Xavier Malisse

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Xavier Malisse
Malisse at the 2005 Australian Open
Country (sports) Belgium
ResidenceSarasota, United States
Born (1980-07-19) 19 July 1980 (age 43)
Kortrijk, Belgium
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1998
Retired2013
(last doubles match 2022)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$5,702,871
Singles
Career record294–274 (51.8%)
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 19 (12 August 2002)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2003, 2011)
French Open4R (2002, 2004)
WimbledonSF (2002)
US Open4R (2001, 2003, 2005)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2004)
Doubles
Career record132–115 (53.4%)
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 25 (7 November 2011)
Current rankingNo. 818 (24 October 2022)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2003–2006, 2011)
French OpenW (2004)
Wimbledon3R (2005)
US Open2R (2003)
Last updated on: 24 October 2022.

Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Born in the north-western Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed X-Man, he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David Goffin) to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP Tour, with a career-high singles ranking of world No. 19.

Career[edit]

Juniors[edit]

As a junior Malisse compiled a singles win–loss record of 66–18, reaching as high as No. 10 in the junior world singles rankings in 1997. He made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1997, whilst his final junior tournament was winning Eddie Herr later that year.

1998–2008[edit]

Malisse turned professional in 1998.

His best performance in Grand Slam singles competition was at the 2002 Wimbledon championships, where he reached the semi-final, beating Galo Blanco, Vince Spadea, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Britain's Greg Rusedski in five sets en route, as well as former champion Richard Krajicek. He eventually lost to runner-up David Nalbandian, again in five sets. Malisse and Olivier Rochus won the French Open doubles championship in 2004. He has won three ATP tour singles titles: Delray Beach in 2005 and 2007, and Chennai in 2007.

2009[edit]

After a difficult year, Malisse found himself with a world ranking of 205. In his first tournament of the year in Brisbane, he lost in the last qualifying round to American Bobby Reynolds. A week later, in Medibank International Sydney, he reached the main draw, but lost to Mario Ančić in the first round.

At the Australian Open, he first won his qualifying matches. In the first round of the main draw, he defeated Michaël Llodra. However, in the next round, he lost to Andy Roddick in four sets. In October, he won a Challenger tournament in Lyon, and this pushed him back into the world's top 100 for the first time in nearly two years.

He was banned for a year over doping allegations.[1][2]

2010[edit]

Malisse lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Sam Querrey in five sets.

2011[edit]

Xavier started the 2011 season by reaching the final of Chennai. In March, he won the doubles title in the Indian Wells Masters with Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he lost to Bernard Tomic.

2012[edit]

Xavier reached the fourth round of Wimbledon where he faced Roger Federer. Federer won the first two sets and went a break up in the third, but Malisse came back to win the third set and move 2–0 in the fourth. Federer subsequently won six out of the next seven games to win the match and went on to win the Title.

2016–2018[edit]

After retiring in 2013 and competing in an ITF doubles event in 2015, Malisse entered the 2016 Meerbusch Challenger in doubles, ultimately conceding a walkover to end his playing career. He then participated in the ATP Champions Tour until 2018.

2021–2022[edit]

Malisse came out of retirement to play doubles at the 2021 European Open having received a wildcard alongside Lloyd Harris whom he was coaching.[3] The pair made the semifinals defeating top seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo en route before losing to 3rd seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Wesley Koolhof in straight sets.

He also participated in the 2022 European Open having received again a wildcard to play doubles with Diego Schwartzman. In the first round they managed to beat Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo in straight sets.[4] In the quarterfinals, they lost to Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor in two tie-breaks.[5]

Significant finals[edit]

Grand Slam finals[edit]

Doubles: 1 (1–0)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2004 French Open Clay Belgium Olivier Rochus France Michaël Llodra
France Fabrice Santoro
7–5, 7–5

Masters 1000 finals[edit]

Doubles: 1 (1–0)[edit]

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2011 Indian Wells Hard Ukraine Alexandr Dolgopolov Switzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stan Wawrinka
6–4, 6–7(5–7), [10–7]

ATP career finals[edit]

Singles: 12 (3 titles, 9 runners-up)[edit]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–9)
Titles by surface
Hard (3–4)
Clay (0–4)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (3–8)
Indoor (0–1)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 1998 Mexican Open, Mexico World Series Clay Czech Republic Jiří Novák 3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–2 May 1999 Delray Beach ITC, US World Series Clay Australia Lleyton Hewitt 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 1–6
Loss 0–3 Mar 2001 Delray Beach ITC, US International Hard United States Jan-Michael Gambill 5–7, 4–6
Loss 0–4 Apr 2001 Atlanta Tennis Challenge, US International Clay United States Andy Roddick 2–6, 4–6
Loss 0–5 May 2004 St. Pölten Open, Austria International Clay Italy Filippo Volandri 1–6, 4–6
Loss 0–6 Oct 2004 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France International Carpet (i) Sweden Robin Söderling 2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win 1–6 Jan 2005 Delray Beach ITC, US International Hard Czech Republic Jiří Novák 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Loss 1–7 Jan 2006 Adelaide International, Australia International Hard France Florent Serra 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1–8 Feb 2006 Delray Beach ITC, US International Hard Germany Tommy Haas 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7)
Win 2–8 Jan 2007 Chennai Open, India International Hard Austria Stefan Koubek 6–1, 6–3
Win 3–8 Feb 2007 Delray Beach ITC, US (2) International Hard United States James Blake 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 3–9 Jan 2011 Chennai Open, India 250 Series Hard Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka 5–7, 6–4, 1–6

Doubles: 13 (9 titles, 4 runners-up)[edit]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1–0)
Tennis Masters Cup /
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–0)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (7–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (8–3)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (7–3)
Indoor (2–1)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2004 French Open, France Grand Slam Clay Belgium Olivier Rochus France Michaël Llodra
France Fabrice Santoro
7–5, 7–5
Win 2–0 Jan 2006 Adelaide International, Australia International Hard Belgium Olivier Rochus Sweden Simon Aspelin
Australia Todd Perry
7–6(7–5), 6–4
Win 3–0 Jan 2007 Chennai Open, India International Hard Belgium Dick Norman Spain Rafael Nadal
Spain Bartolomé Salvá Vidal
7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4)
Win 4–0 Feb 2007 Delray Beach ITC, US International Hard United States Hugo Armando United Kingdom James Auckland
Australia Stephen Huss
6–3, 6–7(4–7), [10–5]
Loss 4–1 Jan 2008 Auckland Open, New Zealand International Hard Austria Jürgen Melzer Peru Luis Horna
Argentina Juan Mónaco
4–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Loss 4–2 Feb 2011 Pacific Coast Championships, US 250 Series Hard (i) Colombia Alejandro Falla United States Scott Lipsky
United States Rajeev Ram
4–6, 6–4, [8–10]
Win 5–2 Mar 2011 Indian Wells Masters, US Masters 1000 Hard Ukraine Alexandr Dolgopolov Switzerland Roger Federer
Switzerland Stanislas Wawrinka
6–4, 6–7(5–7), [10–7]
Win 6–2 Jul 2011 Los Angeles Open, US 250 Series Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles India Somdev Devvarman
Philippines Treat Huey
7–6(7–3), 7–6(12–10)
Win 7–2 Feb 2012 Pacific Coast Championships, US 250 Series Hard (i) The Bahamas Mark Knowles South Africa Kevin Anderson
Germany Frank Moser
6–4, 1–6, [10–5]
Loss 7–3 May 2012 Bavarian Championships, Germany 250 Series Clay Belgium Dick Norman Czech Republic František Čermák
Slovakia Filip Polášek
4–6, 5–7
Loss 7–4 Jul 2012 Atlanta Open, US 250 Series Hard United States Michael Russell Australia Matthew Ebden
United States Ryan Harrison
3–6, 6–3, [6–10]
Win 8–4 Jul 2012 Los Angeles Open, US (2) 250 Series Hard Belgium Ruben Bemelmans United Kingdom Jamie Delgado
United Kingdom Ken Skupski
7–6(7–5), 4–6, [10–7]
Win 9–4 Feb 2013 Pacific Coast Championships, US (2) 250 Series Hard (i) Germany Frank Moser Australia Lleyton Hewitt
Australia Marinko Matosevic
6–0, 6–7(5–7), [10–4]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals[edit]

Singles: 7 (4–3)[edit]

Legend
ATP Challenger (4–3)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–3)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2000 San Antonio, United States Challenger Hard Haiti Ronald Agénor 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss 1–1 Oct 2005 Mons, Belgium Challenger Hard Belgium Olivier Rochus 2–6, 0–6
Win 2–1 Jul 2008 Moncton, Canada Challenger Hard Thailand Danai Udomchoke 6–4, 6–4
Win 3–1 Aug 2009 Granby, Canada Challenger Hard South Africa Kevin Anderson 6–4, 6–4
Loss 3–2 Aug 2009 Vancouver, Canada Challenger Hard Cyprus Marcos Baghdatis 4–6, 4–6
Loss 3–3 Sep 2009 St. Remy, France Challenger Hard Cyprus Marcos Baghdatis 4–6, 1–6
Win 4–3 Oct 2009 Orleans, France Challenger Hard France Stéphane Robert 6–1, 6–2

Doubles: 4 (2–2)[edit]

Legend
ATP Challenger (2–2)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 1999 Ostend, Belgium Challenger Clay Belgium Wim Neefs South Africa Marcos Ondruska
Australia Steven Randjelovic
2–6, 4–6
Win 1–1 Jul 2008 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Carlos Salamanca Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal
Colombia Michael Quintero
6–1, 6–4
Win 2–1 Sep 2008 Donetsk, Ukraine Challenger Hard Belgium Dick Norman Israel Harel Levy
Israel Noam Okun
4–6, 6–1, [13–11]
Loss 2–2 Sep 2012 Orleans, France Challenger Hard United Kingdom Ken Skupski Czech Republic Lukáš Dlouhý
Luxembourg Gilles Müller
2–6, 7–6(7–5), [7–10]

Performance timelines[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles[edit]

Tournament 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R 2R 1R 3R 1R 2R 8–12
French Open A 1R A 3R 4R 3R 4R 2R 1R A A A 2R 2R 1R 1R 13–11
Wimbledon A 1R A 2R SF 1R 4R 2R 2R A 2R 1R 3R 4R 4R 1R 20–13
US Open A 3R 2R 4R 3R 4R 1R 4R 3R 2R Q1 Q1 1R 1R 1R 1R 17–13
Win–loss 0–0 2–3 1–1 6–3 11–4 7–4 6–4 5–4 4–4 1–2 1–2 1–2 3–4 6–4 3–4 1–4 58–49
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells Masters A 3R A A 1R 2R 2R 1R 3R A 2R A A 3R 2R 1R 10–10
Miami Masters A 1R 2R A 1R 2R 3R 2R 2R A 3R A 1R 2R 2R 3R 10–12
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R A 1R A A 1R A 1R 1–8
Rome Masters A A A A 3R 1R A A 2R A A A A 2R Q2 1R 4–5
Madrid Masters A A A A 2R A 1R A 1R A A A A 3R A 1R 3–5
Canada Masters A A A 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R QF A A A 2R A A 1R 6–8
Cincinnati Masters A 1R A 2R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R A A A A 1R A A 4–8
Shanghai Masters Not Masters Series A A A A A 0–0
Paris Masters A A A 3R 2R A 2R 1R 1R A A A 1R A A A 4–6
Hamburg Masters A A A A 1R 2R 1R A 1R A 1R NMS 1–5
Win–loss 0–0 2–3 1–1 3–3 6–9 3–7 4–8 3–6 7–9 0–0 3–4 0–0 1–3 6–6 2–2 2–6 43–67
Career statistics
Titles–Finals 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 3–12
Year-end ranking 161 145 127 33 25 55 48 47 37 112 162 94 60 49 47 135

Doubles[edit]

Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R A A 2R 1R 2R 6–9
French Open 2R W 3R QF A A A 1R 2R 3R 1R 15–7
Wimbledon 2R 2R 3R A A A A 1R A 1R 2R 5–6
US Open 2R 1R A 1R A A A 1R 3R 1R 1R 3–7
Win–loss 4–4 8–3 5–3 4–3 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–3 4–3 2–4 2–4 29–29

Top 10 wins[edit]

Season 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total
Wins 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 0 2 2 1 0 2 0 1 1 16
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score
2001
1. Russia Marat Safin 2 Los Angeles, United States Hard 2R 7–5, 6–3
2. United Kingdom Tim Henman 9 US Open, New York, United States Hard 3R 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
2002
3. Russia Marat Safin 6 Rome, Italy Clay 2R 6–3, 6–4
4. United Kingdom Tim Henman 6 French Open, Paris, France Clay 2R 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–3
5. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 3R 7–6(7–4), 7–5, 6–1
2003
6. Australia Lleyton Hewitt 6 Cincinnati, United States Hard 1R 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
2004
7. Germany Rainer Schüttler 7 French Open, Paris, France Clay 1R 6–4, 7–5, 6–4
2006
8. Argentina Gastón Gaudio 8 Rome, Italy Clay 1R 4–6, 6–3, 6–3
9. Russia Nikolay Davydenko 5 Toronto, Canada Hard 1R 6–3, 7–5
2007
10. Spain Rafael Nadal 2 Chennai, India Hard SF 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
11. United States James Blake 6 Delray Beach, United States Hard F 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
2008
12. Argentina David Nalbandian 7 Miami, United States Hard 2R 6–1, 6–4
2010
13. Serbia Novak Djokovic 3 Queen's Club, London, United Kingdom Grass 3R 6–3, 4–6, 6–2
14. Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych 8 Washington, D.C., United States Hard QF 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
2012
15. France Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7 Valencia, Spain Hard (i) 1R 3–1, ret.
2013
16. Spain David Ferrer 4 Rosmalen, Netherlands Grass 1R 7–6(7–3), 6–3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ANTIDOPING – Articles – Decision in the case of Xavier Malisse". ITF Tennis. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse have doping ban suspended by Belgian court".
  3. ^ "Sports news". new.in-24.com.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Malisse Teams With Schwartzman For Antwerp Win | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  5. ^ "Melo e Klaasen param na primeira rodada em Antuerpia na Belgica". esportefantastico.com.br (in Portuguese). 21 October 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2023.

External links[edit]