Pepe Imaz

José "Pepe" Imaz Ruiz (born 30 May 1974 in Arnedo) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Spain.[2][3]

Jose Imaz-Ruiz
Country (sports)Spain Spain
Born (1974-05-30) 30 May 1974
Arnedo, Spain[1]
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1995
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$114,053
Singles
Career record3-6
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 146 (11 May 1998)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open2R (1998)
WimbledonQ1 (1994)
Doubles
Career record2-6
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 167 (22 Apr 1996)

Playing career

Imaz made his debut on the ATP Tour at the 1995 Austrian Open.[4] He lost to Sergi Bruguera in the second round, having earlier beaten Christian Miniussi.[4]

His most noteworthy performance came in the 1998 French Open, the only Grand Slam of his career.[4] The Spaniard had a five set opening round win over Jean-Baptiste Perlant.[4] He then lost in straight sets to eventual champion Carlos Moyá, but would come close to winning the second set tiebreak, which lasted for 30 points, and in which he blew several set points.[4][5]

Coaching career

Imaz's tennis school is based at Marbella's Puente Romano resort. The school preaches a philosophy of Amor y Paz (Love and Peace) as the overriding factors when coaching tennis, in which he uses meditation and the power of lengthy hugs. In 2013, then professional tennis player Marko Djokovic used Imaz's methodologies to help alleviate symptoms of his depression. In 2016, post-Novak Djokovic's win at the French Open, Imaz became part of Novak's support team from Wimbledon onwards.[6] In April 2018, Djokovic stopped working with him, and also announced the end of his "cooperation" with Radek Štěpánek and Andre Agassi.[7] As of August 2018, Djokovic and Imaz were close friends.[8][9]

ATP Challenger Tour finals

Doubles: (2-3)
Result No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1993 Seville, Spain Clay Spain Emilio Benfele Álvarez United States Steve Campbell
United States John Yancey		 6–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win 2. 1994 Seville, Spain Clay Spain Emilio Benfele Álvarez Germany Patrick Baur
Germany Torben Theine		 6–1, 6–3
Loss 1. 1995 Scheveningen, Netherlands Clay Spain Emilio Benfele Álvarez Israel Eyal Ran
Romania Andrei Pavel		 4–6, 4–6
Loss 2. 1995 Graz, Austria Clay Spain Emilio Benfele Álvarez Argentina Pablo Albano
Czech Republic Vojtěch Flégl		 4–6, 3–6
Loss 3. 1997 Seville, Spain Clay Spain Emilio Benfele Álvarez Finland Tuomas Ketola
Germany Michael Kohlmann		 6–4, 1–6, 3–6

References
  1. "Pepe Imaz: "Djokovic tiene amor, respeto y aceptación"" (in Spanish). Diario As. 2 October 2017.
  2. Pepe Imaz Escuela internacional de tenis "Pepe Imaz .:: Escuela internacional de tenis - Trabajo mental y emocional ::. Marbella - Málaga". Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2012-04-16. "When Pepe Imaz is asked “who are you” he answers “I am Pepe Imaz”. He wants to mean that a person is just that: one person."
  3. ITF Tennis Profile
  4. "Jose Imaz-Ruiz - Overview - ATP World Tour - Tennis".
  5. "Moyá cree que Ríos es favorito" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 29 May 1995.
  6. "Novak Djokovic splits with coach Boris Becker after three years". 6 December 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. "Announcement". 4 April 2018 – via novakdjokovic.com.
  8. "Novak za SK: Pepe i dalje bliska osoba, ishrana ista" (in Serbian). Sport Klub. 29 August 2018.
  9. "Novak Djokovic Blasts 'Out Of Context' Claims Made About Split With Imaz". 31 August 2018 – via ubitennis.net.
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