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 18 (28 February 2005)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1999)
French Open3R (1999, 2002, 2003)
Wimbledon4R (2004)
US Open4R (1995, 1999)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2004)
Doubles
Career record65–114
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 90 (12 June 2006)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2006, 2007)
French Open3R (2006)
Wimbledon3R (2004)
US Open3R (2005)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon2R (2007)
US OpenQF (2003, 2006)
Last updated on: 17 October 2021.

Vincent Spadea (born July 19, 1974) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

He reached a career high tenth position in the ATP Champions Race in April 2003, as well as a career-high 18th ATP ranking in February 2005. He has career prize money earnings of over $5,000,000. Spadea has ATP career singles wins over Roger Federer (1–2 record), Pete Sampras (1–4), Andre Agassi (2–4), Rafael Nadal (1–1), Andy Roddick (1–2), Pat Rafter, Richard Krajicek, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Marat Safin, and Gustavo Kuerten. He is one of five players to defeat Federer 6–0 in a set at a main tour tournament, which he did at 1999 Monte Carlo. Spadea represented the United States at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. Vince was also named twice to the US Davis Cup Team in 2000 (captain John McEnroe) and 2004 (captain Patrick McEnroe).

Spadea has one career ATP singles title and three ATP doubles titles. He also has eleven USTA Challenger Pro singles titles.

Personal life

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Spadea was born in Chicago in 1974. His mother is originally from Colombia.[1]

Spadea was Steve Carell's body double as Bobby Riggs in the 2017 film Battle of the Sexes.[2]

Tennis career

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At the 1999 Australian Open, Spadea achieved his best performance in a major by reaching the quarterfinals. In the fourth round at that tournament, he defeated the 1995 Australian Open champion, Andre Agassi. Spadea then lost to Tommy Haas in the quarterfinals.

On September 13, 1999, Spadea achieved a top 20 ranking for the first time. However, from October 1999 to June 2000, Spadea suffered a record losing run of 21 losses in a row.[3] His losing streak led the Associated Press to dub him "the Charlie Brown of tennis" .[4] He ended the streak in the first round of 2000 Wimbledon with an opening round 6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 6–7, 9–7 win over 14th seed Greg Rusedski, in a five-set marathon, which lasted for nearly four hours. Spadea's world ranking fell as low as 237 on October 23, 2000.

Working hard on the Challenger Tour after his fall down the rankings, he successfully recovered and eventually won his only career ATP Tour singles title in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he defeated James Blake and Andy Roddick along the way in 2004. He continued his journey back up the world rankings and was back in the top 20 by late 2004, although US Davis Cup captain, Patrick McEnroe, declined to pick Spadea as his second singles player for the 2004 Davis Cup final against Spain, opting instead for the lower ranked Mardy Fish. Spadea achieved his career-high world ranking of 18 in February 2005.

In 2003, Spadea reached the semifinals of a Masters event in Indian Wells for the first time in his career, losing to world No. 1, Lleyton Hewitt. He went on to the Monte Carlo Masters a month later and reached his second semifinals in a Masters series. This helped him reach a career high position of No. 10 in the ATP Champions Race in April.

In 2006, Spadea published his autobiographical book, Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player.[5] Spadea criticized a number of tennis players including James Blake and Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe. He called out McEnroe for picking Mardy Fish ahead of him for the 2004 Davis Cup final where the Americans lost to Spain. Spadea criticized Blake for questionable character during a match where Blake allegedly "trash-talked" him. The book reached the top of the ranks in sports and tennis books during its debut month.[citation needed]

Spadea reached the third round at the 2008 Australian Open. In the first round, he came back from two sets down to defeat former world No. 8, Radek Štěpánek. He closed the season by winning two Challenger titles, in Waco and Calabasas.

Vince had an injury-stricken season in 2009, plagued by an overuse tendonitis arm issue, as well as a lower extremity staph infection. He won only a handful of ATP-level singles matches before the start of the clay-court season, but reached the semifinals of the Carson Challenger.

The New York Times summarized his career by calling him "the epitome of a tennis journeyman" and then noted that "he has played in 15 US Opens and has never reached the quarterfinals."[6]

ATP career finals

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Singles: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold (0–1)
ATP International Series (1–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (1–4)
Indoors (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 May 1998 St. Pölten, Austria World Series Clay Chile Marcelo Ríos 2–6, 0–6
Loss 0–2 Aug 1999 Indianapolis, United States International Series Gold Hard Ecuador Nicolás Lapentti 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1–2 Mar 2004 Scottsdale, United States International Series Hard Germany Nicolas Kiefer 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–3
Loss 1–3 Sep 2004 Delray Beach, United States International Series Hard Brazil Ricardo Mello 6–7(2–7), 3–6
Loss 1–4 Jul 2005 Newport, United States International Series Grass United Kingdom Greg Rusedski 6–7(3–7), 6–2, 4–6

Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

[edit]
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series Gold (0–0)
ATP World Series (3–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (2–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–2)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 May 1995 Bologna, Italy World Series Clay Czech Republic Libor Pimek Zimbabwe Byron Black
United States Jonathan Stark 		5–7, 3–6
Win 1–1 Nov 1995 Buenos Aires, Argentina World Series Clay South Africa Christo van Rensburg Czech Republic Jiří Novák
Czech Republic David Rikl 		6–3, 6–3
Win 2–1 Apr 1997 Orlando, United States World Series Clay The Bahamas Mark Merklein United States Alex O'Brien
United States Jeff Salzenstein 		6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Win 3–1 Sep 1997 Tashkent, Uzbekistan World Series Hard Italy Vincenzo Santopadre Morocco Hicham Arazi
Israel Eyal Ran 		6–4, 6–7, 6–0
Loss 3–2 May 1998 Coral Springs, United States World Series Clay The Bahamas Mark Merklein South Africa Grant Stafford
South Africa Kevin Ullyett 		5–7, 4–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 14 (8–6)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (8–6)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (8–5)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1994 Winnetka, United States Challenger Hard Italy Cristiano Caratti 6–1, 4–6, 7–5
Win 2–0 Aug 1994 Cincinnati, United States Challenger Hard United States Jim Grabb 6–7, 7–6, 7–5
Win 3–0 Oct 1994 Ponte Vedra, United States Challenger Hard South Africa Kevin Ullyett 6–3, 6–4
Win 4–0 Sep 1996 Aruba, Aruba Challenger Hard South Africa Grant Stafford 6–3, 7–5
Loss 4–1 Oct 2001 Tulsa, United States Challenger Hard Czech Republic Jan Hernych 5–7, 5–7
Win 5–1 Oct 2001 Houston, United States Challenger Hard United States James Blake 6–2, 6–7(3–7), 6–2
Loss 5–2 Nov 2001 Burbank, United States Challenger Hard United States Kevin Kim 2–6, 4–6
Loss 5–3 Nov 2001 Tyler, United States Challenger Hard Israel Noam Okun 5–7, 2–6
Win 6–3 Mar 2002 North Miami Beach, United States Challenger Hard Czech Republic Ota Fukárek 4–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 6–4 Apr 2002 Paget, Bermuda Challenger Clay Brazil Flávio Saretta 3–6, 5–7
Loss 6–5 Jun 2008 Waikoloa, United States Challenger Hard Chinese Taipei Lu Yen-hsun 2–6, 0–6
Loss 6–6 Sep 2008 Tulsa, United States Challenger Hard United States Kevin Kim 3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win 7–6 Sep 2008 Waco, United States Challenger Hard Australia Joseph Sirianni 6–0, 6–1
Win 8–6 Oct 2008 Calabasas, United States Challenger Hard United States Sam Warburg 7–6(7–5), 6–4

Performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A Q1 3R 2R A 3R QF 1R A Q2 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R A 0 / 12 12–12 50%
French Open A A A 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R Q1 3R 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R A A 0 / 13 9–13 41%
Wimbledon A A Q2 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R A 2R 1R 4R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R A 0 / 14 7–14 33%
US Open Q1 1R 2R 4R 3R 1R 1R 4R 1R Q3 2R 1R 2R 2R 3R 1R 1R Q1 A 0 / 15 14–15 48%
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 1–1 5–4 3–4 0–3 4–4 9–4 1–4 0–0 4–3 2–4 5–4 2–4 2–4 1–4 2–4 1–2 0–0 0 / 54 42–54 44%
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A Q2 1R A 1R 2R 1R 1R A A SF 3R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R Q1 0 / 12 8–12 40%
Miami A 2R 2R 3R QF 3R 3R 4R 2R Q1 Q2 2R SF 3R 2R 2R 1R Q2 A 0 / 14 24–14 63%
Monte Carlo A A A A A A A QF 1R A A SF 1R 1R A A A A A 0 / 5 7–5 58%
Hamburg A A A 1R A A A A 1R A Q1 1R 1R 1R Q1 A A NMS 0 / 5 0–5 0%
Rome A A A 2R A A A 2R 1R A 1R 1R QF A Q1 Q1 A A A 0 / 6 5–6 45%
Canada A A A A A 2R 3R 3R A Q2 2R 3R 2R 1R Q1 Q1 A A A 0 / 7 9–7 56%
Cincinnati A Q1 A 2R 2R 3R QF 1R 1R Q2 Q2 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R A A A 0 / 11 8–11 42%
Madrid1 A A A A A A 1R 1R A A Q2 3R 3R 1R Q1 Q1 A A A 0 / 5 3–5 38%
Paris A A A A A A 3R 1R A A Q1 1R 3R 1R 1R 1R A A A 0 / 7 3–7 30%
Win–loss 0–0 1–1 1–1 4–5 5–2 5–4 10–6 9–8 0–6 0–0 1–2 13–9 12–9 1–8 3–4 2–4 0–2 0–1 0–0 0 / 72 67–72 48%
Year-end ranking 0 303 75 81 54 88 42 20 213 125 67 29 20 75 73 77 76 295 1517 Prize Money: $5,004,860

Doubles

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Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 1R A A A A A A A 1R 1R 2R 2R A 1R 0 / 6 2–6 25%
French Open A A A A 2R A A A A A A A A 2R 3R 1R A A 0 / 4 4–4 100%
Wimbledon A A A A A A A A A A A 1R 3R A 1R A A A 0 / 3 2–3 40%
US Open 1R 1R 1R A 1R 1R 1R A A A 1R 1R 1R 3R A 2R A A 0 / 11 3–11 21%
Win–loss 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–3 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 2–3 3–3 3–3 2–3 0–0 0–1 0 / 24 11–24 31%
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A A A A A A A A A A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Miami A A A Q2 Q1 A A A A 1R A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Rome A A A 1R A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canada A A A A A Q1 A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati A A A 1R A Q1 A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 4 0–4 0%

1This event was held in Stockholm through 1994, Essen in 1995, and Stuttgart from 1996 through 2001.

Top 10 wins

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Season 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total
Wins 0 0 1 1 1 4 8 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 21
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score SR
1995
1. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7 US Open, New York Hard 3R 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 80
1996
2. Sweden Thomas Enqvist 9 Miami, United States Hard 2R 6–3, 7–5 90
1997
3. Sweden Thomas Enqvist 7 Cincinnati, United States Hard 2R 6–7(1–7), 6–3, 6–3 95
1998
4. Australia Pat Rafter 4 Miami, United States Hard 2R 6–3, 7–5 64
5. Czech Republic Petr Korda 3 Toronto, Canada Hard 2R 5–7, 6–1, 6–4 44
6. United States Andre Agassi 9 Cincinnati, United States Hard 2R 6–2, 0–6, 7–6(7–2) 44
7. Netherlands Richard Krajicek 8 Cincinnati, United States Hard 3R 6–2, 6–3 44
1999
8. United States Andre Agassi 6 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard 4R 6–1, 7–5, 6–7(3–7), 6–3 44
9. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3 Miami, United States Hard 2R 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–4), 6–2 41
10. Slovakia Karol Kučera 9 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay 2R 6–4, 6–3 33
11. Australia Mark Philippoussis 9 Rome, Italy Clay 1R 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–1 27
12. Netherlands Richard Krajicek 5 French Open, Paris Clay 2R 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 35
13. Brazil Gustavo Kuerten 5 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay 2R 6–2, 2–6, 7–6(8–6) 29
14. United States Pete Sampras 1 Indianapolis, United States Hard QF 6–4, 3–6, ret. 34
15. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 2 Lyon, France Carpet (i) QF 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–5) 22
2002
16. Spain Albert Costa 7 Toronto, Canada Hard 1R 6–3, 6–1 74
2004
17. United States Andy Roddick 3 Scottsdale, United States Hard SF 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4 29
18. Thailand Paradorn Srichaphan 10 Miami, United States Hard 4R 5–7, 6–3, 6–2 36
19. Germany Rainer Schüttler 5 Rome, Italy Clay 1R 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 34
20. Germany Rainer Schüttler 8 Wimbledon, London Grass 3R 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 30
2007
21. Germany Tommy Haas 9 Delray Beach, United States Hard QF 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 63

References

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  1. ^ "Vincent Spadea – News and More". Tennis X. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  2. ^ Pantic, Nina (September 26, 2017). "How Battle of the Sexes Made the Tennis Look Real". Baseline. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  3. ^ Trollope, Matt (February 12, 2018). "Anatomy of a losing streak". Tennis Smash. Retrieved January 8, 2020. On the men's side Donald Young also lost 17 times in a row while Vincent Spadea holds the record with 21 consecutive defeats, which occurred almost 20 years ago.
  4. ^ Wilstein, Steve (June 27, 2000). "Perseverance pays off". The Free Lance–Star. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ Dan Markowitz; Vince Spadea (2008). Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59670-324-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Litsky, Frank (August 26, 2008). "Vincent Spadea, Journeyman". The New York Times.
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