Alexandr Dolgopolov
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alexandr Oleksandrovych Dolgopolov (born 7 November 1988), formerly known as Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr., is a Ukrainian retired professional
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. He changed his forename spelling to the current form in May 2010. Dolgopolov reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 13 in January 2012.


Early life

Alexandr's father, Oleksandr Sr., was a professional tennis player for the Soviet team, and his mother was a gymnast. He started playing tennis at age 3, coached by his father. The senior Dolgopolov was also the coach of Andrei Medvedev, Ukraine's most successful tennis player to date. At a young age, Dolgopolov lived on the tour with his parents, traveling frequently and playing players such as Medvedev,
Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 101 ...
, and
Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (; born 22 November 1967) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Becker won 49 c ...
. Players such as
Jim Courier James Spencer Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 58 ...
remembered hitting balls with Dolgopolov when he was a toddler.


Tennis career


Juniors

As a junior, Dolgopolov reached as high as No. 21 in the combined world rankings in January 2005. His best showing at a junior major was a quarterfinal at the 2005 French Open Boys' Singles, where he lost against Christian Bak.


2006–2009

Dolgopolov made his
ATP Tour The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...
debut in September 2006 at the BCR Open Romania as a qualifier, losing in the first round to Christophe Rochus. He was also part of the Ukrainian
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
team in the tie against Great Britain, where he was defeated by
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. Eventually, the younger Dolgopolov decided that he wanted less of his father's influence and develop himself in his own way. In 2009, at age 20, he parted ways with his father and enlisted the help of Australian Jack Reader as his coach. He also changed his name from Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. to Alexandr Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov and his father didn't speak for six months but have since reconciled with Dolgopolov Sr. stating that he is very proud of his son.


2010: French Open third round

Dolgopolov started the year at the 2010 Brisbane International, where he qualified for the tournament by beating Joseph Sirianni and Kaden Hensel. In the main draw, he defeated
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
, before losing in the second round to
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
in three sets. At the 2010 Australian Open, he lost in the first round of qualifying to Simon Stadler in three sets. Dolgopolov qualified for the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with wins over Santiago Ventura and Mischa Zverev, but lost to
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 25 and doubles ranking of No. 5 in November 2014. Benneteau did not win a singles ti ...
in the first round. Dolgopolov continued to the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he qualified to get into the tournament. In the first round, he beat
Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Personal lif ...
, but in the second round lost to eventual champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
in straight sets. At the 2010 French Open, he beat
Arnaud Clément Arnaud Clément (; born 17 December 1977) is a French former professional tennis player and Davis Cup captain. Clément reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 in April 2001. He ...
in a long five-setter. Dolgopolov upset 12th seed
Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major tournaments. He contested hi ...
in straight sets. This was the biggest win in his career and best showing at a Grand Slam up to that point. In the third round, he lost to
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player of Latin American descent. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008 French Open – Men's singles, 2008, 201 ...
. Dolgopolov started off his grass-court season seeded seventh at the Aegon International, with wins over Jamie Baker, Lu Yen-hsun, and James Ward, before falling to
Michaël Llodra Michaël Llodra (; born 18 May 1980) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 3 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), winning 26 career doubles titles, including three majors and ...
in the semifinals, despite being 4–1 up in the second set. Dolgopolov defeated
Marco Chiudinelli Marco Chiudinelli (born 10 September 1981) is a retired tennis player from Switzerland. A member of Switzerland's winning 2014 Davis Cup squad, he reached his highest singles ranking of 52 in February 2010 during a career that was often hindered ...
in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. He put on a solid performance against
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
in the second round, but ultimately succumbed to the Frenchman in five sets.


2011: Australian Open quarterfinal, first ATP title, US Open fourth round, top 15 year-end ranking

Dolgopolov began 2011 at the Medibank International in Sydney, where he won the first two rounds over
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
and top-seeded
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey ( ; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional pickleball player and former tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known ...
, and later lost to the eventual champion,
Gilles Simon Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former tennis player. He turned professional in 2002 and won fourteen singles titles on the ATP Tour, and attained a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 6, on 5 January 2009. Personal li ...
, in the quarterfinals. At the 2011 Australian Open, Dolgopolov had his best showing at a Grand Slam thus far, reaching the quarterfinals. He beat Mikhail Kukushkin and Benjamin Becker in the first two rounds, then avenged his defeat to
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
at
The Championships, Wimbledon ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
in 2010, in five sets. He went on to beat world no. 4
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in November 2010. Söderling won ten singles titles on th ...
in the fourth round, reaching his first Major quarterfinal. In the quarterfinals, he lost to
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
, the fifth seed, in four sets. Dolgopolov next hit the clay courts of Latin America. He entered the
2011 Brasil Open The 2011 Brasil Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the event known as the Brasil Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place in Costa do Sauípe, ...
in Costa do Sauípe as the fourth seed, receiving a first-round bye. He defeated
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo (; born 6 January 1978 in Alicante, Spain) is a former professional male tennis player from Spain. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 50, achieved on 2 October 2006. His favourite surface is clay, where h ...
in the second round. He then beat Potito Starace in the quarterfinals and crushed home-town favourite Ricardo Mello to enter his first ATP tour final. He was defeated by the top seed, world no. 13
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player of Latin American descent. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008 French Open – Men's singles, 2008, 201 ...
in two sets. Dolgopolov then headed to Buenos Aires to play in the 2011 Copa Claro as the seventh seed. He suffered a surprising first-round defeat to Argentinian wildcard
José Acasuso José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso (; born 20 October 1982) is a tennis coach and a former professional player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favoured clay. He was known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off bot ...
in straight sets. However, partnering
Igor Andreev Igor Valeryevich Andreev (, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian coach and a former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 French Open a ...
, Dolgopolov reached his first ATP tour doubles semifinal, but lost to eventual champions
Oliver Marach Oliver Marach (born 16 July 1980) is a former Austrian professional tennis player who primarily specialised in doubles. He achieved his highest singles ranking of world No. 82 in August 2005, but achieved most of his success in doubles where he ...
and Leonardo Mayer. Dolgopolov then participated in the final leg of the Golden Triangle swing in the 2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament in Acapulco, as the sixth seed. He defeated Chilean Paul Capdeville in the first round, and then beat doubles partner Carlos Berlocq in the second round. He reached the semifinals after beating fourth seed
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
but lost to top seed and world no. 6
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a ...
in three sets. Dolgopolov next entered the first Masters 1000 series of the year at Indian Wells, his debut in the tournament. As the 20th seed, he received a first-round bye, and then beat Romanian Victor Hănescu to reach the third round, where he faced Grand Slam champion
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro (; born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), in August 2018. Del Potro won 22 ATP Tour-level sing ...
. He lost the match in straight sets. Dolgopolov was also entered in the doubles tournament. Partnering
Xavier Malisse Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a Belgian tennis coach and a former professional player. Born in the north-western Flemish Region, Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed ''X-Man'', he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David G ...
, they defeated
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...
and Janko Tipsarević and then shocked top seeds and world no. 1
Mike Bryan Michael Carl Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles for a record 506 weeks ...
and
Bob Bryan Robert "Bob" Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis pl ...
. They played
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray (born 13 February 1986) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam (tennis), major doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup winne ...
and
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
next and defeated the British brothers after being a set down, a break down, and 1–6 down in the super tiebreak. Dolgopolov and Malisse then beat
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
and
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi ( Punjabi, ; born 17 Mar 1980) is a Pakistani professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is the only Pakistani player ever to reach a Grand Slam final, having done so in both men's and mixed doubles at the ...
in the semifinals to enter Dolgopolov's first ATP tour doubles final. They played 2008 Beijing gold medalists
Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
and
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
, and they prevailed in a super tiebreak. Dolgopolov continued his form at the next Masters event, the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, reaching the fourth round with wins against Italian
Andreas Seppi Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces. Personal lif ...
and
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
. He then lost to world no. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
in straight sets. Dolgopolov then suffered a disappointing start to the clay season, suffering four consecutive first-round defeats. He was defeated in the first round of the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters by
Ernests Gulbis Ernests Gulbis (, born 30 August 1988) is a Latvian former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 10, making him the only male Latvian tennis player ever to be ranked inside the top 10, a feat achieved in June 20 ...
and then lost to
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( ; born 2 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 in November 2006. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tournam ...
in the 2011 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell. He was then beaten by
Santiago Giraldo Santiago Giraldo Salazar (, born 27 November 1987) is a Colombian former professional tennis player. He played on the ATP tour and represented Colombia Davis Cup team, Colombia in the Davis Cup competition. His best tournament result is reachi ...
in the 2011 Mutua Madrid Open and finally by Potito Starace at the 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. It was later disclosed that he was suffering from pancreatitis since the North American swing, which led him to play sparingly during the early clay season. Dolgopolov managed to regain some of his earlier form in his last clay tournament, 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, before the 2011 French Open. He beat
Filippo Volandri Filippo Volandri (; born 5 September 1981) is an Italian tennis coach and former professional player. Volandri reached a career-high singles ranking of world no. 25 in July 2007. He turned professional in 1997 and earned almost $4 million in priz ...
and Pere Riba to reach the quarterfinals. There, Dolgopolov pulled off an upset win over top seed
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a ...
. He lost to Victor Hănescu in straight sets in the semifinals. Dolgopolov entered the 2011 French Open as the 21st seed. In his first-round match, he played the oldest player in the ATP top 100, Rainer Schüttler at age 35, and won the match easily. He then beat Andreas Haider-Maurer comfortably to move into the third round but was beaten by Serbian 15th seed Viktor Troicki in four sets. Moving to the grass courts of Europe, Dolgopolov's first tournament was the 2011 Gerry Weber Open, seeded seventh, he faced
Robin Haase Robin Haase (; born 6 April 1987) is a Dutch professional tennis player. He reached his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 in July 2012 and his highest doubles ranking of world No. 29 in May 2023 ...
in the first round and defeated him in three sets before succumbing to
Philipp Kohlschreiber Philipp Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber (; born 16 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player. The right-hander won eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ATP World Tour and made the quarterfinals at the 2012 Wimbledon Cha ...
in two sets. Dolgopolov's next tournament was the 2011 Aegon International, where he was seeded second. He lost to Carlos Berlocq in straight sets. His dismal grass-court season continued into Wimbledon 2011, where he was seeded 22nd, with a first-round loss to
Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major tournaments. He contested hi ...
(who had not played in almost a year prior to a few small tournaments before Wimbledon). Before heading into the US Open series of hard-court tournaments, Dolgopolov returned to his beloved clay to play 2011 International German Open in Hamburg. Seeded tenth, he received a first-round bye, and then lost to Finnish player
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his caree ...
, despite being up two breaks in the third set. Dolgopolov then travelled to Croatia, where he took part in the 2011 ATP Studena Croatia Open, where he was seeded second. Receiving a first-round bye, he beat
Filippo Volandri Filippo Volandri (; born 5 September 1981) is an Italian tennis coach and former professional player. Volandri reached a career-high singles ranking of world no. 25 in July 2007. He turned professional in 1997 and earned almost $4 million in priz ...
in the second round, finally winning an opening-round match after suffering four consecutive opening-round exits. In the quarterfinals, he beat
Albert Ramos Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mark ...
to set up a semifinal meeting with defending champion and former world no. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Pro ...
. There, Dolgopolov pulled off an impressive display to defeat the Grand Slam champion in straight sets. Entering his second final of the year, Dolgopolov played Croatian home-town favourite, former top-10 player and fourth seed
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 28 January 2018. Čilić has won 21 ATP Tour-level si ...
. Faced with a determined opponent, Dolgopolov needed three sets to beat Čilić and win his first ATP singles title. Dolgopolov entered the 2011 Rogers Cup unseeded, missing out on a seeding as world no. 21 (only the top 16 were seeded). He played Canadian wildcard and world no. 290 Érik Chvojka and was stretched to three sets. He was defeated by seventh seed
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...
in the second round. On 18 April 2011, Dolgopolov reached a career-high ranking of no. 20. Seeded 22nd for the 2011 US Open, Dolgopolov defeated Frederico Gil, Flavio Cipolla, and
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint-tallest ranked tennis player in history (along with Reilly Opelka). He won eight ATP Tour si ...
to reach the fourth round, where he faced world no. 1
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
. Dolgopolov took Djokovic to a 28 and a half-minute first-set tiebreak, with Djokovic finally prevailing 16–14. Dolgopolov went on to a three set defeat, ending his US Open campaign.


2012: Highest career ranking, ATP 500 title

Seeded 4th for the 2012 Brisbane International tournament, Dolgopolov defeated
Alejandro Falla Alejandro Falla Ramírez (; born 14 November 1983) is a Colombian former professional tennis player. The left-hander turned professional in 2000 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 48 in July 2012. At the 2006 Wimbledon tou ...
, Igor Andreev, Radek Štěpánek, and Gilles Simon to make it to the final, where he lost to
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. This loss was attributed to fatigue over a previous groin injury in the semifinal victory over Gilles Simon. As a result, he reached a career-high ranking of No. 13 on 16 January 2012. At the 2012 Australian Open he lost in the third round to local hope
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
. At the Croatia Open Dolgopolov defeated Italian
Fabio Fognini Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. Fognini's most successful surface is Clay court#Red clay, ...
in the second round. Alexandr Dolgopolov won his first ATP 500 at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. He defeated Tommy Haas in the final.


2013: Wimbledon third round

Dolgopolov reached three quarterfinals during the spring, in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Memphis and
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. However he failed to make impact in Masters 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments, which caused him to steadily fall in rankings. He gave a stern challenge to World No.7 at the time
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro (; born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), in August 2018. Del Potro won 22 ATP Tour-level sing ...
. After a quiet first half of the year Dolgopolov reached the third round of
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
where he played David Ferrer, leading by two sets to one before eventually being overcome in five sets. In the tournaments after Wimbledon Dolgopolov continued to struggle in finding form from the two previous seasons. Some of the more notable results were beating world No.21 Kevin Anderson in 2013 Rogers Cup and former top 10 player Janko Tipsarević in
Japan Open (tennis) The Japan Open (currently sponsored by Kinoshita Group) is a men's tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Koto, Tokyo. It has been held since 1972. In 2018, the venue switched to the ...
where he has reached quarterfinals. Best result of the year for Dolgopolov was a semifinal in 2013 Winston-Salem Open, where he lost to
Gaël Monfils Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in November 2016. Mon ...
.


2014: First Masters 1000 semifinal, return to top 30

Dolgopolov began the year at the Apia International in Sydney, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
. That was followed by a second round loss to
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French tennis coach and a former professional player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best major performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 ...
at the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. After losing in the first round of the Chile Open in Viña del Mar, Dolgopolov reached the finals at the inaugural Rio Open in Brazil. He defeated
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a ...
en route to his first final since 2012, however ultimately lost to world no. 1
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
in straight sets. He continued his good run of form at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He beat Nadal in the third round,
Fabio Fognini Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. Fognini's most successful surface is Clay court#Red clay, ...
in round of 16 and
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
in quarter-finals, then lost to
Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
in semifinals. It was the first time he has made it beyond the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament since 2012. At the Miami Open, the Ukrainian defeated Stan Wawrinka in round of 16 and lost to
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...
in quarter-finals. As a result of his good run of form, Dolgopolov returned to the world's top 30. During the spring clay season, the player won over Ernest Gulbis in first round of the Monte Carlo Masters, then lost to Guillermo García López. At the Madrid Masters he defeated
Fabio Fognini Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. Fognini's most successful surface is Clay court#Red clay, ...
, then lost in second round to Gulbis. At the Rome Masters he lost to
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
in first round. At Roland Garros he lost in second round to
Marcel Granollers Marcel Granollers Pujol (; ; born 12 April 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 1 on 6 May 2024, becoming the second Spanish man to achieve the feat (after Emilio Sánchez Vicari ...
. Dolgopolov lost to
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov (, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, making him the highest-ranked Bulgari ...
in Queen's quarter-finals and Wimbledon round of 32.


2015: Second Masters 1000 semifinal

In 2015, Dolgopolov lost in first round of the Australian Open to
Paolo Lorenzi Paolo Lorenzi (; born 15 December 1981) is an Italian former professional tennis player and former Italian number 1. He was coached by Claudio Galoppini. At the age of 34 years and seven months, Lorenzi became the oldest first-time champion in AT ...
. At the Mexican Open he lost to
Kei Nishikori is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the only Japanese man in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles, reaching his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015, and the second man in history to do so after ...
in quarter-finals. At the Indian Wells Ukrainian he defeated
Santiago Giraldo Santiago Giraldo Salazar (, born 27 November 1987) is a Colombian former professional tennis player. He played on the ATP tour and represented Colombia Davis Cup team, Colombia in the Davis Cup competition. His best tournament result is reachi ...
to reach third round, where he lost to
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
. At the Miami Masters the Ukrainian reached round of 16 after winning over
Tommy Robredo Tomás Robredo Garcés (, ; born 1 May 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 5, which he reached in August 2006 as a result of winning the 2006 Hamburg Masters – Singles, Hamburg M ...
, then fell to
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
. In the spring clay season, Dolgopolov lost to Monfils in second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters. At the Rome Masters, he won over Martin Kližan to reach round of 32, where he was defeated by Guillermo García López. At Roland Garros he lost in first round to
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player of Latin American descent. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008 French Open – Men's singles, 2008, 201 ...
. In the grass season, the Ukrainian lost to Kohlschreiber in first round of Stuttgart. At Queen's he defeated
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
in first round, then lost to García López in second round. At Nottingham he claimed wins over Donald Young, Pablo Andújar,
Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved in March 2020. Thiem won 17 ATP Tour-level s ...
and Yen-Hsun Lu, then lost in semifinals to
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey ( ; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional pickleball player and former tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known ...
. At the Wimbledon Championships, the player fell in second round to
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a Croatian former professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint-tallest ranked tennis player in history (along with Reilly Opelka). He won eight ATP Tour si ...
. In the North American summer tour, Dolgopolov defeated Karlovich to reach round of 16 at Washington, after which he lost to
Alexander Zverev Alexander "Sascha" Zverev (; born 20 April 1997) is a German professional tennis player and the current world No. 3. He has won 24 ATP Tour titles in singles and two in doubles, and has been runner-up at three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, ma ...
. At the Canada Masters he lost in first round to
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov (, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, making him the highest-ranked Bulgari ...
. In Cincinnati he qualified for the main draw by defeating James Ward and
Santiago Giraldo Santiago Giraldo Salazar (, born 27 November 1987) is a Colombian former professional tennis player. He played on the ATP tour and represented Colombia Davis Cup team, Colombia in the Davis Cup competition. His best tournament result is reachi ...
, then earned a first round bye due to
Kei Nishikori is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the only Japanese man in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles, reaching his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015, and the second man in history to do so after ...
's withdrawal and won over
Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...
,
Jerzy Janowicz Jerzy Filip Janowicz Jr. (; born 13 November 1990) is a Polish inactive professional tennis player and padel player. Janowicz is best known for becoming the first Polish man to reach a Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major semifinal, at the 2013 ...
and
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...
to reach the semi-finals, where he lost to world nº 1
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
in three sets, having won the first.


2016–2017: Hopman Cup finalist, third ATP title, US Open fourth round

Dolgopolov represented Ukraine alongside
Elina Svitolina Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina (, ; born 12 September 1994) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles by the WTA rankings, WTA. Svitolina has won 18 WTA Tour single ...
at the 2016 Hopman Cup. He won his singles matches against Jack Sock,
Jiří Veselý Jiří Veselý (; born 10 July 1993) is a Czech professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35 on 27 April 2015. Youth career Veselý reached the No. 1 junior combined world ranking in January 2011, co ...
and
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...
. He and Svitolina were the winners of their group in the round robin phase, and went into the final against the Australia Green team. Dolgopolov lost to
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. Kyrgios has been ranked as high as world No. 13 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won se ...
3–6, 4–6. The Ukrainian team were the runners-up of the tournament. Dolgopolov then entered
2016 Wimbledon Championships The 2016 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The main draw commenced on 27 June 2016 and concluded on ...
where he beat Russian Evgeny Donskoy in 4 tight sets to set up a second round match against Daniel Evans which he lost in 3 sets. He then entered the 2016 Citi Open and was seed 11, which meant he received a bye for the first round, in the second round match he faced Australian youngster Jordan Thompson, in the third round he lost in straight sets to
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey ( ; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional pickleball player and former tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known ...
. Dolgopolov then proceeded to enter the 2016 Rogers Cup, where he lost to Donald Young in straight sets in the first round. Dolgopolov won his third ATP title at the 2017 Argentina Open defeating top seeded Japanese player
Kei Nishikori is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the only Japanese man in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles, reaching his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015, and the second man in history to do so after ...
. He reached the fourth round of the 2017 US Open (tennis) where he was defeated by top seed World No. 1 and eventual champion
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
.


2018: Australian Open third round

Having gotten to the third round of the 2018 Australian Open for the third time in his career, Dolgopolov was defeated by
Diego Schwartzman Diego Sebastián Schwartzman (, ; born 16 August 1992) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He won four ATP Tour singles titles and reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in October 2020. As a clay court specialist ...
.


2021: Retirement

Dolgopolov announced his retirement on 1 May 2021, having played
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
in his final match on 14 May 2018 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.


Military service

In March 2022, he returned to Ukraine as a volunteer to fight against the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. He is serving as a drone operator. In April 2022 following
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
's ban on Belarusian and Russian tennis players, he praised the decision while stating "It doesn't matter if they're a world tennis player or just a regular person in Russia", adding "If people are able to keep on living their regular lives, it's going to be tough to change the plans of Putin. Everyone has to feel he sacrificebecause everyone in Ukraine is feeling it. Our people, our children, are dying and you cannot just close your eyes and be silent and pretend nothing is happening. Everyone has to try and play their role to help and the ATP should have a stronger stance like many others sports. The magnitude of what is happening here is not eflectedby their actions. Their actions are weaker"


Davis Cup

In his early career, Alex has played two games for his country: in 2006 he lost to
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
in Odesa, in a match against Great Britain. In 2007, he lost to Alexandros Jakupovic from Greece. Later, he was struggling with the Ukrainian tennis federation to get significant bonuses to play in the
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
. On 13 March 2011 Dolgopolov stated he wants to represent Ukraine as a player, but only after the leadership of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation changes. Dolgopolov has hinted in late January 2011 that he might change his
citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
. According to him "Tennis is not a political sport as such as
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
. In tennis you choose what is best for you, where there are more prospects". At the time, Dolgopolov stated this would mean "of course" he would switch to another Davis Cup team.Долгополов підтвердив, що може змінити громадянство
Champion.com (31 January 2011)
The President of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation Vadym Shulman stated in late February 2011 that he thought Dolgopolov was bluffing and blackmailing his federation.


Playing style

Dolgopolov had an unorthodox but all-court playing style; he counter-punched when needed, but could also be very offensive. Win or loss, he generally finished his matches with a high number of winners, but also many unforced errors. His serve has a very quick cadence to it, the motion having little to no pauses within it. This allows him to generate fast first serves and great second serves, which catches most of his opponents off guard. In terms of timing, his service motion is similar to his ground strokes. Dolgopolov is able to quickly and suddenly hit the ball at the last moment, making him one of the most deceptive players on tour, as it is hard to anticipate where he is going to hit the ball. On his service return, he often chips back the first serve. He uses a unique jumping topspin forehand, which can be used to pull his opponents wide off the court. His backhand is usually hit two-handed with topspin, but he often uses a one-handed slice. He can also flatten his backhand for winners and is capable of generating extremely high pace on that shot. He is not afraid to come to the net to finish off points, and he volleys quite well. With his speed, he is very efficient around the court. Some have compared his style to
Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
's, but the Ukrainian's unusual style of varied pace and spins is more like
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
's among the leading players. He has also been compared to French showman
Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro (; born 9 December 1972) is a French former professional tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming towards the end of his ca ...
for his unique use of shots and strokes. Unlike Santoro, however, he can flatten his groundstrokes very efficiently in big matches, as seen in the 2011 Australian Open. His slice is one of the best in the ATP. Following his four-set win over Dolgopolov in 2011 Roland Garros third round, Troicki said that he was not far from going crazy with Dolgopolov's dropshots.


Health issues

Dolgopolov suffers from a hereditary disorder known as
Gilbert's syndrome Gilbert syndrome (GS) is a syndrome in which the liver of affected individuals processes bilirubin more slowly than the majority resulting in higher levels in the blood. Many people never have symptoms. Occasionally jaundice (a yellowing of the ...
, which affects his liver, blood and often causes fatigue. His condition worsens when he has to cross continents in extensive travel, requiring intravenous drug treatments and monitored diets to get himself back on track.


Significant finals


Masters 1000 finals


Doubles: 1 (1 title)


Team finals


Team events: 1 (1 runner-up)


ATP career finals


Singles: 9 (3 titles, 6 runners-up)


Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)


ATP Challenger & ITF Futures Finals


Singles: 12 (10–2)


Doubles: 8 (3–5)


Performance timelines


Singles


Doubles


Wins over top 10 players

*He has a record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.


Notes


References


External links

* * *
Ukrainian Tennis Portal profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolgopolov, Alexandr Ukrainian male tennis players Tennis players from Kyiv Living people 1988 births Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Hopman Cup competitors Ukrainian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine