page_title: Mikhail Youzhny
section_title: Becoming a top 10 player: 2008–2010
hierarchical_section_title: Mikhail Youzhny / Career / Becoming a top 10 player: 2008–2010
caption_attribution_description: Mikhail Youzhny at the 2010 US Open
context_page_description: Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny, nicknamed "Misha" and "Colonel" by his fans, is a Russian retired professional tennis player who was ranked inside the top 10 and was the Russian No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on 13 August 2007, and reached a career peak of World No. 8 in January 2008, and again in October 2010.
  Youzhny reached the quarterfinals of all grand slams; going beyond the quarterfinals at the US Open in 2006 and 2010. The closest he came to a grand slam final was at the 2006 US Open semifinals when he took the first set from World No. 9 Andy Roddick, after upsetting World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. At the other semifinal he lost in straight sets to the eventual champion, Nadal. Youzhny reached the finals of twenty-one ATP tour-level titles, winning ten of them. His first title win came at the Mercedes Cup held in Stuttgart, Germany, when he defeated Guillermo Cañas from Argentina. Youzhny reached ATP finals on all surfaces, but never won a singles title on grass. In 2010—his best season—Youzhny reached five ATP finals, winning two and ending the year as a top-10 player.
context_section_description: Youzhny started the 2008 season by defeating world number two Rafael Nadal in under an hour at the final of the Chennai Open in India. However, the scoreline did not reflect the circumstances, Nadal's semi-final finished mere hours beforehand and he had little rest. Youzhny admitted as much, and said; "This victory is a present from Rafael", but Nadal responded by saying "I was a bit tired, but I must admit Mikhail played unbelievable tennis and deserved to win. There is nothing wrong with me." As the 14th-seed at the Australian Open Youzhny reached his first quarterfinals there by defeating world number four Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets. However, in the quarterfinals he lost to unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ranked world number thirty-eight and the eventual runner-up, in three sets. At the Open 13 in Marseille, France, Youzhny reached the quarterfinals, losing in straight sets to world number seventeen Marcos Baghdatis. At the Miami Masters, Youzhny was 4–5 down with Spain's Nicolás Almagro serving in the final set, he hit a relatively easy return into the net. He gestured angrily towards his own temple, and then hit his head strongly with the edge of frame of his tennis racket three times, drawing blood. Despite this—and after receiving medical attention—he won the next seven points, taking the tiebreaker and also the match. In his next match, he lost to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic. His bad form continued into the clay season, but Youzhny, as the 15th-seed, managed to reach the third round of the French Open, losing to world number twenty-three Fernando Verdasco from Spain in four sets. At Wimbledon Youzhny was seeded 17th, and reached the fourth round by defeating 16th-seed Radek Štěpánek in a five-setter in the third round. He lost to 2nd-seed and eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. At his next tournament, the Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad in Switzerland, Youzhny reached his last quarterfinals of the season and lost to Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Youzhny lost in the third round to world number three Novak Djokovic. Youzhny withdrew from the US Open due to viral illness, making his first withdrawal from a grand slam after appearing in 23 in a row. Youzhny continued his poor results, reaching the first and second round in all the remaining tournaments, with one exception in Tokyo, Japan. He ended the year with a 28–22 win-loss record, and with an end of year ranking of 33.
  The 2009 season started badly for Youzhny, and he lost in the first round of the Australian Open to world number 183 Stefan Koubek from Austria in straight sets. He reached back-to-back quarterfinals at ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam and the Open 13 in Marseille, defeating David Ferrer and Tomáš Berdych on his way. However, in his next seven tournaments, Youzhny lost either in qualifying, the first round or the second round. Youzhny entered the BMW Open in Munich ranked world number sixty-four, reached the final and lost to world number twenty-eight Tomáš Berdych in three tight sets. Youzhny continued his good form by reaching the semifinals of the Interwetten Austrian Open Kitzbühel in Austria, and lost to world number seventy-four and eventual champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in three sets. At the French Open lost in the second round to 30th-seed Victor Hănescu. At his next tournament, the Aegon Championships in Queens, Great Britain, Youzhny reached the quarterfinals, defeating world number seven Gilles Simon from France on the way. He lost to world number sixteen James Blake in straight sets. At Wimbledon Youzhny failed to defend his ranking points earned the previous year, and lost in the first round to Spain Juan Carlos Ferrero. From his Wimbledon defeat towards the US Open, Youzhny lost in the first or second round six times in a row, with the sole exception coming at the Rogers Masters in Toronto, Canada. At the US Open Youzhny reached the second round, losing to qualifier Marco Chiudinelli from Switzerland in four sets. However, Youzhny immediately bounced b
caption: Youzhny in his third round match against John Isner at the 2010 US Open. He would go on to win the match in three sets
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