Izak van der Merwe

Last updated

Izak van der Merwe
Country (sports)Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Residence Stellenbosch, South Africa
Born (1984-01-26) 26 January 1984 (age 41)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro2005
Retired2014
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$430,017
Singles
Career record16–16
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 113 (1 August 2011)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open Q3 (2011)
French Open Q2 (2011)
Wimbledon 1R (2008)
US Open Q2 (2009)
Doubles
Career record8–8
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 94 (18 July 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open A
French Open A
Wimbledon 2R (2012)
US Open A
Last updated on: 05 Oktober 2018.

Izak van der Merwe (born 26 January 1984) is a retired South African tennis player.

Contents

Van der Merwe had a career-high ATP singles ranking of 113 achieved on 1 August 2011.

Van der Merwe represented South Africa at the Davis Cup.

He says he tried to base his play on the former Wimbledon champion, Pete Sampras. [1]

Tennis career highlights

2005–2007: Career beginnings

Van der Merwe turned pro in 2005 and ended the year with a singles ranking of 721. During this time Van der Merwe mainly played in the ITF Futures tour. In October 2005, Van der Merwe won his first ITF Futures singles title in Zimbabwe F1.

In 2006 Van der Merwe reached 5 ITF Futures tour singles finals, winning 1. In 2007 Van der Merwe won 3 ITF Futures tour titles.

2008: 1st Grand Slam entry

In June 2008, van der Merwe qualified into the 2008 Wimbledon main draw, beating World No. 177 Miguel Ángel López Jaén, World No. 126 Kristian Pless, and World No. 246 Frédéric Niemeyer. He would then go on to lose to Guillermo García-López 7–5, 6–2, 6–2.

In August 2008 Van der Merwe also reached his first Challenger tour final at the Campos Do Jordao-1 in Brazil, where he lost to Brian Dabul.

2010: 1st ATP Challenger title

In August 2010 Van der Merwe won his maiden ATP Challenger title at the Campos Do Jordao-1 in Brazil, when he defeated world number 88 Ricardo Mello.

2011: Second and Third ATP Challenger titles

In February Van der Merwe reached his first main draw semifinal on the ATP World Tour, when he reached the semifinal of the SA Tennis Open (ATP 250 event) in Johannesburg, South Africa. He went on to lose to world number 110 Somdev Devvarman.

In April Van der Merwe won his second ATP Challenger title at the Soweto Open in Johannesburg, South Africa, when he defeated countryman and world number 184 Rik De Voest. In November Van der Merwe won his third ATP Challenger title at Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, when he defeated world number 283 Jesse Levine.

2012

In July he reached the quarterfinal of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (ATP 250 event) in Newport, RI, U.S.A. .

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 17 (8 titles-9 runner-ups)

Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (3–5)
ITF Futures (5–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (8–16)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1.23 October 2005Zimbabwe F1, Bulawayo Hard Flag of South Africa.svg Andrew Anderson 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss2.21 May 2006USA F11, Tampa Clay Flag of the United States.svg Robert Yim 6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Loss3.2 July 2006Thailand F3, Bangkok Hard Flag of Japan.svg Takahiro Terachi 7–6, 1–6, 4–6
Loss4.8 October 2006USA F25, Laguna Niguel Hard Flag of the United States.svg Brian Wilson 7–6, 2–6, 4–6
Win5.22 October 2006USA F26, Mansfield Hard Flag of the United States.svg Michael McClune 7–6, 6–4
Loss6.29 October 2006USA F27, Baton Rouge Hard Flag of Israel.svg Dudi Sela 7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Win7.15 April 2007USA F7, Mobile Hard Flag of the United States.svg Ryler DeHeart 6–1, 6–4
Win8.22 July 2007USA F18, Joplin Hard Flag of Russia.svg Andrey Kumantsov 6–3, 6–4
Win9.28 October 2007USA F27, Baton Rouge Hard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Carsten Ball 6–2, 7–6
Loss10.10 August 2008 Campos do Jordão, BrazilHard Flag of Argentina.svg Brian Dabul 5–7, 7–6, 3–6
Loss11.24 May 2009 Cremona, ItalyHard Flag of Germany.svg Benjamin Becker 5–7, 1–6
Loss12.18 April 2010 Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Flag of Germany.svg Dustin Brown 6–7, 3–6
Win13.8 August 2010 Campos do Jordão, BrazilHard Flag of Brazil.svg Ricardo Mello 7–6(8–6), 6–3
Loss14.15 August 2010 Brasília, BrazilHard Flag of Japan.svg Tatsuma Ito 4–6, 4–6
Win15.17 April 2011 Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Flag of South Africa.svg Rik de Voest 6–7(2–7), 7–5, 6–3
Loss16.7 August 2011 Campos do Jordão, BrazilHard Flag of Brazil.svg Rogerio Dutra Silva 4–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win17.6 November 2011 Charlottesville, United StatesHard Flag of the United States.svg Jesse Levine 4–6, 6–3, 6–4

Singles 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 2013 US Open.

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open AAA Q2 Q3 Q1 Q1 0–0
French Open AAAA Q2 Q1 A0–0
Wimbledon A R1 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q3 A0–0
US Open A Q1 Q2 Q1 Q1 Q1 A0–0
Win–loss0–00–10–00–00–00–00–00–1
Career statistics
Titles–Finals
Year-end ranking2693042721741132141109

References

  1. "Izak's Wimbledon Story". Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.