2003 IN REVIEW
The Belarussian finished 98th in ATP Champions Race after reaching four ATP QF during season…Finished year with an 11-18 record in singles and 9-10 mark in doubles…Had strongest singles play early in year where he reached QF in three straight events…Streak began in San Jose where he lost to Agassi in three sets…Reached QF following week in Memphis (l. to Dent) and again two weeks later in Delray Beach (l. to Kendrick)…Hampered by pain in right elbow several times during season, including retirement loss to Clavet in Miami…Reached QF on grass in Nottingham in June (l. to Rusedski)…Lost to Nalbandian in straight sets in Wimbledon 1st RD…Finished season with 2nd RD exit in St. Petersburg (l. to Schuettler)…Won first career doubles title in San Jose (w/ H-T Lee).
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1997-Reached first Challenger QF at Ahmedabad...Won Belarus/Russia Satellite (43 points) and finished in Top 3 at Turkey #2 Satellite (38 points)... 1998-Won Futures event in Israel...Made ATP debut in Chennai and lost in 1st RD to Becker in two tie-break sets...Qualified for first Grand Slam event at Wimbledon, reaching 3rd RD with wins of Kucera and Tebbutt... Won first Challenger title in Puebla (d. C. Rochus)...In doubles, won his first Challenger title at Bristol (w/Mirnyi)...1999-Began year with Challenger title in Hamburg (d. Pretzsch) and won second Challenger title in Ljubljana (d. Pescariu)...Also a QF in three other Challengers...2000-Jumped 124 places to finish at career year-end best No. 46...Won fourth career Challenger in Fergana in May...(d. Kunitcin)...Enjoyed best run of his career at Wimbledon, becoming first qualifier to reach SF since John McEnroe in 1977 with five-set wins over Chela and No. 6 seed Pioline, straight-set wins over El Aynaoui, W. Ferreira and B. Black before losing to Sampras...Went from No. 237 to 69 in ATP Entry System...Finished year with QF showings in Moscow and St. Petersburg and SF in Brighton...2001 - Reached SF in opening event of season in Doha and Rotterdam...Also advanced to QF in Milan ...In doubles, reached back-to-back SF in 's-Hertogenbosch and Wimbledon...Earned a career-high $321,092...2002-Finished as No. 2 Belarussian (behind No. 43 Mirnyi) and in Top 100 for third consecutive year after strong finish in ATP and Challenger (25-10 record) circuits...Also advanced to first career ATP final in Tashkent (l. to Kafelnikov)...In July, won Challenger title in Manchester on grass (d. Beck)...In October, captured second Challenger title of year in Aachen (d. Rosset)...In doubles, reached SF in Copenhagen (w/Godwin) and won Challenger titles in Napoli and Rome (both w/Trifu).
PERSONAL
Began playing tennis at age 7 1/2 with his father, Nikolai who is an electrician at an automotive plant and an accomplished motorcross racer...Mother, Ludmila, is an accountant...Has one younger sister, Svetlana...Enjoys basketball and soccer...Compiled outstanding junior results, capturing Wimbledon juniors title (d. Ljubicic) in 1996 and finishing No. 7 in world...His favorite movie is "The Gladiator" and watched movie four times during his 2000 Wimbledon SF run...British press dubbed him "The Vladiator" and fellow players call him "Volchie"... The President of Belarus also phoned in after his QF victory over B. Black...His father prepared pancakes every morning during their British stay and during his SF week in Brighton in November 2000, said his meal of the week was "fish and chips"...Has a 30-16 career Davis Cup record (17-11 in singles) in 21 ties since 1994...Wife, Olga (married Nov. 1, 2003 in Minsk)…Coached by Vladimir Dragun (since October 2001).
