Fernando Verdasco

In a sport that is predicated on singles success, Fernando Verdasco is known best for being a team player. His biggest successes in the sport of tennis came not in Grand Slams, but in the Davis Cup. Verdasco has won the prestigious team event on three separate occasions with Spain. Indeed, in 2008 and 2009, he was the one who won the deciding match of the final encounter, whereas he was an integral part of the side that would again win the tournament in 2011. That being said, he is no slouch in individual events either; he’s won 7 singles titles as well as 8 doubles titles.

Verdasco turned pro in 2001 and, at the age of 37, is still going strong on the ATP tour. The Spaniard has also won the Hopman Cup tournament in 2013 and his career-best ranking in the singles department was number 7, achieved all the way back in 2009.

His first success on the ATP tour came in Valencia in 2004, where he beat Albert Montanes in the final to clinch his maiden title. He continued to rack up the wins thereafter and would surpass 100 match wins on the tour in 2006, although he would have to wait all the way until 2008 to taste another title win. That came at Umag in the Croatia Open, and saw him climb up to 11th in the ATP rankings as a result.

His third title would come in New Haven, where he beat Sam Querrey in straight sets in the final despite having played the semi-final earlier on the same day. This was due to rain delays upsetting the tournament schedule. He would also make it to the quarters of five straight ATP Masters 1000 events. 2010 saw him win two titles at Bucharest and Barcelona.

After that, he would win just two more singles titles – at Houston in 2014 and Bucharest in 2016. However, despite struggling to remain consistent in recent years, Verdasco has continued to be a threat on any given day. Indeed, he is the 45th player overall in ATP World Tour history to have won over 500 singles matches. He is also sixth on the list of active players to have won more than 500 matches.

Verdasco, like compatriot Rafael Nadal, is a southpaw whose game revolves largely around being offensive from the baseline. He is comfortable playing across surfaces yet finds himself most at home on quicker hard courts. Like Nadal, he too can generate an above-average amount of topspin on the ball and that has led to him causing a few upsets on the tour.

He considers his forehand to be his best shot but possesses an arguably dangerous backhand as well. However, it is his top-spin heavy forehead that has caused other players the most issues. Where Verdasco struggles the most is to get consistent results against top-ranked players, which explains his lack of success in Grand Slam events.

Singles:

Australian Open – semi-finalist in 2009
French Open – reached the fourth round in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2018
Wimbledon – quarterfinalist in 2013
US Open – quarterfinalist in 2009 and 2010

Doubles:

Australian Open – quarterfinals in 2009 and 2013
French Open – semi-finalist in 2017
Wimbledon – reached the third round in 2008
US Open – quarterfinalist in 2004, 2008 and 2014