Amir Hadad
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Amir Hadad (born February 17, 1978, in Ramle, Israel) is a professional tennis player.
His highest singles ATP ranking was # 180, in 2003. His highest doubles ranking was # 87, also in 2003.
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[edit] Tennis career
He turned pro in 1995.
Most of his success has been on the challenger and future circuit.
In May 2002, in the first round of the French Open, he upset world # 78 Christophe Rochus of Belgium, 6–1, 6–2, 6–7(4,) 6–2.
In mid-July 2002, Amir and his partner Martin Vassallo Arguello won the Seascape Challenger Tournament doubles final.
His best result was reaching the 3rd round doubles at the 2002 Wimbledon Open, with partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan[1]. The Israeli and Pakistani team, with its bravely enlightened but controversial pairing of an Israeli and a Muslim, received major criticism because of political tensions, but Hadad and Aisam dedicated their run to peace. This extraordinary doubles team attained an upset victory in the 2nd round over the No. 11 seeded team of Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach.
| "We like the idea. We think there's nothing like sports to bridge the gap between nations and to be the start of solving problems." | |
| — David Harnik, president of Israel's tennis federation | |
The teaming made international news when the Pakistani Sports Board threatened to ban Qureshi for teaming with an Israeli (the threat was later rescinded, and he was invited to join Pakistan's Davis Cup team). Hadad, on the other hand, received support from Israel.
When asked about the controversy surrounding their partnership, Hadad told reporters: "we came to play tennis. There are some people who maybe want to make headlines, say bad things about this. But I see it as only a positive that two guys from different nationalities can play together. We are good friends and I think we're going to keep playing together in the future. We're here to improve our ranking."
Hadad won the Ho Chi Minh tournament in Vietnam in early 2003. He also won doubles titles in Gronigen, Rome, San Remo, and Kyoto during the year.
On February 6, 2003, Hadad and Qureshi were chosen as the winners of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. ATP Chief Executive Officer Mark Miles said: "During a summer when fear and hatred garnered much of the headlines, Amir and Aisam-ul-Haq provided much needed relief with their simple message about tolerance through tennis... It's fitting that we present the Arthur Ashe Award to these two players on the anniversary of Arthur's death, as Arthur remains the model for all of us on how athletes and sport can make a big difference in the lives of others."
In April 2005 Hadad and partner Harel Levy won a F1 doubles title in Hungary.
Hadad enjoyed his best singles performance in years at the Hungary F3 tournament held in Hodmezovasarhely during May 2005. He lost to the eventual champion Boris Pašanski in the finals, 7–6, 6–1.
The doubles performances of Hadad and Levy in the months of April through July, 2005, were impressive. In late April the Israelis captured the Hungary F1 tournament in Budapest, defeating Nikola Martinovic and Josko Topic 5–7, 6–2, 6–1 in the final. A few days later they won the F2 title in Miskolc as well, beating Bastian Knittel and Marius Zay 6–1, 6–0 in the final. Levy and Hadad then competed in May in the German town of Furth, where they took the title from Jan Frode Andersen and Johan Landsberg, 6–1, 6–2. In July they won at Budaors, Hungary, defeating Adam Chadaj and Stephane Robert 6–4, 6–7(7), 6–3.
In May 2006, playing with Konstantinos Economidis, he won in Rome.
[edit] Davis Cup
Hadad played Davis Cup for Israel from 1998-2002, winning 5 of his 11 matches.[1]
[edit] World Team Tennis
Hadad plays World Team Tennis for the Boston Lobsters, for whom he played as well in 2006. He played for the St. Louis Aces in 2003 and 2004.[2]
[edit] Miscellaneous
Hadad trained at the Israel Tennis Centers. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ So did his doubles partnership with Israel's Amir Hadad, which in 2003 won them a humanitarian award from the organisers of men's tennis http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6737227,00.html
- ^ ITC Champions
[edit] External links
- ATP Tour profile for Amir Hadad
- Davis Cup record
- Jewish Virtual Library bio
- Jews in Sports bio
- Qureshi & Hadad interview on ESPN
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Andre Agassi |
ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year 2002 with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi |
Succeeded by Gustavo Kuerten |
