Ruben Bemelmans (Flemish pronunciation:[ˈrybə(m)ˈbeːməlmɑns]; born 14 January 1988) is a Belgian coach and former professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking of world No. 84 in singles, achieved on 28 September 2015, and world No. 128 in doubles, achieved on 1 October 2012. Bemelmans competed mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Career
2006–2009: Turned Pro
Bemelmans won his first Futures event in Espelkamp, Germany in July 2007. His best performance to date was in winning the Volkswagen Challenger event in Wolfsburg in March 2009, winning three matches in qualifying before going on to beat Stefano Galvani of Italy in the final. He won this tournament again in 2011.[2]
2010–2014: ATP and Grand Slam debut, Hopman Cup finalist
In February 2010 Bemelmans succeeded in qualifying for his first ATP level event, the Zagreb Indoors tournament. However he lost in the first round to Alexandre Sidorenko of France in three sets.[3]
In June 2010, he entered the main draw of the 2010 Gerry Weber Open in Halle as a lucky loser. In the opening round he lost to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in three close sets.
In September 2010, Ruben played for Belgium in the Davis cup play-off tie against Australia. He was a late replacement for an injured Steve Darcis. He played Lleyton Hewitt and after a solid effort, he succumbed in a 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 4–6 duel.[4]
In January 2011, Bemelmans was invited to represent Belgium in the Hopman Cup alongside Justine Henin. They reached the final, beating Kazakhstan and Serbia along the way, where they were defeated by USA 2–1.[5]
Bemelmans won his first match in a Grand Slam main draw at 2012 Wimbledon, defeating Carlos Berlocq in 4 sets. He was bested by Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the second round. About a month later, Bemelmans (playing doubles with fellow countryman Xavier Malisse) won his first title on the ATP Tour, the 250 level Los Angeles Open.
In September 2015, Bemelmans defeated Gilles Müller and Jack Sock (retired) to reach the third round of the US Open where he lost against Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in three sets.[6]
He was unable to defend his title in Eckental however, falling in the semi-finals to Benjamin Becker. Bemelmans also played an active part in the Belgian Davis Cup team that reached the final that season, and played the second singles rubber where he was beaten by Andy Murray.
In 2017, Bemelmans won the title in Koblenz,[7] which pushed him back inside the Top 150, before losing to Denis Shapovalov in the final of the Challenger in Drummondville.
He then made the third round of Wimbledon, his best result at the tournament, beating former world No. 2 Tommy Haas in the first round.
The 2018 Australian Open saw Bemelmans win his first match at the tournament in 3 main draw appearances when he earned a credible first round victory over 18th seed Lucas Pouille.[8]
At the 2018 French Open he made it past the first round for the second consecutive grand slam when he beat Yuki Bhambri in his opening match.[9] However he lost in five sets in round two to Estonian Jürgen Zopp.[10]
He made history when he qualified for an Open Era record sixth time at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships beating American Donald Young 6–4, 6–4, 6–1. Bemelmans had been tied for the qualifying record with Alejandro Falla, Ken Flach, Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Jimmy Wang.[13]
He played his last singles professional match in the qualifying draw as a wildcard at the 2022 European Open in Antwerp.[14] He also participated in the doubles event having received also a wildcard partnering compatriot Alexander Blockx where he lost in the first round.[15]
ATP career finals
Ruben Bemelmans at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships
^Forde-White, Emily (14 September 2010). "Rochus levels tie down under". Daviscup.com. International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
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