Michael Russell (tennis player)

Michael Russell

Country	United States
Residence	Houston, Texas, USA
Born	May 1, 1978 (1978-05-01) (age 33) Detroit, Michigan, USA
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Turned pro	1998
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$1,314,085
Singles
Career record	41–94
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 60 (August 13, 2007)
Current ranking	No. 93 (August 15, 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	2R (2008, 2011)
French Open	4R (2001)
Wimbledon	2R (2010)
US Open	1R (1998, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	11–27
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 222 (November 12, 2001)

Michael Craig Russell is an American tennis player.

Russell is best known for, on two occasions, holding surprise two-set leads in Grand Slam tournaments against former Grand Slam champions before eventually being defeated both times. In the 4th round of the 2001 French Open (his best run at a Grand Slam tournament) against defending and eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten, Russell led two sets to love and 5–3 in the third set, also missing a match point.^[1] In the 2007 Australian Open, he held a two sets to love lead over former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt before succumbing in five sets.^[2]

In the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, he made it to the final 16 players in a 96-player field, after upsetting 11th seed – and 12th-ranked – Tomáš Berdych in round 2. He reached his career highest ranking of 60 in August 2007 after reaching 2nd round of Montreal TMS. Both his mother and father are tennis coaches.

Playing style

Russell is a defensive counter-puncher, known for his footspeed and consistency. John McEnroe described him as a particularly dogged competitor, saying that "no one's going to try harder on a tennis court than Michael Russell".^[3]

Tour tennis titles (19)

Tennis Masters Series (0)

ATP Tour (0)

Challengers (11)

Futures (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	May 17, 1999	Vero Beach	Clay	Irakli Labadze	7–6, 6–3
2.	May 31, 1999	Weston	Clay	Hugo Armando	6–3, 6–2
3.	January 31, 2000	Amarillo	Hard(i)	Stefano Pescosolido	7–5, 6–2
4.	May 31, 1999	Mobile	Hard	Martin Verkerk	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
5.	June 21, 2004	Montreal	Hard	Domenic Marafiote	6–3, 6–3
6.	June 28, 2004	Buffalo	Clay	Jorge Aguilar	6–3, 6–0
7.	July 5, 2004	Pittsburgh	Clay	Kean Feeder	6–1, 6–0
8.	July 12, 2004	Granby	Hard	Davide Sanguinetti	6–3, 6–2
9	October 17, 2005	Arlington	Hard	Benedikt Dorsch	6–1, 6–3
10.	November 28, 2005	Orlando, Florida	Hard	Todd Widom	6–4, 6–2
11	February 20, 2006	Brownsville, Texas	Hard	Brendan Evans	6–2, 6–1
12.	August 14, 2006	Bronx	Hard	Paul Capdeville	6–0, 6–2
13.	November 27, 2006	Maui	Hard	Sam Warburg	6–1, 6–0
14.	January 1, 2007	Nouméa	Hard	David Guez	6–0, 6–1
15.	January 22, 2007	Waikoloa	Hard	Jamie Baker	6–1, 7–5
16.	February 12, 2007	Joplin	Hard(i)	Frédéric Niemeyer	6–4, 6–1
17.	May 3, 2009	Carson	Clay	Michael Yani	6–1, 6–1
18.	November 21, 2009	Champaign	Hard(i)	Taylor Dent	7–5, 6–4
19.	January 31, 2010	Honolulu	Hard(i)	Grega Žemlja	6–0, 6–3

References

1. ^ Clarey, Christopher (June 4, 2001). "Top Seed Displays Big Heart Against Diminutive American Qualifier : Terrier Russell Harries Kuerten". http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/06/04/tennis_ed3__1.php. 
2. ^ Niall, Jake (January 17, 2007). "Back from the brink: Hewitt prevails". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/tennis/back-from-the-brink-hewitt-prevails/2007/01/17/1168709764203.html. 
3. ^ US Open TV broadcast, Michael Russell vs. James Blake, Aug. 28, 2007.

External links

• Michael Russell at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Russell Recent Match Results
• Russell World Ranking History
• His official website

Persondata
Name	Russell, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 1, 1978
Place of birth	Detroit, Michigan, USA
Date of death
Place of death