Albert Costa
Albert Costa i Casals ( born June 25, 1975 in Lleida ) is a former Spanish tennis player. In his career he won a total of 12 tournaments in singles. His greatest success was about winning the French Open in 2002. Costa was a clay court specialist and won all the professional titles on this surface.
- 3.2.1 Siege
Career
Albert Costa began at the age of five years, to play tennis and was in 1993 in his final season on the junior tour to the best players. He reached this year's final of the French Open juniors and won the Orange Bowl. In 1994 the Spaniard played his first full season as a professional and was able to win at the beginning of a Challenger tournament. As the season progresses Costa won another tournament this category and peaked at three events on the ATP Tour semi-final. This season, in which he competed in only two tournaments that were not played on sand, Costa finished on place 52 of the world tennis rankings. In 1995, he reached two finals in the first few months, but both went in Casablanca, as well as in Estoril as losers from the square. In the quarter- finals of the French Open, Costa had to in the fifth set to the eventual champions Thomas Muster of Austria defeated, thus emphasizing his qualities as one of the best clay court players on the tour. In Kitzbühel he won his first career title, in which he succeeded in revenge against patterns in the final. Costa adding the Austrians here in the only defeat in 1995 with 12 runners-up on sand. The year ended Costa on position 24 in the world rankings.
1996 Costa scored a total of three tournament victories, giving him only in the 1999 season should succeed once more. In the first half of the season he had no tournament win and failed at the French Open in the second round. In the super -Nine tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome, he drew in the final resp. Semifinals against each pattern the short straw and thus missed the first victory in a major European clay court event. Later in Costa celebrated three tournament victories - in Gstaad, San Marino and Bournemouth - whereby he finished the season ranked 13 in the world rankings. The 1997 season began with a Costa advance to the quarter- finals of the Australian Open, where he was defeated by the eventual winner Pete Sampras after five sets (on hard court). This success was Costas best Grand Slam result is outside of the French Open. Before Paris, he won his fifth career title in Barcelona and led his country with four individual victories to win the World Team Cup. This he succeeded in the meantime for the first time among the top 10 in the world rankings. In Roland Garros Costa failed but again relatively early - in the third round. Despite several semi-final appearances in the second half of the season and another tournament victory in Marbella, the Spaniard slipped to position 19 in the world.
In the 1998 season, Costa scored the first and only tournament victory of his career with a super -Nine tournament. In the final game of Hamburg, he defeated his compatriot Alex Corretja. A possible further tournament victory he missed, however, in Rome, where he could not compete in the final. In Roland Garros, the Spaniard lost time in the second round. After Costa won for the second time in his career in Kitzbühel and finished the season ranked 14th in the world rankings. In 1999, he lost each morning at the major clay court tournaments, but could prevent with tournament victories in Estoril, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel, he slipped further than in the world rankings at No. 18. For the fourth time in a row he was able to finish a season in the Top 20 players in the tennis world.
During the 2000 season in five years Costa was the first time without tournament victory, managed at the French Open but also for five years once again jump into the quarter-finals. There, he lost to Argentine Franco Squillari in four sets. The season he finished (even without finals ) just outside of the top 25 players. In December, Costa won the Spanish team in the final against Australia Davis Cup, where he lost his only -final. Another achievement of the season was winning the bronze medal in doubles at the Sydney Olympics on the side of Alex Corretja. The 2001 season was similar to the previous season. Although Costa reached in Kitzbühel for a fourth time the finals, but lost to Nicolas Lapentti. In the meantime, he slipped to No. 65, also because this time he already lost his first match at Roland Garros. The second round participation in the U.S. Open then helped the season but still among the top 40 in the world to finish.
2002 no longer counted Costa the favorites for the big clay court title, too often he had resigned in the past few years in the early phases of the tournament the French Open. Nevertheless, he achieved good results on clay, reaching in Monte Carlo and Rome the quarter-finals in Barcelona even the final, which he lost to Gastón Gaudio. Also at the French Open, Costa played with only one set loss before the quarterfinals. After he previously had defeated defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets in the round, he beat Guillermo Canas in the quarter-finals in a hard-fought five- set match, before he defeated in the semifinals Alex Corretja. In the final against Juan Carlos Ferrero Costa won the first two sets 6-1 and 6-0 and the loss of the third movement could not prevent the first and only Grand Slam title in his career. Winning the French Open in 2002 should also be the last title in the career of Albert Costa, who made it into the top 10 in the world rankings with this win. A few weeks later he was with the finals in Amersfoort in 6th place ranking - the highest position of his career. By the end of Costa could hold the position in the Top 10 for the first time and take part in the Tennis Masters Cup, where he managed a win in the group stage. He finished the season in 9th place
2003 saw Costa at the French Open fresh sensation when he played himself as defending champions to the semi-finals. On the way, he won a total of four five - set matches, against Sergio Roitman, Nicolas Lapentti and Tommy Robredo he could each make up a 0-2 record behind. In the semifinals, but then he lost his compatriot Ferrero in three sets. In the remaining tournaments Costa was only Miami beyond the second round, where they lost the semi-final against Andre Agassi. A year later, the Spaniards only in Rome ( semi-final defeat to David Nalbandian ) and Stuttgart continue to move ( quarter-final defeat to Nikolay Davydenko ) in the tournament. In the world rankings Costa slipped to No. 56. In 2005, he could not stop the descent, in spite of two semi-finals at smaller tournaments tour in Doha and Valencia. In July 2005, Costa since 1994 fell for the first time in the top 100 in the world rankings.
The 2006 season ended prematurely and the Spaniards declared on 21 April 2006, his career end after he was eliminated from the tournament in Barcelona in the first knockout round. As reasons for his resignation was at the now 30 -year-old injuries and a lack of motivation.
In December 2008, Albert Costa was appointed as the new Davis Cup captain of the Spanish team. 2009 and 2011 Spain won the Davis Cup under the leadership of Costas. Following the second title of his Costa gave up his office, which was succeeded by Àlex Corretja.
Others
Five days after his triumph at the French Open ( June 2002), married his longtime girlfriend Cristina Costa Ventura, who gave birth to him in April 2001, the twin daughters Claudia and Alma. His best friend Àlex Corretja was best man.