Robert Kendrick

Robert Kendrick was born to Tom and Doris Kendrick and began playing tennis at the age of 5. Tom is a real estate appraiser and Doris is a housewife. Kendrick has three older siblings: Kerry, Tommy, and Scott. He graduated from Bullard High School in 1997. In 1996, he led his team to an undefeated section championship.

Kendrick has been called a serve-and-volley player.^[1] Kendrick's main strengths are his serve and his forehand.

Throughout high school, he competed in junior tennis and enjoyed some intermittent success. In 1996, he was the runner-up in singles at the 1996 USTA Boys’ 18s National Indoor Championships. Then in 1997, he reached the final in doubles of the Easter Bowl and reached the singles final and took the doubles title at the USTA International Grass Court Championships. In 1998, he attended the University of Washington, earning All-American in singles and doubles as a sophomore, with a record of 31–9 and got as high as no. 3 in the collegiate rankings that year. He then transferred to Pepperdine University for his junior year and again attained All-American with an 18–10 record. He reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, where he lost to Jeff Morrison. In 2001, he and Michael Russell won the doubles championship at the USTA Futures event in Mobile, Alabama.^[2]

In 2006, Kendrick entered the top 100 for the first time in his career, ending the year at world no. 87. Consequently, 2006 is generally considered to be Kendrick's breakthrough year to date.

Kendrick got to the second round of the 2006 ATP Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. He defeated Kevin Kim 6–4, 7–5 in the first round, but lost to eighth seed Vincent Spadea 4–6, 1–6, in his second-round match.

Kendrick went into Wimbledon ranked world no. 237. In his first match, he beat Yen-Hsun Lu 7–6, 6–3, 6–0. In the second round, he lost to second seed, Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard had to come back for only the second time in his career from two sets down to beat Kendrick 6–7, 3–6, 7–6, 7–5, 6–4. Kendrick's performance surprised many. Up until the final, Kendrick was the only player in the tournament to take sets from Nadal. The Spaniard lost the final to top-seeded Swiss Roger Federer.

Kendrick played in the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tenis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island. He made it to the quarterfinals, but was beaten by Andy Murray 0–6, 0–6.

He made amends for the defeat by winning the doubles title with his Austrian playing partner Jürgen Melzer. In the final, the duo beat South African Jeff Coetzee and American Justin Gimelstob.

In 2007, Kendrick played in all four Grand Slam tournaments. In January at the Australian Open, he drew Rafael Nadal in the first round and lost 6–7, 3–6, 2–6, committing six double faults and having a low percentage of second-serve points won (38%). Kendrick subsequently lost in the first round of several tournaments before reaching the third round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where he was defeated in straight sets by Andy Murray. At the French Open, Kendrick again fell in the first round, losing in four sets to world no. 134 Juan Pablo Brzezicki of Argentina, again thanks to six double faults and a low percentage of second serve points won (this time, 46%).

At the Queen's Club Championships in June, he reached the second round and won a set against Novak Djokovic. At Wimbledon, however, he was not able to reach the second round as he had the previous year, losing a five-setter to Tommy Robredo. He went 1–3 in the US Open Series, before falling to Igor Andreev of Russia in the first round of the US Open itself 6–7, 3–6, 4–6. Again, his second serve was a weakness: he won just 42% of second-serve points and double-faulted five times.

While 2007 was largely a lackluster year for Kendrick on the main ATP circuit, he did win three Challenger events: Dallas, Calabasas, and Knoxville. In Calabasas, Kendrick had to defeat two up-and-coming fellow Americans, John Isner and Donald Young, in the semifinals and finals, respectively.

Kendrick kicked off 2008 by playing in the Australian Open, where he lost in the first round to fellow American Amer Delić, then ranked no. 136 4–6, 5–7, 2–6. Although Kendrick won 76% of points where he got his first serve in, he only won 36% of points where he did not. He was broken five times. Later in that year, he joined up with the apparel company Athletic DNA.

Kendrick began the year with a loss in the first round of the 2009 Australian Open to Robin Söderling 7–5, 4–6, 4–6, 5–7. He made it to the second round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, before losing to Evgeny Korolev 6–3, 6–6, 5–7, then losing to David Nalbandian in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open 4–6, 4–6. He beat Söderling in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open, then lost in the third round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 5–7, 4–6.

Kendrick did not make it out of the first rounds of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships or the Estoril Open. At the 2009 French Open, he beat Daniel Brands 6–7, 7–5, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3, to advance to the second round for the first time in his career, where he lost 5–7, 0–6, 1–6, to Gilles Simon, who had also defeated him at the Estoril Open.

In the first round at Wimbledon, he was beaten by Andy Murray 5–7, 7–6, 3–6, 4–6.^[3]

During the 2011 French Open, Kendrick tested positive for the drug methylhexanamine, which has been banned in sport since 2010. According to Kendrick, he unwittingly ingested the drug when taking a pill to combat jet lag.

The ITF ruled in July 2011 that he would be banned from the sport for 12 months, effective from May 22, 2011. The ITF also ruled that Kendrick's first-round finish at the 2011 French Open be disqualified, and his ranking points and prize money be taken away.^[4]

Kendrick received vocal public support from a number of prominent players, including James Blake, John Isner, and Andy Murray. In interviews, Blake and Isner specifically contrasted his case with that of Wayne Odesnik, who had just returned to active play after his own suspension for possession of human growth hormone.^[5]

Kendrick's ban was subsequently decreased to 8 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.^[6]

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) edit

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Feb 2003	San Jose, United States	International Series	Hard	Paul Goldstein	Lee Hyung-Taik Vladimir Voltchkov	5–7, 6–4, 3–6
Win	1–1	Jul 2003	Newport, United States	International Series	Grass	Jürgen Melzer	Jeff Coetzee Justin Gimelstob	7–6(7–3), 6–0

Singles: 26 (12–14) edit

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2000	USA F17, Chico	Futures	Hard	Zack Fleishman	6–4, 5–7, 4–6
Loss	0–2	Apr 2001	USA F9, Stone Mountain	Futures	Hard	Andrei Cherkasov	1–6, 1–6
Win	1–2	Apr 2001	USA F10, Elkin	Futures	Hard	Jack Brasington	2–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	2–2	Jun 2002	USA F13, Fresno	Futures	Hard	Zack Fleishman	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	3–2	Sep 2002	Tulsa, United States	Challenger	Hard	Daniel Melo	6–3, 6–3
Loss	3–3	Nov 2003	Austin, United States	Challenger	Hard	Paul Goldstein	3–6, 3–6
Win	4–3	Oct 2004	Austin, United States	Challenger	Hard	Wesley Whitehouse	7–5, 6–7(2–7), 6–2
Loss	4–4	Oct 2004	Burbank, United States	Challenger	Hard	Kevin Kim	5–7, 6–1, 3–6
Loss	4–5	Feb 2006	Dallas, United States	Challenger	Hard	Kevin Kim	6–1, 4–6, 1–6
Win	5–5	May 2006	Forest Hills, United States	Challenger	Clay	Cecil Mamiit	6–2, 6–2
Win	6–5	Nov 2006	Puebla, Mexico	Challenger	Hard	Leonardo Mayer	7–5, 6–4
Win	7–5	Feb 2007	Dallas, United States	Challenger	Hard	Benedikt Dorsch	6–3, 6–4
Loss	7–6	May 2007	Naples, United States	Challenger	Clay	Bobby Reynolds	6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win	8–6	Oct 2007	Calabasas, United States	Challenger	Hard	Donald Young	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Win	9–6	Nov 2007	Knoxville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Kevin Kim	3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss	9–7	Apr 2008	Tallahassee, United States	Challenger	Hard	Bobby Reynolds	7–5, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	9–8	May 2008	Bradenton, United States	Challenger	Clay	Jesse Levine	3–6, 7–5, 6–7(3–7)
Loss	9–9	Jul 2008	Lexington, United States	Challenger	Hard	Somdev Devvarman	3–6, 3–6
Loss	9–10	Oct 2008	Sacramento, United States	Challenger	Hard	Donald Young	4–6, 1–6
Win	10–10	Nov 2008	Louisville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Donald Young	6–1, 6–1
Win	11–10	Nov 2008	Nashville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Somdev Devvarman	6–3, 7–5
Loss	11–11	May 2010	Carson, United States	Challenger	Hard	Donald Young	4–6, 4–6
Loss	11–12	Aug 2010	Binghamton, United States	Challenger	Hard	Kei Nishikori	3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss	11–13	Oct 2010	Sacramento, United States	Challenger	Hard	John Millman	3–6, 2–6
Win	12–13	Nov 2010	Charlottesville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Michael Shabaz	6–2, 6–3
Loss	12–14	Nov 2010	Knoxville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Kei Nishikori	1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 30 (12–18) edit

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Dec 1999	USA F22, Phoenix	Futures	Hard	Diego Ayala	Oren Motevassel Alexander Waske	6–1, 6–3
Win	2–0	Jun 2000	USA F16, Redding	Futures	Hard	Zack Fleishman	Trace Fielding David Roditi	7–6(9–7), 6–1
Loss	2–1	Jul 2000	USA F17, Chico	Futures	Clay	Zack Fleishman	Michael Joyce Luke Smith	6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–3), 1–6
Loss	2–2	Aug 2000	USA F22, Godfrey	Futures	Hard	Jason Cook	Jeff Laski Gavin Sontag	2–4, 4–5(4–7), 4–2, 2–4
Win	3–2	Apr 2001	USA F7, Mobile	Futures	Hard	Michael Russell	Vaughan Snyman Nir Welgreen	6–1, 6–4
Loss	3–3	Apr 2001	USA F9, Stone Mountain	Futures	Hard	Brandon Hawk	Gavin Sontag Jerry Turek	6–1, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	3–4	Jun 2001	Tallahassee, United States	Challenger	Hard	Brandon Hawk	Matthew Breen Lee Pearson	4–6, 2–6
Loss	3–5	Jul 2001	Granby, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Brandon Hawk	Bobby Kokavec Jeff Morrison	4–6, 4–6
Win	4–5	Jul 2001	Aptos, United States	Challenger	Hard	Brandon Hawk	Kelly Gullett Gavin Sontag	7–5, 7–5
Win	5–5	Oct 2001	Kerrville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Brandon Hawk	Mardy Fish Jeff Morrison	6–3, 6–7(7–9), 6–3
Loss	5–6	Aug 2002	Binghamton, United States	Challenger	Hard	Amir Hadad	Paul Goldstein Scott Humphries	6–4, 6–7(1–7), 5–7
Win	6–6	Oct 2002	San Antonio, United States	Challenger	Hard	Diego Ayala	Hugo Armando Dušan Vemić	6–2, 6–4
Loss	6–7	Nov 2002	Puebla, Mexico	Challenger	Hard	Diego Ayala	Miguel Gallardo Valles Alejandro Hernández	1–6, 7–5, 6–7(3–7)
Win	7–7	Jan 2003	Waikoloa, United States	Challenger	Hard	Diego Ayala	Levar Harper-Griffith Alex Kim	4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–2
Win	8–7	Apr 2003	Paget, Bermuda	Challenger	Clay	Mark Merklein	Ashley Fisher Andrew Kratzmann	6–3, 3–1 ret.
Loss	8–8	May 2003	Birmingham, United States	Challenger	Clay	Paul Goldstein	Josh Goffi Travis Parrott	4–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss	8–9	Oct 2003	Tiburon, United States	Challenger	Hard	Diego Ayala	Brandon Coupe Justin Gimelstob	6–0, 3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss	8–10	Oct 2003	Torrance, United States	Challenger	Hard	Diego Ayala	Ramón Delgado André Sá	3–6, 4–6
Loss	8–11	Oct 2004	Austin, United States	Challenger	Hard	Brian Vahaly	André Sá Bruno Soares	3–6, 1–6
Loss	8–12	Oct 2004	Tiburon, United States	Challenger	Hard	Brandon Coupe	André Sá Bruno Soares	2–6, 3–6
Loss	8–13	Jun 2006	Busan, South Korea	Challenger	Hard	Cecil Mamiit	Scott Lipsky Todd Widom	3–6, 7–6(7–2), [7–10]
Win	9–13	Oct 2006	Calabasas, United States	Challenger	Hard	Cecil Mamiit	Harel Levy Sam Warburg	5–7, 6–4, [10–5]
Loss	9–14	Nov 2006	Louisville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Amer Delić	Robin Haase Igor Sijsling	walkover
Win	10–14	Oct 2007	Sacramento, United States	Challenger	Hard	Brian Wilson	John Paul Fruttero Sam Warburg	7–5, 7–6(10–8)
Loss	10–15	Oct 2007	Calabasas, United States	Challenger	Hard	Cecil Mamiit	John Isner Brian Wilson	6–7(10–12), 6–4, [8–10]
Loss	10–16	Apr 2008	Tallahassee, United States	Challenger	Hard	Ryan Sweeting	Rajeev Ram Bobby Reynolds	walkover
Loss	10–17	Apr 2010	Tallahassee, United States	Challenger	Hard	Bobby Reynolds	Stephen Huss Joseph Sirianni	2–6, 4–6
Win	11–17	Oct 2010	Tiburon, United States	Challenger	Hard	Travis Rettenmaier	Ryler DeHeart Pierre-Ludovic Duclos	6–1, 6–4
Win	12–17	Nov 2010	Charlottesville, United States	Challenger	Hard	Donald Young	Ryler DeHeart Pierre-Ludovic Duclos	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3)
Loss	12–18	Jan 2011	Honolulu, United States	Challenger	Hard	Alex Kuznetsov	Travis Rettenmaier Ryan Harrison	walkover

Singles edit

Doubles edit

• Robert Kendrick at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Robert Kendrick at the International Tennis Federation
• Kendrick World Ranking History
• Circuit Player of the Week: Robert Kendrick