Ilija Bozoljac

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Ilija Bozoljac
File:Bozoljac WMQ14 (5) (14603794031).jpg
Country (sports)  Yugoslavia (2002–2003)
 Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)
 Serbia (2006–present)
Residence Belgrade, Serbia
Born (1985-08-02) August 2, 1985 (age 39)
Aleksandrovac, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Turned pro 2002
Plays Right-handed (two-handed both sides)
Prize money $715,969
Singles
Career record 11–20
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 101 (29 January 2007)
Current ranking No. 839 (1 February 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 2R (2007)
French Open 2R (2006)
Wimbledon 2R (2008, 2010)
US Open Q3 (2010, 2011)
Doubles
Career record 7–13
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 108 (18 January 2016)
Current ranking No. 109 (1 February 2016)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon 1R (2007, 2010)
Team competitions
Davis Cup F (2013)
Last updated on: 6 February 2016.

Ilija Bozoljac (Serbian Cyrillic: Илија Бозољац; Serbian pronunciation: [ˈilija bɔˈzɔːʎats]) (born August 2, 1985) is a professional male tennis player from Serbia.

On 29 January 2007, Bozoljac achieved his career-high singles ranking of world no. 101.

Professional career

2006

2006 was arguably Bozoljac's best year. In January, he had his best result at the ATP level in Zagreb, beating no. 170 Dudi Sela to qualify, and then beating no. 77 Daniele Bracciali and no. 34 Feliciano López, before losing to no. 81 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

2008

In May, Bozoljac narrowly missed qualifying into the 2008 French Open, losing to no. 75 Eduardo Schwank in the qualifying round.

In June, Bozoljac entered the main draw of 2008 Wimbledon as a lucky loser, after beating Nick Monroe and Robert Smeets, but losing to Stefano Galvani in the qualifying round in five sets.

2010

Bozoljac qualified for Wimbledon and progressed to the second round, where he was defeated in four tight sets by defending champion Roger Federer.

He was a reserve player on the Serbia Davis Cup team when they won the Davis Cup title.

2013

Bozoljac began 2013 by returning to the ITF Men's circuit, taking three singles titles in the opening three months.[1]

In April, Ilija and his doubles partner Nenad Zimonjić beat Bob and Mike Bryan in the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals against the United States, winning 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 5-7, 4-6, 15-13 in a performance described by Sports Illustrated as "Bozo goes Beast Mode...there was Bozoljac playing out of his mind in a five-set win that left everyone shaking their heads".[2] Bozoljac was praised by the Bryan brothers and by U.S. team captain Jim Courier, who said "Let's all tip our hats to his performance. We had him 15-30 a couple times, and the guy came up with some incredible shots."[3]

Style of play

Bozoljac is known for his unique style of play. He often changes the way he performs forehands and backhands, hitting double-handed forehands and single-handed backhands. He also has a strong serve, but he has to limit the strength of his serve due to a back injury. Nevertheless, he still serves well over 200 km/h.

Career finals

Team competition: 1 (0–1)

Outcome No. Date Team competition Surface Partner/Team Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. November 15–17, 2013 Davis Cup, Belgrade, Serbia Hard (i) Serbia Novak Djokovic
Serbia Dušan Lajović
Serbia Nenad Zimonjić
Czech Republic Tomáš Berdych
Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek
Czech Republic Lukáš Rosol
Czech Republic Jan Hájek
2–3

Singles finals (13–13)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (4–10)
ITF Futures (9–3)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 22 August 2005 Bukhara, Uzbekistan Hard Uzbekistan Denis Istomin 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 5–6 ret.
Runner-up 2. 10 July 2006 Poznań, Poland Clay Czech Republic Jan Hájek 4–6, 3–6
Winner 3. 4 September 2006 Donetsk, Ukraine Clay Czech Republic Tomáš Cakl 6–4, 3–6, 7–5
Runner-up 4. 22 October 2007 Rimouski, Canada Carpet (i) United States Brendan Evans 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 4–6
Winner 5. 8 September 2008 Ljubljana, Slovenia Clay Italy Giancarlo Petrazzuolo 6–4, 6–3
Winner 6. 15 September 2008 Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina Clay Spain Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 7. 1 June 2009 Nottingham, Great Britain Grass United States Brendan Evans 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Runner-up 8. 12 October 2009 Tiburon, California, United States Hard Japan Go Soeda 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 9. 9 November 2009 Knoxville, Tennessee, United States Hard (i) United States Taylor Dent 3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Runner-up 10. 15 February 2010 Belgrade, Serbia Carpet (i) Slovakia Karol Beck 5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Runner-up 11. July 11, 2011 Aptos, United States Hard Lithuania Laurynas Grigelis 2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Runner-up 12. September 29, 2013 Fergana, Uzbekistan Hard Moldova Radu Albot 6–7(9–11), 7–6(7–3), 1–6
Winner 13. February 15, 2014 Kolkata, India Hard Russia Evgeny Donskoy 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up 14. July 20, 2014 Recanati, Italy Hard Luxembourg Gilles Müller 1–6, 2–6

References

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External links