Robert Kendrick
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{{Infobox Tennis player |playername= Robert Kendrick |country= 
United States |residence= [[Naples, Florida, USA |datebirth= November 15, 1979 |placebirth= Fresno, California, USA |height= 6 ft 3 in (190 cm) |weight= 190 lb (86 kg) |turnedpro= 1999 |plays= Right; Two-handed backhand |careerprizemoney= $537,921 |singlesrecord= 15 - 28 |singlestitles= 0 |highestsinglesranking= No. 82 (February 12, 2007) |AustralianOpenresult= 1st (2007) |FrenchOpenresult= - |Wimbledonresult= 2nd (2006) |USOpenresult= 1st (2005,2006) |doublesrecord= 15 - 19 |doublestitles= 1 |highestdoublesranking= No. 90 (May 19, 2003) }}
Robert Kendrick (born November 15, 1979 in Fresno, California) is an American tennis player. He turned professional in 1999.
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[edit] Early Life
Robert Kendrick was born in Fresno on November 15, 1979 to Tom and Doris Kendrick and began playing tennis at the age of 5. Kendrick's family is of relatively modest means. Tom Kendrick is a real estate appraiser and Doris is a housewife. Robert has three older siblings: Kerry, Tommy, and Scott. He graduated from Bullard High School where he led the tennis team to a second place league finish in 1997, losing to a team from Clovis West High School in the championship.
[edit] College and Junior Tennis Career
Kendrick has been called a "serve and volley" player by some, but his main strenths are his serve and his forehand. His ability to volley the ball at the net is mediocre. Kendrick's opponents typically succeed by trying to exploit his weak backhand and slow footwork.
Throughout high school he competed in Junior Tennis and enjoyed some intermittent success. In 1996 he was the runner-up in singles at the 1996 USTA Boys’ 18s National Indoor Championships. Then in 1997 he reached the final in doubles of the Easter Bowl and reached the singles finals and took the doubles title at the USTA International Grass Court Championships. In 1998 he attended the University of Washington earning All-American in singles and doubles as a sophomore with a record of 31-9 and got as high as No. 3 in the collegiate rankings that year. He then transferred to Pepperdine University for his junior year and again attained All-American with an 18-10 record. He managed to reach the Round of 16 at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship where he lost to Jeff Morrison.
[edit] 2006
Kendrick's pro career has been a disappointment to some who think that he has not been able to maximize his potential. He occasionally shows signs of promise by winning matches at ATP tournaments, but then retreats into full obscurity as he goes months before winning his next ATP match.
Pundits have offered various explanations for Kendrick's inability to achieve greater success as a professional tennis player. Some say that he simply lacks the requisite talent to enter the elite ranks of professional tennis. These people concede that Kendrick has a formidable serve and forehand, but attribute his mediocrity to deficiencies in other areas of his game (i.e. weak backhand, slow footwork, and mediocre volleys).
[edit] 2006 ATP Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
Kendrick got to the second round, playing fellow countrymen in both of his matches. He defeated Kevin Kim 6-4 7-5 in the first round, but lost to the eighth seed Vincent Spadea 6-4 6-1 in his second round match.
[edit] 2006 Wimbledon Championships
Kendrick went into the Gentlemen's Singles tournament ranked 237th in the world. His first match was on the second day of the Championships; Tuesday June 27. It was on Court 9, and he beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei 7-65 6-3 6-0.
The fourth day of the Championships (Thursday June 29) was one of the highlights of Kendrick's career. In the second round, he lost to the second seed, Rafael Nadal on Centre Court. The Spaniard had to come back for only the second time in his career from two sets down to beat Kendrick in five sets (6-74 3-6 7-62 7-5 6-4). This performance at SW19 surprised many. Kendrick was ranked outside the top 200 at the time of the match, but employed a serve and volley style of play that appeared to frustrate Nadal for almost 3 sets. Some consider Kendrick to be unfortunate not to have won because at 5 games to 4 and 30-15 up in the 3rd set with Nadal serving, a close line call went against him which would have meant 40-15 and two match points. Although Kendrick appeared dismayed by the call, a television replay showed that the call was correct and should have gone against Kendrick. As it was, Nadal went on to win the set in a tie-break and then the match. Kendrick's serving impressed many, as he served twenty-eight aces, compared to Nadal's seven. After the match, a commentator for BBC Sport exclaimed that it was "the match of the tournament so far". Kendrick was the only player in the tournament to take sets off Nadal on the Spaniard's route to the final, where he lost to the number one seed; Switzerland's Roger Federer, who beat Nadal 6-0 7-65 6-72 6-3 in the final.
[edit] 2006 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tenis Championships
Shortly after his experience at the Grand Slam, Kendrick was back in action in his home country, to take part in the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tenis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. He made it to the quarter-final on Friday July 14, but was embarassed by British sensation Andrew Murray 6-0 6-0.
He made amends for the defeat by winning the doubles title on Sunday July 16, with his Austrian playing partner Jürgen Melzer. In the final, the duo beat South African Jeff Coetzee and the unfortunate American Justin Gimelstob, who also lost the singles final on the same day.
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