Eric Butorac

Last updated

Eric Butorac
Butorac RG13 (3) (9371121141).jpg
Butorac at the 2013 French Open
Country (sports)Flag of the United States.svg United States
Residence Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Born (1981-05-22) May 22, 1981 (age 42)
Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro2003
Retired2016
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
College Ball State Cardinals
Gustavus Adolphus College
Prize money $1,728,454
Singles
Career record0–0
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 935 (January 16, 2006)
Doubles
Career record269–242 (in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles18
Highest rankingNo. 17 (August 29, 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open F (2014)
French Open 3R (2012, 2016)
Wimbledon 3R (2007, 2014)
US Open QF (2014)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open 1R (2011, 2012, 2015)
French Open SF (2014)
Wimbledon 3R (2013, 2014)
US Open 2R (2016)
Last updated on: December 13, 2016.

Eric Butorac (born May 22, 1981), nicknamed Booty, [1] is an American retired professional tennis player. He was a doubles specialist, and for a period of approximately six years was the No. 3 ranked American doubles player. His best result was reaching the 2014 Australian Open finals with partner Raven Klaasen. Their run to the final included a victory over the World No. 1 team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

Contents

He attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where he played on the men's tennis team for one year before transferring to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he graduated in 2003.

Family

Butorac is of Croatian descent. Butorac's parents, Jan and Tim Butorac, are directors of the Rochester Tennis Connection (Indoor & Outdoor site) in Rochester, Minnesota. His brother, Jeff, is a basketball coach at Century High School. Tim Butorac is a USPTA professional, teaching tennis at the Rochester Indoor Tennis Club during the winter and at the Kutzky/Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center during the summer months.

College career

Eric Butorac played at Ball State University for one year before transferring to Gustavus Adolphus College. He has a long history with Gustavus: his father played for coach Steve Wilkinson, and, at age five, Eric attended tennis camp with Wilkinson. He closed out his senior season of 2003 by winning both the NCAA Division III singles and doubles championships, with Kevin Whipple as his partner. [2]

Recent activity

In July 2006, Butorac and Jamie Murray reached their first ATP Tour doubles final, in Los Angeles, losing in straight sets to the Bryan brothers, who were the world's top-ranked doubles team.

In early February 2007, the US-Scots pair claimed their first doubles title in a Challenger event in Dallas, [3] and a week later they won their first ATP title at the SAP Open. [4] They continued their winning run the following week when the unseeded pair defeated second seeds Julian Knowle and Jürgen Melzer, 7–5, 6–3, to capture the doubles title of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at the Racquet Club of Memphis.[ citation needed ]

In April, May, and June 2009, Butorac and American Scott Lipsky won the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger, the Estoril Open in Portugal, and a tournament in Nottingham, England. [5]

In 2010, Butorac paired with Rajeev Ram to make the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He also won titles in Chennai (with Ram), Tokyo and Stockholm (with Rojer). He was on the 2010 roster of the Boston Lobsters in the World Team Tennis pro league.

In 2011, Butorac had his best season reaching a career-high ranking of no. 17, and finishing as the no. 9 team in the world with partner Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands. They won three titles and made the semifinals of the Australian Open.

In 2012, Butorac made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and won the doubles title in São Paulo (with Bruno Soares).

In 2013, Butorac made it to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open and won the doubles title in Kuala Lumpur with Raven Klaasen.

In 2014, Butorac started his year with reaching the final of the Australian Open. He then went on to win titles in Memphis and Stockholm. All of these were with partner Raven Klaasen.

Off court

In 2009 Butorac started the Minnesota Tennis Challenge, a charity event to benefit St. Paul Urban Tennis. Participants included Bob and Mike Bryan, Justin Gimelstob, Rajeev Ram, Melanie Oudin, and Somdev Devvarman. Butorac is a regular speaker at coaching conventions and USTA showcases around the country.

Starting in 2010, Butorac has been the volunteer assistant coach at Harvard University. He is one of only three players from the NCAA Division III ranks to ever make a living on the tour.

Butorac was the president of the ATP Player's Council. He succeeded Roger Federer as president (whom he served under as VP for the previous term). He was succeeded by Novak Djokovic on August 30, 2016.

In February 2022, Butorac was named Tournament Director of the Western & Southern Open. The Western & Southern Open features an ATP Masters 1000 as well as a WTA 1000 tournament in the same week at the same venue, making it one of five events to host concurrent top tier tour tournaments.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

OutcomeYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss 2014 Australian Open Hard Flag of South Africa.svg Raven Klaasen Flag of Poland.svg Łukasz Kubot
Flag of Sweden.svg Robert Lindstedt
3–6, 3–6

ATP career finals

Doubles: 29 (18 titles, 11 runners-up)

Legend ( Doubles)
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (2–2)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (16–8)
Titles by surface
Hard (12–9)
Clay (5–2)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1 Jul 2006 Los Angeles Open, United StatesInternationalHard Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jamie Murray Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bryan
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Bryan
2–6, 4–6
Win1–1 Feb 2007 Pacific Coast Championships, United StatesInternationalHard (i) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jamie Murray Flag of South Africa.svg Chris Haggard
Flag of Germany.svg Rainer Schüttler
7–5, 7–6(8–6)
Win2–1 Feb 2007 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, United StatesIntl. GoldHard (i) Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jamie Murray Flag of Austria.svg Jürgen Melzer
Flag of Austria.svg Julian Knowle
7–5, 6–3
Win3–1 Jun 2007 Nottingham Open, United KingdomInternationalGrass Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jamie Murray Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Joshua Goodall
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Ross Hutchins
4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win4–1 Aug 2008 Los Angeles Open, United StatesInternationalHard Flag of India.svg Rohan Bopanna Flag of the United States.svg Travis Parrott
Flag of Serbia.svg Dušan Vemić
7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5)
Win5–1 Jan 2009 Chennai Open, India250 SeriesHard Flag of the United States.svg Rajeev Ram Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jean-Claude Scherrer
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Stan Wawrinka
6–3, 6–4
Win6–1 May 2009 Estoril Open, Portugal250 SeriesClay Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lipsky Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Martin Damm
Flag of Sweden.svg Robert Lindstedt
6–3, 6–2
Win7–1 Oct 2009 Thailand Open, Thailand250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg Rajeev Ram Flag of Spain.svg Guillermo García López
Flag of Germany.svg Mischa Zverev
7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss7–2 May 2010 Bavarian International Tennis Championships, Germany250 SeriesClay Flag of Germany.svg Michael Kohlmann Flag of Austria.svg Oliver Marach
Flag of Spain.svg Santiago Ventura
7–5, 3–6, [14–16]
Loss7–3 Aug 2010 Los Angeles Open, United States (2)250 SeriesHard Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bryan
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Bryan
7–6(8–6), 2–6, [7–10]
Win8–3 Oct 2010 Japan Open, Japan500 SeriesHard Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of Italy.svg Andreas Seppi
Flag of Russia.svg Dmitry Tursunov
6–3, 6–2
Win9–3 Oct 2010 Stockholm Open, Sweden250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of Curacao.svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of Sweden.svg Johan Brunström
Flag of Finland.svg Jarkko Nieminen
6–3, 6–4
Loss9–4 Feb 2011 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, United States500 SeriesHard (i) Flag of Curacao.svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of Belarus.svg Max Mirnyi
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Daniel Nestor
2–6, 7–6(8–6), [3–10]
Win10–4 May 2011 Estoril Open, Portugal (2)250 SeriesClay Flag of Curacao.svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of Spain.svg Marc López
Flag of Spain.svg David Marrero
6–3, 6–4
Win11–4 May 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, France250 SeriesClay Flag of Curacao.svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of Mexico.svg Santiago González
Flag of Spain.svg David Marrero
6–3, 6–4
Win12–4 Oct 2011 Malaysian Open, Malaysia250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of Curacao.svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of the Czech Republic.svg František Čermák
Flag of Slovakia.svg Filip Polášek
6–1, 6–3
Loss12–5 Nov 2011 Valencia Open, Spain500 SeriesHard (i) Flag of Curacao.svg Jean-Julien Rojer Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bryan
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Bryan
4–6, 6–7(9–11)
Win13–5 Feb 2012 Brasil Open, Brazil250 SeriesClay Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Soares Flag of Slovakia.svg Michal Mertiňák
Flag of Brazil.svg André Sá
3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Loss13–6 Oct 2012 Thailand Open, Thailand250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Hanley Flag of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg Lu Yen-hsun
Flag of Thailand.svg Danai Udomchoke
3–6, 4–6
Loss13–7 Jan 2013 Brisbane International, Australia250 SeriesHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Hanley Flag of Brazil.svg Marcelo Melo
Flag of Spain.svg Tommy Robredo
6–4, 1–6, [5–10]
Loss13–8 May 2013 Bavarian International Tennis Championships, Germany250 SeriesClay Flag of Cyprus.svg Marcos Baghdatis Flag of Finland.svg Jarkko Nieminen
Flag of Russia.svg Dmitry Tursunov
1–6, 4–6
Win14–8 Sep 2013 Malaysian Open, Malaysia (2)250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of South Africa.svg Raven Klaasen Flag of Uruguay.svg Pablo Cuevas
Flag of Argentina.svg Horacio Zeballos
6–2, 6–4
Loss14–9 Jan 2014 Australian Open, AustraliaGrand SlamHard Flag of South Africa.svg Raven Klaasen Flag of Poland.svg Łukasz Kubot
Flag of Sweden.svg Robert Lindstedt
3–6, 3–6
Win15–9 Feb 2014 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, United States250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of South Africa.svg Raven Klaasen Flag of the United States.svg Bob Bryan
Flag of the United States.svg Mike Bryan
6–4, 6–4
Win16–9 Oct 2014 Stockholm Open, Sweden (2)250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of South Africa.svg Raven Klaasen Flag of the Philippines.svg Treat Huey
Flag of the United States.svg Jack Sock
6–4, 6–3
Loss16–10 Aug 2015 Winston-Salem Open, United States250 SeriesHard Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lipsky Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dominic Inglot
Flag of Sweden.svg Robert Lindstedt
2–6, 4–6
Win17–10 Nov 2015 Valencia Open, Spain250 SeriesHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lipsky Flag of Spain.svg Feliciano López
Flag of Belarus.svg Max Mirnyi
7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss17–11 Jan 2016 Auckland Open, New Zealand250 SeriesHard Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lipsky Flag of Croatia.svg Mate Pavić
Flag of New Zealand.svg Michael Venus
5–7, 4–6
Win18–11 May 2016 Estoril Open, Portugal (3)250 SeriesClay Flag of the United States.svg Scott Lipsky Flag of Poland.svg Łukasz Kubot
Flag of Poland.svg Marcin Matkowski
6–4, 3–6, [10–8]

Doubles performance timeline

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.

Current till 2016 US Open.

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 SRW-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 2R 3R 1R QF SF QF 3R F 3R 2R 0 / 1023–10
French Open 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 2R 1R 3R 0 / 106–10
Wimbledon 3R 2R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 3R 2R A0 / 99–9
US Open 2R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R QF 3R 1R 0 / 109–10
Win–loss4–43–41–43–46–47–44–411–45–43-30 / 3947–39

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Łukasz Kubot</span> Polish tennis player (born 1982)

Łukasz Kubot is a Polish professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Murray</span> British tennis player (born 1986)

Jamie Robert Murray, is a British professional tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion, a Davis Cup winner, and a former doubles world No. 1. Murray is the elder brother of fellow tennis player and former singles world No. 1, Andy Murray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajeev Ram</span> American tennis player

Rajeev Ram is an American professional tennis player who is a former world no. 1 in doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcelo Melo</span> Brazilian tennis player

Marcelo Pinheiro Davi de Melo is a Brazilian professional tennis player from Belo Horizonte. Primarily a doubles specialist, his career-high doubles ranking is No. 1, which he first reached in November 2015. Melo is the only Brazilian ever to top the ATP doubles rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michał Przysiężny</span> Polish tennis player

Michał Przysiężny is a former Polish professional tennis player. He reached the semifinals of St. Petersburg in 2013, achieving a career-high singles ranking of World No. 57 in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Lipsky</span> American tennis player and coach

Scott Lipsky is an American former professional tennis player and coach. As a player, Lipsky was primarily a doubles specialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Fleming</span> British tennis player

Colin Fleming is a British retired professional tennis player who specialised in doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Peers</span> Australian tennis player

John William Peers is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles.

The 2010 Farmers Classic, presented by Mercedes-Benz, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 84th edition of the Los Angeles Open, and was part of the Olympus US Open Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, United States, from July 26 through August 1, 2010. Second-seeded Sam Querrey defeated first-seeded Andy Murray to win his second consecutive singles title at the event. Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles championship over Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer, who was playing on his college court. It marked the first time in the 84-year history of the tournament that both the singles and doubles championships were successfully defended. The twin brothers also set the record of 62 career doubles titles on the ATP Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raven Klaasen</span> South African tennis player

Raven Klaasen is a South African professional tennis player who specialises in doubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Venus</span> New Zealand tennis player

Michael Venus is a New Zealand professional tennis player. He has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6, achieved on 29 August 2022. Venus won the 2017 French Open men's doubles partnering Ryan Harrison, and followed with a runner-up finish in the 2017 US Open mixed doubles partnering Chan Hao-ching. Venus and Harrison qualified for the year-end championships ATP Finals, where they reached the semifinals.

The 2014 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships was a 2014 ATP World Tour men's tennis tournament, played on indoor hard courts. The tournament from this year was downgraded from ATP World Tour 500 series to ATP World Tour 250 series. It was the 39th edition of the first American tournament of the year and took place at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, United States, from February 11 through February 17, 2014. First-seeded Kei Nishikori won his second consecutive singles title at the event.

The 2014 ATP World Tour Finals (also known as the 2014 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for sponsorship reasons) was a men's tennis tournament played at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom, between 9 and 16 November 2014. It was the season-ending event for the best singles players and doubles teams on the 2014 ATP World Tour. The Bryan Brothers won the title at the doubles tournament, while Novak Djokovic successfully defended his single title for the second time after Roger Federer withdrew from the final, the first walkover in a final in the tournament's 45-year history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley Koolhof</span> Dutch tennis player

Wesley Koolhof is a Dutch professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He has been ranked in doubles as high as world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved in November 2022. Koolhof also attained a career-high singles ranking of world No. 462 in August 2013.

Bob and Mike Bryan were the defending champions at the time of the finals, but lost in the third round to Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen.
Łukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt won the title, defeating Butorac and Klaasen in the final, 6–3, 6–3.

Andre Begemann and Julian Knowle were the defending champions, but chose not to participate together. Begemann played alongside Florian Mayer, but lost in the first round to Dustin Brown and Jan-Lennard Struff. Knowle teamed up with Vasek Pospisil, but lost in the first round to Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky.
Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram won the title, defeating Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea in the final, 7–6(7–5), 6–2.
The world's no.1 doubles pairing, the Bryan brothers, were originally slated to play the event. This would have been the Bryans' first-ever appearance at Halle, after over a decade of playing in the Queen's Club Championships prior to Wimbledon. However, the Bryans withdrew just prior to the start of the tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 ATP World Tour</span> Mens tennis circuit

The 2016 ATP World Tour was the global elite professional tennis circuit organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the 2016 tennis season. The 2016 ATP World Tour calendar comprised the Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000s, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the Davis Cup, and the ATP World Tour Finals. Also included in the 2016 calendar were the tennis events at the 2016 Summer Olympics and Hopman Cup, neither of which distributed ranking points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben McLachlan</span> New Zealand-born Japanese tennis player

Ben McLachlan is a Japanese professional tennis player who previously represented New Zealand.

Łukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo were the defending champions, but they were defeated in the second round by Jonathan Erlich and Marcin Matkowski.

Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah won their second consecutive Grand Slam men's doubles title, defeating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the final, 6–4, 7–5 to win the men's doubles tennis title at the 2019 US Open. Cabal and Farah retained the ATP no. 1 doubles ranking. Mike Bryan, Łukasz Kubot and Nicolas Mahut were also in contention for the top ranking at the start of the tournament.

References

  1. "Tennis: Murray needs new partner after ending his stretch with Booty". TheGuardian.com . August 2007.
  2. Patton, Mark. "Gustavus Adolphus, Division III Tennis the Right Choice for Eric Butorac".
  3. "Jamie Murray wins doubles title"
  4. "San Jose Continues To Be Kind To Murray" Archived March 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (last paragraph)
  5. "Tennis Players – Scott Lipsky". ATP World Tour. Retrieved July 6, 2011.