Federico Delbonis

Federico Delbonis (Spanish pronunciation: [feðeˈɾiko ðelˈβonis]; born 5 October 1990) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 on 9 May 2016. He also reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 110 on 22 July 2019.

Delbonis was known for his unorthodox serve, an exaggerated trophy serve in which he would raise his racquet, toss the ball unusually high and follow through.

Professional career

2009–2012

Delbonis won five Challenger and Futures titles from the time he turned professional in 2009 until 2013. In 2011, Delbonis reached the first ATP semifinal of his career at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. He won 6 consecutive matches, having to win 3 qualifying matches in order to enter the main draw, ultimately falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero in three sets.

2013: First ATP final

He qualified at the 2013 International German Open and then beat Tommy Robredo, Dmitry Tursunov and Fernando Verdasco, the latter of which he won in a tight three-setter to set up a meeting in the semifinals with Roger Federer. Against Federer, Delbonis scored by far the biggest win of his career, defeating him in two tiebreaker to book a place in the first ATP Tour final of his career. He finished runner-up to Fabio Fognini, squandering a set and 4–1 lead and failing to convert three match points. Due to his strong performance, his tour ranking soared into the top 100 for the first time in his career.