Profile: Four nominees for the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-22 10:44:22|Editor: Liu
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NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- With the following four candidates on the ballot for the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF)'s Class of 2020, Xinhua takes a closer look at their legendary credentials.

Jonas Bjorkman

Former world No. 1 doubles player Bjorkman won nine major titles and achieved a doubles career Grand Slam. The Swede was twice a champion at the ATP Tour year-end championships, and captured 54 doubles titles in all.

In singles, Bjorkman reached a career high of world No. 4 and was a semifinalist at both the US Open and Wimbledon.

A dedicated team player, Bjorkman played a major role in three of Sweden's Davis Cup championship squads.

Sergi Bruguera

Spanish clay court great Sergi Bruguera accomplished a massive feat when he won back-to-back French Open titles in 1993 and 1994. His first title came against two-time defending champion Jim Courier, after Bruguera came back from being 2-0 down in the fifth set.

Bruguera reached a career high ranking of world No. 3 and won 14 titles in all.

He was a silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics.

Goran Ivanisevic

Ivanisevic's serve-and-volley style of play led him to great success on the grass courts of Wimbledon where he was a quarterfinalist once, semifinalist twice, and finalist three times, before winning the title in 2001. That year, ranked world No. 125, the big-serving left-hander was granted a wildcard into the tournament. In a magical run to the trophy, the Croatian knocked out three players who were former or future world No. 1s en route to a five-set battle with Patrick Rafter in the final.

Ivanisevic was also a two-time Olympic medalist, having won a singles bronze and doubles bronze, both in 1992.

Conchita Martinez

In her 15-year career on the WTA Tour, Martinez won 33 singles titles and 13 doubles titles. She was the 1994 Wimbledon champion, defeating nine-time champion Martina Navratilova in the final. She was also a finalist at the Australian Open and French Open. Martinez reached a career high of world No.2 and spent 190 weeks ranked inside the world top 5.

The Spanish great also represented her country with much dedication and success. She was a key member of five championship Fed Cup teams and a three-time Olympic medalist in doubles.

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