Ian Flanagan (born 15 January 1982) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Biography

Flanagan grew up in the village of

Graianrhyd Graianrhyd, also spelt ''Graeanrhyd'', is a small, scattered village in the community of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl, Denbighshire, Wales, lying in hilly limestone country around to the east of Llanarmon-yn-Iâl village, and just to the south of Eryrys. ...

, and attended Ysgol Brynhyfryd between 1993 and 1997. At the age of four, he attended a tennis fun-day with his brother. This sparked an interest that culminated in him, at the age of 15, being the top junior tennis player in the world and

Youth Olympics The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

gold medalist in 1996. Unfortunately, a severe bout of glandular fever between 1998 and 2000 threatened to end his promising career. However, despite his illness, and despite being the only senior British tennis player not funded by the LTA (something he is harshly critical of), Flanagan fought back. In 2004, Flanagan staged a shock upset when he beat

Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis ( ; born 7 November 1976) is an Australian former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Australia in 1999 and 2003, winni ...

7–6, 7–6, in the opening round of the

Stella Artois Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ire ...

Championship at

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship reas ...

. Despite also beating the world no. 35,

Victor Hănescu Victor Hănescu (born 21 July 1981) is a former Romanian tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world no. 26. Professional career Hănescu attained a career-high singles ranking of No. 26 on 6 July 2009. In a Davis Cup match again ...

, in the second round of the tournament, before succumbing to

Sébastien Grosjean Sébastien René Grosjean (; born 29 May 1978) is a French former professional tennis player. Grosjean reached the semifinals at the 2001 Australian and French Opens, and at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004. He finished eight consecutive seasons rank ...

in the last 16, Flanagan was denied a wildcard into

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. The victory raised his profile, and put him on a tennis players' special ''

Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host Anne Robinson completed her contract. ...

.''

External links

References

1982 births Living people Welsh male tennis players Sportspeople from Denbighshire British male tennis players {{UK-tennis-bio-stub