Olivier Rochus

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Country:

Belgium

Residence:

Auvelais, Belgium

Height:

5'5 (165 cm)

Weight:

130 lbs (59 kg)

Plays:

Right

Turned pro:

1999

Highest singles ranking:

24 (10/17/2005)

Singles titles:

Doubles titles:

Career Prize Money:

$2,554,593 (as of 9/4/2006)

Grand Slam Titles: 0

Olivier Rochus (January 18, 1981) is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.

He was a doubles partner of Roger Federer on the junior circuit.

He has won 2 singles titles in his career and achieved a stunning victory in the French Open in 2004 where he won the doubles title partnering fellow Belgian Xavier Malisse.

At 1.65m (5' 5") he is the smallest player on the ATP Tour.

He is the younger brother of Christophe Rochus, also a tennis player.

In May 2006, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against Kristof Vliegen. He won that final in straight sets (6-4 6-2).

In June, Rochus had a very good chance to beat World No. 1 Roger Federer and end his 39-match winning streak on grass. In the quarter-final of the tournament in Halle, Rochus held four matches points in the second set at 5-6 and in the tie-break (6/4 and 7/6). He couldn't close out the match and eventually lost 7-6, 6-7, 6-7.

Perhaps his biggest win was at Wimbledon in 2002, where he overcame top ten star Marat Safin in four sets (6-2 6-4 3-6 7-6(1)). The victory was particularly impressive considering Safin is almost a foot taller than the Belgian star. In fact, the Belgian has had the Russian's number lately, beating him in each of their last two meetings (Halle and Dubai). Safin was able to get a measure of revenge at the 2006 U.S Open, defeating Rochus 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

1 Titles (4)
2 External links

[edit] Titles (4)

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (2)

[edit] Singles (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the Final	Score
1.	25 September 2000	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Diego Nargiso	7-6¹⁴ 6-1
2.	7 May 2006	Munich, Germany	Clay	Kristof Vliegen	6-4 6-2