Rainer Schüttler

Rainer Schüttler (German pronunciation: [ˈraɪnɐ ˈʃʏtlɐ]; born 25 April 1976) is a German former professional tennis player. Schüttler was the runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. He won an Olympic silver medal in doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 5 in April 2004.

Rainer Schüttler
Schüttler at the 2011 Queen's Club
ITF nameRainer Schuettler
Country (sports) Germany
ResidenceAltstätten, Switzerland
Born (1976-04-25) 25 April 1976 (age 48)
Korbach, West Germany
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro1995
Retired2012
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$7,407,508
Singles
Career record327–337 (49.2%  in Grand Slam, ATP World Tour and Davis Cup main draw matches)
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 5 (26 April 2004)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (2003)
French Open4R (2003)
WimbledonSF (2008)
US Open4R (2003)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (2003)
Olympic Games2R (2000, 2008)
Doubles
Career record124–172 (41.9%  in Grand Slam, ATP World Tour and Davis Cup main draw matches)
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 40 (11 July 2005)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2004, 2007, 2010, 2011)
French OpenQF (2007)
WimbledonQF (2005)
US Open2R (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games Silver Medal (2004)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonQF (2004)
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2004 AthensDoubles
Last updated on: 5 February 2022.

Early life edit

He began playing tennis at the age of nine. He resides in Switzerland.

Career edit

2003–2009 edit

In 2003, Schüttler became the first German since Boris Becker in 1989 to advance to the fourth round at all Grand Slams. He became the first German to reach a Grand Slam final, at the Australian Open, since Michael Stich was the runner-up at Roland Garros in 1996. En route to the final, which he lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi, he defeated Andy Roddick who would end the season as world No 1.

In 2004, Schüttler reached his first career ATP Masters Series final in Monte Carlo by beating Gustavo Kuerten in the first round, Lleyton Hewitt in the third round, Tim Henman in the quarterfinal and Carlos Moyá in the semifinal. In the final, he lost to Guillermo Coria. That week, he would reach a career-high ranking of No. 5. Schüttler won a silver medal for Germany in men's doubles with partner Nicolas Kiefer at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. 2004 was the sixth straight year in which he finished in the ATP top 50.

Schüttler reached his first career semifinal at Wimbledon by beating Santiago Ventura, James Blake, Guillermo García López, Janko Tipsarević, and Arnaud Clément 6–3, 5–7, 7–6, 6–7, 8–6. His match with Clément was over five hours, completed in two days to reach the semifinals, in which Schuettler saved a match point at 6–5 down in the fifth set. He was defeated by eventual champion Rafael Nadal 1–6, 6–7, 4–6. His achievement was a big surprise, since he entered the tournament ranked 94th and with a streak of 13 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments without making it past the second round.

His 2009 season Schüttler started off at the Chennai Open, beating Prakash Amritraj 6–2, 4–6, 6–1. In the second round, he beat Simon Greul 6–4, 6–2, and in the quarterfinals Björn Phau, 6–2, 7–5. Unfortunately Schuettler had to withdraw from his semifinal match against Somdev Devvarman because of a wrist injury. He also withdrew from the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, he was seeded 30th but lost in the first round to Israeli Dudi Sela 1–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4. He also participated in the doubles with Lu Yen-hsun, but they were defeated by Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach. In the first round in Rotterdam, he lost to Mario Ančić. He played the Open 13 in Marseille, defeating Laurent Recouderc in the first round 6–1, 6–4.

He competed at the ARAG World Team Cup in Germany, helping his country reach the final, where they lost to Serbia.

In the second round at Wimbledon, though seeded 18th, he was upset by Dudi Sela, 7–6, 6–3, 6–2.[1][permanent dead link]

Schüttler at the 2011 French Open

2010–2011 edit

He reached the second round of the Australian Open defeating Sam Querrey in four sets. However he lost to Feliciano López in four sets, too. At the French Open, he again suffered a first-round exit, this time against Guillermo García López in straight sets. He reached the semifinal of the Aegon Championships at the Queens Club in London but lost to Sam Querrey in three sets 7–6, 5–7, 3–6. Despite his good form he was defeated by Denis Istomin in the second round of Wimbledon in five sets. At the quarterfinal of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, Schüttler could not manage to close out the match against Querrey despite serving for it at 5–4 and 6–5 in the deciding set.He was knocked out in the first round of the US Open losing to Benoît Paire.At the Thailand Open in Bangkok, Schüttler beat Ricardo Mello in round one for a second round berth against Ernests Gulbis. He lost 6–7, 7–6, 4–6 in a close match.

In 2010, Schüttler and his former Davis Cup companion Alexander Waske founded the Schüttler Waske Tennis-University, a tennis academy for professional tennis players.

Schüttler started the tour at the Qatar Open where he confronted Teymuraz Gabashvili in the singles, but lost 3–5, 6–7. He also played doubles with Guillermo García López confronting Marco Chiudinelli and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, to whom they lost 1–6, 2–6. At the Australian Open, he played ninth seed Fernando Verdasco in the first round, but lost 1–6, 3–6, 2–6. He then played several Challenger series tournaments. At Wimbledon, he defeated Thomaz Bellucci in the first round, but lost to Feliciano López in the second 6–7, 7–6, 2–6, 2–6.

Schüttler officially retired in October 2012.

Significant finals edit

Olympic final edit

Doubles: 1 silver medal edit

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Silver2004Athens OlympicsHard Nicolas Kiefer Fernando González
Nicolás Massú
2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–7(7–9), 4–6

Grand Slam finals edit

Singles: 1 runner-up edit

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss2003Australian OpenHard Andre Agassi2–6, 2–6, 1–6

Masters Series finals edit

Singles: 1 runner-up edit

ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss2004Monte CarloClay Guillermo Coria2–6, 1–6, 3–6

ATP career finals edit

Singles: 12 (4 titles, 8 runner-ups) edit

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–1)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–1)
ATP Championship Series (1–0)
ATP International Series (3–6)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–6)
Clay (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (3–7)
Indoors (1–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Jan 1999Doha, QatarWorld SeriesHard Tim Henman6–4, 5–7, 6–1
Loss1–1Apr 1999Chennai, IndiaWorld SeriesHard Byron Black4–6, 6–1, 3–6
Loss1–2Jan 2000Doha, QatarInternational SeriesHard Fabrice Santoro6–3, 5–7, 0–3 ret.
Win2–2Sep 2001Shanghai, ChinaInternational SeriesHard Michel Kratochvil6–3, 6–4
Loss2–3Sep 2001Hong Kong, Hong KongInternational SeriesHard Marcelo Ríos6–7(3–7), 2–6
Loss2–4Oct 2001St. Petersburg, RussiaInternational SeriesHard (i) Marat Safin6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Loss2–5Apr 2002Munich, GermanyInternational SeriesClay Younes El Aynaoui4–6, 4–6
Loss2–6Jan 2003Melbourne, AustraliaGrand SlamHard Andre Agassi2–6, 2–6, 1–6
Loss2–7Sep 2003Costa do Sauipe, BrazilInternational SeriesHard Sjeng Schalken2–6, 4–6
Win3–7Sep 2003Tokyo, JapanChampionship SeriesHard Sébastien Grosjean7–6(7–5), 6–2
Win4–7Oct 2003Lyon, FranceInternational SeriesCarpet (i) Arnaud Clément7–5, 6–3
Loss4–8Apr 2004Monte Carlo, MonacoMasters SeriesClay Guillermo Coria2–6, 1–6, 3–6

Doubles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner-ups) edit

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series (1–0)
ATP International Series (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (3–1)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (4–3)
Indoors (0–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Jul 2001Stuttgart, GermanyChampionship SeriesClay Guillermo Cañas Michael Hill
Jeff Tarango
4–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–4
Loss1–1Oct 2003St. Petersburg, RussiaInternational SeriesHard (i) Michael Kohlmann Julian Knowle
Nenad Zimonjić
6–7(1–7), 3–6
Win2–1Jan 2005Chennai, IndiaInternational SeriesHard Lu Yen-hsun Mahesh Bhupathi
Jonas Björkman
7–5, 4–6, 7–6(7–4)
Loss2–2Jul 2005Gstaad, SwitzerlandInternational SeriesClay Michael Kohlmann František Čermák
Leoš Friedl
6–7(6–8), 6–7(11–13)
Loss2–3Jun 2006Halle, GermanyInternational SeriesGrass Michael Kohlmann Fabrice Santoro
Nenad Zimonjić
0–6, 4–6
Loss2–4Feb 2007San Jose, United StatesInternational SeriesHard Chris Haggard Eric Butorac
Jamie Murray
5–7, 6–7(6–8)
Win3–4Apr 2008Houston, United StatesInternational SeriesClay Ernests Gulbis Pablo Cuevas
Marcel Granollers Pujol
7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Win4–4May 2008Munich, GermanyInternational SeriesClay Michael Berrer Scott Lipsky
David Martin
7–5, 3–6, [10–8]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals edit

Singles: 14 (6–8) edit

Legend
ATP Challenger (6–8)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–6)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (3–2)
ResultW–L   Date   TournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0-1Feb 1997Lübeck, GermanyChallengerCarpet Geoff Grant3–6, 3–6
Win1-1Oct 1997Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet Petr Luxa6–4, 6–1
Loss1-2Dec 1997Bad Lippspringe, GermanyChallengerCarpet Michael Kohlmann6–4, 6–7, 5–7
Win2-2Nov 1998Portorož, SloveniaChallengerHard Peter Wessels6–3, 6–2
Loss2-3Oct 2000Bratislava, SlovakiaChallengerHard Davide Sanguinetti5–7, 1–6
Win3-3Nov 2000Aachen, GermanyChallengerCarpet Johan Settergren7–6(7–5), 1–6, 6–1
Loss3-4Aug 2006Graz, AustriaChallengerHard Florian Mayer4–6, 7–5, 2–6
Win4-4Nov 2006Aachen, GermanyChallengerCarpet Evgeny Korolev6–3, 7–5
Win5-4Nov 2007Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaChallengerHard Sergiy Stakhovsky7–6(7–2), 6–2
Loss5-5Apr 2010Athens, GreeceChallengerHard Lu Yen-hsun6–3, 6–7(3–7), 4–6
Loss5-6May 2010Rhodes, GreeceChallengerHard Dudi Sela6–7(3–7), 3–6
Loss5-7Mar 2011Dallas, United StatesChallengerHard Alex Bogomolov Jr.6–7(5–7), 3–6
Loss5-8May 2011Cremona, ItalyChallengerHard Igor Kunitsyn2–6, 6–7(2–7)
Win6-8Aug 2011Astana, KazakhstanChallengerHard Teymuraz Gabashvili7–6(8–6), 4–6, 6–4

Doubles: 2 (2–0) edit

Legend
ATP Challenger (2–0)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Oct 1997Eckental, GermanyChallengerCarpet Lars Rehmann Georg Blumauer
Max Mirnyi
6–4, 1–6, 6–3
Win2–0Jan 2007Heilbronn, GermanyChallengerHard Michael Kohlmann Sander Groen
Michaël Llodra
walkover

Performance timelines edit

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles edit

Tournament199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012SRW–LWin%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAQ3Q1Q21R2R4R3RF1R2R1R1R2R1R2R1RQ20 / 1315–1354%
French OpenAAQ1Q21R1R1R2R4R1R1R1RQ31R1R1R1RA0 / 124–1225%
WimbledonAQ1Q11R2R3R2R3R4R3R1R1RASF2R2R2RA0 / 1319–1359%
US OpenAAQ2Q21R3R2R1R4R1R2R1R1R1R1R1RAA0 / 127–1237%
Win–loss0–00–00–00–11–45–45–45–415–42–42–40–40–26–41–42–41–30–00 / 5045–5047%
Year-End Championships
Tennis Masters Cupdid not qualifySFdid not qualify0 / 12–233%
Olympic Games
Summer OlympicsNHANot Held2RNot Held1RNot Held2RNot HeldA0 / 32–340%
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian WellsAAAAAA1RQFSF2R2R2R1R1R2R2R2RA0 / 1111–1150%
MiamiAQ1Q1A1R1R2R2R3R2R2RQ1Q11R3R1R2RA0 / 115–1131%
Monte CarloAAAAA1R1R1R2RF1RAAA1RAAA0 / 76–746%
RomeAAAQ2AA1R1RQF1R1RAAAAAAA0 / 53–538%
HamburgQ1AQ1Q13R2R1R2R3R1R1R2R1R1RAAAA0 / 107–1041%
Madrid (Clay)Not HeldHeld on Hard1RAAA0 / 10–10%
CanadaAAAA1RAA1RSF1RAAAA2RAAA0 / 55–550%
CincinnatiAAAA3RAAQFSF1RAAAAQ2AAA0 / 49–469%
StuttgartAQ2AQ11R1R1RNot Held0 / 30–30%
Madrid (Hard)Not Held1R2R2RAAA1RHeld on Clay0 / 40–40%
ShanghaiNot Held1RAAA0 / 12–167%
ParisAAAA1RAA1RQF1RAAA1RAAAA0 / 52–529%
Win–loss0–00–00–00–04–61–41–67–921–95–92–52–20–20–54–61–22–20–00 / 6750–6743%
Year-end ranking44633211710947454333642889799338584132855

Doubles edit

Tournament199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011SRW–LWin%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAAAAA1R1R2R1R1R2R1R1R2R2R0 / 104–1029%
French OpenAAAAA1RA1R2R1RQFAAA2R0 / 65–645%
WimbledonAAAAA2RA1RQF2RAA1R1R1R0 / 75–742%
US OpenAAAAQ11R2R2R1R2R2R2RAAA0 / 75–742%
Win–loss0–00–00–00–00–01–41–22–44–42–45–31–20–21–22–30 / 3019–3039%
Olympic Games
Summer OlympicsNot HeldANot HeldFNot Held1RNot Held0 / 24–267%
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian WellsAAAAAA1RQF1RAAA1RAA0 / 42–433%
MiamiAAAAAA2R1RAAAA1RAA0 / 31–325%
Monte CarloAAA1RQ1A2RAAAAAAAA0 / 21–233%
RomeAAAAQ1AAAAAAAAAA0 / 00–0 – 
HamburgQ22R2R2R1R1R1R2R2R2R1R2RNot Held0 / 117–1139%
CanadaAAAAA2R2R1RAAAAAAA0 / 32–340%
CincinnatiAAAAA1R1R2RAAAAAAA0 / 31–325%
StuttgartAA2R1RANot Held0 / 21–233%
Madrid (Hard)Not HeldAA2RAAAAHeld on Clay0 / 11–150%
ParisAAAAA1R1RAAAAAAAA0 / 20–20%
Win–loss0–01–12–21–30–11–43–75–61–21–10–11–10–20–00–00 / 3116–3134%
Year-end ranking428276424199135144737253746999151243323

Top 10 wins edit

Season199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012Total
Wins00102023720001100019
#PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreSR
1997
1. Thomas Enqvist7Chennai, IndiaHard1R6–6 ret.229
1999
2. Tim Henman7Doha, QatarHardF6–4, 5–7, 6–1124
3. Carlos Moyá2Chennai, IndiaHardQF6–1, 3–0 ret.71
2001
4. Juan Carlos Ferrero5Hong KongHardQF6–3, 7–6(8–6)44
5. Juan Carlos Ferrero5St. Petersburg, RussiaHard (i)1R7–6(10–8), 6–446
2002
6. Yevgeny Kafelnikov4Doha, QatarHardQF7–5, 6–443
7. Thomas Johansson8Munich, GermanyClay1R7–5, 6–329
8. Yevgeny Kafelnikov5Cincinnati, United StatesHard1R6–3, 6–226
2003
9. Andy Roddick10Australian Open, MelbourneHardSF7–5, 2–6, 6–3, 6–336
10. Andy Roddick6Indian Wells, United StatesHardQF6–3, 6–215
11. Jiří Novák9Rome, ItalyClay3R6–4, 7–6(7–2)13
12. Andre Agassi1Montreal, CanadaHardQF2–6, 6–2, 6–38
13. Sébastien Grosjean10Tokyo, JapanHardF7–6(7–5), 6–28
14. Guillermo Coria4Tennis Masters Cup, HoustonHardRR6–3, 4–6, 6–26
15. Andy Roddick1Tennis Masters Cup, HoustonHardRR4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–3)6
2004
16. Tim Henman7Monte Carlo, MonacoClayQF6–3, 6–16
17. Carlos Moyá8Monte Carlo, MonacoClaySF7–6(7–5), 6–46
2008
18. James Blake8Wimbledon, LondonGrass2R6–3, 6–7(8–10), 4–6, 6–4, 6–494
2009
19. Gilles Simon7World Team Cup, DüsseldorfClayRR6–4, 6–429

Coaching career edit

After retirement, he began his coaching career and has coached Janko Tipsarević, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Vasek Pospisil. Since November 2018, he coached former world No. 1, Angelique Kerber. In July 2019, Kerber announced they had split on social media.[1]

Personal life edit

In 2014 Rainer met Serbian Jovana Sesevic, whose sister Biljana is married to another former top 10 player, Janko Tipsarević.[2] They married in 2015 and have two sons (Noah and Leon) and now mostly reside in Switzerland.

References edit

  1. ^ Nguyen, Courtney (13 November 2018). "Coaching Carousel: Wimbledon champ Kerber hires former ATP pro Rainer Schüttler". WTA Tennis. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  2. ^ Twitter message

External links edit

Awards and achievements
Preceded by ATP Most Improved Player
2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by ATP Comeback Player of the Year
2008
Succeeded by