Fabrice Santoro

Infobox Tennis player
playername = Fabrice Santoro


nickname = "The Magician
country = FRA
residence = Geneva, Switzerland
datebirth = birth date and age|1972|12|9
placebirth = Tahiti, French Polynesia
height = height|ft=5|in=10
weight = convert|163|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro = 1989
retired = "Active"
plays = Right-handed; two-handed on both sides
careerprizemoney = $9,485,215
singlesrecord = 451–418
singlestitles = 6
highestsinglesranking = No. 17 (August 6, 2001)
AustralianOpenresult = QF (2006)
FrenchOpenresult = 4R (1991, 2001)
Wimbledonresult = 3R (2001)
USOpenresult = 3R (1990, 1998, 1999, 2004)
doublesrecord = 369–246
doublestitles = 24
highestdoublesranking = No. 6 (July 5, 1999)
updated = July 14, 2008

Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born December 9, 1972) is a French professional male tennis player known for using both hands for every possible shot. He was born in Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, located in the Pacific Ocean.

Santoro has been most successful in doubles; he has won the 2003 and 2004 Australian Opens partnering Michaël Llodra, and has been runner-up, in doubles, at the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 French Open and at 2006 Wimbledon. He also won the 2005 French Open: he won the Roland Garros mixed doubles title with Daniela Hantuchová.

In addition to his doubles prowess, Fabrice is noted for his cheery attitude on court and his vast arsenal of trick shots, making him a crowd favorite. In recognition of Santoro's varied and innovative style of play, Pete Sampras has nicknamed him "The Magician".

Santoro plays with two-hands on forehand and backhand, and though he is right-handed, often slices his forehand with the left hand. He attributes this to his having used racquets of the same weight through out his career, which made it too heavy for a six year old starting off a career, to hold with one hand.cite web | last = Santoro | first = Fabrice | title = 'The Magician' Answers Your Emails| url=http://www.cincytennis.com/4/en/news/archive/news2355_rx.asp | accessdate = 2006-08-30 ] Santoro has beaten many former world number one players including Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, and is famous for his record against Marat Safin (currently 7–2). At 35, he is currently the oldest player in the ATP Top 100.

With his participation in the 2008 Australian Open, he broke Andre Agassi's record in Grand Slam appearances over his career with a total of 62 participations (Agassi's record was 61).

Notable Achievements

* Santoro has defeated 17 players who were ranked World No. 1 at some time during their careers (Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios, Gustavo Kuerten, Carlos Moya, Pat Rafter, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and Roger Federer). Against two other former World No. 1 players, Santoro was 0–6 against Yevgeny Kafelnikov and 0–1 against Ivan Lendl.
* Santoro won the longest singles match in the open era. At the 2004 French Open, he beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clément in a 6h 33m first round match 6–4, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 16–14.
* At the 2007 U.S. Open, Santoro tied Agassi's record of 61 appearances in Grand Slam singles tournament. He then broke the record with his participation in the 2008 Australian Open.
* Santoro is 7–2 lifetime against Safin. Safin himself has said, "Being told I would play Santoro was being told I was to die."
* Santoro is 9–2 against compatriot Sébastien Grosjean.
* During the 2005 US Open, Santoro lost to the eventual champion Federer 7–5, 7–5, 7–6.
* Santoro teamed with Michael Llodra, a French compatriot, to win the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, a competition that included the top eight doubles teams in the world
* He was the first leader of the ATP Champions Race, winning the first tournament of the year in Doha in the year the race was introduced.
* The 2006 Australian Open was Santoro's first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance. This is his best Grand Slam result so far.
* Santoro is a big fan of the late French comedian Michel Colucci.
* According to ATPTennis.com as of June 2008, Santoro has lost more singles matches (415) than any other professional player (active or not). Overall, however, Santoro has won over half of his matches, with a career record of 446–415.
* Santoro has a daughter named Djenae.

Career statistics

Career finals

ingles

Wins (13)

Doubles

Wins (26)

References

*

External links

*ATP|id=S424
*ITF male profile|number=10001229
*DavisCupplayerlink|id=10001229
* [http://steveghelper.com/MatchResults.php?players=Santoro&weeks=12 Santoro Recent Match Results]
* [http://steveghelper.com/RankingHistory.php?player=Santoro Santoro World Ranking History]