Simon Aspelin
Simon Aspelin (pronounced [ˈsîːmɔn aspɛˈliːn]; born 11 May 1974) is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998. His success mainly came in doubles, winning 12 titles and reaching World No. 7 in March 2008. In men's doubles, Aspelin won the 2007 US Open and the Silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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| Country (sports) |  Sweden | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residence | London, England | ||||||||
| Born | 11 May 1974 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden | ||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||
| Turned pro | 1998 | ||||||||
| Retired | 17 July 2011 | ||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | ||||||||
| Prize money | $2,121,037 | ||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||
| Career record | 0–2 | ||||||||
| Career titles | 0 | ||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 436 (17 August 1998) | ||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||
| Wimbledon | Q1 (1998, 1999) | ||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||
| Career record | 348–303 (53%) | ||||||||
| Career titles | 12 | ||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 7 (3 March 2008) | ||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | |||||||||
| Australian Open | QF (2006) | ||||||||
| French Open | 3R (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011) | ||||||||
| Wimbledon | QF (2004, 2006, 2009) | ||||||||
| US Open | W (2007) | ||||||||
| Other doubles tournaments | |||||||||
| Tour Finals | F (2007) | ||||||||
| Olympic Games | F (2008) | ||||||||
| Mixed doubles | |||||||||
| Career record | 14–20 | ||||||||
| Career titles | 0 | ||||||||
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |||||||||
| Australian Open | 2R (2006, 2008, 2009) | ||||||||
| French Open | QF (2000) | ||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (2008) | ||||||||
| US Open | 2R (2007) | ||||||||
Medal record
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A memorable part of Aspelin's career was when he and doubles partner Todd Perry were playing in the 2006 Wimbledon Championships men's doubles quarterfinals as the eighth-seeded doubles team against third-seeded Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. Knowles and Nestor won the match by winning the final set 23–21.
At the 2007 U.S. Open, seeded tenth with his partner Julian Knowle, Aspelin achieved the greatest triumph of his career by winning the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam. In the first two rounds, they won against Kubot/Skoch and got a walkover over Calleri/Horna. They went on to upset the eighth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the third round. In the quarterfinals, they shocked the top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan, having lost to them only weeks before. In the semifinal, they held off unseeded Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut, before winning the final in two sets over the ninth seeds, Pavel Vízner and Lukáš Dlouhý. He had never before reached a Grand Slam semifinal. This win put them into the No. 5 position in the ATP Doubles Race, and also gave Aspelin his career-high ranking of No. 13. His Davis cup record in March 2009 is 3–5 in doubles.
Another notable performance in 2007 was the final against Knowles/Nestor in Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, which he lost with Julian Knowle.
In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he and fellow Swede Thomas Johansson defeated French pair Michaël Llodra and Arnaud Clément 7–6, 4–6, 19–17 in the semi-finals. The match that lasted 4 hours and 46 minutes. They went on to win the Silver medal.
Prior to his pro career, Aspelin competed for four seasons at Pepperdine University, in Malibu, Calif. He was one of just two Waves to earn All-American status all four seasons,[1] and was inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame in the fall of 2010.
In May 2011, he was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame.[2]
In July 2011, Aspelin announced his retirement from professional tennis. He played his last tournament in Båstad, where he reached the final but failed to claim his thirteenth ATP title.[3][4]
Grand Slam finals
Doubles (1 title)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Pertner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2007 | U.S. Open | Hard |  Julian Knowle |  Lukáš Dlouhý Pavel Vízner | 7–5, 6–4 |
Olympics
Doubles: 1 (1 Silver)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Pertner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | 2008 | Beijing Olympics | Hard | Thomas Johansson | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Roger Federer Stan Wawrinka | 3–6, 4–6, 7–6 (7–4) , 3–6 |
Career finals
Doubles (12 wins, 21 losses)
|
|
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | Feb 2000 | Marseille | Hard | Johan Landsberg |
 Juan Ignacio Carrasco Jairo Velasco, Jr. |
7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
| Loss | 1. | Jul 2001 | Båstad | Clay | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Andrew Kratzmann |
 Karsten Braasch Jens Knippschild |
6–7(3–7), 6–4, 6–7(5–7) |
| Loss | 2. | Jul 2001 | Kitzbühel | Clay | Andrew Kratzmann |
Àlex Corretja Luis Lobo |
3–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Loss | 3. | Feb 2002 | Buenos Aires | Clay | Andrew Kratzmann |
 Gastón Etlis Martín Rodríguez |
6–3, 3–6, [4–10] |
| Loss | 4. | Apr 2002 | Estoril | Clay | Andrew Kratzmann |
Karsten Braasch  Andrei Olhovskiy |
3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2. | May 2003 | St. Pölten | Clay |  Massimo Bertolini |
 Sargis Sargsian Nenad Zimonjić |
6–4, 6–7(8–10), 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | Jul 2003 | Båstad | Clay | Massimo Bertolini |
Lucas Arnold Mariano Hood |
6–7(3–7), 6–0, 6–4 |
| Loss | 5. | Sep 2003 | Bucharest | Clay |  Jeff Coetzee |
Karsten Braasch Sargis Sargsian |
6–7(7–9), 2–6 |
| Loss | 6. | Jul 2004 | Båstad | Clay | Todd Perry |
 Mahesh Bhupathi Jonas Björkman |
6–4, 6–7(2–7), 6–7(6–8) |
| Loss | 7. | Jul 2004 | Stuttgart | Clay | Todd Perry |
Jiří Novák Radek Štěpánek |
2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 8. | Jan 2005 | Adelaide | Hard | Todd Perry |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Xavier Malisse Olivier Rochus |
6–7(5–7), 4–6 |
| Loss | 9. | Jan 2005 | Auckland | Hard | Todd Perry |
Yves Allegro Michael Kohlmann |
4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
| Win | 4. | Jan 2005 | Delray Beach | Hard | Todd Perry |
Jordan Kerr Jim Thomas |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 5. | Feb 2005 | Memphis | Hard (i) | Todd Perry |
Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10. | Jun 2005 | Nottingham | Grass | Todd Perry |
 Jonathan Erlich Andy Ram |
6–4, 3–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 11. | Jul 2005 | Indianapolis | Hard | Todd Perry |
Paul Hanley Graydon Oliver |
2–6, 1–3 ret. |
| Loss | 12. | Oct 2005 | Tokyo | Hard | Todd Perry |
 Satoshi Iwabuchi Takao Suzuki |
4–5(3–7), 4–5(13–15) |
| Loss | 13. | Jan 2006 | Auckland | Hard | Todd Perry |
 Andrei Pavel  Rogier Wassen |
2–6, 7–5, [4–10] |
| Win | 6. | Oct 2006 | St. Petersburg | Carpet | Todd Perry |
Julian Knowle Jürgen Melzer |
6–1, 7–6(7–3) |
| Loss | 14. | Jan 2007 | Auckland | Hard | Chris Haggard |
Jeff Coetzee Rogier Wassen |
7–6(11–9), 3–6, [2–10] |
| Win | 7. | May 2007 | Pörtschach | Clay | Julian Knowle |
Leoš Friedl David Škoch |
7–6(8–6), 5–7, [10–5] |
| Win | 8. | Jun 2007 | Halle | Grass | Julian Knowle |
 Fabrice Santoro Nenad Zimonjić |
6–4, 7–6(7–5) |
| Win | 9. | Jul 2007 | Båstad | Clay | Julian Knowle |
Martin García Sebastián Prieto |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 10. | Sep 2007 | U.S. Open | Hard | Julian Knowle |
Lukáš Dlouhý Pavel Vízner |
7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 15. | Nov 2007 | Tennis Masters Cup, Shanghai | Hard (i) | Julian Knowle |
 Mark Knowles .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Daniel Nestor |
2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 16. | Aug 2008 | Summer Olympics, Beijing | Hard | Thomas Johansson |
Roger Federer Stanislas Wawrinka |
4–6, 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 3–6 |
| Loss | 17. | Apr 2009 | Casablanca | Clay | Paul Hanley |
 Łukasz Kubot Oliver Marach |
6–7(4–7), 6–3, [6–10] |
| Loss | 18. | May 2009 | Madrid | Clay | Wesley Moodie |
Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 11. | Jul 2009 | Hamburg | Clay | Paul Hanley |
 Marcelo Melo Filip Polášek |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 19. | Oct 2009 | Stockholm | Hard (i) | Paul Hanley |
Bruno Soares  Kevin Ullyett |
4–6, 6–7(4–7) |
| Loss | 20. | Feb 2010 | Rotterdam | Hard (i) | Paul Hanley |
Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić |
4–6, 6–4, [7–10] |
| Win | 12. | Feb 2010 | Dubai | Hard | Paul Hanley |
Lukáš Dlouhý Leander Paes |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Loss | 21. | Jul 2011 | Båstad | Clay | Andreas Siljeström |
Robert Lindstedt Horia Tecău |
3–6, 3–6 |
Doubles Performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 12 | 13–12 | 52.00 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 12 | 11–12 | 47.83 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | QF | 2R | 3R | 0 / 12 | 14–12 | 53.85 |
| US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | QF | 2R | W | 2R | 1R | QF | A | 1 / 11 | 16–10 | 61.54 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 6–4 | 7–4 | 8–4 | 8–3 | 3–4 | 5–4 | 6–4 | 3–3 | 1 / 47 | 54–46 | 54.00 |
| ATP World Tour Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Doubles Finals | A | A | A | SF | A | NH | A | A | A | A | F | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 6–3 | 66.67 |
| Davis Cup | ||||||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup Doubles | A | A | A | A | SF | A | A | A | PO | PO | SF | QF | PO | PO | QF | 0 / 8 | 6–6 | 50.00 |
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | A | Not Held | A | Not Held | F | Not Held | 0 / 1 | 4–1 | 80.00 | ||||||||
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | SF | 1R | 0 / 9 | 6–9 | 40.00 |
| Miami | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 11 | 6–11 | 35.29 |
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | QF | SF | QF | 2R | SF | A | 0 / 8 | 7–8 | 46.67 |
| Hamburg | A | A | A | 1R | QF | 1R | A | A | 1R | QF | SF | QF | Madrid (C) | 0 / 7 | 5–7 | 41.67 | ||
| Madrid (Clay) | Held as Hamburg | F | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 4–2 | 66.67 | |||||||||||
| Rome | A | A | A | QF | 2R | 2R | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 9 | 6–9 | 40.00 |
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | QF | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | 33.33 |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | QF | QF | A | 1R | A | 0 / 5 | 5–5 | 50.00 |
| Stuttgart | A | A | A | A | A | Held as Madrid (Hard) | Shanghai | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||||||||
| Madrid (Hard) | Held as Stuttgart | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | QF | QF | Shanghai | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33.33 | ||||||
| Shanghai | Held as Stuttgart | Held as Madrid (Hard) | 2R | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50.00 | ||||||||||
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | SF | QF | QF | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 5–6 | 45.45 |
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tournaments played | 0 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 26 | 31 | 22 | 23 | 30 | 25 | 31 | 27 | 30 | 24 | 15 | 309 | ||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Finals reached | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 33 | ||
| Hard Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 11–9 | 9–10 | 12–14 | 3–8 | 9–11 | 30–15 | 23–15 | 22–19 | 24–20 | 10–18 | 22–14 | 5–6 | 5 / 164 | 180–161 | 52.79 |
| Grass Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 5–4 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 2–3 | 1 / 26 | 30–26 | 53.57 |
| Clay Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 13–10 | 15–12 | 9–14 | 13–8 | 7–8 | 8–8 | 5–7 | 17–8 | 7–6 | 19–9 | 3–6 | 9–7 | 5 / 107 | 126–104 | 54.78 |
| Carpet Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1 / 12 | 12–12 | 50.00 |
| Overall win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 25–21 | 28–26 | 22–31 | 19–19 | 20–23 | 44–29 | 35–25 | 44–30 | 31–28 | 35–29 | 28–23 | 16–16 | 12 / 309 | 348–303 | 53.46 |
| Win % | – | – | 25% | 54% | 52% | 42% | 50% | 47% | 60% | 58% | 59% | 53% | 55% | 55% | 50% | 53.46% | ||
| Year-end ranking | 355 | 322 | 111 | 51 | 50 | 55 | 40 | 45 | 17 | 19 | 8 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 74 | $2,121,037 | ||
References
- http://www.pepperdinesports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/100610aaa.html
- http://www.itatennis.com/AboutITA/News/Class-of-2011-Announced-for-ITA-Men_s-Collegiate-Tennis-Hall-of-Fame.htm%5B%5D
- "Lindstedt-Tecau Retain Bastad Title; Aspelin Retires From Pro Tennis". atpworldtour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
- "Swedish Doubles Player Simon Aspelin to Retire". 10sballs.com. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
External links
