The 21st century
Ukraine · born Kyiv, 1986 · right-handed · 's-Hertogenbosch champion 2010 and the man who beat Federer at Wimbledon in 2013
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10
Sets won, none lost, in taking the 's-Hertogenbosch title in 2010
116
His ranking when he beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013
36
Consecutive major quarter-finals for Federer, the run that win ended
3
Tour titles on grass: 's-Hertogenbosch singles, Halle and Newport doubles
31
Career-high singles ranking, September 2010
Sergiy Stakhovsky was born in Kyiv in 1986 and started playing at six at the city's Olympic Stadium. He grew up admiring the serve-volleyers Patrick Rafter and Pete Sampras, and played that way. He turned professional in 2003 and reached the 2004 US Open boys' final, losing to Andy Murray. In 2008 he won his first ATP title at Zagreb, entering as a lucky loser.
He won four singles titles and four in doubles. In 2010 he won 's-Hertogenbosch and New Haven in singles and the Halle doubles, and reached his career high of No. 31 that September. His best-known match came at Wimbledon in 2013, when, ranked 116th, he beat the defending champion Roger Federer. He sat on the ATP Player Council from 2012 to 2019.
He retired in January 2022 after losing in qualifying at the Australian Open. When Russia invaded Ukraine weeks later he returned home and joined the Ukrainian army as a reservist.
| 's-Hertogenbosch 2010 | Won the title without losing a set, beating Janko Tipsarević 6-3, 6-0 in the final, and entered the top 50 for the first time on 21 June |
|---|---|
| Halle 2010 doubles | Won with Mikhail Youzhny, beating Martin Damm and Filip Polášek 4-6, 7-5, 10-7 in a match tie-break |
| Wimbledon 2013 | Beat the third seed and defending champion Roger Federer 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 in the second round with serve and volley, ending Federer's run of 36 consecutive major quarter-finals; lost in the third round to Jürgen Melzer. Third round again in 2014 |
| Newport 2019 doubles | Won with Marcel Granollers, beating Marcelo Arévalo and Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela 6-7, 6-4, 13-11 in a match tie-break |
| Halle | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Men's doubles | with Mikhail Youzhny |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 2010 | Men's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 2019 | Men's doubles Hall of Fame Open | with Marcel Granollers |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"It's magic. I couldn't play any better."
The person behind the player.
Kyiv
He began playing at six at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv and grew up admiring Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras and his countryman Andrei Medvedev. He speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Czech, Slovak and English, and lists Bulgakov among his favourite authors.
Source: ATP TourCentre Court, June 2013
Federer had reached at least the quarter-finals of 36 majors in a row. Stakhovsky beat him in four sets, three of them on tie-breaks, playing what RTÉ called a superb serve-and-volley game. "I am in disbelief that it happened," he said. "It was the best tennis I played and incredible."
Source: RTÉRoland Garros, May 2013
A month before beating Federer, he disputed a line call against Richard Gasquet in the first round of the French Open, took a photograph of the ball mark with his phone at the change of ends, and was given a warning by the umpire. He lost 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.
Source: Sports IllustratedKyiv, March 2022
Weeks after retiring he went back to Ukraine as a reservist, with no military experience. "I just couldn't see all the people putting themselves in harm's way," he said.
Source: Sports IllustratedFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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