Àlex Corretja i Verdegay (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈaləks kuˈrɛdʒə j βəɾðəˈɣaj]; born 11 April 1974) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. During his career, he was twice a major runner-up at the French Open (in 1998 and 2001), won the Tour Finals in 1998, reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1999, and captured Masters 1000 titles at the 1997 Italian Open and 2000 Indian Wells Masters. Corretja also played a key role in helping Spain win its first Davis Cup title in 2000.

Àlex Corretja

Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Barcelona, Spain
Born	(1974-04-11) 11 April 1974 (age 48) Barcelona
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro	1991
Retired	2005
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$10,411,354
Singles
Career record	438–281 (60.9%)
Career titles	17
Highest ranking	No. 2 (1 February 1999)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1998)
French Open	F (1998, 2001)
Wimbledon	2R (1994, 1996)
US Open	QF (1996)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1998)
Olympic Games	3R (2000)
Doubles
Career record	103–115 (47.2%)
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 50 (9 June 1997)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	3R (1998)
Wimbledon	3R (1996)
US Open	3R (1996)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (2000)
Medal record Olympic Games – Tennis 2000 Sydney Doubles

Post-retirement, Corretja became a temporary coach of Andy Murray in April 2008 for the duration of the clay-court season, resuming the role on a permanent basis between 2009-2011.[1] From 2012 to 2013, Corretja coached the Spanish Davis Cup team.

Career

Corretja was born in Barcelona, and first came to the tennis world's attention as a promising junior player who won the Orange Bowl under-16 title in 1990. He turned professional in 1991 and won his first top-level singles title in 1994 at Buenos Aires. His first doubles title came in 1995 at Palermo.

1996

In 1996, Corretja faced Pete Sampras in an epic five-set quarterfinal match at the US Open. Pete Sampras threw up in the fifth set tiebreak, where Corretja held a match point later on, but he eventually lost to Sampras on a double fault in 4 hours and 9 minutes.

1997

In 1997, Corretja captured three titles, including his first Tennis Masters Series title in Rome, where he defeated Marcelo Ríos. (He won a second Masters Series title in 2000 at Indian Wells.)

1998

1998 saw Corretja reach his first Grand Slam final at the French Open. In the third round, he defeated Argentina's Hernán Gumy in (at the time) the longest match in the tournament's history. Corretja won the 5-hour 31-minute marathon. In the final, Corretja lost to fellow-Spaniard Carlos Moyà in straight sets.

Corretja finished 1998 by winning the most significant title of his career, the ATP Tour World Championships. In the group stage, he beat world no. 5 Andre Agassi, and in the semifinals, Corretja saved three match points on the way to beating world no. 1 Sampras. In the final, Corretja faced world no. 4 Moyà in a five-set marathon and came back from two sets down to win in 4 hours and 1 minute. Corretja's win made him the first man to ever win the Tour Championships (in its 29-year history) without having ever won a Grand Slam tournament (David Nalbandian, Nikolay Davydenko, Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas have since repeated the feat.)

In total, Corretja won a career-high five singles titles during the 1998 season, on three different surfaces (Clay, Hard and Carpet). He finished the year ranked world No. 3.

1999

Corretja reached three tournament finals, the quarterfinals of the French Open and reached his career high ranking of 2 in February.

2000

In 2000, Corretja won the Indian Wells Masters title, beating Thomas Enqvist in straight sets in the final. He also beat world no. 1 Agassi in the final of the Washington Open for the loss of just five games.

In the Davis Cup, Corretja helped Spain to their first ever title win. He went 3–0 in singles rubbers during the earlier rounds, and then teamed up with Joan Manuel Balcells to win the doubles match in the final as Spain beat Australia 3–1. Corretja also won a men's doubles bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney, partnering Albert Costa.

2001

In 2001, Corretja reached the men's singles final at the French Open for the second time, losing in the final to defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in four sets. In July of that year, Corretja won a five-set marathon match in the final of the Dutch Open against Younes El Aynaoui. The 53-game match was the year's longest tour final.

2002

Corretja's biggest win of 2002 came in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, where he rallied from two sets down to beat Sampras on grass. (Spain eventually lost the tie 3–1.) At the French Open, Corretja saved four match points in the third round against Arnaud Clément, before going on to win. Corretja then progressed to the semifinals, where he lost in four sets to Albert Costa (who went on to win the title). One week later, Corretja was the best man at Costa's wedding.^{[citation needed]}

2003-05

In 2003, Corretja was again part of a Spanish team which reached the Davis Cup final. He won two doubles and one singles rubber in the earlier rounds. However, in the final, Corretja and Feliciano López lost the doubles rubber, as Spain were beaten 3–1 by Australia.

Corretja announced his retirement on 24 September 2005. He won a total of 17 top-level singles titles and three doubles titles during his career.

After retirement

Corretja coached Britain's Andy Murray from 2008 to 2011.

As of 2015, he works for Eurosport as a field interviewer at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1998	French Open	Clay	Carlos Moyá	3–6, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	2001	French Open	Clay	Gustavo Kuerten	7–6(7–3), 5–7, 2–6, 0–6

Other significant finals

Year-end championships finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1998	ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover	Hard (i)	Carlos Moyà	3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5

Olympics medal matches

Doubles: 1 (1 bronze medal)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Bronze	2000	Summer Olympics	Hard	Albert Costa	David Adams John-Laffnie de Jager	2–6, 6–4, 6–3

Masters Series finals

Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1996	Hamburg Masters	Clay	Roberto Carretero	6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1997	Monte-Carlo Masters	Clay	Marcelo Ríos	4–6, 3–6, 3–6
Winner	1997	Rome Masters	Clay	Marcelo Ríos	7–5, 7–5, 6–3
Runner-up	1998	Hamburg Masters	Clay	Albert Costa	2–6, 0–6, 0–1 ret.
Winner	2000	Indian Wells Masters	Hard	Thomas Enqvist	6–4, 6–4, 6–3

Career finals

Singles: 30 (17 titles, 13 runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	Nov 1992	Guarujá, Brazil	Hard	Carsten Arriens	6–7, 3–6
Loss	2.	Oct 1994	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	6–2, 6–7(6–8), 4–6
Win	1.	Nov 1994	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Javier Frana	6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–5)
Loss	3.	May 1996	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Roberto Carretero	6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	4.	Jul 1996	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	5.	Oct 1996	Marbella, Spain	Clay	Marc-Kevin Goellner	6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7)
Win	2.	Apr 1997	Estoril, Portugal	Clay	Francisco Clavet	6–3, 7–5
Loss	6.	Apr 1997	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Marcelo Ríos	4–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	7.	May 1997	Munich, Germany	Clay	Mark Philippoussis	6–7, 6–1, 4–6
Win	3.	May 1997	Rome, Italy	Clay	Marcelo Ríos	7–5, 7–5, 6–3
Win	4.	Jul 1997	Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany	Clay	Karol Kučera	6–2, 7–5
Win	5.	Feb 1998	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Félix Mantilla	7–6(7–0), 6–0
Loss	8.	May 1998	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Albert Costa	2–6, 0–6, 0–1 ret.
Loss	9.	Jun 1998	French Open, Paris	Clay	Carlos Moyà	3–6, 5–7, 3–6
Win	6.	Jul 1998	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Boris Becker	7–6(7–5), 7–5, 6–3
Win	7.	Aug 1998	Indianapolis, U.S.	Hard	Andre Agassi	2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win	8.	Oct 1998	Lyon, France	Carpet (i)	Tommy Haas	2–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1
Win	9.	Nov 1998	Tennis Masters Cup, Hanover	Carpet (i)	Carlos Moyà	3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5
Loss	10.	Jan 1999	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Todd Martin	3–6, 6–7
Loss	11.	Aug 1999	Long Island, U.S.	Hard	Magnus Norman	6–7(4–7), 6–4, 3–6
Loss	12.	Sep 1999	Mallorca, Spain	Clay	Juan Carlos Ferrero	6–2, 5–7, 3–6
Win	10.	Mar 2000	Indian Wells, U.S.	Hard	Thomas Enqvist	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Win	11.	Jul 2000	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Mariano Puerta	6–1, 6–3
Win	12.	Jul 2000	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Emilio Benfele Álvarez	6–3, 6–1, 3–0 ret.
Win	13.	Aug 2000	Washington, U.S.	Hard	Andre Agassi	6–2, 6–3
Win	14.	Oct 2000	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Carlos Moyà	6–3, 6–2
Loss	13.	Jun 2001	French Open, Paris	Clay	Gustavo Kuerten	7–6(7–3), 5–7, 2–6, 0–6
Win	15.	Jul 2001	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Clay	Younes El Aynaoui	6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–0), 3–6, 6–4
Win	16.	Jul 2002	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Gastón Gaudio	6–3, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–3)
Win	17.	Jul 2002	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Juan Carlos Ferrero	6–4, 6–1, 6–3

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	16 June 1995	Oporto, Portugal	Clay	Jordi Arrese	Tomás Carbonell Francisco Roig	3–6, 6–7
Winner	1.	1 October 1995	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Fabrice Santoro	Hendrik Jan Davids Piet Norval	6–7, 6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	2.	20 April 1997	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Pablo Albano	Alberto Berasategui Jordi Burillo	3–6, 5–7
Winner	2.	4 May 1997	Munich, Germany	Clay	Pablo Albano	Karsten Braasch Jens Knippschild	3–6, 7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	3.	22 July 2001	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Clay	Luis Lobo	Paul Haarhuis Sjeng Schalken	4–6, 2–6
Winner	3.	29 July 2001	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Luis Lobo	Simon Aspelin Andrew Kratzmann	6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	28 July 2002	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Lucas Arnold Ker	Robbie Koenig Thomas Shimada	6–7(3–7), 4–6

Singles performance timeline

Top 10 wins

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score
1994
1.	Jim Courier	5	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	2R	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
2.	Jim Courier	10	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	2R	1–6, 6–4, 6–3
3.	Stefan Edberg	4	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	QF	1–6, 6–2, 6–4
1995
4.	Wayne Ferreira	8	French Open, Paris	Clay	3R	6–4, 7–5, 6–2
5.	Thomas Muster	4	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	1R	7–5, 6–1
1997
6.	Carlos Moyá	8	Italian Open	Clay	3R	6–4, 6–4
7.	Goran Ivanišević	6	Italian Open	Clay	SF	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4)
8.	Marcelo Ríos	9	Italian Open	Clay	F	7–5, 7–5, 6–3
1998
9.	Jonas Björkman	4	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Hard	SF	6–3, 6–3
10.	Gustavo Kuerten	10	Davis Cup, Porto Alegre	Clay	RR	6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
11.	Gustavo Kuerten	8	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	QF	4–6, 7–6(10–8), 6–4
12.	Greg Rusedski	7	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	QF	6–4, 6–3
13.	Andre Agassi	8	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	F	2–6, 6–2, 6–3
14.	Andre Agassi	4	ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover	Hard (i)	RR	5–7, 6–3, 2–1 ret.
15.	Pete Sampras	1	ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover	Hard (i)	SF	4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
16.	Carlos Moyá	5	ATP Tour World Championships, Hanover	Hard (i)	F	3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–5
1999
17.	Karol Kučera	8	Sydney, Australia	Hard	SF	7–5, 6–4
2000
18.	Magnus Norman	5	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	QF	4–6, 6–2, 6–2
19.	Nicolás Lapentti	8	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	SF	6–3, 6–4
20.	Thomas Enqvist	10	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	F	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
21.	Andre Agassi	1	Washington D.C., United States	Hard	F	6–2, 6–3
22.	Lleyton Hewitt	6	Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon	Hard (i)	RR	3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3
2001
23.	Lleyton Hewitt	7	Italian Open	Clay	3R	7–6(7–2), 6–4
24.	Lleyton Hewitt	6	World Team Cup, Düsseldorf	Clay	RR	3–6, 6–2, 6–3
25.	Magnus Norman	9	World Team Cup, Düsseldorf	Clay	RR	6–0, 6–4
26.	Sébastien Grosjean	10	French Open, Paris	Clay	SF	7–6(7–2), 6–4, 6–4
2002
27.	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	4	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	1R	6–1, 6–2
28.	Albert Costa	6	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	QF	6–1, 6–2
29.	Juan Carlos Ferrero	8	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	F	6–4, 6–1, 6–3
2003
30.	Sébastien Grosjean	10	St. Petersburg, Russia	Hard (i)	QF	4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
2004
31.	Juan Carlos Ferrero	3	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	1R	6–2, 6–3

References

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (November 2012)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Àlex Corretja.

• Àlex Corretja at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Àlex Corretja at the International Tennis Federation
• Àlex Corretja at the Davis Cup

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