Kristian Pless
Encyclopedia
Kristian Peter Pless is a professional male tennis
player from Denmark.
In 1999, he won the Australian Open
for juniors (defeated Mikhail Youzhny
), and reached the junior finals at Wimbledon
(lost to Jürgen Melzer
), and the US Open
(lost to Jarkko Nieminen
). He finished 1999 as the no. 1 ranked junior player in the world.
He turned professional in 1999, and on January 28, 2002, Kristian Pless reached his career-high ATP
singles ranking: World No. 65. He has won tournaments at the Futures and Challenger levels, and has reached three semifinals on the ATP Tour. He suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2003, which after multiple surgery kept him out of competition for almost a year.
After returning from injury in 2004, he had dropped in the rankings to World No. 846 on May 24. Subsequently, he has gradually climbed the rankings, and after successful performances at the Challenger level in the fall of 2006, he entered the Top-100 again. In January 2007, he continued his good performances as he defeated World No. 8 David Nalbandian
in three sets in the first round of Chennai Open
. This was Pless' first win against a Top-10 ranked player.
In 2008 he reached two Challenger finals (in Izmir, Turkey and Rimouski, Canada), but ended the year outside of Top 100. In the beginning of 2009, he lost in the first round of most Challenger tournaments, leading to a drop in rankings to World No. 265 as of May 2009.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player from Denmark.
In 1999, he won the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
for juniors (defeated 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....
), and reached the junior finals at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
(lost to Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
), and the US Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
(lost to Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...
). He finished 1999 as the no. 1 ranked junior player in the world.
He turned professional in 1999, and on January 28, 2002, Kristian Pless reached his career-high ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
singles ranking: World No. 65. He has won tournaments at the Futures and Challenger levels, and has reached three semifinals on the ATP Tour. He suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2003, which after multiple surgery kept him out of competition for almost a year.
After returning from injury in 2004, he had dropped in the rankings to World No. 846 on May 24. Subsequently, he has gradually climbed the rankings, and after successful performances at the Challenger level in the fall of 2006, he entered the Top-100 again. In January 2007, he continued his good performances as he defeated World No. 8 David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in three sets in the first round of Chennai Open
Chennai Open
The Chennai Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour...
. This was Pless' first win against a Top-10 ranked player.
In 2008 he reached two Challenger finals (in Izmir, Turkey and Rimouski, Canada), but ended the year outside of Top 100. In the beginning of 2009, he lost in the first round of most Challenger tournaments, leading to a drop in rankings to World No. 265 as of May 2009.
Singles titles (4)
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (0) |
| Challengers (4) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | May 14, 2001 |  EdinburghEdinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
Clay |  Gorka Fraile |
6–3 6–3 |
| 2. | December 3, 2001 |  Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... |
Clay | Ricardo Mello Ricardo Mello Ricardo Mello is a Brazilian tennis player. His preference is for clay courts. He has had the occasional win in hard court tournaments. His best singles rank was no. 50 in 2005... |
6–1 6–1 |
| 3. | October 30, 2006 |  RimouskiChallenger Banque Nationale The Men's Rimouski Challenger is a tennis tournament held in Rimouski, Quebec, Canada since 2006. The event is part of the challenger series and is played on indoor hard courts.-Singles:-Doubles:- External links :**... |
Hard Indoors |  Lu Yen-hsunLu Yen-hsun Lu Yen-hsun is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. He goes by the nickname Rendy. As of November 1, 2010, Lu is ranked #33 in the world and #1 in Asia. His favorite surface is hardcourt.- Junior career:... |
6–4 7–6 |
| 4. | March 26, 2007 |  St. Brieuc |
Clay Indoors |  Farrukh DustovFarrukh Dustov Farrukh Dustov is an Uzbek tennis player playing on the ITF Futures Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. On April 30, 2007, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 173. He is coached by Manuel Gasbarri.-Singles: 6 :... |
6–3 6–1 |
Grand Slam performance timeline
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
- | 3r | 1r | - | - | - | 1r | - | - | 2–3 |
| French Open French Open (tennis) The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are... |
2r | 1r | - | 1r | - | 1r | 2r | - | - | 2–5 |
| Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
2r | 1r | - | 1r | - | 1r | 1r | - | 1–5 | |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
2r | 2r | - | 2r | - | 2r | 1r | - | 4–5 | |
| Grand Slam W-L | 3–3 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 9-18 |