| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Boca Raton , Florida, United States |
| Born | July 19, 1974 Chicago, Illinois |
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Turned pro | 1993 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | US$5,000,072 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 309–344 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 18 (February 28, 2005) |
| Current ranking | 834 |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1999) |
| French Open | 3R (1999, 2002, 2003) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2004) |
| US Open | 4R (1995, 1999) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 65–112 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 90 (June 12, 2006) |
| Last updated on: July 14, 2008. | |
Vincent Spadea [SPAY-dee-ya] (born July 19, 1974 in Chicago) is an Italian-American,[1] and former ATP Tour professional tennis player from the United States. Best known for his ATP record-setting streak of 21 straight losses -- which led Associated Press to dub him "the Charlie Brown of tennis" (after the comic strip character who kept trying but failing to kick the football) [2] -- he is one of only four players in history to defeat Roger Federer 6–0 in set, at a major event. The New York Times summarized his career by calling him "the epitome of a tennis journeyman" and then noted that "he has played in 15 United States Opens and has never reached the quarterfinals." [3]
He reached a career high in the ATP Champions Race position of World No.10 in April 2003, as well as a career-high ATP ranking of World No. 18, achieved in February 2005. He has career prize money earnings of over $5,000,000. Spadea has ATP career singles wins over Roger Federer (1–2 record), Pete Sampras (1–4), Andre Agassi (2–4), Rafael Nadal (1–1), Andy Roddick (1–2), Patrick Rafter, Richard Krajicek, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Marat Safin, and Gustavo Kuerten. He is a 2-time Olympian team member (2000 Sydney/2004 Athens).
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In 1999, he broke into the Top 20 players in the world for the first time. In 2000, had a string of injuries that dropped him drastically to a world ranking of 237 from 19. Vince set a new ATP benchmark with a 21-match losing streak in 2000. Working hard on the challenger circuit after his fall, he successfully recovered and eventually won his first career ATP Tour tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he defeated James Blake and Andy Roddick along the way in 2004 . He continued to back to the top of the world rankings from the 200s to a career high 18. This is considered one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history in terms of ranking spots improved.
In 2003, Spadea embarked on a Masters series tear, qualifying at the Pacific Life Open and reaching the semi-finals for the first time in his career, losing to World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt.. He went on to the Monte Carlo Masters a month later and reached his 2nd semi-finals in a Masters series . Being one of only a handful of Americans to ever reach that far in a Masters claycourt event . This helped him reach a career high position of No.10 in the ATP Champions Race in April.
In 2005, Vince turned down numerous TV opportunities including a spot on ABC's hit show "The Bachelor" to focus on his inspiring tennis comeback that saw him rise from the bottom of the ranks to No.18 in Feb. Vince then signed a publishing deal with ECW Press to write a candid memoir on the behind the scenes life of a pro tennis player, violating a long-standing tennis rule that players do not reveal locker room secrets to the world in exchange for money.
In 2006 Spadea published his autobiographical book, Break Point: The Secret Diary Of A Pro Tennis Player.[4] Spadea criticized a number of tennis players including James Blake and Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe. He called out McEnroe for picking Mardy Fish ahead of him for the 2004 Davis Cup final where the Americans lost to Spain. Spadea criticized Blake for questionable character during a match where Blake allegedly "trash-talked" him. Several sports writers were impressed with Spadea's book, including SI.Com and The Washington Post; book sales were a surprising success, selling out of hardcover copies and reaching the top of the ranks in sports and tennis books during its debut month.
Spadea started 2008 with outstanding results at the Australian Open making it to the third round. In the first round Spadea had an epic comeback from two sets down to defeat former world number 8 Radek Štěpánek, he celebrated with numerous dances and raps. 2008 marked Spadea's 13th year as a top 100 ranked player. He closed the season by winning 2 Challenger titles in Waco,TX and Calabasas,CA. This takes him to a personal best 9 career pro singles titles.
Vince has had an injury-stricken season so far in 2009, plagued by an overuse tendonitis arm issue, as well as a lower extremity staph infection. Only winning a few singles ATP level singles matches before the start of the clay season, while he got to the semi-final of the Carson challenger. 2009 marks his 17th season on the ATP tour.
In July 2009, Vince won the Shotgun 21 Championships in Pacific Palisades, CA . A unisex event where participants included celebrities, WTA and ATP pros. A unique tournament where every competitor must start the point with a groundstroke, excluding the serve as an attempt to equalize the players. Along the way he beat Oscar nominated actress Elizabeth Shue and ATP pro Ramon Delgado in the final.[5]
The veteran continues to pursue his off court interests of rap and clothing design. As pro tennis's house rapper, he's performed on national television numerous times including NBC's Today Show with Katie Couric at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, ESPN at Wimbledon, USA Network, CBS's SuperSet Series Special, and The Tennis Channel. His "No Strings" episode on The Tennis Channel has been a regularly rotated show for the last 3 years. Spadea is due to release rap songs in the next 12 months. In July 2009, Vince shot an exclusive feature for the new ATP Official Magazine Show titled "Uncovered" which can be watched presently on www.atpworldtour.com. He raps, gives insight on the past, present and future of the tennis world, and guides viewers around cities including Eastbourne, England and Hollywood, California.
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | March 1, 2004 | Scottsdale, United States | Hard | Nicolas Kiefer | 7–5 6–7(5) 6–3 |