Vince Spadea

Infobox Tennis player
playername= Vincent Spadea
country= flagicon|USA USA
residence= Boca Raton , Florida USA
datebirth= birth date and age|1974|7|19
placebirth= Chicago, Illinois
height= height|m=1.82
weight= convert|77|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro= 1993
rerired= Active
plays= Right-handed; two-handed backhand
careerprizemoney= US$4,838,072
singlesrecord= 307–344
singlestitles= 1
highestsinglesranking= No. 18 (February 28, 2005)
currentsinglesranking= 78
AustralianOpenresult= QF (1999)
FrenchOpenresult= 3rd (1999, 2002, 2003)
Wimbledonresult= 4th (2004)
USOpenresult= 4th (1995, 1999)
doublesrecord= 65–112
doublestitles= 3
highestdoublesranking= No. 90 (June 12, 2006)
updated = July 14, 2008

Vincent Spadea [SPAY-dee-ya] (born July 19, 1974 in Chicago) is an ATP Tour professional tennis player from the United States.

Spadea turned professional in 1993. Going in to the 2008 season, he has won one singles and three doubles titles and over $4,883,000 in prize money. In 1999, he broke into the Top 20 players in the world for the first time. He is credited with overcoming the longest losing streak in pro tennis history (21 matches). Working hard on the challenger circuit after his fall, he successfully recovered and eventually won his first career ATP Tour tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2004. His career-high ranking is World No. 18, achieved in February 2005. Spadea has ATP career singles wins over Federer, Sampras, Agassi, Nadal, Roddick, Rafter, Kraijcek, Kafelnikov, Courier, Chang, and Kuerten. He is a 2-time Olympian team member (2000 Sydney/2004 Athens). 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 Stepanek, he celebrated with numerous dances and raps.

While in Boca Raton, he attended the prestigious Saint Andrew's School. During his time there he also helped to win the National Championship for his high school in 1990.

In 2006 Spadea published an autobiographical book, "Break Point: The Secret Diary Of A Pro Tennis Player" [cite book |author=Dan Markowitz; Vince Spadea |title=Break Point: The Secret Diary of a Pro Tennis Player |publisher=Sports Publishing, Inc |location=Champaign, IL |year=2008 |pages= |isbn=1-59670-324-5 |oclc= |doi=] . 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.

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 outgoing personality has written him into tennis' most interesting characters. His "No Strings" episode on The Tennis Channel is a famed and regularly rotated show for the last 3 years. Spadea is due to release rap songs in the next 12 months.when

Titles

ingles Titles

References

External links

*
* [http://steveghelper.com/MatchResults.php?players=Spadea&weeks=12 Spadea Recent Match Results]
* [http://steveghelper.com/RankingHistory.php?player=Spadea Spadea World Ranking History]
* [http://www.vincespadea.com Official Home Page]
* [http://www.johnfmurray.com/News.aspx?id=558 Spadea's Book Wins ACE Magazine Book of the Year for 2006]
* [http://www.smartproinsight.com/Wimbledon2006Series1.htm Photos of Spadea Hitting at Wimbledon]