Nicolas Pereira
Encyclopedia
Nicolás Pereira is a former tennis player from Venezuela
, who became International Tennis Federation
Junior World Champion in 1988 after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open
.
Testing the pro ranks in the fall of 1988, Pereira registered wins in South Africa against respected top 25 ranked pros Brad Gilbert
and Amos Mansdorf
. However, he lost to several low ranked players, establishing a pattern that would continue throughout his career whereby he played well against highly ranked players, but often registered mediocre results against lesser players.
In April 1989, Pereira reached the Quarterfinals of the Tokyo Japan Open, beating No.21 ranked Andrés Gómez
among others, before losing to number one ranked Ivan Lendl
.
In June, he beat world number three Stefan Edberg
in straight sets in the first round of the Queens Club grass court tournament.
A few weeks later, in the first round of Wimbledon, he took world number one ranked Ivan Lendl
to five sets before losing. Later that summer, he reached the Quarterfinals of the Grand Prix event at Montreal, the Canadian Open.
There he beat No.10 ranked Tim Mayotte
, before losing in three sets to number No.14 ranked Jay Berger
. Pereira, at only 19 years of age, seemed to be establishing himself on the World Tennis Tour and finished 1989ranked #121.
However, for unknown reasons, Pereira's progress was stalled over the next three years. In 1990, he lost most of his matches in the first round of ATP
level tournaments and finished the year ranked #238.
In 1991 he did win the Lins and São Paulo-4 Challengers in back-to back weeks, and was ranked No.146 at year's end. He won the Guaruja, Brazil Challenger in September 1992 and was ranked No.138 at the end of the year.
In 1993, Pereira began to compete more frequently at the ATP
tour level. At the U.S Open, he lost in four sets to world number seven Michael Chang
. Incredibly, this marked only the third time Pereira had reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament. He ended the year by defeating No.45 Aaron Krickstein
in the first round at the Bermuda Challenger, but lost in the second round.
At the end of 1993, Pereira was ranked #141.
1994 marked a resurgence for Pereira. In March, he won the San Luis Potosí Challenger. At Wimbledon, he reached the second round where he lost a thrilling five set match to No.18 Andre Agassi
.
In September, Pereira beat Mauricio Hadad
at the ATP event at Bogotá
to register his first ATP tournament win.
He closed out 1994 ranked #110.
1995was a mixed bag for Pereira. In July, he annexed the Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil Challenger title by defeating Joao Culna-Silva in straight sets.
The next week at New Haven, he defeated No.39 Malivai Washington
in the second round, before bowing out top No.10 Mark Rosset.
At the U.S Open, Pereira reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, defeating No.57 Fabrice Santoro
in a tight five setter in round one.
He lost to Daniel Vacek
in four sets in round three.
At the end of the year, Nicolas was ranked #134. 1996 was another inconsistent year for Pereira. He started the year well in Doha by qualifying, then beating world number five Boris Becker
7–6 6–7 7–6 in a major upset in round two.
He lost his next match. Pereira's somewhat baffling inconsistency was highlighted at the Qualifying tournament for the Australian Open, where he lost to unheralded Swede Patrik Fredriksson. Meanwhile, Becker, who had lost to Pereira only weeks earlier, won the Australian Open tournament.
In March, Pereira again caused an upset when he beat world number one Thomas Muster
in straight sets at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida.
However, he injured his knee during the match. Pereira lost in the third round to Stefan Edberg
.
After rehabilitating the knee, Nicolas returned at the French Open, in July, Pereira garnered his second career ATP
title when he beat Grant Stafford on the grass courts at Newport, Rhode Island.
He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on July 22on 1996, when he became the number 74 player in the world.
He represented Venezuela
at the 1996 Summer Olympics
in Atlanta, where he was defeated in the second round by India's Leander Paes
.
Pereira had mediocre results during the rest of 1996, and finished the year ranked #110. Nicolas, reportedly suffering from injuries, retired in September 1997 while ranked around world #400.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, who became International Tennis Federation
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
Junior World Champion in 1988 after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
.
Testing the pro ranks in the fall of 1988, Pereira registered wins in South Africa against respected top 25 ranked pros Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert
Brad Gilbert , is an American tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, an author and former professional tennis player. He was born in Oakland, California and graduated from Piedmont High School ....
and Amos Mansdorf
Amos Mansdorf
Amos Mansdorf is a former professional tennis player.His best singles world ranking of 18 was the highest ever for any male, Israeli tennis player, reached in November 1987. His best doubles world ranking was 67, reached in May 1986.-Early life:...
. However, he lost to several low ranked players, establishing a pattern that would continue throughout his career whereby he played well against highly ranked players, but often registered mediocre results against lesser players.
Professional career
He finished 1988 ranked No.151 in the world rankings.In April 1989, Pereira reached the Quarterfinals of the Tokyo Japan Open, beating No.21 ranked Andrés Gómez
Andrés Gómez
Andrés Gómez Santos is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 1990.-Career:...
among others, before losing to number one ranked Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
.
In June, he beat world number three Stefan Edberg
Stefan Edberg
Stefan Bengt Edberg is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He also won one season ending championship title the Masters Grand Prix...
in straight sets in the first round of the Queens Club grass court tournament.
A few weeks later, in the first round of Wimbledon, he took world number one ranked Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
to five sets before losing. Later that summer, he reached the Quarterfinals of the Grand Prix event at Montreal, the Canadian Open.
There he beat No.10 ranked Tim Mayotte
Tim Mayotte
Timothy "Tim" Mayotte is a former professional tennis player from the United States.- Career :...
, before losing in three sets to number No.14 ranked Jay Berger
Jay Berger
Jay Berger is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He won three singles and one doubles title on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of world # 7 in April 1990....
. Pereira, at only 19 years of age, seemed to be establishing himself on the World Tennis Tour and finished 1989ranked #121.
However, for unknown reasons, Pereira's progress was stalled over the next three years. In 1990, he lost most of his matches in the first round of ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
level tournaments and finished the year ranked #238.
In 1991 he did win the Lins and São Paulo-4 Challengers in back-to back weeks, and was ranked No.146 at year's end. He won the Guaruja, Brazil Challenger in September 1992 and was ranked No.138 at the end of the year.
In 1993, Pereira began to compete more frequently at the ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
tour level. At the U.S Open, he lost in four sets to world number seven Michael Chang
Michael Chang
Michael Te-Pei Chang is a former American professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17....
. Incredibly, this marked only the third time Pereira had reached the second round of a Grand Slam tournament. He ended the year by defeating No.45 Aaron Krickstein
Aaron Krickstein
Aaron Krickstein , nicknamed "Marathon Man", is a former American professional tennis player, who competed on the ATP Tour from 1983 to 1996. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he currently competes on the Outback Champions Series Over-30 tour.Krickstein reached his career high ATP ranking of World No....
in the first round at the Bermuda Challenger, but lost in the second round.
At the end of 1993, Pereira was ranked #141.
1994 marked a resurgence for Pereira. In March, he won the San Luis Potosí Challenger. At Wimbledon, he reached the second round where he lost a thrilling five set match to No.18 Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
.
In September, Pereira beat Mauricio Hadad
Mauricio Hadad
Mauricio Hadad is a former tennis player from Colombia.Hadad is of Lebanese background. The right-hander turned pro in 1988 and reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP Tour on September 11, 1995, when he became World number 78. His best performance at a Grand Slam came at the 1996...
at the ATP event at Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
to register his first ATP tournament win.
He closed out 1994 ranked #110.
1995was a mixed bag for Pereira. In July, he annexed the Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil Challenger title by defeating Joao Culna-Silva in straight sets.
The next week at New Haven, he defeated No.39 Malivai Washington
MaliVai Washington
MaliVai "Mal" Washington is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He is best remembered for reaching the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 1996.-Family:...
in the second round, before bowing out top No.10 Mark Rosset.
At the U.S Open, Pereira reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, defeating No.57 Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Santoro
Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career – with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career – and he is popular among spectators and other...
in a tight five setter in round one.
He lost to Daniel Vacek
Daniel Vacek
Daniel Vacek is a former tennis player from Czechoslovakia and the Czechia who turned professional in 1990.Vacek represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the second round...
in four sets in round three.
At the end of the year, Nicolas was ranked #134. 1996 was another inconsistent year for Pereira. He started the year well in Doha by qualifying, then beating world number five Boris Becker
Boris Becker
Boris Franz Becker is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. He is a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever winner of the men's singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17...
7–6 6–7 7–6 in a major upset in round two.
He lost his next match. Pereira's somewhat baffling inconsistency was highlighted at the Qualifying tournament for the Australian Open, where he lost to unheralded Swede Patrik Fredriksson. Meanwhile, Becker, who had lost to Pereira only weeks earlier, won the Australian Open tournament.
In March, Pereira again caused an upset when he beat world number one Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster
Thomas Muster is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list...
in straight sets at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida.
However, he injured his knee during the match. Pereira lost in the third round to Stefan Edberg
Stefan Edberg
Stefan Bengt Edberg is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Sweden. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He also won one season ending championship title the Masters Grand Prix...
.
After rehabilitating the knee, Nicolas returned at the French Open, in July, Pereira garnered his second career ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
title when he beat Grant Stafford on the grass courts at Newport, Rhode Island.
He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on July 22on 1996, when he became the number 74 player in the world.
He represented Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta, where he was defeated in the second round by India's Leander Paes
Leander Paes
Leander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
.
Pereira had mediocre results during the rest of 1996, and finished the year ranked #110. Nicolas, reportedly suffering from injuries, retired in September 1997 while ranked around world #400.
Grand Slams
| Tournament | 1989 | 1990 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | - | 2r | 1r | - | 2r | - | 1r |
| French Open | 2r | 1r | - | - | - | 1r | - |
| Wimbledon | 1r | - | 1r | 2r | 1r | 2r | 1r |
| US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
1r | - | 2r | 1r | 3r | 1r | - |
| Year End Ranking |