25 Facts About Benjamin Becker

1.

Benjamin Becker was born on 16 June 1981 and is a German former professional tennis player.

2.

Benjamin Becker is most known for defeating former world No 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open, in Agassi's last match as a professional player.

3.

Benjamin Becker is no relation to Boris Benjamin Becker, another German tennis player who was ranked as high as world No 1 and won Wimbledon three times.

4.

Benjamin Becker was born on 16 June 1981 in Merzig, West Germany, to Jorg, a tax office worker, and Ulrike.

5.

From 2001 to 2005, Benjamin Becker played tennis at Baylor University, winning the NCAA singles championship as a junior in 2004 and leading the Bears to the team title that year.

6.

Benjamin Becker is the school's all-time leader in singles and doubles wins.

7.

Benjamin Becker has the distinction of having played the match that finished second latest in ATP history, defeating Jiri Novak in Tokyo in 2006 at 3.24 am Following the 2006 US Open, Benjamin Becker confirmed his status as a promising newcomer on the ATP Tour, improving his ranking from No 421 at the beginning of the year to No 62 in November 2006.

8.

However, in 2007 Benjamin Becker was unable to progress beyond the first round in any of the Grand Slams or ATP Masters Series events, with the exception of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost in the second round to Thomas Johansson.

9.

In 2009, Benjamin Becker won his first ATP World Tour title, the Ordina Open in the Netherlands, defeating local hope Raemon Sluiter.

10.

Benjamin Becker reached the semifinal of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch and the Thailand Open in Bangkok.

11.

At the Grand Slam tournaments, Benjamin Becker reached the second round of the 2010 Australian Open as well as in Wimbledon and at the 2010 US Open.

12.

Benjamin Becker was knocked out in the first round at the 2010 French Open.

13.

Benjamin Becker reached the second round in Brisbane and at the Australian Open, losing to Santiago Giraldo and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

14.

In 2012, Benjamin Becker reached the second round in Doha, losing to Gael Monfils, but he was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open by Marcos Baghdatis.

15.

Benjamin Becker defeated Olivier Rochus in the first round in Miami, but then lost to Julien Benneteau.

16.

Benjamin Becker won a Challenger title in Nottingham, before reaching the second round at Wimbledon with a win over James Blake.

17.

Benjamin Becker made the quarterfinals in Newport, Rhode Island, avenging his loss to Raonic in the second round, but losing to Ryan Harrison.

18.

Benjamin Becker made the second round in Winston-Salem, defeating Tatsuma Ito, but losing to Jarkko Nieminen.

19.

Benjamin Becker reached the second round of the Australian Open, losing to Juan Martin del Potro.

20.

Benjamin Becker then suffered a succession of first-round exits before again reaching the final in Nottingham, where he lost to Matthew Ebden.

21.

Benjamin Becker reached the quarterfinals in Metz with wins over two Frenchmen, Benoit Paire and Albano Olivetti, but lost to another, Nicolas Mahut.

22.

In 2014, Benjamin Becker reached the second round at Chennai, losing to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka.

23.

Benjamin Becker reached the second round in Memphis, defeating Lukas Lacko, but succumbing to eventual champion Kei Nishikori.

24.

Benjamin Becker made the final of the 2014 Topshelf Open grass tournament that he had won in 2009, but he lost in the final to Roberto Bautista Agut.

25.

Kei Nishikori received a walkover in the third round, after Benjamin Becker withdrew because of a muscle tear in his right shoulder, does not count as a Benjamin Becker loss.