MaliVai Washington

Born: June 20, 1969 in Glen Cove (New York)
Height: 1.80 m
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Some sort of a late bloomer, Washington belonged to a generation in which players who achieved similar results typically entered the Top 100 already as teenagers. Washington, however, spent two years studying at the University of Michigan, and became a stable Top 100 player just as he was turning 22. After reaching a few semifinals on American soil, he played two dramatic five-setters in 1991, at Roland Garros and Wimbledon – losing to top players Guy Forget and Ivan Lendl respectively – which boosted his self-confidence. At the beginning of 1992, he triumphed in Memphis without dropping a set. That title, won in Tennessee, remained the biggest of his résumé. A few months later, after defeating Henri Leconte in the third round of the US Open, marking his Centre Court debut at Slams, Washington was one set away from cracking the Top 10 but eventually lost in five sets to Michael Chang – and would ultimately never enter the Top 10, even though better results still lay ahead.
In 1992 he was considered one of the revelations of the season, alongside two younger players, Wayne Ferreira and Richard Krajicek – both of whom would enjoy more successful careers. Still, the years 1992-1996 were fruitful in Washington’s case. He would likely have been seeded at the majority of majors had 32 seeds existed at the time. His three best results from those years were three finals at big events: Key Biscayne ’93, Essen ’95 (where he defeated an almost unbeatable Andre Agassi in round three), and Wimbledon ’96. The latter was especially remarkable: just before the final – lost to Krajicek in what was arguably the most unexpected major final of the 1990s – Washington survived incredibly dramatic matches. He broke Alex Radulescu’s serve for the first time in the final game of their five-setter, and in the semifinal against Todd Martin, he came back from 5:1* down in the deciding set. “Ultimately in tennis, you want that elusive major – and I was in the finals of the biggest one of them all,” said Washington. “I had 13 great days at Wimbledon that year, but Richard had 14. I loved playing at Wimbledon and reaching the final. But my goal was to win the title.”
A Davis Cup rubber in 1997 against a then-unknown Gustavo Kuerten marked the beginning of Washington’s decline. The 28-year-old American [24] defeated Kuerten in four sets (3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3) on clay in Brazil, in front of a hostile crowd, playing perhaps his best match on that surface – a win that became more valuable when Kuerten went on to win Roland Garros a few months later. But during the third set tie-break, Washington injured his left knee. He underwent surgery in Jacksonville on April 30 and played only two more Grand Slam tournaments before retiring in November 1999.
In 1998, he returned to the tour using a protected ranking but was far from his former level. Late that year, he entered two Challengers and lost in the first round of both. In 1999, he played just two events before ending his career. His five-years-younger brother, Mashiska Washington, also joined the men’s professional tour, but won only two main-level matches and reached a career-high ranking of No. 290. Mal didn’t possess a single dominant stroke, yet he also had no glaring weakness. His smooth court movement allowed him to adapt to different opponents and surfaces; however, patience was not his strongest trait, and he never managed a notable result on European clay (he didn’t bother to make a trip to Monte Carlo even once).

Career record: 254–184 [ 186 events ]
Career titles: 4
Highest ranking: No. 11
Best GS results:
Australian Open (quarterfinal 1994)
Wimbledon (runner-up 1996)