Nicolás Massú facts for kids
Massú at the Australian Open in 2007
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| Country (sports) |  Chile |
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| Residence | Viña del Mar | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 October 1979 Viña del Mar |
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| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 27 September 2013 (one match in 2019) |
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| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | ||||||||||||||||
| Prize money | $4,344,833 | ||||||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 257–238 (51.92%) (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 9 (13 September 2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | |||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 2R (2005) | ||||||||||||||||
| French Open | 3R (2004, 2006) | ||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R (2001) | ||||||||||||||||
| US Open | 4R (2005) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other tournaments | |||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | W (2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 82–103 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career titles | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 31 (25 July 2005) | ||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | |||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 2R (2008) | ||||||||||||||||
| French Open | SF (2005) | ||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 2R (2005) | ||||||||||||||||
| US Open | QF (2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Other doubles tournaments | |||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | W (2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Team competitions | |||||||||||||||||
| Davis Cup | QF (2006, 2010) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (born 10 October 1979) is a Chilean tennis coach and former professional player. He is often called El Vampiro, which means 'the vampire' in Spanish. Nicolás is famous for winning two gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He won both the singles and doubles events. This made him the only man to win both gold medals in tennis at the same Olympics since 1988. These were also the first two Olympic gold medals ever for Chile.
Massú reached a high ranking of world No. 9 in singles. He won six singles titles during his career. After retiring from playing, he became a coach. He coached Dominic Thiem, who won the US Open in 2020.
Contents
Nicolás Massú's Tennis Journey
Starting Young: Early Tennis Years
Nicolás Massú was introduced to tennis by his grandfather when he was just five years old. He trained at the Valle Dorado tennis academy from age 12. There, he improved his forehand and two-handed backhand shots. He also trained at famous academies in Florida and Spain.
Junior Success: Winning Big as a Teen
Massú became a professional tennis player in 1997. That year, he won the important junior Orange Bowl tournament. He was also the world champion in junior doubles. He ranked No. 5 in junior singles. He won the boys' doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He partnered with Luis Horna at Wimbledon and Fernando González at the US Open.
Climbing the Ranks: ATP Tour Highlights
In 1998, Massú won his first professional tournament in Spain. The next month, he won his first Challenger event in Ecuador. By November 1999, he had won several more Challenger events. He also entered the top 100 players in singles for the first time.
In May 2000, Massú reached his first final at an ATP tournament in Florida. He lost to fellow Chilean Fernando González. In February 2002, he won his first ATP title in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He won after saving a match point against Agustín Calleri.
Massú won his second ATP title in July 2003 in the Netherlands. The next week, he reached another final in Austria. This helped him enter the top 50 players. In September, he won his third ATP title in Italy. In October, he reached the final of a big tournament in Madrid, Spain. He finished 2003 ranked No. 12 in the world.
In July 2004, Massú won his fourth ATP title in Kitzbühel, Austria. After this, he went on to win two gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics (more on that below!). His amazing Olympic performance helped him reach his highest singles ranking ever: world No. 9.
In January 2006, Massú reached the final of a tournament in his hometown of Viña del Mar, Chile. In February, he won his sixth ATP title in Brazil. He continued to reach finals in Morocco and the Netherlands that year.
Olympic Glory: Double Gold in Athens
Massú proudly represented Chile at three Summer Olympics: in 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens), and 2008 (Beijing).
The 2004 Athens Olympics were truly special for him. On August 21, he and Fernando González won the doubles gold medal. They defeated a German team in a thrilling match. This was Chile's first-ever Olympic gold medal in any sport! The next day, Massú won his second gold medal. He beat American Mardy Fish in a tough five-set match in the men's singles final. After his singles victory, he was named Athlete of the Day by the Olympic organizers.
Massú famously said about his Olympic wins: "I was so happy because this is my best memory in my sport career. If I look back in 10 more years, I look back on this, I'm gonna be so happy. Now I can die happy."
He is the only male player in the modern era to have won gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games.
Playing for His Country: Davis Cup
Massú started playing for Chile in Davis Cup matches in 1996. He played in the World Group, which is the top level of the competition, many times. He finished his Davis Cup career with a strong record of 29 wins and 17 losses.
In 2014, Massú became the captain of the Chile Davis Cup team. Under his leadership, the team returned to the elite group of the competition in 2019.
Maccabiah Games: Representing His Heritage
Massú also competed in the 2001 Maccabiah Games in Israel. These games are sometimes called the "Jewish Olympics."
Coaching Career: Guiding New Talent
After his playing career, Massú became a successful tennis coach. He coached Dominic Thiem, who won the US Open in 2020. Thiem also won the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament in 2019.
Since November 2024, Massú has been coaching Hubert Hurkacz.
Playing Style: A True Fighter
Nicolás Massú was known for his incredible fighting spirit on the court. This was especially clear when he played for Chile in the Olympics and Davis Cup. He was great at turning around difficult matches. He played best on clay courts, with strong shots from the back of the court using both his forehand and backhand.
Images for kids
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Massú at the 2005 Austrian Open in Kitzbühel
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Massú at the 2006 Australian Open
See also
In Spanish: Nicolás Massú para niños
- List of select Jewish tennis players
