Nicolas Mahut

Nicolas Mahut

Country	France
Residence	Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Born	January 21, 1982 (1982-01-21) (age 29) Angers, France
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	2000
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$2,137,176
Singles
Career record	73–114 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 40 (February 18, 2008)
Current ranking	No. 95 (November 7, 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	2R (2007, 2008, 2011)
French Open	2R (2010)
Wimbledon	3R (2006)
US Open	2R (2006, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	93–94 (at ATP Tour level and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 25 (January 10, 2005)
Last updated on: January 17, 2011.

Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (French pronunciation: [nikɔla may]) (born January 21, 1982 in Angers, Maine-et-Loire) is a French tennis player. Mahut is right-handed and has previously won the Orange Bowl in 1999, becoming professional in 2000. He is a good serve and volleyer and a doubles expert, having won many tournaments with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau. His career high was no. 40, achieved on February 18, 2008.

Mahut was runner-up to Andy Roddick at the 2007 Queen's Club Championships, having held a championship point in the second-set tiebreak. Mahut defeated both fifth seed Ivan Ljubičić and top seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets, as well as compatriot and future doubles partner Arnaud Clément, to reach the final.

Mahut holds a number of tennis records and awards for his performance in the longest match in professional tennis history against John Isner in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where he also broke the record of most points won in a single match (502); and, most games won by a losing player (91).^[1]

Early and personal life

Nicolas Mahut was born in 1982 in Angers, France. He has three older brothers and one sister. His mother died in 2005, and his father is a retired computer engineer. He first trained at the Beaucouzé tennis club when he was five years old. He joined a tennis club in Paris when he was 11. As a child, he admired Pete Sampras, Michael Jordan, and Yannick Noah. His favourite film is The Matrix, and he likes listening to music by Oasis. He also likes football and is a fan of Paris Saint-Germain.

He currently lives in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris. He is married; his wife, Minette, gave birth to their first child, Nathanaël, on 18 August 2011^[2]

He is close friends with the American tennis player, John Isner. The two became friends after they played together in the longest ever professional tennis match at Wimbledon 2010, which lasted over 11 hours.

Career

Junior career

In 1998, Mahut was champion of France for 15- and 16-year-olds and the 17- and 18-year-olds. 1999 saw Mahut win the Orange Bowl doubles title. In addition, Mahut was the winner of the Sunshine Cup, the 35th Coffee Bowl, and U.S. Open junior doubles. Mahut was also a winner of the Coupe Galéa-Valério.^{[citation needed]}

Mahut was the 2000 Wimbledon Championships boys' singles winner. He also was the winner of the Australian Open with future top 5 Tommy Robredo in doubles competition.

2003–2005

In 2003, Mahut entered the top 100 of the ATP singles rankings. He was also the winner of the Open de Moselle in doubles in Metz, France with Julien Benneteau. 2004 saw the Frenchman become the champion of France with the team Paris Jean Bouin. His doubles results were bright, losing in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Masters with Julien Benneteau. He was the winner of the Open de Moselle in Metz, France with Arnaud Clément, and a semifinalist of the U.S. Open with Benneteau in doubles.

In 2005, Mahut was the champion of France with the Paris Jean Bouin team for the second year in succession. Mahut won the doubles Challenger de Grenoble and Open d'Orléans titles with compatriot Julien Benneteau. He was a finalist of the Orléans Open and the Ford challenger of Cherbourg-Octeville in singles. Mahut lost in the doubles final, with partner Gilles Müller, at the Pozoblanco, Spain Challenger.

2007

In 2007, Mahut was a finalist at the Queen's Club Championship, but lost in three sets to former world no. 1 Andy Roddick, despite having a championship point, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7. En route to the final, he defeated second-ranked Rafael Nadal. In the semifinals, Mahut defeated compatriot Arnaud Clément. Mahut beat Clément in four sets and reached the second round at Wimbledon, losing in straight sets to Richard Gasquet, seeded 12th, who went on to beat Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then made the finals in Newport, Rhode Island, reaching his second career ATP-level final, but lost 4–6, 4–6 to Fabrice Santoro. In addition to these good results, Mahut and Julien Benneteau reached the 2007 U.S. Open Men's Doubles semifinals, knocking out defending champions Martin Damm and Leander Paes in the first round, before falling 3–6, 6–1, 5–7 to eventual tournament winners Simon Aspelin and Julian Knowle.

2008

After an excellent 2007, Mahut endured a less successful 2008, failing to reach any ATP tour finals and exiting in the first round at Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and the US Open, although he did manage a win over Argentine José Acasuso in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open. His attempt to repeat his great run at the The Queen's Club Championships the year before ended with a straight-sets defeat to David Nalbandian, then world no. 8, in the round of 16.

Outside the ATP tour, a highlight of 2008 for Mahut was the Challenger level tournament in Orléans, France, which he won, beating Christophe Rochus of Belgium, 5–7, 6–1, 7–6, in a tight final.

2009

Mahut during 2009 Wimbledon Championships

Injuries and some bad results towards the end of 2008 meant that 2009 saw Mahut slip out of the world's top 100. This ensured another tough year, as Mahut was forced to come through qualifying in order to play in the bigger tournaments. After disappointingly failing to qualify for Roland Garros for what would have been a fourth year in a row, he returned to play at The Queen's Club, where he had enjoyed so much success in the past. Once again, he played well in London, not only coming through qualifying, but also winning three main draw matches, finally falling to the big-serving Ivo Karlović in the round of 16, and crucially defending his ranking points from the previous year. This marked the fourth consecutive year that Mahut reached the round of 16 at The Queen's Club. After a first-round defeat at Wimbledon, Mahut reached two consecutive semifinals at the Challenger level, losing to Olivier Rochus in Manchester, England, and Feliciano López in Segovia, Spain. Towards the end of the year, Mahut's ranking fell further, and he dropped out of the top 200.

2010

A win on the Challenger circuit in Cherbourg, France in only Mahut's second tournament of the year got 2010 off to a good start and saw him re-enter the world's top 200. Mahut was given a wildcard into Roland Garros and took full advantage, winning his opening-round match against Mischa Zverev of Germany, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4. This victory marked the first time Mahut reached the second round at Roland Garros. He exited the tournament in the next round, however, putting up a good fight before losing to eventual semifinalist Jürgen Melzer of Austria in four sets.

Mahut's next tournament was The Queen's Club Championships in London, where he again had to come through qualifying to enter the main draw. He qualified with relative ease, however, and went on to beat Lu Yen-Hsun in the first round in straight sets, despite being a break down in the first. He then faced big-hitting Croat Marin Čilić in the second round, a replica of the match between the two the previous year, which Mahut had won in two tight sets. 7–6. 7–6. It briefly looked as if another upset was on the cards, as Mahut took the first set on a tie-breaker. Eventually, however, Cilic showed why he has been ranked in the top 10, finally prevailing, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2. This marked the first time Mahut was beaten before the round of 16 at The Queen's Club since 2004.

Mahut was then forced to enter qualifying for Wimbledon, where he was seeded 27th. He enjoyed a routine win over Canadian Frank Dancevic in his first match, before coming up against Alex Bogdanovic in the second. After a four-hour epic, by far the most extraordinary match of the round, Mahut finally prevailed, 3–6, 6–3, 24–22, to advance to the final qualifying round, where he played 13th seed Stefan Koubek. Things looked grim for Mahut after he lost the first two sets, but he battled back to win another lengthy match, 6–7, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. This win saw him enter the main draw of Wimbledon 2010, where he was drawn against the big-serving American John Isner in round one, setting up a historic match (see below). In recognition of his heroic efforts in the aforementioned match, Mahut was given a wildcard entry to Newport, where he had reached the final in 2007.

Despite a very tough opening-round draw against third seed, Alejandro Falla, who had taken Federer to five sets in the first round at Wimbledon just two weeks previously, Mahut prevailed, 6–3, 1–6, 6–3, and went on to face Frank Dancevic of Canada in round 2, a match he lost in straight sets.

Mahut then fell in the last round of qualifying for the final Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows, before finishing the year on a high with a win on the Challenger circuit at Orleans, France, and an extremely close three-set defeat to Richard Gasquet, ranked over 100 places higher than Mahut, at the Masters 1000 tournament at Paris Bercy.

2011

Mahut began his 2011 season by representing France at the Hopman Cup with his compatriot, Kristina Mladenovic. Mahut lost to John Isner, 3–6, 6–7(5), and Andy Murray, 6–7(4), 6–7(5), in his first two matches, but defeated Potito Starace in his final match, 6–3, 7–6(2). France finished second in their section behind the USA. Afterwards, Mahut entered the qualifying tournament for the 2011 Australian Open, where he defeated Luke Saville, Guillermo Olaso, and Frederik Nielsen to secure himself a place in the main draw. He won his first match at the Australian Open against Brian Dabul, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, but lost to Viktor Troicki, 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 3-6, in the second round. As the defending champion of the 2011 Challenger DCNS de Cherbourg, Mahut made it to the final, before losing to Grigor Dimitrov, 2-6, 6-7(4).^[3]

Mahut competed in the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and his opponent in the first round was again John Isner, but unlike 2010, Isner won in straight sets, 7–6, 6–2, 7–6.

Mahut lost in the second round of the US Open to finalist Rafael Nadal. He reached the quarterfinals in Metz in September, where he lost to eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7.

Longest match in history

Main article: Isner–Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships

In what became a record-setting match, spanning three days, qualifier Mahut faced 23rd seed John Isner in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships on 22–24 June. Isner served a world record 113 aces in the single match alone, breaking Ivo Karlović's record of 78. Mahut would go on to surpass it as well with 103.^[4] The match is the longest match ever in a Tennis Open in terms of both times and games^[5] lasting 183 games, 11 hours and 5 minutes beating the previous record set by (respectively) Pancho Gonzales defeating Charlie Pasarell in 112 games in 1969 at Wimbledon in the first round, as well as the Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clément (both French) match at the 2004 French Open which lasted 6 hours, 33 mins. Play was suspended at 21:11 on 23 June due to darkness at a score of 59–59. Isner ended up winning (6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68), with the final match time being 11 hours and 5 minutes. Both players and the referee received prizes for participating in the match. Mahut holds the record for most points won in a tennis match, at 502 points. He also holds the Wimbledon record for most games won in a match by a losing player with 91.

Records

• These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

Tournament	Year	Record accomplished	Player tied
Wimbledon	2010	Most points won in an ATP singles match (502)	Stands alone
		Most games lost in a single match (92)	Stands alone
		Longest singles match ever played (11 hours, 5 minutes)	John Isner
		Longest play in a single day (7 hours, 6 minutes)	John Isner
		Most games in a single day (118)	John Isner

Career finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (0–0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Tour (0–2)

Runner-ups (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	June 17, 2007	London (Queen's Club), UK	Grass	Andy Roddick	6–4, 6–7, 6–7
2.	July 15, 2007	Newport, USA	Grass	Fabrice Santoro	4–6, 4–6

Doubles: 6 (3–3)

Legend (Doubles) Grand Slam (0–0) Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) ATP Masters Series (0–0) ATP Tour (3–3)

Winner (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
1.	September 29, 2003	Metz, France	Hard	Julien Benneteau	Michaël Llodra Fabrice Santoro	7–6(7–2), 6–3
2.	October 16, 2004	Metz, France	Hard	Arnaud Clément	Ivan Ljubičić Uros Vico	6–2, 7–6(10–8)
3.	October 31, 2009	Lyon, France	Hard	Julien Benneteau	Arnaud Clément Sébastien Grosjean	6–4, 7–6(8–6)

Runner-ups (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
1.	October 6, 2003	Lyon, France	Carpet	Julien Benneteau	Jonathan Erlich Andy Ram	1–6, 3–6
2.	July 10, 2004	Newport, USA	Grass	Gregory Carraz	Jordan Kerr Jim Thomas	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
3.	September 29, 2007	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard	Michaël Llodra	Sanchai Ratiwatana Sonchat Ratiwatana	6–3, 5–7, [7–10]

Challengers finals

Singles: 16 (9–7)

Wins (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	July 14, 2003	Manchester, UK	Grass	Gilles Elseneer	6–3, 7–6
2.	July 19, 2004	Valladolid, Spain	Hard	Jean-Michel Pequery	6–3, 3–6, 6–5, retired
3.	February 20, 2006	Besançon, France	Hard (i)	Frank Dancevic	6–3, 6–4
4.	February 27, 2006	Cherbourg, France	Hard (i)	Jean-Christophe Faurel	6–2, 6–4
5.	March 6, 2006	Kyoto, Japan	Carpet	Yen-Hsun Lu	6–4, 6–1
6.	September 14, 2008	Orléans, France	Hard	Christophe Rochus	5–7, 6–1, 7–6
7.	March 7, 2010	Cherbourg, France	Hard (i)	Gilles Müller	6–4, 6–3
8.	October 24, 2010	Orléans, France	Hard (i)	Grigor Dimitrov	2–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–4)
9.	February 6, 2011	Courmayeur, Italy	Hard (i)	Gilles Müller	7–6(7–4), 6–4

Runner-ups (7)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	June 30, 2003	Pozoblanco, Spain	Hard	Stefano Pescosolido	4–6, 3–6
2.	July 26, 2004	Segovia, Spain	Hard	Paul-Henri Mathieu	7–6, 4–6, 4–6
3.	September 27, 2004	Grenoble, France	Hard (i)	Karol Kučera	5–7, 2–6
4.	February 21, 2005	Cherbourg, France	Hard (i)	Rik de Voest	5–7, 2–6
5.	September 12, 2005	Orléans, France	Hard (i)	Cyril Saulnier	3–6, 4–6
6.	September 10, 2007	Orléans, France	Hard (i)	Olivier Rochus	4–6, 4–6
7.	February 28, 2011	Cherbourg, France	Hard (i)	Grigor Dimitrov	2–6, 6–7(2–7)

References

1. ^ Tennis-Statistics for John Isner v Nicolas Mahut
2. ^ ]http://video.eurosport.fr/tennis/us-open-5/2011/mahut-tres-heureux_vid194162/video.shtml (French) Tennis – Mahut : "Très heureux en ce moment"]
3. ^ Bulgarian Makes a Breakthrough in Tennis
4. ^ Isner-Mahut Match Sheet
5. ^ Daily Mail SW19 coverage

External links

• Nicolas Mahut at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Mahut's blog (in French, not updated beyond April 2008)
• Mahut Recent Match Results
• Mahut World Ranking History

Persondata
Name	Mahut, Nicolas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 21, 1982
Place of birth	Angers, France
Date of death
Place of death