Rui Machado
 |
|
| Country (sports) |
 Portugal
|
|---|---|
| Residence | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Born |
April 10, 1984 Faro, Algarve, Portugal |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Turned pro | 2002 |
| Retired | 9 June 2016 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach(es) | André Lopes |
| Prize money | $901,437 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 29–53 (35.37% in Grand Slam and ATP World Tour main draw matches, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 59 (3 October 2011) |
| Current ranking | No. 812 (16 May 2016) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2011, 2012) |
| French Open | 2R (2009) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2012) |
| US Open | 2R (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 4–18 (18.18% in Grand Slam and ATP World Tour main draw matches, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 185 (17 January 2011) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2012) |
| French Open | 1R (2012) |
| Wimbledon | Q1 (2011) |
| US Open | 2R (2011) |
| Last updated on: 16 May 2016. | |
Rui Machado (born April 10, 1984 in Faro) is a Portuguese retired professional tennis player, regarded as one of the best Portuguese players of all time. In October 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking at 59, at the time the highest ranking a Portuguese player had ever held (since surpassed by João Sousa).
At the age of six, Machado was first introduced to tennis when he attended lessons at a local club. He began participating in regional competitions, and five years later he was ranked no. 1 in the initiated players national ranking. In 1998, he was singles runner-up and team champion at the national juvenile championship, this time competing for the Faro Tennis Centre. One year later, Machado decided to attend a summer training camp of the Catalan Tennis Federation, in Barcelona. There he took the decision of pursuing a professional tennis career and with his family's help, he kept on training and finished his secondary education in Spain. Machado is of mixed heritage - Portuguese and Cape Verdean.
In 2001, he won the junior national singles championship and was runner-up for the Catalan regional singles title. In July, he earned his first ATP ranking point at a Spanish leg of the ITF Futures circuit. Despite being accepted to study Economics at a Catalan university, Machado decided to concentrate his efforts on tennis and initiate a fully professional career.
Machado turned professional in 2002 and until 2005, Machado competed exclusively in the Futures circuit, where he collected two doubles titles. In April of that year, he entered his first ATP Challenger Series event in Olbia, Italy, ranked no. 322. Machado did not pass the first round, losing to ranked no. 245. Steve Darcis by 6–3, 6–3, but his first participation in an ATP Tour event soon followed, as he was selected to enter the Estoril Open, an ATP International Series event, with a wildcard, losing in the first round to ranked no. 94. Agustín Calleri by 4–6, 6–3, 6–1. He followed that with two straight Challenger quarterfinal runs in France and Italy, beating in the process former top-60 players Álex Calatrava 6–0, 6–1 and Juan Antonio Marín 6–4, 6–3. Peaking at a career-high no. 242 in October, Machado closed the year by reaching three consecutive Futures finals, and grabbing his first singles title and third doubles titles in Gran Canaria, Spain (although in different tournaments).
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