Former Ecuadorian player, Nicolas Alexander Lapentti Gomez used to be a threat to any player on a given day. A former World No.6, Lapentti has participated in multiple Olympic Games and has also reached the semifinals of the 1999 Australian Open. It is to be noted that his brothers, Giovanni and Leonardo, uncle Andres, and cousins Roberto and Emilio also were part of the pro circuit at one point or another. Lapentti, who began playing tennis at the age of six, did not take much time in making his presence felt. The immensely talented young player first came to attention as a promising junior player who won the Orange Bowl in Florida, 1994, when he also captured the junior doubles titles at the French Open (partnering with Gustavo Kuerten) and the US Open.
Lapentti turned pro in 1995. After finding his feet on the tennis circuit, he quickly settled at the required level to win his first top-level singles title later that year in Bogota. Lapentti famously reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 1999. He defeated Thomas Johansson, Magnus Norman, Mikael Tillstrom, Andrew Ilie, and Karol Kucera before losing to Thomas Enqvist. Besides winning two tour singles titles that year, he also attained his career-high singles position of World No. 6 in November.
Lapentti won his fifth tour singles title in 2002 in St. Polten, defeating Fernando Vicente in straight sets. On his way to the final, his opponent, Irakli Labadze, faced four match points in the second round of that competition but was unable to convert any of it. Lapentti eventually prevailed in that difficult contest. It provided him with the motivation and belief to go all the way.
In the Cincinnati Open 2008, Lapentti enjoyed a good run, defeating many big names that week. He defeated David Ferrer in the second round, Fernando Verdasco in the third round, and played No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, losing in straight sets. 'King of Clay' Nadal secured the World No. 1 ranking for the first time after his victory over Lapentti. In his final appearance in a Grand Slam championship, he was unfortunately forced to retire in the first round of the 2009 French Open against Serbian star Novak Djokovic.
The Ecuadorian has the unique distinction of being an efficient player in both singles and doubles categories. Apart from winning five career titles in singles, he also has three titles in doubles. He has also reached the singles quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2002. It was his best effort in that tournament.
Since 1993, he has also been a member of Ecuador's Davis Cup team. He has been representing Ecuador in Davis Cup since he was 17 years old, and he won the deciding rubber against Great Britain in July 2000 to take Ecuador into the World Group. The 45-year-old, who set up the Nicolas Lapentti Foundation in late 2000 to help bring tennis to the underprivileged, has been an important player for his country in Davis Cup.
Australian Open: SF (1999)
French Open: 4R (2000)
Wimbledon: QF (2002)
US Open: 3R (2001)
