Marc Gicquel life and biography

Marc Gicquel (born March 30, 1977, in Tunis, Tunisia) is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.

CAREER:

French journeyman Marc Gicquel broke into the Top 100 in 2006 at age 29, seven years after he turned pro. That year, he reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open, his best result at a Grand Slam. He is perhaps best known for an unfortunate incident that occurred in Halle, Germany, in 2007, when during his second-round match against Benjamin Becker, he was hit in the groin by a 129-m.p.h. serve and had to be dragged off the court by a doctor. After receiving treatment, he continued playing and won the match.

On November 6, 2006, Gicquel broke into the top 50 after reaching his first ATP Tour final in Lyon, where he was defeated by Richard Gasquet, his countryman. On April 30, 2007, Gicquel broke into the top 40 after reaching the semifinals of Casablanca.

He defeated second seed Tommy Robredo at the 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in the first round, and beat Alejandro Falla in the semifinals to reach the Lyon final for two years running. Gicquel's run, however, was halted by another Frenchman, Sébastien Grosjean.

Doubles Titles
2010: Brisbane
2009: Brisbane
2008: Washington

PERSONAL:

Began playing tennis at age seven with his parents Guy (a professor of physical science) and Gisele (retired) who used to play at a local club
Has one older sister, Stephanie
Moved from Tunisia at an early age to France with his parents, who are from Brittany, a region in Northwest France
Studied until the age of 24, and was working on a physical education degree before making a commitment to the pro level
Prior to playing in Futures tournaments in 1999, played two years of second division club tennis in France
Trained at French Tennis Federation at Roland Garros in Paris for two and a half years, then went to train alone, without a coach, before returning to the federation
Enjoys watching movies, especially thrillers, and follows television programs “24” and “Grey’s Anatomy”
Favorite soccer team is Paris Saint Germain
About breaking into the Top 100 at age 29 “better now than never”
Favorite surface is hard (indoor) and considers his physique, forehand and serve his biggest strengths
Wife, Aude (married Sept. 25, 2004); son, Noah (born Dec. 31, 2006).

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