Thiago Monteiro (tennis)

Early and personal life

Thiago Moura Monteiro was born on May 31, 1994 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Thiago has three sisters (Letícia, Jéssica and Flávia) and an older brother, Fáber Monteiro, who works as a real estate broker. His mother Fátima Monteiro is retired since he was a child. Monteiro is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

Thiago's first introduction to tennis happened when he first saw his brother watching Gustavo Kuerten on TV, being eight years old. Monteiro trained football at an Academy near where his brother used to play tennis. He played it for the first time when his football class was cancelled and his brother called him to hit the ball. Thiago soon started training and disputing local tournaments: in early 2004 he won his first tournament, being only nine years old. Thiago would leave his hometown, Fortaleza, in late 2008 to enter the Larri Passos Academy in Balneário Camboriú to improve his game. Thiago says that if he didn't made that change, he would probably be a football player. Now as a professional player, Thiago uses his spare time to enjoy movies and spend it with friends and family. He attends college online and has been dating fellow brazilian tennis player, Beatriz Haddad Maia since March 2016.

Junior career

Thiago Monteiro had a successful junior career, winning many tournaments. Monteiro peaked in the ITF Junior Circuit rankings at No. 2 on 2 February 2012. He ended his junior career with a 77–31 win record on singles and 47–32 on doubles.

In 2004, being 10 years old, Thiago won the Paraíba Tour Tournament. In 2005, Monteiro won the Fortaleza Cup, by beating Evandro Alencar in straight sets on the final and in 2006, he captured the first of three titles at the Banana Bowl, at the category u12. 2008 was a very successful year for Monteiro, both in singles and in doubles. He won the South-America Tournament of Nations, the Torneio Brasileirão, the Guanabara Open de Tênis (4th and 5th stage), all singles tournaments; and the 1st and 2nd stage of Torneio Nacional Rota-do-Sol (both in singles and doubles). Monteiro also conquered his second Banana Bowl title, category u14. Later that year, Thiago was awarded with Troféu Jornalista Flávio Ponte, at the category Personalidade Esportiva do Ano (Sports Personality of the Year).

To focus on his tennis career, Thiago moved from his hometown in Fortaleza, to Balneário Camboriú, in Santa Catarina. This change led Thiago to conquer multiple titles in 2009: Copa Claro (3rd stage) and Credicard MasterCard Junior Cup (2nd and 3rd stage), in singles tournaments, and the doubles titles at XIV Goodyear Junior Cup and the Eddie Herr Tennis Championship. Monteiro was also runner-up at the G1 tournament, Orange Bowl, playing in the singles draw. This same year, he won his first points on the ATP Rankings by playing two Futures' events, in doubles category.

Starting 2010, Thiago was the number one in both CBT and COSAT ranking. He won his third and final title at the 40th edition of the Banana Bowl, this time at the u16 category and also made his debut on the ATP Singles Rankings, with his participations on a Future in his birthplace, in Fortaleza. In 2011, Thiago started the year winning the Grade A, Copa Gerdau in Porto Alegre, one of the most important tournaments on the ITF Junior Circuit. Being 17 years old, Monteiro also won three other clay tournaments: Asuncion Bowl, Astrid Bowl and the Offenbach Tournament. In this last one, he defeated Matias Sborowitz on the final in straight sets.

Thiago didn't achieve much success in singles Grand Slams as a junior: his best results were reaching the third round at the Wimbledon Championships in 2011 and at the 2012 French Open. He had a better run at doubles: reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the semifinals at the French Open, both in 2012. Monteiro's last match as a junior was at the 2012 US Open.

2011–2013: Early career

In late 2011, Thiago won his first professional title, the Bahia Open, a Future tournament with US$10,000 in money prize. He battled past his training partner Alexandre Schnitman, winning in close, straight sets. This win led Thiago to receive a wildcard entry on the main draw of Aberto de São Paulo, but he was eliminated on first round by compatriot André Ghem.

2012 was the last junior year for Monteiro. He played in all junior's Grand Slams except Wimbledon, and also focused on Futures and Challengers tournaments. Monteiro managed to qualify at 2012 Aberto de Florianópolis, in late February, but he was eliminated in the first round by Thiago Alves. In late May, Thiago won his second Futures title, this time on clay, in Bauru. The final was a thrilling three-hour battle with Monteiro winning despite losing the first set, with a 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(6) score over Leonardo Kirche. The Brazilian was runner-up on two other Futures played in Brazil: at São José do Rio Preto in August and at Porto Alegre in October. Thiago ended the year with a career ranking of 439, after starting the year at the position 701.

Entering 2013 as the first year that Thiago would play a full season as a senior professional, he was invited a second time to enter Aberto de São Paulo main draw, but couldn't make the first round again, losing to countryman Guilherme Clezar in straight sets. Monteiro later played on consecutive Futures events in United States, without much success. He tried to break through the qualifiers of Brasil Open a month later, but lost to Thiago Alves in the first round. In March, Thiago did a very successful run in Turkey: he won two back-to-back Futures, with 15 consecutive victories over two weeks. His first title there was against Czech Jan Minar, winning in straight sets. A week later, he defeated the Dominican José Hernández also in straight sets. He also won his first Futures title in doubles, partnering Maximiliano Estévez, from Argentina, defeating in the finals the partnership of Kirill Dmitriev and Yaraslav Shyla in the super tiebreak.

Thiago would also reach the finals of another Futures event, this time at Netherlands, in June, but he couldn't win his 5th title. He lost in final to Bjorn Fratangelo in three sets. Thiago broke through multiple Challenger qualifiers later in the year, including Sport 1 Open in Netherlands, the Poznań Open in Poland, the Oberstaufen Cup in Germany, and the Uruguay Open. His best results were the quarterfinals in Germany and Netherlands, a performance he also achieved in IS Open and Aberto Rio Preto, but he didn't need to play the qualifiers in the latters. In doubles, Thiago reached the finals of Tetra Pak Tennis Cup partnering Thiago Alves, but they lost in straight sets against the Argentinian team of Guido Andreozzi and Máximo González. He also reached the semifinals of IS Open and Aberto Rio Preto, partnering Thiago Alves in the first and Rogério Dutra Silva in the latter, achieving his career high in the doubles ranking: 449th. He ended in the 276th position, in singles ranking.

2014–2015: Injuries, 2nd Doubles Title

Thiago's year started only in late February, due to an injury on his left knee. He attempted to qualify to Brasil Open, but lost in the second round to Dusan Lajovic in straight sets. In March, Thiago qualified to Visit Panamá Cup, defeating Alexander Zverev on its way, but Monteiro lost in the first round. Thiago's 5th Futures title came in late June, in Netherlands, where he defeated Boy Westerhof in three sets. Thiago was not able to repeat his runs in the Challenger Tour as he did in 2013, and his ranked dropped down to 563th by the end of the year. In doubles, Thiago reached the finals of two Futures (one in Netherlands, one in Dominican Republic), but wasn't able to win his 2nd title in either.

Trying to recover his positions in the ATP Rankings, Thiago tried to break through multiple qualifiers of ATP World Tour tournaments. He attempted to do so in clay events, reaching the final qualifying round in the Argentina Open and the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, losing respectively to Facundo Bagnis and Rogério Dutra Silva. While his run on qualifiers wasn't much successful on the ATP World Tour, Thiago had better success at the ATP Challenger Tour. Over the year, Thiago entered 11 qualifier draws, breaking through 5 of them. Monteiro's also played his last Futures event to date, playing two weeks in Georgia in both singles and doubles. Partnering the Italian Marco Bortolotti, the left-hander won his 2nd Futures title by defeating the Russian partnership of Victor Badula and Ivan Kalinin in straight sets.

Almost a month later, playing in the qualifiers of Poprad-Tatry ATP Challenger Tour, Thiago badly injured his left knee, while helding a match point against Czech Robin Stanek (4–6, 7–5, 6–6^(9–8)), having to retire. He stayed away from the courts during three months, returning in the Campeonato Internacional de Tênis de Campinas qualifiers. Monteiro's lost in the final qualifying round to Tiago Lopes in three sets. The Brazilian best run at a Challenger event was in November, at the Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil, passing through the qualifiers and reaching the quarter-finals, were he had to retire against the eventual runner-up, Guido Pella. Thiago ended in the 470th position at the singles ranking.

2016: ATP World Tour debut and 1st Challenger Title

Starting the year at the 463rd position, Thiago started strong, qualifying to Torneo de Mendoza main draw and reaching the quarterfinals, where Monteiro lost to eventual champion Gerald Melzer in straight sets. The left-hander received a wildcard invite to Vivo Tennis Cup main draw, where he reached the semifinals of a Challenger event for the first time, losing again to the 'would-be' champion of the tournament, this time to Facundo Bagnis. This performance led him to receive a wildcard into Rio Open main draw where he would face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 3rd seed and world number 9th at the time. Thiago (ranked 338th) stunned Tsonga in three sets, to set a meeting with Pablo Cuevas. Monteiro lost in straight sets and his opponent went on to win the tournament, defeating Guido Pella in the final. The surprise performance led Monteiro to receive a second wildcard, this time to play into Brasil Open main draw. Thiago started strong, defeating two Spaniards (Nicolas Almagro in the first round and Daniel Muñoz de la Nava in the second) to reach the third round and set another battle against Pablo Cuevas. This time, Thiago triumphed in the first set, but Cuevas turned the game and won the match. Cuevas also won this tournament, beating Pablo Carreño Busta in the final.

After rising 98 positions in the rank, Thiago returned to play on Challenger events, this time all over America. Playing in four tournaments, the left-hander reached the semifinals in two of them. The first one was the Challenger ATP Cachantún Cup, where he lost to countryman Rogério Dutra Silva, in March. The other semifinal was his second Challenger event in Brazil in 2016, the São Paulo Challenger de Tênis, where he lost to Gonzalo Lama in three sets. Returning to Europe, Thiago entered the Open du Pays d'Aix draw unseeded, and with a strong performance, he conquered the title by beating Carlos Berlocq in the final. Thiago played two other tournaments without the same success, before entering the French Open qualifying draw as the 30th seed. Monteiro was beaten in straight sets by Ruben Bemelmans. A week later, Monteiro had a rematch with Bemelmans in 1R of the Franken Challenge, defeating him in straight sets. Thiago later lost in the quarterfinals to Tobias Kamke. Playing in another clay tournament in France, Monteiro reached a second Challenger final, this time at the Open Sopra Steria de Lyon. Seeded 5th, he faced another Belgian this time, Steve Darcis. The left-hander took the first set, but the Belgian grew in the match, turning it in three sets.

Before attempting to qualify in his second Grand Slam opportunity, Monteiro played at the Internationaux de Tennis de BLOIS, but withdrew from the second round match against Miljan Zekić, citing a back injury. At the Wimbledon Championships qualifying, Thiago was eliminated again in the first round, this time to Julian Reister. To increase his raise in the ATP Rankings, Thiago attempted and qualified for the German Open main draw. The Brazilian won three matches against three Germans players (two in the qualifiers, and Mischa Zverev in the main draw), to set a third match against Pablo Cuevas. Cuevas delivered Monteiro's third loss in the ATP World Tour, but this time he didn't win the tournament, being runner-up instead. Thiago qualified for a consecutive appearance at the World Tour, this time at Swiss Open Gstaad. Monteiro first defeat on the tour that was not by Cuevas came by Robin Haase in the third round. The Brazilian defeated Antoine Bellier in the first round and the second seed and top 30, Gilles Simon, in the second round.

Attempting to break into the top 100, Monteiro entered as the 1st seed in the BB&T Atlanta Open qualifiers. He breezed past American Trent Bryde, winning in straight sets and applying a bagel, but lost to Christopher Eubanks in straight sets, at the final round. However, Rajeev Ram withdrew from the tournament, and Monteiro was awarded with a lucky loser entry into the main draw. Unfortunately for Thiago, he didn't have the same luck during the first round match, against Tim Smyczek. Monteiro had the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4 during the second set, but Tim denied his chances and won the match in three sets. Thiago also did his Doubles debut at Atlanta, playing with Yoshihito Nishioka, but they lost at the supertiebreak against American partnership of Zack Kennedy and Christopher Eubanks. A week later, Thiago entered directly into the main draw of an ATP event for the first time, the Los Cabos Open; but lost in the 1R to Dusan Lajovic in straight sets.

Thiago finally broke the Top 100 milestone after winning in the 1R of the Western & Southern Open qualifiers, winning in straight sets against veteran Ivan Dodig. However, Thiago failed to qualify as he lost in the final round to Jiri Vesely in three sets. The win also won Monteiro a spot at no.2 in the Brazilian Top 10 singles, for the first time in his career. Later at the end of August, Thiago tried to qualify at the US Open, but for the third time in Slam Qualifiers, he lost at the first round. After the US Open, Thiago was invited for the first time to play in the Davis Cup. He entered the team to play against Belgium, opening the rubbers against David Goffin. Monteiro lost in straight sets, and Brazil finished the series 0-4. Following his unsuccessful run at the Davis Cup, Thiago entered the Campeonato Internacional de Tenis de Santos as the 2nd seed. He went on to his third Challenger final, losing in straight sets to Renzo Olivo. Thiago ended his year with other two quarterfinals (Campinas and Buenos Aires) and a semifinal (Santiago) appearance at Challenger events.

2017: Grand Slam main draw debut

Thiago started his year at Chennai Open, losing in the 1R to Daniil Medvedev. A week later, he entered the Sydney International qualifiers draw, passed through it, but he came short again in the first round, losing to Daniel Evans. Ranked 83rd, Thiago's ranking was enough for him to enter the Australian Open main draw directly. He set a rematch against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but couldn't reproduce the tennis from their first match, losing in four sets. Entering the Ecuador Open, Monteiro's performance was disappointing; he lost another one in the 1R, this time to Giovanni Lapentti. He also entered the doubles draw there, playing with Thomaz Bellucci, but they came short in the first round as well. Playing in Argentinian soil, Monteiro passed the 1R, defeating ex-top 10 Tommy Robredo in route to the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open, losing then to local player Carlos Berlocq in three sets. Monteiro made a consecutive quarterfinal appearance, this time at Rio Open, beating Gastão Elias and compatriot Thomaz Bellucci before losing to Casper Ruud. Entering another home tournament, the Brasil Open, Thiago lost for the second time in a row to Carlos Berlocq. Some weeks later, in his Masters 1000 main draw debut at Indian Wells Masters, Monteiro lost in a close match to Martin Klizan, losing a set point in the first set tiebreak and six break point opportunities overall. In another close match, Monteiro was also eliminated in the first round of the Miami Open, this time by Viktor Troicki in three sets.

Following the first two Masters of the season, Monteiro played two singles rubbers for his country at the Davis Cup, winning both to help Brazil win 5–0 against Ecuador, classifying his country to the World Group Play-offs. Starting the spring clay court season, he entered the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships main draw. At the maroon clay courts, Thiago defeated seventh seed Donald Young in straight sets, but lost in three to Ernesto Escobedo. At the Barcelona Open, Thiago qualified for the main draw, but lost to Daniel Evans in the first round. A week after, in the first round of BMW Open, he lost to Marius Copil.

Playing style

Monteiro's game is based primarily on a baseline game, with topspin groundstrokes to counterpunch the opponents' attacks. Thiago constantly uses his lefty forehand to move his opponents around the court, winning most points with it. Being a left-hander that is more acquainted with clay courts, his style is somewhat similar to one of his idols, Rafael Nadal.

Even though he trained in clay courts during most part of his tennis life, Monteiro's adaptation to hard courts especially was noted by critics during 2016. On these surfaces, Thiago vary more his game, using volleys and slices more than on clay.

Equipment and endorsements

As of October 2014, Monteiro has been training on Tennis Route Academy, at Rio de Janeiro, where other prominent brazilian playes train, including Marcelo Demoliner and Beatriz Haddad Maia. Lacoste was Thiago's clothing brand until January 2017, when he signed with the spanish brand Joma. He uses Babolat racquets. Other sponsors include Elemidia (since February 2017), Correios and Fundação Beto Studart (since 2009).

Wins over top 10 players

Monteiro's match record against those who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who have been No. 1 in bold (ATP World Tour, Grand Slam and Davis Cup matches).

Davis Cup

As a Junior, Thiago participated in the Junior Davis Cup, playing in 2010. The Brazilian team finished in the 7th position that year.

As a senior, Thiago Monteiro was first nominated to play for Brazil in Davis Cup after reaching the No. 2 spot in singles for his country. He played against Belgium in 2016, with Brazil losing the tie 0–4, and returning to the Zonal Group. Thiago was later nominated to play against Ecuador in 2017. He won his two matches, including the final match of the tie (a dead rubber).

Currently, Thiago sports a 2–1 record in Davis Cup matches; he played only singles matches so far.

Singles performance timeline

Currently during 2017 US Open.