Joseph Lizardo (born 17 January 1969) is a Filipino 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.

Tennis career

Born and raised in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Lizardo played in the junior draws of

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 * ...

and the US Open, before taking up a full scholarship to

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

in Philadelphia. He won an

A-10 The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republi ...

singles championship in 1987 and graduated with a business/marketing degree in 1991. Lizardo represented the Philippines in the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

as well as in regional events, including the 1994 Asian Games. He won six medals for the Philippines at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

. In Davis Cup competition, Lizardo featured in a total of 14 ties, from 1992 to 1999, winning 12 singles rubbers. His best win came against former top-50 player

Shuzo Matsuoka is a retired Japanese professional tennis player, sports commentator, and entertainer. A former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Matsuoka won one singles title during his career, in Seoul in 1992. In the same year, he reached a career-high ranking ...

of Japan in 1995.

Personal life

Now based in California, Lizardo is married to Filipino American actress

Belinda Panelo Belinda Jay Panelo is a Filipino American actress and former commercial model who became an MTV VJ after winning the MTV VJ Hunt in 1999, along with K. C. Montero. She is the daughter of U.S. vet, Salvador Sauza Panelo (not to be confused with t ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lizardo, Joseph 1969 births Living people Filipino male tennis players Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Tennis players at the 1994 Asian Games Temple Owls tennis players College men's tennis players in the United States SEA Games medalists in tennis SEA Games silver medalists for the Philippines SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Competitors at the 1995 SEA Games Competitors at the 1997 SEA Games Competitors at the 1999 SEA Games Competitors at the 2001 SEA Games Sportspeople from Manila