Bjorn Phau biography
Date of birth : 1979-10-04
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Darmstadt, West Germany
Nationality : German
Category : Sports
Last modified : 2011-04-18
Credited as : Professional Tennis player, Dubai Tennis Championships, won against Andre Agassi
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Björn Phau is a German tennis player and the son of a German mother and an Indonesian father. He reached a singles ranking of 59 in the world on 19 June 2006. He defeated Andre Agassi 7–5, 7–5 at the 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships. In an interview, Agassi cited Phau as one of the quickest tennis players he has ever faced.
His main strengths are his movement, foot speed and fitness. He is sponsored by Nike and Wilson.
Timeline:
Began playing at age four
Mother, Gisela, is German and a housewife; father, Awie (pronounced Arvie), is Indonesian and a chemist
Parents met at a German university in early 1970s
Has one sister, Aileen (two years younger)
His favorite soccer team 1. FC K÷ln is from Cologne and enjoys a variety of food such as Indonesian, Chinese (dim sum), Italian, Greek
At age 17, captured German national indoor junior championships and shortly after was invited with three other players to join Mercedes-Benz junior team
Now trains in Cologne with Austrian Alexander Peya
Considers quickness as his strength and best shot his crosscourt forehand (along with backhand down line)
Favorite surface is hard courts
Growing up he admired quickness of Michael Chang, groundstrokes of Andre Agassi and mental toughness of Boris Becker (used to practice with him)
Coached by countryman Klaus Langenbach (since 1997) and also works with former ATP pro Karsten Braasch.
