Rainer Schüttler
![]() Schüttler at the 2011 Queen's Club | ||||||||||
Country (sports) |
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Residence | Altstätten, Switzerland | |||||||||
Born |
Korbach, West Germany | 25 April 1976|||||||||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||
Turned pro | 1995 | |||||||||
Retired | 11 October 2012 | |||||||||
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | |||||||||
Prize money | US$ 7,407,508 | |||||||||
Singles | ||||||||||
Career record | 327–337 | |||||||||
Career titles | 4 | |||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 5 (26 April 2004) | |||||||||
Grand Slam Singles results | ||||||||||
Australian Open | F (2003) | |||||||||
French Open | 4R (2003) | |||||||||
Wimbledon | SF (2008) | |||||||||
US Open | 4R (2003) | |||||||||
Other tournaments | ||||||||||
Tour Finals | SF (2003) | |||||||||
Olympic Games | 2R (2000, 2008) | |||||||||
Doubles | ||||||||||
Career record | 124–172 | |||||||||
Career titles | 4 | |||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 40 (11 July 2005) | |||||||||
Grand Slam Doubles results | ||||||||||
Australian Open | 2R (2004, 2007, 2010) | |||||||||
French Open | QF (2007) | |||||||||
Wimbledon | QF (2005) | |||||||||
US Open | 2R (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008) | |||||||||
Other doubles tournaments | ||||||||||
Olympic Games |
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Medal record
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Rainer Schüttler (born 25 April 1976) is a retired German professional tennis player. As of 2015, he is the most recent male German player to reach the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament, finishing as runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open. Schüttler also won a Silver medal in doubles at the 2004 Summer Olympics and achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 5 in April 2004.
Personal life
He began playing tennis at the age of nine. He resides in Switzerland.
Career
2003
In 2003, Schüttler became the first German since Boris Becker in 1989 to advance to the fourth round at all Grand Slams. He became the first German to reach a Grand Slam final, at the Australian Open, since Michael Stich was the runner-up at Roland Garros in 1996. En route to the final, which he lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi, he defeated Andy Roddick who would end the season as world no 1.
2004
In 2004, Schüttler reached his first career ATP Masters Series final in Monte Carlo by beating Gustavo Kuerten in the first round, Lleyton Hewitt in the third round, Tim Henman in the quarter-final and Carlos Moyá in the semi-final. He however lost to Guillermo Coria in the final. That week, he would reach a career high ranking of No. 5. Schüttler won a silver medal for Germany in tennis men's doubles with partner Nicolas Kiefer at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. 2004 was the sixth straight year in, which he finished in the ATP top 50.
2008
In 2008, Schüttler reached his first career semi-final at Wimbledon by beating Santiago Ventura, James Blake, Guillermo García-López, Janko Tipsarević, and Arnaud Clément 6–3, 5–7, 7–6, 6–7, 8–6. His match with Clément was over 5 hours, completed in two days to reach the semi finals, and in which Schuettler saved a match point at 6–5 down in the fifth set. He was defeated by eventual champion Rafael Nadal 1–6, 6–7, 4–6. His achievement was a big surprise, since he entered the tournament ranked 94th and with a streak of 13 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments without making it past the second round.
2009
Schüttler started off his 2009 season at the Chennai Open, beating Prakash Amritraj 6–2, 4–6, 6–1. In the second round, he beat Simon Greul 6–4, 6–2, and in the quarter-finals, he defeated Björn Phau 6–2, 7–5. Unfortunately Schuettler had to withdraw from his semifinal match against Somdev Devvarman because of a wrist injury. He also withdrew from the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, he was seeded 30th but lost in the first round to Dudi Sela 1–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. He also participated in the doubles with Yen-Hsun Lu, but they were defeated by Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach. In the first round in Rotterdam, he lost to Mario Ančić. He played in the Open 13 in Marseille, defeating Laurent Recouderc in the first round 6–1, 6–4.
He competed at the ARAG World Team Cup in Germany, helping his country reach the final, where they lost to Serbia.
In the second round at Wimbledon, though seeded 18th he was upset by Israeli Dudi Sela 7–6, 6–3, 6–2.
![](../I/m/Flickr_-_Carine06_-_Rainer_Sch%C3%BCttler.jpg)
2010
He reached the second round of the 2010 Australian Open defeating Sam Querrey in four sets. However he lost to Feliciano López in four sets, too. At the 2010 French Open he again suffered a first round exit. This time against Guillermo García-López of Spain in straight sets. He reached the semifinal of the 2010 Aegon Championships at the Queens Club in London. He lost to Sam Querrey in three sets 7–6, 5–7, 3–6. Despite his good form he was defeated by Denis Istomin in the second round of Wimbledon in five sets. At the quarterfinal of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles Schüttler could not manage to close out the match against Sam Querrey despite serving for it at 5–4 and 6–5 in the deciding set. He was knocked out in the first round of the 2010 US Open after losing to Benoît Paire. At the PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok Schüttler beat Ricardo Mello in round one for a second round berth against Ernests Gulbis. He lost 6–7, 7–6, 4–6 in a close match. In 2010 Schüttler and his former Davis Cup companion Alexander Waske founded the Schüttler Waske Tennis-University, a tennis academy for professional tennis players.
2011
Schüttler started the tour at the 2011 Qatar ExxonMobil Open where he confronted Teymuraz Gabashvili in the singles, but lost 3–5, 6–7. He also played doubles with Guillermo García-López confronting Marco Chiudinelli and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to whom they lost 1–6 2–6.
At the 2011 Australian Open, he played ninth seed Fernando Verdasco in the first round, but lost 1–6, 3–6, 2–6. He then played several Challenger series tournaments.
At Wimbledon, he defeated Thomaz Bellucci in the first round, but lost to Feliciano López in the second 6–7, 7–6, 2–6, 2–6.
Retirement
Schüttler retired in October 2012 and now coaches Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Major finals
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 2003 | Australian Open | Hard | ![]() | 2–6, 2–6, 1–6 |
Olympic finals
Doubles: 1 (1 silver medal)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Silver | 2004 | Athens Olympics | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(7–9), 4–6 |
Masters Series finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Runner-up | 2004 | Monte Carlo | Clay | ![]() | 2–6, 1–6, 3–6 |
Career finals
Singles: 12 (4 titles – 8 runners-up)
Legend (Singles) |
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Grand Slam (0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
ATP Masters Series (0) |
ATP International Series Gold (1) |
ATP Tour (3) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in final | Score in final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 4 January 1999 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | ![]() |
6–4, 5–7, 6–1 |
Runner-up | 1. | 5 April 1999 | Chennai, India | Hard | ![]() |
4–6, 6–1, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 3 January 2000 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | ![]() |
6–3, 5–7, 0–3 ret. |
Winner | 2. | 17 September 2001 | Shanghai, China | Hard | ![]() |
6–3, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 3. | 24 September 2001 | Hong Kong, China | Hard | ![]() |
6–7(3–7), 2–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | 22 October 2001 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Hard (i) | ![]() |
6–3, 3–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 5. | 29 April 2002 | Munich, Germany | Clay | ![]() |
4–6, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 6. | 13 January 2003 | Australian Open, Melbourne | Hard | ![]() |
2–6, 2–6, 1–6 |
Runner-up | 7. | 8 September 2003 | Costa do Sauipe, Brazil | Hard | ![]() |
2–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 3. | 29 September 2003 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | ![]() |
7–6(7–5), 6–2 |
Winner | 4. | 6 October 2003 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) | ![]() |
7–5, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 8. | 19 April 2004 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | ![]() |
2–6, 1–6, 3–6 |
Doubles: 7 (4–3)
- Wins (4)
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
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1. | 16 July 2001 | Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
4–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 |
2. | 3 January 2005 | Chennai, India | Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
7–5, 4–6, 7–6(7–4) |
3. | 14 April 2008 | Houston, United States | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
7–5, 7–6(7–3) |
4. | 4 May 2008 | Munich, Germany | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
7–5, 3–6, [10–8] |
- Runners-up (3)
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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1. | 20 October 2003 | St. Petersburg, Russia | Hard (i) | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–7(1–7), 3–6 |
2. | 15 August 2004 | Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece | Hard | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(7–9), 4–6 |
3. | 4 July 2005 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
6–7(6–8), 6–7(11–13) |
Performance timeline
Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | W–L |
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Australian Open | LQ | LQ | LQ | 1R | 2R | 4R | 3R | F* | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | 14–13 | |
French Open | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 1R | LQ | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 4–12 | |||
Wimbledon | LQ | LQ | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 1R | 1R | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 19–13 | |||
US Open | LQ | LQ | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 7–12 | ||||
Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 14–4 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 6–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 44–50 |
Masters Cup | Did Not Qualify | SF | Did Not Qualify | 2–2 | |||||||||||||||
Indian Wells Masters | 1R | QF | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 11–11 | |||||||
Miami Masters | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | LQ | LQ | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 5–11 | |||
Monte Carlo Masters | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | F | 1R | 1R | 6–7 | |||||||||||
Rome Masters | LQ | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3–5 | ||||||||||||
Madrid Masters | LQ | LQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 0–5 | |||||||||||
Canada Masters | 1R | 1R | SF | 1R | 2R | 5–5 | |||||||||||||
Cincinnati Masters | 3R | QF | SF | 1R | LQ | 9–4 | |||||||||||||
Shanghai Masters | Not ATP Masters Series | 3R | 2–1 | ||||||||||||||||
Paris Masters | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2–5 | |||||||||||||
Hamburg Masters | LQ | LQ | LQ | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | NMS | 7–10 | ||||
Summer Olympics | NH | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | 2–3 | ||||||||||
Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Year-end ranking | 446 | 332 | 117 | 109 | 47 | 45 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 42 | 88 | 97 | 99 | 33 | 85 | 84 | 132 | 855 | – |
* Third-round match at the 2003 Australian Open was a walkover (so does not count as a win)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rainer Schüttler. |
- Official website (German)
- Rainer Schüttler at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Rainer Schüttler at the International Tennis Federation
- Rainer Schüttler at the Davis Cup
- Schüttler World Ranking history
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by Paradorn Srichaphan |
ATP Most Improved Player 2003 |
Succeeded by Joachim Johansson |
Preceded by Igor Andreev |
ATP Comeback Player of the Year 2008 |
Succeeded by Marco Chiudinelli |