Stéphane Robert

1.1. Birth and personal details

Stéphane Robert was born on 17 May 1980, in Montargis, Loiret, France. He resides in Cepoy, France. Robert is right-handed and employs a two-handed backhand. He stands at 73 in ^{(185 cm)} and weighs 170 lb ^{(77 kg)}. He made his professional debut in 2001.

2.1. Early career and challenges

Robert faced a significant challenge early in his career when he was infected with the Hepatitis A virus in February 2007. This illness caused him to miss 16 months of tennis action between 2007 and 2008. He returned to competition in early June 2008 at an ITF Men's Circuit tournament in Apeldoorn, where, as a qualifier, he remarkably reached the final without an ATP singles ranking.

2.2. Breakthrough and notable successes (2010-2014)

On 1 February 2010, Robert achieved a significant milestone by breaking into the ATP Top 100 singles rankings for the first time, reaching No. 100. Within a week of this breakthrough, as the eighth seed, he defeated David Ferrer, a player ranked in the top 20, in the semifinals of the 2010 SA Tennis Open. This marked his first ATP World Tour singles final appearance, where he ultimately lost to third-seeded Feliciano López with a score of 5-7, 1-6. Following this, on 22 February 2010, he rose to a career-high ranking of No. 61 after winning the ATP Challenger Tour singles title in Tangier.

In 2011, Robert gained international recognition at the 2011 French Open. As a qualifier, he delivered the biggest singles win of his career by defeating the sixth seed and 2010 Wimbledon singles finalist, Tomáš Berdych, in the first round with a score of 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7. This victory was particularly notable as he saved a match point at 4-5 in the deciding set and was his first win against a top-10 ranked player (Berdych was world No. 6). He subsequently lost his second-round match to Fabio Fognini in straight sets.

Robert achieved another career highlight at the 2014 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. He lost to fourth-seeded Andy Murray in that round. His performance was remarkable as he was one of only two lucky losers to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam since Dick Norman achieved the feat at the 1995 Wimbledon Championships, the other being David Goffin at the 2012 French Open.

In the same year, Robert, partnering with Jesse Huta Galung, became only the third lucky loser doubles team to win an ATP World Tour doubles title. They achieved this by defeating the formidable pair of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final of the 2014 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. This marked Robert's first ATP World Tour doubles final appearance and victory. After losing in the first round of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships to Nick Kyrgios, Robert was forced to miss the remainder of the year due to a leg injury.

2.3. Later career and ranking milestones (2015-2018)

In 2016, Robert qualified for the singles main draw of the 2016 Australian Open by winning three qualifying matches, eventually losing in the third round to Gaël Monfils. This was only the second time he had advanced to the third round of a Grand Slam singles main draw.

On 15 July 2016, Robert, then unseeded and ranked No. 83, reached the semi-final at the 2016 German Open, where he was defeated by Martin Kližan. This marked his first ATP World Tour semi-final appearance since the 2010 final in Johannesburg. Following his strong performance in Hamburg, Robert's ATP singles ranking reached a career-high of No. 59 on 18 July 2016, a significant improvement from his ranking of No. 558 on 25 May 2015. On 24 October 2016, Robert further improved his career-high singles ranking to No. 50, a notable achievement for a player at 36 years old.

4.1. ATP Tour finals

4.1.2. Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	W-L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1-0	April 2014	Barcelona Open, Barcelona, Spain	500 Series	Clay	Jesse Huta Galung	Daniel Nestor	6-3, 6-3

4.2. Challenger and ITF Circuit finals

4.3. Grand Slam performance timelines