Florian Mayer

Florian Mayer (German pronunciation: [ˈfloːʁi̯aːn ˈmaɪ̯ɐ]; born 5 October 1983) is a German former professional tennis player.

Florian Mayer
Mayer at the 2013 French Open
Country (sports) Germany
ResidenceBayreuth, Germany
Born (1983-10-05) 5 October 1983 (age 40)
Bayreuth, West Germany
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro2001
Retired2018
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachTobias Summerer (2009–2018)
Prize moneyUS$7,278,992
Singles
Career record243–261 (48.2%)
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 18 (6 June 2011)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2014)
French Open2R (2004, 2011, 2012)
WimbledonQF (2004, 2012)
US Open3R (2011, 2013)
Doubles
Career record51–111 (31.5%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 47 (18 June 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2008, 2011)
French Open2R (2015, 2016, 2017)
Wimbledon2R (2005, 2007)
US Open3R (2004, 2010)
Team competitions
Davis CupQF (2008, 2011, 2014)

Mayer reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 in June 2011. Also in 2011, Mayer won his first ATP Tour title after four previous defeats in ATP finals.

Mayer competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[1] At the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, Mayer reached the quarter-finals, which is his best Grand Slam result to date. He received the ATP Newcomer of the Year award in 2004. Eight years later, Mayer made his second Grand Slam quarter-final, once again at Wimbledon.

The biggest win of his career came at the 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters when he upset twenty-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in the round of 16.

Mayer was known for his unorthodox style of play. He had a long backswing on his forehand and backhand and used many different slices and spin on his backhand side. He was also known for his jumping backhand dropshots which caught many of his opponents on the backfoot.

Mayer retired from professional tennis after the 2018 US Open.[2]

Career

2009

Florian made a return from injury reaching the final of the Nouméa Challenger but losing to Brendan Evans. Mayer then qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open by beating Sergey Bubka, Blaž Kavčič and Amer Delić. There he beat Lamine Ouahab in the first round, and then lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the second round.

2010

Mayer reached the third round at the 2010 Australian Open, defeating Philipp Petzschner and Viktor Troicki. He then lost to Juan Martín del Potro in four sets. At Wimbledon in 2010, Mayer beat 11th seed Marin Čilić in straight sets to reach the second round, where he defeated Mardy Fish in four sets. He then lost to Lu Yen-hsun in the third round. He also reached the quarterfinals at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, losing to Gaël Monfils, and the semifinal in Hamburg, losing to eventual champion Andrey Golubev. At the Shanghai Rolex Masters, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round, after defeating Kevin Anderson and Mikhail Youzhny in the first two rounds. Mayer reached the final at the If Stockholm Open, after beating Jarkko Nieminen in a tight semifinal, saving a match point. Mayer also beat world No. 5 Robin Söderling and two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Feliciano López en route to the final, where he lost 4–6, 3–6, to the 16-Grand Slam titles holder Roger Federer.

He went 23–18 on the season and earned $513,955.

Mayer at 2011 Wimbledon.

2011

Mayer started the new season in style. In preparation for the Australian Open, he reached the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International and the semifinals of the Sydney International. At the first Grand Slam tournament of the season in Melbourne, Mayer surprisingly defeated Doha finalist Nikolay Davydenko in four sets, only to lose against Japanese Kei Nishikori in the second round. Two weeks later, he came through to his second semifinals of the year in Zagreb. On his way to this stage, he defeated top seed Marin Čilić, 6–3, 6–4. He lost the semifinal against countryman Michael Berrer. With this result, he was the new German no. 1 in the ATP ranking. At the 2011 BMW Open in Munich, Mayer reached his fourth career final. He was again not able to capture his maiden ATP World Tour title, after losing to Nikolay Davydenko in three sets.Two days after this loss, he managed to beat Viktor Troicki in three sets in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open. He had to retire in the second round against Thomaz Bellucci. He rose to a new career-high rank of no. 28.

Mayer reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open in Rome. After three straight-set wins, Mayer could not keep up the momentum against Andy Murray, after having won the first set. He went on to lose, 6–1, 1–6, 1–6.

Again he rose to a new career-high rank of No. 21.

By winning three out of three matches at the World Team Cup in Düsseldorf, Mayer was the key player in the German team to capture the trophy for the fifth time. He improved to no. 19. The German, however, could not overcome the second round of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, losing in fourth sets in both cases against Alejandro Falla and Xavier Malisse, as he did in the Australian Open. In addition, he lost his Davis Cup quarterfinal match against Richard Gasquet, despite serving for the match in the third set.

Two weeks later, he reached the Hamburg ATP 500 quarterfinals, losing in straight tiebreaks to third seed Nicolás Almagro. However, in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of Montreal and Cincinnati, he lost in first round to Richard Gasquet and Ivo Karlović, respectively. Mayer then reached the third round in the US Open (won to Mannarino and Lisnard, but lost in the round of 32 to fifth seed Ferrer), to achieve his best Grand Slam result of the year.He won his first title in Bucharest, defeating Pablo Andújar in the final 6–3, 6–1.On 13 October 2011, Mayer defeated world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in a brilliant display of tennis 7–6, 6–3.

2012

Mayer withdrew from the Australian Open due to injury. He couldn't win consecutively until the Miami Masters, where he defeated Ivan Dodig and Indian Wells finalist John Isner. He then lost in the fourth round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Mayer reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2004 Wimbledon. In the quarterfinals, he lost to top seed Novak Djokovic.[3]

2013

Mayer reached quarter-final of Shanghai Masters and defeated French Open finalist David Ferrer.

2014

Mayer first played in Doha. He defeated Michał Przysiężny, then third seeded Andy Murray who returned from injury layoff, then Victor Hănescu who upset Fernando Verdasco. He then lost to Gaël Monfils in the semifinals.He reached the fourth round for the first time at the Australian Open. He defeated 14th seed Mikhail Youzhny in the second round, then 20th seed Jerzy Janowicz in straight sets in the third round. In the fourth round, he was defeated by 3rd seed David Ferrer in four sets.

Mayer at the 2016 US Open.

2016

Mayer won the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, defeating Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinal, world No. 7 Dominic Thiem in the semifinal and Alexander Zverev in the final, for his first victory in his career on German soil and his first victory at an ATP 500 tournament. Mayer won the final 6–2, 5–7, 6–3. As a result of this victory, Mayer's ranking rose 112 places from 192 to 80.

2017

Mayer got to the final at the 2017 German Open in Hamburg where he lost to namesake Leonardo Mayer in three sets.

2018

Mayer played his last match on the ATP tour at the 2018 US Open, losing to Borna Ćorić in four sets in the first round.

Playing style

Mayer is an all-court player known for his unique and creative style of play. He has an unusually long take-back on both his forehand and two-handed backhand and generally hits more top-spin than flat on both wings. Despite his height, his groundstrokes and serve lack power, but are consistent and unpredictable. He uses a variety of spins on both wings to mix his shots up and hit drop-shots. He is well known for his double-handed backhand slice, similar to that of Fabrice Santoro and Jimmy Connors, and often pulls off jumping backhands and jumping slice drop-shots which catch his opponents off guard. His drop-shots are particularly effective on clay and grass, where he has had most success. Despite having a weaker, top-spin serve, Mayer occasionally serve and volleys and is also known for his two-handed backhand cutting volley. He also often uses a chip and charge tactic during points to finish points off. This makes him unpredictable and tricky to play against.

Mayer's biggest weaknesses are his lack of match consistency and fitness, having had inconsistent results throughout his career and a relatively small build. He has also suffered from numerous injuries throughout his career, most notably his groin injury in 2015 that prevented him from playing for more than a year. However, he has since made a comeback, winning his second title at the 2016 Halle Open.

Performance timelines

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record; .

Singles

Tournament200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAAA2R1R2R3R1R2R3R2RA2R4RAA1R1R0 / 1212–1250%
French OpenAAA2R1R1R1RAAA2R2R1RA1R1R1R1R0 / 113–1121%
WimbledonAAAQF3R2R2RAA3R2RQF1RA1R1R2R1R0 / 1216–1257%
US OpenAAA2R1R2R1RAA1R3R1R3RA1R1R2R1R0 / 127–1237%
Win–loss0–00–00–07–42–43–44–40–11–13–35–45–33–43–10–30–32–40–40 / 4738–4745%
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells MastersAAAQ11R2R2R1RA1R1R2R3R2RAAAA0 / 93–925%
Miami OpenAAAQ24R1R3R1RA2R4R4R2R3RAA1RA0 / 1012–957%
Monte-Carlo MastersAAAA2RQ11RQ1AA2R1R3RA2RA1R1R0 / 85–838%
Madrid OpenNHAA1RAAAAAA2R1R2RAAA2RQ20 / 53–538%
Italian OpenAAA1R1RAAAAAQF2RAA1RA2RQ10 / 65–645%
Canadian OpenAAAAAAAAAA1R2R2RAAAAA0 / 31–325%
Cincinnati MastersAAAAAA1RAA1R1R2R1RAAAAA0 / 51–517%
Shanghai Mastersnot held2R3RQF2RQFAA1RQ1A0 / 610–567%
Paris MastersAAAAAAAAAA2R1RAAAAAA0 / 21–233%
German OpenAAA3R1R1R2RAnot Masters series0 / 43–443%
Win–loss0–00–00–02–34–51–34–50–21–13–412–95–88–71–11–20–12–40–10 / 5844–5644%
National representation
Summer Olympicsnot held1Rnot heldAnot heldAnot heldAnot held0 / 10–10%
Davis CupAAAPOAPOAQFAPOQF1R1RQFAPOAA0 / 510–953%
Win–loss0–00–00–00–30–02–00–00–10–02–00–22–22–11–00–01–10–00–00 / 610–1050%
Career statistics
200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018Career
Tournaments00017242123961925242579121715253
Titles0000000000100001002
Finals0000110001200001107
Hard Win–loss0–00–00–03–85–89–1010–122–72–513–1323–169–1215–158–60–12–51–80–5102–13144%
Clay Win–loss0–00–00–012–811–1313–85–110–31–18–419–89–1212–90–02–62–56–60–6100–10050%
Grass Win–loss0–00–00–04–23–23–23–20–00–02–13–25–22–20–02–26–23–32–438–2659%
Carpet Win–loss0–00–00–00–12–21–10–00–0discontinued3–443%
Overall win–loss0–00–00–019–1921–2526–2118–252–103–623–1845–2623–2629–268–64–910–1210–172–15243–261
Win %50%43%55%42%17%33%56%64%47%53%57%31%45%37%12%48.21%
Year-end ranking8733932503572565540961372328401472175069256

Doubles

Tournament200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAA1R1R2RA1R2RAA1RAA1R1R0 / 82–7
French OpenA1RA1RAAA1RA1RA2R2R2R1R0 / 83–8
Wimbledon1R2R1R2RAAAAAAAAAAA0 / 42–4
US Open3R1R2R1RAA3R2RA1RA1R1R2RA0 / 106–10
Win–loss2–21–31–31–41–00–02–22–30–00–20–11–21–22–30–20 / 3013–29
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells MastersAAAAAAAA2R2R1RAAAA0 / 32–3
Miami OpenA1RAAAAA1R1R1R1RAAAA0 / 50–5
Monte-Carlo MastersAAAAAAAAQF2RA2RAAA0 / 34–3
Madrid OpenAAAAAAAAA1RAAAAA0 / 10–1
Italian OpenAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA0 / 00–0
Canadian OpenAAAAAAASF2RAAAAAA0 / 24–2
Cincinnati MastersAAAAAAASF1RAAAAAA0 / 23–2
Shanghai Mastersnot heldA1RAA1RAAAAA0 / 20–2
Paris MastersAAAAAAA1R1RAAAAAA0 / 20–2
Win–loss0–00–10–00–00–00–00–16–44–62–50–21–10–00–00–00 / 2013–20
Career statistics
Titles / Finals0 / 00 / 10 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 1
Overall win–loss2–75–102–52–75–20–03–1012–167–133–131–63–62–54–70–451–111
Year-end ranking2341713822672727731816313723934830338220553931%

ATP Tour finals

Singles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments
ATP World Tour Finals
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
ATP World Tour 500 Series (1–1)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (1–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (1–4)
Grass (1–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Aug 2005Orange Warsaw Open, PolandInternationalClay Gaël Monfils6–7(6–8), 6–4, 5–7
Loss0–2Aug 2006Orange Warsaw Open, PolandInternationalClay Nikolay Davydenko6–7(6–8), 7–5, 4–6
Loss0–3Oct 2010Stockholm Open, Sweden250 SeriesHard (i) Roger Federer4–6, 3–6
Loss0–4May 2011Bavarian Championships, Germany250 SeriesClay Nikolay Davydenko3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Win1–4Sep 2011Romanian Open, Romania250 SeriesClay Pablo Andújar6–3, 6–1
Win2–4Jun 2016Halle Open, Germany500 SeriesGrass Alexander Zverev6–2, 5–7, 6–3
Loss2–5Jul 2017German Open, Germany500 SeriesClay Leonardo Mayer4–6, 6–4, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1May 2005Bavarian Championships, GermanyInternationalClay Alexander Waske Mario Ančić
Julian Knowle
3–6, 6–1, 3–6

Team competition: 2 (2 titles)

ResultW–LYearTournamentSurfacePartnersOpponentsScore
Win1–02005World Team Cup, GermanyClay Tommy Haas
Nicolas Kiefer
Alexander Waske
Guillermo Cañas
Juan Ignacio Chela
Guillermo Coria
Gastón Gaudio
2–1
Win2–02011World Team Cup, GermanyClay Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Petzschner
Christopher Kas
Juan Mónaco
Juan Ignacio Chela
Máximo González
2–1

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 25 (14–11)

Legend
ATP Challenger (13–9)
ITF Futures (1–2)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Dec 2002Gran Canaria, SpainFuturesClay Rafael Nadal6–7(3–7), 4–6
Loss0–2Feb 2003Lisboa, PortugalFuturesClay Juan Pablo Brzezicki3–6, 2–6
Win1–0Jul 2003St. Petersburg, RussiaChallengerClay Michal Mertiňák4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–1
Win1–2Nov 2003Gran Canaria, SpainFuturesClay Iván Navarro6–4, 6–2
Loss1–1Feb 2004Wolfsburg, GermanyChallengerClay Michal Tabara4–6, 3–6
Win2–1Mar 2004Mexico City, MexicoChallengerClay Adrián García6–4, 6–3
Win3–1Jun 2006Fürth, GermanyChallengerClay Torsten Popp6–3, 6–1
Win4–1Jul 2006Tampere, FinlandChallengerClay Ernests Gulbis7–6(7–4), 2–6, 6–3
Win5–1Aug 2006Graz, AustriaChallengerHard Rainer Schüttler6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Loss5–2May 2007Dresden, GermanyChallengerClay Yuri Schukin6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)
Loss5–3Jun 2007Prostějov, Czech RepublicChallengerClay Sergio Roitman6–7(1–7), 4–6
Loss5–4Jun 2007Braunschweig, GermanyChallengerClay Óscar Hernández2–6, 6–1, 1–6
Loss5–5Jan 2009Nouméa, New CaledoniaChallengerHard Brendan Evans6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win6–5Mar 2009Bangkok, ThailandChallengerHard Danai Udomchoke7–5, 6–2
Loss6–6Apr 2009Sofia, BulgariaChallengerClay Ivo Minář4–6, 3–6
Win7–6Jun 2009Karlsruhe, GermanyChallengerClay Dustin Brown6–2, 6–4
Loss7–7Aug 2009Istanbul, TurkeyChallengerHard Illya Marchenko4–6, 4–6
Win8–7Jan 2010Nouméa, New CaledoniaChallengerHard Flavio Cipolla6–3, 6–0
Win9–7Mar 2010Sunrise, United StatesChallengerHard Gilles Simon6–4, 6–4
Loss9–8Apr 2010Rome, ItalyChallengerClay Federico Delbonis4–6, 3–6
Win10–8Jun 2012Prostějov, Czech RepublicChallengerClay Jan Hájek7–6(7–1), 3–6, 7–6(7–3)
Win11–8Jul 2013Braunschweig, GermanyChallengerClay Jiří Veselý4–6, 6–2, 6–1
Win12–8Aug 2016Portorož, SloveniaChallengerHard Daniil Medvedev6–1, 6–2
Win13–8Aug 2016Meerbusch, GermanyChallengerClay Maximilian Marterer7–6(7–4), 6–2
Loss13–9Sep 2017Szczecin, PolandChallengerClay Richard Gasquet6–7(3–7), 6–7(4–7)

Record against top 10 players

PlayerYearsMatchesRecordWin %HardClayGrassCarpet
Number 1 ranked players
Lleyton Hewitt2006–201221–150%0–11–0
Rafael Nadal2011–201731–233%1–10–1
Andy Murray2011–201441–325%1–10–2
Juan Carlos Ferrero2005–201051–420%0–21–10–1
Andre Agassi200410–10%0–1
Andy Roddick200610–10%0–1
Marat Safin200410–10%0–1
Novak Djokovic2010–201450–50%0–30–2
Roger Federer2005–201780–80%0–20–10–5
Number 2 ranked players
Tommy Haas2004–201350–50%0–20–3
Number 3 ranked players
Alexander Zverev201611–0100%1–0
Guillermo Coria2004–200532–167%1–11–0
Grigor Dimitrov2011–201321–150%1–1
Milos Raonic2012–201621–150%0–11–0
Dominic Thiem201621–150%1–1
Juan Martín del Potro2006–201252–340%1–21–1
Nikolay Davydenko2006–201383–538%1–31–21–0
David Ferrer2004–201483–538%1–32–2
Marin Čilić2010–201772–529%1–30–11–1
Ivan Ljubičić2006–201141–325%1–3
David Nalbandian2004–201241–325%1–10–10–1
Stefanos Tsitsipas201810–10%0–1
Stan Wawrinka2006–201120–20%0–2
Number 4 ranked players
Robin Söderling2004–201042–250%2–10–1
Nicolas Kiefer200521–150%1–00–1
James Blake2005–201351–420%1–4
Tomáš Berdych2004–201361–517%1–40–1
Thomas Enqvist200510–10%0–1
Tim Henman200410–10%0–1
Kei Nishikori2008–201120–20%0–2
Sébastien Grosjean2004–201030–30%0–20–1
Number 5 ranked players
Fernando González2004–200522–0100%1–01–0
Tommy Robredo2006–201663–350%2–31–0
Kevin Anderson2010–201521–150%1–00–1
Gastón Gaudio2004–200621–150%1–1
Jiří Novák200421–150%1–00–1
Rainer Schüttler2004–200931–233%1–2
Andrey Rublev201710–10%0–1
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga2010–201660–60%0–6
Number 6 ranked players
Wayne Ferreira200411–0100%1–0
Gilles Simon200611–0100%1–0
Karol Kučera200410–10%0–1
Gaël Monfils2005–201450–50%0–10–30–1
Number 7 ranked players
Fernando Verdasco2005–200743–175%1–01–11–0
David Goffin2013–201742–250%1–11–1
Richard Gasquet2004–201883–538%1–30–12–1
Mardy Fish2007–201141–325%0–31–0
Mario Ančić200510–10%0–1
Thomas Johansson200510–10%0–1
Number 8 ranked players
Janko Tipsarević2010–201122–0100%2–0
Hubert Hurkacz201611–0100%1–0
Jürgen Melzer201111–0100%1–0
Mark Philippoussis200611–0100%1–0
Diego Schwartzman201711–0100%1–0
Radek Štěpánek2004–201143–175%2–11–0
Mikhail Youzhny2004–201596–367%2–13–11–1
John Isner2012–201731–233%1–10–1
Guillermo Cañas200410–10%0–1
Jack Sock201210–10%0–1
Marcos Baghdatis2007–201320–20%0–10–1
Number 9 ranked players
Fabio Fognini2011–201233–0100%3–0
Joachim Johansson200411–0100%1–0
Paradorn Srichaphan200411–0100%1–0
Roberto Bautista Agut2013–201831–233%0–11–1
Nicolás Almagro2006–201151–420%1–10–20–1
Mariano Puerta200510–10%0–1
Number 10 ranked players
Lucas Pouille201711–0100%1–0
Juan Mónaco2004–201596–367%2–04–20–1
Ernests Gulbis200910–10%0–1
Frances Tiafoe201710–10%0–1
Pablo Carreño Busta2017–201820–20%0–2
Total2004–201821677–13936%34–7630–4213–170–4

Wins over top 10 players

Season200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018Total
Wins11110022111010012
#PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreFM Rank
2004
1. Guillermo Coria3Wimbledon, London, Great BritainGrass2R4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–466
2005
2. Guillermo Coria9Sopot, PolandClaySF6–4, 5–7, 6–395
2006
3. Tommy Robredo7Sopot, PolandClay2R6–2, 6–460
2007
4. Nikolay Davydenko3Halle, GermanyGrass2R6–4, 6–437
2010
5. Mikhail Youzhny8Shanghai, ChinaHard2R6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–148
6. Robin Söderling5Stockholm, SwedenHard (i)QF7–6(10–8), 6–147
2011
7. Jürgen Melzer8Rome, ItalyClay2R6–4, retired28
8. Rafael Nadal2Shanghai, ChinaHard3R7–6(7–5), 6–323
2012
9. John Isner10Miami, United StatesHard3R6–4, 6–219
2013
10. David Ferrer4Shanghai, ChinaHard3R6–4, 6–350
2014
11. Andy Murray4Doha, QatarHard2R3–6, 6–4, 6–240
2016
12. Dominic Thiem7Halle, GermanyGrassSF6–3, 6–4192

German tournaments

Tournament200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018SRW–L
Hamburg3R1R1R2RA2RSFQFQFQFA2R1RF1R0 / 1320–13
Halle1R2RQFQFAAAQF2RQFAQFWQF2R1 / 1119–10
Stuttgart2R1RQF1RAAQF1RA2RAAQF1R2R0 / 109–10
MunichA1R1R1RAAAFAQFA1R2RA1R0 / 87–8

References

Awards
Preceded by ATP Newcomer of the Year
2004
Succeeded by