Benjamin Becker

Last updated

Benjamin Becker
Becker RG15 (19282133136).jpg
Becker at the 2015 French Open
Country (sports)Flag of Germany.svg Germany
Residence Mettlach, Germany
Born (1981-06-16) 16 June 1981 (age 42)
Merzig, Saarland, West Germany
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro2005
Retired2017
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
College Baylor Bears
Prize moneyUS$4,399,584
Singles
Career record153–220 (41.0%)
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 35 (27 October 2014)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 3R (2015)
French Open 3R (2015)
Wimbledon 2R (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
US Open 4R (2006)
Doubles
Career record58–106
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 58 (5 July 2010)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open 3R (2011)
French Open 2R (2010, 2012)
Wimbledon 3R (2007)
US Open 2R (2010)

Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German former professional tennis player. He is most known for defeating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open, in Agassi's last match as a professional player.

Contents

Becker has reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 35 in singles on October 27, 2014, and No. 58 in doubles on July 5, 2010.

Becker is not related to German compatriot and former professional tennis player Boris Becker. [1]

Early life and family

Benjamin Becker was born on 16 June 1981 in Merzig, West Germany, to Jörg, a tax office worker, and Ulrike. Becker has one younger sister. [2] From 2001 to 2005, Becker played tennis at Baylor University, winning the NCAA singles championship as a junior in 2004 and leading the Bears to the team title that year. In 2005, the team finished runner-up at the NCAA tournament and won the ITA team indoor championship. He is the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles wins. [3] A rarity in men's tennis, Becker attended college for four years before turning professional.

Career

2006

2006 was a breakthrough year for Becker. In June of that year, he qualified for Wimbledon and defeated Juan Ignacio Chela, before losing in the second round to Fernando Verdasco. At the 2006 US Open, he defeated Filippo Volandri and No. 30 seed Sébastien Grosjean to reach the third round, where he defeated former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in four sets. The match was especially noteworthy as it was Agassi's last on the ATP circuit; he had announced that the 2006 U.S. Open would be his final tournament, and his defeat was followed by an 8-minute standing ovation from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. The day after Becker's win over Agassi, his own U.S. Open bid was ended by Andy Roddick in the fourth round.

Becker has the distinction of having played the match that finished second latest in ATP history, defeating Jiří Novák in Tokyo in 2006 at 3.24 a.m. Following the 2006 U.S. Open, Becker confirmed his status as a promising newcomer on the ATP Tour, improving his ranking from No. 421 at the beginning of the year to No. 62 in November 2006. As a result, Becker received the Newcomer of the Year award during the 2006 ATP Awards and won the Sportsman of the Year award in his part of Germany. After completing his first season on the ATP Tour, Becker made the fastest rise of any player into the top 50. [4]

2007

2007 saw Becker improving his ranking further in the early season, including through his semi-final appearances at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, where he lost to world No. 8 James Blake; and in San Jose at the SAP Open where he lost to Ivo Karlović, the tallest player on the ATP Tour (6' 10"). As a result, Becker's ATP ranking peaked at No. 38 in March 2007. However, in 2007 Becker was unable to progress beyond the first round in any of the Grand Slams or ATP Masters Series events, with the exception of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost in the second round to Thomas Johansson.

Given his strong performance at the U.S. Open in the preceding year, Becker's first round loss in the 2007 edition caused his ranking to drop to 79. Despite good form in Bangkok, where he lost in the finals to Dmitry Tursunov, Becker finished the year ranked 84th.

2009

In 2009, Becker won his first ATP World Tour title, the Ordina Open in the Netherlands, defeating local hope Raemon Sluiter. [5]

2010

Becker at the 2010 US Open. Benjamin Becker at the 2010 US Open 01 (cropped).jpg
Becker at the 2010 US Open.

Becker reached the semifinal of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch and the Thailand Open in Bangkok. At the Grand Slam tournaments, Becker reached the second round of the 2010 Australian Open as well as in Wimbledon and at the 2010 US Open. He was knocked out in the first round at the 2010 French Open. He qualified for the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, but lost to Gaël Monfils in the first round. He advanced to the second round of the If Stockholm Open, where he lost to second seed Robin Söderling. He reached the quarterfinals at St.Petersburg, where he lost to Illya Marchenko. He qualified for the BNP Paribas Open in Paris-Bercy, where he lost to Gaël Monfils in the second round after a first-round win over Denis Istomin. He went 29–31 on the season and earned a career-high $543,431.

2011

Becker reached the second round in Brisbane and at the Australian Open, losing to Santiago Giraldo and Alexandr Dolgopolov. He also reached the second round at Indian Wells. The rest of the year, he played mostly Challenger tournaments.

2012

In 2012, Becker reached the second round in Doha, losing to Gaël Monfils, but he was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open by Marcos Baghdatis. His best run of the year was in Memphis, where he reached the semifinals, defeating Dudi Sela, Xavier Malisse, and Łukasz Kubot, before succumbing to Milos Raonic. He defeated Olivier Rochus in the first round in Miami, but then lost to Julien Benneteau. He won a Challenger title in Nottingham, before reaching the second round at Wimbledon with a win over James Blake. He was eliminated by Radek Štěpánek.

Becker made the quarterfinals in Newport, Rhode Island, avenging his loss to Raonic in the second round, but losing to Ryan Harrison. In Washington, D.C., he defeated one American, Steve Johnson, in the first round, but fell to another, Sam Querrey, in the second. He also made the second round in Winston-Salem, defeating Tatsuma Ito, but losing to Jarkko Nieminen.

2013

Becker reached the second round of the Australian Open, losing to Juan Martín del Potro. He then suffered a succession of first-round exits before again reaching the final in Nottingham, where he lost to Matthew Ebden. At the Aegon Championships, he reached the quarterfinals, defeating Bernard Tomic, Lukáš Rosol, and Alexandr Dolgopolov, before losing to eventual champion Andy Murray. At Wimbledon, he went down to Murray again in the first round.

Becker won a Challenger event in Istanbul in July. At Cincinnati, he qualified and reached the second round, only to lose to Rafael Nadal. At the US Open, he defeated Lukáš Rosol in the first round, but lost to Novak Djokovic in the second. He reached the quarterfinals in Metz with wins over two Frenchmen, Benoît Paire and Albano Olivetti, but lost to another, Nicolas Mahut. Becker won another Challenger tournament in Eckental, Germany, in October.

2014: Career high ranking

In 2014, Becker reached the second round at Chennai, losing to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka. He also reached the second round in Memphis, defeating Lukáš Lacko, but succumbing to eventual champion Kei Nishikori. In Miami, he qualified and made the fourth round of the main draw, where he lost to Milos Raonic. In Houston, he made the second round, where he was eliminated by Jack Sock. He made the final of the 2014 Topshelf Open grass tournament that he had won in 2009, but he lost in the final to Roberto Bautista Agut.

ATP career finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (1–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–1)
Indoor (0–1)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1 Sep 2007 Thailand Open, ThailandInternationalHard (i) Flag of Russia.svg Dmitry Tursunov 2–6, 1–6
Win1–1 Jun 2009 Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands250 SeriesGrass Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raemon Sluiter 7–5, 6–3
Loss1–2 Jun 2014 Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands250 SeriesGrass Flag of Spain.svg Roberto Bautista Agut 6–2, 6–7(2–7), 4–6

Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–2)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–1)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1 Aug 2009 Los Angeles Open, United StatesInternationalHard Flag of Germany.svg Frank Moser Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bryan
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Bryan
4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Loss0–2 Feb 2010 Pacific Coast Championships, United States250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of Argentina.svg Leonardo Mayer Flag of the United States.svg Mardy Fish
Flag of the United States.svg Sam Querrey
6–7(3–7), 5–7

Challenger finals

Singles: 18 (9–9)

OutcomeDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Runner-up1.13 February 2006 Joplin, USHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg Jesse Witten 3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Winner1.13 March 2006 Salinas, EcuadorHard Flag of the United States.svg Jesse Witten4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up2.10 April 2006 Valencia, USHard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Frédéric Niemeyer 6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up3.31 July 2006 Segovia, SpainHard Flag of Argentina.svg Juan Martín del Potro 4–6, 7–5, 4–6
Runner-up4.13 November 2006 Dnepropetrovsk, UkraineHard (i) Flag of Russia.svg Dmitry Tursunov 6–7(7–9), 4–6
Winner2.26 January 2009 Heilbronn, GermanyCarpet (i) Flag of Slovakia.svg Karol Beck 6–4, 6–4
Winner3.6 April 2009 Baton Rouge, USHard Flag of the United States.svg Rajeev Ram 6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Winner4.27 April 2009 Rhodes, GreeceHard Flag of Germany.svg Simon Stadler 7–5, 6–3
Runner-up5.4 May 2009 Ramat HaSharon, IsraelHard Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Yen-Hsun Lu 3–6, 1–3, ret.
Winner5.18 May 2009 Cremona, ItalyHard Flag of South Africa.svg Izak van der Merwe 7–6(7–3), 6–1
Winner6.10 June 2012 Nottingham, UKGrass Flag of Russia.svg Dmitry Tursunov4–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner7.11 November 2012 Urtijëi, ItalyCarpet Flag of Italy.svg Andreas Seppi 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up6.9 June 2013 Nottingham, UKGrass Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Ebden 5–7, 6–4, 5–7
Winner8.14 July 2013 Istanbul, TurkeyHard Flag of Israel.svg Dudi Sela 6–1, 2–6, 3–2, ret.
Winner9.3 November 2013 Eckental, GermanyCarpet Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Ruben Bemelmans 2–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Runner-up7.11 October 2015 Mons, BelgiumHard (i) Flag of Ukraine.svg Illya Marchenko 2–6, 7–6(10–8), 4–6
Runner-up8.8 November 2015 Eckental, GermanyCarpet (i) Flag of Russia.svg Mikhail Youzhny 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up9.25 September 2016 Columbus, USAHard (i) Flag of Denmark.svg Mikael Torpegaard 4–6, 6–1, 2–6

Performance timelines

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(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

Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 SRW-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open AA 1R 1R A 2R 2R 1R 2R 1R 3R 1R Q1 0 / 95–9
French Open A Q3 1R 1R A 1R A 1R 1R 1R 3R [a] 1R Q1 0 / 82–7
Wimbledon A 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R A 2R 1R 2R 1R 2R Q2 0 / 107–10
US Open A 4R 1R Q1 1R 2R A 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R A0 / 95–9
Win–loss0–04–20–41–31–23–41–11–42–41–44–31–40–00 / 3619–35
ATP Masters Series 1000
Indian Wells AA 1R 1R Q2 1R 2R A 1R 1R 1R A Q1 0 / 71–7
Miami AA 1R 2R 2R 4R 1R 2R 1R 4R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 119–11
Monte Carlo AA 2R AA 2R AAAA 1R AA0 / 32–3
Madrid A Q1 AAA 2R AAA 1R 1R Q2 A0 / 31–3
Rome AA 1R Q2 A 1R AAAAAAA0 / 20–2
Canada AAA Q2 AAA Q1 1R Q1 1R AA0 / 20–2
Cincinnati AA 1R 1R 2R 1R A Q1 2R 2R Q1 AA0 / 63–6
Shanghai Not Masters Series 1R 1R AA Q1 AAAA0 / 20–2
Paris AA Q1 A 2R 2R A Q2 AAAAA0 / 22–2
Hamburg AA 1R ANot Masters Series0 / 10–1
Win–loss0–00–01–61–33–46–81–21–11–43–40–50–10–10 / 3917–39
Career statistics
Titles / Finals0 / 00 / 00 / 10 / 01 / 10 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 10 / 00 / 00 / 01 / 3
Overall win–loss0–09–821–3211–2014–1929–313–910–149–2027–2611–209–180–3153–220
Year-end ranking420588412940533046579409711951941%

a 2015 French Open counts as 2 wins, 0 losses. Kei Nishikori received a walkover in the third round, after Becker withdrew because of a muscle tear in his right shoulder, [6] does not count as a Becker loss (nor a Nishikori win).

Doubles

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 SRW-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R AA 1R 3R A 1R 1R 3R 2R A0 / 75–7
French Open 1R AA 2R A 2R 1R 1R 1R AA0 / 62–6
Wimbledon 3R A 1R 1R A 2R A 1R 1R AA0 / 63–6
US Open 1R A 1R 2R A 1R A 2R AAA0 / 52–5
Win–loss2–40–00–22–42–12–30–21–42–31–10–00 / 2412–24

Wins over top 10 players

Season2005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017Total
Wins00111210000006
#PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreBB Rank
2007
1. Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Berdych 10 Bangkok, ThailandHard (i)SF3–6, 6–4, 6–479
2008
2. Flag of Russia.svg Nikolay Davydenko 4 Wimbledon, London, United KingdomGrass1R6–4, 6–4, 6–4116
2009
3. Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Verdasco 8 s-Hertogenbosch, NetherlandsGrass2R7–5, 7–6(7–4)82
2010
4. Flag of Russia.svg Nikolay Davydenko5 Halle, GermanyGrass2R6–3, 6–452
5. Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Verdasco8 Bangkok, ThailandHard (i)2R6–4, 6–465
2011
6. Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Verdasco9 Brisbane, AustraliaHard1R6–1, 6–7(2–7), 6–353

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References

  1. "The Name's Benjamin, Not Boris Becker – DW – 06/28/2006". dw.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. "Players | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  3. "Benjamin Becker". Baylor University. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  4. Benjamin Becker Tennis: December 2006 Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "German Becker claims maiden title". BBC Sport. 20 June 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  6. Herman, Martyn (28 May 2015). "Tennis-Nishikori through to last 16 after Becker pulls out". Reuters. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
Awards
Preceded by ATP Newcomer of the Year
2006
Succeeded by