Chris Guccione
Encyclopedia
Christopher "Chris" Luke Guccione (born 30 July 1985), is an Australian professional tennis
player from Greenvale, Victoria
; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian.
Guccione is coached by countryman and former ATP professional Anthony Lane. Guccione is noted for his good service; he hit 50 aces in a three-set qualifying match at Wimbledon in 2005. The good service has led fellow Australian player Mark Philippoussis
to call him a "Wayne Arthurs
clone". He is a serve-and-volley player. Despite these strong assets in the game he has still yet to win any ATP titles and very rarely makes it past the first round of major tournaments. During his career, he has won 5 ATP Challenger Series
: hardcourt victories in Burnie and Canberra
in 2005, claycourt victories in 2006 at Quito
and Medellín
, and a victory on hardcourt at Aptos
in 2009.
He has had greater success as a doubles player, often partnering with fellow Australian Carsten Ball
. Guccione has represented his country in several Davis Cup
ties, compiling a winning record. In a 2011 tie against Switzerland, for example, he teamed with Lleyton Hewitt
to beat the Olympic gold medal-winning team of Roger Federer
and Stan Wawrinka.
Guccione burst onto the scene in the 2004 Medibank International tournament, where he defeated former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero
. He is married to a young American woman named Andra Kucerak, who travels with him.
, he faced world no. 3 and no. 1 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero
of Spain. He cause a major upset by defeating him 6–3, 7–6(6). At that time Guccione was not even ranked in the top 400. Despite this momentous victory, he lost to world no. 32 Wayne Ferreira
of South Africa 7–6(4), 7–5 in the second round. In the Australian Open
he won his first round match against Australia's Alun Jones
6–3, 7–6(3), 6–2. He was eliminated in the next round by American Robby Ginepri
6–4, 6–3, 6–3. In November, he won the first singles tournament of his career in Berri, South Australia
. He defeated fellow Australian Robert Smeets
in straight sets 6–4, 6–4 in the final.
. He played world no. 12 Guillermo Cañas
and lost in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, 7–6(4). In February, Guccione won his first Challenger title of his career in Burnie
, defeating Gouichi Motomura
of Japan 6–3, 7–5. In Canberra during April, he won another Challenger title after he defeated Germany's Lars Übel 7–5, 6–1 in the final. His next tournament was the French Open. It was his first French Open of his career. Despite this, he defeated Spain's Santiago Ventura
in the first round 6–3, 2–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–2. He was knocked out in the second round by home-favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu
6–3, 6–4, 6–4. He did not participate in any more grand slams in 2005.
at the Medibank International. In February 2006, Guccione won the deciding fifth and final rubber against Switzerland's George Bastl
in the Davis Cup
. He continued this Davis Cup success in April at Kooyong
in Victoria when he defeated his more experienced opponent, Max Mirnyi
, in the opening Quarter-final tie against Belarus
. Despite winning all but one of his 2006 Davis Cup matches, Guccione was then dropped from the Australian Davis Cup Team to make way for the returning Mark Philippoussis
.
in Adelaide with a wildcard
entry at the Next Generation Adelaide International. There, he beat world number 93, Amer Delic
4–6 6–3 6–4, world number 58 Benjamin Becker
7–5 6–3, and world number 42 Arnaud Clément
7–6(4) 7–6(5). Reaching his first ATP quarterfinal—the only Australian to do so in Adelaide—Guccione continued his run and upset number 2 seed and world number 18 Richard Gasquet
in the quarterfinals 1–6 6–3 7–6(4) to reach his first ATP semifinal. In the semi-finals, he defeated another first-time semifinalist, 92nd ranked Juan Martín del Potro
5–7, 6–3, 7–5, to reach his first ever career ATP tour final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic
of Serbia in the final 6–3 6–7(6) 6–4, ending his run of victories over top-100 ranked players at five.
After success at the Adelaide International Guccione reached a ranking of 107 in the world. Guccione began his second tournament of 2007 in the Medibank International beating Rafael Nadal
in the first round. Leading 6–5 with Nadal to serve, Nadal withdrew due to an injury.
Guccione was unable to continue his success into the Australian Open
, losing in the first round to Belgian Olivier Rochus
3–6 7–6 7–6 6–7 9–7. Guccione's 2007 season then turned disastrous, not recording one win for over a month, Guccione then qualified for Las Vegas
through a lucky loser handout. Guccione then qualified for the American double Tennis Masters Series, Indian Wells
and Miami
but was unable to get past the first round in both tournaments.
At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Guccione's first round match was against Great Britain's Alex Bogdanovic
. Guccione won in straght sets 7–6(2) 6–4 6–4. Chris Guccione's 2nd round match was against the 6th seed Russian Nikolay Davydenko
. Guccione squandered a 2 sets to 0 lead, losing the match in 5 sets.
lashed out at Guccione for his lack of match fitness, saying that "with his height and his serve, he could be fucking lethal out there", and for not realising his considerable potential: he should be top-30 in the world and trouble anyone if he was properly fit."
Guccione's 2008 AO campaign commenced at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International
with a 7–5 7–6 win over Wayne Odesnik
. However, Guccione was unable to defend his 2007 runner-up points at the Next Generation Adelaide International, succumbing to second seed Paul-Henri Mathieu
6–4, 3–6, 4–6 in the second round.
Guccione responded with a run at the Medibank International in Sydney. Guccione won his first match against qualifier world number 138 Alberto Martín
7–6 (6) 6–4. Despite Lleyton Hewitt
's fantastic record against compatriot Australians, Guccione knocked him out 7–6 (4,) 7–6(2) in the second round. Showing signs of the form from the 2007 Next Generation Adelaide International
, Guccione scalped world number 14 Tomáš Berdych
4–6, 7–6(6), 6–4 and world number 32 Radek Štěpánek
storming his way to the final against Dmitry Tursunov
. However, his dream run came to a halt as he was edged out 6–7(3), 6–7(4). Guccione was unable to replicate his form at the 2008 Australian Open
, losing to Hyung-Taik Lee in straight sets 7–6(6), 6–3, 6–4.
The American Tennis Tournament Series kick started at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Memphis, and Guccione made an impressive showing by defeating world number 117 Robert Kendrick
7–6(6) 7–6(5) and world number 54 Thomas Johansson
6–3, 6–4. The Sydney rematch against world number 34 Radek Štěpánek
in the quarter finals went in favor of Stepanek 6–7(4), 1–6.
Guccione failed to qualify for the Indian Wells Masters
tournament. However, in the Sunrise challenger, a warm-up tournament for the Miami Masters
, Guccione recorded his best ever win against world number 12 Fernando González
5–7, 6–4, 6–4 in the semifinals. However, he was unable to continue his form as he failed to qualify for the Miami Masters
. Despite this, Guccione rose to his highest career singles ranking of 67 on the 7th of April.
Following Guccione's U.S stint, he returned to Australia for the Oceania qualifying Davis Cup tie against Thailand. Guccione opened the tie against Thai number 1 Dani Udomchoke and was taken to 5 sets before winning 6–7(3), 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(6), 7–5.
However Guccione was unable to carry on the momentum he had created over the past couple of months, losing in the first round of 7 of his next 8 tournament appearances including first round losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Guccione finished the year ranked 96.
in the first round of qualifying at the inaugural Brisbane International. Guccione had been upset prior to the commencement of the tournament after he had been shunned of a main draw wildcard in favor of younger players Bernard Tomic
and Brydan Klein
. After his match Guccione was too distraught to talk to the media.
However the following week at the 2009 Sydney International, Guccione bounced back with an impressive 6–3 6–4 win over 6th seed Tomáš Berdych before going on to lose in the following round to eventual finalist Jarkko Niemenen, 7–6(8), 6–3.
Despite falling out of the top 100 after his loss in Sydney, Guccione went on to win his first match at the Australian Open since he made his debut in 2004, defeating Nicolas Devilder
of France 6–4 6–2 6–4 before losing in four sets to 7th seed Gilles Simon
in the second round.
Guccione teamed up with Lleyton Hewitt
in March 2009 to play Thailand in the 2nd round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone. After Hewitt lost to Danai Udomchoke
in the 4th rubber, it was left to Guccione to defeat Kittiphong Wachiramanowong in the deciding match. He won 6–3 7–5 7–6(3), sending Australia into a 3rd round clash against India in May.
Guccione and George Bastl
beat Andy Ram
and Jonathan Erlich
in doubles 7–5, 7–6 (6), to win the final of the Israel Ramat Hasharon
Challenger tournament in May 2009.http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1241773215487&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Guccione had reached the third round of the Cincinnati masters, defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber
in the first round and world number 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second. He lost to Tomáš Berdych
in the third round 4–6, 3–6.
Guccione then suffered an Achilles injury on the foot while playing doubles at Washington which affected his preparations before the US Open, where he lost in the first round to Pablo Cuevas
. The injury saw him miss many months as he was to recover, and was certain to miss a fraction of the 2010 season.
. He faced Dudi Sela
in the opening round and lost in three tight sets.
and the pair won back-to-back titles in the Sacramento and Tiburon $100,000 Challenger events in October, in the latter tournament defeating a strong team of Sam Querrey
and Steve Johnson 6-1, 5-7 (10-6).
.
.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player from Greenvale, Victoria
Greenvale, Victoria
Greenvale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume...
; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian.
Guccione is coached by countryman and former ATP professional Anthony Lane. Guccione is noted for his good service; he hit 50 aces in a three-set qualifying match at Wimbledon in 2005. The good service has led fellow Australian player Mark Philippoussis
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
to call him a "Wayne Arthurs
Wayne Arthurs (tennis player)
Wayne Arthurs is a retired Australian professional tennis player.His serve was his strongest weapon by far, and had been referred to as the "best in the world" by several of his fellow players, including Jim Courier , Andre Agassi and Thomas Johansson...
clone". He is a serve-and-volley player. Despite these strong assets in the game he has still yet to win any ATP titles and very rarely makes it past the first round of major tournaments. During his career, he has won 5 ATP Challenger Series
ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments...
: hardcourt victories in Burnie and Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in 2005, claycourt victories in 2006 at Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
and Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, and a victory on hardcourt at Aptos
Comerica Bank Challenger
The Comerica Bank Challenger is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually at the Seascape Sports Club in Aptos, California, USA, since 1988.-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:**...
in 2009.
He has had greater success as a doubles player, often partnering with fellow Australian Carsten Ball
Carsten Ball
Carsten Thomas Ball is a professional Australian tennis player. Although born and based in the U.S., Carsten has continued to compete as an Australian player.-Tennis career:...
. Guccione has represented his country in several Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
ties, compiling a winning record. In a 2011 tie against Switzerland, for example, he teamed with Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
to beat the Olympic gold medal-winning team of Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
and Stan Wawrinka.
Guccione burst onto the scene in the 2004 Medibank International tournament, where he defeated former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
. He is married to a young American woman named Andra Kucerak, who travels with him.
2004 Season
In Guccione's first tournament of the year, in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, he faced world no. 3 and no. 1 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
of Spain. He cause a major upset by defeating him 6–3, 7–6(6). At that time Guccione was not even ranked in the top 400. Despite this momentous victory, he lost to world no. 32 Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Richard Ferreira is a former tennis player from South Africa. He attended Parktown Boys' High School....
of South Africa 7–6(4), 7–5 in the second round. In the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
he won his first round match against Australia's Alun Jones
Alun Jones (tennis)
Alun Jones is an Australian professional tennis player. He currently resides in Canberra, Australia with wife Jill....
6–3, 7–6(3), 6–2. He was eliminated in the next round by American Robby Ginepri
Robby Ginepri
Robert Louis Ginepri is an American professional tennis player.-Early life:Robby Ginepri is of Luxembourgish ancestry....
6–4, 6–3, 6–3. In November, he won the first singles tournament of his career in Berri, South Australia
Berri, South Australia
Berri is a town in the Riverland region of South Australia. It is 238 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, the capital of the state of South Australia. It is primarily an agricultural and viticultural town on the north bank of the Murray River...
. He defeated fellow Australian Robert Smeets
Robert Smeets
Robert Smeets is an Australian professional tennis player. Though born in Holland, Smeets moved to Australia aged 12 and took residency.Smeets plays predominantly on the ATP Challenger Series and ITF Men's Circuit...
in straight sets 6–4, 6–4 in the final.
2005 Season
Guccione's first tournament of the year was the Australian OpenAustralian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
. He played world no. 12 Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...
and lost in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, 7–6(4). In February, Guccione won his first Challenger title of his career in Burnie
Burnie, Tasmania
- Sport :Australian rules football is popular in Burnie. The city's team is the Burnie Dockers Football Club in the Tasmanian State League.Rugby union is also played in Burnie. The local club is the Burnie Rugby Union Club. They are the current Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide Division Two Premiers...
, defeating Gouichi Motomura
Gouichi Motomura
is a retired Challenger tour and Japan Davis Cup team tennis player. Over a 16-year period, Motomura captured four Challenger titles, all in doubles, and is tied for the most Davis Cup ties played by a Japanese player, with 23. His career high singles ranking is World No. 134 and doubles ranking is...
of Japan 6–3, 7–5. In Canberra during April, he won another Challenger title after he defeated Germany's Lars Übel 7–5, 6–1 in the final. His next tournament was the French Open. It was his first French Open of his career. Despite this, he defeated Spain's Santiago Ventura
Santiago Ventura Bertomeu
Santiago Ventura is a retired tennis player from Spain. He was born in Castellón, Spain and lives in Burriana, Spain. He is a clay court specialist and is known for the considerable use of drop-shots during his matches.-Singles :...
in the first round 6–3, 2–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–2. He was knocked out in the second round by home-favourite Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
6–3, 6–4, 6–4. He did not participate in any more grand slams in 2005.
2006 Season
In January 2006 Guccione managed to once again defeat Juan Carlos FerreroJuan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
at the Medibank International. In February 2006, Guccione won the deciding fifth and final rubber against Switzerland's George Bastl
George Bastl
George Edward Bastl is a professional tennis player from Switzerland. He is ranked at World No. 845 as of August 22, 2011.He has reached one singles final in his career – at Tashkent in 1999.-Tennis career:...
in the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
. He continued this Davis Cup success in April at Kooyong
Kooyong Stadium
Kooyong Stadium, at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, is a tennis venue, located in Melbourne, Australia. The stadium was built in 1927 and has a capacity of 8,500....
in Victoria when he defeated his more experienced opponent, Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
, in the opening Quarter-final tie against Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. Despite winning all but one of his 2006 Davis Cup matches, Guccione was then dropped from the Australian Davis Cup Team to make way for the returning Mark Philippoussis
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
.
2007 season
Guccione began his 2007 season2007 ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is the elite tour for professional tennis organised by the ATP. The ATP Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Tennis Masters Cup, the ATP Masters Series, the International Series Gold and the International Series tournaments.-January:...
in Adelaide with a wildcard
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
entry at the Next Generation Adelaide International. There, he beat world number 93, Amer Delic
Amer Delic
Amer Delić is a Bosnian tennis player. Representing the United States as a tour player until 2009, he now represents the country of his birth, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is a member of its Davis Cup team....
4–6 6–3 6–4, world number 58 Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....
7–5 6–3, and world number 42 Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
7–6(4) 7–6(5). Reaching his first ATP quarterfinal—the only Australian to do so in Adelaide—Guccione continued his run and upset number 2 seed and world number 18 Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
in the quarterfinals 1–6 6–3 7–6(4) to reach his first ATP semifinal. In the semi-finals, he defeated another first-time semifinalist, 92nd ranked Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
5–7, 6–3, 7–5, to reach his first ever career ATP tour final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
of Serbia in the final 6–3 6–7(6) 6–4, ending his run of victories over top-100 ranked players at five.
After success at the Adelaide International Guccione reached a ranking of 107 in the world. Guccione began his second tournament of 2007 in the Medibank International beating Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in the first round. Leading 6–5 with Nadal to serve, Nadal withdrew due to an injury.
Guccione was unable to continue his success into the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, losing in the first round to Belgian Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
3–6 7–6 7–6 6–7 9–7. Guccione's 2007 season then turned disastrous, not recording one win for over a month, Guccione then qualified for Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
through a lucky loser handout. Guccione then qualified for the American double Tennis Masters Series, Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
and Miami
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
but was unable to get past the first round in both tournaments.
At the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, Guccione's first round match was against Great Britain's Alex Bogdanovic
Alex Bogdanovic
Aleksa Bogdanovic , also known as his British nickname Alex, is a Serbian-British tennis player born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Alex was brought to England by his parents Dušan and Amelija when he was seven and took up tennis as a means of making new friends.Bogdanovic turned professional in 2002...
. Guccione won in straght sets 7–6(2) 6–4 6–4. Chris Guccione's 2nd round match was against the 6th seed Russian Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
. Guccione squandered a 2 sets to 0 lead, losing the match in 5 sets.
2008 season
Prior to the AO Series 2008, John NewcombeJohn Newcombe
John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...
lashed out at Guccione for his lack of match fitness, saying that "with his height and his serve, he could be fucking lethal out there", and for not realising his considerable potential: he should be top-30 in the world and trouble anyone if he was properly fit."
Guccione's 2008 AO campaign commenced at the 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International
2008 Next Generation Adelaide International
The 2008 Next Generation Adelaide International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 31st edition of the event known that year as the Next Generation Adelaide International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour...
with a 7–5 7–6 win over Wayne Odesnik
Wayne Odesnik
Wayne Odesnik is a professional left-handed American tennis player, with a two-handed backhand.His career-high in singles was # 77, as of April 13, 2009...
. However, Guccione was unable to defend his 2007 runner-up points at the Next Generation Adelaide International, succumbing to second seed Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is a French tennis player.-Tennis career:Mathieu was born in Strasbourg, France. He first began playing tennis at age 3, with his older brother Pierre-Yves. Between 1997 and 2000 he trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida...
6–4, 3–6, 4–6 in the second round.
Guccione responded with a run at the Medibank International in Sydney. Guccione won his first match against qualifier world number 138 Alberto Martín
Alberto Martín
----Alberto Martín Magret is a retired tennis player from Spain. He turned professional in 1995.Martin's best Grand Slam performance was reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2006. En route to this performance, Martín's first round win was his first victory over former World number 1 Andy...
7–6 (6) 6–4. Despite Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
's fantastic record against compatriot Australians, Guccione knocked him out 7–6 (4,) 7–6(2) in the second round. Showing signs of the form from the 2007 Next Generation Adelaide International
2007 Next Generation Adelaide International
The 2007 Next Generation Adelaide International was a professional tennis event on the 2007 ATP Tour in Adelaide, Australia, held from January 1 to January 8. Novak Đoković won the title, an ATP International Series level tournament.-Men's Singles:...
, Guccione scalped world number 14 Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
4–6, 7–6(6), 6–4 and world number 32 Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
storming his way to the final against Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
. However, his dream run came to a halt as he was edged out 6–7(3), 6–7(4). Guccione was unable to replicate his form at the 2008 Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, losing to Hyung-Taik Lee in straight sets 7–6(6), 6–3, 6–4.
The American Tennis Tournament Series kick started at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Memphis, and Guccione made an impressive showing by defeating world number 117 Robert Kendrick
Robert Kendrick
Robert Bradley Kendrick is an American tennis player. He turned professional in 1999. His career high single ranking is world no. 69, achieved on July 20, 2009. He was suspended for a year after testing positive at the 2011 French Open for the drug methylhexanamine, which has been banned in sport...
7–6(6) 7–6(5) and world number 54 Thomas Johansson
Thomas Johansson
Karl Thomas Conny Johansson , commonly known as Thomas Johansson, is a former Swedish professional tennis player. He is a former Australian Open singles champion and Olympic silver medalist in doubles.-Junior career:...
6–3, 6–4. The Sydney rematch against world number 34 Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
in the quarter finals went in favor of Stepanek 6–7(4), 1–6.
Guccione failed to qualify for the Indian Wells Masters
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
tournament. However, in the Sunrise challenger, a warm-up tournament for the Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
, Guccione recorded his best ever win against world number 12 Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
5–7, 6–4, 6–4 in the semifinals. However, he was unable to continue his form as he failed to qualify for the Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
. Despite this, Guccione rose to his highest career singles ranking of 67 on the 7th of April.
Following Guccione's U.S stint, he returned to Australia for the Oceania qualifying Davis Cup tie against Thailand. Guccione opened the tie against Thai number 1 Dani Udomchoke and was taken to 5 sets before winning 6–7(3), 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(6), 7–5.
However Guccione was unable to carry on the momentum he had created over the past couple of months, losing in the first round of 7 of his next 8 tournament appearances including first round losses at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Guccione finished the year ranked 96.
2009 season
Guccione's 2009 season started in poor fashion, losing to American Amer DelicAmer Delic
Amer Delić is a Bosnian tennis player. Representing the United States as a tour player until 2009, he now represents the country of his birth, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is a member of its Davis Cup team....
in the first round of qualifying at the inaugural Brisbane International. Guccione had been upset prior to the commencement of the tournament after he had been shunned of a main draw wildcard in favor of younger players Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic
Bernard Tomic is an Australian professional tennis player. As of 24 October 2011, Tomic is ranked the World No. 41, making him the highest ranked Australian male tennis player and the youngest player in the top 100...
and Brydan Klein
Brydan Klein
Brydan Klein is an Australian professional tennis player. He prefers to play on a fast surface, such as grass or hard.Klein has yet to become an active competitor on the main ATP Tour. However, he did receive a wildcard from Tennis Australia for the 2008 Australian Open, but lost to Paul Capdeville...
. After his match Guccione was too distraught to talk to the media.
However the following week at the 2009 Sydney International, Guccione bounced back with an impressive 6–3 6–4 win over 6th seed Tomáš Berdych before going on to lose in the following round to eventual finalist Jarkko Niemenen, 7–6(8), 6–3.
Despite falling out of the top 100 after his loss in Sydney, Guccione went on to win his first match at the Australian Open since he made his debut in 2004, defeating Nicolas Devilder
Nicolas Devilder
Nicolas Devilder is a French male tennis player. He reached a career high singles ranking of 60 in the world on September 8, 2008, after reaching the semifinals of the Montevideo Challenger, where he lost to former top ten player, Guillermo Cañas...
of France 6–4 6–2 6–4 before losing in four sets to 7th seed Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
in the second round.
Guccione teamed up with Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
in March 2009 to play Thailand in the 2nd round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone. After Hewitt lost to Danai Udomchoke
Danai Udomchoke
Danai Udomchoke is a professional tennis player from Thailand. He was born in Bangkok, where he still resides.Udomchoke turned professional in 1997, and is coached by Jan Stoce. He is sponsored by Dunlop Sport for his racquets and apparel. His career-best ranking is World No...
in the 4th rubber, it was left to Guccione to defeat Kittiphong Wachiramanowong in the deciding match. He won 6–3 7–5 7–6(3), sending Australia into a 3rd round clash against India in May.
Guccione and George Bastl
George Bastl
George Edward Bastl is a professional tennis player from Switzerland. He is ranked at World No. 845 as of August 22, 2011.He has reached one singles final in his career – at Tashkent in 1999.-Tennis career:...
beat Andy Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
and Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
in doubles 7–5, 7–6 (6), to win the final of the Israel Ramat Hasharon
Ramat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
Challenger tournament in May 2009.http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1241773215487&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Guccione had reached the third round of the Cincinnati masters, defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22...
in the first round and world number 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second. He lost to Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
in the third round 4–6, 3–6.
Guccione then suffered an Achilles injury on the foot while playing doubles at Washington which affected his preparations before the US Open, where he lost in the first round to Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open Men's Doubles title with Luis Horna....
. The injury saw him miss many months as he was to recover, and was certain to miss a fraction of the 2010 season.
2010 season
After recovering from the Achilles injury that had Guccione sidelined for over 6 months, he had finally made his comeback appearance at the Wimbledon tune-up event; the 2010 AEGON Championships2010 AEGON Championships
The 2010 AEGON Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 39th edition of the AEGON Championships and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Queen's Club in London, United Kingdom, from June 7 through June 13,...
. He faced Dudi Sela
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli professional tennis player.Sela reached a career-high singles ranking of # 29 in July 2009. He is currently Israel's top men's singles player, ahead of Amir Weintraub.As a 17-year-old junior, he won the 2003 French Open boys' doubles championship with his doubles...
in the opening round and lost in three tight sets.
2011 season
Guccione played a number of ATP Challenger Tour events in order to further recover from his Achilles injury and gain match fitness, in addition to entering both singles and doubles qualifying draws at majors. In doubles, he often paired with fellow Australian Carsten BallCarsten Ball
Carsten Thomas Ball is a professional Australian tennis player. Although born and based in the U.S., Carsten has continued to compete as an Australian player.-Tennis career:...
and the pair won back-to-back titles in the Sacramento and Tiburon $100,000 Challenger events in October, in the latter tournament defeating a strong team of Sam Querrey
Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of August 2010, he is the fourth-highest ranked American. His career high rank was #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong...
and Steve Johnson 6-1, 5-7 (10-6).
Singles: 2 (0-2)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0) |
| Year-End Championships (0) |
| ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0-0) |
| ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0) |
| ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (0-2) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 1. | January 1, 2007 |  Adelaide2007 Next Generation Adelaide International - Singles -Round Robin 1:*Winner of round robin: Novak Djokovic-Round Robin 2:*Winner of round robin: Paul Goldstein-Round Robin 3:*Winner of round robin: Vincent Spadea-Round Robin 4:*Winner of round robin: Joachim Johansson... , Australia |
Hard |  Novak DjokovicNovak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... |
3-6, 7(6)–6, 4-6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | January 12, 2008 | Sydney 2008 Medibank International The 2008 Medibank International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour... , Australia |
Hard |  Dmitry TursunovDmitry Tursunov Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player.... |
6(3)-7, 6(4)-7 |
Doubles: 1 (1-0)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Championship Series (0/0) |
| ATP Tour (1/0) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponent in the final | Score |
| Winner | 1. | July 11, 2010 | Newport Hall of Fame Tennis Championships The Hall of Fame Championships is an international tennis tournament that has been held every year in July since 1976 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island... , USA |
Hard | Carsten Ball Carsten Ball Carsten Thomas Ball is a professional Australian tennis player. Although born and based in the U.S., Carsten has continued to compete as an Australian player.-Tennis career:... |
 Santiago González /  Travis RettenmaierTravis Rettenmaier Travis Rettenmaier is a professional American tennis player.-Career:Rettenmaier's highest singles ranking to date has been World Number 273 on February 27, 2006. In doubles, his ranking has been as high as World Number 57, which he achieved on July 12, 2010. At 6-foot 2-inches, Travis is a... |
6–3, 6–4 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through to the 2011 US Open2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
.
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | Q1 |
| French Open | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | A | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | Q3 |
| US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | Q1 | Q1 |
Grand Slam doubles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through to the 2011 US Open2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
.
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
3R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | 1R |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | 3R | 2R |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R |
| US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
A | A | A | A | A | QF | 3R | A |
External links
- Chris Guccione – Official Page
- Tennis AustraliaTennis AustraliaTennis Australia is the governing body for the sport of Tennis in Australia. The organisation exists to promote tennis and conduct domestic and international tournaments on behalf of Australia, including the Australian Open and the Davis Cup for the Australian Davis Cup Team...
profile for Chris Guccione - Guccione Recent Match Results
- Guccione World Ranking History
- Chris Guccione