Martín Jaite (born 9 October 1964) is a former top-10 professional tennis player from Argentina.

Mart��n Jaite
Country (sports) Argentina
ResidenceBuenos Aires, Argentina
Born (1964-10-09) 9 October 1964 (age 60)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1983
Retired1993
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,873,881
Singles
Career record301–179
Career titles12
Highest rankingNo. 10 (9 July 1990)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1992)
French OpenQF (1985)
Wimbledon2R (1986)
US Open3R (1985, 1989)
Other tournaments
WCT FinalsQF (1988)
Olympic GamesQF (1988)
Doubles
Career record60–82
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 59 (13 May 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1991)
French Open1R (1985)
US Open1R (1989, 1990)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1988)

Jaite's career-high Association of Tennis Professionals singles ranking was world no. 10, which he achieved in the summer of 1990, and he won a total of 12 titles and $1,873,881 in tour prize money during his career.[1]

Jaite's playing style leveraged his consistency, speed, thoughtful use of tactics, and fitness to compensate for his lack of power.[1]

Early life

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Jaite was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is Jewish.[2][3][4]

Tennis career

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Jaite was a top junior in both Spain and Argentina. He joined Argentina's Davis Cup team. He began playing on the ATP tour in 1983, and soon was ranked among the top 20 players in the world.[5] He reached the quarterfinals in competition at the French Open in 1985,[6] defeating Paolo Canè, Trevor Allan, Miloslav Mečíř and Heinz Günthardt before losing to Ivan Lendl. In May 1986 at Forest Hills Jaite defeated world No. 4 Boris Becker in straight sets.[1]

In May 1987, Jaite beat world no. 9 Henri Leconte in Germany in two tiebreaks. In September 1987, Jaite upset world no. 3 Mats Wilander in five sets to win a competition in Barcelona, Spain. In April 1989, he upset world no. 8 Jakob Hlasek in two sets in Monte Carlo.[1]

Jaite became only the sixth South American to be ranked in the top 10 in the ATP computer rankings, reaching no. 10 in 1990.[1] In May 1990, he defeated world No. 2 Stefan Edberg in three sets in Germany. Jaite defeated world No. 4 Guy Forget in April 1991 in France, and then again in July, in Gstaad, Switzerland.[1]

Olympics

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He participated for his native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, but lost to Brad Gilbert, the eventual winner of the bronze medal.[1]

Davis Cup

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Jaite was 14–20 in Davis Cup play, 11–7 in singles on clay, from 1984 to 1999.[7]

Jaite was involved in a Davis Cup tie against the US in Buenos Aires when Andre Agassi was leading 6–2, 6–2, 5–0. Jaite was leading 40–0 in the sixth game of the third set, and missed his first serve. Agassi then called out to his then-coach Nick Bollettieri, "Hey watch this!", and then followed by catching the second serve in his left hand to give Jaite the game. Viewed as an act of disrespect, Agassi was booed by the crowd for five minutes.[8][9]

After tennis

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Jaite has had an important role in Argentine tennis since his retirement. He is the tournament director for ATP Buenos Aires, the Buenos Aires Challenger, and director of Futures events in Argentina. From July 2007 till December 2008, Jaite was coaching David Nalbandian, and helped lead him to titles in Madrid and Bercy, where he became the first man to defeat the top two players in the world, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, in consecutive tournaments.[1] In 2011, Jaite was named captain of the Argentina Davis Cup team.[10][1][7]

Career finals

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Singles: 19 (12 wins – 7 losses)

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Legend (singles)
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
Grand Prix / ATP Tour (12)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Feb 1985 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay   Diego Pérez 6–4, 6–2
Loss 1–1 Jul 1985 Boston, U.S. Clay   Mats Wilander 2–6, 4–6
Loss 1–2 Jul 1985 Washington DC, U.S. Clay   Yannick Noah 4–6, 3–6
Win 2–2 Jun 1986 Bologna, Italy Clay   Paolo Canè 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 2–3 Jul 1986 Boston, U.S. Clay   Andrés Gómez 5–7, 4–6
Win 3–3 Sep 1986 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay   Jonas Svensson 7–5, 6–2
Loss 3–4 May 1987 Rome, Italy Clay   Mats Wilander 3–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win 4–4 Sep 1987 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Mats Wilander 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 4–6, 0–6, 6–4
Win 5–4 Sep 1987 Palermo, Italy Clay   Karel Nováček 7–6(7–5), 6–7(7–9), 6–4
Loss 5–5 Apr 1988 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay   Ivan Lendl 7–5, 4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Loss 5–6 Apr 1989 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Carpet   Luiz Mattar 4–6, 7–5, 4–6
Win 6–6 Jul 1989 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay   Goran Prpić 6–3, 6–2
Loss 6–7 Jul 1989 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Emilio Sánchez 6–7(1–7), 1–6, 6–2, 2–6
Win 7–7 Sep 1989 Madrid, Spain Clay   Jordi Arrese 6–3, 6–2
Win 8–7 Nov 1989 São Paulo, Brazil Clay   Javier Sánchez 7–6(7–5), 6–3
Win 9–7 Nov 1989 Itaparica, Brazil Hard   Jay Berger 6–4, 6–4
Win 10–7 Feb 1990 Guarujá, Brazil Hard   Luiz Mattar 3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win 11–7 Jul 1990 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Sergi Bruguera 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–2
Win 12–7 Apr 1991 Nice, France Clay   Goran Prpić 3–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–3

Doubles: 2 (1 win – 1 loss)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 1984 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Víctor Pecci   Pavel Složil
  Tomáš Šmíd
2–6, 0–6
Win 1–1 Feb 1985 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay   Christian Miniussi   Eduardo Bengoechea
  Diego Pérez
6–4, 6–3

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Martin Jaite | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  2. ^ "International Tennis Federation forces Israel to play ‘home’ match against Argentina in Sunrise" | Miami Herald
  3. ^ "Israel hosts Argentina for tennis playoff – but in Florida". thestar.com. 10 September 2014.
  4. ^ Horvitz, Peter S. (21 April 2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and the 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719075.
  5. ^ Slater, Robert (21 September 2000). Great Jews in Sports. J. David Publishers. ISBN 9780824604332.
  6. ^ "Jaite, Martin". Jews in Sports. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Davis Cup - Players". daviscup.com. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Lorge: Evolution and appreciation of Agassi". ESPN. 27 August 2006.
  9. ^ Agassi, Andre (24 December 2009). Open. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307592804.
  10. ^ Jaite named Davis Cup captain, Buenos Aires Herald. 11 December 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
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Preceded by Davis Cup Argentina captain
20122014
Succeeded by