# Nicolás Lapentti

Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gómez (Spanish pronunciation:; born 13 August 1976) is an Ecuadorian former professional tennis player. Lapentti was ranked world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in April 2000. His brothers, Giovanni and Leonardo, uncle Andrés, and cousins Roberto and Emilio have also been professional tennis players. His father, also named Nicolás Lapentti, was a star basketball player at the College (now University) of St. Thomas in Minnesota from 1963 to 1967, and played on the Ecuador Olympic team.

## Beginnings

Lapentti began playing tennis at the age of six.
He first came to the tennis world's attention an outstanding junior player who won the Orange Bowl in Florida in 1994, when he also captured the junior doubles titles at the French Open (partnering with Gustavo Kuerten) and the US Open.

## Professional

Lapentti turned professional in 1995 and won his first top-level singles title later that year at Bogotá.
In 1999, Lapentti was a semi-finalist at the Australian Open, defeating Thomas Johansson, Magnus Norman, Mikael Tillström, Andrew Ilie and Karol Kučera before losing to Thomas Enqvist. He also won two tour singles titles that year and reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 6 that November.
In 2002, Lapentti won his fifth tour singles title at St. Pölten, beating Fernando Vicente in straight sets in the final. In the second round of that tournament, his rival, Irakli Labadze, faced four match points but was not able to convert any of them. Lapentti finally won that tough match 5–7, 7–6$^{(1)}$, 7–6$^{(6)}$.
His brother, Giovanni, also a professional tennis player, reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 110 in May 2005. In addition, another brother, Leonardo, has been active at the lower levels of professional tennis.
In the Cincinnati Open 2008, Lapentti defeated David Ferrer in second round, Fernando Verdasco in the third round and faced No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals where he lost in straight sets. With that victory over Lapentti, Nadal clinched the world No. 1 ranking for the first time.
In his last participation in a Grand Slam championship, he unfortunately had to retire against Novak Djokovic in the first round of the 2009 French Open.
In 2017, it was announced that Nicolás would compete in the Ecuador Open doubles draw alongside brother Giovanni, playing in the final event of his career.

## Davis Cup

He has also been a member of the Ecuador Davis Cup team since 1993. Representing his country in Davis Cup since he was 17, and won the deciding rubber against Great Britain (July 2000) to put Ecuador in the World Group. Moreover, he owns the Davis Cup record for most matches won in five sets, with a total of 13 victories.

## Personal

He set up the Nicolás Lapentti Foundation in late 2000 to help bring tennis to the underprivileged, and develop future champions. Other interests include soccer and reading Robert Ludlum books.

## ATP career finals
### Singles: 12 (5 wins, 7 losses)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
* ATP Super 9 / ATP Masters Series (0–0)
* ATP Championship Series / ATP International Series Gold (2–1)
* ATP World Series / ATP International Series (3–6)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–1)
* Clay (3–6)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (1–0)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoor (4–7)
* Indoor (1–0)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Sep 1995 | Bogotá Open, Colombia | World Series | Clay | Miguel Tobón | 2–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Sep 1996 | Bogotá Open, Colombia | World Series | Clay | Thomas Muster | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Oct 1997 | Bogotá Open, Colombia | World Series | Clay | Francisco Clavet | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Jul 1999 | Swiss Open, Switzerland | World Series | Clay | Albert Costa | 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–3 | Aug 1999 | Indianapolis Tennis Championships, United States | Champ. Series | Hard | Vince Spadea | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–3 | Oct 1999 | Grand Prix de Lyon, France | World Series | Carpet (i) | Lleyton Hewitt | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3–4 | Oct 2000 | Japan Open, Tokyo | Intl. Gold | Hard | Sjeng Schalken | 4–6, 6–3, 1–6 |
| Win | 4–4 | Jul 2001 | Austrian Open Kitzbühel, Austria | Intl. Gold | Clay | Albert Costa | 1–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 4–5 | Feb 2002 | Santiago Open, Chile | International | Clay | Fernando González | 3–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$ |
| Win | 5–5 | May 2002 | St. Pölten, Austria | International | Clay | Fernando Vicente | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 5–6 | Jul 2003 | Swedish Open, Båstad | International | Clay | Mariano Zabaleta | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 5–7 | Sep 2006 | Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia, Italy | International | Clay | Filippo Volandri | 7–5, 1–6, 3–6 |

### Doubles: 7 (3 wins, 4 losses)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
* ATP Super 9 / ATP Masters Series (0–0)
* ATP Championship Series / ATP International Series Gold (0–0)
* ATP World Series / ATP International Series (3–4)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–0)
* Clay (2–4)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoor (3–4)
* Indoor (0–0)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 1996 | Bogotá Open, Colombia | World Series | Clay | Pablo Campana | Nicolás Pereira David Rikl | 3–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 1–1 | Aug 1997 | Dutch Open, Amsterdam | World Series | Clay | Paul Kilderry | Andrew Kratzmann Libor Pimek | 3–6, 7–5, 7–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Oct 1997 | Mexican Open, Acapulco | World Series | Clay | Daniel Orsanic | Luis Herrera Mariano Sánchez | 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Nov 1997 | Santiago Open, Chile | World Series | Clay | Julián Alonso | Hendrik Jan Davids Andrew Kratzmann | 6–7, 7–5, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–2 | Jan 1999 | Adelaide International, Australia | World Series | Hard | Gustavo Kuerten | Jim Courier Patrick Galbraith | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–3 | May 1999 | Prague Open, Czech Republic | World Series | Clay | Mark Keil | Martin Damm Radek Štěpánek | 0–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3–4 | Feb 2004 | Santiago Open, Chile | International | Clay | Martín Rodríguez | Juan Ignacio Chela Gastón Gaudio | 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 6–7$^{(3–7)}$ |

## Singles performance timeline

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | SR | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments |||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | SF | 2R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 2R | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 11 | 15–11 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | Q1 | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 14 | 12–14 |
| Wimbledon | A | Q1 | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | QF | 2R | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 10 | 8–10 |
| US Open | A | Q1 | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | Q1 | 1R | Q3 | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 12 | 7–12 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 4–3 | 7–4 | 6–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0 / 47 | 42–47 |
| Year-end championships |||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennis Masters Cup | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | RR | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | 0 / 1 | 0–3 |
| Grand Slam Cup | Was Not Invited | Was Not Invited | Was Not Invited | Was Not Invited | Was Not Invited | Was Not Invited | QF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | 0 / 1 | 1–1 |
| ATP Masters Series |||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | 1R | Q2 | 3R | A | SF | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | A | A | Q1 | 3R | A | 0 / 8 | 12–8 |
| Miami | A | Q1 | Q2 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | QF | 3R | QF | 4R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | Q1 | Q1 | 2R | 0 / 12 | 14–12 |
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | Q2 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | Q1 | A | 2R | 3R | A | 0 / 8 | 4–8 |
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | Q1 | A | 2R | Q1 | Q1 | 0 / 8 | 10–8 |
| Hamburg | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | SF | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | Q1 | A | Q1 | A | NM1 | NM1 | 0 / 7 | 8–7 |
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | Q1 | Q2 | A | A | 1R | Q2 | A | 0 / 5 | 2–5 |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | QF | Q1 | A | 0 / 8 | 5–8 |
| Madrid (Stuttgart) | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | A | Q1 | A | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | 0 / 4 | 5–4 |
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | A | Q2 | Q2 | A | A | 0 / 6 | 7–6 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–6 | 16–7 | 8–9 | 15–9 | 7–9 | 3–8 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 5–4 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0 / 66 | 67–66 |
| Year-end ranking | 326 | 632 | 109 | 121 | 63 | 90 | 7 | 24 | 23 | 29 | 57 | 122 | 95 | 67 | 109 | 86 | 97 | 447 | | |

## Top 10 wins

| Season | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Total |
| Wins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score | LR |
| 1998 ||||||||
| 1. | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 7 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | 3R | 6–4, 6–1 | 61 |
| 1999 ||||||||
| 2. | Àlex Corretja | 8 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | 1R | 4–3 ret. | 26 |
| 3. | Carlos Moyá | 10 | Indianapolis, United States | Hard | QF | 6–1, 6–2 | 20 |
| 4. | Gustavo Kuerten | 5 | Lyon, France | Carpet (i) | QF | 5–7, 6–4, 7–5 | 14 |
| 2001 ||||||||
| 5. | Magnus Norman | 5 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | 1R | 4–6, 6–1, 6–1 | 27 |
| 6. | Tim Henman | 10 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–4, 6–4 | 27 |
| 7. | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 4 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | QF | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–2 | 36 |
| 8. | Lleyton Hewitt | 3 | Paris Masters, France | Carpet (i) | 2R | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 | 30 |
| 2003 ||||||||
| 9. | Jiří Novák | 8 | Miami Open, United States | Hard | 2R | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 | 39 |
| 2006 ||||||||
| 10 | Nikolay Davydenko | 6 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | 2R | 6–3, 6–3 | 116 |
| 2008 ||||||||
| 11. | David Ferrer | 4 | Cincinnati, United States | Hard | 2R | 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 3–6, 6–3 | 89 |