Shuzo Matsuoka

Shuzo Matsuoka (松岡修造, born November 6 1967, in Tokyo, Japan) is a former professional tennis player from Japan.

Matsuoka turned professional in 1986. In 1989, he finished runner-up in the top-level tournament at Wellington, and captured the doubles title in Auckland.

In 1992, Matsuoka became the first Japanese player to win a singles event on the ATP Tour when he captured the title in Seoul. He was also runner-up at the prestigious grass court tournament at Queen's Club that year.

Matsuoka's best performance at a Grand Slam event came at Wimbledon in 1995, where he reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Pete Sampras in four sets 7–6, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6. Matsuoka's serve gave Sampras fits in the first set and looked to be on his way to the semifinals until Pete solved the puzzle that was Matsuoka's serve. Matsuoka was unable to subdue the defending champion in the next 3 sets.

At the US Open in 1995, Matsuoka was left writhing in pain on court after being stricken by cramps during his first round match against Petr Korda. The rules at the time meant that Matsuoka would have forfeited the match if he had gotten medical attention, so he was left to suffer until he defaulted for delaying the match. The incident led to a change in the rules of professional tennis to allow players to receive medical treatment during matches.

Matsuoka's career-high world rankings were World No. 46 in singles (in 1992) and World No. 95 in doubles (in 1989). His career prize-money earnings totalled US$1,117,112. He retired from the professional tour in April 1998.

Since his retirement from tennis, Matsuoka has become a popular TV commentator in Japan.

External links

* [http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/?playernumber=M338 Official ATP profile]