# Alejandro Falla

Alejandro Falla Ramírez (Spanish pronunciation:; born 14 November 1983) is a retired professional male tennis player from Colombia. The left-hander turned pro in 2000 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 48 in July 2012. At the 2006 Wimbledon tournament, Falla upset 9th seed Nikolay Davydenko and at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open he beat 9th seed Tommy Haas in straight sets. He reached the semifinals of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in 2007, beating players such as the 5th seed Ivan Ljubičić.

## Career

The Colombian became the first player from his country to break into the top 100 of the ATP rankings since Mauricio Hadad in 1996. In 2006, Alejandro qualified a career-high five times into the main draw of ATP tournaments. In his second tournament of the year, he reached the final of the Mexico City Challenger. He then went on to earn points for his country in a Davis Cup tie against Paraguay Davis Team. Then later in April, he won the Bogotá Challenger. At Roland Garros, he reached the second round after defeating Justin Gimelstob, though he lost to Roger Federer in the second round. A few weeks later at Wimbledon, he managed to beat Nikolay Davydenko in a four-set thriller. His victory over Davydenko was his first win over a top-10 player, and a first ever for a Colombian player. However, he was then defeated in the second round by Philipp Kohlschreiber in another four-set match. He then reached the second round in the US Open. In the first round, he beat Juan Martín del Potro in four sets, before being defeated by Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets.
Falla almost caused a sensation in the first round of Wimbledon in 2010, winning the first two sets against defending champion Roger Federer and serving for the match at 5–4 in the fourth set (he was three points away from winning), before Federer eventually won 5–7, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–0.
His best result in a Grand Slam was in 2011 at the French Open. Falla reached the fourth round, where he lost to the unseeded Juan Ignacio Chela.
In the 2014 Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Falla rallied to beat 2011 champion Philipp Kohlschreiber 5–7, 7–6 (5), 6–4 to become the first Colombian to reach the final of a grass-court tournament. He lost to six-time champion Roger Federer in the final.

## Juniors

Alejandro Falla made it to the semi-finals in the 2001 French Open, giving a big inspiration to Colombian players aspiring to achieve strong results in junior open tennis.

### Doubles

In junior doubles at the French Open, he and compatriot Carlos Salamanca defeated the German duo Markus Bayer and Philipp Petzschner, the first junior title won by Colombians in a Grand Slam.
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 |
| Junior Grand Slam tournaments |||
| Australian Open | A | A |
| French Open | 1R | W |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 1R |
| US Open | A | 2R |

### Doubles: 1 (1 title)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 2001 | French Open | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | Markus Bayer Philipp Petzschner | 3–6, 7–5, 6–4 |

## ATP career finals
### Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
* ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
* ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–2)
* Titles by surface
* Hard (0–1)
* Clay (0–0)
* Grass (0–1)
* Titles by setting
* Outdoor (0–2)
* Indoor (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jul 2013 | Colombia Open, Colombia | 250 Series | Hard | Ivo Karlović | 3–6, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$ |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jun 2014 | Halle Open, Germany | 250 Series | Grass | Roger Federer | 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 6–7$^{(3–7)}$ |

### Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
* ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
* ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)
* Titles by surface
* Hard (0–1)
* Clay (0–0)
* Grass (0–0)
* Titles by setting
* Outdoor (0–1)
* Indoor (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2011 | Pacific Coast Championships, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Xavier Malisse | Scott Lipsky Rajeev Ram | 4–6, 6–4, [8–10] |

## ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
### Singles: 24 (14–10)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (11–8)
* ITF Futures (3–2)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (3–4)
* Clay (11–6)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jun 2002 | Bogotá, Colombia | Futures | Clay | Pablo González | 6–7$^{(6–8)}$, 6–7$^{(2–7)}$ |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jun 2002 | Bogotá, Colombia | Futures | Clay | Eduardo Bohrer | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 6–7$^{(1–7)}$ |
| Win | 1–2 | Jan 2003 | San Salvador, El Salvador | Futures | Clay | Jorge Aguilar | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–2 | May 2003 | Pereira, Colombia | Futures | Clay | Thiago Alves | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 3–2 | Oct 2003 | Bogotá, Colombia | Futures | Clay | Marco Mirnegg | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Feb 2004 | Waikoloa, United States | Challenger | Clay | Dmitry Tursunov | 5–7, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$ |
| Win | 4–3 | Mar 2004 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Adrián García | 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–3 | Mar 2004 | Salinas, Ecuador | Challenger | Hard | Gilles Müller | 6–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–4 | Jul 2005 | Pozoblanco, Spain | Challenger | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5–5 | Jul 2005 | Binghamton, United States | Challenger | Hard | Andy Murray | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5–6 | Apr 2006 | Mexico City, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Ramón Delgado | 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 6–6 | Apr 2006 | Bogotá, Colombia (2) | Challenger | Clay | André Sá | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 6–7 | Nov 2007 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Challenger | Hard | Simone Bolelli | 6–4, 6–7$^{(7–9)}$, 1–6 |
| Win | 7–7 | May 2009 | Pereira, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Horacio Zeballos | 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 8–7 | Sep 2009 | Cali, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Horacio Zeballos | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 9–7 | Oct 2009 | Rennes, France | Challenger | Hard | Thierry Ascione | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 9–8 | Apr 2010 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | João Souza | 6–4, 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 10–8 | Sep 2011 | Cali, Colombia (2) | Challenger | Clay | Eduardo Schwank | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 10–9 | Oct 2011 | Medellín, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Víctor Estrella Burgos | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 11–9 | Apr 2012 | Barranquilla, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Horacio Zeballos | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 12–9 | Jul 2012 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Santiago Giraldo | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 13–9 | Jan 2014 | Nouméa, New Caledonia | Challenger | Hard | Steven Diez | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 14–9 | Jan 2014 | Bucaramanga, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Paolo Lorenzi | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Loss | 14–10 | Jan 2016 | Nouméa, New Caledonia | Challenger | Hard | Adrian Mannarino | 7–5, 2–6, 2–6 |

### Doubles: 20 (10–10)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (6–5)
* ITF Futures (4–5)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–3)
* Clay (9–6)
* Grass (0–1)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2000 | Colombia F2, Bogotá | Futures | Clay | Pablo Gonzalez | Leonardo Azzaro Eyal Ran | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Aug 2001 | Spain F4, Denia | Futures | Clay | Pablo Gonzalez | J. Fernandez-Rubio A-J Martin-Arroyo | 2–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 2–1 | Jun 2002 | Colombia F2, Bogotá | Futures | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | Eduardo Bohrer Fernando Araujo | 3–0 ret. |
| Loss | 2–2 | Aug 2002 | Spain F11, Irun | Futures | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | Marc Fornell Mestres F. Ventura-Martell | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 1–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Sep 2002 | Spain F14, Madrid | Futures | Hard | Carlos Salamanca | Gabriel Trujillo Soler A-J Martin-Arroyo | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Jan 2003 | El Salvador F2, La Libertad | Futures | Hard | Carlos Salamanca | Juan Pablo Brzezicki Bruno Soares | 6–4, 4–6, 6–7$^{(3–7)}$ |
| Win | 3–4 | May 2003 | Mexico F4, Aguascalientes | Futures | Hard | Bruno Soares | Ronaldo Carvalho Gabriel Pitta | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–5 | May 2003 | Colombia F1A, Cali | Futures | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | Mirko Pehar Michael Quintero | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 4–5 | Oct 2003 | Colombia F2, Bogotá | Futures | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | Ronaldo Carvalho Carlos Berlocq | 6–5, 5–7, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4–6 | Jun 2004 | Surbiton, Great Britain | Challenger | Grass | Glenn Weiner | Nathan Healey Jim Thomas | 3–6, 6–7$^{(9–11)}$ |
| Win | 5–6 | Sep 2008 | Cali, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Juan Sebastián Cabal | Brian Dabul Horacio Zeballos | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–3 |
| Win | 6–6 | Sep 2008 | Bogotá 3, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Juan Sebastián Cabal | Alejandro Fabbri Horacio Zeballos | 3–6, 7–6$^{(9–7)}$, [10–8] |
| Win | 7–6 | Nov 2008 | Medellín, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Juan Sebastián Cabal | Juan-Pablo Amado Víctor Estrella Burgos | 3–4 ret. |
| Loss | 7–7 | May 2009 | Pereira, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Juan Sebastián Cabal | João Souza Víctor Estrella Burgos | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 8–7 | Nov 2009 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Alejandro González | Diego Álvarez Sebastián Decoud | 5–7, 6–4, [10–8] |
| Loss | 8–8 | Oct 2009 | Mons, Belgium | Challenger | Hard | Teymuraz Gabashvili | Denis Istomin Evgeny Korolev | 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, [9–11] |
| Loss | 8–9 | Apr 2011 | Barranquilla, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Eduardo Struvay | Flavio Cipolla Paolo Lorenzi | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 8–10 | Apr 2011 | Pereira, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Eduardo Struvay | Marcel Felder Carlos Salamanca | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 4–6 |
| Win | 9–10 | Sep 2016 | Barranquilla, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Eduardo Struvay | Gonzalo Escobar Roberto Quiroz | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 10–10 | Oct 2016 | Medellín, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Eduardo Struvay | André Ghem Juan Lizariturry | 6–3, 6–2 |

## Performance timelines

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |

### Singles

| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | SR | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | Q2 | 2R | A | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | Q2 | A | 0 / 7 | 7–7 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 2R | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 2R | Q1 | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | 0 / 10 | 7–10 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | Q3 | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q2 | A | 0 / 11 | 5–11 |
| US Open | A | A | A | Q2 | Q1 | 2R | Q2 | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | Q3 | A | A | 0 / 6 | 2–6 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 34 | 21–34 |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 5 | 3–5 |
| Miami Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | 2R | Q1 | 2R | 3R | 1R | 3R | Q1 | A | 0 / 6 | 8–6 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | 1R | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Madrid Masters | NH | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | A | A | 0 / 5 | 1–5 |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | Q2 | Q1 | A | 0 / 6 | 1–6 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | Q1 | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | 1–4 |
| Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 |
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–5 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 3–6 | 2–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 31 | 15–31 |
| National representation ||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympics | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | NH | 0 / 1 | 0–1 |
| Davis Cup | Z2 | Z2 | A | Z3 | Z2 | Z2 | Z1 | Z1 | Z1 | PO | Z1 | Z1 | PO | Z1 | PO | A | PO | 0 / 0 | 22–10 |
| Win–loss | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 1 | 22–11 |
| Career statistics ||||||||||||||||||||
| Titles / Finals | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 |
| Year-end ranking | 1383 | 566 | 275 | 127 | 231 | 108 | 81 | 180 | 81 | 105 | 74 | 54 | 99 | 88 | 122 | 273 | 397 | | |

### Doubles

| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments |||||||
| Australian Open | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | A | 0–3 |
| French Open | 1R | A | 1R | A | 2R | 1–3 |
| Wimbledon | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 0–2 |
| US Open | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 0–2 |
| Win–loss | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1-3 | 1–10 |