Dick Norman
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Dick Norman (born March 1, 1971 in Waregem, Belgium) is a Belgian tennis player.
Turning professional in 1991, Norman notched up only his 14th Grand Slam appearance at the 2006 Wimbledon, where, at 35, he was the second oldest male competitor, to Andre Agassi
In 1995, he made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon, despite qualifying out of the lucky loser's draw. He defeated successive but aging former Wimbledon Champions Pat Cash and Stefan Edberg in the first and second rounds respectively, then doubles guru Todd Woodbridge in the 3rd round, before falling to another former Champion Boris Becker in the fourth round. It remains the furthest that any player has ever advanced in a Grand Slam Tournamernt coming out of the lucky loser draw.
He disappeared from tennis scene after a few unimpressive seasons, but has made a resurgence starting in 2003, at the age of 32, when most players have retired. He has qualified for three Grand Slam tournaments in three of the last four years (2003, 2005, 2006). Nine of his fourteen Grand Slam appearances have come after his 32nd birthday, although none nearly as successful as his 1995 Wimbledon run. Most times he'd lose in the first or second round. Still he is closing in on $1 million in career earnings, in large part due to his Grand Slam "successes".
He has won over 10 titles on the challenger tour, tennis' version of the minor leagues. In January, 2007 he teamed with countryman Xavier Malisse to win the doubles title at the ATP event in Chennai.
