Ai Sugiyama

Ai Sugiyama

Infobox Tennis player
playername= Ai Sugiyama


country= flagcountry|Japan
residence= Kanagawa, Japan
datebirth= birth date and age|1975|7|5
placebirth= Yokohama, Japan
height= 1.63 m (5 ft 4.25 in)
weight= 55 kg (121 lb)
turnedpro= October, 1992
plays= Right-handed
(two-handed backhand)
careerprizemoney= US$ 7,384,072
singlesrecord= 475–390
singlestitles= 6 WTA, 1 ITF
highestsinglesranking= No. 8 (February 9, 2004)
AustralianOpenresult= QF (2000)
FrenchOpenresult= 4r (1995, 2000, '03)
Wimbledonresult= QF (2004)
USOpenresult= 4r (2003, '04)
doublesrecord= 522–273
doublestitles= 36 (4 ITF titles)
highestdoublesranking= No. 1 (October 23, 2000)
grandslamsdoublesresults = 9
AustralianOpenDoublesresult = SF (2001, 2004)
FrenchOpenDoublesresult = W (2003)
WimbledonDoublesresult = W (2003)
USOpenDoublesresult = W (2000)
updated= July 21, 2008
nihongo|Ai Sugiyama|杉山愛|Sugiyama Ai|extra=born July 5, 1975, Yokohama, Japan is a Japanese professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1992. In her career so far, she has won 6 singles titles and 36 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam women's doubles titles (1 with Frenchwoman Julie Halard-Decugis and 2 partnering Belgian Kim Clijsters). Ai is coached by her mother and plays a game based on her fitness and speed, utilizing an aggressive serve and volley whenever feasible.

Career

1990s

In 1993, when she was only 17, Sugiyama had the honour to play against tennis legend Martina Navratilova in her native city, losing in three sets. The same year, she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon but lost in the first round to world number 30 Gigi Fernandez in three sets.

In 1994, Sugiyama again reached the main draw at Wimbledon but lost in her first round to world number six and compatriot Kimiko Date. Later that year she reached her first WTA Tour singles final in Surabaya but was forced to retire against Elena Wagner. She went on to win the Japan Open doubles at Tokyo, her first tour title. Later that year, she broke into the WTA Top 100.

In 1995, she won her first Grand Slam match and reached the 4th round of Roland Garros. In the first round, The Japanese defeated seeded N°15 Grand Slam runner-up and former Top-5 player Helena Sukova by 9-7 in the final set, her first victory over a Top-20 player. Two months after, she defeated Amanda Coetzer to reach the third round, while losing to world number four and former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez. In November, she made an impressive run at the Tier II tournament of Oakland. While she was only ranked number 63, she defeated number 22 Irina Spirlea, former Wimbledon runner-up Zina Garrison Jackson, and world number ten Lindsay Davenport to reach the second final of her career. Unfortunately, she lost to world number seven Magdalena Maleeva. Because of this, Sugiyama broke into the Top-50.

In 1996, she reached the third round at the Australian Open. In Miami, while seeded 23rd, Sugiyama reached the fourth round, defeating world number ten Jana Novotna, her second Top-10 victory. After that, she broke into the Top-30. She also reached the semifinals at the Japan Open in Tokyo and the 4th round at Wimbledon, where she defeated world number five Anke Huber, her third Top-10 and first Top-5 victory. She represented Japan the 3rd round pan at the Atlanta Olympics where she defeated Martina Hingis to reach the 3rd round.

In 1997, Sugiyama began her season by a third WTA Tour final, defeating Sabine Appelmans in quarter final, but lost in final against Likhovtseva. The week after she reached the 2nd round at the Australian Open. In April, she won her first WTA Tour title at the Japan Open in Tokyo against Amy Frazier in the final. However, she couldn't reach a good result in Grand Slam events, with a 2nd round at the French Open and US Open and a first round at Wimbledon. But at the end of the year, she reached her first Tier I final at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, defeating Natasha Zvereva, world number 14 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, world number 9 and multi-Grand Slam events winner Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Dominique after failing in final against first seed and world number two Jana Novotna.

In 1998, she opened her season with a second singles title in Gold Coast. Then she broke into the WTA Top-20 and reached another semifinal in Sydney, defeating Conchita Martinez. Throughout that year, Sugiyama showed an clear regularity in her results : a third WTA Tour title at the Japan Open, quarterfinals in Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Berlin, defeating number 4 Amanda Coetzer, Strasbourg, San Diego, defeating legendary Steffi Graf and Luxemburg, third round in Indian Wells, Miami and Montreal and second round at both French and US Open. She than was regarded as a good Top-20 member.

In 1999, she reached the final at the Japan Open, the semifinals in Gold Coast and Tokyo (Princess Cup) defeating number 8 Julie Halard-Decugis, the quarterfinals in Strasbourg and Moscow, defeating number 6 Mary Pierce, 3rd in Indian Wells, Montreal, defeating number 7 Jana Novotna and at the US Open. She also reached the second round at French Open and Wimbledon. The same year, Sugiyama won the US Open mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi (India), her first Grand Slam title.

2000

On October 23, 2000, she became the first Japanese woman to rank number one in the world in doubles. That year, she won seven doubles titles, including the US Open partnering with Julie Halard-Decugis.

2003

Without doubt, the most impressive tournament of her career was Scottsdale 2003. Having secured a victory over Lindsay Davenport in the second round, Ai went on to defeat Eleni Danilidou to progress to the semifinals. Scheduling problems forced both the semifinals and finals matches - for both singles and doubles - to be played on the Sunday of the tournament. Thus in a single day, Ai managed to save a matchpoint in the semifinals against Alexandra Stevenson, rally from a set down to defeat doubles partner Kim Clijsters in the final, and then secure victories in both doubles matches to raise both trophies at the tournament.

2003 indeed proved to be her best year ever, pushing Serena Williams to the limit at Roland Garros and reaching round of 16 in Wimbledon and US Open as well (her 4R defeat to Francesca Schiavone at Flushing Meadows was rather controversial).She finished the year ranked tenth, having defeated world number one Justine Henin in the round robin section of the season-ending championships.

She also won a total of 8 doubles titles that year: 7 with Kim Clijsters (Sydney, Antwerp, Scottsdale, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, San Diego, Zurich) and 1 with Liezel Huber (Linz).

2005

The beginning of 2005 was rough, with four consecutive first-round losses for Ai. She lost in the first rounds of the first three Grand Slams; only at San Diego did she really do well, making it to the final, which she lost 0–6 3–6 to Mary Pierce, having defeated Hantuchova, Karantacheva and Kuznetsova en route. (Hantuchova/Sugiyama also reached the final in doubles, losing to Ruano-Pascual/Martinez) She broke her Grand Slam "curse", reaching the third round, losing to Kim Clijsters, the eventual champion.

In the same year, Ai was better in doubles than she was in singles. Partnering with Elena Dementieva, she reached the final of her first tournament, Sydney, losing to Stewart/Stosur. They reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open. She attempted a few tournaments with Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva, but these partners did not show many results. In Berlin, she finally found her ideal partner, Daniela Hantuchova, reaching the Semifinal (l. to Black/Huber). At the French Open, however, weeks later, they only reached the second round (l. to Birnerova/Vanc). They won their next tournament, however, Birmingham (def. Daniilidou/Russel 6–2 6–3 in the final). At Wimbledon, Hantuchova/Sugiyama reached the Quarterfinal, losing to eventual champions Black/Huber. At the Canadian Open in Toronto, they reached the Semifinal (l. to eventual champions Groenefeld/Navratilova). At the US Open, they reached the third round, losing to Yan/Zheng. Ai went through three different (unsuccessful) partners in the next tournaments, before returning to Daniela in Zurich, where they reached the final (def. #1 seeds Raymond/Stosur en route), losing to Black/Stubbs, 6–7(6) 7–6(4) 6–3, a match in which they definitely had their chances to win. They finished off the year ranked #5, and, thus, did not qualify for the Year-End Championships.

In the same year, Ai only played Mixed Doubles at two events: the French Open & the US Open. At Roland Garros, playing with Max Mirnyi, she lost in the first round. At the US Open, she partnered with Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe. The duo reached the quarterfinals, losing to Hantuchova / Bhupathi of India, eventual champions.

Entering the Doha, Qatar tournament with an 0–5 singles record, she managed to beat wildcard Selima Sfar 6–3 6–3. In the second round, she surprinsingly upset (4) Anastasia Myskina 7–6(2) 6–7(6) 6–4, needing several match points to close the match out (she had a few in the second set tiebreak). In her quarterfinal match against Julia Schruff, she had a comfortable 6–3 6–2 win; missing only four of her first serves in the first set, and winning the match with an ace. She lost in the semifinal, in an epic match against Nadia Petrova, 6–1 7–6 (2). At the beginning of the second set, she had yet to hold serve, and was trailing 0–4, and managed to win five consecutive games to 5–4. Even if she lost, she achieved a lot in Doha! She won the doubles title with Daniela Hantuchova, defeating Zi Yan and Jie Zheng in the semifinal 6–3 3–6 6–3, and Ting Li and Tiantian Sun 6–4 6–4 in the final.

2006

In Rome 2006. in doubles, she and Hantuchova won the title, their third as a team and biggest title, beating Li/Sun in the QF 6–4 6-1; Black/Stubbs (2) in the SF 6–4 6-0; Peschke/Schiavone (8) 3–6 6–3 6–1 in the final.

At the French Open, Ai, seeded 22nd, beat Daniilidou 6–7 6–0 6–3 in the first round, but lost to French qualifier Rezai 4–6 6–4 6–3, after having a 6–4 4–2 lead. Deciding not to enter the Mixed Doubles competition, like her partner, to focus on the Women's Doubles event, Ai and Dani beat Dhenin/Johansson 6–4 6–3, then proceeded to blast Arvidsson/Muller off the court 6–1 6-1; they proceeded to have a third-round scare, trailing 6–1 4–1 to Bartoli/Peer, but started to play more on Bartoli, as Peer was on fire that day, and ended up winning it 1–6 7–6(3) 6-2; in the quarterfinals, they beat second-seeded Black/Stubbs 6–1 7–6(5); in the semifinals, they beat fourth-seeded Yan/Zheng 6–3 3–6 6–3. They lost 6–3 6–2 in the final to first-seeded Raymond/Stosur, after some sort of controversy on their break point at 3-5* in the first set. It was an excellent tournament for the team.

Wimbledon 2006 saw Sugiyama, the eighteenth seed, produce a shock by defeating former world number 1 and 12th seed, Martina Hingis, 7–5 3–6 6–4 to advance to the fourth round, a match which echoed the start of her career in 1993. It was a huge win for her, trumping the fact that she lost in the first rounds of Doubles & Mixed.

The beginning of the summer brought several bad singles losses, as well as shocking doubles upsets. Sugiyama picked it up in Los Angeles, reaching the final, bowing down to Ruano Pascual/Suarez. In Montréal, she beat Wozniak and Medina Garrigues before going down fighting to Svetlana Kuznetsova. In doubles, parterning Nathalie Dechy, they reached the quarterfinals.

The US Open arrived, and, seeded twenty-eighth, she reached the third round (d. Ondraskova in 1R, Garbin in 2R) where she fell to the second seed Justine Henin 4–6 6–1 6–0. She was down 4–1 in the first set, and won five straight games to seize that set. But alas she could not complete the upset.

In Beijing, Ai carried on her good form. She beat qualifier Alicia Molik, who was also her doubles partner in the event, in the first round, 6–2 7–6. She then upset fourth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6–4 1–6 6–3 before losing to up-and-coming Chinese star Shuai Peng in another three-set match 6–7 6–3 6–2. Further success continued, as she reached the final of a Tier IV event in Seoul, losing to Eleni Daniilidou of Greece in three sets, 3–6 6–2 6–7.

2007

The beginning of 2007 was better than the last two years. She lost to Yakimova in the second round of the Australian Open (10-8 in the third), who she later had revenge on in Miami. Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam event, losing to eventual champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber. In Tokyo, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to world number one Maria Sharapova 4–6, 6–1, 6–0. In Doha, she injured her toe, but was quick back to her feet, reaching the round of 16 in Indian Wells.

In Miami, she reached the third round where she fell to Dinara Safina. She went 0–3 in Fed Cup play versus France, losing to both Tatiana Golovin and Nathalie Dechy, but rebounded to win 50k Gifu with Ayumi Morita. The Japanese duo lost only one set en route to the title. She played in the Berlin doubles tournament with Katarina Srebotnik, her new potential long-term partner. They double-bagelled Lourdez Dominguez Lino and Flavia Pennetta, but then fell to the second seeded duo Black/Huber 0–6, 6–4, [10-7] the same day.

Her next tournament was Rome, where she beat Maria Kirilenko in 2 hours 49 minutes 6–4, 5–7, 7–5. She lost to Shahar Pe'er 6–0, 6–2 in the next round. At Roland Garros, she reached the third round. She defeated Eva Birnerova 6–3, 6–4 in the first round and Meilen Tu 6–3, 1–6, 6–1 in the second round, but then fell to Anna Chakvetadze, the ninth seed, 6-4m 6–4. In doubles, seeded seventh with her partner Srebotnik, she defeated Lucie Hradecká and Renata Voráčová 6–7, 7–5, 6–2 in the first round, Stephanie Foretz and Camille Pin 6–1, 6–3 in the second round, and Shahar Pe'er and Dinara Safina 6–1, 6–2 in the third round. They then went on to defeat Maria Elena Camerin and Gisela Dulko 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 in the quarterfinals. Up against the top seeds and defending champions Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the semifinals, they pulled off an upset, winning 1–6, 6–4, 6–3 to reach the French Open finals. They lost in the final to Alicia Molik and Mara Santangelo 7–6, 6-4; in the first set, they had saved six set points before Ai double faulted on the seventh. From then on out, Molik and Santangelo took control and cruised to victory.

At Wimbledon, seeded 26th, she beat wildcard Melanie South 6–3, 6–2 in the opening round before defeating Alize Cornet 4–6, 6–0, 6–3 in the second round. She lost 6–3, 6–3 against the second seeded Sharapova in the third round. In doubles, she and Srebotnik beat Andreea Ehritt-Vanc and Anastassia Rodionova 4–6, 6–3, 6-2; Émilie Loit and Nicole Pratt 6–0, 6–3, and got a walkover from Marion Bartoli and Meilen Tu in the third round. In the quarterfinals, they beat Elena Likhovtseva and Sun Tiantian 6–4, 7–6 (5). They came from behind to win against the top seeded Raymond and Stosur, winning 1–6, 6–3, 6–2, despite being down 6–1, 3–0. They, however, lost in the final to the second seeded Black and Huber 3–6, 6–3, 6–2. She became 3–6 in Grand Slam finals.

During the U.S. Open Series, she reached the third round of San Diego, where she defeated Sybille Bammer 6–2, 7–6. She then lost to Chakvetadze 6–4, 6–4. She reached two doubles semifinals in San Diego and Stanford with Srebotnik, losing both times to Victoria Azarenka and Chakvetadze. However, they won Toronto, defeating Peng Shuai and Yan Zi 6–1, 7–5 in the quarterfinal, Molik and Santangelo 6–2, 6–3 in the semifinal and Black and Huber 6–4, 2–6, [10-5] in the final, thus getting revenge for their two Grand Slam losses and winning their first title as a team.

At the 2007 U.S. Open, Sugiyama lost in the second round to Ekaterina Makarova. Ai and Srebotnik impressively defeated Sun Shengnan and Ji Chunmei 6–0, 6–1, and eventually defeated Michaëlla Krajicek and Agnieszka Radwańska 5–7, 6–0, 6–2. The team advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Loit and Vania King 6–3, 6–2, but lost to eventual champions Nathalie Dechy and Dinara Safina 7–5, 6–3.

Srebotnik and Sugiyama continued their form and thus qualified for the 2007 WTA Tour Championships, which were to be held in Madrid, Spain. The team, seeded second, defeated the Taiwanese duo of Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung 6–2, 6–2, but lost to Black and Huber in the final 5–7, 6–3, [10-8] .cite news | author = Women's Tennis Association | title = http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/1/newsroom/stories/?ContentID=1899 | title = Black, Huber Enjoy Season-Ending Glory in Madrid | date = 2007-11-11 | accessdate = 2007-11-11 | publisher = Women's Tennis Association ]

2008

In singles, Sugiyama's season started out badly, as she lost to Azarenka in Gold Coast and Gajdosova in Sydney. However, in Melbourne, her form returned, beating Zvonareva 6–3, 1–1 ret. in the first round and Perebiynis 6–4 6–4 in the second round, before losing respectfully to the 12th seed, Nicole Vaidisova, 6–3 6–4. In doubles, she and Srebotnik lost in straight sets in Sydney to Yan/Zheng, the eventual champions. In Melbourne, they drew the Williams sisters in the second round; and lost 6–2 7–6. Sugiyama's dream of a career slam would be halted.

In doubles, she reached the final in Antwerp with Kveta Peschke, as well as the semifinals in Doha and Dubai with Srebotnik.

On March 30th in the third round at the Tier I event in Miami, she upset 8th seeded Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-5 in an epic match. She came back after losing a match point in the second set, as well as having served for the match twice in the second set. In the third set, she was down three games to none, but still managed to win. It was her first top ten win since Beijing 2006. In the next round, she lost to Vera Zvonareva 2-6 7-6(5) 0-6. In doubles, she and Srebotnik won the title, beating Morigami/Jidkova 6-4 6-3 in the first round, Hradecka/Voracova 6-4 6-3 in the second round, and Davenport/Hantuchova 6-4 3-6 [10-4] in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they beat the Australian Open runners-up Azarenka/Peer 6-0 6-3, before beating the world's number one team Black/Huber 7-5 4-6 [10-3] in the final. It was their second team title, and Sugiyama's 8th Tier I title.

Sugiyama followed her strong doubles performance in Miami with her 9th Tier I doubles title at Charleston, South Carolina at the Family Circle cup. Sugiyama and Srebotnik won their third team title together with a strong 6-2, 6-2 performance over Gallovits/Govortsova.

With her appearance in the 2008 Wimbledon tournament, Sugiyama now holds the record for consecutive appearances in a major by a man or woman with 57. Sugiyama made it to the third round of Ladies' Singles in Wimbledon, losing to Alisa Kleybanova of Russia, 6-4, 6-4.

At Stanford, despite her age Sugiyama showed her class. She defeated Alexa Glatch 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, and then crushed world number 11 Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1. In the quarters she beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, saving 3 match points in the process.

Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita will be representing their nation's team at the 2008 Summer Olympics according to the [http://www.nbcolympics.com/tennis/insidethissport/qualifications/newsid=145074.html#womens+doubles+olympic+list List of entrents] .

Grand Slam doubles finals (9)

Wins (3)

Runner-ups (0)

WTA Tour titles (42)

ingles wins (6)

Women's doubles performance timeline

Mixed doubles performance timeline

External links

* [http://www.ai-sugiyama.com/ Official site]
*wta|id=190353
*FedCupplayerlink|id=20001491

References


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