Harel Levy
Encyclopedia
Har'el Levy is an Israeli professional male tennis player. Levy's best singles ranking was # 30 in the world in 2001, and his best doubles ranking was # 76 in 2007.
Levy, Noam Okun
, and Dudi Sela
have been Israel's top singles players over the last few years, and are among a number of Jewish professional tennis players.
In a career interrupted by both Israeli Army service and serious hip surgery, his best results include beating Pete Sampras
, Michael Chang
, Igor Andreev
, and Igor Kunitsyn
, reaching the singles finals in the Toronto Masters Series
and Nottingham
, and winning a doubles title in Newport, Rhode Island
.
so he could train at the Israel Tennis Centers
there. That year, he was # 1 in the under-14 age group in Israel.
Told that younger Jewish players look up to him, Levy said: "It's nice to hear that. I want to represent Israel and the Jewish people the best I can. I play for myself first. But then whatever my play can do for the Jewish community is great — just great."
In March 1998 he and Lior Mor won in Israel, defeating Barry Cowan
and Filippo Veglio 6–4, 7–6 in the final. In June he and partner Raviv Weidenfeld won in Ireland, defeating Daniele Braccoalo and Igor Gaudi 7–6, 6–4 in the final. In July he and Mor won in Greece, defeating Gilles Elseneer
and Wim Neefs 6–3, 0–6, 6–3 in the final.
In July 1999 while ranked # 241 he beat Michael Chang
, formerly ranked # 2 in the world, 6–4, 6–3, at the Safeway Challenger in Aptos, California
. In August 1999 at Indianapolis he defeated world # 40 Jiří Novák
, 7–5 6–1. In September he and partner Noam Okun
won at Budapest, defeating Daniel Fiala and Leoš Friedl
6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in the final.
won at Orlando, Florida, defeating Óscar Ortiz and Jimy Szymanski
6–3, 6–4 in the final. In July they won at Newport, Rhode Island, defeating Kyle Spencer and Mitch Sprengelmeyer 7–6 (2), 7–5 in the final of the Hall of Fame tennis championship.
In July 2000 at the Tennis Masters Series-Canada tournament in Toronto, while ranked only 144th in the world, he used whiplike ground strokes, a tantalizing drop shot, and winners off his one-handed to beat world # 73 Martin Damm
, # 47 Stefan Koubek
, # 27 Sébastien Grosjean
, # 61 Jérôme Golmard
, and # 55 Jiří Novák
, before losing in the finals to # 9 Marat Safin
. Levy more than doubled his career earnings with the $211,000 runner-up prize. Levy was the first Israeli to reach an ATP Tour final since Amos Mansdorf
in 1994, and jumped to # 70 in the world rankings.
Levy completed his three years of military service in the IDF in August 2000.
In March 2001 he upset world # 10 Tim Henman
of Great Britain 6–2, 6–4 at Scottsdale.
In May 2001 Levy upset the world's top player, his idol Pete Sampras
, at the Italian Open. Levy stunned Sampras 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, saving 13 of 17 break points, in what was his most impressive victory yet. Sampras said: "He played very well." In his next match at the tournament, he beat world # 33 Francisco Clavet
6–4, 7–6 (6), and then whipped Nicolas Kiefer
, 6–2, 6–4, winning 80% of his first serves. Levy played down his achievements by joking that he was more depressed by his Israeli soccer team (Maccabi Haifa) losing that week than excited by his success. "I still like soccer much more than tennis", he shrugged. In the quarterfinals he subsequently lost to Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra
.
In June 2001 Levy upset world # 17 Wayne Ferreira
of South Africa 6–2, 6–4. He then beat world # 40 Andy Roddick
7–6 (3), 5–7, 6–3 with powerful groundstrokes and spinning drop shots, while sustaining a hip injury. At one point, Roddick prostrated himself on the court, worshipping with outstretched arms in Levy's direction after Levy had gone up 40–0 on Roddick's serve on three cross-court passes. "He'd produced three running passing shots in a row", Roddick explained. "My approach play hadn't been bad. He just came up with power and speed and there was nothing I could do about it at all." Levy lost in the finals of the Nottingham
Tournament in England to Thomas Johansson
of Sweden, 7–5, 6–3, despite his use of what had become by then his trademark drop volleys. In late June he retired from his first round Wimbledon match with a hip injury. On June 25, at the age of 22, he reached the ranking of # 30 in the world.
In November 2001 Levy flew to the US for arthroscopic surgery for an injured knee, and also had complicated hip surgery to address his injury in Nottingham. He spent six months home in Ramat Ha-Sharon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, recuperating, and in April 2002 returned to playing tennis.
Levy was hampered by injuries for much of the 2002 season. By July 2002, his ranking had dropped to 326. The following month he said: "I'm not going to be back to a hundred percent, but if I get back to 90%, I'll be very happy."
At the US Open in 2002 he defeated world # 30 Andrei Pavel
1–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. A partisan crowd cheered him on. Asked how much the crowd helped him, Levy shrugged: "In percentages, you want? OK, around 23½."
At the Forest Hills Tennis Classic in May 2003, Levy defeated top-seeded world # 96 Justin Gimelstob
6–2, 6–3.
At the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon in 2003, Levy defeated Paul Goldstein in the first round, and reached the 3rd round before losing. In September 2003, Levy and partner Paul Baccanello
of Australia won the doubles title at the Open de l'Isère
, defeating Rik de Voest
and Johan Landsberg 5–7, 6–4, 7–6 (5) in Grenoble, France. Levy also reached the singles final at the tournament. Later that month he paired with Amir Hadad
to defeat Fred Hemmes and Raemon Sluiter
6–4, 6–4 to win in Groningen, Holland. In October he and Hadad defeated Scott Humphries
and Mark Merklein
6–4, 6–7 (3), 6–3 to win in Nottingham, England. Levy was back in peak form at the Dnepropetrovsk tournament
in November 2003. He reached the singles final before succumbing to Georgian Irakli Labadze
3–6, 6–3, 1–6. Levy fared better in the doubles tournament where, along with partner Jonathan Erlich
he won the title in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, over Simon Aspelin
and Johan Landsberg. He and Erlich also won that month at Bratislava, Slovakia, defeating Mario Ančić
and Martin García 7–6 (7), 6–3 in the final. He finished 2003 ranked 111th in the world in singles.
in the months of April and May, 2005, were impressive. In late April the Israelis captured the Hungary F1 tournament in Budapest
, defeating Nikola Martinović and Josko Topic 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the final. A few days later they won the F2 title in Miskolc
as well, beating Bastian Knittel and Marius Zay 6–1, 6–0 in the final. Levy and Hadad then competed in May in the German town of Furth
, where they took the title from Jan Frode Andersen
and Johan Landsberg, 6–1, 6–2. In July they won at Budaors, Hungary, defeating Adam Chadaj and Stéphane Robert
6–4, 6–7 (7), 6–3.
In 2005 Levy won the USTA Tulsa Challenger, beating Benedikt Dorsch of Germany, the reigning NCAA men's singles champion, in a three-hour duel 5–7, 7–5, 7–6 (6). In September 2005 he and partner Noam Okun
won in Istanbul, Turkey, defeating David Škoch
and Martin Štěpánek in the final, 6–4, 7–5.
In January 2006, a right shoulder injury forced him to retire from a Sydney ATP singles match, and sidelined him for a week. In June 2006 he and Giorgio Galimberti
won in Milan, Italy, defeating Frederico Gil
and Juan Albert Viloca in the final, 6–3, 6–3. In August he and partner Sam Warburg won in the Bronx, New York, defeating Scott Lipsky
and David Martin
in the Bronx Classic final, 6–4, 7–5.
In early 2007 Levy was suspended from all competition for three months by the Israel Tennis Federation for failing to participate in a State Cup tennis match that the ITF had organized.
In April 2007 he and Warburg won at Valencia, California, defeating Cecil Mamiit
and Eric Taino
in the final, 6–2, 6–4. In June they won at Yuba City, California
, defeating Eric Nuñez and Jean-Julien Rojer
in the final, 6–4, 6–4.
In July 2007 Levy and Rajeev Ram
competed together in doubles at Wimbledon, where they made it through the qualifying rounds and to the quarterfinals – Levy's best grand slam showing to date. On their way they defeated 15th-seeded Martín García and Sebastián Prieto
7–6 (0), 6–7 (4), 7–6 (4), 6–7 (3), 10–8 in the third round. They lost in the quarters to No. 10 seeds Arnaud Clément
and Michaël Llodra
, 6–3, 6–2, 6–2.
Later in July, Levy, who had slipped to 264 in the world rankings since his surgery, won a challenger title in Manchester, Great Britain, beating Travis Rettenmaier
6–2, 6–4 in the final.
In the men's final of the Israeli Championship in December 2007 Levy, who had won the title in 1997, 1999, and 2002, defeated Dekel Valtzer, 6–0, 6–1. By December, Levy had risen 125 places in 2007. His coach, Oded Jacob, said: "Levy suffered a very serious injury in 2001 from which some players have never managed to recover. He went through some very difficult years of physical and mental recuperation. I think he's recovered from that now, and I feel he's learned to come to terms with the fact that he's no longer No. 30 in the world. His goal now is to return to the top 100."
In December 2008 Levy claimed the fifth Israeli championship title of his career, beating Dudi Sela 6–4, 3–6, 7–5. "I won the match because I always believed I would", said Levy. In doubles Levy and Noam Okun lost in the finals to Andy Ram
and Noam Behr
, 6–1, 6–4.
Levy decided at the beginning of 2009 to enter slowly reduce his participation in singles tournaments, and put an emphasis on his doubles career with Noam Okun. But after his Davis Cup win in Sweden, he changed his plans. To prepare for the tie with Russia, he realized he had to once again stress his singles career, and while he kept playing doubles, he played singles anywhere possible.
since 1998, with an 22–15 record through July 2009. In 2008 he played in a tie against Sweden
, in which he was not victorious in the final and deciding match. However, he redeemed Israel and himself in 2009 against Sweden.
In September 2008 against the Peru Davis Cup team
, after losing one match in singles to Luis Horna
7–5, 5–7, 7–6 (3), 6–3, Levy paired with Andy Ram
to win the doubles tie 6–1, 6–1, 6–2, as Israel won 4–1.
In the 2009 World Group Playoffs in March 2009, Israel again faced Sweden. 2002 Australian Open
champion Thomas Johansson
defeated Levy in the opening match, 6–7 (3), 6–4, 7–5, 4–6, 8–6, in just under 4 hours, but Levy won the decisive final match against Andreas Vinciguerra
in Vinciguerra's hometown of Malmö, Sweden, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 8–6 in a marathon 3 hour, 44 minutes to lead the Israeli team to a come-from-behind 3–2 victory over the 7-time Davis Cup champion Swedes at Baltic Hall, allowing Israel to advance in the 2009 Davis Cup. In their 84-year Davis Cup history, the Swedes had never before lost a tie after holding a 2–1 lead.
"I had a coach who always told me that I'm a winner, and that I will always be one. The press labeled me as a loser when I wasn't doing well, and now they say I'm a winner. I know my worth, and I proved to myself that I can still win big matches", Levy said. He added: "Despite all the difficult years, scouring the globe to play in small tournaments with little success, I'm now experiencing a joy that has made it all worthwhile."
Israel (ranked 8th in the Davis Cup standings, with 5,394 points) hosted heavily favored Russia
(which won in both 2002 and 2006, and was the top-ranked country in Davis Cup standings, with 27,897 points) in a Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009, on indoor hard courts at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Israel was represented by Levy, Dudi Sela
, Jonathan Erlich
, and Andy Ram
. Russia's lineup consisted of Marat Safin
(# 24 in the world; former world # 1), Igor Andreev
(26), Igor Kunitsyn
(35), and Mikhail Youzhny
(44; former world # 8). "I believe we can do it against Russia", predicted Levy. The stage was set by Safin, who prior to the tie told the press: "With all due respect, Israel was lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team's response was to beat the Russian team in each of their first three matches, thereby winning the tie. Levy was aware that the Russians thought he was incapable of playing at their level, let alone beating Russia's top player, Andreev. Levy, ranked what the Russian press referred to as a "lowly" world # 210, beat Andreev, world # 24, 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 in the opening match. Levy said: "I had a feeling Andreev couldn't hurt me in any way, while I could do almost anything, and that made me very calm. I forced him to feel very uncomfortable on the court, lowering his confidence, and his game became more simple." Sela (# 33) followed by beating Russian Youzhny 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, 7–5. Israeli captain Eyal Ran
likened his players to two fighter jets on court, saying: "I felt as if I had two F-16s out there today, they played amazingly well." The 10,500 spectators were the largest crowd ever for a tennis match in Israel.
The next day Israelis Ram and Erlich beat Safin and Kunitsyn 6–3, 6–4, 6–7 (3), 4–6, 6–4 in front of a boisterous crowd of over 10,000. Ran was carried shoulder-high around the Tel Aviv stadium, as the 10,000-strong crowd applauded. With the tie clinched for Israel, the reverse singles rubbers were "dead", and instead of best-of-five matches, best-of-three sets were played, with the outcomes of little to no importance. Israel wrapped up a 4–1 victory over Russia, as Levy defeated Kunitsyn 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 (2), while Sela retired with a wrist injury while down 3–4 in the first set against Andreev.
Israel will next face the Spanish Davis Cup team
in Spain on September 18–20, in Israel's first appearance in the Davis Cup semifinals.
, with whom Levy has often been a hitting partner.
Levy is a fan of the soccer team Maccabi Haifa
.
Levy, Noam Okun
Noam Okun
Noam Okun is a professional tennis player.In 2002, Okun reached a career-high singles ranking of # 95 in the world...
, and Dudi Sela
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli professional tennis player.Sela reached a career-high singles ranking of # 29 in July 2009. He is currently Israel's top men's singles player, ahead of Amir Weintraub.As a 17-year-old junior, he won the 2003 French Open boys' doubles championship with his doubles...
have been Israel's top singles players over the last few years, and are among a number of Jewish professional tennis players.
In a career interrupted by both Israeli Army service and serious hip surgery, his best results include beating Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
, Michael Chang
Michael Chang
Michael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....
, Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
, and Igor Kunitsyn
Igor Kunitsyn
Igor Kunitsyn is a professional male tennis player from Russia. He made it into the top 100 for the first time in 2006, and reached a career-high singles ranking of 35 on July 6, 2009.-Early life:...
, reaching the singles finals in the Toronto Masters Series
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...
and Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, and winning a doubles title in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
.
Tennis career
Levy, who is Jewish, began playing tennis at age seven. His family moved to Portugal for a year and half when he was nine years old. They returned to Israel, and in 1992 the family moved to Ramat HasharonRamat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
so he could train at the Israel Tennis Centers
Israel Tennis Centers
Israel Tennis Centers is the largest tennis program for children in the world, reaching more than 350,000 families—5% of the Israeli population...
there. That year, he was # 1 in the under-14 age group in Israel.
Told that younger Jewish players look up to him, Levy said: "It's nice to hear that. I want to represent Israel and the Jewish people the best I can. I play for myself first. But then whatever my play can do for the Jewish community is great — just great."
1995–99
After turning pro in 1995, Levy served his required time in the Israeli military, but the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) allowed him to compete in events during his service.In March 1998 he and Lior Mor won in Israel, defeating Barry Cowan
Barry Cowan (tennis)
Barry Cowan is a former British tennis player, best known for taking Pete Sampras to five sets at Wimbledon in 2001.-Early years:Cowan attended the LTA Rover School at Bisham Abbey...
and Filippo Veglio 6–4, 7–6 in the final. In June he and partner Raviv Weidenfeld won in Ireland, defeating Daniele Braccoalo and Igor Gaudi 7–6, 6–4 in the final. In July he and Mor won in Greece, defeating Gilles Elseneer
Gilles Elseneer
Gilles Valere Jacque Elseneer is a professional tennis player on the ATP tour from Belgium. He is mostly known for his grass court game, and has achieved his best results on this surface....
and Wim Neefs 6–3, 0–6, 6–3 in the final.
In July 1999 while ranked # 241 he beat Michael Chang
Michael Chang
Michael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....
, formerly ranked # 2 in the world, 6–4, 6–3, at the Safeway Challenger in Aptos, California
Aptos, California
Aptos is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 6,220 at the 2010 census.Aptos is an unincorporated area of Santa Cruz county, consisting of several small communities...
. In August 1999 at Indianapolis he defeated world # 40 Jiří Novák
Jirí Novák
Jiří Novák is a former Czech tennis player, who was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia but resides nowadays in Monte Carlo, Monaco.-Career:Novák turned professional in 1993 and won 7 singles and 18 doubles titles during his career, winning $7,614,063 in prize money. For six years, he was the...
, 7–5 6–1. In September he and partner Noam Okun
Noam Okun
Noam Okun is a professional tennis player.In 2002, Okun reached a career-high singles ranking of # 95 in the world...
won at Budapest, defeating Daniel Fiala and Leoš Friedl
Leoš Friedl
Leoš Friedl is a Czech professional tennis player best known for his doubles play with František Čermák. He is coached by Lubomir Gerla. In his career, he has won 15 top-level doubles titles and $1,027,625 in prize money...
6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in the final.
2000–04
In January 2000 he and partner Jonathan ErlichJonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
won at Orlando, Florida, defeating Óscar Ortiz and Jimy Szymanski
Jimy Szymanski
Jimy Szymanski Ottaviano is a former tennis player from Venezuela.Turned professional in 1994, Szymanski reached his highest singles ATP ranking on November 15, 1999, when he became World No...
6–3, 6–4 in the final. In July they won at Newport, Rhode Island, defeating Kyle Spencer and Mitch Sprengelmeyer 7–6 (2), 7–5 in the final of the Hall of Fame tennis championship.
In July 2000 at the Tennis Masters Series-Canada tournament in Toronto, while ranked only 144th in the world, he used whiplike ground strokes, a tantalizing drop shot, and winners off his one-handed to beat world # 73 Martin Damm
Martin Damm
Martin Damm was a professional tennis player from Czechia. He is 6'2" 195 lb and is best known as a doubles player . ,his highest singles ranking 42 as of August 1997...
, # 47 Stefan Koubek
Stefan Koubek
Stefan Koubek is a tennis player from Austria. Koubek plays left-handed with a double-handed backhand. His idol when growing up was Thomas Muster. Koubek has won three titles, two of which have come on hardcourts; despite this, he says his favorite surface is clay.His nickname is Cooley or Stef...
, # 27 Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien René Grosjean is a retired tennis player from France. His career-high ATP Entry ranking is No. 4 . He retired from tennis on May 27, 2010.-Career:...
, # 61 Jérôme Golmard
Jerome Golmard
Jérôme Golmard is a former French male tennis player.Golmard reached a career high ranking of 22 in 1999. The 6'2" Golmard played left-handed, won two singles titles, reached a semi-final in Monte Carlo and won over $2,200,000 in prize money.-Singles: 4 :Wins -References:...
, and # 55 Jiří Novák
Jirí Novák
Jiří Novák is a former Czech tennis player, who was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia but resides nowadays in Monte Carlo, Monaco.-Career:Novák turned professional in 1993 and won 7 singles and 18 doubles titles during his career, winning $7,614,063 in prize money. For six years, he was the...
, before losing in the finals to # 9 Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
. Levy more than doubled his career earnings with the $211,000 runner-up prize. Levy was the first Israeli to reach an ATP Tour final since Amos Mansdorf
Amos Mansdorf
Amos Mansdorf is a former professional tennis player.His best singles world ranking of 18 was the highest ever for any male, Israeli tennis player, reached in November 1987. His best doubles world ranking was 67, reached in May 1986.-Early life:...
in 1994, and jumped to # 70 in the world rankings.
Levy completed his three years of military service in the IDF in August 2000.
In March 2001 he upset world # 10 Tim Henman
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
of Great Britain 6–2, 6–4 at Scottsdale.
In May 2001 Levy upset the world's top player, his idol Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
, at the Italian Open. Levy stunned Sampras 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, saving 13 of 17 break points, in what was his most impressive victory yet. Sampras said: "He played very well." In his next match at the tournament, he beat world # 33 Francisco Clavet
Francisco Clavet
Francisco Javier Clavet González is a former tennis player from Spain.From 2009 he has been coaching his countryman Feliciano López.-Singles career titles:* 1990 - Hilversum* 1995 - Palermo* 1996 - Amsterdam...
6–4, 7–6 (6), and then whipped Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer
Nicolas Kiefer , is a former German professional tennis player. His mother, Nicole, is French. He won a silver medal in men's doubles with partner Rainer Schüttler at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
, 6–2, 6–4, winning 80% of his first serves. Levy played down his achievements by joking that he was more depressed by his Israeli soccer team (Maccabi Haifa) losing that week than excited by his success. "I still like soccer much more than tennis", he shrugged. In the quarterfinals he subsequently lost to Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra
Andreas Vinciguerra
Andreas Vinciguerra is a tennis player from Sweden, who turned professional in 1998. He was an impressive junior, winning the European junior championships and making the final of the junior Australian Open when he was 17, when he finished number 6 in the junior rankings.-Tennis career:Vinciguerra...
.
In June 2001 Levy upset world # 17 Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Ferreira
Wayne Richard Ferreira is a former tennis player from South Africa. He attended Parktown Boys' High School....
of South Africa 6–2, 6–4. He then beat world # 40 Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
7–6 (3), 5–7, 6–3 with powerful groundstrokes and spinning drop shots, while sustaining a hip injury. At one point, Roddick prostrated himself on the court, worshipping with outstretched arms in Levy's direction after Levy had gone up 40–0 on Roddick's serve on three cross-court passes. "He'd produced three running passing shots in a row", Roddick explained. "My approach play hadn't been bad. He just came up with power and speed and there was nothing I could do about it at all." Levy lost in the finals of the Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
Tournament in England to Thomas Johansson
Thomas Johansson
Karl Thomas Conny Johansson , commonly known as Thomas Johansson, is a former Swedish professional tennis player. He is a former Australian Open singles champion and Olympic silver medalist in doubles.-Junior career:...
of Sweden, 7–5, 6–3, despite his use of what had become by then his trademark drop volleys. In late June he retired from his first round Wimbledon match with a hip injury. On June 25, at the age of 22, he reached the ranking of # 30 in the world.
In November 2001 Levy flew to the US for arthroscopic surgery for an injured knee, and also had complicated hip surgery to address his injury in Nottingham. He spent six months home in Ramat Ha-Sharon, a suburb of Tel Aviv, recuperating, and in April 2002 returned to playing tennis.
Levy was hampered by injuries for much of the 2002 season. By July 2002, his ranking had dropped to 326. The following month he said: "I'm not going to be back to a hundred percent, but if I get back to 90%, I'll be very happy."
At the US Open in 2002 he defeated world # 30 Andrei Pavel
Andrei Pavel
Andrei Pavel is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Romania. He is currently coaching former world No. 1 and the current world No. 15 of the WTA, Jelena Janković.-Career:...
1–6, 7–6 (7), 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. A partisan crowd cheered him on. Asked how much the crowd helped him, Levy shrugged: "In percentages, you want? OK, around 23½."
At the Forest Hills Tennis Classic in May 2003, Levy defeated top-seeded world # 96 Justin Gimelstob
Justin Gimelstob
Justin Jeremy Gimelstob is a retired American tennis player. Gimelstob has been a resident of Morristown, New Jersey and as of 2009 resided in Santa Monica, California....
6–2, 6–3.
At the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon in 2003, Levy defeated Paul Goldstein in the first round, and reached the 3rd round before losing. In September 2003, Levy and partner Paul Baccanello
Paul Baccanello
Paul Baccanello is an Australian professional tennis player. He has sustained various injuries during his career, which have hampered his results.- Career :...
of Australia won the doubles title at the Open de l'Isère
Isère
Isère is a department in the Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.- History :Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné...
, defeating Rik de Voest
Rik de Voest
Rik de Voest is a professional South African tennis player. As of September 6, 2007, de Voest's career-high ranking was World Number 110, which he achieved on August 21, 2006....
and Johan Landsberg 5–7, 6–4, 7–6 (5) in Grenoble, France. Levy also reached the singles final at the tournament. Later that month he paired with Amir Hadad
Amir Hadad
Amir Hadad is a professional tennis player.His highest singles ATP ranking was # 180, in 2003. His highest doubles ranking was # 87, also in 2003.-Tennis career:He turned pro in 1995....
to defeat Fred Hemmes and Raemon Sluiter
Raemon Sluiter
Raemon Sluiter is a professional male tennis player from the Netherlands. His career-high Association of Tennis Professionals Entry ranking is Number 46...
6–4, 6–4 to win in Groningen, Holland. In October he and Hadad defeated Scott Humphries
Scott Humphries
Scott Humphries , is a professional tennis player from the United States.Humphries achieved a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 29 in 2000...
and Mark Merklein
Mark Merklein
Mark Merklein is a former college and professional tennis player from the Bahamas.Merklein was born in Freeport, Bahamas. He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators men's tennis team in National...
6–4, 6–7 (3), 6–3 to win in Nottingham, England. Levy was back in peak form at the Dnepropetrovsk tournament
PEOPLEnet Cup
The PEOPLEnet Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, since 2003.-Singles:-Doubles:...
in November 2003. He reached the singles final before succumbing to Georgian Irakli Labadze
Irakli Labadze
Irakli Labadze |Georgia]]) is a professional tennis player. His career high singles ranking was "World No. 42" which he attained in July, 2004.Labadze turned pro in 1998, and has recently passed the $1 205 296 career prize money mark...
3–6, 6–3, 1–6. Levy fared better in the doubles tournament where, along with partner Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
he won the title in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, over Simon Aspelin
Simon Aspelin
Simon Aspelin is a former professional tennis doubles player from Sweden who turned professional in 1998...
and Johan Landsberg. He and Erlich also won that month at Bratislava, Slovakia, defeating Mario Ančić
Mario Ancic
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...
and Martin García 7–6 (7), 6–3 in the final. He finished 2003 ranked 111th in the world in singles.
2005–present
The doubles performances of Levy and his partner Amir HadadAmir Hadad
Amir Hadad is a professional tennis player.His highest singles ATP ranking was # 180, in 2003. His highest doubles ranking was # 87, also in 2003.-Tennis career:He turned pro in 1995....
in the months of April and May, 2005, were impressive. In late April the Israelis captured the Hungary F1 tournament in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, defeating Nikola Martinović and Josko Topic 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the final. A few days later they won the F2 title in Miskolc
Miskolc
Miskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
as well, beating Bastian Knittel and Marius Zay 6–1, 6–0 in the final. Levy and Hadad then competed in May in the German town of Furth
Furth
Furth is the name of several communes in Germany and Austria*Furth im Wald, Bavaria*Furth, Lower Bavaria, Bavaria*Furth an der Triesting, Lower Austria*Furth bei Göttweig, Lower Austria...
, where they took the title from Jan Frode Andersen
Jan Frode Andersen
Jan Frode Andersen is a Norwegian tennis player. He played tennis for Norway, including competing in at least 60 countries over a span of 8 years after turning professional in 1997. He represented Norway in the Davis Cup for 10 consecutive years compiling a 30-22 record . His highest ATP ranking...
and Johan Landsberg, 6–1, 6–2. In July they won at Budaors, Hungary, defeating Adam Chadaj and Stéphane Robert
Stéphane Robert
Stéphane Robert is a professional French professional tennis player.He reached his first ATP-level final at the 2010 SA Tennis Open, falling to Feliciano López 5–7, 1–6....
6–4, 6–7 (7), 6–3.
In 2005 Levy won the USTA Tulsa Challenger, beating Benedikt Dorsch of Germany, the reigning NCAA men's singles champion, in a three-hour duel 5–7, 7–5, 7–6 (6). In September 2005 he and partner Noam Okun
Noam Okun
Noam Okun is a professional tennis player.In 2002, Okun reached a career-high singles ranking of # 95 in the world...
won in Istanbul, Turkey, defeating David Škoch
David Škoch
David Škoch is a professional doubles tennis player from the Czech Republic. , he has a good doubles rank and his usual doubles partner is his countryman Jaroslav Levinský.-Wins :...
and Martin Štěpánek in the final, 6–4, 7–5.
In January 2006, a right shoulder injury forced him to retire from a Sydney ATP singles match, and sidelined him for a week. In June 2006 he and Giorgio Galimberti
Giorgio Galimberti
Giorgio Galimberti is an Italian professional tennis player.Galimberti was born in Milan and is currently ranked at No. 1009 in men's singles, peaking at No...
won in Milan, Italy, defeating Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil
Frederico Gil is a Portuguese professional tennis player who competes on the ATP Tour. In April 2011, he achieved a career-high singles world ranking no. 62, the highest ranking a Portuguese player has ever held until September when Rui Machado placed 61st in the rankings...
and Juan Albert Viloca in the final, 6–3, 6–3. In August he and partner Sam Warburg won in the Bronx, New York, defeating Scott Lipsky
Scott Lipsky
Scott Lipsky is a professional tennis player from the United States. He is primarily a doubles specialist....
and David Martin
David Martin (tennis)
David Martin is a professional American tennis player.He teamed with Scott Lipsky to win his first ATP doubles title in February 2008 at the SAP Open in San Jose, California, defeating the number one ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.-Tennis career:Before attending Stanford, David was a US...
in the Bronx Classic final, 6–4, 7–5.
In April 2007 he and Warburg won at Valencia, California, defeating Cecil Mamiit
Cecil Mamiit
Cecil Valdeavilla Mamiit is a tennis player from the United States who now represents the Philippines. He began his professional career in 1996. He reached his highest individual ranking in the ATP Tour on October 11, 1999, when he became World No...
and Eric Taino
Eric Taino
Eric Taino is a retired minor tour tennis player who represented the Philippines. He started a professional career in 1997. Before turning pro, he played for the UCLA Bruins along with fellow pros Justin Gimelstob and Kevin Kim.Taino achieved his highest ranking of World No...
in the final, 6–2, 6–4. In June they won at Yuba City, California
Yuba City, California
Yuba City is a Northern California city, founded in 1849. It is the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 64,925 at the 2010 census....
, defeating Eric Nuñez and Jean-Julien Rojer
Jean-Julien Rojer
Jean-Julien Rojer is a professional Curaçao tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is 218th, which he reached on August 15, 2005. A doubles specialist, his career high in doubles is 18th, which he reached on July 4, 2011. His current doubles partner is Eric Butorac.-Doubles: 13...
in the final, 6–4, 6–4.
In July 2007 Levy and Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram
Rajeev Ram is an American professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. Rajeev is a tall, lanky player with a serve-and-volley style who is known best as a doubles specialist. He has advanced as far as the quarter-finals in doubles at three Grand Slams, most recently with Scott Lipsky at the 2011...
competed together in doubles at Wimbledon, where they made it through the qualifying rounds and to the quarterfinals – Levy's best grand slam showing to date. On their way they defeated 15th-seeded Martín García and Sebastián Prieto
Sebastián Prieto
Sebastián Prieto is a professional tennis player from Argentina.Primarily a doubles specialist, Prieto has won 9 doubles titles in his career. He began playing for the Argentina Davis Cup team in 1999....
7–6 (0), 6–7 (4), 7–6 (4), 6–7 (3), 10–8 in the third round. They lost in the quarters to No. 10 seeds Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
and Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
, 6–3, 6–2, 6–2.
Later in July, Levy, who had slipped to 264 in the world rankings since his surgery, won a challenger title in Manchester, Great Britain, beating Travis Rettenmaier
Travis Rettenmaier
Travis Rettenmaier is a professional American tennis player.-Career:Rettenmaier's highest singles ranking to date has been World Number 273 on February 27, 2006. In doubles, his ranking has been as high as World Number 57, which he achieved on July 12, 2010. At 6-foot 2-inches, Travis is a...
6–2, 6–4 in the final.
In the men's final of the Israeli Championship in December 2007 Levy, who had won the title in 1997, 1999, and 2002, defeated Dekel Valtzer, 6–0, 6–1. By December, Levy had risen 125 places in 2007. His coach, Oded Jacob, said: "Levy suffered a very serious injury in 2001 from which some players have never managed to recover. He went through some very difficult years of physical and mental recuperation. I think he's recovered from that now, and I feel he's learned to come to terms with the fact that he's no longer No. 30 in the world. His goal now is to return to the top 100."
In December 2008 Levy claimed the fifth Israeli championship title of his career, beating Dudi Sela 6–4, 3–6, 7–5. "I won the match because I always believed I would", said Levy. In doubles Levy and Noam Okun lost in the finals to Andy Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
and Noam Behr
Noam Behr
Noam Behr is an Israeli professional tennis player who turned pro in 1994.His career-high singles ranking was # 127 , and his career-high doubles ranking was # 109 .-Tennis career:...
, 6–1, 6–4.
Levy decided at the beginning of 2009 to enter slowly reduce his participation in singles tournaments, and put an emphasis on his doubles career with Noam Okun. But after his Davis Cup win in Sweden, he changed his plans. To prepare for the tie with Russia, he realized he had to once again stress his singles career, and while he kept playing doubles, he played singles anywhere possible.
Davis Cup
Levy has played for Israel's Davis Cup teamIsrael Davis Cup team
The Israel Davis Cup team represents Israel in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Israel Tennis Association....
since 1998, with an 22–15 record through July 2009. In 2008 he played in a tie against Sweden
Sweden Davis Cup team
The Sweden Davis Cup team represents Sweden in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Svenska Tennisförbundet.Sweden is the 5th most successful nation, winning the title 7 times...
, in which he was not victorious in the final and deciding match. However, he redeemed Israel and himself in 2009 against Sweden.
In September 2008 against the Peru Davis Cup team
Peru Davis Cup team
The Peru Davis Cup Team is the Davis Cup team that represents the nation of Peru. The team is governed by the Federación de Tenis de Peru. They currently compete in the Americas Zone Group I, and their best result was reaching the World Group in 2008....
, after losing one match in singles to Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
7–5, 5–7, 7–6 (3), 6–3, Levy paired with Andy Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
to win the doubles tie 6–1, 6–1, 6–2, as Israel won 4–1.
In the 2009 World Group Playoffs in March 2009, Israel again faced Sweden. 2002 Australian Open
2002 Australian Open
List of the 2002 Australian Open champions:-Men's Singles: Thomas Johansson def. Marat Safin, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6...
champion Thomas Johansson
Thomas Johansson
Karl Thomas Conny Johansson , commonly known as Thomas Johansson, is a former Swedish professional tennis player. He is a former Australian Open singles champion and Olympic silver medalist in doubles.-Junior career:...
defeated Levy in the opening match, 6–7 (3), 6–4, 7–5, 4–6, 8–6, in just under 4 hours, but Levy won the decisive final match against Andreas Vinciguerra
Andreas Vinciguerra
Andreas Vinciguerra is a tennis player from Sweden, who turned professional in 1998. He was an impressive junior, winning the European junior championships and making the final of the junior Australian Open when he was 17, when he finished number 6 in the junior rankings.-Tennis career:Vinciguerra...
in Vinciguerra's hometown of Malmö, Sweden, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 8–6 in a marathon 3 hour, 44 minutes to lead the Israeli team to a come-from-behind 3–2 victory over the 7-time Davis Cup champion Swedes at Baltic Hall, allowing Israel to advance in the 2009 Davis Cup. In their 84-year Davis Cup history, the Swedes had never before lost a tie after holding a 2–1 lead.
"I had a coach who always told me that I'm a winner, and that I will always be one. The press labeled me as a loser when I wasn't doing well, and now they say I'm a winner. I know my worth, and I proved to myself that I can still win big matches", Levy said. He added: "Despite all the difficult years, scouring the globe to play in small tournaments with little success, I'm now experiencing a joy that has made it all worthwhile."
Israel (ranked 8th in the Davis Cup standings, with 5,394 points) hosted heavily favored Russia
Russia Davis Cup team
The Russia Davis Cup team represents Russia in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. The team started playing in 1993....
(which won in both 2002 and 2006, and was the top-ranked country in Davis Cup standings, with 27,897 points) in a Davis Cup quarterfinal tie in July 2009, on indoor hard courts at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv. Israel was represented by Levy, Dudi Sela
Dudi Sela
David "Dudi" Sela is an Israeli professional tennis player.Sela reached a career-high singles ranking of # 29 in July 2009. He is currently Israel's top men's singles player, ahead of Amir Weintraub.As a 17-year-old junior, he won the 2003 French Open boys' doubles championship with his doubles...
, Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Erlich
Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich is a professional Israeli tennis player...
, and Andy Ram
Andy Ram
Andy Ram is a professional tennis player from Israel, and the first Israeli tennis player to win a seniors Grand Slam event . He plays more doubles than singles as he prefers doubles more and wins more matches...
. Russia's lineup consisted of Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
(# 24 in the world; former world # 1), Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
(26), Igor Kunitsyn
Igor Kunitsyn
Igor Kunitsyn is a professional male tennis player from Russia. He made it into the top 100 for the first time in 2006, and reached a career-high singles ranking of 35 on July 6, 2009.-Early life:...
(35), and Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
(44; former world # 8). "I believe we can do it against Russia", predicted Levy. The stage was set by Safin, who prior to the tie told the press: "With all due respect, Israel was lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team's response was to beat the Russian team in each of their first three matches, thereby winning the tie. Levy was aware that the Russians thought he was incapable of playing at their level, let alone beating Russia's top player, Andreev. Levy, ranked what the Russian press referred to as a "lowly" world # 210, beat Andreev, world # 24, 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2 in the opening match. Levy said: "I had a feeling Andreev couldn't hurt me in any way, while I could do almost anything, and that made me very calm. I forced him to feel very uncomfortable on the court, lowering his confidence, and his game became more simple." Sela (# 33) followed by beating Russian Youzhny 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, 7–5. Israeli captain Eyal Ran
Eyal Ran
Eyal Ran is a professional Israeli tennis player and Captain of the Israeli Davis Cup team.His career high ATP ranking in singles was 138 , and in doubles it was 71 .-Tennis career:...
likened his players to two fighter jets on court, saying: "I felt as if I had two F-16s out there today, they played amazingly well." The 10,500 spectators were the largest crowd ever for a tennis match in Israel.
The next day Israelis Ram and Erlich beat Safin and Kunitsyn 6–3, 6–4, 6–7 (3), 4–6, 6–4 in front of a boisterous crowd of over 10,000. Ran was carried shoulder-high around the Tel Aviv stadium, as the 10,000-strong crowd applauded. With the tie clinched for Israel, the reverse singles rubbers were "dead", and instead of best-of-five matches, best-of-three sets were played, with the outcomes of little to no importance. Israel wrapped up a 4–1 victory over Russia, as Levy defeated Kunitsyn 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 (2), while Sela retired with a wrist injury while down 3–4 in the first set against Andreev.
Israel will next face the Spanish Davis Cup team
Spain Davis Cup team
The Spain Davis Cup team represents Spain in the Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Real Federación Española de Tenis, presided over by José Luis Escañuela....
in Spain on September 18–20, in Israel's first appearance in the Davis Cup semifinals.
Personal
Levy is a good friend of Brazilian tennis champion Gustavo KuertenGustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
, with whom Levy has often been a hitting partner.
Levy is a fan of the soccer team Maccabi Haifa
Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Maccabi Haifa Football Club is an Israeli football team from the city of Haifa, a section of Maccabi Haifa sports club. The club has won 12 championships, 5 State Cups and 4 Toto Cups...
.