Name Alexander Volkov Turned pro 1988 Prize money $3,362,786 Role Tennis player | Career record 304–256 Height 1.88 m Retired 1998 Career titles 3 Weight 79 kg | |
 | ||
Plays Left-handed (two-handed backhand) Highest ranking No. 14 (23 August 1993) Similar People Marat Safin, Hernan Gumy, Peter Lundgren, Rauza Islanova | ||
Pete sampras great shots selection against alexander volkov us open 1993 sf
Alexander Vladimirovich Volkov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Во́лков; born 3 March 1967) is a former professional tennis player from Russia.
Contents
Tennis career
Volkov turned professional in 1988.
Volkov finished runner-up in three tournaments over 1989 and 1990; in the latter year he defeated World No. 1 Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the first round of the US Open. Volkov won his first top-level professional singles title in 1991 at Milan. At Wimbledon that year, he lost a close match in the fourth round to the eventual tournament champion Michael Stich, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 1–6, 7–5 despite winning the same number of games as Stich overall in the match, which hinged on a lucky shot struck by the German when he was trailing 3-5 in the final set. With Volkov serving for the match at 30-15 in his favour, he served and came to the net on a deep approach shot up the middle. Stich's inside-out forehand attempted passing shot was hit on so wide an angle as to be heading well out, but the ball hit the top of the net, deflecting it upward and back toward the court. Volkov, who might have had a play on it at about shoulder height with his left-handed forehand volley, by moving to his left, had he believed that there was a chance that the ball could go in, hesitated then made no try for it, and the ball then miraculously landed dead on Volkov's ad sideline between the service line and the baseline for a winner, sparing the German from having to face two successive match-points on Volkov's service game, and bringing the scoreline instead to 30-30. (Stich's recollection that his shot was deflected by the net post is faulty remembering; the ball hit the net only, at about the singles sideline but on an angle obviously headed well out.) With Volkov clearly demoralised by the unluckiness of it, Stich went on to take the game; and subsequently Volkov would not win another. The irony of it is that Volkov had broken Stich's serve five times during the match, and Stich, in winning Wimbledon that year by then beating Courier, Edberg and Becker in a row, did not have his serve broken by the three of them that many times altogether. It was one of the most dramatic reversals of fortune ever seen at Wimbledon.
Volkov was runner-up in three tournaments in 1992 and won his second title in 1993 in Auckland. Later in 1993, Volkov defeated Björn Borg in the first round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, in a match which proved to be the last of Borg's career. Volkov won the Kremlin Cup a year later in 1994 to claim his third (and final) career title. He reached one more final in 1997 in Shanghai.
His best Grand Slam singles performance was reaching the semi finals of the 1993 US Open, where he defeated Jonathan Stark, Kevin Ullyett, Amos Mansdorf, Chuck Adams and Thomas Muster before losing to Pete Sampras.
Volkov was part of the Russian team that reached the final of the Davis Cup in 1994. He won singles rubbers over Patrick Rafter of Australia in the first round and Michael Stich of Germany in the semifinals. However, he lost both his singles rubbers in the final as Russia was defeated by Sweden 4–1.
Volkov retired from the professional tour in 1998. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 14 in 1994. His career prize-money earnings totalled $3,362,786.
He used to be Marat Safin's coach before the duo split in July 2007.