Mikhail Youzhny

Born: June 25, 1982 in Moscow (Moscow Oblast in Soviet Union)
Height: 1.81 m
Plays: Right-handed

Михаил Михайлович Южный – a son of Mikhail, who served as a Soviet army colonel, carried the military tradition throughout his career, famously saluting after victories while using his “Head” racquet as a makeshift cap. Like a soldier, he consistently sported a short haircut, yet his playing style evolved significantly over the years. Early in his professional career, his backhand bore a striking resemblance to those of Björn Borg and Andrea Gaudenzi, with a two-handed swing. However, unlike Borg and Gaudenzi, who released their left hand at the moment of contact, Youzhny let go just before hitting the ball, giving his backhand a unique touch. Regular use of the slice backhand also facilitated the development of a more natural one-handed backhand over time.
Youzhny’s breakthrough came early in his career, during the 2002 Davis Cup final against France in Paris. Called upon to replace Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the deciding rubber, the young Russian found himself down two sets but staged a remarkable comeback to win the next three. This victory made him the first player in Davis Cup history to overturn a two-set deficit in the deciding fifth rubber of a final. Remarkably, Youzhny had been close to the Russian Davis Cup team long before this moment of glory, having served as a ball boy during the 1995 final.
Throughout his career, Youzhny worked with the stoic Russian coach Boris Sobkin, who recalled the early days with Mikhail and his older brother Andrey (who never played an ATP match): “Mischa was always breaking racquets and crying. Not many coaches want to work with a boy with such a strong character. They would practice on one court for 15 minutes, then be forced to move to another because a member wanted to play. This would happen all day. But there was something special in Mischa’s eyes – a sparkle, maybe. Sometimes the eyes tell more than the parents. I never saw him as a Top 10 player back then, but I knew he had something special.”
In 2002, the 20-year-old Youzhny clinched a significant title on the clay courts of Stuttgart, overcoming Guillermo Cañas in a grueling five-set final, having been down 4:1 in the final set. This victory undoubtedly influenced Shamil Tarpischev’s decision to trust Youzhny in the decisive match of the Davis Cup final later that year. Nick Bollettieri spoke highly of Youzhny, predicting a bright future. Indeed, Youzhny was a complete player who enjoyed a successful career, including two US Open semifinals (having defeated top players – they both were in the development process though – in the quarterfinals of 2006 and 2010), but one could argue he could have achieved more. Certainly, more could have been expected from him in Masters 1000 events, as he never reached the semifinals, losing six quarterfinal matches. The last loss (Shanghai ’14) was especially disappointing because he faced an opponent of similar caliber, was leading by a set and a break, yet still couldn’t secure the win.
Two key factors likely limited his success: first, his serve. Despite his ~6’0” height, Youzhny never developed a dominant serve, which could have earned him more easy points. The fact that he never served 20 aces in any of his 39 five-set matches is telling. His preparation to the serve was quite particular: he was standing a half meter behind the baseline, probably a side effect of excessive foot faults at the beginning of his career. Second, his lopsided record against Roger Federer – 17 losses, with only one match (Halle ’03) where the Russian was close to winning. Only two of their encounters were finals (Dubai ’07 and Halle ’13), but it’s impossible to know how different Youzhny’s career might have been had he managed to overcome Federer more often to improve his self-esteem.
Youzhny retired just shy of 500 main-level wins, a milestone he narrowly missed after a closely contested second-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut in St. Petersburg ’18. At thirty-six, having lost his Top 100 status after 17 years, it was a sensible decision to retire rather than chase that elusive 500th victory.
A notable trivia: Youzhny defeated Novak Đoković in two dramatic matches at consecutive events in 2007, just before Đoković ascended to serious contender status against Federer and Rafael Nadal. In Marseille, Youzhny triumphed 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 after trailing *1:4 and 4:5 (0/30) in the decider. Then, in Rotterdam, he prevailed 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, saving match points in both sets – first in the tiebreak, and then at *4:5 (15/40) in the final set. The Serb avenged those defeats to some degree winning their very long Dubai ’10 final.

Career record: 499–416 [ 418 events ]
Career titles: 10
Highest ranking: No. 8
Best GS results:
Australian Open (quarterfinal 2008)
Roland Garros (quarterfinal 2010)
Wimbledon (quarterfinal 2012)
US Open (semifinal 2006 & 2010; quarterfinal 2013)
Davis Cup champion 2002 (won clincher) and 2006 (didn’t play in the final)