# Sébastien Grosjean

Sébastien René Grosjean (French pronunciation:; born 29 May 1978) is a French former professional tennis player. Grosjean reached the semifinals at the 2001 Australian and French Opens, and at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004. He finished eight consecutive seasons ranked in the top 30 (1999–2006), peaking at world No. 4 in October 2002. Grosjean retired from professional tennis in May 2010.
In December 2018, he was named the Davis Cup captain for France. He is currently the director of the Open de Roanne.

## Career
### Juniors

As a junior, Grosjean posted a 90-20 singles record and a 58-12 doubles record, winning the 1996 French Open boys' doubles. He reached No. 1 in the world in both singles and doubles in December 1996.

### Pro tour

Grosjean joined the professional tour in 1996. In 2003 and 2004, he reached the final of the Queen's London Tournament. In the same two years, he also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. He finished 2001 as the No. 1 player from his country and for the first time in the top 10 becoming the first Frenchman to finish a year in the top 10 since Cédric Pioline in 1993. In 2001, Grosjean won the Davis Cup with the French team.
Grosjean is known for his extreme forehand, his best shot, he utilizes something of a western grip, which is hit at high velocities. He has appeared in four Grand Slam semifinal matches. As well as his two Wimbledon runs, he also reached the French Open semifinals in 2001. His most famous chance was at the 2001 Australian Open against Arnaud Clément. Grosjean led two sets to love and had a match point in the fourth set before Clément prevailed. This was long considered the worst 'choke' in five-set history, until the 2004 French Open final.
He won his fourth singles title at the 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, with a victory over countryman Marc Gicquel. He also won the doubles final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as a wildcard team, where they upset the first and third seeds.
Considered one of the more popular players on the circuit, he is lauded for his attractive, graceful style and classical skills. He is affectionately nicknamed 'Big John' by fans, a literal translation of his surname into English.

## Personal life

Grosjean married his wife Marie-Pierre on 16 November 1998 and has a daughter named Lola (born 11 October 1998), a son named Tom (2002), and a daughter named Sam (2006). The family resides in Boca Raton, Florida (U.S.), where Grosjean trains at the Evert Tennis Academy. He is sponsored by Lacoste in apparel and Head rackets. He used the Head Radical Tour TwinTube 630 XL under various paint jobs throughout his career.

## Major finals
### Year-end championships finals
#### Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2001 | Masters Cup | Hard (i) | Lleyton Hewitt | 3–6, 3–6, 4–6 |

### Masters Series finals
#### Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1999 | Miami Masters | Hard | Richard Krajicek | 6–4, 1–6, 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 2001 | Paris Masters | Carpet (i) | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 6–1, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 6–4 |

## ATP career finals
### Singles: 13 (4 titles, 9 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–1)
* ATP Masters Series (1–1)
* ATP Championship Series (0–1)
* ATP World Series (3–6)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–4)
* Clay (0–3)
* Grass (1–2)
* Carpet (2–0)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoors (1–7)
* Indoors (3–2)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | May 1999 | Miami, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Richard Krajicek | 6–4, 1–6, 2–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 0–2 | May 1999 | Atlanta, United States | World Series | Clay | Stefan Koubek | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–3 | Apr 2000 | Casablanca, Morocco | World Series | Clay | Fernando Vicente | 4–6, 6–4, 6–7$^{(3–7)}$ |
| Win | 1–3 | Jun 2000 | Nottingham, United Kingdom | World Series | Grass | Byron Black | 7–6$^{(9–7)}$, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–4 | Feb 2001 | Marseille, France | World Series | Hard | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–4 | Nov 2001 | Paris, France | Masters Series | Carpet | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 6–1, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–5 | Nov 2001 | Sydney, Australia | Masters Cup Finals | Hard | Lleyton Hewitt | 3–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–5 | Oct 2002 | St. Petersburg, Russia | World Series | Hard | Mikhail Youzhny | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–6 | Jun 2003 | Queen's, United Kingdom | World Series | Grass | Andy Roddick | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 3–7 | Oct 2003 | Tokyo, Japan | Championship Series | Hard | Rainer Schüttler | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3–8 | Jun 2004 | Queen's, United Kingdom | International Series | Grass | Andy Roddick | 6–7$^{(4–7)}$, 4–6 |
| Loss | 3–9 | Apr 2005 | Houston, United States | International Series | Clay | Andy Roddick | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 4–9 | Oct 2007 | Lyon, France | International Series | Carpet | Marc Gicquel | 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–4 |

### Doubles: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
* ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
* ATP Masters Series (1–0)
* ATP Championship Series (0–0)
* ATP World Series (4–2)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (3–1)
* Clay (1–0)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (1–1)
* Finals by setting
* Outdoors (3–0)
* Indoors (2–2)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Apr 2000 | Casablanca, Morocco | World Series | Clay | Arnaud Clément | Lars Burgsmüller Andrew Painter | 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Oct 2001 | Lyon, France | World Series | Carpet | Arnaud Clément | Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Jul 2002 | Los Angeles, United States | World Series | Hard | Nicolas Kiefer | Justin Gimelstob Michaël Llodra | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–1 | Feb 2003 | Marseille, France | World Series | Hard | Fabrice Santoro | Tomáš Cibulec Pavel Vízner | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 4–1 | Mar 2004 | Indian Wells, United States | Masters Series | Hard | Arnaud Clément | Wayne Black Kevin Ullyett | 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 5–1 | Oct 2007 | Lyon, France | World Series | Carpet | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | Łukasz Kubot Lovro Zovko | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 5–2 | Oct 2009 | Lyon, France | 250 Series | Hard | Arnaud Clément | Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut | 4–6, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ |

## ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
### Singles: 5 (2–3)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (2–3)
* ITF Futures (0–0)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–2)
* Clay (1–1)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | May 1997 | Bratislava, Slovakia | Challenger | Clay | Radomír Vašek | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Jul 1997 | Newcastle, United Kingdom | Challenger | Clay | Fabrice Santoro | 6–2, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Oct 1997 | Brest, France | Challenger | Hard | Johan Van Herck | 6–4, 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Feb 1999 | Cherbourg, France | Challenger | Hard | Antony Dupuis | 4–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Mar 2008 | Sunrise, United States | Challenger | Hard | Robin Haase | 7–5, 5–7, 1–6 |

### Doubles: 2 (0–2)

* Legend
* ATP Challenger (0–2)
* ITF Futures (0–0)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (0–2)
* Clay (0–0)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (0–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2009 | Orléans, France | Challenger | Hard | Olivier Patience | Colin Fleming Ken Skupski | 1–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Oct 2010 | Orléans, France | Challenger | Hard | Nicolas Mahut | Pierre-Hugues Herbert Nicolas Renavand | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 6–1, [6–10] |

## Junior Grand Slam finals
### Doubles: 1 (1 title)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1996 | French Open | Clay | Olivier Mutis | Jan-Ralph Brandt Daniel Elsner | 6–2, 6–3 |

## Performance timelines

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

### Singles

| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | SR | W–L | Win% |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | Q2 | 1R | 3R | SF | 2R | QF | QF | 2R | QF | 3R | 3R | A | 1R | 0 / 11 | 25–11 | 69% |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | SF | QF | 2R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 11 | 19–11 | 63% |
| Wimbledon | Q3 | 4R | 3R | 1R | 3R | A | SF | SF | QF | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | A | 0 / 10 | 25–10 | 71% |
| US Open | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 11 | 9–11 | 45% |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 6–4 | 12–4 | 6–3 | 10–4 | 11–4 | 10–4 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0 / 43 | 78–43 | 64% |
| National Representation ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | QF | Not Held | Not Held | Not Held | A | NH | NH | 0 / 1 | 3–1 | 75% |
| Year-End Championships ||||||||||||||||||
| Tennis Masters Cup | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | F | 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 | 3–2 | 60% |
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 ||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | A | Q1 | 0 / 9 | 10–9 | 53% |
| Miami | A | A | F | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | A | 0 / 10 | 15–10 | 60% |
| Monte Carlo | Q1 | 2R | 3R | 1R | SF | SF | A | 2R | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 8 | 13–8 | 62% |
| Rome | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | 6–8 | 43% |
| Hamburg | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | Q2 | A | NMS | NMS | 0 / 7 | 9–7 | 56% |
| Canada | A | A | 2R | 3R | A | QF | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | 11–8 | 58% |
| Cincinnati | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q2 | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | 1–8 | 11% |
| Madrid | A | A | 2R | SF | 3R | SF | QF | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | 13–7 | 64% |
| Paris | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | W | 3R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 1 / 10 | 8–9 | 47% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 1–3 | 9–6 | 8–8 | 16–5 | 15–9 | 7–8 | 6–7 | 7–8 | 9–9 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1 / 72 | 80–71 | 53% |
| Year-end ranking | 197 | 88 | 27 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 170 | 677 | 722 | | | |

### Doubles

| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | SR | W–L | Win% |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | 43% |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 8 | 0–8 | – |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| US Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | 0 / 6 | 3–6 | 33% |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0 / 18 | 6–18 | 25% |
| National Representation ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | 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 | 0% |
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 ||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | 2R | Q1 | 2R | A | W | 2R | QF | A | 1R | A | 1 / 6 | 10–5 | 67% |
| Miami | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | QF | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | 4–4 | 50% |
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% |
| Rome | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | 38% |
| Hamburg | A | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | NMS | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Canada | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | A | QF | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 5 | 2–5 | 29% |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | Q2 | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% |
| Madrid | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Paris | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 3–6 | 1–2 | 9–5 | 1–3 | 5–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1 / 34 | 24–33 | 42% |

## Top 10 wins

| Season | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Total |
| Wins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| # | Player | Rank | Event | Surface | Rd | Score | GR |
| 1999 ||||||||
| 1. | Carlos Moyá | 1 | Miami, United States | Hard | 4R | 3–6, 6–4, 7–6$^{(11–9)}$ | 74 |
| 2. | Gustavo Kuerten | 6 | Indianapolis, United States | Hard | QF | 6–4, 6–3 | 32 |
| 2000 ||||||||
| 3. | Tim Henman | 9 | Indian Wells, United States | Hard | 2R | 6–3, 3–6, 7–5 | 19 |
| 4. | Lleyton Hewitt | 10 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | 2R | 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ | 27 |
| 5. | Gustavo Kuerten | 3 | Stuttgart, Germany | Hard (i) | 3R | 7–6$^{(11–9)}$, 6–3 | 32 |
| 2001 ||||||||
| 6. | Magnus Norman | 4 | Australian Open, Melbourne | Hard | 4R | 7–6$^{(9–7)}$, 6–3, 0–6, 6–4 | 19 |
| 7. | Marat Safin | 2 | World Team Cup, Düsseldorf | Clay | RR | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–3 | 10 |
| 8. | Andre Agassi | 3 | French Open, Paris | Clay | QF | 1–6, 6–1, 6–1, 6–3 | 10 |
| 9. | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 6 | Paris Masters, France | Carpet (i) | F | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 6–1, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 6–4 | 8 |
| 10. | Pat Rafter | 5 | Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney | Hard (i) | RR | 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 6–3 | 7 |
| 11. | Andre Agassi | 3 | Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney | Hard (i) | RR | 6–3, 6–4 | 7 |
| 12. | Yevgeny Kafelnikov | 6 | Tennis Masters Cup, Sydney | Hard (i) | SF | 6–4, 6–2 | 7 |
| 2003 ||||||||
| 13. | Lleyton Hewitt | 1 | Queen's Club, United Kingdom | Grass | QF | 6–3, 6–4 | 20 |
| 14. | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 3 | Wimbledon, United Kingdom | Grass | 4R | 6–2, 4–6, 7–6$^{(7–2)}$, 7–6$^{(7–3)}$ | 14 |
| 2005 ||||||||
| 15. | Andre Agassi | 10 | Houston, United States | Clay | QF | 4–6, 6–1, 6–2 | 30 |
| 2006 ||||||||
| 16. | Guillermo Coria | 9 | Australian Open, Melbourne | Hard | 3R | 6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4 | 28 |