Kenneth Carlsen (born 17 April 1973) is a
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
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, who was active between 1992 and 2007. Carlsen played left-handed with a one-handed backhand. His greatest asset was his powerful serve, and his game was therefore best suited to fast surfaces (grass and hardcourt). For most of his long career, Carlsen was Denmark's best tennis player, and consistently among the few Danish players playing at the highest international level. He was awarded as best Danish "Tennis Player of the Year" seven times by the Danish Tennis Federation (first time in 1991, last time in 2005). Two times the award went to the Danish
Davis Cup team, of which Kenneth Carlsen until 2003 was a central part (having a 29–13 record in singles).
Career
Carlsen began playing tennis at age nine, and in his teens became one of the best juniors in the world. He finished as No. 3 in the world in 1991. He turned full-time professional in 1992, and his breakthrough as senior in a major tournament came at the Copenhagen Open where he beat top-20 player
Alexander Volkov in the first round. Later that year, he reached the final in Brisbane—it was only his fourth
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 ...
tournament. His debut in the 1993
Australian Open confirmed his position among the best players in the world as he went to the fourth round. The same year he reached his career-best singles ranking as world No. 41 in June. Since 1993, he was for most of the time ranked within the top 100. In 1994, he played the most famous match of his career when he beat
Stefan Edberg in five sets at
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
* ...
.
In 1996, he reached the final of the tournament that triggered his career, Copenhagen Open, but lost to
Cédric Pioline. The next year, he reached the final in Auckland, but this time lost to
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman (; born 23 March 1972) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He is a former world No. 1 in doubles, and also a former world No. 4 in singles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 T ...
. This saw his ranking shoot up 20 spots to world No. 52. In 1999, Carlsen reached the final in Newport, but lost to
Chris Woodruff
Chris Woodruff (born January 3, 1973) is an American former professional tennis player and current head coach at the University of Tennessee. He won the 1997 Canada Masters, reached the quarterfinals of the 2000 Australian Open and attained a ...
.
In 2000, he suffered from a serious shoulder injury, and underwent surgery twice. As a result, he did not play any tournaments that year. His recovery was relatively slow, and he could not return to professional tennis until June 2001. His long absence from the sport, however, did not seem to affect his playing negatively. In 2002, he won his second ATP tournament in Tokyo, and in 2005 he won the
Regions Morgan Keegan Championship in Memphis at almost 32 years old. His resurgence saw him in June 2005 become world No. 50.
Carlsen rarely played doubles, but reached three ATP doubles finals in his career: Copenhagen with
Frederik Fetterlein
Frederik Fetterlein (born 11 July 1970) is a retired tennis player from Denmark, who turned professional in 1989.
Tennis career
The right-hander Fetterlein represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he w ...
in 1997 (lost to
Andrei Olhovskiy
Andrei Stanislavovich Olhovskiy (russian: Андре́й Станисла́вович Ольхо́вский; ; born 15 April 1966) is a former tennis player from Russia, who turned professional in 1989.
Career
Olhovskiy represented the Sovie ...
/
Brett Steven),
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
, Uzbekistan with
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 1998 (lost to
Stefano Pescosolido/
Laurence Tieleman
Laurence Tieleman (born 14 November 1972) is a former tennis player from Italy.
Personal life
Tieleman has a Dutch father and an Italian mother, both working for the European Community. He began playing tennis at age seven and attended the Nick ...
), and Beijing with Michael Berrer in 2006 (lost to
Mario Ančić
Mario Ančić (; born 30 March 1984) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who currently works as a private equity vice president in New York City. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking ...
/
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 ...
).
He played a total of 46
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 ...
events during his career, and used to hold the record for most first-round exits for a long time: 30. But he was surpassed by
Albert Montañés at
2014 Australian Open
The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13 and 26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of even ...
where he reached 31 career Grand Slam first-round exits.
On June 27, 2007, he announced that he would retire from professional tennis, and he played his last ATP match in first round of the
Stockholm Open
The Stockholm Open (currently sponsored by Intrum) is an indoor tennis event on the ATP Tour played at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden. The tournament is owned by The Royal Lawn Tennis Club of Stockholm, SALK (Stockholm Pub ...
on October 10, 2007. The week after, he played his final professional tennis match at a Challenger tournament in
Kolding
Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...
, Denmark.
In November 2008, Carlsen was appointed captain of the
Denmark Davis Cup team. Under his guidance the Danes returned in
2011 to the Europe/Africa Zone Group I.
Career finals
Singles: 7 (3 wins, 4 losses)
Grand Slam performance timeline
Notes and references
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlsen, Kenneth
1973 births
Living people
Danish expatriates in Monaco
Danish male tennis players
Olympic tennis players of Denmark
Sportspeople from Copenhagen
People from Monte Carlo
Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics