Albert Costa

Spanish Born 1975 180 cm Right handed
Head to heads vs Alex Corretja (15)vs Felix Mantilla (13)vs Andrea Gaudenzi (12)vs Slava Dosedel (11)vs Tim Henman (10)vs Yevgeny Kafelnikov (9)

Match log

2006

BarcelonaClay, April
R16LJuan Carlos Ferrero1-6 7-5 5-7
R32WDominik Hrbaty6-3 7-5
R64WVincent Spadea7-6(7) 4-6 6-1
ValenciaClay, April
R32LBoris Pashanski6-3 3-6 4-6
Napoli CH, challengerClay, March
R32LAntony Dupuis6-7(1) 7-5 0-4 RET
Andrezieux CH, challengerHard, January
R32LJerome Haehnel5-7 6-7(1)
Heilbronn CH, challengerCarpet, January
R32LLukas Dlouhy3-6 4-6

2005

Madrid MastersHard, October
R64LAgustin Calleri0-6 5-7
US OpenHard, August
R128LLleyton Hewitt1-6 2-6 1-6
SopotClay, August
R16LVictor Hanescu3-6 4-6
R32WPhilipp Kohlschreiber7-5 6-3
KitzbuhelClay, July
R64LPhilipp Kohlschreiber2-6 4-6
StuttgartClay, July
R32LPaul Henri Mathieu3-6 4-6
R64WGalo Blanco6-4 6-4
Roland GarrosClay, May
R128LVincent Spadea4-6 6-7(6) 2-6
Hamburg MastersClay, May
R32LGaston Gaudio5-7 0-6
R64WMax Mirnyi7-6(3) 7-5
Rome MastersClay, May
R32LAndy Roddick4-6 5-7
R64WAlbert Montanes6-4 6-4
EstorilClay, April
R16LDavide Sanguinetti7-5 3-6 4-6
R32WNicolas Massu3-6 6-3 6-3
BarcelonaClay, April
R64LMax Mirnyi6-7(4) 6-3 6-7(2)
Monte Carlo MastersClay, April
R32LNikolay Davydenko6-7(2) 3-6
R64WMichael Llodra7-6(5) 6-2
ValenciaClay, April
SFLDavid Ferrer3-6 3-6
QFWFernando Verdasco6-7(4) 7-5 6-1
R16WStefan Koubek6-4 6-2
R32WNikolay Davydenko7-6(2) 1-6 6-3
Costa Do SauipeClay, February
R16LEdgardo Massa7-6(3) 1-6 6-7(7)
R32WOscar Hernandez7-6(2) 4-6 4-4 RET
Buenos AiresClay, February
R32LJuan Monaco5-7 4-6
Australian OpenHard, January
R128LBjorn Phau3-6 6-7(4) 3-6
SydneyHard, January
R32LIgor Andreev1-6 4-6
DohaHard, January
SFLIvan Ljubicic3-6 6-7(4)
QFWFabrice Santoro6-2 3-0 RET
R16WMarco Chiudinelli6-3 6-2
R32WDavid Sanchez6-3 6-4

2004

Madrid MastersHard, October
R32LTim Henman4-6 2-6
R64WIrakli Labadze6-2 5-7 7-5
ViennaHard, October
R32LParadorn Srichaphan4-6 4-6
LyonCarpet, October
R32LJonas Bjorkman7-6(5) 6-7(6) 4-6
BucharestClay, September
R32LPaul Henri Mathieu1-6 2-6
US OpenHard, August
R128LRoger Federer5-7 2-6 4-6
Long IslandHard, August
R32LIgor Andreev2-6 7-5 4-6
KitzbuhelClay, July
R16LLuis Horna6-4 6-7(4) 4-6
R32WWerner Eschauer6-3 6-7(2) 6-3
StuttgartClay, July
QFLNikolay Davydenko3-6 4-6
R16WMariano Zabaleta7-5 7-6(4)
R32WFelix Mantilla7-5 6-4
GstaadClay, July
R16LIgor Andreev2-6 4-6
R32WBohdan Ulihrach6-4 7-6(5)

Albert Costa

Nobody saw Albert Costa's 2002 Roland Garros run coming, least of all the seedings committee, which had him 20th. The clay craftsman from Lleida, all classical one-handed backhand, had not won a title of any kind in three years, yet he beat defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in the fourth round and took the final from his friend and Davis Cup teammate Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. The 1 major of his career carried him to a career-high No. 6 a month later.

The defence in 2003 was a grind of more than 21 hours on court before Ferrero settled the account in the semi-finals, and Costa retired in April 2006 with 13 career titles. His most frequent rival, Alex Corretja, was also his best man. The second act stayed close to home: he coached Feliciano Lopez, captained Spain to the 2009 and 2011 Davis Cup titles, and directed the Barcelona Open for more than a decade until David Ferrer succeeded him in 2019.