Fabrice Santoro  | | Nickname(s) | The Magician, The Italian Stallion, The Magic Man | | Country | France | | Residence | Geneva, Switzerland | | Date of birth | December 9, 1972 (1972-12-09) (age 37) | | Place of birth | Tahiti, French Polynesia | | Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | | Weight | 163 lb (74 kg; 11.6 st) | | Turned pro | 1989 | | Plays | Right-handed; two-handed on both sides | | Career prize money | $10,003,153 | | Singles | | Career record | 470–443 | | Career titles | 6 | | Highest ranking | No. 17 (August 6, 2001) | | Current ranking | No. 72 (end of 2009) | | Grand Slam results | | Australian Open | QF (2006) | | French Open | 4R (1991, 2001) | | Wimbledon | 3R (2001) | | US Open | 3R (1990, 1998, 1999, 2004) | | Doubles | | Career record | 377–257 | | Career titles | 24 | | Highest ranking | No. 6 (July 5, 1999) | | Grand Slam Doubles results | | Australian Open | W (2003, 2004) | | French Open | F (2004) | | Wimbledon | F (2006) | | US Open | SF (2003) | | Last updated on: July 13, 2009. | Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born December 9, 1972) is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, located in the Pacific Ocean. Santoro has been more successful in doubles, having won the 2003 and 2004 Australian Opens partnering Michaël Llodra, and having been runner-up at the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 French Open and 2006 Wimbledon Championships. He also won the 2005 French Open mixed doubles title with Daniela Hantuchová. In addition to his doubles prowess, Fabrice is noted for his cheery attitude on court and his vast arsenal of trick shots, making him a crowd favorite and gaining him the admiration of his peers. In recognition of Santoro's varied and innovative style of play, Pete Sampras has nicknamed him The Magician. Santoro plays with two hands on forehand and backhand, and though he is right-handed, often slices his forehand with his left hand. He attributes this to his having used racquets of the same weight throughout his career, which were too heavy for a six-year-old starting off a career to hold with one hand. Santoro has beaten many former world number one players including Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, and is famous for his record against Marat Safin (7–2). At 36, he is currently the oldest player in the ATP Top 100. With his participation in the 2008 Australian Open, he broke Andre Agassi's record in Grand Slam appearances over his career with a total of 62 participations (Agassi's record was 61) and dated his 69th appearance with the 2009 US Open. [edit] Trivia - Santoro has defeated 17 players who were ranked World No. 1 at some time during their careers (Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Ríos, Gustavo Kuerten, Carlos Moyà, Pat Rafter, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Marat Safin, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and Roger Federer). Against three other former World No. 1 players, Santoro is 0–6 against Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 0–1 against Ivan Lendl and 0-1 against Rafael Nadal (against current no. 1 Roger Federer he is 2-9).
- Santoro won the longest singles match in the open era. At the 2004 French Open, he beat fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clément in a 6h 33m first round match 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(5), 3–6, 16–14.
- Santoro is 7–2 lifetime against Safin. Safin himself has said, "Being told I would play Santoro was being told I was to die."
- Santoro teamed with Michaël Llodra, a French compatriot, to win the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, a competition that included the top eight doubles teams in the world
- He was the first leader of the ATP Champions Race, winning the first tournament of the year in Doha in the year the race was introduced (2000).
- The 2006 Australian Open was Santoro's first and only Grand Slam quarter-final appearance. This is his best Grand Slam result so far.
- Santoro is a big fan of the late French comedian Michel Colucci, better known as Coluche.[1]
- According to ATPworldtour.com as of the end of 2009, Santoro has lost more singles matches (443) than any other professional player (active or not). Overall, however, Santoro has won over half of his matches, with a career record of 470–443.
- Santoro has a daughter named Djenae.
- Santoro retired at the end of the 2009 season at his hometown tournament at the 2009 BNP Paribas Masters in Paris (Bercy), losing his final singles match against James Blake and final doubles match against Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer while partnering compatriot Sebastian Grosjean.
[edit] Grand Slam finals [edit] Men's doubles: 5 finals (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) [edit] Mixed doubles: 1 final [edit] Career finals [edit] Singles - Wins (6)
| Legend (Singles) | | Grand Slam (0) | Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0) | ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0) | ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (1) | ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (5) | | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final | | 1. | 13 October 1997 | Lyon, France | Carpet | Tommy Haas | 6–4, 6–4 | | 2. | 1 February 1999 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) | Arnaud Clément | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 | | 3. | 3 January 2000 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Rainer Schüttler | 3–6, 7–5, 3–0, retired | | 4. | 25 February 2002 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard | Younes El Aynaoui | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 | | 5. | 9 July 2007 | Newport, United States | Grass | Nicolas Mahut | 6–4, 6–4 | | 6. | 13 July 2008 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Prakash Amritraj | 6–3, 7–5 | - Runner-ups (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final | | 1. | 8 October 1990 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Jonas Svensson | 7–6(5), 6–2 | | 2. | 8 February 1993 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard | Karel Nováček | 6–4, 7–5 | | 3. | 7 August 1994 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Goran Ivanišević | 6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 | | 4. | 12 January 1998 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Petr Korda | 6–0, 6–3 | | 5. | 7 March 1999 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Hard (i) | Magnus Gustafsson | 6–4, 6–1 | | 6. | 17 June 2001 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Thomas Johansson | 6–3, 6–7(5), 6–2 | [edit] Doubles titles [edit] Wins (24) | Legend (Doubles) | | Grand Slam (2) | Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (1) | ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (3) | ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (3) | ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (15) | | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | September 25, 1995 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Álex Corretja | Hendrik Jan Davids Piet Norval | 6–7, 6–4, 6–3 | | 2. | July 20, 1998 | Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | Olivier Delaître | Joshua Eagle Jim Grabb | 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 | | 3. | September 28, 1998 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Olivier Delaître | Paul Haarhuis Jan Siemerink | 6–2, 6–4 | | 4. | October 5, 1998 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Olivier Delaître | Piet Norval Kevin Ullyett | 6–3, 7–6 | | 5. | October 19, 1998 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) | Olivier Delaître | Tomás Carbonell Francisco Roig | 6–2, 6–2 | | 6. | August 23, 1999 | Long Island, United States | Hard | Olivier Delaître | Jan-Michael Gambill Scott Humphries | 7–5, 6–4 | | 7. | October 16, 2000 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Julien Boutter | Donald Johnson Piet Norval | 7–6(8), 4–6, 7–6(5) | | 8. | February 12, 2001 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) | Julien Boutter | Michael Hill Jeff Tarango | 7–6(7), 7–5 | | 9. | October 28, 2002 | Paris, France | Carpet (i) | Nicolas Escudé | Gustavo Kuerten Cédric Pioline | 6–3, 7–6(6) | | 10. | January 13, 2003 | Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 | | 11. | February 10, 2003 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) | Sébastien Grosjean | Tomáš Cibulec Pavel Vízner | 6–1, 6–4 | | 12. | January 12, 2004 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Mahesh Bhupathi | Jiří Novák Radek Štěpánek | 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 | | 13. | January 19, 2004 | Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 7–6(4), 6–3 | | 14. | March 1, 2004 | Dubai, UAE | Hard | Mahesh Bhupathi | Jonas Björkman Leander Paes | 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 | | 15. | May 2, 2005 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Michaël Llodra | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–4, 6–2 | | 16. | October 3, 2005 | Metz, France | Hard (i) | Michaël Llodra | José Acasuso Sebastián Prieto | 5–2, 3–5, 5–4(4) | | 17. | October 24, 2005 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) | Michaël Llodra | Jeff Coetzee Rogier Wassen | 6–3, 6–1 | | 18. | November 7, 2005 | Shanghai, China | Carpet (i) | Michaël Llodra | Leander Paes Nenad Zimonjić | 6–7(6), 6–3, 7–6(4) | | 19. | January 9, 2006 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Nenad Zimonjić | František Čermák Leoš Friedl | 6–1, 6–4 | | 20. | June 12, 2006 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Nenad Zimonjić | Michael Kohlmann Rainer Schüttler | 6–0, 6–4 | | 21. | October 2, 2006 | Metz, France | Hard (i) | Richard Gasquet | Julian Knowle Jürgen Melzer | 3–6, 6–1, [11–9] | | 22. | October 9, 2006 | Moscow, Russia | Carpet (i) | Nenad Zimonjić | František Čermák Jaroslav Levinský | 6–1, 7–5 | | 23. | February 26, 2007 | Dubai, UAE | Hard | Nenad Zimonjić | Mahesh Bhupathi Radek Štěpánek | 7–5, 6–7(3), [10–7] | | 24. | May 7, 2007 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Nenad Zimonjić | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–4, 6–7(4), [10–7] | [edit] Runner-ups (18) | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score in Final | | 1. | February 10, 1997 | Marseille, France | Hard (i) | Olivier Delaître | Thomas Enqvist Magnus Larsson | 6–3, 6–4 | | 2. | October 13, 1997 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) | Olivier Delaître | Ellis Ferreira Patrick Galbraith | 3–6, 6–2, 6–4 | | 3. | November 3, 1997 | Moscow, Russia | Carpet (i) | David Adams | Martin Damm Cyril Suk | 6–4, 6–3 | | 4. | January 5, 1998 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Olivier Delaître | Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes | 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 | | 5. | August 10, 1998 | Cincinnati, United States | Hard | Olivier Delaître | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 6–1, 2–1 retired | | 6. | January 14, 2002 | Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 7–6(4), 6–3 | | 7. | April 14, 2003 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Michaël Llodra | Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(6) | | 8. | May 5, 2003 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Michaël Llodra | Wayne Arthurs Paul Hanley | 6–1, 6–3 | | 9. | September 29, 2003 | Metz, France | Hard (i) | Michaël Llodra | Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut | 7–6(2), 6–3 | | 10. | October 27, 2003 | Paris, France | Carpet (i) | Michaël Llodra | Wayne Arthurs Paul Hanley | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 | | 11. | November 8, 2003 | Houston, United States | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7(6), 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–4 | | 12. | May 24, 2004 | French Open, France | Clay | Michaël Llodra | Xavier Malisse Olivier Rochus | 7–5, 7–5 | | 13. | February 21, 2005 | Dubai, UAE | Hard | Jonas Björkman | Martin Damm Radek Štěpánek | 6–2, 6–4 | | 14. | May 9, 2005 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Michaël Llodra | Jonas Björkman Max Mirnyi | 4–6, 7–6(2), 7–6(3) | | 15. | April 17, 2006 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Nenad Zimonjić | Jonas Björkman Max Mirnyi | 6–2, 7–6(2) | | 16. | June 26, 2006 | Wimbledon, UK | Grass | Nenad Zimonjić | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 | | 17. | October 30, 2006 | Paris, France | Carpet (i) | Nenad Zimonjić | Arnaud Clément Michaël Llodra | 7–6(4), 6–2 | | 18. | June 11, 2007 | Halle, Germany | Grass | Nenad Zimonjić | Simon Aspelin Julian Knowle | 6–4, 7–6(5) | [edit] Grand Slam singles performance timeline [edit] Doubles performance timeline | Tournament | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Career SR | | Grand Slams | | Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | F | W | W | QF | 3R | QF | QF | 1R | 2 / 13 | | French Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | 3R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | F | 2R | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | 0 / 18 | | Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | SF | 3R | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | A | F | SF | 1R | 1R | 0 / 10 | | U.S. Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | SF | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 13 | | Grand Slam SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 1 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 2 / 54 | | Masters Series | | Indian Wells | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | | Miami | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | QF | A | 2R | SF | 2R | A | 0 / 9 | | Monte Carlo | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | F | 2R | SF | F | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 11 | | Rome | NME | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | A | SF | 1R | 1R | 2R | F | QF | W | QF | W | SF | A | 2 / 12 | | Madrid | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 2R | A | A | QF | A | A | SF | QF | 1R | A | A | 0 / 6 | | Canada | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | QF | A | 2R | 1R | QF | SF | A | QF | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | | Cincinnati | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | F | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | QF | QF | SF | QF | A | A | A | 0 / 9 | | Shanghai | NME | Not Held | A | 0 / 0 | | Paris | NME | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | W | F | A | 1R | F | 2R | A | 1R | 1 / 12 | | Hamburg | NME | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 2R | SF | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | A | F | SF | A | A | NME | 0 / 8 | | Masters Series SR | N/A | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 5 | 0 / 8 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 6 | 1 / 9 | 0 / 6 | 0 / 6 | 1 / 7 | 0 / 9 | 1 / 5 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 3 / 82 | | Year End Ranking | 997 | 773 | 195 | 363 | 1009 | 1118 | 184 | 125 | 147 | 35 | 18 | 34 | 60 | 91 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 75 | 165 | N/A | [edit] References [edit] External links | Persondata | | NAME | Santoro, Fabrice | | ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Santoro, Fabrice | | SHORT DESCRIPTION | Tennis player | | DATE OF BIRTH | 1972-12-9 | | PLACE OF BIRTH | Tahiti, French Polynesia | | DATE OF DEATH | | | PLACE OF DEATH | | |