12 Facts About Rui Machado

Rui Machado was born on April 10,1984 and is a Portuguese retired professional tennis player who is regarded as one of the best Portuguese players of all time.

At the age of six, Machado was first introduced to tennis when he attended lessons at a local club.

One year later, Rui Machado decided to attend a summer training camp of the Catalan Tennis Federation, in Barcelona.

Rui Machado turned professional in 2002 and until 2005, Rui Machado competed exclusively in the Futures circuit, where he collected two doubles titles.

Rui Machado made his definitive comeback to high-level competition in early 2008 with an impressive winning streak of 26 consecutive matches in the Futures circuit.

The remainder of Rui Machado's season included mostly participations in Challenger events, where his best record included two semifinal places in Cancun and Cordoba, but his debut in Grand Slam qualification round matches.

Rui Machado closed the year with a new career-high singles ranking of 153rd, achieving a net improvement of 529 places from his 2008 starting rank.

Rui Machado entered the Estoril Open as a wildcard, in virtue of his low ranking, but he eventually achieved his career's best result by reaching the quarter finals.

Rui Machado entered the Estoril Open as a wildcard, in virtue of his low ranking, but he eventually qualified directly, for the first time, because of pre-tournament drop-outs.

The third-seeded Frenchman converted four of his nine break point opportunities against Rui Machado to wrap up the victory in two hours and five minutes.

Rui Machado came back to the circuit, in a future in Vale do Lobo where he lost in the quarter finals.

Rui Machado debuted for the Portugal Davis Cup team in 2003 and played 34 matches in 27 ties.