Taylor Dent

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Taylor Dent
Taylor Dent returning serve at Wimbledon in 2005.
Country Flag of United States United States
Residence Bradenton, Florida
Date of birth April 24, 1981
Place of birth Newport Beach, California
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 88 kg (195 lb)
Turned Pro 1998
Retired 2007
Plays Right (One-handed backhand)
Career Prize Money $2,067,634
Singles
Career record: 127-104
Career titles: 4
Highest ranking: No. 21 (August 8, 2005)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open 3rd (2005)
French Open 1st (2004)
Wimbledon 4th (2005)
U.S. Open 4th (2003)
Doubles
Career record: 14-35
Career titles: 0
Highest ranking: 170 (August 20, 2001)

Infobox last updated on: November 16, 2006.

Wimbledon, 2005.
Wimbledon, 2005.

Taylor Phillip Dent (b. April 24, 1981) is a former tennis player from the United States.

Contents

[edit] Career

He won 4 ATP singles titles during his career: Newport (2002), Bangkok (2003), Memphis (2003), and Moscow (2003), and reached the finals of three other events on tour. However, he may be best known (at least in the US) as the opponent of a young boy playing the role of Jaden Agassi, the son of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, in a television commercial for insurer Genworth Financial.

Unusually for a contemporary tennis player, Dent favored a pure serve-and-volley style of play. His career high rank is World No. 21, reached on August 8, 2005. In the 2006 season, Dent did not play very many competitive matches, due to the recurring back and groin problem that eventually forced his retirement.[1]

During a recent talk at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, Dent confirmed that injuries have forced him to retire from the professional game, much to the disappointment of many tennis fans who believed that Taylor Dent was the last pure Serve-and-Volley player remaining on the professional tour.

[edit] Personal Life

Dent is the son of former ATP player and 1974 Australian Open finalist Phil Dent. Taylor's mother, Betty Ann (Grubb) Stuart, who has remarried, reached US Open doubles final in 1977 (w/Renee Richards) and was a former Top 10 player in U.S. His step-brother, Brett Hansen-Dent (born July 2, 1972), played on ATP circuit briefly after reaching NCAA singles final while playing at University of Southern California. His godfather is former Aussie player John Alexander. First cousin Misty May is one of top pro volleyball players in world and won a gold medal at Athens Olympics.

Dent attended Corona del Mar High School and Monte Vista High School in California. He has a tattoo of American and Australian flags on his right shoulder. On December 8, 2006, he married WTA Tour player Jennifer Hopkins. Wedding guests included Maria Sharapova, Nick Bollettieri, Phil Dent, Jan-Michael Gambill, Tommy Haas, Mashona Washington.

[edit] Facts

  • Has a 151 mph serve, second only to Andy Roddick
  • Being over 80 kg, he is very injury prone. His injury areas include his ankle, wrist, pinched nerve, and back. This has often caused Taylor to have to quit some of his matches before their completion.
  • Dent was forced to change his serving movement/style after he returned to tennis from a back injury. Initially, it seemed to work, as Taylor still averaged a high service speed, but his back problems began to occur again in early 2006.
  • 6 January 2006 - Won the 2006 Hopman cup paired with Lisa Raymond, two rubbers to one.
  • Taylor has often been likened to soccer sensation Demetrio Rojas
  • Taylor played for Corona Del Mar H.S. (Newport Beach, CA).
  • Interestingly, Taylor has a somewhat high number of five-set losses in Grand Slam match play (seven overall), including two to Lleyton Hewitt, one at the 2001 Wimbledon tournament, and the other at the 2005 U.S. Open
  • Taylor was a color commentator on the The Tennis Channel for the 2006 U.S Open with announcer Tim Ryan.

[edit] Titles (4)

[edit] Singles (4)

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 7 July 2002 Newport, Rhode Island Grass Flag of United States James Blake (United States) 6-1 4-6 6-4
2. 17 February 2003 Memphis, Tennessee Hard Flag of United States Andy Roddick (United States) 6-1, 6-4
3. 22 September 2003 Bangkok, Thailand Hard Flag of Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 6-3 7-6
4. 29 September 2003 Moscow, Russia Carpet Flag of Armenia Sargis Sargsian (Armenia) 7-6 6-4

[edit] Singles Finalist (3)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links