# Xavier Malisse

Xavier Malisse (born 19 July 1980) is a Belgian tennis coach and a former professional player. Born in the north-western Flemish city of Kortrijk and nicknamed X-Man, he is one of only two Belgian men (the other being David Goffin) to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP Tour, with a career-high singles ranking of world No. 19.

## Career
### Juniors

As a junior Malisse compiled a singles win–loss record of 66–18, reaching as high as No. 10 in the junior world singles rankings in 1997. He made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1997, whilst his final junior tournament was winning Eddie Herr later that year.

### 1998–2008

Malisse turned professional in 1998.
His best performance in Grand Slam singles competition was at the 2002 Wimbledon championships, where he reached the semi-final, beating Galo Blanco, Vince Spadea, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Britain's Greg Rusedski in five sets en route, as well as former champion Richard Krajicek. He eventually lost to runner-up David Nalbandian, again in five sets. Malisse and Olivier Rochus won the French Open doubles championship in 2004. He has won three ATP tour singles titles: Delray Beach in 2005 and 2007, and Chennai in 2007.

### 2009

After a difficult year, Malisse found himself with a world ranking of 205. In his first tournament of the year in Brisbane, he lost in the last qualifying round to American Bobby Reynolds. A week later, in Medibank International Sydney, he reached the main draw, but lost to Mario Ančić in the first round.
At the Australian Open, he first won his qualifying matches. In the first round of the main draw, he defeated Michaël Llodra. However, in the next round, he lost to Andy Roddick in four sets. In October, he won a Challenger tournament in Lyon, and this pushed him back into the world's top 100 for the first time in nearly two years.
He was banned for a year over doping allegations.

### 2010

Malisse lost in the third round of Wimbledon to Sam Querrey in five sets.

### 2011

Xavier started the 2011 season by reaching the final of Chennai. In March, he won the doubles title in the Indian Wells Masters with Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he lost to Bernard Tomic.

### 2012

Xavier reached the fourth round of Wimbledon where he faced Roger Federer. Federer won the first two sets and went a break up in the third, but Malisse came back to win the third set and move 2–0 in the fourth. Federer subsequently won six out of the next seven games to win the match and went on to win the Title.

### 2016–2018

After retiring in 2013 and competing in an ITF doubles event in 2015, Malisse entered the 2016 Meerbusch Challenger in doubles, ultimately conceding a walkover to end his playing career. He then participated in the ATP Champions Tour until 2018.

### 2021–2022

Malisse came out of retirement to play doubles at the 2021 European Open having received a wildcard alongside Lloyd Harris whom he was coaching. The pair made the semifinals defeating top seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo en route before losing to 3rd seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Wesley Koolhof in straight sets.
He also participated in the 2022 European Open having received again a wildcard to play doubles with Diego Schwartzman. In the first round they managed to beat Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, they lost to Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor in two tie-breaks.

## Significant finals
### Grand Slam finals
#### Doubles: 1 (1–0)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 2004 | French Open | Clay | Olivier Rochus | Michaël Llodra Fabrice Santoro | 7–5, 7–5 |

### Masters 1000 finals
#### Doubles: 1 (1–0)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 2011 | Indian Wells | Hard | Alexandr Dolgopolov | Roger Federer Stan Wawrinka | 6–4, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, [10–7] |

## ATP career finals
### Singles: 12 (3 titles, 9 runners-up)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
* ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
* ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–9)
* Titles by surface
* Hard (3–4)
* Clay (0–4)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–1)
* Titles by setting
* Outdoor (3–8)
* Indoor (0–1)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Nov 1998 | Mexican Open, Mexico | World Series | Clay | Jiří Novák | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | May 1999 | Delray Beach ITC, US | World Series | Clay | Lleyton Hewitt | 4–6, 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 1–6 |
| Loss | 0–3 | Mar 2001 | Delray Beach ITC, US | International | Hard | Jan-Michael Gambill | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–4 | Apr 2001 | Atlanta Tennis Challenge, US | International | Clay | Andy Roddick | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–5 | May 2004 | St. Pölten Open, Austria | International | Clay | Filippo Volandri | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–6 | Oct 2004 | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet (i) | Robin Söderling | 2–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–6 | Jan 2005 | Delray Beach ITC, US | International | Hard | Jiří Novák | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–7 | Jan 2006 | Adelaide International, Australia | International | Hard | Florent Serra | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1–8 | Feb 2006 | Delray Beach ITC, US | International | Hard | Tommy Haas | 3–6, 6–3, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$ |
| Win | 2–8 | Jan 2007 | Chennai Open, India | International | Hard | Stefan Koubek | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 3–8 | Feb 2007 | Delray Beach ITC, US (2) | International | Hard | James Blake | 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–9 | Jan 2011 | Chennai Open, India | 250 Series | Hard | Stanislas Wawrinka | 5–7, 6–4, 1–6 |

### Doubles: 13 (9 titles, 4 runners-up)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (1–0)
* Tennis Masters Cup / ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (1–0)
* ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
* ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (7–4)
* Titles by surface
* Hard (8–3)
* Clay (1–1)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
* Titles by setting
* Outdoor (7–3)
* Indoor (2–1)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 2004 | French Open, France | Grand Slam | Clay | Olivier Rochus | Michaël Llodra Fabrice Santoro | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jan 2005 | Adelaide International, Australia | International | Hard | Olivier Rochus | Simon Aspelin Todd Perry | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–0 | Jan 2007 | Chennai Open, India | International | Hard | Dick Norman | Rafael Nadal Bartolomé Salvá Vidal | 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$ |
| Win | 4–0 | Feb 2007 | Delray Beach ITC, US | International | Hard | Hugo Armando | James Auckland Stephen Huss | 6–3, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, [10–5] |
| Loss | 4–1 | Jan 2008 | Auckland Open, New Zealand | International | Hard | Jürgen Melzer | Luis Horna Juan Mónaco | 4–6, 6–3, [7–10] |
| Loss | 4–2 | Feb 2011 | Pacific Coast Championships, US | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Alejandro Falla | Scott Lipsky Rajeev Ram | 4–6, 6–4, [8–10] |
| Win | 5–2 | Mar 2011 | Indian Wells Masters, US | Masters 1000 | Hard | Alexandr Dolgopolov | Roger Federer Stanislas Wawrinka | 6–4, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, [10–7] |
| Win | 6–2 | Jul 2011 | Los Angeles Open, US | 250 Series | Hard | Mark Knowles | Somdev Devvarman Treat Huey | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 7–6$^{(12–10)}$ |
| Win | 7–2 | Feb 2012 | Pacific Coast Championships, US | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Mark Knowles | Kevin Anderson Frank Moser | 6–4, 1–6, [10–5] |
| Loss | 7–3 | May 2012 | Bavarian Championships, Germany | 250 Series | Clay | Dick Norman | František Čermák Filip Polášek | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 7–4 | Jul 2012 | Atlanta Open, US | 250 Series | Hard | Michael Russell | Matthew Ebden Ryan Harrison | 3–6, 6–3, [6–10] |
| Win | 8–4 | Jul 2012 | Los Angeles Open, US (2) | 250 Series | Hard | Ruben Bemelmans | Jamie Delgado Ken Skupski | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 4–6, [10–7] |
| Win | 9–4 | Feb 2013 | Pacific Coast Championships, US (2) | 250 Series | Hard (i) | Frank Moser | Lleyton Hewitt Marinko Matosevic | 6–0, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, [10–4] |

## ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
### Singles: 7 (4–3)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (4–3)
* ITF Futures (0–0)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (4–3)
* Clay (0–0)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Oct 2000 | San Antonio, United States | Challenger | Hard | Ronald Agénor | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Oct 2005 | Mons, Belgium | Challenger | Hard | Olivier Rochus | 2–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Jul 2008 | Moncton, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Danai Udomchoke | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–1 | Aug 2009 | Granby, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Kevin Anderson | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–2 | Aug 2009 | Vancouver, Canada | Challenger | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Sep 2009 | St. Remy, France | Challenger | Hard | Marcos Baghdatis | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 4–3 | Oct 2009 | Orleans, France | Challenger | Hard | Stéphane Robert | 6–1, 6–2 |

### Doubles: 4 (2–2)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (2–2)
* ITF Futures (0–0)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–1)
* Clay (1–1)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jul 1999 | Ostend, Belgium | Challenger | Clay | Wim Neefs | Marcos Ondruska Steven Randjelovic | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jul 2008 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | Juan Sebastián Cabal Michael Quintero | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–1 | Sep 2008 | Donetsk, Ukraine | Challenger | Hard | Dick Norman | Harel Levy Noam Okun | 4–6, 6–1, [13–11] |
| Loss | 2–2 | Sep 2012 | Orleans, France | Challenger | Hard | Ken Skupski | Lukáš Dlouhý Gilles Müller | 2–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, [7–10] |

## Performance timelines

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

### Singles

| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 8–12 |
| French Open | A | 1R | A | 3R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 13–11 |
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | 2R | SF | 1R | 4R | 2R | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 20–13 |
| US Open | A | 3R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 2R | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 17–13 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 6–3 | 11–4 | 7–4 | 6–4 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 58–49 |
| ATP Masters Series ||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | 3R | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | 2R | A | A | 3R | 2R | 1R | 10–10 |
| Miami Masters | A | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 10–12 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1–8 |
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | 2R | Q2 | 1R | 4–5 |
| Madrid Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | 1R | 3–5 |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | QF | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 1R | 6–8 |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 4–8 |
| 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 | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | Not Masters Series | A | A | A | A | A | 0–0 |
| Paris Masters | A | A | A | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 4–6 |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 1R | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | NMS | 1–5 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 6–9 | 3–7 | 4–8 | 3–6 | 7–9 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 6–6 | 2–2 | 2–6 | 43–67 |
| Career statistics ||||||||||||||||||
| Titles–Finals | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–12 |
| Year-end ranking | 161 | 145 | 127 | 33 | 25 | 55 | 48 | 47 | 37 | 112 | 162 | 94 | 60 | 49 | 47 | 135 | |

### Doubles

| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L |
| Grand Slam tournaments |||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 6–9 |
| French Open | 2R | W | 3R | QF | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 15–7 |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 2R | 3R | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 5–6 |
| US Open | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 3–7 |
| Win–loss | 4–4 | 8–3 | 5–3 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 29–29 |

## Top 10 wins

| Season | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Total |
| Wins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score |
| 2001 |||||||
| 1. | Marat Safin | 2 | Los Angeles, United States | Hard | 2R | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 2. | Tim Henman | 9 | US Open, New York, United States | Hard | 3R | 6–7$^{(6–8)}$, 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 2002 |||||||
| 3. | Marat Safin | 6 | Rome, Italy | Clay | 2R | 6–3, 6–4 |
| 4. | Tim Henman | 6 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | 2R | 6–2, 3–6, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 6–3 |
| 5. | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 6 | Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom | Grass | 3R | 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 7–5, 6–1 |
| 2003 |||||||
| 6. | Lleyton Hewitt | 6 | Cincinnati, United States | Hard | 1R | 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 2004 |||||||
| 7. | Rainer Schüttler | 7 | French Open, Paris, France | Clay | 1R | 6–4, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 2006 |||||||
| 8. | Gastón Gaudio | 8 | Rome, Italy | Clay | 1R | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 9. | Nikolay Davydenko | 5 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | 1R | 6–3, 7–5 |
| 2007 |||||||
| 10. | Rafael Nadal | 2 | Chennai, India | Hard | SF | 6–4, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$ |
| 11. | James Blake | 6 | Delray Beach, United States | Hard | F | 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2008 |||||||
| 12. | David Nalbandian | 7 | Miami, United States | Hard | 2R | 6–1, 6–4 |
| 2010 |||||||
| 13. | Novak Djokovic | 3 | Queen's Club, London, United Kingdom | Grass | 3R | 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 |
| 14. | Tomáš Berdych | 8 | Washington, D.C., United States | Hard | QF | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 |
| 2012 |||||||
| 15. | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 7 | Valencia, Spain | Hard (i) | 1R | 3–1, ret. |
| 2013 |||||||
| 16. | David Ferrer | 4 | Rosmalen, Netherlands | Grass | 1R | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 6–3 |