Razvan Sabau
Encyclopedia
Răzvan Sabău is a Romania
n tennis player.
Born in Bucharest
, Romania, Sabău trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
in his junior years and in 1993 he won the Wimbledon
junior singles title, finishing the year as the No. 2 junior in the world. He ranked No. 1 for four months that year.
Sabău turned pro in 1993, at age 16, and the next year he reached the doubles semifinals of the Bucharest Open (with Andrei Pavel
)
Sabău also made his Davis Cup
debut in 1994, when he posted his first two wins, against Jeremy Bates and Mark Petchey
of Great Britain. Sabău continues to be a member of the Romania
n Davis Cup team.
When he made his first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament, at Roland Garros in 1999, he lost in the first round.
After a series of injuries between 2000 and 2002, he had to start from the bottom of the ATP
rankings, and played mostly in Challenger Series tournaments. Sabău won three Challenger titles in his career: Homestead
in 2004, Košice
and Budapest
in 2005.
His biggest achievements in the ATP Tour
are reaching the semifinals twice, at the Bucharest Open in 2003, where he lost to Nicolás Massú
and at Gstaad
in 2005, where he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka
.
Sabău got his best ATP
Singles Ranking in September 2005, reaching World No. 74. Later that year, he played for the first time at the US Open
, but lost in the first round to Andre Agassi
.
In 2006, he made his first appearance at the Australian Open and Wimbledon
, and his second at the French Open but failed to advance past the first round in any of the three.
2007, by contrast, was a poor year for Sabău. Playing the ATP Challenger Series
, he did not advance beyond the second round in singles in any events, losing in the first round fourteen out of eighteen times. In seven tournaments in doubles, he only advanced beyond the first round once.
His poor results the previous year meant Sabău was relegated to the ITF Men's Circuit
for 2008. He captured one title, Romania F1 Futures tournament, and reached two other finals. His ranking rose from World No. 630 at the end of 2007 to No. 460 by the end of 2008.
Sabău played far fewer events in 2009 - twenty compared with thirty-one in 2008. He reached two Futures finals but failed to win a single main draw match at Challenger level, in four events played. (The previous year he won just one Challenger main draw match in ten tournaments entered.) Sabău finished 2009 ranked World No. 627 in singles. For the second year in a row he competed in just two tour doubles events, both Futures, reaching the semi-finals in one.
Sabău competed in sixteen events in 2010, all in Romania, Italy, and France, and all but three ITF Futures. He reached one final and four semi-finals, and won a Challenger main draw match for the first time in two seasons. His ranking climbed a hundred spots, to finish the year World No. 527.
Sabău has been busier in 2011, competing by early June in more events than he had in all the previous year. All but one have been Futures tournaments. He has won one title, Bulgaria F3, and lost in the first round just once. His singles ranking has climbed to be in the middle 400s.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n tennis player.
Born in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Romania, Sabău trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
The Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy is located in Bradenton, Florida, and was founded in 1978 by Nick Bollettieri as a full-time tennis boarding school that combines intensive tennis training with an academic curriculum....
in his junior years and in 1993 he won the 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...
junior singles title, finishing the year as the No. 2 junior in the world. He ranked No. 1 for four months that year.
Sabău turned pro in 1993, at age 16, and the next year he reached the doubles semifinals of the Bucharest Open (with 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:...
)
Sabău also made his Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
debut in 1994, when he posted his first two wins, against Jeremy Bates and Mark Petchey
Mark Petchey
Mark Dave Petchey is a former tennis player from England, who turned professional in 1988. The right-hander won one doubles title in his career. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 8 August 1994, when he became the number 80 of the world...
of Great Britain. Sabău continues to be a member of the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Davis Cup team.
When he made his first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament, at Roland Garros in 1999, he lost in the first round.
After a series of injuries between 2000 and 2002, he had to start from the bottom of the 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...
rankings, and played mostly in Challenger Series tournaments. Sabău won three Challenger titles in his career: Homestead
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
in 2004, Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
and 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...
in 2005.
His biggest achievements in the ATP Tour
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...
are reaching the semifinals twice, at the Bucharest Open in 2003, where he lost to Nicolás Massú
Nicolás Massú
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...
and at Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
in 2005, where he lost to Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
.
Sabău got his best 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 in September 2005, reaching World No. 74. Later that year, he played for the first time at 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...
, but lost in the first round to Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
.
In 2006, he made his first appearance at the Australian Open and 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...
, and his second at the French Open but failed to advance past the first round in any of the three.
2007, by contrast, was a poor year for Sabău. Playing the ATP Challenger Series
ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments...
, he did not advance beyond the second round in singles in any events, losing in the first round fourteen out of eighteen times. In seven tournaments in doubles, he only advanced beyond the first round once.
His poor results the previous year meant Sabău was relegated to the ITF Men's Circuit
ITF Men's Circuit
The ITF Men's Circuit is a series of professional tennis tournaments held around the world that are organized by the International Tennis Federation. The ITF Men's Circuit represents the lowest rung of the men's professional tennis ladder...
for 2008. He captured one title, Romania F1 Futures tournament, and reached two other finals. His ranking rose from World No. 630 at the end of 2007 to No. 460 by the end of 2008.
Sabău played far fewer events in 2009 - twenty compared with thirty-one in 2008. He reached two Futures finals but failed to win a single main draw match at Challenger level, in four events played. (The previous year he won just one Challenger main draw match in ten tournaments entered.) Sabău finished 2009 ranked World No. 627 in singles. For the second year in a row he competed in just two tour doubles events, both Futures, reaching the semi-finals in one.
Sabău competed in sixteen events in 2010, all in Romania, Italy, and France, and all but three ITF Futures. He reached one final and four semi-finals, and won a Challenger main draw match for the first time in two seasons. His ranking climbed a hundred spots, to finish the year World No. 527.
Sabău has been busier in 2011, competing by early June in more events than he had in all the previous year. All but one have been Futures tournaments. He has won one title, Bulgaria F3, and lost in the first round just once. His singles ranking has climbed to be in the middle 400s.
ATP Challenger Tour singles finals: 7 (3–4)
|
|
Wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 7 November 2004 |  Homestead, USA |
Hard |  Wesley MoodieWesley Moodie Wesley Moodie is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. Wesley is now retired.-Early life and college career:... |
5–7, 6–2, 7–5 |
| 2. | 21 May 2005 |  Budapest, Hungary |
Clay |  Jean-Claude ScherrerJean-Claude Scherrer Jean-Claude Scherrer is a professional tennis player from Switzerland who entered professional play in 1998.-Runners-up :-External links:*... |
1–6, 7–6(3), 6–3 |
| 3. | 12 June 2005 |  Košice, Slovakia |
Clay |  Adam Chadaj |
6–1, 6–2 |
Runner-ups (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 28 October 2002 |  Réunion, France |
Hard |  Federico Browne |
0–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
| 2. | 1 September 2004 |  BraşovBrasov Challenger The Ropharma Challenger Brașov is a tennis tournament held in Braşov, Romania since 1996. The event is part of the ATP Challenger Tour and is played on outdoor clay courts.-Singles:-Doubles:- External links :**... , Romania |
Clay |  Daniel ElsnerDaniel Elsner Daniel Elsner is a former professional German tennis player.Elsner was a World No. 2 junior player in singles. He turned professional in 1997 and last played on the ATP World Tour in October, 2008.-External links:... |
2–6, 1–6 |
| 3. | 10 October 2004 |  Quito, Ecuador |
Clay | Giovanni Lapentti Giovanni Lapentti Giovanni Lapentti Gómez is a Ecuadorian tennis player. His brother is Nicolás Lapentti, another professional tennis player, while a third brother, Leonardo, has also been active at the lower levels of professional tennis.... |
6–4, 6–3 |
| 4. | 21 November 2004 |  PueblaChallenger Britania Zavaleta The Challenger Varonil Britania Zavaleta is a professional tennis tournament played on Hard. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Puebla, Mexico, since 1996.-Singles:-Doubles:... , Mexico |
Hard | Miguel Gallardo-Valles |
6–7, 4–6 |