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Sergi Bruguera
Spanish tennis player

Sergi Bruguera

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
Spanish tennis player
A.K.A.
Sergi Bruguera i Torner
Places
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Barcelona, Spain
Age
53 years
Residence
Barcelona, Spain
Stats
Height:
188 cm
Weight:
76 kg
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Sergi Bruguera i Torner ([ˈsɛɾʒi βɾuˈɣeɾə i tuɾˈne]; born 16 January 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He won consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994, a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in men's singles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in August 1994.

Bruguera is the only one of two players to have a winning record against both Federer and Sampras. The other is Leander Paes. He won three of their five matches against Sampras: Bruguera leads 1–0 on hard court, 2–1 on clay, and Sampras leads 1–0 on carpet. At the 2000 Barcelona Open, Bruguera defeated Federer 6–1, 6–1. By number of games won, the match remains Federer's worst ever loss in his entire career.

Bruguera was selected to captain the Spain Davis Cup team in 2018.

Career

Bruguera won a total of 14 top-level singles titles and 3 doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 3. He is currently the director of the Bruguera Tennis Academy Top Team.

Early career

Bruguera was Spain's national junior champion in 1987. He turned professional in 1988. In his first full year on the tour, 1989, he won the Cairo Challenger title as a qualifier, defeating Jordi Arrese in the final, and reached the semifinals in Rome. He reached 4th round in the French Open in 1989 and finished the year ranked world No. 26, and was named the ATP's newcomer of the year.

1990–1994: Clay dominance

Bruguera earned a reputation as a top clay court player in the early 1990s, reaching singles finals at Gstaad and Geneva, and capturing doubles titles in Hamburg (his 1st ATP Masters 1000 title in doubles) partnering Jim Courier (whom, ironically, would play against Bruguera later in 1993 French Open the men's singles final) in Florence, partnering Horacio de la Peña in 1990; reaching singles finals at Barcelona and Gstaad along with titles in Estoril, Monte Carlo (his 1st ATP Masters 1000 title in singles), and Athens, and a doubles title at Geneva, partnering Marc Rosset in 1991; reaching singles finals at Estoril, Bordeaux, and Athens along with titles in Madrid, Gstaad and Palermo in 1992.

Bruguera rose to even further prominence in 1993. During the French Open, Bruguera reached quarterfinals without dropping a set, including a rare triple bagel (6–0, 6–0, 6–0) at the second round against Thierry Champion, this remains the last time a player recorded a triple bagel in a singles match at a grand Slam event.He then defeated Pete Sampras in 4 sets and Andrei Medvedev in straight sets in the semifinals, Bruguera reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open, where he faced two-time defending champion and then World No. 2 Jim Courier. Courier was overwhelmingly favoured to win his third title, but ultimately Bruguera won a gruelling five-set final that lasted 4 hours, becoming the first Spaniard to win French Open since Andrés Gimeno in 1972. It was also the last time a man won a Grand Slam singles title with wins over both of the top two seeds until Stanislas Wawrinka won the Australian Open in 2014. He continued his top clay court player reputation by reaching finals at Milan (his first final on Carpet), Barcelona, Madrid, and Palermo, while capturing an additional 4 titles at Monte Carlo (his 2nd ATP Masters 1000 title in singles), Gstaad, Prague, and Bordeaux (his 1st hard court title) besides Roland Garros. He finished the year ranked World No. 4.

In 1994 Bruguera maintained his dominance on clay and successfully defended his title at the French Open while only dropping 2 sets in the entire tournament, defeating, once again, Medvedev in straight sets in the quarterfinals and Courier in 4 sets in the semifinals, along with fellow Spaniard Alberto Berasategui in 4 sets in the final. He reached finals at Dubai (his 2nd hard court final), Monte Carlo (his 3rd ATP Masters 1000 final in singles), and Madrid, and captured titles at Gstaad and Prague besides Roland Garros. In August he reached his career-high ranking of World No. 3 and finished the year ranked World No. 4. He was the first Spaniard to finish 2 consecutive years in Top 5. It is also his 4th consecutive year winning at least 3 clay titles in singles.

Between 1990–1994 he reached 25 top-level clay tournament finals in singles and 3 top-level clay tournament finals in doubles, out of which he captured 13 clay titles in singles and 3 clay titles in doubles.

1995

With Thomas Muster "officially" starting his reign as the new King of Clay, Bruguera was not able to keep up his dominance on clay like he did the previous years, but was still able to play at a decent level. Coming into 1995 French Open as the two-time defending champion, he only dropped one set en route to semifinals, where he was defeated by 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang in tight straight sets (4–6, 6–7, 6–7), ending his 19-match win streak at Roland Garros. He only reached 1 top-level final, which is his 4th Masters 1000 final, his first in Rome (on clay), where he was defeated in 4 sets by Muster. In December, he tore 2 ligaments on his right ankle while training, which put him in an even worse condition and prevented him to make any significant impact during 1996 season.

1996: Ankle injury

He returned to competitive playing in February, having not yet fully recovered from the injury. In 1996 French Open Bruguera was taken out by Sampras in an epic 5-set match in the second round. The highlight of the year was when Bruguera won the men's singles silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He was defeated in straight sets in the final by Andre Agassi. It was also the only top-level final he reached this year. His Year-End Ranking slipped from previous year's No. 13 to No. 81 much thanks to his injuries.

1997: Comeback

Opening 1997 Bruguera was the first ever opponent of Lleyton Hewitt in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the Australian Open. Bruguera defeated him in straight sets.

This year Bruguera returned strongly from injury previous season and reached finals at Milan, Key Biscaine (his 5th Masters final and his 1st on hard), and Umag. Bruguera also played an excellent tournament at the French Open reaching the final for the third time, en route to the final he defeated former champion and 2nd Seed Michael Chang in the fourth round, then rising star and future World No. 1 Patrick Rafter in the semifinals. But an almost unknown Brazilian player ranked No. 66 named Gustavo Kuerten, who defeated two former champions and notable players en route to the final, defeated Bruguera in straight sets without much effort, although Bruguera was heavily favoured to win his 3rd title at Roland Garros.

Bruguera earned the ATP's Comeback Player of Year award in 1997 after returning from an ankle injury the previous year and improving his Year-End Ranking from World No. 81 to World No. 8.

Later career

After 1997, due to injuries, Bruguera was far from his best game. He lost concentration and started to increase his errors during his matches, losing one of his great virtues, his solid style. From 1998 until his retirement only is remarkable the final (1999) and the winning (2000) in the Challenger Open Castilla y León (considered best challenger tournament of the world by this date) and the final in San Marino in 2000.

Outside tennis career

Bruguera is a long-time fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and would often attend their games while playing at tournaments in the United States. During Miami Masters on 28 March 1997, right after the semifinals where he defeated World No. 1 Sampras, Bruguera sank three shots (layup, free throw, top of key) during a time-out of a game between the Lakers and the Miami Heat to earn US$500. This money was given to ATP Charities in his name. Bruguera has also played semi-professional Football in his native Spain.

In a 2006 interview featuring questions from fans by the BBC Sport website, a question was asked about the frequent comparisons between Roger Federer and Sampras. In his reply, Bruguera claimed that Federer is ten times better than Sampras.

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (2–1)

OutcomeYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1993French OpenClay Jim Courier6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Winner1994French OpenClay Alberto Berasategui6–3, 7–5, 2–6, 6–1
Runner-up1997French OpenClay Gustavo Kuerten3–6, 4–6, 2–6

Olympic Games finals

Singles: 1 (1 silver medal)

OutcomeYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Silver1996Olympic GamesHard Andre Agassi2–6, 3–6, 1–6

Masters Series finals

Singles: 5 (2–3)

OutcomeYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1991Monte CarloClay Boris Becker5–7, 6–4, 7–6, 7–6
Winner1993Monte CarloClay Cédric Pioline7–6, 6–0
Runner-up1994Monte CarloClay Andrei Medvedev5–7, 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up1995RomeClay Thomas Muster6–3, 6–7, 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up1997MiamiHard Thomas Muster6–7, 3–6, 1–6

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

OutcomeYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Winner1990Hamburg, GermanyClay Jim Courier Udo Riglewski

Michael Stich

7–6, 6–2

ATP career finals

Singles: 35 (14 titles, 21 runner-ups)

Titles by surface
Legend
Grand Slam (2–1)
Olympic (0–1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (2–3)
ATP Championship Series (0–4)
ATP Tour (10–12)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–3)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (13–16)
Carpet (0–2)
Grand Slam (2–1)
Olympic (0–1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (2–3)
ATP Championship Series (0–4)
ATP Tour (10–12)
Hard (1–3)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (13–16)
Carpet (0–2)
ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1.Jul 1990Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Martín Jaite3–6, 7–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss2.Sep 1990Geneva, SwitzerlandClay Horst Skoff6–7, 6–7
Win1.Apr 1991Estoril, PortugalClay Karel Nováček7–6, 6–1
Loss3.Apr 1991Barcelona, SpainClay Emilio Sánchez4–6, 6–7, 2–6
Win2.Apr 1991Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Boris Becker5–7, 6–4, 7–6, 7–6
Loss4.Jul 1991Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Emilio Sánchez1–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win3.Oct 1991Athens, GreeceClay Jordi Arrese7–5, 6–3
Loss5.Apr 1992Estoril, PortugalClay Carlos Costa6–4, 2–6, 2–6
Win4.May 1992Madrid, SpainClay Carlos Costa7–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win5.Jul 1992Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Francisco Clavet6–1, 6–4
Loss6.Sep 1992Bordeaux, FranceClay Andrei Medvedev3–6, 6–1, 2–6
Win6.Oct 1992Palermo, ItalyClay Emilio Sánchez6–1, 6–3
Loss7.Oct 1992Athens, GreeceClay Jordi Arrese5–7, 0–3 retired
Loss8.Feb 1993Milan, ItalyCarpet (I) Boris Becker3–6, 3–6
Loss9.Apr 1993Barcelona, SpainClay Andrei Medvedev7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 4–6
Win7.Apr 1993Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Cédric Pioline7–6, 6–0
Loss10.May 1993Madrid, SpainClay Stefan Edberg3–6, 3–6, 2–6
Win8.Jun 1993Roland Garros, Paris, FranceClay Jim Courier6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Win9.Jul 1993Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Karel Nováček6–3, 6–4
Win10.Aug 1993Prague, Czech RepublicClay Andrei Chesnokov7–5, 6–4
Win11.Sep 1993Bordeaux, FranceHard Diego Nargiso7–5, 6–2
Loss11.Oct 1993Palermo, ItalyClay Thomas Muster6–7, 5–7
Loss12.Feb 1994Dubai, United Arab EmiratesHard Magnus Gustafsson4–6, 2–6
Loss13.Apr 1994Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Andrei Medvedev5–7, 1–6, 3–6
Loss14.May 1994Madrid, SpainClay Thomas Muster2–6, 6–3, 4–6, 5–7
Win12.Jun 1994Roland Garros, Paris, FranceClay Alberto Berasategui6–3, 7–5, 2–6, 6–1
Win13.Jul 1994Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Guy Forget3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Win14.Aug 1994Prague, Czech RepublicClay Andrei Medvedev6–3, 6–4
Loss15.May 1995Rome, ItalyClay Thomas Muster6–3, 6–7, 2–6, 3–6
Loss16.Jul 1996Atlanta Olympics, U.S.Hard Andre Agassi2–6, 3–6, 1–6
Loss17.Mar 1997Milan, ItalyCarpet (I) Goran Ivanišević2–6, 2–6
Loss18.Mar 1997Miami, U.S.Hard Thomas Muster6–7, 3–6, 1–6
Loss19.Jun 1997French Open, ParisClay Gustavo Kuerten3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss20.Jul 1997Umag, CroatiaClay Félix Mantilla3–6, 5–7
Loss21.Jul 2000San MarinoClay Álex Calatrava6–7, 6–1, 4–6

Doubles: 3 (3–0)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1.May 1990Hamburg, GermanyClay Jim Courier Udo Riglewski

Michael Stich

7–6, 6–2
Win2.Jun 1990Florence, ItalyClay Horacio de la Peña Luiz Mattar
Diego Pérez
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win3.Sep 1991Geneva, SwitzerlandClay Marc Rosset Per Henricsson

Ola Jonsson

3–6, 6–3, 6–2

Singles performance timeline

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#ANH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent;(NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002SRW–L
Grand Slams
Australian OpenAA2R1RA4RAAA3R1RAA1RA0 / 66–6
French OpenA4R2R2R1RWWSF2RF1RA1R2RA2 / 1232–10
WimbledonA1R2RAAA4RAAAAAA1RA0 / 44–4
US OpenA1R2R2R2R1R4R2R3R4R2RAA1RA0 / 1113–11
Win-Loss0–03–34–42–31–210–213–26–23–211–31–30–00–11–40–02 / 3355–31
Year-End Championship
ATP Tour World ChampionshipsDid Not QualifyRRSFDid Not QualifyRRDid Not Qualify0 / 32–6
ATP Masters Series
Indian WellsNME3R2RQF1R2RAA1R2RAAAA0 / 77–7
MiamiNME2R4R3RA3RA3RF2RAA1RA0 / 810–8
Monte CarloNME2RW2RWFQF2R3R2RAA1RA2 / 1025–8
RomeNME2RSF3RQFAF1R3R1RAA2RA0 / 918–9
HamburgNME1R3R1RAASFQFQF3RAA1RA0 / 811–8
CanadaNMEAAAAQF3RAAAAAAA0 / 24–2
CincinnatiNMEAAAA3R2R1RQFAAAAA0 / 44–4
Stuttgart (Stockholm)NME1R2RA3RQFQF1R2RAAAAA0 / 75–6
ParisNMESF3R2R2RSF3R1R3RAAAAA0 / 810–8
Win-Loss0–00–08–715–67–610–414–716–74–715–84–50–00–01–40–02 / 6394–60
Career statistics
Titles00033530000000014
Finals00256961140010035
Hardcourt Win–Loss0–00–111–88–95–515–916–911–714–923–144–100–03–20–40–0110–87
Grass Win–Loss0–00–11–10–00–00–04–20–00–00–00–00–00–00–10–05–5
Clay Win–Loss0–123–1123–1738–939–1044–935–626–812–920–87–150–114–1314–151–3296–135
Carpet Win–Loss0–00–01–25–42–76–711–83–40–36–61–20–00–01–10–036–44
Overall Win–Loss0–123–1336–2851–2246–2265–2566–2540–1926–2149–2812–270–117–1515–211–3447–271
Win %0%64%56%70%68%72%73%68%55%64%31%0%53%42%25%62.26%
Year-End Ranking33326281116441382813237885108290$11,632,199

1. Bruguera withdrew due to a lower back injury at Round Robin Stage after playing the first 2 matches, and was replaced by then World No. 10 Tim Henman.

Top 10 wins

Season198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002Total
Wins00242684151000033
#PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreBR
1990
1. Stefan Edberg2French Open, Paris, FranceClay1R6–4, 6–2, 6–146
2. Andrés Gómez6Paris, FranceCarpet (i)2R7–6, 4–6, 6–139
1991
3. Thomas Muster9Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i)1R6–2, 6–328
4. Boris Becker2Barcelona, SpainClay3R6–2, 6–421
5. Andrei Chesnokov9Barcelona, SpainClayQF6–2, 7–521
6. Boris Becker2Monte-Carlo, MonacoClayF5–7, 6–4, 7–6, 7–615
1992
7. Petr Korda9Indian Wells, United StatesHard3R7–5, 4–6, 6–014
8. Goran Ivanišević4Gstaad, SwitzerlandClayQF6–3, 6–220
1993
9. Petr Korda6Milan, ItalyCarpet (i)SF6–4, 0–6, 7–517
10. Andre Agassi7Barcelona, SpainClayQF6–3, 6–117
11. Ivan Lendl8Monte-Carlo, MonacoClay3R6–1, 6–216
12. Pete Sampras1World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, GermanyClayRR6–3, 6–111
13. Pete Sampras1French Open, Paris, FranceClayQF6–3, 4–6, 6–1, 6–411
14. Jim Courier2French Open, Paris, FranceClayF6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–311
1994
15. Goran Ivanišević5Monte-Carlo, MonacoClayQF6–0, 6–36
16. Stefan Edberg3Monte-Carlo, MonacoClaySF6–2, 7–66
17. Stefan Edberg3World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, GermanyClayRR7–6, 5–7, 6–36
18. Andriy Medvedev4French Open, Paris, FranceClayQF6–3, 6–2, 7–56
19. Jim Courier7French Open, Paris, FranceClaySF6–3, 5–7, 6–3, 6–36
20. Andriy Medvedev7Prague, Czech RepublicClayF6–3, 6–43
21. Michael Chang6ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, GermanyCarpet (i)RR7–6, 7–53
22. Alberto Berasategui7ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, GermanyCarpet (i)RR6–3, 6–23
1995
23. Andre Agassi1Hamburg, GermanyClayQF6–3, 6–112
24. Goran Ivanišević4Rome, ItalyClaySF6–4, 6–47
25. Yevgeny Kafelnikov9World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, GermanyClayRR6–3, 6–27
26. Magnus Larsson10French Open, Paris, FranceClay4R6–1, 2–6, 7–5, 7–67
1996
27. Thomas Enqvist9World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, GermanyClayRR1–6, 6–4, 6–423
1997
28. Richard Krajicek7Milan, ItalyCarpet (i)1R4–6, 7–6, 7–647
29. Michael Chang3Miami, United StatesHard3R6–4, 6–335
30. Pete Sampras1Miami, United StatesHardSF5–7, 7–6, 6–435
31. Wayne Ferreira10Hamburg, GermanyClay3R6–1, 6–321
32. Michael Chang2French Open, Paris, FranceClay4R3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–419
1998
33. Àlex Corretja7Majorca, SpainClay2R7–6, 6–3126
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