Javier Alberto Frana (born 25 December 1966) is a former tennis player from Argentina and former tennis commentator for ESPN Latin America. He won 1996 French Open mixed doubles title with compatriot Patricia Tarabini.

Javier Frana
Javier Frana in 2017
Country (sports) Argentina
Born (1966-12-25) 25 December 1966 (age 57)
Rafaela, Argentina
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Turned pro1986
Retired1997
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,691,848
Singles
Career record163–158 (50.8%)
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 30 (24 July 1995)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1987)
French Open4R (1994)
Wimbledon3R (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995)
US Open4R (1994)
Doubles
Career record186–161 (53.6%)
Career titles7
Highest rankingNo. 14 (25 May 1992)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1991, 1996)
French OpenSF (1991)
WimbledonF (1991)
US Open3R (1991)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open1R (1991, 1992, 1996)
French OpenW (1996)
Wimbledon3R (1992, 1994)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona Doubles
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1995 Mar del Plata Doubles
Silver medal – second place 1995 Mar del Plata Singles
Last updated on: 13 February 2022.

Tennis career

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Frana turned professional in 1986. He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking on July 24, 1995, when he became world No. 30. His highest doubles ranking was world No. 14, achieved on May 25, 1992.

Olympics

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Frana debuted at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, where he was defeated in the second round by fellow countryman Martín Jaite, 2–6, 4–6 and 2–6. At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, he reached the second round again, this time falling to France's Fabrice Santoro, 6–4, 2–6, 1–6, and 1–6. He represented his native country for the last time in Olympic competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States, where he was defeated in the first round by Great Britain's Greg Rusedski.

Personal life

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Frana was born in Rafaela, Argentina. He is of Croat origin, his family is from the Trogir area.

ATP career finals

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Singles: 9 (3 titles, 6 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series (0–0)
ATP International Series (3–6)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (2–3)
Grass (1–2)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (3–6)
Indoors (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 1988 Itaparica, Brazil Grand Prix Hard   Jaime Yzaga 6–7(4–7), 2–6
Loss 0–2 Jul 1991 Newport, United States World Series Grass   Bryan Shelton 6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1–2 Oct 1991 Guarujá, Brazil World Series Clay   Markus Zoecke 2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–3
Loss 1–3 Jul 1993 Newport, United States World Series Grass   Greg Rusedski 5–7, 7–6(9–7), 6–7(5–7)
Win 2–3 Oct 1993 Santiago, Chile World Series Clay   Emilio Sánchez 7–5, 3–6, 6–3
Loss 2–4 Nov 1994 Buenos Aires, Argentina World Series Clay   Àlex Corretja 3–6, 7–5, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 2–5 Apr 1995 Paget, Bermuda World Series Clay   Mauricio Hadad 6–7(7–5), 6–3, 4–6
Loss 2–6 May 1995 Pinehurst, United States World Series Clay   Thomas Enqvist 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 3–6 Jun 1995 Nottingham, United Kingdom World Series Grass   Todd Woodbridge 7–6(7–4), 6–3

Doubles: 16 (7 titles, 9 runner-ups)

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Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–1)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series (0–0)
ATP World Series (7–8)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–3)
Clay (3–4)
Grass (1–2)
Carpet (1–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (6–9)
Indoors (1–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Sep 1987 Barcelona, Spain Grand Prix Clay   Christian Miniussi   Miloslav Mečíř
  Tomáš Šmíd
1–6, 2–6
Loss 0–2 Feb 1988 Guarujá, Brazil Grand Prix Hard   Diego Pérez   Ricardo Acuña
  Luke Jensen
1–6, 4–6
Win 1–2 May 1988 Florence, Italy Grand Prix Clay   Christian Miniussi   Claudio Pistolesi
  Horst Skoff
7–6, 6–4
Win 2–2 Feb 1990 Guarujá, Brazil World Series Clay   Gustavo Luza   Luiz Mattar
  Cássio Motta
7–6, 7–6
Loss 2–3 Jul 1991 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grand Slam Grass   Leonardo Lavalle   John Fitzgerald
  Anders Järryd
3–6, 4–6, 7–6(9–7), 1–6
Loss 2–4 Jul 1991 Newport, United States World Series Grass   Bruce Steel   Gianluca Pozzi
  Brett Steven
4–6, 4–6
Win 3–4 Aug 1991 Los Angeles, United States World Series Hard   Jim Pugh   Glenn Michibata
  Brad Pearce
7–5, 2–6, 6–4
Loss 3–5 Oct 1991 Tel Aviv, Israel World Series Hard   Leonardo Lavalle   David Rikl
  Michiel Schapers
2–6, 7–6, 3–6
Loss 3–6 Nov 1991 Búzios, Brazil World Series Hard   Leonardo Lavalle   Sergio Casal
  Emilio Sánchez
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 3–7 May 1992 Bologna, Italy World Series Clay   Javier Sánchez   Luke Jensen
  Laurie Warder
2–6, 3–6
Loss 3–8 Apr 1993 Charlotte, United States World Series Clay   Leonardo Lavalle   Rikard Bergh
  Trevor Kronemann
1–6, 2–6
Win 4–8 Jul 1993 Newport, United States World Series Grass   Christo van Rensburg   Byron Black
  Jim Pugh
4–6, 6–1, 7–6
Win 5–8 Sep 1993 Bordeaux, France World Series Hard   Pablo Albano   David Adams
  Andrei Olhovskiy
7–6, 4–6, 6–3
Loss 5–9 Nov 1993 São Paulo, Brazil World Series Clay   Pablo Albano   Sergio Casal
  Emilio Sánchez
6–4, 6–7, 4–6
Win 6–9 Feb 1995 Acapulco, Mexico World Series Clay   Leonardo Lavalle   Marc-Kevin Goellner
  Diego Nargiso
7–5, 6–3
Win 7–9 Oct 1995 Ostrava, Czech Republic World Series Carpet   Jonas Björkman   Guy Forget
  Patrick Rafter
6–7, 6–4, 7–6

Mixed doubles (1 win)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jun 1996 French Open, Paris, France Clay   Patricia Tarabini   Luke Jensen
  Nicole Arendt
6–2, 6–2

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 4 (1–3)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (1–3)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0-1 Oct 1990 Curitiba, Brazil Challenger Hard   Pedro Rebolledo 1–6, 5–7
Loss 0-2 Jul 1992 Newcastle, United Kingdom Challenger Grass   Greg Rusedski 3–6, 6–7
Win 1-2 Feb 1993 Punta del Este, Uruguay Challenger Clay   Gabriel Markus 4–6, 6–2, 7–6
Loss 1-3 Apr 1993 Acapulco, Mexico Challenger Clay   Horst Skoff 3–6, 6–7

Doubles: 13 (9–4)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (9–4)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (6–3)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Nov 1989 Ilheus, Brazil Challenger Hard   Cássio Motta   Sergio Casal
  Javier Sánchez
6–4, 6–2
Loss 1–1 Dec 1989 Brasília, Brazil Challenger Hard   Gustavo Luza   Charles Beckman
  Jean-Philippe Fleurian
6–4, 3–6, 0–6
Win 2–1 Feb 1990 São Paulo, Brazil Challenger Hard   Gustavo Luza   Ricardo Camargo
  Ivan Kley
6–3, 7–6
Loss 2–2 Aug 1990 Lins, Brazil Challenger Clay   Agustín Moreno   Charles Beckman
  José Clavet
6–7, 3–6
Win 3–2 Aug 1990 São Paulo, Brazil Challenger Clay   Cássio Motta   João Zwetsch
  Gabriel Markus
6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Win 4–2 Jul 1992 Newcastle, United Kingdom Challenger Grass   Christo van Rensburg   Kent Kinnear
  Peter Nyborg
7–6, 7–6
Win 5–2 Oct 1992 Buenos Aires, Argentina Challenger Clay   Pablo Albano   Horacio de la Peña
  Gabriel Markus
2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 5–3 Apr 1993 Acapulco, Mexico Challenger Clay   Juan-Ignacio Garat   Ellis Ferreira
  Richard Schmidt
6–7, 4–6
Win 6–3 Apr 1993 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Challenger Clay   Leonardo Lavalle   Francisco Montana
  Bryan Shelton
6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 6–4 Apr 1993 Birmingham, United States Challenger Clay   Pablo Albano   Todd Witsken
  Bryan Shelton
6–7, 3–6
Win 7–4 Feb 1995 Mar del Plata, Argentina Challenger Clay   Luis Lobo   Jordi Burillo
  Hernán Gumy
7–6, 6–0
Win 8–4 Apr 1996 Birmingham, United States Challenger Clay   Karel Nováček   Matt Lucena
  Dave Randall
6–3, 6–1
Win 9–4 Apr 1997 Paget, Bermuda Challenger Clay   Mark Knowles   Lucas Arnold Ker
  Daniel Orsanic
6–3, 6–7, 6–3

Performance timelines

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 3R A A A 1R 1R A A A 2R 2R 0 / 5 4–5 44%
French Open A A A A A 1R 1R 4R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 6 3–6 33%
Wimbledon Q2 2R 2R Q2 3R 1R 3R 3R 3R 1R 2R 0 / 9 11–9 55%
US Open A 1R 1R A 2R 1R A 4R 1R 1R A 0 / 7 4–7 36%
Win–loss 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 3–3 0–4 2–2 8–3 2–3 1–4 2–3 0 / 27 22–27 45%
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH 2R Not Held 2R Not Held 1R NH 0 / 3 2–3 40%
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A 1R A A A 1R A A A 1R A 0 / 3 0–3 0%
Miami A 1R 1R A A 2R 3R A A 2R 1R 0 / 6 3–6 33%
Monte Carlo A A A A A 1R A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Rome A A 1R A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Cincinnati A 1R 2R A A A A A A A A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Win–loss 0–0 0–3 1–3 0–0 0–0 1–3 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 0–1 0 / 13 4–13 24%

Doubles

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Tournament 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R A A A 2R 1R A A A 2R 1R 0 / 5 2–5 29%
French Open A 2R A 2R SF 3R 3R 1R 1R QF 1R 0 / 9 13–9 59%
Wimbledon 1R 1R SF SF F 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R A 0 / 10 17–10 63%
US Open A A 2R 2R 3R 2R A A A A A 0 / 4 5–4 56%
Win–loss 0–2 1–2 5–2 6–3 12–4 5–4 3–2 1–2 0–2 4–3 0–2 0 / 28 37–28 57%
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH 1R Not Held SF Not Held 1R NH 0 / 3 4–3 57%
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A 1R A A A 1R A A A 1R A 0 / 3 0–3 0%
Miami A 1R 1R A 2R 3R 1R A A 2R 2R 0 / 7 4–7 36%
Monte Carlo A A A A A QF A A A A A 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Hamburg A A A 2R A A A A A A A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Rome 1R A QF QF A A A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3 57%
Cincinnati A 2R SF A 2R A A A A A A 0 / 3 5–3 63%
Win–loss 0–1 1–3 5–3 3–2 2–2 2–3 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 0 / 18 15–18 45%

Mixed doubles

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Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R 1R A A A 1R A 0 / 3 0–3 0%
French Open 3R 1R 2R A A A W 3R 1 / 5 11–4 73%
Wimbledon A A 3R 1R 3R 2R A A 0 / 4 5–4 56%
US Open A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 2–1 0–2 3–3 0–1 2–1 1–1 6–1 2–1 1 / 12 16–11 59%
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