Alex Bogomolov Jr.

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. (Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player.

Tennis career


Born in Moscow, Russia, the 5' 10" Bogomolov's father, Alex Sr., was a Soviet tennis coach who worked with Larisa Neiland, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Andrei Medvedev.

In 1998 he won the USTA National Boys' 16 Championships, defeating Andy Roddick in the final.

After losing in the first round of his first Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon, Bogomolov was beaten by David Nalbandian in the first round of the 2001 US Open.

In 2005, he was suspended for eight weeks after a positive doping test from the Australian Open. The banned substance found was salbutamol. Bogomolov admitted taking the substance through an inhaler to treat exercise-induced asthma and that he had not applied for a medical exemption. The tribunal decided he had not intentionally taken the drug in an effort to boost his performance and so the usual two-year ban did not apply, however he lost the prize money and ranking points earned at several competitions during the relevant time period.

In July 2008, he won the Shotgun 21 world championship at the Pacific Palisades Tennis Center, defeating John Isner in the semifinal, and Phillip King in the final, twice by the score of 21–20. In September Bogomolov beat world no. 83 Bobby Reynolds, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, in Waco, Texas. After having surgery on his left wrist in late 2008, Bogomolov began work at the Gotham Tennis Academy.

In July 2009 at the Hall of Fame Championships, he defeated Arnaud Clément of France, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4.

In 2011 Bogomolov won his first Challenger title in three years in Champaign-Urbana over Amer Delić, 5–7, 7–6, 6–3. That same year Bogomolov defeated Andy Murray 6–1, 7–5, in the second round of the Miami Masters 1000 but lost to John Isner in the third round. At the 2011 Farmers Classic, Bogomolov was defeated by Ernests Gulbis in the semifinals, 2–6, 6–7. In the first round of the Western & Southern Open he defeated Robby Ginepri 6–4, 6–3. After defeating an out-of-sorts world no. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–3, 6–4 in the second round, he faced a rematch with Andy Murray in the third, this time losing 2–6, 5–7.

At the US Open, he lost in the third round to John Isner, 6–7, 4–6, 4–6. At the end of the 2011 season he was named the ATP's most improved player after rising from no.166 in the ATP rankings at the beginning of 2011 to no. 33 at season's end. On December 1, the International Tennis Federation ruled him eligible to compete for Russia in the Davis Cup.

In the 2012 Australian Open Bogomolov was seeded 32: his first ever Grand Slam seeding. He achieved a joint personal best by progressing to the 2nd round where he lost in 5 sets in Michaël Llodra.

Bogomolov retired at the end of 2014. His final match was a straight sets loss to Tatsuma Ito in the second round of qualifying at the 2014 US Open.

Personal
Bogomolov was married to American tennis player Ashley Harkleroad. The two split up in the fall of 2006 after less than two years, and divorced. "I think we were too young to be married," Harkleroad said. "And I think he's better off without me." He is now engaged to his girlfriend Luana, with whom he has a son, Maddox.