Koubek’s farewell
The 34-year-old Austrian, announced his retirement a few months ago but has presumably played his last professional match this week in Kitzbuhel, along with Thassilo Haun lost in the first round to D.Bracciali/S.Gonzalez. I had an opportunity to follow his career actually from the very beginning because I saw him in Kitzbuhel fourteen years ago where he participated in his 4th main-level event and achieved the first serious success advancing to the quarter-finals. I’d say that the left-handed Stefan was an underachiever, physically and technically very similar player to Marcelo Rios. Koubek showed a big potential twice, as he won a big tournament in Doha not dropping a set (2003) and one year earlier reaching the Australian Open quarter-final, making in the first round one of the most amazing comebacks in Grand Slams – he was losing to Cyril Saulnier 0-6, 1-6, *1:4 (15/40) to win in five sets saving a match point on serve in the 3rd set tie-break. Five years later in Sopot, he made another astonishing comeback, ousting Agustin Calleri despite a 0-6, *1:5 deficit! In that match he saved two match points on return in each winning set!! I guess there are two other interesting curiosities about him:
– lost four 5-setters being close to win the last two sets #
– as the only player in the previous decade was defaulted twice (Roland Garros 2000, Metz 2007)
Stefan Koubek in numbers (singles):
3 titles (2 Challengers), 3 finals (5 CH):
Titles:
98 – Alpirsbach, Lima
99 – Atlanta (16)
00 – Delray Beach (39)
03 – Doha (116)
Finals:
99 – Bournemouth, 06 – Zagreb, 07 – Chennai
Best Grand Slam result: Australian Open (2002, quarter-final)
Highest ranking: 20 (13.03.2000)
Ranking in years 1995-2010:
553 – 308 – 124 – 94 – 46 – 54 – 59 – 54 – 53 – 60 – 182 – 80 – 47 – 192 – 135 – 131.
Win/loss record:
main level: 215/256 (.456)
all levels: 401/385 (.510)
Detailed stats (main level only):
236 tournaments (years 1994-2011)
5-setters: 12-10 (.545)
Tie-breaks: 90-69 (.566)
– deciding 3rd set tie-breaks: 7–8 (.466)
m.p. matches: 5-3 (.625)
Longest winning streak: 7 [2003]
Longest losing streak: 9 [2002, just before the longest winning streak] 🙂
# 5-set defeats with tight last two sets:
2003 Roland Garros: X.Malisse 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 6-8
2004 Wimbledon: JC.Ferrero 6-4, 5-7, 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-8
2005 Davis Cup: N.Lapentti 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(5), 5-7
2008 Australian Open: PH.Mathieu 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-8
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