Benjamin Becker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Benjamin Becker

Becker at the 2015 French Open
Country (sports)	Germany
Residence	Mettlach, Germany
Born	(1981-06-16) 16 June 1981 (age 44) Merzig, Saarland, West Germany
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	2005
Retired	2017
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
College	Baylor Bears
Prize money	US$4,399,584
Singles
Career record	153–220 (41.02%)
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 35 (27 October 2014)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (2015)
French Open	3R (2015)
Wimbledon	2R (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016)
US Open	4R (2006)
Doubles
Career record	58–106
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 58 (5 July 2010)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2011)
French Open	2R (2010, 2012)
Wimbledon	3R (2007)
US Open	2R (2010)

Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German former professional tennis player. He is most famous for beating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi at the 2006 US Open. This was a very special match because it was Agassi's last one as a professional player.

Becker reached his highest singles ranking of No. 35 in the world on 27 October 2014. In doubles, his highest ranking was No. 58 on 5 July 2010. It's important to know that Benjamin Becker is not related to another famous German tennis player, Boris Becker.

Early Life and College Tennis

Benjamin Becker was born on June 16, 1981, in Merzig, which was then in West Germany. His parents are Jörg and Ulrike, and he has one younger sister.

From 2001 to 2005, Benjamin played college tennis at Baylor University in the United States. In 2004, he won the NCAA singles championship, which is a big college tournament. That same year, he helped his team, the Baylor Bears, win the team championship. In 2005, his team finished second in the NCAA tournament. He holds the record for the most singles and doubles wins at his school. It's quite rare for male tennis players to complete four years of college before becoming professional, but Benjamin did!

Tennis Career Highlights

Starting Strong in 2006

The year 2006 was a big one for Benjamin Becker. He qualified for the famous Wimbledon tournament in June. He won his first match there before losing in the second round.

At the 2006 US Open, he had an amazing run. He beat two tough players to reach the third round. There, he faced the legendary Andre Agassi, a former world No. 1. Benjamin won the match in four sets. This was a very memorable moment because Agassi had announced that the 2006 US Open would be his last tournament. After Benjamin's win, the crowd gave Agassi an eight-minute standing ovation! The next day, Benjamin's journey at the US Open ended when he lost to Andy Roddick in the fourth round.

Later in 2006, Benjamin played a match in Tokyo that finished at 3:24 a.m., making it one of the latest finishes in ATP history! He improved his ranking from No. 421 at the start of the year to No. 62 by November. Because of his great progress, he received the "Newcomer of the Year" award from the ATP. He also won the "Sportsman of the Year" award in his home region of Germany. Benjamin had the fastest rise into the top 50 of any player that year.

2007: Reaching a New High

In early 2007, Benjamin continued to improve his ranking. He reached the semifinals at two tournaments: the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships and the SAP Open in San Jose. These strong results helped him reach his highest ranking yet, No. 38, in March 2007. However, he struggled in the major Grand Slam tournaments that year, usually losing in the first round. His ranking dropped to 79 after the 2007 US Open. Despite reaching the finals in Bangkok, he finished the year ranked 84th.

2009: First ATP Title!

In 2009, Benjamin Becker won his very first ATP World Tour title! He won the Ordina Open in the Netherlands, beating a local player named Raemon Sluiter in the final. This was a big achievement in his career.

2010: Consistent Play

Becker at the 2010 US Open.

Benjamin had a consistent year in 2010. He reached the semifinals at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, the Ordina Open, and the Thailand Open. In the Grand Slam tournaments, he made it to the second round at the 2010 Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the 2010 US Open. He earned over $543,000 that year, which was his highest earnings in a single season.

2011-2013: Ups and Downs

In 2011, Benjamin mostly played in smaller "Challenger" tournaments. In 2012, he had a good run at the tournament in Memphis, reaching the semifinals. He also won a Challenger title in Nottingham. In 2013, he reached the quarterfinals at the Aegon Championships in London, where he lost to the eventual champion, Andy Murray. He won two more Challenger events that year, one in Istanbul and another in Eckental, Germany.

2014: Career High Ranking

In 2014, Benjamin Becker reached his career-high ranking of No. 35 in the world. He had a strong performance at the Miami tournament, reaching the fourth round. He also made it to the final of the 2014 Topshelf Open grass tournament, which he had won in 2009.

ATP Career Finals

These tables show Benjamin Becker's results in the final matches of ATP tournaments.

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 2007	Thailand Open, Thailand	International	Hard (i)	Dmitry Tursunov	2–6, 1–6
Win	1–1	Jun 2009	Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands	250 Series	Grass	Raemon Sluiter	7–5, 6–3
Loss	1–2	Jun 2014	Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands	250 Series	Grass	Roberto Bautista Agut	6–2, 6–7(2–7), 4–6

Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 2009	Los Angeles Open, United States	International	Hard	Frank Moser	Bob Bryan Mike Bryan	4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Loss	0–2	Feb 2010	Pacific Coast Championships, United States	250 Series	Hard (i)	Leonardo Mayer	Mardy Fish Sam Querrey	6–7(3–7), 5–7

Challenger Finals

Benjamin Becker also played in many "Challenger" tournaments, which are a step below the main ATP Tour. He did very well in these events.

Singles: 18 (9–9)

Outcome		Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	13 February 2006	Joplin, US	Hard (i)	Jesse Witten	3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Winner	1.	13 March 2006	Salinas, Ecuador	Hard	Jesse Witten	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	10 April 2006	Valencia, US	Hard	Frédéric Niemeyer	6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	3.	31 July 2006	Segovia, Spain	Hard	Juan Martín del Potro	4–6, 7–5, 4–6
Runner-up	4.	13 November 2006	Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine	Hard (i)	Dmitry Tursunov	6–7(7–9), 4–6
Winner	2.	26 January 2009	Heilbronn, Germany	Carpet (i)	Karol Beck	6–4, 6–4
Winner	3.	6 April 2009	Baton Rouge, US	Hard	Rajeev Ram	6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Winner	4.	27 April 2009	Rhodes, Greece	Hard	Simon Stadler	7–5, 6–3
Runner-up	5.	4 May 2009	Ramat HaSharon, Israel	Hard	Yen-Hsun Lu	3–6, 1–3, ret.
Winner	5.	18 May 2009	Cremona, Italy	Hard	Izak van der Merwe	7–6(7–3), 6–1
Winner	6.	10 June 2012	Nottingham, UK	Grass	Dmitry Tursunov	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	7.	11 November 2012	Urtijëi, Italy	Carpet	Andreas Seppi	6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	6.	9 June 2013	Nottingham, UK	Grass	Matthew Ebden	5–7, 6–4, 5–7
Winner	8.	14 July 2013	Istanbul, Turkey	Hard	Dudi Sela	6–1, 2–6, 3–2, ret.
Winner	9.	3 November 2013	Eckental, Germany	Carpet	Ruben Bemelmans	2–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Runner-up	7.	11 October 2015	Mons, Belgium	Hard (i)	Illya Marchenko	2–6, 7–6(10–8), 4–6
Runner-up	8.	8 November 2015	Eckental, Germany	Carpet (i)	Mikhail Youzhny	5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	9.	25 September 2016	Columbus, USA	Hard (i)	Mikael Torpegaard	4–6, 6–1, 2–6

Performance Timelines

These tables show Benjamin Becker's results in major tournaments over the years.

Singles

2015 French Open counts as 2 wins, 0 losses. Kei Nishikori received a walkover in the third round, after Becker withdrew because of a muscle tear in his right shoulder, does not count as a Becker loss (nor a Nishikori win).

Doubles

Wins Over Top 10 Players

Benjamin Becker had some impressive wins against players ranked in the top 10 in the world. Here are a few of them:

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	BB Rank
2007
1.	Tomáš Berdych	10	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard (i)	SF	3–6, 6–4, 6–4	79
2008
2.	Nikolay Davydenko	4	Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom	Grass	1R	6–4, 6–4, 6–4	116
2009
3.	Fernando Verdasco	8	s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands	Grass	2R	7–5, 7–6(7–4)	82
2010
4.	Nikolay Davydenko	5	Halle, Germany	Grass	2R	6–3, 6–4	52
5.	Fernando Verdasco	8	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard (i)	2R	6–4, 6–4	65
2011
6.	Fernando Verdasco	9	Brisbane, Australia	Hard	1R	6–1, 6–7(2–7), 6–3	53

See also

In Spanish: Benjamin Becker para niños