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Izak van der Merwe

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Izak van der Merwe
Country (sports) South Africa
ResidenceStellenbosch, South Africa
Born (1984-01-26) 26 January 1984 (age 40)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro2005
Retired2014
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$430,017
Singles
Career record16–16
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 113 (1 August 2011)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ3 (2011)
French OpenQ2 (2011)
Wimbledon1R (2008)
US OpenQ2 (2009)
Doubles
Career record8–8
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 94 (18 July 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenA
French OpenA
Wimbledon2R (2012)
US OpenA
Last updated on: 05 Oktober 2018.

Izak van der Merwe (born 26 January 1984) is a retired South African tennis player.

Van der Merwe had a career high ATP singles ranking of 113 achieved on 1 August 2011.

Van der Merwe represented South Africa at the Davis Cup.

He says he tried to base his play on the former Wimbledon champion, Pete Sampras.[1]

Tennis career highlights

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2005–2007: Career beginnings

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Van der Merwe turned pro in 2005 and ended the year with a single ranking of 721. During this time Van der Merwe mainly played in the ITF Futures tour. In October 2005, Van der Merwe won his first ITF Futures single title in Zimbabwe F1.

In 2006 Van der Merwe reached 5 ITF Futures tour single finals, winning 1. In 2007 Van der Merwe won 3 ITF Futures tour titles.

2008: 1st Grand Slam entry

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In June 2008, van der Merwe qualified into the 2008 Wimbledon main draw, beating World No. 177 Miguel Ángel López Jaén, World No. 126 Kristian Pless, and World No. 246 Frédéric Niemeyer. He would then go on to lose to Guillermo García-López 7–5, 6–2, 6–2.

In August 2008 Van der Merwe also reached his first Challenger tour final at the Campos Do Jordao-1 in Brazil, where he lost to Brian Dabul.

2010: 1st ATP Challenger title

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In August 2010 Van der Merwe won his maiden ATP Challenger title at the Campos Do Jordao-1 in Brazil, when he defeated world number 88 Ricardo Mello.

2011: Second and Third ATP Challenger titles

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In February Van der Merwe reached his first main draw Semi-Finals on the ATP World Tour, when he reached the Semi-Finals of the SA Tennis Open (ATP 250 Event) in Johannesburg, South Africa. He went on to lose to world number 110 Somdev Devvarman.

In April Van der Merwe won his second ATP Challenger title at the Soweto Open in Johannesburg, South Africa, when he defeated countryman and world number 184 Rik De Voest. In November Van der Merwe won his third ATP Challenger title at the Charlottesville Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, when he defeated world number 283 Jesse Levine.

2012

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In July he reached the Quarter-Finals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (ATP 250 event) in Newport, RI, U.S.A. .

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 17 (8 titles-9 runner-ups)

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Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (3–5)
ITF Futures (5–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (8–16)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 23 October 2005 Zimbabwe F1, Bulawayo Hard South Africa Andrew Anderson 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 2. 21 May 2006 USA F11, Tampa Clay United States Robert Yim 6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 3. 2 July 2006 Thailand F3, Bangkok Hard Japan Takahiro Terachi 7–6, 1–6, 4–6
Loss 4. 8 October 2006 USA F25, Laguna Niguel Hard United States Brian Wilson 7–6, 2–6, 4–6
Win 5. 22 October 2006 USA F26, Mansfield Hard United States Michael McClune 7–6, 6–4
Loss 6. 29 October 2006 USA F27, Baton Rouge Hard Israel Dudi Sela 7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Win 7. 15 April 2007 USA F7, Mobile Hard United States Ryler DeHeart 6–1, 6–4
Win 8. 22 July 2007 USA F18, Joplin Hard Russia Andrey Kumantsov 6–3, 6–4
Win 9. 28 October 2007 USA F27, Baton Rouge Hard Australia Carsten Ball 6–2, 7–6
Loss 10. 10 August 2008 Campos do Jordão, Brazil Hard Argentina Brian Dabul 5–7, 7–6, 3–6
Loss 11. 24 May 2009 Cremona, Italy Hard Germany Benjamin Becker 5–7, 1–6
Loss 12. 18 April 2010 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Germany Dustin Brown 6–7, 3–6
Win 13. 8 August 2010 Campos do Jordão, Brazil Hard Brazil Ricardo Mello 7–6(8–6), 6–3
Loss 14. 15 August 2010 Brasilia, Brazil Hard Japan Tatsuma Ito 4–6, 4–6
Win 15. 17 April 2011 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard South Africa Rik de Voest 6–7(2–7), 7–5, 6–3
Loss 16. 7 August 2011 Campos do Jordão, Brazil Hard Brazil Rogerio Dutra Silva 4–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win 17. 6 November 2011 Charlottesville, United States Hard United States Jesse Levine 4–6, 6–3, 6–4

Singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Current till 2013 US Open.

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q2 Q3 Q1 Q1 0–0
French Open A A A A Q2 Q1 A 0–0
Wimbledon A R1 Q1 Q1 Q1 Q3 A 0–0
US Open A Q1 Q2 Q1 Q1 Q1 A 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1
Career statistics
Titles–Finals
Year-end ranking 269 304 272 174 113 214 1109

References

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  1. ^ "Izak's Wimbledon Story". Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008. [dead link]
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