Wednesday 30 December 2009

Spotlight On ... Thiemo de Bakker

Thiemo de Bakker became the first Dutch player to finish a year inside the top 100 since Raemon Sluiter ended the 2004 season at #84. The 21-year-old is currently ranked #96, after winning four Challenger titles over the course of 2009 in Tampere (d. Peter Luczak), Vigo (d. Thierry Ascione), San Sebastian (d. Filip Krajinovic) and Brasov (d. Pere Riba). The latter three Challenger titles were won in consecutive events, with the winning streak being broken in Alphen (l. to Michael Russell). He also reached the final of a Challenger event in Caltanisetta (l. to compatriot Jesse Huta-Galung), along with a semi-final in in Seoul (l. to Lucas Lacko) and a quarter-final in Kolding (l. to Ivan Dodig).

As a player on the Dutch Davis Cup team, Thiemo has played ties against Argentina (l. to Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio Chela) and France (d. Gael Monfils, l. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga).