1. Life and Background
Arnaud Di Pasquale's personal background and early development were shaped by his origins in North Africa and his subsequent move to France.
1.1. Early Life and Education
Arnaud Di Pasquale was born on February 11, 1979, in Casablanca, Morocco. Known by the nickname DiP, he began playing tennis at the age of seven. At twelve years old, he relocated from Casablanca to France, where he continued his development in the sport. Di Pasquale stands at 73 in (185 cm) and weighed 176 lb (80 kg) during his playing career, using his right hand for playing with a two-handed backhand. His career earnings amounted to 1.16 M USD. He currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland.
2. Tennis Career
Arnaud Di Pasquale's tennis career saw him achieve notable success as a junior, an Olympic medalist, and a professional player on the ATP Tour, culminating in a significant achievement for French tennis.
2.1. Junior Career
Di Pasquale demonstrated exceptional talent during his junior years. He compiled an impressive singles record of 103 wins and 25 losses, reaching the world No. 1 ranking in juniors in December 1997. In junior doubles, he achieved a ranking of No. 17. His junior Grand Slam achievements include reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open. His most significant junior title was winning the boys' singles competition at the 1997 US Open.
2.2. Early Professional Career
Di Pasquale turned professional in 1998. He made his mark on the ATP Tour in 1999, notably reaching the fourth round of the 1999 French Open before losing to Andrei Medvedev. In October of the same year, he secured his first and only ATP Tour singles title at the Palermo Open in Italy, defeating Alberto Berasategui of Spain with a score of 6-1, 6-3. His overall professional record stands at 72 wins and 108 losses, with 69 wins and 98 losses in singles, and 3 wins and 10 losses in doubles. He achieved his highest singles ranking of world No. 39 on April 17, 2000, and his highest doubles ranking of No. 320 on April 23, 2001.
2.3. 2000 Sydney Olympics Bronze Medal
The pinnacle of Arnaud Di Pasquale's career came at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he won a bronze medal in the men's singles event. On his path to the semifinals, he defeated several highly-ranked opponents, including Nicolas Kiefer in the first round, Magnus Norman (the runner-up at the 2000 French Open) in the third round, and Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he was defeated by Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia with a score of 4-6, 4-6.
In the bronze medal match, Di Pasquale faced a 19-year-old Roger Federer of Switzerland. After a challenging match that included two tie-breaks, Di Pasquale emerged victorious with a score of 7-6(7-5), 6-7(7-9), 6-3. This achievement marked France's first Olympic tennis medal since the 1924 Paris Olympics.
2.4. Later Professional Career and Retirement
Following his Olympic success, Di Pasquale continued to compete, reaching the fourth round of the 2002 French Open for the second time in his career, where he was defeated by second seed Marat Safin with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 2-6. His career was later hampered by injuries, leading to a year-long absence from the tour starting in March 2003. He made appearances at the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open, but was eliminated in the first round of both tournaments. In his final two years, he primarily competed on the lower-tier ATP Challenger Tour. Arnaud Di Pasquale retired from professional tennis at the age of 27 in November 2006, after participating in a Challenger tournament in Asunción, Paraguay.
3. Major Achievements and Records
Arnaud Di Pasquale's career included a significant junior Grand Slam title, an Olympic medal, and one ATP Tour title.
3.1. Junior Grand Slam Finals
Di Pasquale appeared in one junior Grand Slam singles final, securing the title, and one junior Grand Slam doubles final.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1997 | US Open | Hard | {{flagicon|RSA}} Wesley Whitehouse | 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 |
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1997 | French Open | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Julien Jeanpierre | {{flagicon|PER}} Luis Horna {{flagicon|VEN}} José de Armas | 4-6, 6-2, 5-7 |
3.2. Olympic Finals
Di Pasquale achieved one medal in his Olympic appearance.
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 2000 | Sydney Olympics | Hard | {{flagicon|SUI}} Roger Federer | 7-6(7-5), 6-7(7-9), 6-3 |
3.3. ATP Tour Finals
Di Pasquale reached two ATP Tour singles finals, winning one title and finishing as runner-up once. Both finals were on clay courts in outdoor settings.
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0-1 | September 1998 | Bucharest, Romania | International Series | Clay | {{flagicon|ESP}} Francisco Clavet | 6-1, 7-6(7-2) |
| Win | 1-1 | October 1999 | Palermo, Italy | International Series | Clay | {{flagicon|ESP}} Alberto Berasategui | 6-1, 6-3 |
3.4. ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals
Di Pasquale competed in seven singles finals on the ATP Challenger and ITF Futures tours, winning two and losing five. All of these finals were played on clay courts. His two wins were on the ATP Challenger Tour, while his single ITF Futures final appearance resulted in a loss.
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0-1 | April 1998 | Nice, France | Challenger | Clay | {{flagicon|ARG}} Mariano Puerta | 7-6, 4-6, 4-6 |
| Win | 1-1 | June 1998 | Příbram, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay | {{flagicon|CZE}} Radek Štěpánek | 6-3, 6-1 |
| Loss | 1-2 | July 1998 | Contrexéville, France | Challenger | Clay | {{flagicon|MAR}} Younes El Aynaoui | 4-6, 7-6, 0-6 |
| Win | 2-2 | May 2002 | Ljubljana, Slovenia | Challenger | Clay | {{flagicon|ESP}} Joan Balcells | 6-4, 6-3 |
| Loss | 2-3 | April 2004 | Napoli, Italy | Challenger | Clay | {{flagicon|LUX}} Gilles Müller | 6-7(7-9), 7-6(7-1), 1-6 |
| Loss | 2-4 | April 2006 | France F6, Grasse | Futures | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Nicolas Coutelot | 2-6, 2-6 |
| Loss | 2-5 | June 2006 | Milan, Italy | Challenger | Clay | {{flagicon|USA}} Wayne Odesnik | 7-5, 2-6, 6-7(5-7) |
3.5. Year-by-year Performance Timeline
This table details Arnaud Di Pasquale's performance in Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments throughout his professional career.
| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | SR | W-L | Win % | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | Q1 | A | 0 / 3 | 0-3 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| French Open | 1R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 4R | A | 1R | A | Q1 | 0 / 6 | 6-6 | 50% | ||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1-2 | 33% | ||||||||||||
| US Open | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | Q2 | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 5 | 2-5 | 29% | ||||||||||||
| Win-loss | 1-2 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 3-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 / 16 | 9-16 | 36% | ||||||||||||
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 2-3 | 40% | ||||||||||||
| Miami Open | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 0-3 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| Monte Carlo | A | 3R | 1R | 3R | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4-3 | 57% | ||||||||||||
| Rome | A | Q2 | 2R | Q2 | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1-1 | 50% | ||||||||||||
| Hamburg | A | QF | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 5-3 | 63% | ||||||||||||
| Canada Masters | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| Cincinnati Masters | A | 2R | 1R | Q2 | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1-2 | 33% | ||||||||||||
| Stuttgart | A | Q1 | Q2 | A | Not Held | 0 / 0 | 0-0 | 0% | ||||||||||||||||
| Paris Masters | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1-3 | 25% | ||||||||||||
| Win-loss | 1-1 | 6-6 | 4-8 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 / 19 | 14-19 | 42% | ||||||||||||
4. Awards and Honors
In recognition of his significant achievement at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Arnaud Di Pasquale was awarded the National Order of Merit by French President Jacques Chirac in November 2000.
5. External Links
- [https://www.atptour.com/en/players/-/D357/overview Arnaud Di Pasquale] at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- [https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/arnaud-di-pasquale/800194161/fra Arnaud Di Pasquale] at the International Tennis Federation
- [https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94220 Arnaud Di Pasquale] at Olympedia
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20171101000000/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/arnaud-di-pasquale-1.html Arnaud Di Pasquale] at Sports Reference