Ross Hutchins

Ross Dan Hutchins (born 22 February 1985^[1]) is a retired British professional tennis player, known best as a doubles player. Hutchins was born in Wimbledon.^[2] Having turned professional in 2002, he enjoyed success on the Challenger circuit and broke through to the ATP Tour in late 2007. He competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi where he won silver partnering Ken Skupski in the Men's Doubles event.

He reached thirteen ATP Tour doubles finals in his career winning five of them. His eight doubles finals came in Moscow and Lyon (2008), Tokyo (2009), Sydney and Memphis (2010), Newport (2012) and Kuala Lumpur (2012). In 2011 he had his best doubles Grand slam season to date reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon his best achievement in a Grand Slam tournament and then two months later equalling it at the US Open. Hutchins was one of Britain's highest ranked doubles players, alongside Jamie Murray, Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski.

Hutchins was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in late 2012,^[3] which was treated and went into remission by July 2013.^[4] At the point of his diagnosis he was the British No. 3 and ranked No. 28 in the world in doubles; however, after missing the entire 2013 season, Hutchins dropped out of the ATP singles rankings. Hutchins returned to action for the start of the 2014 season.^[5]

In March 2014, he became the tournament director of the Aegon Championships.

In September 2014, Hutchins left his role as tournament director to take up a new position as the ATP's vice-president of player relations.

Biography

Personal life

Hutchins was born in Wimbledon and attended the King's College School in Wimbledon.^[6] He left the school with seven GCSEs in 2001 to pursue tennis career and to study French and Spanish courses. He played a lot on indoor carpet courts at the All England Club after finishing homework. He also excelled in playing cricket, rugby, basketball, swimming and football at the school. He also enjoys playing golf and has a handicap of 12 and is an avid Fulham Football Club fan. In 2001 he won the doubles title at British National Championships with James Smith before turning professional in 2002. In early 2013 Hutchins announced that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.^[3]

Tennis career

Hutchins first started playing in futures and qualifying tournaments in the UK in 2003 and internationally in 2004.^[7] In February 2005 he achieved his first professional tournament victory in the Delmont futures doubles tournament in Switzerland with Henry Adjei-Darko, with further futures doubles victories following.^[7] He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2005 Wimbledon Men's Doubles, partnering Martin Lee, though the pair lost to Jean-François Bachelot and Arnaud Clément. His first singles final came in a futures tournament in Montreal the subsequent November.^[7]

Hutchins success as a doubles player on the futures circuit continued, and he returned more successfully to the 2006 edition of Wimbledon with regular partner Joshua Goodall. The pair reached the second round, having defeated Christophe Rochus and Stanislas Wawrinka in round one.^[8] Soon after, they reached the final of their first Challenger tournament, in Nottingham.^[7] Hutchins chose to concentrate on doubles following tournament success with Goodall.

2007

2007 saw Hutchins winning more futures tournaments. His most successful moment again came in Nottingham, this time reaching his first ATP Tour final, again with Goodall. On the way they beat top seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.^[7] By the end of the year, Hutchins had broken into the world top 100 doubles ranking, having chosen to focus on the discipline.^[9]

2008

In 2008, Hutchins began to play more regularly in ATP tournaments with his new partner Stephen Huss. They achieved a surprise result in the 2008 French Open, beating fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in round one.^[10]

Hutchins made his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain in the World Group first round match against Argentina. Hutchins and Jamie Murray played in and lost the doubles match, Great Britain eventually losing 4-1. This was Great Britain's first World Group match since 2003, and now faced a relegation play-off with Austria.^[11]

He bounced back immediately at the China Open, where he and Huss clinched their first ATP Tour victory. Towards the end of the season, Hutchins also played some tournaments with Murray's former partner Eric Butorac.

2009

In 2009, Hutchins switched to singles for the first time, playing in the qualifying tournament in the new ATP tour event in Johannesburg. He beat Denys Molchanov in the final round 7–5 6–1 to be the first British player to qualify for an ATP event since James Ward qualified for the Artois Championships in June 2008. He should get a new singles ranking of around 1200 after qualifying.

He concentrated on doubles, however, and with his ranking now in the top 50 competed regularly with Stephen Huss in Masters tournaments. A good start to the season saw the pair reach three quarter-finals at these top level tournaments, and Hutchins reached a career peak ranking of number 33 in May 2009.

In March, Hutchins was selected for Great Britain's Davis Cup team for their Europe/Africa Zone Group I match against Ukraine in Renfrewshire. Hutchins and Colin Fleming lost a tightly-contested match to Sergiy Stakhovsky and Sergei Bubka, Ukraine winning 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 to give Ukraine an unassailable 3–0 lead.^[12]

As they struggled to win matches and when they did they couldn't make it two in a row. This run of form continued from Madrid until the US Open. Where upon losing in the first round Huss and Hutchins split.

In September, Hutchins was called to the Great British Davis Cup squad for the Europe/Africa Zone Group I play-offs in Liverpool. Hutchins' partner Andy Murray was hampered by a wrist injury which forced Hutchins to play out of position, and they lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to Marcin Matkowski and Mariusz Fyrstenberg.^[13] Great Britain lost 3-2, and was relegated to the third tier of the Davis Cup.

Following the Davis Cup, he teamed up with Jordan Kerr and Horia Tecău alternately in subsequent tournaments. In his first event with the pair of them they won one and lost one. It then clicked with Kerr in their second tournament together as they reached the final of the Japan Open, which they lost to Jürgen Melzer and Julian Knowle.

Two first round losses with Tecau and one with Kerr followed before dropping down and making the semis of a challenger event with Tecau before losing in the first round of another challenger, Hutchins last tournament of 2009.

2010

2010 saw Jordan Kerr become Hutchins' partner full-time. The season started brightly after a 1st round exit in Brisbane, they made it to the final in Sydney losing to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić. They went out in the first round of the Australian Open, before making their second final of the year in Memphis. This time losing to John Isner and Sam Querrey.

A succession of 1st round exits followed with Kerr and Hutchins' also teamed up with his friend and Davis Cup team mate Andy Murray. They lost in the 1st round at Indian Wells, but won their first match in 11 months as a partnership at the Monte-Carlo Masters beating Cermak and Martinak before losing to the Bryan brothers on a champions tie break.

2011

On 1 April 2011, Andy Murray announced on Twitter that Ross Hutchins had joined his coaching team, with Andy saying "I felt I needed another yes man." This was later found out to be an April Fool's joke.^[14]

In June at Wimbledon Hutchins had his best performance at a Grand Slam event in doubles making the quarter-finals. He lost a very tight five set thriller partnering Colin Fleming to Christopher Kas and Alexander Peya 4–6, 4–6, 7–6^(7–2), 6–2, 4–6. And then two months later at the US Open he equalled his Wimbledon performance of a quarter-final finish only to lose in three sets to Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 5–7, 6–2, 5–7 whilst having match point, again partnering Colin Fleming.

He then reached the semi finals of the Open de Moselle but lost to second seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and Marcelo Melo in three sets. But a few weeks later he did win his first title of the year and his third career title with now-permanent partner Colin Fleming at the St. Petersburg Open. They defeated Michail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev in three sets 6–3, 6–7(5–7), [10–8]. This was Hutchins' first title with Fleming.

His final tournament of the year was at the Paris Masters partnering Andy Murray, they lost in the second round in straight sets to Oliver Marach and Alexander Peya. Hutchins 2011 year-end ranking was No.43 in the world.

2012

In his first grand slam for the 2012 season Hutchins and partner Colin Fleming reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, only to lose to top seeds The Bryan brothers 4–6, 6–0, 2–6.

In February, Hutchins and Fleming were called for the Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I tie against Slovakia. James Ward's loss and Dan Evans' win put the tie at 1-1 on the first day, then Fleming and Hutchins beat Michal Mertinak and Filip Polasek 6-3 7-6 (7/4) 0-6 6-3.^[15] With Dan Evans winning his second match, Great Britain eventually won 3-2, making a fifth consecutive Davis Cup win under captain Leon Smith.

Hutchins won his second title with Fleming and his first for the 2012 season at the 2012 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships defeating Michal Mertiňák and André Sá 2–6, 7–6^(7–5), [15–13], a result which elevated his doubles ranking to a career high of world No.27.

In April, Hutchins and Fleming were selected for the Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I tie against Belgium. After Josh Goodall and Dan Evans lost on the first day, Fleming and Hutchins made it three straight victories in the competition by beating Ruben Bemelmans and David Goffin 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.^[16] Great Britain were eventually beaten 4-1, ending Leon Smith's 5 match winning run as Davis Cup Captain.

In mid-June, after being out of action for a while with an ankle injury, Hutchins won his second title of the year and his first on home soil, again partnering Colin Fleming, at the Aegon International, defeating fellow Brits and good friends Jamie Delgado and Ken Skupski 6–4, 6–3. This was Hutchins' third title with Fleming.

However, they had a disappointing run at Wimbledon going out in the first round in five sets, even though they took the first two 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 6–7^(5–7), 3–6 to Mikhail Kukushkin and Lukáš Rosol. Hutchins did however have a better run in the mixed doubles event, making it into the second round partnering Heather Watson, losing in three sets to third seeds Nenad Zimonjić and Katarina Srebotnik 7–5, 4–6, 4–6.

In their first tournament after Wimbledon, Hutchins and Fleming competed at the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. They reached the final but were defeated by Santiago González and Scott Lipsky in straight sets 6–7^(3–7), 3–6.

Having lost in the semi finals at the BB&T Atlanta Open Hutchins next competed at the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the doubles event alongside doubles partner Colin Fleming. They then lost in the first round to France (Benneteau & Gasquet) in straight sets 5–7, 3–6.

At the last Major of the season, Hutchins and Fleming made it to the third round of the US Open before being beaten by brothers and home favorites Ryan Harrison and Christian Harrison in straight sets 3–6, 4–6.

After a poor run at the St. Petersburg Open, Hutchins and Fleming next headed off to Asia. They made the final in their first tournament at the Malaysia Open, this being their fourth final of the season. After a bright start they lost the final in three sets 7–5, 5–7, [7–10] to Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.

At the penultimate masters 1000 of the season, Hutchins and Fleming had their best run at a masters 1000 event making the semi finals, only to lose narrowly to Indian duo Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna 7–6^(7–4), 3–6, [8–10] despite serving for the match.

2013

Ross Hutchins was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in December 2012, and took an indefinite break from tennis while he recovered.^[3] His friend Andy Murray dedicated his victory at the 2013 Brisbane International to Hutchins.^[17] Hutchins underwent chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton,^[18] which ended in June 2013.^[19]

In April, Hutchins provided match analysis for the Davis Cup tie versus Russia.^[20] James Ward and Dan Evans lost their opening singles matches, but the GB doubles pairing of Colin Fleming and Jonny Marray reduced the deficit a day later, before James Ward levelled the tie at 2–2 after beating Dmitri Tursunov in five sets. Evans completed an unlikely comeback, defeating world no. 80 Evgeny Donskoy comprehensively in straight sets, thus securing what was described as a "famous victory".^[21]The last time Great Britain had come from 2-0 down to win a Davis Cup tie was 83 years ago against Germany, Consequently, Great Britain won a place in the 16-team World Group play-offs in September.

Hutchins and Andy Murray arranged a charity tennis event 'Rally Against Cancer', which included the participation of Andy Murray and Tim Henman, Ivan Lendl, Tomas Berdych, Richard Branson, actor Eddie Redmayne, comedians Michael McIntyre and Jimmy Carr, Jonathan Ross, and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. It took place at the Queen's Club immediately after the 2013 AEGON Championships to raise money for the Royal Marsden.^[19] Hutchins revealed in July 2013 that his cancer was now in remission.^[22]

In December, Hutchins along with James Ward and Kyle Edmund, stayed with Andy Murray at his training camp in Miami.^[23] ^[24] ^[25]

2014

Following his illness, Hutchins returned to competitive tennis in January 2014 at the Brisbane International, again partnering Colin Fleming. ^[26] While the pair lost their first two matches of the year, they gained their maiden win after Hutchins' return in the first round of the 2014 Australian Open.^[27] They then lost in the second round to seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi.

On 5 March, Hutchins became the new tournament director at Queen's Club, looking after tennis decisions and player/ATP relations during the tournament week.^[28]

Hutchins and Fleming made it to the final of the 2014 BMW Open in Munich, where they lost to Jamie Murray and John Peers. They then made a semifinal run at the 2014 Aegon International tournament, losing to Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot.

Hutchins and Fleming were knocked out in the first round of the men's doubles at the 2014 US Open by the number 3 seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.^[29] However Hutchins partnered with Chan Yung-jan in the mixed doubles, where they reached the semi finals before being narrowly defeated by top seeds Bruno Soares and Sania Mirza.^[30]^[31]

Hutchins announced his retirement from professional tennis on 12 September.^[30]

On 30 September, Hutchins left his role as tournament director of the Aegon Championships to take up a new position as the ATP's vice-president of player relations.^[32]

In December, Hutchins made his debut at the Statoil Masters Tennis, held at the Royal Albert Hall, teaming up with Jamie Murray in the doubles. Hutchins and Jamie Murray beat Sergi Bruguera and Xavier Malisse 6-4,2-6,10-8. Tim Henman and Andy Roddick beat Hutchins and Jaime Murray 8-6.^[33]

ATP career finals

Doubles: 14 (5-9)

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (1–2)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (4–7)

Finals by Surface
Hard (4–4)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (1–2)
Carpet (0–2)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	23 June 2007	Nottingham Open, Nottingham, Great Britain	Grass	Joshua Goodall	Eric Butorac Jamie Murray	6–4, 3–6, [5–10]
Winner	1.	28 September 2008	China Open, Beijing, China	Hard	Stephen Huss	Ashley Fisher Bobby Reynolds	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	2.	6 October 2008	Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia	Carpet (i)	Stephen Huss	Sergiy Stakhovsky Potito Starace	6–7^(4–7), 6–2, [6–10]
Runner-up	3.	26 October 2008	Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Lyon, France	Carpet (i)	Stephen Huss	Michaël Llodra Andy Ram	3–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Runner-up	4.	11 October 2009	Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Jordan Kerr	Julian Knowle Jürgen Melzer	2–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Runner-up	5.	16 January 2010	Medibank International Sydney, Sydney, Australia	Hard	Jordan Kerr	Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić	3–6, 6–7^(5–7)
Runner-up	6.	21 February 2010	Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, Memphis, United States	Hard (i)	Jordan Kerr	John Isner Sam Querrey	4–6, 4–6
Winner	2.	31 October 2010	Open Sud de France, Montpellier, France	Hard (i)	Stephen Huss	Marc López Eduardo Schwank	6–2, 4–6, [10–8]
Winner	3.	30 October 2011	St. Petersburg Open, St. Petersburg, Russia	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Michail Elgin Alexander Kudryavtsev	6–3, 6–7^(5–7), [10–8]
Winner	4.	4 March 2012	Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, Delray Beach, United States	Hard	Colin Fleming	Michal Mertiňák André Sá	2–6, 7–6^(7–5), [15–13]
Winner	5.	22 June 2012	Aegon International, Eastbourne, Great Britain	Grass	Colin Fleming	Jamie Delgado Ken Skupski	6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	7.	15 July 2012	Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, Newport, United States	Grass	Colin Fleming	Santiago González Scott Lipsky	6–7^(3–7), 3–6
Runner-up	8.	30 September 2012	Proton Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Hard (i)	Colin Fleming	Alexander Peya Bruno Soares	7–5, 5–7, [7–10]
Runner-up	9.	4 May 2014	BMW Open, Munich, Germany	Clay	Colin Fleming	Jamie Murray John Peers	4–6, 2–6

Doubles career summary

Men's doubles

Key

LQ (Q#)

SF-B

F-S

NMS

Won tournament; reached the Finals; Semifinals; Quarterfinals; Rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; reached a Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup or Fed Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a Bronze, Silver (F or S) or Gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended. To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	Career	Grand Slams
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	2R	1R	1R	3R	A	2R	4–5
French Open	A	A	A	3R	1R	1R	A	A	A	1R	2–4
Wimbledon	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	2R	QF	1R	A	1R	6–9
US Open	A	A	A	2R	1R	1R	QF	3R	A		5–5
Win-Loss	0–1	1–1	0–1	4–3	1–4	1–4	5–3	4–3	0–0	1–3	17–23
ATP World Tour Finals
ATP World Tour Finals	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A		0–0
Olympics
Summer Olympics	Not Held			A	Not Held			1R	Not Held		0–1
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters	A	A	A	A	QF	1R	A	1R	A	2R	3–4
Miami Masters	A	A	A	A	QF	1R	A	2R	A	1R	3–4
Monte-Carlo Masters	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0–0
Rome Masters	A	A	A	A	1R	A	A	A	A	A	0–1
Madrid Masters	A	A	A	A	QF	A	A	A	A	A	2–1
Canada Masters	A	A	A	A	1R	A	A	1R	A		0–2
Cincinnati Masters	A	A	A	A	1R	A	A	1R	A		0–2
Shanghai Masters	NM1				A	A	A	SF	A		3–1
Paris Masters	A	A	A	A	A	A	2R	2R	A		2–2
Hamburg Masters	A	A	A	A	NM1						0–0
Win-Loss	A	A	A	A	6–6	0–2	1–1	5–6	0–0	1–2	13–16
ATP Final Appearances	0	0	1	3	1	3	1	4	0		13
ATP Titles	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	2	0		5
Year End Ranking	272	153	92	44	50	51	43	28	–		NA

References

↑ British youngster faces John McEnroe Hutchins, Ross; BBC Sport; Accessed 29–05–08
↑ Player Profile; The Championships, Wimbledon 2007; Accessed 29–05–08
1 2 3 "Ross Hutchins diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
↑ "Ross Hutchins' cancer in remission". ESPN. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
↑ Newman, Paul. "Australian Open 2014: Ross Hutchins full of thanks for Andy Murray's help after winning on Grand Slam return from cancer". London: The Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
↑ "Ross Hutchins". Player profile. LTA. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
1 2 3 4 5 Ross Hutchins Results SteveGTennis; Accessed 30–05–08
↑ Goodall and partner give doubles seeds a scare Basingstoke Gazette; 05–07–06; Accessed 30–05–08
↑ Ross Hutchins ranking history ATP Tour; Accessed 30/05/08
↑ Hutchins serves up a shock British victory at Roland Garros Evening Standard; Accessed 29–05–08
↑ Ross HUTCHINS Davis Cup; Accessed 30–05–08
↑ "Hutchins and Fleming can't save Great Britain's Davis Cup challenge". Guardian. 7 March 2009.
↑ "Andy Murray licks wounds as Poland beat erratic Great Britain in Davis Cup'". Guardian. 19 September 2009.
↑ "You April fools! Murray's hoax coach announcement on Twitter baffles his followers... and the media". Mail Online. 1 April 2011.
↑ "Advantage Britain! Fleming and Hutchins win doubles to put GB in front against Slovakia". Daily Mail. 11 February 2012.
↑ "Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins keep British Davis Cup hopes alive". Guardian. 7 April 2012.
↑ Briggs, Simon (6 January 2013). "Andy Murray dedicates Brisbane International victory to his close friend Ross Hutchins following cancer diagnosis". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
↑ McRae, Donald (6 May 2013). "Ross Hutchins on Andy Murray's friendship and fighting cancer". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
1 2 Joynson, Danielle. "Ross Hutchins: "I feel strong after final chemotherapy session'". Sports Mole. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
↑ "Great Britain come from 2–0 down to beat Russia 3–2 in Davis Cup tie to earn World Group play-off". The Telegraph. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
↑ "Davis Cup 2013: Great Britain shock Russia in Coventry". BBC Sport. 7 April 2013.
↑ "Ross Hutchins' cancer in remission". ESPN. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
↑ "Andy Murray is 'The Beast', says training partner and GB team-mate James Ward". Daily Mail. 15 January 2015.
↑ "Andy Murray training sessions in Miami heat helped Ross Hutchins beat cancer". Irish Mirror. 15 January 2014.
↑ "Yorkshire teenager Edmund can show world what he can do if given chance – Davis Cup captain". Yorkshire Post. 22 January 2014.
↑ "Ross Hutchins beaten on return from illness in Brisbane". BBC. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
↑ "Ross Hutchins wins first match since cancer return". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
↑ "Ross Hutchins takes over as Queen's tennis tournament director". Guardian. 5 March 2014.
↑ "Nestor/Zimonjic Advance at US Open". Tennis Canada. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
1 2 "Ross Hutchins announces retirement from tennis". bbc.co.uk. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
↑ Newman, Paul (4 September 2014). "US Open 2014: Ross Hutchins and Yung-Jan Chan beaten in mixed doubles semi-final". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
↑ "Ross Hutchins joins ATP in player relations role after leaving tournament director post at Aegon Championships". Daily Mail. 30 September 2014.
↑ "Order of Play & Results 2014". statoilmasterstennis. 7 December 2014.

External links

Ross Hutchins at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Ross Hutchins at the International Tennis Federation
Ross Hutchins at the Davis Cup

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