Massú at 2007 Australian Open
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Country (sports) | Chile | |||||||||||||||
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Residence | Viña del Mar | |||||||||||||||
Born |
Viña del Mar |
October 10, 1979 |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||
Turned pro | 1997 | |||||||||||||||
Retired | 27 September 2013 | |||||||||||||||
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | |||||||||||||||
Prize money | $4,286,614 | |||||||||||||||
Singles | ||||||||||||||||
Career record | 257–233 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) | |||||||||||||||
Career titles | 6 | |||||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 9 (September 13, 2004) | |||||||||||||||
Grand Slam Singles results | ||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | 2R (2005) | |||||||||||||||
French Open | 3R (2004, 2006) | |||||||||||||||
Wimbledon | 3R (2001) | |||||||||||||||
US Open | 4R (2005) | |||||||||||||||
Other tournaments | ||||||||||||||||
Olympic Games | W (2004) | |||||||||||||||
Doubles | ||||||||||||||||
Career record | 81–98 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) | |||||||||||||||
Career titles | 1 | |||||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 31 (July 25, 2005) | |||||||||||||||
Grand Slam Doubles results | ||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | 2R (2008) | |||||||||||||||
French Open | SF (2005) | |||||||||||||||
Wimbledon | 2R (2005) | |||||||||||||||
US Open | QF (2004) | |||||||||||||||
Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||||||||
Olympic Games | W (2004) | |||||||||||||||
Team competitions | ||||||||||||||||
Davis Cup | QF (2006, 2010) | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (born October 10, 1979), nicknamed Vampiro (Spanish: "vampire"), is a Chilean former tennis player, a former World No. 9 in singles, and a winner of two Olympic gold medals. He is the only male player to have won both the singles and doubles gold medals during the same games in modern Olympic tennis (since 1988), the only two gold medals Chile has won at the Olympics. Massú also reached the final of the 2003 Madrid Masters and won six singles titles.
Massú was born in a family of Palestinian and Hungarian-Jewish descent and introduced to tennis at age five by his grandfather, Ladislao Fried. From age 12, he was trained at the Valle Dorado tennis academy, near Villa Alemana, by Leonardo Zuleta, with whom he perfected his forehand and double-handed backhand. He later trained at the Nick Bollettieri academy, in Florida, United States, alongside Marcelo Ríos, and later at the High Performance Center in Barcelona, Spain.
Massú became a professional tennis player in 1997. That year, he won the prestigious juniors year-end Orange Bowl tournament. He also claimed the boys doubles competitions at Wimbledon (with Peru's Luis Horna) and the US Open (with countryman Fernando González), and was junior doubles world champion in 1997 (and No. 5 in singles).
In August 1998, Massú won his first Futures tournament, in Spain. The following month, he claimed his first Challenger event, in Ecuador. He won his second Challenger tournament in June 1999, in Italy. In September 1999, he successfully defended his title in Ecuador. In November 1999, he won the Santiago Challenger event, and cracked the top 100 in singles for the first time.