Igor Valeryevich Andreev (russian: link=no, И́горь Вале́рьевич Андре́ев, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian 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. He won three
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...
singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open (Roland Garros) was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run at Rol ...
and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 in November 2008.
Tennis career
2003
Andreev made his
ATP debut in September 2003 in Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to
José Acasuso
José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso (; born 20 October 1982) is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favoured clay. He was known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both side ...
.
At the Moscow ATP tournament later the same month, Andreev defeated the top seed
Sjeng Schalken
Sjeng Schalken (; born 8 September 1976) is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.
Playing style
A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his ...
in straight sets, 6–3, 6–1, and made his first ATP quarterfinal appearance, eventually losing to
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu (; born 12 January 1982) is a French former professional tennis player. He won four singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best singles performance in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was reaching the semifinals of the ...
6–2, 3–6, 5–7. He entered the St. Petersburg tournament in October 2003 as a wildcard, and defeated fourth seed
Max Mirnyi
Maksim "Max" Mikalaevich Mirnyi ( be, Максім Мікалаевіч Мірны, ; russian: Максим Николаевич Мирный, ; born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player.
Mirnyi became a doubles speci ...
6–4, 7–6 before losing to
Sargis Sargsian
Sargis Sargsian ( hy, Սարգիս Սարգսյան, born 3 June 1973) is a former professional tennis player from Armenia.
Sargsian turned pro in 1995, and has won one singles and two doubles titles during his career on the ATP Tour. He played ...
in the second round.
2004
Andreev finished in the top 50 of the
ATP rankings
The Pepperstone ATP rankings are the merit-based method used by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for determining the qualification for entry as well as the seeding of players in all singles and doubles tournaments. The first rankings ...
for the first time in his career. During the same year, he also reached two ATP finals: Gstaad, Switzerland in July (losing to
Roger Federer
Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...
), and Bucharest, Romania in September (losing to José Acasuso). He won a personal best 28 matches in the year, and made his
Davis Cup debut.
Andreev made his
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
debut at the 2004 Australian Open, where he lost in the first round to France's
Olivier Patience
Olivier Patience (born 25 March 1980) is a former French professional tennis player. His career high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking was world no. 87, on 19 July 2004. During 2006, Patience won three ATP Challenger Ser ...
, 4–6, 4–6, 7–6
(4), 6–1, 6–2. At the French Open, he knocked out
defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year became the 21st player to hold the top ranking, which he h ...
in the second round before losing to eventual champion
Gastón Gaudio 6–4, 7–5, 6–3 in the fourth round.
He won his first ATP doubles title in Moscow in October 2004 with
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
, defeating
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi (born 7 June 1974) is an Indian former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). With his win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles, he ...
and
Jonas Björkman 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the final.
2005: Three ATP titles
Andreev's first ATP singles title came in April 2005 in Valencia, Spain, beating Spaniard
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour ( ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...
6–3, 5–7, 6–3 in the final after having taken out
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked world No. 1 for 209 weeks, and has finish ...
in the quarterfinals. Andreev made the third round at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and reached the quarterfinal at the
Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. He then reached the final of the event at Bucharest, losing to
Florent Serra 6–3, 6–4.
Andreev continued his consistent performance of the year by winning the
Palermo event in September 2005, beating
Filippo Volandri
Filippo Volandri (born 5 September 1981; ) is a former Italian professional male tennis player. Volandri is a right-handed player who reached a career-high singles ranking of world no. 25 in July 2007. He turned professional in 1997 and has earn ...
of Italy 0–6, 6–1, 6–3 in the final, and the
Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup (russian: Кубок Кремля) is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts, which was suspended in 2022. It was part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and was a Premier Tournament on the WTA ...
at Moscow in October, defeating
Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer (; born 5 July 1977) is a German former professional tennis player. He reached the semifinals of the 2006 Australian Open and won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Kiefer ...
5–7, 7–6, 6–2 in the final.
2006
In the first half of the season, Andreev experienced seven first-round losses, and highlights included reaching the finals at Sydney and the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, losing both matches to
James Blake. A knee injury forced Andreev to miss the second half of the clay court season, including Roland Garross.
2007: First Grand Slam quarterfinal
![Maria Kirilenko US Open](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Maria_Kirilenko_US_Open.JPG)
Andreev returned in 2007, and made an immediate impact with an impressive showing at the
French Open. Unseeded, he beat former world no. 1
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...
3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 in the first round, then
Nicolás Massú
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (; born 10 October 1979), nicknamed ''El Vampiro'' (Spanish, 'the vampire'), is a Chilean former professional tennis player. A former world No. 9 in singles, he won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 ...
,
Paul-Henri Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu (; born 12 January 1982) is a French former professional tennis player. He won four singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best singles performance in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament was reaching the semifinals of the ...
and
Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledo ...
in the fourth round to make his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, which he lost in straight sets to
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...
6–3, 6–3, 6–3.
2008: Best ranking, world no. 18
Notable performances included reaching the quarterfinals of Buenos Aires, Dubai, Miami, and
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
.
2009
Heavily favored Russia was hosted by
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in a
Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009 on indoor hard courts at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Asked if he was nervous, Andreev replied with a smile: "Nervous? Why should I be nervous? Everything is fine."
Harel Levy
Harel Levy ( he, הראל לוי; born 5 August 1978) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player, and the current captain of Israel's Davis Cup team. He reached the final of the 2000 Toronto Masters and achieved a career-high singles rank ...
, world no. 210, then beat Andreev 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 in the opening match.
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela ( he, דודי סלע; born 4 April 1985) is an Israeli professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009.
Sela won the French Open 2003 junior doubles title. Representing Israe ...
(world no. 33) followed by beating Youzhny, and the next day Israelis
Andy Ram and
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich ( he, יונתן דאריו "יוני" ארליך, born 5 April 1977) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. During his career, he was mainly a doubles specialist, having won the men's doubles title at the ...
beat Safin and doubles specialist Kunitsyn. With the tie clinched for Israel, best-of-three sets were played, with the outcomes of little to no importance.
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela ( he, דודי סלע; born 4 April 1985) is an Israeli professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009.
Sela won the French Open 2003 junior doubles title. Representing Israe ...
hurt his wrist in the first set. Israel won 4–1.
2010: Injuries and ranking downfall
After the Australian Open, Andreev played the
2010 Brasil Open
The 2010 Brasil Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 10th edition of the event known as the Brasil Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place in Costa do Sa ...
, his first clay court tournament of the year. Seeded no. 4 in the tournament, Andreev made a run to the semifinals and eventually lost to
Łukasz Kubot
Łukasz Kubot (; born 16 May 1982) is a Polish professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.
He is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2014 Australian Open with Robert Lindstedt, as well as the 2017 W ...
6–2, 2–6, 4–6.
His next successful tournament was the
Malaysia Open where he reached the semifinals, taking out defending champion
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
on the way before falling to
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny (born 25 June 1982), nicknamed "Misha" and "Colonel" by his fans, is a Russian retired professional tennis player who was ranked inside the top 10 and was the Russian No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Assoc ...
in three sets.
2011–2013: Injuries and retirement
A knee injury thwarted Andreev in 2011, and in 2012 a shoulder injury prevented him from achieving decent results in almost every tournament. He lost ranking points and struggled to win a match in the qualifying round of small tournaments. The situation became worse in 2013. After not having played since the
Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in April, he lost in every first round match of the qualifying draw of every tournament he tried to play until the
French Open 2013. At
Wimbledon 2013 Andreev appeared in the main draw as a protected ranking player and in the first round he faced Polish
Łukasz Kubot
Łukasz Kubot (; born 16 May 1982) is a Polish professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.
He is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2014 Australian Open with Robert Lindstedt, as well as the 2017 W ...
losing 6–1, 7–5, 6–2. Andreev announced his final retirement from tennis due to the multiple injuries that ruined his career after 2010 and 2011.
Playing style & equipment
Andreev is an offensive baseliner. He possessed one of the more powerful forehands on tour. ATP professional Marcos Baghdatis describes Andreev's forehand as being "more deadly than Nadal's" Andreev is sponsored by
Sergio Tacchini
Sergio Tacchini (; born 2 September 1938) is an Italian fashion designer of sportswear and former professional tennis player. The sportswear firm bearing his name is located in Bellinzago Novarese, Novara, Italy.
Tennis career
Sergio Tacchi ...
for clothes and
Babolat
Babolat is a French tennis, badminton, and padel equipment company, headquartered in Lyon, best known for its strings and tennis racquets which are used by professional and recreational players worldwide. The company has made strings since 187 ...
Aero Pro Drive GT for racquets and Babolat All-Court III for shoes.
Personal life
He supports both
FC Moscow :''This article refers to the Moscow government team formed in 2004. For the predecessors in the Russian Premier League, see FC Torpedo-ZIL and FC Torpedo-Metallurg.''
FC Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб Москва) was a Russian ...
and
FC Dynamo Moscow
FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Foot ...
and is an avid follower of the
Russian national football team
The Russia national football team (russian: Сборная России по футболу, Sbornaya Rossii po futbolu) represents the Russian Federation in men's international association football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Uni ...
.
He was in a relationship with fellow Russian player
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲɛnkə ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open a ...
for several years,
before they split in 2011.
ATP career finals
Singles: 9 (3–6)
Doubles: 2 (1–1)
Performance timelines
Singles
''Current till
2013 Wimbledon Championships
The 2013 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 127th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held ...
.''
Doubles
Top 10 wins
References
External links
*
*
*
Andreev World Ranking History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andreev, Igor
1983 births
Hopman Cup competitors
Living people
Olympic tennis players of Russia
Russian male tennis players
Tennis players from Moscow
Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics