Sport And Fun: Greg Rusedski

Gregory "Greg" Rusedski (born 6 September 1973, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33. He is a former British Number 1 and ATP World Number 4. Rusedski's first career singles tournament title was at the Hall of Fame Championship in Newport, Rhode Island in 1993. Rusedski reached the singles final of the US Open in 1997, where he lost to Pat Rafter in four sets, (shortly thereafter reaching his career high rank of World No. 4). He also won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. In 1998, Tim Henman eclipsed Rusedski as Britain's number one tennis player. Rusedski, however, won the Grand Slam Cup in 1999. Rusedski was defeated in the second round of Wimbledon in 2005 by Joachim Johansson of Sweden 7–6(10), 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(5). Following that disappointment, Rusedski had a successful July. He successfully defended his title at the Hall of Fame Championship, defeating Vince Spadea in the final. This was the first time he had successfully defended a title and the third time he had won the championship. He then reached the semifinals at both the RCA Championships in Indianapolis, losing to Taylor Dent, and the Canada Masters tournament in Montreal, losing to Andre Agassi.

Towards the end of 2005, Rusedski's ranking had risen to the high thirties. A poor end to the year by Henman almost allowed Rusedski to overtake him as British number one again. But a defeat for Rusedski in the first round of the Challenger Event in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, left him ranked 38th, just one place short of regaining the British top spot. Rusedski finally reclaimed the British number one spot on 15 May 2006, overtaking Andy Murray by getting to the third round of the Rome Masters Event. But Rusedski lost the top British ranking after a first round exit at Wimbledon. On 7 April 2007, Rusedski officially retired from tennis after partnering Jamie Murray to a doubles victory over the Netherlands in a Davis Cup match, a result which gave Great Britain a winning 3–0 lead in the tie. He announced his retirement immediately after the win, during a live interview with Sue Barker on BBC Television. Rusedski has stayed involved with professional tennis in his retirement, and currently works for the Lawn Tennis Association as a talent and performance ambassador. Rusedski held the record for fastest serve at 149 miles per hour until Andy Roddick broke it.

On 25 January 2009, Rusedski announced a shock return to professional tennis. However he has been denied an opportunity to compete in his much loved Davis Cup. Because of this, Rusedski quickly retracted his announcement and to date is still retired.Rusedski has often been overshadowed in the press by the more popular Henman, especially at Wimbledon. It is arguable who had the better playing career. Rusedski won more singles titles than compatriot Henman, with 15 singles titles compared to Henman's 11. Rusedski also reached the final of the US Open in 1997 while Henman never made it past the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament. However, Henman reached six Grand Slam semi-finals and an additional four quarter-finals, whereas Rusedski reached just two Grand Slam quarter-finals in total - his US Open final performance, and at Wimbledon (also in 1997), a venue where he consistently under-performed. Neither Rusedski nor Henman ever reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Henman reached the semifinals of the French Open while Rusedski never made it past the fourth round at that tournament.

Rusedski's Davis Cup singles record was also considerably poorer than Henman's. In Great Britain's two key Davis Cup ties in the World Group knockout stage, Rusedski lost all four singles rubbers, despite home advantage (against the USA in 1999 and Sweden in 2002). Rusedski and Henman were however a formidable doubles partnership, winning tournaments together, and vital matches in Davis Cup also. Henman is exactly one year younger than Rusedski. It was perhaps fitting that Rusedski's final match at a Major was against his old rival and compatriot Tim Henman, at the 2006 U.S. Open. After a competitive first set, where Rusedski was edged out by Henman in a tie-break, Henman dispatched his opponent 7-6, 6-2, 6-3. This did turn out to be Rusedski's final match in a major, and it was against a man with whom he not only competed on a tennis court, but also off it for the affection of his home fans. In their head-to-head encounters, Henman won 8-2. Whilst it is widely accepted that the British public generally favoured Henman, there can be no doubt that these two players were head and shoulders above any other British players for a large part of their career. In the 2002 U.S. Open, after losing to Pete Sampras in the third round after a gruelling 5-set match, Rusedski described Sampras as "a half-step slow", and predicted that Sampras would lose his fourth round match to young German star Tommy Haas. swore at the umpire in the second round after not being allowed to replay a point after fan interference, losing his temper and ultimately losing the match to Andy Roddick, 7–6, 7–6, 7–5. Rusedski was plagued by injuries in the last few seasons of his career. He also tested positive for nandrolone in January 2004, but was cleared of the charges in a hearing on 10 March 2004.