Alejandro Falla

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Alejandro Falla
Full nameAlejandro Falla Ramírez
Country (sports) Colombia
ResidenceBogotá, Colombia
Born (1983-11-14) 14 November 1983 (age 40)
Popayán, Colombia
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro2000
Retired2018
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$3,101,331
Singles
Career record114–169 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 48 (16 July 2012)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2010, 2012)
French Open4R (2011)
Wimbledon3R (2012)
US Open2R (2006, 2011)
Doubles
Career record17–41 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 130 (3 August 2009)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (2010, 2012, 2013)
French Open2R (2014)
Wimbledon1R (2010, 2014)
US Open1R (2010, 2014)
Medal record
Central American and Caribbean Games
Silver medal – second place 2002 San Salvador Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 San Salvador Men's Team
Last updated on: 9 April 2021.

Alejandro Falla Ramírez (Spanish pronunciation: [aleˈxandɾo ˈfaʎa raˈmiɾes];[1] born 14 November 1983) is a retired professional male tennis player from Colombia. The left-hander turned pro in 2000 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 48 in July 2012. At the 2006 Wimbledon tournament, Falla upset 9th seed Nikolay Davydenko and at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open he beat 9th seed Tommy Haas in straight sets. He reached the semifinals of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in 2007, beating players such as the 5th seed Ivan Ljubičić.

Career[edit]

Alejandro Falla, 2015 Wimbledon Qualifying

The Colombian became the first player from his country to break into the top 100 of the ATP rankings since Mauricio Hadad in 1996. In 2006, Alejandro qualified a career-high five times into the main draw of ATP tournaments. In his second tournament of the year, he reached the final of the Mexico City Challenger. He then went on to earn points for his country in a Davis Cup tie against Paraguay Davis Team. Then later in April, he won the Bogotá Challenger. At Roland Garros, he reached the second round after defeating Justin Gimelstob, though he lost to Roger Federer in the second round. A few weeks later at Wimbledon, he managed to beat Nikolay Davydenko in a four-set thriller. His victory over Davydenko was his first win over a top-10 player, and a first ever for a Colombian player. However, he was then defeated in the second round by Philipp Kohlschreiber in another four-set match. He then reached the second round in the US Open. In the first round, he beat Juan Martín del Potro in four sets, before being defeated by Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets.

Falla almost caused a sensation in the first round of Wimbledon in 2010, winning the first two sets against defending champion Roger Federer and serving for the match at 5–4 in the fourth set (he was three points away from winning), before Federer eventually won 5–7, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–0.[2]

His best result in a Grand Slam was in 2011 at the French Open. Falla reached the fourth round, where he lost to the unseeded Juan Ignacio Chela.

In the 2014 Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Falla rallied to beat 2011 champion Philipp Kohlschreiber 5–7, 7–6 (5), 6–4 to become the first Colombian to reach the final of a grass-court tournament. He lost to six-time champion Roger Federer in the final.

Juniors[edit]

Alejandro Falla made it to the semi-finals in the 2001 French Open, giving a big inspiration to Colombian players aspiring to achieve strong results in junior open tennis.

Doubles[edit]

In junior doubles at the French Open, he and compatriot Carlos Salamanca defeated the German duo Markus Bayer and Philipp Petzschner, the first junior title won by Colombians in a Grand Slam.

Tournament 2000 2001
Junior Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A
French Open 1R W
Wimbledon 1R 1R
US Open A 2R

Doubles: 1 (1 title)[edit]

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2001 French Open Clay Colombia Carlos Salamanca Germany Markus Bayer
Germany Philipp Petzschner
3–6, 7–5, 6–4

ATP career finals[edit]

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)[edit]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–2)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–1)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (0–2)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2013 Colombia Open, Colombia 250 Series Hard Croatia Ivo Karlović 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 0–2 Jun 2014 Halle Open, Germany 250 Series Grass Switzerland Roger Federer 6–7(2–7), 6–7(3–7)

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)[edit]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2011 Pacific Coast Championships, United States 250 Series Hard Belgium Xavier Malisse United States Scott Lipsky
United States Rajeev Ram
4–6, 6–4, [8–10]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals[edit]

Singles: 24 (14–10)[edit]

Legend
ATP Challenger (11–8)
ITF Futures (3–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–4)
Clay (11–6)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 2002 Bogotá, Colombia Futures Clay Colombia Pablo González 6–7(6–8), 6–7(2–7)
Loss 0–2 Jun 2002 Bogotá, Colombia Futures Clay Brazil Eduardo Bohrer 6–7(3–7), 6–7(1–7)
Win 1–2 Jan 2003 San Salvador, El Salvador Futures Clay Chile Jorge Aguilar 6–4, 6–4
Win 2–2 May 2003 Pereira, Colombia Futures Clay Brazil Thiago Alves 7–5, 6–3
Win 3–2 Oct 2003 Bogotá, Colombia Futures Clay Austria Marco Mirnegg 7–5, 6–3
Loss 3–3 Feb 2004 Waikoloa, United States Challenger Clay Russia Dmitry Tursunov 5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Win 4–3 Mar 2004 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Chile Adrián García 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
Win 5–3 Mar 2004 Salinas, Ecuador Challenger Hard Luxembourg Gilles Müller 6–7, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 5–4 Jul 2005 Pozoblanco, Spain Challenger Hard Cyprus Marcos Baghdatis 3–6, 3–6
Loss 5–5 Jul 2005 Binghamton, United States Challenger Hard United Kingdom Andy Murray 6–7(3–7), 3–6
Loss 5–6 Apr 2006 Mexico City, Mexico Challenger Clay Paraguay Ramón Delgado 3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 6–6 Apr 2006 Bogotá, Colombia (2) Challenger Clay Brazil André Sá 6–4, 6–2
Loss 6–7 Nov 2007 Bratislava, Slovakia Challenger Hard Italy Simone Bolelli 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 1–6
Win 7–7 May 2009 Pereira, Colombia Challenger Clay Argentina Horacio Zeballos 6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Win 8–7 Sep 2009 Cali, Colombia Challenger Clay Argentina Horacio Zeballos 6–3, 6–4
Win 9–7 Oct 2009 Rennes, France Challenger Hard France Thierry Ascione 6–3, 6–2
Loss 9–8 Apr 2010 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Brazil João Souza 6–4, 4–6, 1–6
Win 10–8 Sep 2011 Cali, Colombia (2) Challenger Clay Argentina Eduardo Schwank 6–4, 6–3
Loss 10–9 Oct 2011 Medellín, Colombia Challenger Clay Dominican Republic Víctor Estrella Burgos 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 4–6
Win 11–9 Apr 2012 Barranquilla, Colombia Challenger Clay Argentina Horacio Zeballos 6–4, 6–1
Win 12–9 Jul 2012 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Santiago Giraldo 7–5, 6–3
Win 13–9 Jan 2014 Nouméa, New Caledonia Challenger Hard Canada Steven Diez 6–2, 6–2
Win 14–9 Jan 2014 Bucaramanga, Colombia Challenger Clay Italy Paolo Lorenzi 7–5, 6–1
Loss 14–10 Jan 2016 Nouméa, New Caledonia Challenger Hard France Adrian Mannarino 7–5, 2–6, 2–6

Doubles: 20 (10–10)[edit]

Legend
ATP Challenger (6–5)
ITF Futures (4–5)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–3)
Clay (9–6)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2000 Colombia F2, Bogotá Futures Clay Colombia Pablo Gonzalez Italy Leonardo Azzaro
Israel Eyal Ran
2–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 Aug 2001 Spain F4, Denia Futures Clay Colombia Pablo Gonzalez Spain J. Fernandez-Rubio
Spain A-J Martin-Arroyo
2–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win 2–1 Jun 2002 Colombia F2, Bogotá Futures Clay Colombia Carlos Salamanca Brazil Eduardo Bohrer
Brazil Fernando Araujo
3–0 ret.
Loss 2–2 Aug 2002 Spain F11, Irun Futures Clay Colombia Carlos Salamanca Spain Marc Fornell Mestres
Spain F. Ventura-Martell
6–7(3–7), 1–6
Loss 2–3 Sep 2002 Spain F14, Madrid Futures Hard Colombia Carlos Salamanca Spain Gabriel Trujillo Soler
Spain A-J Martin-Arroyo
4–6, 4–6
Loss 2–4 Jan 2003 El Salvador F2, La Libertad Futures Hard Colombia Carlos Salamanca Argentina Juan Pablo Brzezicki
Brazil Bruno Soares
6–4, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win 3–4 May 2003 Mexico F4, Aguascalientes Futures Hard Brazil Bruno Soares Brazil Ronaldo Carvalho
Brazil Gabriel Pitta
4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 3–5 May 2003 Colombia F1A, Cali Futures Clay Colombia Carlos Salamanca United States Mirko Pehar
Colombia Michael Quintero
3–6, 4–6
Win 4–5 Oct 2003 Colombia F2, Bogotá Futures Clay Colombia Carlos Salamanca Brazil Ronaldo Carvalho
Argentina Carlos Berlocq
6–5, 5–7, 6–4
Loss 4–6 Jun 2004 Surbiton, Great Britain Challenger Grass United States Glenn Weiner Australia Nathan Healey
United States Jim Thomas
3–6, 6–7(9–11)
Win 5–6 Sep 2008 Cali, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal Argentina Brian Dabul
Argentina Horacio Zeballos
7–6(8–6), 6–3
Win 6–6 Sep 2008 Bogotá 3, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal Argentina Alejandro Fabbri
Argentina Horacio Zeballos
3–6, 7–6(9–7), [10–8]
Win 7–6 Nov 2008 Medellín, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal Argentina Juan-Pablo Amado
Dominican Republic Víctor Estrella Burgos
3–4 ret.
Loss 7–7 May 2009 Pereira, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal Brazil João Souza
Dominican Republic Víctor Estrella Burgos
4–6, 4–6
Win 8–7 Nov 2009 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Alejandro González Argentina Diego Álvarez
Argentina Sebastián Decoud
5–7, 6–4, [10–8]
Loss 8–8 Oct 2009 Mons, Belgium Challenger Hard Russia Teymuraz Gabashvili Uzbekistan Denis Istomin
Russia Evgeny Korolev
7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7), [9–11]
Loss 8–9 Apr 2011 Barranquilla, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Eduardo Struvay Italy Flavio Cipolla
Italy Paolo Lorenzi
3–6, 4–6
Loss 8–10 Apr 2011 Pereira, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Eduardo Struvay Uruguay Marcel Felder
Colombia Carlos Salamanca
6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win 9–10 Sep 2016 Barranquilla, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Eduardo Struvay Colombia Gonzalo Escobar
Colombia Roberto Quiroz
6–4, 7–5
Win 10–10 Oct 2016 Medellín, Colombia Challenger Clay Colombia Eduardo Struvay Brazil André Ghem
Spain Juan Lizariturry
6–3, 6–2

Performance timelines[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles[edit]

Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q1 A A Q2 2R A 3R 1R 3R 2R 2R 1R Q2 A 0 / 7 7–7
French Open A A A 2R Q1 2R 1R 2R Q1 2R 4R 1R 1R 1R 1R Q1 A 0 / 10 7–10
Wimbledon A A A 2R Q3 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R 1R 1R 1R Q2 A 0 / 11 5–11
US Open A A A Q2 Q1 2R Q2 Q1 1R 1R 2R 1R A 1R Q3 A A 0 / 6 2–6
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 0–0 3–3 1–2 2–3 0–2 3–4 4–4 4–4 1–3 1–4 0–3 0–0 0–0 0 / 34 21–34
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A A A A A 2R A A 1R A 1R 1R 3R Q1 A A 0 / 5 3–5
Miami Masters A A A A A A 3R A A 2R Q1 2R 3R 1R 3R Q1 A 0 / 6 8–6
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Rome Masters A A A A A A A A A A A Q1 A 1R Q1 A A 0 / 1 0–1
Madrid Masters NH A A A A 1R 1R A A A 1R 2R Q1 Q1 1R A A 0 / 5 1–5
Canada Masters A A A A A 1R 1R A 2R 1R 1R A A 1R Q2 Q1 A 0 / 6 1–6
Cincinnati Masters A A A A A A 1R A A 2R Q1 1R A 1R A A A 0 / 4 1–4
Shanghai Masters Not Masters Series A A A 1R 1R A A A A 0 / 2 0–2
Paris Masters A A A A A A A A 1R A A 2R Q1 A A A A 0 / 2 1–2
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 3–5 0–0 1–2 2–4 0–2 3–6 2–3 2–5 2–2 0–0 0–0 0 / 31 15–31
National representation
Olympics Not Held A Not Held A Not Held 1R Not Held A NH 0 / 1 0–1
Davis Cup Z2 Z2 A Z3 Z2 Z2 Z1 Z1 Z1 PO Z1 Z1 PO Z1 PO A PO 0 / 0 22–10
Win–loss 1–0 1–0 0–0 5–0 2–0 4–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–2 2–2 1–0 0–2 0–0 0–0 0 / 1 22–11
Career statistics
Titles / Finals 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 2
Year-end ranking 1383 566 275 127 231 108 81 180 81 105 74 54 99 88 122 273 397

Doubles[edit]

Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R A 1R 1R A 0–3
French Open 1R A 1R A 2R 1–3
Wimbledon 1R A A A 1R 0–2
US Open 1R A A A 1R 0–2
Win–loss 0–4 0–0 0–2 0–1 1-3 1–10

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The pronunciation by Alejandro Falla himself". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  2. ^ Cheese, Caroline (21 June 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Roger Federer survives massive scare". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2010.

External links[edit]