José Acasuso
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José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso (; born 20 October 1982) is a former professional male tennis player from
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favoured
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. He was known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both sides. His clothes sponsor was Topper and his racquet sponsor
Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
.


Career

Acasuso began playing tennis at the age of two, when his father took his brother and sister to his grandfather's tennis club. Reportedly, he got the nickname of "Chucho" from the fact that, when he was a child, he used to say his name was "José Acachucho." Acasuso played both basketball and tennis up until the age of 12, and then gave up basketball for tennis. Like
Carlos Moyà Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...
, Acasuso is a natural left-hander, but plays tennis right-handed. Acasuso turned professional in 2000, playing
futures Futures may mean: Finance *Futures contract, a tradable financial derivatives contract *Futures exchange, a financial market where futures contracts are traded * ''Futures'' (magazine), an American finance magazine Music * ''Futures'' (album), a ...
and challenger events. In 2001, he made an immediate impact in his first ATP tournament in
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, where he defeated former No. 10 player Félix Mantilla in the last round of the qualifying to make the main draw, and then defeated compatriots
Franco Squillari Franco Squillari (born 22 August 1975) is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. He won 3 singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2000 French Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 11. Career As a ...
in the quarter-finals and
Gastón Gaudio Gastón Norberto Gaudio (; born 9 December 1978) is an Argentine retired tennis player. He won eight singles titles and achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 5 in April 2005. Gaudio's most significant title win came at the 2004 ...
in the semi-finals. However, he lost in the final to then-number-1 player
Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times ( 1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...
6–1, 6–3. Later in the year, he won his first challenger event in
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and finished the year ranked at 86 in the world an improvement of 89 places from the previous year. In 2002, he was on the Argentine team that won the
World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...
in
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. He won his first ATP title in
Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...
, defeating
Franco Squillari Franco Squillari (born 22 August 1975) is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina. He won 3 singles titles, reached the semifinals of the 2000 French Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 11. Career As a ...
in three sets. He was also a finalist in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, losing to
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain Davis Cup team, Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP Tour 250, ATP 250, ATP Tour ...
, and in
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
to the Chilean
Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career he made it to at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the ...
. He ended the year ranked 41st in the world. After the previous two successful years, Acasuso's results began to decline and he ended up spending more time out due to injuries. He did not win a title in 2003. In 2004, however, he reached the final of Sopot again, this time losing to
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 List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...
. Acasuso then went on to win his second career title in Bucharest by beating Russian
Igor Andreev 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 player. He won three ATP Tour singles ti ...
in two sets. Acasuso reached the fourth round of the
2005 French Open The 2005 French Open was the 109th edition of the tournament. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal, seeded fourth at his first French Open, was a strong favorite to win the singles title after winning the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters. Guillermo Coria ...
, his best ever result in any of the Grand Slam events. He defeated number-2-seeded
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 Open ...
in five sets, coming back from 2 sets to love down and a break of serve to win. He then lost to fellow Argentine
Mariano Puerta Mariano Rubén Puerta (; born 19 September 1978) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 9 singles ranking in August 2005. His career highlight of reaching the final of the French Open in 2005 ...
for the second time in the year. He also improved his results away from his favoured clay surface by making the quarter finals on hard courts in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and on carpet in
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. In 2006, Acasuso won his third ATP title in
Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...
over
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 200 ...
and also made his debut for
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
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 ...
against
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in the singles. He then played against
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in the doubles with
David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...
. They won their match and the tie to play against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the semi-finals. After reaching his first
Tennis Masters Series The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...
semi-final in
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, where Acasuso defeated
Simon Greul Simon Greul (; born 13 April 1981) is a retired German male tennis player. His career high rank was No. 55, achieved on 22 March 2010. Career His major breakthrough was at the 2006 Nasdaq-100 Open, where after beating Adrián García and Ricar ...
,
Ivan Ljubičić Ivan Ljubičić (; born 19 March 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 3 singles ranking on 1 May 2006. His career highlights include reaching a Grand S ...
,
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 ...
, and
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
, before losing to
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
in straight sets, he was ranked inside the top 30 for the first time in his career. Acasuso lost in the final of
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
to
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain Davis Cup team, Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP Tour 250, ATP 250, ATP Tour ...
in five sets, after having a 5–1 lead in the fourth set and served for the match twice. In the 2006 Davis Cup tie between Argentina and Australia, Acasuso ended the run of 11 consecutive wins that
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
was on of winning in 5 set matches, when he defeated him in a five-set match that was completed over two days. Of the win Acasuso said "I've beaten higher-ranked players in the past but to win at home in a Davis Cup semi-final with 14,000 people watching me here makes it one of the most important wins of my career". Acasuso was a late substitute for
Juan Ignacio Chela Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as “El Flaco” or “Liliano,” is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post-d ...
in the deciding fifth rubber of the 2006 Davis Cup Final against
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...
of Russia. Safin won in four sets to win the Davis Cup for Russia. Acasuso, together with Sebastián Prieto, has won three doubles titles: in 2005 in Stuttgart and Bucharest, and in 2006 in
Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...
. Prior to that Acasuso won a doubles title partnering
Flávio Saretta Flávio Saretta Filho (born June 28, 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Brazil who turned professional in 1998. Tennis career Saretta has won one ATP Tour doubles title, the 2004 Croatia Open Umag with José Acasuso, defeat ...
at Umag in 2004. He was previously coached by
Horacio de la Peña Horacio Armando de la Peña (born 1 August 1966), nicknamed "el Pulga" ("the Flea"), is a tennis coach and a former tennis player from Argentina, who reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 31. De la Peña was born in Buenos Aires. ...
,
Daniel Orsanic Daniel Orsanic (, ; born 11 June 1968) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. He was captain of the Argentina Davis Cup team that won the country's first title in 2016. Playing career Orsanic was a left-hander with a double han ...
and later worked with
Gabriel Markus Gabriel Markus (born 31 March 1970) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. Career A clay court specialist, Markus was a quarter-finalist in the Boys' Singles event at the 1987 French Open and at his best was ranked second in the ...
. In the
2008 Davis Cup The 2008 Davis Cup was the 97th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Sixteen teams participated in the World Group and more than one hundred others took part in different regional groups. The first mat ...
final, Acasuso was once again a late substitute in what turned out to be the tie-deciding fourth rubber. He replaced an injured
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
and was defeated by
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
of Spain in a five-set match. Acasuso made the final of the 2009 Viña del Mar event, where he lost to
Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career he made it to at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. He played his only major final at the ...
6–1, 6–3. His most notable match in 2009 was his second round match at French Open 2009 against the eventual champion
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...
in which he lost in four sets. In this match he missed four set points in the first set and three set points in the third set while leading that set by 5–1 On 24 February 2012, Acasuso officially announced his retirement from professional tennis.ACASUSO RETIRES FROM PROFESSIONAL TENNIS
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ATP career finals


Singles: 11 (3 titles, 8 runner-ups)


Doubles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runner-ups)


ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals


Singles: 13 (6–7)


Doubles: 5 (1–4)


Team competition finals: 2 (2 runner-up)


Performance timelines


Singles


Doubles


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acasuso, Jose 1982 births Living people Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Argentine male tennis players People from Posadas, Misiones Sportspeople from Misiones Province