Nicolás Lapentti
 | |
| Country (sports) |
 Ecuador |
|---|---|
| Residence | Miami, Florida |
| Born |
13 August 1976 Guayaquil, Ecuador |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Turned pro | 1995 |
| Retired | 18 January 2011 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US$ 6,313,898 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 317–287 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (22 November 1999) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1999) |
| French Open | 4R (2000) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2002) |
| US Open | 3R (2001) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | RR (1999) |
| Grand Slam Cup | QF (1999) |
| Olympic Games | 1R (1996, 2004, 2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 153–159 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 32 (10 May 1999) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1999, 2001, 2003) |
| French Open | QF (1998) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2003) |
| US Open | 3R (2003) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | 1R (2001, 2010) |
Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gómez (born 13 August 1976) is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador. He is Andrés Gómez' nephew and the cousin of Roberto Quiroz and Emilio Gómez.
Beginnings
Lapentti began playing tennis at the age of six.
He first came to the tennis world's attention an outstanding junior player who won the Orange Bowl in Florida in 1994, when he also captured the junior doubles titles at the French Open (partnering with Gustavo Kuerten) and the US Open.
Professional
Lapentti turned professional in 1995 and won his first top-level singles title later that year at Bogotá.
In 1999, Lapentti was a semi-finalist at the Australian Open. He also won two tour singles titles that year and reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 that November.
In 2002, Lapentti won his fifth tour singles title at St Pölten, beating Fernando Vicente in straight sets in the final. In the second round of that tournament, his rival, Irakli Labadze, faced four match points but was not able to convert any of them. Lapentti finally won that tough match 5–7, 7–6(1), 7–6(6).
His brother, Giovanni, is also a professional tennis player, reaching a career-high singles ranking of World No. 110 in May 2005. In addition, another brother, Leonardo, has been active at the lower levels of professional tennis.
In the Cincinnati Open 2008, Lapentti defeated David Ferrer in second round, Fernando Verdasco in the third round and faced No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals where he lost in straight sets. With that victory over Lapentti, Nadal clinched the World No. 1 ranking for the first time.
In his last participation in a Grand Slam, he unfortunately had to retire against Novak Djokovic in the first round of the 2009 French Open.
Davis Cup
He has also been a member of the Ecuador Davis Cup team since 1993. Representing his country in Davis Cup since he was 17, and won the deciding rubber against Great Britain (July 2000) to put Ecuador in the World Group. Moreover, he owns the Davis Cup record for most matches won in five sets, with a total of 13 victories.
Personal
Set up the Nicolás Lapentti Foundation in late 2000 to help bring tennis to the underprivileged, and develop future champions. Other interests include soccer and reading Robert Ludlum books.
Career finals
Singles (5 titles – 7 runners-up)
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0–0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0–0) |
| ATP International Series Gold (2–1) |
| ATP Tour (3–6) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 11 September 1995 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay |  Miguel Tobón |
2–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 9 September 1996 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay |  Thomas Muster |
7–6(8–6), 2–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 27 October 1997 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay |  Francisco Clavet |
3–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 5 July 1999 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Albert Costa |
6–7(4–7), 3–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 16 August 1999 | Indianapolis, United States | Hard |  Vincent Spadea |
4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 3. | 18 October 1999 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) |  Lleyton Hewitt |
6–3, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 9 October 2000 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Sjeng Schalken |
4–6, 6–3, 1–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 23 July 2001 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Albert Costa |
1–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 11 February 2002 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay |  Fernando González |
3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7) |
| Winner | 5. | 20 May 2002 | St. Pölten, Austria | Clay | Fernando Vicente |
7–5, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 7 July 2003 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay |  Mariano Zabaleta |
3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 25 September 2006 | Palermo, Italy | Clay |  Filippo Volandri |
7–5, 1–6, 3–6 |
Doubles (3 titles – 4 runners-up)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 24 July 1997 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Clay | Paul Kilderry |
 Andrew Kratzmann Nuno Marques |
3–6, 7–5, 7–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 20 October 1997 | Mexico City, Mexico | Hard | Daniel Orsanic |
 Luis Herrera Mariano Sánchez |
4–6, 6–3, 7–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 4 January 1999 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard |  Gustavo Kuerten |
Jim Courier Patrick Galbraith |
6–4, 6–4 |
- Runners-up (4)
1996—Bogotá; 1997—Santiago; 1999—Prague; 2004—Viña del Mar
Performance timelines
Singles
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slams | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | SF | 2R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 2R | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 11 | 15–11 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 14 | 12–14 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | QF | 2R | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 10 | 8–10 |
| US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 12 | 7–12 |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 4–3 | 7–4 | 6–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0 / 47 | 42–47 |
| Year-End Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–3 |
| ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | A | SF | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | A | A | LQ | 3R | A | 0 / 8 | 12–8 |
| Miami | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | QF | 3R | QF | 4R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | LQ | LQ | 2R | 0 / 12 | 14–12 |
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | A | 0 / 8 | 4–8 |
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 2R | LQ | LQ | 0 / 8 | 10–8 |
| Hamburg | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | SF | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | A | LQ | A | NM1 | 0 / 7 | 8–7 | |
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 1R | LQ | A | 0 / 5 | 2–5 |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | A | LQ | QF | LQ | A | 0 / 8 | 5–8 |
| Madrid (Stuttgart) | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | A | A | A | LQ | LQ | A | A | 0 / 4 | 5–4 |
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | A | LQ | LQ | A | A | 0 / 6 | 7–6 |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–6 | 16–7 | 8–9 | 15–9 | 7–9 | 3–8 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0 / 66 | 67–66 |
| Year End Ranking | 326 | 632 | 109 | 121 | 63 | 90 | 7 | 24 | 23 | 29 | 57 | 122 | 95 | 67 | 109 | 86 | 97 | 447 | ||
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nicolás Lapentti. |
- Official website (Spanish)
- Nicolás Lapentti at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Nicolás Lapentti at the International Tennis Federation
- Nicolás Lapentti at the Davis Cup
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andre Agassi |
ATP Most Improved Player 1999 |
Succeeded by Marat Safin |