Rui Machado

Rui Machado (born April 10, 1984, in Faro) is a Portuguese retired professional tennis player who is 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 and Gastão Elias).

Early life

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.

Career

2002–2007

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).

In early 2006, Machado suffered wrist and knee injuries. A nearly two-year competitive stoppage made him drop to an all-time low no. 1512, in July 2007, despite winning two more Futures doubles titles. Attempting to return to his previous level, Machado achieved modest results that helped him, nonetheless, to climb back to no. 733, at the end of 2007.

2008

Machado made his definitive comeback to high-level competition in early 2008 with an impressive winning streak of 26 consecutive matches in the Futures circuit. Along this run, he won four consecutive finals ( Bari, Faro, Lagos, and Albufeira). He finally lost a semifinal match two weeks later in Zaragoza to no. 264 Pere Riba 7–5, 6–2, but avenged this loss in the following week in Loja, beating Riba in the final 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, for a fifth Future singles title in six consecutive tries and sixth overall. Machado would add yet another one in May, beating Antonio Pastorino in a hard-fought three-set final in Napoli 6–4, 3–6, 7–6. This string of victories boosted Machado's ranking by 400 places to no. 328.
In the meantime, he helped Portugal to a 4–1 defeat of Tunisia in their Euro/African Zone – Group II Davis Cup match in Estoril. The following week, he received a wildcard to the Estoril Open, but despite defeating world no. 22 Ivo Karlović 6–4, 1–0 ret. in the first round, Machado bowed out to no. 101 Florent Serra 7–6, 6–1.

The remainder of Machado's season included mostly participations in Challenger events, where his best record included two semifinal places in Cancún and Córdoba, but also his debut in Grand Slam qualification round matches. In June, he was unable to overcome the first qualifying round of Wimbledon against no. 383 Richard Bloomfield 6–3, 7–5, but later in August, he went through the qualification, defeating former Olympic champion no. 121 Nicolás Massú 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, in the process, to reach his first ever Gram Slam main round, where he would lose in a battled five-set second round match before no. 13 Fernando Verdasco 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–0. This participation earned Machado 100 points, his biggest share of ATP points in a single event, moving him up 22 places in the overall ranking to no. 178. He closed the year with a new career-high singles ranking of 153rd, achieving a net improvement of 529 places from his 2008 starting rank (732nd).

2009

A participation in the Costa do Sauípe 250 Series event opened Machado's new season. He survived the qualifying round and, in the main round, defeated world no. 75 Iván Navarro, 6–4, 6–1, only to lose in the next round to Eduardo Schwank, by two tiebreak-deciding sets after having won the first. In late February, Machado won his first Challenger-level tournament in Meknes, Morocco, surpassing no. 242 David Marrero, 6–2, 6–7, 6–3.

In March, he was unable to impose his game once again in Moroccan soil, at the Marrakech Challenger. Machado then tried to reach the main round of the Miami Masters but failed to go past the first qualifying round, losing to no. 110 Andrey Golubev. At the Athens Challenger, he earned his second Challenger singles title along with €12,250, his biggest career singles prize money and the biggest tournament won by a Portuguese player, defeating no. 168 Daniel Muñoz de la Nava by 6–3, 7–6 . In the doubles, he was losing finalist partnering with Jesse Huta Galung.

In May, in his third appearance at the Estoril Open, he lost his first round match 7–5, 1–6, 7–5 against no. 69 Óscar Hernández. He nevertheless reached an all-time high rank no. 123 and would soon manage to go through the 2009 French Open qualifiers and past the first round, only to be beaten by no. 12 seed Fernando González 6–3, 6–2, 6–3. Despite being eliminated in the first round of the Czech Open by eventual runner-up no. 90 Steve Darcis 6–4, 6–4, Machado climbed to a new lifetime best singles ranking of no. 116. He contested the qualifying tournament at Wimbledon, but lost in the second round to no. 201 Lukáš Lacko 1–6, 6–2, 8–6.

In July, Machado played for Portugal in the 2009 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II. He recorded the largest win in tennis history, defeating Algeria's Valentin Rahmine 6–0, 6–0, 6–0.

In August, Machado qualified to the US Open as a lucky loser. He lost 6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2 against no. 62 Daniel Köllerer.

2010

Machado began the season in the Australian Open qualifying tournament, where he lost in the second round 7–5, 6–3 to no. 300 Alex Bogomolov Jr.

In February, at the Brasil Open, in Costa do Sauípe, he upset no. 89 Marcos Daniel by 6–3, 7–6 and lost in the second round to no. 41 Igor Andreev by 6–3, 5–7, 6–4. Machado then tried to reach the main round of the Miami Masters but failed to go past the first qualifying round, losing to no. 155 Ivan Dodig by 7–6, 7–5. A week later he won the Napoli Challenger defeating no. 204 Federico Delbonis 6–4, 6–4 in the final.

Machado entered the Estoril Open as a wildcard, in virtue of his low ranking, but he eventually achieved his career's best result by reaching the quarter finals. He paved his way by defeating higher ranked players: Nicolás Massú (92nd; 6–2, 6–4) and Michał Przysiężny (97st; 6–4, 6–4), losing only to his friend Frederico Gil (133rd; 4–6, 7–6, 6–3). With this successful campaign, on May 10, Machado climbed 6 places in the world rankings to become no. 108.

He contested the qualifying tournament at 2010 French Open, but lost in the second round to no. 245 Alexandre Sidorenko 7–6, 5–7, 6–3. He also contested the qualifying tournament at Wimbledon, but lost in the first round to no. 256 Tatsuma Ito 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 and in US Open he also lost in the second qualifying round to no. 220 Ryan Harrison 5–7, 7–6, 6–3.

In October, he won the Asunción Challenger defeating no. 138 Ramón Delgado 6–2, 3–6, 7–5 in the final.

2011

Machado began the season losing in the Aircel Chennai Open in the first round to Alejandro Falla (105th) by 7–5, 6–3.
Later at the Australian Open, he lost in the first round by 6–4, 6–3, 5–7, 6–1 to Santiago Giraldo (64th).

In February, at the Movistar Open, he lost in Second Round to no. 30 Thomaz Bellucci by 7–5, 1–6, 6–1.
At the Brasil Open, in Costa do Sauípe, he upset no. 86 Filippo Volandri by 6–2, 6–1 and lost in Quarter Finals to no. 13 Nicolás Almagro by 6–2, 6–4. A week later, he lost in the first round of Copa Claro to no. 39 Juan Ignacio Chela by 4–6, 6–2, 6–2.

In March, he won the Marrakech Challenger defeating no. 267 Maxime Teixeira 6–3, 6–7, 6–4 in the final.

In April, in Casablanca, he lost in the first round to no. 103 Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo by 7–5, 6–1. Machado then tried to reach the main round of the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters but failed to go past the first qualifying round, losing to no. 180 Bernard Tomic by 6–3, 6–7, 6–4.
In Barcelona Open