Olivier Rochus
Encyclopedia
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 tennis
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. He was born in Namur
Namur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....

, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais
Auvelais
Auvelais is a little town in the southern part of Belgium....

, Belgium.

Career

He was a partner 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...

 on the junior circuit, winning the Boys' Doubles title at Wimbledon in 1998.

He has won two singles titles in his career and in 2004 won the French Open doubles title partnering fellow Belgian Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour. He is sponsored by Prince and Lotto. His nickname is "The X-Man"....

.

He is the younger brother of Christophe Rochus
Christophe Rochus
Christophe Rochus is a retired professional male tennis player from Belgium.Rochus is the older brother of Olivier Rochus, also a tennis player who has been slightly more successful than Christophe. He reached the singles finals of two ATP tournaments: Valencia and Rotterdam but lost them both...

, also a tennis player.

He won his first title in Palermo in 2000, defeating his brother in the semifinals and Diego Nargiso
Diego Nargiso
Diego Nargiso is a former tennis player from Italy.Having turned professional in 1987, Nargiso represented his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where he was defeated in the second round by America's eventual runner-up Tim Mayotte...

 in the final, 7-6(14), 6-1.

Perhaps his biggest win was at Wimbledon in 2002, where he overcame top-10 player Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...

 in four sets, 6–2 6–4 3–6 7–6(1). Safin was able to get a measure of revenge at the 2006 U.S Open, defeating Rochus, 3-6, 2-6, 3-6.

He has represented Belgium at two Olympic Games in both the singles and the doubles competitions at Athens
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on ten separate courts at the Olympic Tennis Centre. The surface was hardcourt, specifically DecoTurf....

 and Beijing
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....

.

In May 2006, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...

. He won that final in straight sets, 6–4, 6–).

In June, Rochus faced world no. 1 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Halle
Halle, North Rhine-Westphalia
Halle is a town in the German Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia and belongs to the district of Gütersloh....

. Rochus held four match points in the second set at 5–6 and in the tie-break (6–4 and 7–6). He could not close out the match and eventually lost. 7–6, 6–7, 6–7.

2009

He reached the final of the 2009 If Stockholm Open
2009 If Stockholm Open
The 2009 If Stockholm Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known that year as the If Stockholm Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2009 ATP World Tour...

, after winning to Swede Andreas Vinciguerra
Andreas Vinciguerra
Andreas Vinciguerra is a tennis player from Sweden, who turned professional in 1998. He was an impressive junior, winning the European junior championships and making the final of the junior Australian Open when he was 17, when he finished number 6 in the junior rankings.-Tennis career:Vinciguerra...

 in the first round, eighth seed Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....

, and Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...

. In the semifinals, he beat best Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci , a professional tennis player, is the top ranked Brazilian tennis player. He achieved a career high ranking of #21 on July 26, 2010....

. In the final, he met former world no. 8 Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...

, but lost in two sets, 1-6, 5-7.

One week later at the 2009 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
2009 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The 2009 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 23rd edition of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2009 ATP World Tour...

, he won his first match against French qualifier Vincent Millot
Vincent Millot
Vincent Millot is a professional tennis player.-Singles :-External links:...

. He faced world no. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but lost in two short sets.

His next tournament was the Davidoff Swiss Indoors
2009 Davidoff Swiss Indoors - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but he lost in the final against Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 2-6.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Novak Djokovic # Fernando González # Marin Čilić ...

, where he first won his three qualifying matches. In the first round of the tournament, he lost to his former double partner and world no. 1 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...

.

The last tournament of his tennis season was the AXA Belgian Masters (Challenger), where he met countryman Steve Darcis
Steve Darcis
Steve Darcis is a male professional tennis player. He achieved his career high ranking of #44 on 12 May 2008.-2007:...

 in the semifinal.

2010

At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...

 he defeated 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...

, 7–6, 1–6, 6–4, and the 2007 titlist and second seed 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...

, 6–2, 6–7, 6–4.

In the Nice tournament, one week prior to Roland Garros, he pulled off another upset, defeating 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...

 finalist Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...

, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4.

He defeated Raven Klaasen
Raven Klaasen
Raven Klaasen born October 16, 1982 in King William's Town, South Africa is a professional South African player on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Klaasen's career-high ranking was World Number 208, which he achieved on October 24, 2011...

 of South Africa at the Hall of Fame Campbell's Tennis Championship, but lost to Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...

 in the final in three sets.

2011

In March, Rochus lost in the fourth round in Miami to 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...

, after defeating Blaz Kavcic
Blaž Kavčič
Blaž Kavčič is a Slovenian professional tennis player, turned professional in 2005. He considers clay his favourite surface...

, Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...

, and Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....

 in the first three rounds. In July, he made it to the final in Newport, where he was defeated by John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...

, 3-6, 6-7(6).

Singles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runner-ups)

EWLINE
Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 tournaments (0–0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 series (0–0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 series (2–7)
EWLINE
Titles by Surface
Hard (0–5)
Clay (2–0)
Grass (0–2)
Carpet (0–0)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1. 25 September 2000   Palermo
Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia
The Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia was a tennis tournament held annually in Palermo in Italy. Held from 1935 until 2006, the tournament was played on outdoor clay courts and was a part of the ATP Tour schedule from 1979 to 2006.-Singles:-Doubles:...

, Italy
Clay   Diego Nargiso
Diego Nargiso
Diego Nargiso is a former tennis player from Italy.Having turned professional in 1987, Nargiso represented his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where he was defeated in the second round by America's eventual runner-up Tim Mayotte...

7–6(16–14), 6–1
Runner-up 1. 11 February 2002   Copenhagen
Copenhagen Open
The Copenhagen Open was a tournament on the ATP Tour, first held in 1973. It was competed again in 1976, before being discontinued. It was re-introduced in 1991 and was halted again in 2003. The only man to win it more than once was Magnus Gustafsson...

, Denmark
Hard (i)   Lars Burgsmüller
Lars Burgsmuller
Lars Burgsmüller , is a male German tennis player.-Singles :-Doubles:-External link, references:* *...

3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. 3 March 2003   Copenhagen, Denmark Hard (i)   Karol Kučera
Karol Kucera
Karol Kučera is a retired ATP professional male tennis player from Slovakia. He is a former top 10 player and has been ranked as high as World No. 6.-Tennis career:...

6–7(4–7), 4–6
Runner-up 3. 15 January 2005   Auckland
Heineken Open (tennis)
The Heineken Open is a tennis tournament on the ATP International Series played in Auckland, New Zealand. It was also a combined mens and womens tournament until 1981.-History:...

, New Zealand
Hard   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...

4–6, 2–6
Winner 2. 1 May 2006   Munich
BMW Open
The BMW Open is a tennis tournament held in Munich, Germany. Held since 1900, the tournament is played on outdoor clay courts and is a part of the ATP Tour schedule.-History:...

, Germany
Clay   Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...

6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 4. 24 September 2007   Mumbai
Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open
The Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was part of the International Series of the ATP Tour...

, India
Hard   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...

3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 5. 25 October 2009   Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...

1–6, 5–7
Runner-up 6. 11 July 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...

, United States
Grass   Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...

7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 7. 10 July 2011   Newport, U.S. Grass   John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...

3–6, 6–7(6–8)

Doubles (2)

EWLINE
Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tours (1)
EWLINE
Titles by Surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (1–0)
No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent in the final Score in the final
1. 24 May 2004 French Open, Paris, France Clay   Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour. He is sponsored by Prince and Lotto. His nickname is "The X-Man"....

  Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...

 
  Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career – with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career – and he is popular among spectators and other...

7–5, 7–5
2. 9 January 2005 Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

, Australia
Hard   Xavier Malisse   Simon Aspelin
Simon Aspelin
Simon Aspelin is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998...

 
  Todd Perry
Todd Perry
----Todd Perry is a presently inactive tour professional tennis player from Australia.Perry turned turned professional in 1998. He played more doubles than singles, and his most usual partner was the Swedish Simon Aspelin...

7–6(7–5), 6–4

Singles

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 the 2011 US Open
2011 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...

.
Tournament200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011
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...

1R 1R 2R 1R 4R 2R 2R 1R 1R
French Open LQ 3R 2R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R 1R LQ 2R 1R
Wimbledon 3R 2R 3R 4R 1R 2R 3R 1R 2R LQ 1R 2R
US Open 1R 1R 1R 1R 4R 3R 3R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R

External links

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