Fernando Verdasco
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| Country |  Spain |
|
| Residence | Madrid, Spain | |
| Date of birth | 15 November, 1983 | |
| Place of birth | Madrid, Spain | |
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |
| Weight | 81 kg (179 lb) | |
| Turned Pro | 2001 | |
| Plays | Left; Double-handed backhand | |
| Career Prize Money | $1,792,894 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 106-93 | |
| Career titles: | 1 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 24 (10 July, 2006) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | 2nd (2005, 2006) | |
| French Open | 2nd (2004, 2006) | |
| Wimbledon | 4th (2006) | |
| U.S. Open | 4th (2005) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | - | |
| Career titles: | 1 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 67 (25 April, 2005) | |
Fernando Verdasco (born November 15, 1983 in Madrid) is a professional tennis player from Spain. The only son of Jose and Olga and the older brother of Sara and Ana, Fernando started playing tennis at the age of 5 and got a full-time coach when he was 8. He turned professional in 2001, finishing as world number 464. 2002 was a good year for him after winning his first Futures category title by beating Holzinger in Spain F1 and finishing runner-up in Spain F3. He also played his second career challenger in Segovia he reached the final losing to Frenchman Olivier Mutis and then reached two more Challenger semfinals in Kiev and Eckental, finishing the year in the top 200 (#173). After finishing 2003 as world #109 (had a 15-8 record in challengers), he had his breakthrough in 2004 when he won the title in Valencia beating defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semifinal and came up as a runner-up to Carlos Moyá in Acapulco. His good results also include back-to-back quarterfinals in Halle and 's-Hertogenbosch on grass, two Masters Series 3rd rounds (Hamburg Masters and Madrid Masters), a quarterfinal in Stockholm, a semifinal in Kitzbuhel and a doubles title in Stockholm (with Spaniard Feliciano López), ending the year on the 36th position. In 2005 he beat Andy Roddick of the USA twice (Miami Masters and Rome Masters), reached the quarters of Valencia, Rome and New Haven, the semis of Sankt Petersburg and was finalist in Kitzbuhel (lost to Gastón Gaudio) but his best performance was the 4th round at the US Open (lost to Jarkko Nieminen), which helped him improve his year-end ranking (#33).
Fernando is a fan of Real Madrid football team, plays left-handed (double-handed backhand) (though throws football right-handed), has a very good forehand, and is coached by Pepo Clavet. Among his ex-girlfriends are Argentinean professional tennis player Gisela Dulko and Spanish model and actress Dafne Fernández. With his athletic form, he could well become a model himself.
Fernando reached the fourth round of Wimbledon 2006, upsetting 3rd Seed and former runner-up David Nalbandian in straight sets. Verdasco then lost to Radek Štěpánek in five sets. At the US Open 2005, Fernando reached the third round, but lost to eventual runner-up Andy Roddick 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 6-7(4) 6-2. In previous rounds, Fernando defeated Fabrice Santoro 6-4 6-1 3-6 6-1 and Thiago Alves 7-6(3) 6-4 6-1. Fernando then lost in the quarter finals of Palermo to Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo and then lost to Ramirez-Hidalgo again the following week in the quarter finals of Metz. Verdasco then continued his poor run of form by losing in the first round of Moscow to Daniele Bracciali, Madrid Masters 7-5 6-3 to Tim Henman and Paris Masters to 6-4 7-6(4) Michael Llodra. Verdasco finished the year ranked 35th on the ATP rankings.
Verdasco uses the Adidas Barricade IV shoes with Adidas clothing. His racket is the TFlight320 Tecnifibre.
[edit] Titles (1)
[edit] Singles (1)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 12 April 2004 | Valencia, Spain | Clay | Albert Montanes |
7-6(5) 6-3 |
[edit] Singles finalist (2)
- 2004: Acapulco (lost to Carlos Moya)
- 2005: Kitzbuhel (lost to Gastón Gaudio)
