André Sá

1.1. Childhood and Education

André Rezende Sá was born on 6 May 1977, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He started playing tennis at the age of eight, initially encouraged by his older brother. Demonstrating significant talent early on, Sá became the number one ranked player in Brazil in the under-12 age category.

1.2. Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy Period

At the age of 12, recognizing his potential, Sá moved to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, United States. He spent five formative years at the esteemed academy, honing his skills. In 1996, he graduated from Bradenton Academy, having also participated in basketball for three years during his time there.

2.1. Early Career and Debut

Sá played his first professional match in 1993, at the age of 16, in a Challenger tournament held in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, where he was defeated in the first round. In 1997, he began to travel extensively across South America, reaching his first Challenger semifinal in Quito, though he lost to Mariano Puerta. In August of the same year, he reached his first professional final, once again in Belo Horizonte, but was defeated by fellow Brazilian Roberto Jabali. He also made it to the semifinal in Guadalajara, Mexico. Later in 1997, Sá made his Davis Cup debut against Alistair Hunt from New Zealand in Florianópolis, contributing to Brazil's 5-0 victory in the World Group qualifying round. In October, he played his inaugural ATP Tour match in Mexico City, advancing to the quarterfinal.

The year 1998 marked a turning point as Sá secured his first Challenger titles. On 23 February, he won in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, defeating Juan Antonio Marín 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Two weeks later, he clinched the Salinas Challenger in Ecuador, overcoming Guillermo Cañas in the final. In August, he claimed the Gramado Challenger title against Hideki Kaneko from Japan. That same year, Sá made his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, where he lost in the first round to Todd Martin. In 1999, Sá participated in four ATP Tour tournaments, reaching the second round at Wimbledon, where he was defeated by Karol Kučera, then world No. 13. He also had a remarkable five-week period, winning three consecutive Challenger titles in Austin, Tulsa, and Dallas, building a 13-match winning streak.

2.2. Singles Career

At the beginning of 2000, André Sá reached the final of the Waikoloa Challenger and his first ATP semifinal in Memphis, where he was defeated by the eventual champion, Magnus Larsson of Sweden. He competed in three Grand Slams that year: Roland Garros (first round), Wimbledon (first round), and the US Open (second round). In 2001, Sá again played in three Grand Slams: the Australian Open (second round), Wimbledon (first round, losing to Arvind Parmar for the second consecutive year), and the US Open (second round). He also secured two Challenger titles, in Calabasas against Michael Russell and in Salvador against Alexandre Simoni. Furthermore, he reached the ATP semifinal in Hong Kong, where he lost to Rainer Schüttler of Germany.

Sá's most notable singles achievements came in 2002, a year in which he reached his career-best singles ranking of world No. 55 on 12 August, despite not winning any singles titles. He competed in all four Grand Slams, highlighted by a strong run to the quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships. During this tournament, he defeated Antony Dupuis, Stefan Koubek, his compatriot Flávio Saretta, and Spain's Feliciano López. His impressive run concluded in a four-set, three-hour and ten-minute match against British home favorite Tim Henman, with a score of 3-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. This performance earned him a career-record 102.20 K USD in prize money for a single tournament. The following month, he reached the quarterfinals of the Amersfoort tournament and the third round in Kitzbühel, contributing to his career-high ranking.

In 2003, Sá experienced a challenging period, suffering 13 consecutive first-round defeats. His first win of the year came on the grass courts of the Queen's Club, where he defeated Gilles Elseneer of Belgium, but he subsequently lost in the second round. This losing streak caused a significant drop in his ranking, as he failed to retain points from his previous successful season, falling to 138th after Wimbledon. Sá's singles career then saw a resurgence in the Challenger circuit, as he won two titles in 2004 in São Paulo and College Station, and reached the final in Covington. In 2005, he won the Campos do Jordão Challenger and reached another final in Dallas, along with two semifinals. By 2006, he reached two Challenger finals in Bogotá and Belo Horizonte, ending the year ranked 179th as the fifth-highest ranked Brazilian player. Following the 2007 season, Sá significantly reduced his singles activity to focus primarily on doubles.

2.3. Doubles Career

André Sá is widely considered one of the best Brazilian doubles players of all time, reaching a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 17 on 2 February 2009. He claimed 11 ATP Tour doubles titles and reached 19 ATP Tour doubles finals, in addition to winning 21 Challenger doubles titles and reaching 11 Challenger finals.

His first ATP Tour doubles title came in September 2001 at the Hong Kong Open, partnering with Karsten Braasch of Germany. Sá formed significant partnerships throughout his career, most notably with fellow Brazilian Marcelo Melo. Their partnership began with a Challenger tournament in Brazil in July 2006. In April 2007, Sá and Melo secured their first ATP title together at the Estoril Open in Portugal, marking Sá's first tour title in six years.

The pair had a particularly memorable run at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships. In the second round, they defeated Kevin Ullyett and Paul Hanley in a match that lasted 5 hours and 58 minutes, becoming the second longest match in Wimbledon history. The final score of this marathon encounter was 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7, 28-26. Sá and Melo continued their strong performance, beating Christopher Kas and Alexander Peya in another five-set match in the third round, followed by a straight-sets victory over seeded opponents Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor in the quarterfinals. Their impressive run concluded in the semifinals, where they were defeated by the eventual champions, Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra.

In 2008, Sá and Melo continued their success, winning three ATP Tour doubles titles: the Brasil Open, the Hypo Group Tennis International in Austria, and the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven. Their partnership also led them to the finals of the Queen's Club Championships in London, where they were runners-up. In 2009, they won the Austrian Open Kitzbühel and reached the final of the Delray Beach Open and the Queen's Club Championships again. Sá and Melo eventually ended their partnership after the 2009 season.

Following his partnership with Melo, Sá teamed with other players, including Franco Ferreiro (reaching two finals in 2011), Jamie Murray (winning the Moselle Open in 2011), and Michal Mertiňák (reaching three finals in 2012). In 2015, Sá had a particularly successful year, winning three ATP titles with three different partners: the Argentina Open with Jarkko Nieminen, the Nottingham Open with Chris Guccione, and the Umag Open with Máximo González. His final ATP doubles title came in 2017 at the Brasil Open, partnering with Rogério Dutra Silva.

Beyond his successes with Melo, Sá also reached the quarterfinals of the 2004 Australian Open men's doubles with Flávio Saretta and the third round of the 2006 Wimbledon Championships with Ramón Delgado of Paraguay. He also reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 US Open and the 2016 US Open.

2.4. National Team Activities

André Sá proudly represented Brazil in various team competitions throughout his career, including the Davis Cup and the Olympic Games, as well as the Pan American Games.

Sá participated in 17 Davis Cup matches across 12 ties for Brazil. He maintained a strong record, winning ten matches and losing seven, including an impressive seven wins and three losses in doubles. He was an integral part of the Brazilian Davis Cup team that reached the semifinals of the World Group in 2000, where they ultimately lost to Australia. In that tie, Sá played the fourth match against Lleyton Hewitt.

He also competed in multiple Olympic Games. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Sá partnered with Flávio Saretta in the men's doubles tournament. They achieved a notable first-round victory over the formidable Spanish duo of Carlos Moyà and Rafael Nadal with a score of 7-6, 6-1, before losing in the second round to Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe. Sá and Saretta secured their spot in the 2004 Olympics only after another team withdrew.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Sá teamed up with his regular doubles partner, Marcelo Melo. They reached the second round before being defeated by the Indian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. Sá made his third Olympic appearance at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he partnered with Thomaz Bellucci. They faced the top-seeded and eventual gold medalists, the Bryan brothers of the United States, in the first round, losing in three sets. His final Olympic appearance was at the home games, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Partnering again with Thomaz Bellucci, they upset the second-seeded British pair of Andy Murray and Jamie Murray in the first round with a score of 7-6, 7-6. They advanced to the second round before falling to the Italian team of Fabio Fognini and Andreas Seppi.

In addition to his Olympic appearances, Sá achieved a significant milestone at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada. He won the gold medal in men's doubles, partnering with Paulo Taicher. They triumphed over the Mexican pair of Marco Osorio and Óscar Ortiz in the final with a score of 7-6, 6-2. In the singles competition at the same event, Sá reached the third round, where he was defeated by David Nalbandian.

3.1. Retirement

André Sá officially retired from professional tennis in 2018 at the age of 40. His final professional doubles match was played alongside his compatriot Thomaz Bellucci at the 2018 Brasil Open, a fitting end to his career in his home country.

3.2. Post-Retirement Activities

In 2019, André Sá and his family relocated to Australia, where he took on a new and significant role as the Head of Player Liaison for Tennis Australia. In this position, he works to foster relationships between players and the governing body, drawing on his extensive experience as a former professional.

4.1. ATP Tour Finals

André Sá participated in 30 ATP Tour doubles finals, winning 11 titles and finishing as runner-up 19 times. His victories included titles on hard, clay, and grass courts, with most of his wins occurring outdoors.

4.2. Challenger Tour Singles Titles

André Sá won 11 singles titles on the ATP Challenger Tour.

• 1998: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - defeated Juan Antonio Marín 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
• 1998: Salinas, Ecuador - defeated Guillermo Cañas 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
• 1998: Gramado, Brazil - defeated Hideki Kaneko 6-7, 6-1, 6-4
• 1999: Austin, USA - defeated Glenn Weiner 7-5, 6-2
• 1999: Tulsa, USA - defeated Jimy Szymanski 6-2, 7-6
• 1999: Dallas, USA - defeated Jimy Szymanski 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
• 2001: Calabasas, USA - defeated Michael Russell 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
• 2001: Salvador, Brazil - defeated Alexandre Simoni 6-3, 6-2
• 2004: São Paulo, Brazil - defeated Jacob Adaktusson 6-4, 6-0
• 2004: College Station, USA - defeated Brian Vahaly 6-3, 6-0
• 2005: Campos do Jordão, Brazil - defeated Juan Martín del Potro 6-4, 6-4

4.3. Grand Slam Performance Timelines

Sá competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments during his career, achieving notable results in both singles and doubles.