Nicolás Massú Explained

Nicolás Massú
Residence:Viña del Mar
Birth Date:1979 10, df=y
Birth Place:Viña del Mar
Turnedpro:1997
Retired:27 September 2013[1]
Plays:Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney:$4,344,833
Singlesrecord:(ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Singlestitles:6
Highestsinglesranking:No. 9 (13 September 2004)
Australianopenresult:2R (2005)
Frenchopenresult:3R (2004, 2006)
Wimbledonresult:3R (2001)
Usopenresult:4R (2005)
Othertournaments:yes
Olympicsresult:W (2004)
Doublesrecord:82–103 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Doublestitles:1
Highestdoublesranking:No. 31 (25 July 2005)
Australianopendoublesresult:2R (2008)
Frenchopendoublesresult:SF (2005)
Wimbledondoublesresult:2R (2005)
Usopendoublesresult:QF (2004)
Othertournamentsdoubles:yes
Olympicsdoublesresult:W (2004)
Team:yes
Daviscupresult:QF (2006, 2010)
Medals-Expand:yes

Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (pronounced as /es/; born 10 October 1979), nicknamed El Vampiro (Spanish, 'the vampire'), is a Chilean former professional tennis player and a coach. A former world No. 9 in singles, he won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is the only man to have won both gold medals at the same Games since the re-introduction of Olympic tennis in 1988,[2] and they were the first two Chile's Olympic gold medals. Massú also reached the final of the 2003 Madrid Masters and won six singles titles. He was the coach of 2020 US Open champion and former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem from 2019 to 2023.[3]

Tennis career

Early years

Massú is Jewish,[4] as is his mother, Sonia Fried.[5] His father, Manuel Massú, is of Lebanese[6] [7] and Palestinian[8] [9] ancestry. His mother is of Israeli and Hungarian-Jewish descent. His maternal grandfather, Ladislao Fried Klein, was a Hungarian-born Jew who survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary by hiding, as his parents did not survive.[10] His maternal grandmother, Veronika (née Vegvari), was a Holocaust survivor who was imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp.[10]

Massú was introduced to tennis by his grandfather at age five. From age 12, he was trained at the Valle Dorado tennis academy, near Villa Alemana, by Leonardo Zuleta, with whom he perfected his forehand and double-handed backhand. He later trained at the Nick Bollettieri Academy, in Florida, alongside Marcelo Ríos, and later at the High Performance Center in Barcelona, Spain.

Juniors

See also: 1997 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Doubles and 1997 US Open – Boys' Doubles. Massú became a professional tennis player in 1997. That year, he won the prestigious juniors year-end Orange Bowl tournament and was doubles world champion, as well as No. 5 in singles.[11] He also claimed the boys' doubles competitions at both Wimbledon and the US Open, partnering Peru's Luis Horna[12] at the former and countryman Fernando González at the latter.

ATP Tour

In August 1998, Massú won his first Futures tournament, in Spain. The following month, he claimed his first Challenger event, in Ecuador. He won his second Challenger tournament in June 1999, in Italy. In September 1999, he successfully defended his title in Ecuador. In November 1999, he won the Santiago Challenger event and cracked the top 100 in singles for the first time.[13]

In May 2000, Massú reached his first ATP tournament final, at the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Orlando, Florida, where he lost to Fernando González. Later in August, he lost again to another Chilean—Marcelo Ríos—in his US Open debut. In January 2001, Massú reached his second ATP event final, in Adelaide, Australia.

Massú's first ATP title came in February 2002 in Buenos Aires, where he defeated Argentine Agustín Calleri in a three-set final, after being down match point. At the 2003 event, Calleri took revenge and defeated him in the first round, a loss that pushed Massú out of the top 100 in singles and forced him to play Challengers once again. In April 2003, he reached the Bermuda Challenger final.

Massú claimed his second ATP title in July 2003 in Amersfoort, Netherlands. The following week, he reached the final of the Kitzbühel tournament, cracking the top 50 in singles for the first time. In September, he made three consecutive tournament finals, including a win at a Challenger event and his third ATP title in Palermo. In October, he reached the final at the Madrid Masters Series tournament, losing to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. He ended the year at world No. 12.

In mid-2004, Massú parted ways with Argentine coach Gabriel Markus, whom he replaced with Chilean Patricio Rodríguez. In July 2004, Massú won his fourth ATP title in Kitzbühel and then went on to win two gold medals at the 2004 Olympics (see below). Thanks to his outstanding performance at the Olympics, he reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 9. In November, he underwent groin surgery and therefore entered the 2005 season off top form. He ended an unremarkable 2005 with a six-match losing streak, although ironically 2005 also saw his best performance at a Grand Slam tournament as he reached the fourth round of the US Open, losing to Guillermo Coria.

He was the first player to be beaten by Stan Wawrinka in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2005 French Open.[14] [15]

In January 2006, Massú lost to José Acasuso in the final of his hometown event at Viña del Mar. In February, he won his sixth ATP title in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. In April, he reached the final of the Casablanca event in Morocco. In July, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Amersfoort tournament.

In January 2007, Massú repeated his Viña del Mar showing of 2006, losing to Luis Horna in straight sets. In July, he began an eight-match losing streak that ended in October in Saint Petersburg.

Massú had an early exit at the Viña del Mar tournament in January 2008, losing to Sergio Roitman in the first round. Because he was defending points from a final showing in 2007, the following week he fell to No. 97 in the world. In July, his singles ranking plummeted to No. 138, his worst since November 1999. Later in the year, he won the Florianópolis II Challenger event and was a finalist in two other tournaments at that level.

Massú began 2009 by not winning a match during his first five tournaments and losing his opening Davis Cup singles match against Croatia in March. He broke his losing streak at the Indian Wells Masters, beating Argentine Eduardo Schwank in three sets in the first round.

Olympics

Massú has represented Chile at three Summer Olympics: 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing. At the 2000 event's opening ceremony, he was his country's stand in flag bearer after Marcelo Ríos failed to show up. In his first-round match he beat Sláva Doseděl, but lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the next round.

The story was different in Athens, where Massú captured both singles and doubles titles. On August 21, he and Fernando González defeated Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler of Germany to win the doubles competition, making history by giving Chile its first ever Olympic gold medal in any sport, after nearly a full century of Olympic participation. Massú and González came from four straight match points in the fourth set tie-break to claim the gold. The following day, he captured his second gold medal by defeating American Mardy Fish in five sets in the men's singles final. Following his victory in singles, he was declared as Athlete of the Day by the 2004 Athens Olympics' organization.[16]

Because of his low ranking, Massú was granted a wild card to compete in both singles and doubles events in Beijing.[17] He only managed to reach the second round in singles and was ousted on his first match in doubles, where he partnered again with Fernando González. To this day, Massú is the only male player in the Open Era to have won gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games.

Davis Cup

Massú began playing for Chile in Davis Cup matches in 1996. He played in the World Group, representing Chile in the years from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2009 to 2011. He ended his participation with a record of 29–17, including 17–4 on clay.[18]

In 2014, Massú took the position of captain of the Chile Davis Cup team,[19] with former No. 1 Marcelo Ríos as coach. After five years since the start of his tenure as captain, the team achieved a comeback to the elite group of the competition and qualified for the 2019 Davis Cup Finals, eight years after its last participation.

Maccabiah Games

Massú is a veteran of the 2001 Maccabiah Games in Israel, the international Jewish Olympics.[20]

Coaching

Massú was the coach of Dominic Thiem, 2020 US Open Men's Singles Champion and winner of the 2019 Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament. Massú played one doubles tournament in 2019, partnering Dominic's brother, Moritz Thiem.[21]

Playing style

Massú was known for his fighting spirit, especially when playing for Chile, which he demonstrated at the 2004 Olympics and in numerous Davis Cup matches. He has also turned around difficult matches and had a style characteristic of a clay-court specialist,[22] with strong baseline play characterized by a solid forehand and backhand.

Significant finals

Olympic finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

OutcomeYearwidth=160ChampionshipSurfacewidth=170OpponentScore
Gold Hard 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

OutcomeYearwidth=160ChampionshipSurfacewidth=170Partnerwidth=170OpponentsScore
Gold Hard 6–2, 4–6, 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–4

Masters Series finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

OutcomeYearwidth=160ChampionshipSurfacewidth=180OpponentScore
Runner-up Hard (i) 3–6, 4–6, 3–6

ATP career finals

Singles: 15 (6 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
Olympic Gold (1–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–1)
ATP International Series Gold (1–1)
ATP Tour (4–7)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (5–7)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1May 2000Orlando, United StatesClay Fernando González2–6, 3–6
Loss0–2Jan 2001Adelaide, AustraliaHard Tommy Haas3–6, 1–6
Win1–2Feb 2002Buenos Aires, ArgentinaClay Agustín Calleri2–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2
Win2–2Jul 2003Amersfoort, NetherlandsClay Raemon Sluiter6–4, 7–6(7–3), 6–2
Loss2–3Jul 2003Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Guillermo Coria1–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss2–4Sep 2003Bucharest, RomaniaClay David Sánchez2–6, 2–6
Win3–4Sep 2003Palermo, ItalyClay Paul-Henri Mathieu1–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–0)
Loss3–5Oct 2003Madrid, SpainHard (i) Juan Carlos Ferrero3–6, 4–6, 3–6
Win4–5Jul 2004Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Gastón Gaudio7–6(7–3), 6–4
Win5–5Aug 2004Athens OlympicsHard Mardy Fish6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss5–6Feb 2006Viña del Mar, ChileClay José Acasuso4–6, 3–6
Win6–6Feb 2006Costa do Sauípe, BrazilClay Alberto Martín6–3, 6–4
Loss6–7Apr 2006Casablanca, MoroccoClay Daniele Bracciali1–6, 4–6
Loss6–8Jul 2006Amersfoort, NetherlandsClay Novak Djokovic6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss6–9Feb 2007Viña del Mar, ChileClay Luis Horna5–7, 3–6

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
Olympic Gold (1–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold (0–1)
ATP Tour (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultNo.DateChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1.Mar 2004Acapulco, MexicoClay Juan Ignacio Chela Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan		2–6, 3–6
Win1.Aug 2004Athens OlympicsHard Fernando González Nicolas Kiefer
Rainer Schüttler		6–2, 4–6, 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–4
Loss2.Jul 2005Amersfoort, NetherlandsClay Fernando González Martín García
Luis Horna		4–6, 4–6

ATP Challengers & ITF Futures finals

Singles: 18 (10–8)

Legend
ATP Challengers (8–5)
ITF Futures (2–3)
OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Runner-up1.May 24, 1998Vero Beach, Florida, USAClay Ronald Agénor3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up2.May 31, 1998Boca Raton, USAClay Ronald Agénor1–6, 2–6
Runner-up3.June 21, 1998Lafayette, USAHard Cecil Mamiit6–0, 3–6, 0–6
Winner1.August 23, 1998Vigo, SpainClay Tommy Robredo6–4, 6–2
Winner2.August 30, 1998Irun, SpainClay Maxime Boyé6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner3.September 7, 1998Quito, EcuadorClay Mariano Sánchez3–6, 6–3, 6–0
Winner4.June 21, 1999Biella, ItalyClay Oleg Ogorodov7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–3
Winner5.September 6, 1999Quito, EcuadorClay Luis Morejón6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Winner6.November 1, 1999Santiago, ChileClay Karim Alami6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up4.November 28, 1999Guadalajara, MexicoClay Francisco Costa6–4, 5–7, 3–6
Winner7.September 15, 2003Szczecin, PolandClay Albert Portas6–4, 6–3
Runner-up5.April 14, 2003Paget, BermudaClay Flávio Saretta1–6, 4–6
Winner8.May 5, 2008Rijeka, CroatiaClay Christophe Rochus6–2, 6–2
Runner-up6.August 3, 2008Belo Horizonte, BrazilHard Santiago González4–6, 3–6
Winner9.October 6, 2008Florianópolis, BrazilClay Olivier Patience6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up8.October 13, 2008Montevideo, UruguayClay Peter Luczakw/o
Runner-up8.October 23, 2009Santiago, ChileClay Eduardo Schwank2–6, 2–6
Winner10.November 22, 2009Cancún, MexicoClay Grega Zemlja6–3, 7–5

Team titles

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnersOpponentsScore
Winner1.24 May 2003World Team Cup,
Düsseldorf		Clay Fernando González
Marcelo Ríos		 Jiří Novák
Radek Štěpánek		2–1
Winner2.22 May 2004World Team Cup,
Düsseldorf		Clay Adrián García
Fernando González		 Wayne Arthurs
Paul Hanley
Lleyton Hewitt
Mark Philippoussis		2–1

Performance timelines

Singles

Tournament199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
align=left Australian OpenAAAAA1R1RA1R2R1R1R1R1RAQ3AA0 / 81–8
align=left French OpenAAAQ12R1RA2R3R1R3R2RQ22R1RAAA0 / 98–9
align=left WimbledonAAAA1R3R1R2R1R2R1R1RAA1RAAA0 / 94–9
align=left US OpenAAAQ11R2R3R3R2R4R2R1RQ21RAAAA0 / 99–9
style=text-align:leftWin–loss0–00–00–00–01–33–42–34–33–44–43–41–40–11–30–20–00–00–00 / 3522–35
National representation
align=left Summer OlympicsANot Held2RNot HeldGNot Held2RNot HeldANH1 / 38–2
align=left Davis CupZ11RZ11RPO1RZ1APO1RQF1RPO1RQF1RAA0 / 922–12
ATP Masters Series
align=left Indian WellsAAQ1AQ12RAQ22RA2R1R2R2RAAAA0 / 64–6
align=left MiamiAAAA2R1RA3R2RA3R1RQ13R1RQ2AA0 / 87–8
align=left Monte CarloAAAAAQ12RA3RA1R2RAQ1AAAA0 / 44–4
align=left RomeAAAAAAA1RQF2R1R3RAQ2AAAA0 / 56–5
align=left Hamburg1AAAAAAAQ11R2R1R1RAQ1AAAA0 / 41–4
align=left CanadaAAAAAAA1R1R1R1RAAAAAAA0 / 40–4
align=left CincinnatiAAAAAAAQ21R1R1RAAAAAAA0 / 30–3
align=left Madrid2AAAAA1RAF2R1R2RQ2AAAAAA0 / 56–5
align=left ParisAAAAQ1Q1A3R3R1R1RQ2AAAAAA0 / 42–4
style=text-align:leftWin–loss0–00–00–00–01–11–31–18–56–92–64–93–51–13–20–10–00–00–00 / 4330–43
Career statistics
style=text-align:leftTitles0000001220100000006
style=text-align:leftFinals00001115204100000015
style=text-align:leftOverall win–loss0–10–12–24–226–2523–2829–1936–2042–2818–2238–2717–269–129–124–80–30–10–1257–238
align=left Year-end ranking88258318897878056121966447976112186450618876

Doubles

Tournament1996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132019SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
align=left Australian OpenAAAAAAAA1RAAA2RAAAAAA0 / 21–2
align=left French OpenAAAAAAAAASFA1RAAAAAAA0 / 24–2
align=left WimbledonAAAAAAAA1R2RAAAAAAAAA0 / 21–2
align=left US OpenAAAAAAA1RQF3R2R2RAAAAAAA0 / 57–5
style=text-align:leftWin–loss0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–13–37–31–11–21–10–00–00–00–00–00–00 / 1113–11
National representation
align=left Summer OlympicsNot Held1RNot HeldGNot Held1RNot HeldANHNH1 / 35–2
align=left Davis CupZ11RZ11RPO1RZ1APO1RQF1RPO1RQF1RAAA0 / 910–12
ATP Masters Series
align=left Indian WellsAAAAAAAAAA1RAAAAAAAA0 / 10–1
align=left MiamiAAAAAAAA1RA1RAAAAAAAA0 / 20–2
align=left Monte CarloAAAAAAAAQFA1RAAAAAAAA0 / 22–2
align=left RomeAAAAAAAA1R1RSFAAAAAAAA0 / 33–3
align=left Hamburg1AAAAAAAA1R2R1RAAAAAAAA0 / 32–2
align=left CanadaAAAAAAAA2R1RAAAAAAAAA0 / 21–2
align=left CincinnatiAAAAAAAAQF1RAAAAAAAAA0 / 22–2
align=left Madrid2AAAAAAAA1RAAAAAAAAAA0 / 10–1
align=left ParisAAAAAAA1RQFAAAAAAAAAA0 / 21–1
style=text-align:leftWin–loss0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–17–61–43–50–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00 / 1811–16
Career statistics
style=text-align:leftTitles00000000100000000001
style=text-align:leftFinals00000000210000000003
style=text-align:leftOverall win–loss0–01–23–22–05–80–31–55–630–2113–158–126–115–60–32–41–20–10–10–182–103
align=left Year-end ranking–47031935624312633892913658139257221490342376–937

1Held as Hamburg Masters until 2008 and Madrid Masters from 2009 to 2013.
2Held as Stuttgart Masters until 2001, Madrid Masters from 2002 to 2008 and Shanghai Masters from 2009 to 2013.

Top 10 wins

Season19971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013Total
Wins000010131110000008
PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreMassú
Rank
2001
1. Tim Henmanalign=center bgcolor=EEE8AA10Adelaide, AustraliaHardSF3–6, 7–5, 6–287
2003
2. Andy Roddickalign=center style="background:thistle;"2Madrid, SpainHard (i)3R7–6(7–3), 6–221
2004
3. Rainer Schüttleralign=center bgcolor=EEE8AA7ClayRR6–4, 4–6, 6–211
4. Rainer Schüttleralign=center bgcolor=EEE8AA8Kitzbühel, AustriaClaySF6–3, 6–313
5. Carlos Moyáalign=center bgcolor=EEE8AA4Summer Olympics, AthensHardQF6–2, 7–514
2005
6. Andy Roddickalign=center style="background:#9cf;"3Hamburg, GermanyClay1R7–6(7–4), 4–6, 7–525
2006
7. Andy Roddickalign=center bgcolor=EEE8AA5ClayRR4–2 ret.35
2007
8. James Blakealign=center bgcolor=EEE8AA9Rome, ItalyClay2R7–6(7–3), 7–559

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Chile's Nicolas Massu retires from tennis . USA Today . August 27, 2013.
  2. Web site: United States Tennis Association – USTA Yearbook – Olympic Games. February 23, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100423125837/http://www.usta.com/USTA/Global/About_Us/Yearbook/Yearbook1/22997_2008_USTA_Yearbook__Olympic_Games.aspx. April 23, 2010. mdy-all.
  3. Web site: Dominic Thiem & Nicolas Massu Announce Split | ATP Tour | Tennis .
  4. Also http://www.jewishsports.com/jewsin/2004olympics.htm, http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/?content_id=7124
  5. Also http://www.jewsinsports.org/Olympics.asp?sport=olympics&ID=466, http://www.forward.com/articles/jewish-athletes-put-their-nations-on-the-map-at-th/
  6. Sporting Scene: El Vampiro. The New Yorker. August 12, 2008 .
  7. Web site: September 18, 2007. La madre del tenista chileno Nicolás Massu: "amo a Israel, pero quiero que gane Chile". Deportes.co.il.
  8. Web site: nicolás Massú en la intimidad; Volveré a estar arriba. Miranda Valderrama. Luis. . April 12, 2008. February 14, 2009.
  9. Web site: Crónica: Palestino vs Colo Colo – Primera División de Chile. https://archive.today/20120708083456/http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/futbol/report?leagueCup=CHI.1&id=259115. dead. July 8, 2012. December 14, 2008. February 14, 2009. ESPNdeportes.com.
  10. Web site: Massu: Spirit Of A Survivor (ATP World Tour- 13/09/2012). nico-massu. blog. Nico Massu blog.
  11. News: PLUS: JUNIOR TENNIS; American Loses In Orange Bowl. The New York Times . Associated Press. December 29, 1997. NYTimes.com.
  12. https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/draws/archive/pdfs/players/481e7550-ee78-4f5e-b093-eba1c058aee2_BD.pdf
  13. Web site: Nicolas Massu | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis. ATP Tour.
  14. Web site: 2009 French Open – Nick's picks – Men's Singles Round 2. Nick's picks. Nick. Bollettieri. 26 May 2009. 9 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160126103600/http://nickstennispicks.com/2009/05/26/2009-french-open-nicks-picks-mens-singles-round-2/. January 26, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
  15. Web site: 2004 – 2005, Roland Garros. The History of Men's Tennis. 9 January 2016.
  16. Web site: Nico Massu blog. nico-massu. blog. Nico Massu blog.
  17. News: Massu granted special place in Olympic tennis. June 30, 2008. Wine. Steven. February 14, 2009. Seattle Times.
  18. Web site: Davis Cup – Players; Nicolas MASSU. February 14, 2009. Official website of the Davis Cup.
  19. i
  20. Web site: Massu Records Double Gold!. August 22, 2004. February 14, 2009. JewishSports.com.
  21. Web site: Moritz Thiem reacts to his debut in ATP qualifying at Kitzbuhel. Tennis World USA. July 28, 2019 .
  22. Web site: Rafael Nadal practiced with Nicolas Massu in Chile. Tennis World USA. February 5, 2013 .

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