Country (sports) | Venezuela |
---|---|
Residence | Caracas, Venezuela |
Born |
Salto, Uruguay |
29 September 1970
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Turned pro | 1987 |
Retired | 1997 |
Plays | Right-handed |
Prize money | $1,077,159 |
Singles | |
Career record | 81–124 (ATP Tour, Grand Slams and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 2 |
Highest ranking | No. 74 (22 July 1996) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (1990, 1995) |
French Open | 2R (1989) |
Wimbledon | 2R (1994, 1996) |
US Open | 3R (1995) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 115–132 (ATP Tour, Grand Slams and in Davis Cup) |
Career titles | 3 |
Highest ranking | No. 44 (19 November 1990) |
Nicolás Pereira (born September 29, 1970 in Salto, Uruguay) is a former tennis player from Venezuela, who became International Tennis Federation Junior World Champion in 1988 after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Testing the pro ranks in the fall of 1988, Pereira registered wins in South Africa against respected top 25 ranked pros Brad Gilbert and Amos Mansdorf.
He finished 1988 ranked No. 151 in the world rankings.
In April 1989, Pereira reached the Quarterfinals of the Tokyo Japan Open, beating No.21 ranked Andrés Gómez among others, before losing to number one ranked Ivan Lendl. In June, he beat world number three Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the first round of the Queens Club grass court tournament.
A few weeks later, in the first round of Wimbledon, he took world number one ranked Ivan Lendl to five sets before losing. Later that summer, he reached the Quarterfinals of the Grand Prix event at Montreal, the Canadian Open. There he beat No.10 ranked Tim Mayotte, before losing in three sets to number No.14 ranked Jay Berger. Pereira, at only 19 years of age, seemed to be establishing himself on the World Tennis Tour and finished 1989 ranked #121. However, for unknown reasons, Pereira's progress was stalled over the next three years. In 1990, he lost most of his matches in the first round of ATP level tournaments and finished the year ranked #238. In 1991 he did win the Lins and São Paulo-4 Challengers in back-to-back weeks, and was ranked No.146 at year's end. He won the Guarujá, Brazil Challenger in September 1992 and was ranked No.138 at the end of the year. In 1993, Pereira began to compete more frequently at the ATP tour level. At the U.S Open, he lost in four sets to world number seven Michael Chang. Incredibly, this marked only the third time Pereira had reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament. He ended the year by defeating No.45 Aaron Krickstein in the first round at the Bermuda Challenger, but lost in the second round.