Alberto Berasategui Salazar was born on 28 June 1973 and is a former top-10 professional tennis player from Spain.
11 Facts About Alberto Berasategui
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Alberto Berasategui was a Grand Slam finalist at the 1994 French Open, and won a total of 14 ATP singles titles, achieving a career-high singles ranking of world No 7 in November 1994.
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Alberto Berasategui won at least one singles title for six consecutive years.
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Alberto Berasategui began playing tennis at age seven and was the European junior champion in 1991.
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Alberto Berasategui turned professional later that year, and won his first top-level singles title in 1993, two years later.
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In 1994, Alberto Berasategui reached nine finals, winning seven of them.
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Alberto Berasategui reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open, where he defeated Wayne Ferreira, Cedric Pioline, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Javier Frana, Goran Ivanisevic and Magnus Larsson to face fellow Spaniard and defending champion Sergi Bruguera who defeated him in four sets.
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Alberto Berasategui retired from the professional tour in May 2001, having had persistent wrist injuries since his match with Hernan Gumy at the Bologna tournament in June 1998.
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Alberto Berasategui suffered severe cramps of unknown origin in long matches.
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Alberto Berasategui was known for his extreme western grip, known as the "Hawaiian grip", where his unusual hold on the racket would allow him to hit both forehands and backhands with the same side of the racket.
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Alberto Berasategui lost in quarterfinals to Marcelo Rios after winning a tight first-set tiebreak.