Sébastien LeBlanc Canadian.(born 27 December 1973 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

) is a former tour professional

tennis player Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

. Leblanc captured three junior

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

titles and played Davis Cup for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. More of a doubles specialist, he won five Challenger events in doubles and reached a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 127.

Junior career

Leblanc teamed with fellow Québécois and Montrealer

Sébastien Lareau Sébastien Lareau (; born April 27, 1973) is a former professional tennis player. He became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam title by winning the 1999 US Open men's doubles with his American partner Alex O'Brien. As a singles playe ...

to capture first the 1990 French Open junior doubles title and then a month later the 1990 Wimbledon junior doubles title. In both finals they defeated the South African duo of

Marcos Ondruska Marcos Ondruska (born 18 December 1972) is a former tennis player from South Africa, who turned professional in 1989. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he defeated Goran Ivanišević in th ...

and Clinton Marsh in three sets, 6–7, 7–6, 9–7 at Roland Garros and 7–6(5) 4–6 6–3. Then in August Leblanc teamed with another Montrealer,

Greg Rusedski Gregory Rusedski (born 6 September 1973) is a British and Canadian former tennis player. He was the British No. 1 in 1997, 1999 and 2006, and reached the ATP ranking of world No. 4 for periods from 6 October 1997 to 12 October 1997 and from 25 ...

, to capture the U.S. Open junior doubles crown, defeating Marten Renström and

Mikael Tillström Mikael Tillström (born 5 March 1972) is a former tennis player from Sweden, who turned professional in 1991. Career He represented his native country as at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he was defeated in the third round by Switzer ...

in the final, 6–7 6–3 6–4. Leblanc did not compete in the 1990 Australian Open missing out on a chance for completing the 'Grand Slam'. In singles he lost in the first round at both Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows and reached the third round of Wimbledon, falling to eventual champion

Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players ever. He holds the record for the most doubles wins in the Davis Cup. Paes won eight men's ...

in three sets.

Senior career

Leblanc won the 1991 Montebello Challenger partnering Lareau and the 1995 Santiago Challenger playing with

Brandon Coupe Brandon Coupe (born April 11, 1972) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won one doubles title. He achieved a career-high doubles ranki ...

. The resident of

Saint-Bruno, Quebec :'' For other places named Saint-Bruno in Quebec, see Saint Bruno (disambiguation).'' Saint-Bruno is a municipality in Quebec, located within the regional county municipality of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est. The municipality had a population of 2,636 as ...

won the Aptos Challenger three times in succession – from 1995 through 1997 – the first time playing with

Brian MacPhie Brian MacPhie (born May 11, 1972 in San Jose) is a former professional tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player ...

and the later two times partnering fellow Québécois and Montrealer Jocelyn Robichaud. In

ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...

and Grand Slam events, Leblanc posted a career win–loss of 8 and 22 with his best result being reaching the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open in 1991, partnering Lareau. Leblanc also reached the second round of the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

tournament, partnering Brian Gyetko. He played in the main draw of one Grand Slam event at senior level, the 1997 Australian Open – he and partner Mark Keil lost in the first round. In singles, Leblanc reached a career-high ranking of World No. 361, in August 1996. His career Challenger event win–loss record stood at 3 wins, 9 losses, while at ATP Tour level it was 1 and 4. His sole top flight match win was over World No. 18

Tim Henman Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis. He was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in th ...

in the opening round of the Canadian Open.

Davis Cup

Leblanc sole rubber appearance came surprisingly in singles, in a 1997 America Group I semi-final tie versus

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, played in April. He defeated José de Armas in a dead rubber, 2–6, 7–6(2), 6–0 in a tie Canada swept 5–0. The victory allowed gave Canada a place in qualifying for the World Group. They lost the qualifying tie in September however to

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

1–4, despite playing the tie at home (in Jarry Stadium).

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 3 (3 titles)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals

Doubles: 9 (5–4)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Sebastien 1973 births Living people Canadian male tennis players French Open junior champions French Quebecers Olympic tennis players of Canada Tennis players from Montreal US Open (tennis) junior champions Wimbledon junior champions Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles