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| Country (sports) |  Romania |
|---|---|
| Residence | Bucharest,Romania |
| Born | (1981-07-21)21 July 1981 (age 44) |
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Turned pro | 2000 |
| Retired | 2016 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $4,330,340 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 201–244 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 26 (6 July 2009) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2005,2009,2010,2014) |
| French Open | QF (2005) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2003,2009,2010) |
| US Open | 2R (2008,2010) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 2R (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 43–72 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 92 (30 January 2012) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2012,2013) |
| French Open | 2R (2012) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2005,2008,2009) |
| US Open | 2R (2005,2010) |
| Last updated on: 22 March 2023. | |
Victor Hănescu (born 21 July 1981) is a Romanian former professionaltennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world no. 26.
Hănescu attained a career-high singles ranking of No. 26 on 6 July 2009. In a Davis Cup match against the United States, he suffered a severe rib injury,[1] and a subsequent injury sidelined him further in May 2006. By January 2007, his ranking had plummeted to No. 759, before he finally began making progress on a comeback.
Hănescu earned his first ATP singles ranking points in August 1999, with first-round wins two weeks in a row at the Romania F1 and F2 Futures tournaments. Although he played four more tournaments from September through December, he did not earn any additional points and finished the year ranked No. 1231.
In 2000, Hănescu played Satellites and Futures tournaments. His fourth-place finish at a Satellite in Croatia in April/May and third place at a Satellite in Portugal in October/November provided him with 36 of the 45 ATP singles ranking points he earned in 2000. He finished the year ranked No. 477.
Hănescu won his first pro tournaments in May 2001, taking the singles titles in consecutive weeks at the Slovakia F1 and F2 Futures events. A quarterfinal finish at a Challenger in Budapest two weeks later put him in the top 400 for the first time. In July, as the top seed in consecutive weeks in Bucharest, he reached the final at Romania F1 and won the F2 Futures event to improve his ranking to No. 319. In August in Challengers in three consecutive weeks, he reached the semifinals in Poland and Germany, and then the final in Germany to improve to No. 209. He broke into the top 200 for the first time in October, but went just 4–7 in Challengers after August and finished the year ranked No. 212.
Hănescu did not make much career progress in 2002. His highlights were reaching his first career ATP-level quarterfinal at Umag, Croatia in July, and then winning his first Challenger in Portugal in September. He finished the year ranked No. 172.
Moderate success in Challengers improved Hănescu's ranking to No. 150 by April 2003. He then qualified for the ATP tournament in Estoril and reached the third round of theRome Masters in May and beat No. 31Mikhail Youzhny, his highest-ranked win to that point. At the end of May, he qualified for the French Open and reached the third round, losing toJarkko Nieminen, to break into the top 100 for the first time. He was a lucky loser entry at Wimbledon and reached the third round there also, beating No. 34Juan Ignacio Chela before losing to No. 12Sjeng Schalken, improving his ranking to No. 85. He had limited success the rest of the year, losing in the first round at the US Open to No. 6Lleyton Hewitt, before reaching the quarterfinals in Bucharest in September. In October, he qualified for his second Masters' event of the year in Paris, upsetting No. 49Rafael Nadal and No. 69Anthony Dupuis, and then upsetting No. 27Wayne Ferreira in the first round, before losing to No. 2Andy Roddick. He finished the year ranked No. 70.
Hănescu played almost exclusively at the ATP level in 2004, but with very limited success. He was ranked high enough for direct entry into all four Grand Slams and the Olympics but won only one match total in those five events. His successes were his first career ATP semifinal in Scottsdale in March, and several more ATP quarterfinals, including Bucharest again in September and Estoril in April, where he recorded his first win over a top-10 player, No. 6Rainer Schüttler. In October, he went back down to the Challenger level and won in Rome, his second career Challenger title. He finished the year ranked No. 92, down 22 spots from 2003.
2005 was Hănescu's best year to date. At the French Open, he beatMichal Tabara in the first round then No. 32Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round, and thenLuis Horna in the third round before he came back to beat No. 11David Nalbandian in five sets 6–3, 4–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2, in the fourth round. He lost to No. 1Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. He reached the ATP semifinals inNew Haven (beating No. 58Nicolás Massú and No. 20Tommy Robredo, before losing to No. 67James Blake) and in Bucharest to reach the top 40 for the first time in September. He also had his second career win over a top-10 player, beating No. 10Mariano Puerta in July, and finished the year with a career-high ranking of No. 35.
The rib injury in the Davis Cup match and a subsequent back injury in May sidelined him for most of the year, and after starting the year out at No. 35, he finished up at No. 646. His lone success was winning the ATP-level exhibition tournament in Houston in April, beatingVince Spadea andJuan Mónaco.
His ranking continued to plummet due mainly to inactivity, as well as poor results when he did play, until March, when he qualified for a Challenger event in Italy and beat No. 126Björn Phau to reach the second round. His protected ranking status gave him direct entry into a coupleATP events in April, with little success. So he continued to play Challengers, reaching a semifinal and a quarterfinal in May, and then a final in June to get back into the top 300. Finally, in August, he won two consecutive Challengers in Romania and Austria to improve to No. 151 by the start of his home ATP stop in Bucharest in September, where he was a semifinalist in 2005; he went one step further this time by making the finals, losing in three sets toGilles Simon. It was his first career final.
In December, the ATP entered Hănescu into the2007 Centuries Club for advancing hundreds of spaces to regain a spot in the top 100 rankings. Hănescu climbed more ranking positions than any other player in the top 100. He finished the year at No. 77.[2]
Hănescu reached the fourth round of theFrench Open, where he lost toFernando González 2–6, 4–6, 2–6. He reached the final of the Stuttgart Outdoor in July, only to lose toJérémy Chardy 6–2, 3–6, 4–6. He reached the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg, losing toIgor Kunitsyn 3–6, 6–3, 6–7. He finished at No. 50.
Hănescu started off the year by reaching the quarterfinals in Doha, where he lost toAndy Roddick. In Auckland, Hănescu lost in the first round toJuan Mónaco. He reached the second round of the Australian Open, after defeatingJan Hernych, but then fell toDudi Sela. Hănescu reached the second round in Zagreb. In Dubai, he lost his first-round match. In Miami, he lost toMichael Russell in the first round. Hănescu reached the quarterfinals in Casablanca.He competed at the 2009 French Open. In the first round, he eliminatedSteve Darcis 7–6, 7–6, 7–6, in the second roundMikhail Youzhny 7–5, 7–5, 7–5, and in the third round he upset seventh seedGilles Simon 6–4, 6–4, 6–2. He next playedFernando González and lost 2–6, 4–6, 2–6.
At Wimbledon, he was seeded 31st. In the first round, he won a grueling match againstIván Navarro 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 12–10. Then he playedNicolas Devilder and won 6–2, 6–3, 6–1, to advance in the third round, where he lost to eighth-seededGilles Simon 2–6, 5–7, 2–6. At the 2009 MercedesCup, he reached the final by defeatingDominik Meffert,Rainer Schüttler,Alexandre Sidorenko, andFabio Fognini in the semifinals. He lost in the final toJérémy Chardy 6–1, 3–6, 4–6.
At the2010 Australian Open, he won his first-round match againstJuan Ignacio Chela 6–4, 6–3, 7–6, but then lost in the second round to World No. 1Roger Federer 2–6, 3–6, 2–6.
He then played at the2010 BNP Paribas Open, where he won his first-round match againstJuan Ignacio Chela 6–3, 7–6, and then lost again toRoger Federer 3–6, 7–6, 1–6.
At the2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, he defeatedMichael Berrer 6–2, 6–7, 6–3, in the first round, thenJuan Mónaco 7–6, 6–4, to lose in the next round to eventual winnerRafael Nadal 3–6, 2–6.
InCasablanca, Morocco, on April 5, 2010 he was runner-up, losing in the final toStanislas Wawrinka.[3]
Hănescu reached the semifinals in Casablanca, losing there toPotito Starace, 1–6, 7–6, 6–7. He reached the final in Nice, where he lost toNicolás Almagro, 6–7, 3–6, 3–6. He went out in the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon and had little success for the rest of the year.
In July, he broke an 11-match losing streak to beat then-world No. 7 and top seedGaël Monfils at theMercedesCup, after saving two match points in the second-set tiebreaker.[4]
Hănescu was defeated in the second round in Chennai by CanadianMilos Raonic, 1–6, 4–6. He also went out in the second round in São Paulo toNicolás Almagro, who had beaten him in the final in Nice the previous year. He was defeated in the second round in Buenos Aires by upcoming Japanese starKei Nishikori in three sets.
He reached the semifinals of the Challenger inMarrakech, going down against SlovakMartin Kližan, 5–7, 4–6. He reached the quarterfinals in Barletta, losing toPotito Starace, 5–7, 2–6.
He qualified in Monte Carlo and Madrid but went out in the first round. He failed to qualify in Rome.
At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Hănescu was booed and taunted by a group of spectators during his third-round loss toDaniel Brands of Germany. The group allegedly called him agypsy, a highly derogatory term in Romania. Frustrated due to the injury and crowd behavior, he responded by spitting toward some spectators and received a warning from the umpire.[5] He then deliberately made four service foot faults to lose two points, giving Brands a 3–0 lead in the final set, before retiring. Four spectators were later arrested by police under Section 5 of the Public Order Act.[6] Hănescu was fined US$15,000 for his behavior, the first of its kind in his career.
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| Outcome | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 0–1 | 16 September 2007 | BCR Open Romania, Bucharest, Romania | Clay |  Gilles Simon | 6–4, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 1–1 | 13 July 2008 | Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad, Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay |  Igor Andreev | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1–2 | 12 July 2009 | MercedesCup, Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | Jérémy Chardy | 6–1, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1–3 | 11 April 2010 | Grand Prix Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco | Clay |  Stanislas Wawrinka | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1–4 | 21 May 2011 | Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, Nice, France | Clay |  Nicolás Almagro | 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 3–6 |
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| Outcome | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 0–1 | 18 September 2005 | BCR Open Romania, Bucharest, Romania | Clay | Andrei Pavel |  José AcasusoSebastián Prieto | 3–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Winner | 1–1 | 14 July 2008 | Austrian Open, Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay |  James Cerretani | Lucas Arnold Ker Olivier Rochus | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 1–2 | 13 July 2009 | MercedesCup, Stuttgart, Germany | Clay | Horia Tecău |  František Čermák Michal Mertiňák | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Winner | 2–2 | 26 February 2011 | Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico | Clay | Horia Tecău |  Marcelo MeloBruno Soares | 6–1, 6–3 |
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | May 2001 | Slovakia F1,Levice | Futures | Clay |  Ivan Beros | 6–4, 4–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 2–0 | May 2001 | Slovakia F2,Prievidza | Futures | Clay | Petr Luxa | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Jul 2001 | Romania F1,Bucharest | Futures | Clay |  Konstantinos Economidis | 7–6(7–2), 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 3–1 | Jul 2001 | Romania F2,Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Artemon Apostu-Efremov | 7–6(7–2), 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–2 | Sep 2001 | Freudenstadt, Germany | Challenger | Clay | Albert Montañés | 0–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 4–2 | Sep 2002 | Maia, Portugal | Challenger | Clay | Óscar Hernández | 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–3 | May 2003 | Rome, Italy | Challenger | Clay |  Giorgio Galimberti | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5–3 | Oct 2004 | Rome, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Francesco Aldi | 7–6(7–4), 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–4 | Jun 2007 | Milan, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Santiago Ventura | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 6–4 | Aug 2007 | Timișoara, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Santiago Ventura | 7–6(7–2), 6–3 |
| Win | 7–4 | Aug 2007 | Graz, Austria | Challenger | Clay | Leonardo Mayer | 7–6(7–4), 6–2 |
| Win | 8–4 | Sep 2007 | Bucharest, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Marcel Granollers | 7–6(8–6), 6–1 |
| Loss | 8–5 | Nov 2008 | Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine | Challenger | Hard | Fabrice Santoro | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 8–6 | Jul 2012 | Arad, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Facundo Bagnis | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 9–6 | Jul 2012 | Timișoara, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Guillaume Rufin | 6–0, 6–3 |
| Loss | 9–7 | Jul 2012 | Bercuit, Belgium | Challenger | Clay |  Thiemo de Bakker | 4–6, 6–3, 5–7 |
| Loss | 9–8 | Aug 2012 | Sibiu, Romania | Challenger | Clay | Adrian Ungur | 4–6, 6–7(1–7) |
| Win | 10–8 | Sep 2012 | Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Challenger | Clay |  Andreas Haider-Maurer | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 11–8 | Sep 2012 | Szczecin, Poland | Challenger | Clay | Íñigo Cervantes | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 11–9 | Sep 2015 | Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Challenger | Clay |  Dušan Lajović | 6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7) |
| Loss | 11–10 | Feb 2016 | USA F7,Plantation | Futures | Clay |  Juan Carlos Sáez | 3–6, 6–2, 6–7(5–7) |
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | May 2001 | Slovakia F2,Prievidza | Futures | Clay | Viktor Bruthans |  Mariusz Fyrstenberg Didac Perez-Minarro | 2–6, 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jul 2001 | Romania F2,Bucharest | Futures | Clay | Victor Ioniță | Marius Calugaru Mark Eberling | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 3–0 | Jun 2002 | Turin, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Óscar Hernández | Denis Golovanov Vadim Kutsenko | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 4–0 | Aug 2002 | Geneva, Switzerland | Challenger | Clay | Leonardo Olguín | Andrés Schneiter Orlin Stanoytchev | 1–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4–1 | Sep 2015 | Alphen, Netherlands | Challenger | Clay | Adrian Ungur | Tobias KamkeJan-Lennard Struff | 6–7(1–7), 6–3, [7–10] |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Current through2015 Wimbledon Championships.
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 4–11 |
| French Open | Q1 | 3R | 2R | QF | A | 1R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | Q2 | 16–11 |
| Wimbledon | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | A | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | Q1 | 9–9 |
| US Open | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 2–8 | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 4–3 | 1–4 | 6–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 31–39 |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | |||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 6–9 |
| Miami | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | Q1 | 2–9 |
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 3–7 |
| Rome | A | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | 3R | 1R | Q2 | A | A | A | 4–6 |
| Madrid | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 4–6 |
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | A | A | A | A | 4–2 | |
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0–2 | |
| Shanghai | Not Masters Series | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0–2 | |||||||
| Paris | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | Q2 | A | 2–5 | |
| Hamburg | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | Q1 | Not Masters Series | 1–1 | ||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 5–6 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 3–9 | 7–7 | 1–5 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 25–49 |
Current tillUS Open.
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | W–L | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 2–6 | |||
| French Open | A | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1–5 | |||
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | 3–3 | |||
| US Open | A | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 2–6 | |||
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 8–20 | |||
