2011 ATP World Tour Media Guide

MIKHAIL KUKUSHKIN (KAZ)
Birthdate: December 26, 1987 Turned Pro: 2006
Birthplace: Volgograd, Russia
Height: 6’0” (1.83m)
Residence: Astana, Kazakhstan
Weight: 159 (72kg)
Career Win-Loss: 28-20
Plays: Right-handed
Career Prize Money: $563,759
Two-handed backhand
Career Singles Titles/Finalist: 1/0
Career Win-Loss vs. Top 10: 1-2
Highest Singles South African Airways ATP Ranking: 58 (November 1, 2010)
Highest ATP Doubles Ranking: 387 (November 1, 2010)
YEAR-END SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS ATP RANKING HISTORY (WIN-LOSS)
2010: 59 (17-8) 2007: 203 (0-1)
2009: 132 (7-7) 2006: 767 (0-0)
2008: 149 (4-4) 2005:T1523 (0-0)
2010 HIGHLIGHTS
Prize money: $281,378. Matches won-lost: ATP: 17-8 (singles), 1-2 (doubles) Challenger: 32-14 (singles),
6-13 (doubles). Singles Winner: St. Petersburg. Quarterfinalist: Bangkok.
2010 IN REVIEW
The No. 2 Kazakhstani player (behind Golubev) finished in Top 60 for first time in his career after jumping from
No. 132 previous year…He captured his first ATP World Tour title in St. Petersburg (d. Youzhny) and became second
player from Kazakhstan to win an ATP title (Golubev won Hamburg in July)…Finished with a personal-high
17 match wins, including a 14-6 record on hard courts…Posted impressive Challenger match record of 32-14
with titles in Braunschweig (d. Daniel) and Penza (d. Kravchuk) and a runner-up in Istanbul…Earned a careerhigh
$281,378.
CAREER IN REVIEW
The Kazakhstan resident has worked his way up to ATP World Tour with successful Challenger results…Has
compiled an 88-50 Challenger career record and 6-1 in finals…In ‘09, qualified in Moscow and advanced to his
first ATP World Tour SF (l. to Youzhny)…In July, captured Penza Challenger title (d. Marchenko) in Russia…In ’08,
qualified and won his first ATP World Tour matches in Barcelona with wins over No. 24 Jarkko Nieminen and
Pablo Cuevas (l. to Montanes in 3rd RD)…Qualified in back-to-back weeks in Moscow and St. Petersburg, reaching
2nd RD…Qualified and won Barletta Challenger title (d. Pashanski) in Italy…In ’07, best results came in
Challengers, picking up back-to-back titles at Saransk (d. Sergeyev) and Samarkand (d. Jorquera)…Qualified for
first ATP tournament in St. Petersburg (l. to Ledovskikh)…Has a 9-1 career Davis Cup singles record in six ties.
CAREER TITLES (1): 2010 – St. Petersburg(IH).
GRAND SLAM HISTORY (Career 5-set record: 2-0)
CAREER 10
US OPEN 0-1 1ST
ATP WORLD TOUR MASTERS 1000 HISTORY* (Career W-L: 1-1)
CAREER 09
MIAMI 1-1 2ND
PERSONAL
Began playing tennis at age six with father Alexander who coached him until age 17…Mother, Tatiana…Has
one older sister, Ekaterina…Likes to play on hard courts, best shots are ground strokes…Moved to Kazakhstan
in 2008…Has no specific goals in terms of rankings or results but just wants to give his best on the
court…Likes movies and reading Russian books…Best friends on the tour are Davis Cup teammates Andrey
Golubev and Yuri Schukin…Coached by Argentine Gabriel Markus since December 2010.
108
FIRST-TIME WINNERS CIRCLE
In 2010, Mikhail Kukushkin was the fifth and final
first-time winner of the season on the ATP World
Tour as he captured the St. Petersburg title (d.
Youzhny). Here are the first-time winners in 2010:
PLAYER
John Isner (USA)
Ernests Gulbis (LAT)
Andrey Golubev (KAZ)
Viktor Troicki (SRB)
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
TOURNAMENT
Auckland
Delray Beach
Hamburg
Moscow
St. Petersburg