Template:Short description
Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox tennis biography
Martin Willem Verkerk ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 31 October 1978) is a retired professional Dutch tennis player. He reached the final of the French Open in 2003 and achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 14 in September 2003. During his career, he won two ATP singles titles.
Early lifeEdit
Verkerk began playing tennis at the age of seven, playing in local tournaments and training with his parents. He played in a tennis facility in his hometown of Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, where his talent was recognized by local coaches, and he soon had the opportunity to train with many better players. He later won the 18 and Under Dutch title in 1995.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
In 2003, playing in only his third Grand Slam event and ranked 46, Verkerk reached the final of the French Open. Along the way, he beat Željko Krajan, Luis Horna, Vince Spadea and Rainer Schüttler before overcoming experienced clay court players Carlos Moyá (seeded 4th) and Guillermo Coria (seeded 7th). In the final, he lost to Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
His unexpected run at the French Open as an underdog and his expressive on-court antics made him popular in the Netherlands. The final was watched by even more households in the Netherlands than when his countryman Richard Krajicek won Wimbledon in 1996. Template:Citation needed However, hampered by various injuries and mononucleosis, Verkerk was unable to reproduce similar results during the rest of his career, never advancing beyond the third round in any subsequent Grand Slams.
During his career, he won two titles and reached the quarter-finals of the 2003 Rome Masters. Verkerk played a close match against Roger Federer at the 2003 Paris Masters, losing in three tiebreak sets after holding four match points.<ref name=":0" />
Playing styleEdit
Verkerk's game was based on powerful serves and backhands. He used a single-handed backhand and his favorite surface was clay.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>
Grand Slam finalsEdit
Singles (1 runner-up)Edit
ATP career finalsEdit
Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)Edit
| 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 (2–1)
|
|
| Finals by surface
|
| Hard (0–0)
|
| Clay (1–2)
|
| Grass (0–0)
|
| Carpet (1–0)
|
|
| Finals by setting
|
| Outdoors (1–2)
|
| Indoors (1–0)
|
|
| Result
|
W–L
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Tier
|
Surface
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
| Win
|
1–0
|
[[2003 Breil Milano Indoor – Singles|Template:Dts]]
|
Milan, Italy
|
World Series
|
Carpet
|
Template:Flagicon Yevgeny Kafelnikov
|
6–4, 5–7, 7–5
|
| Loss
|
1–1
|
[[2003 French Open – Men's singles|Template:Dts]]
|
Paris, France
|
Grand Slam
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Juan Carlos Ferrero
|
1–6, 3–6, 2–6
|
| Loss
|
1–2
|
[[2004 BMW Open – Singles|Template:Dts]]
|
Munich, Germany
|
International Series
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Nikolay Davydenko
|
4–6, 5–7
|
| Win
|
2–2
|
[[2004 Dutch Open – Singles|Template:Dts]]
|
Amersfoort, Netherlands
|
International Series
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Fernando González
|
7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–4
|
Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)Edit
| Legend
|
| Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
|
| ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
|
| ATP Masters Series (0–0)
|
| ATP Championship Series (0–0)
|
| ATP World Series (0–2)
|
|
| Finals by surface
|
| Hard (0–2)
|
| Clay (0–0)
|
| Grass (0–0)
|
| Carpet (0–0)
|
|
| Finals by setting
|
| Outdoors (0–2)
|
| Indoors (0–0)
|
|
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finalsEdit
Singles: 20 (10–10)Edit
| Legend
|
| ATP Challenger (4–7)
|
| ITF Futures (6–3)
|
|
| Finals by surface
|
| Hard (3–4)
|
| Clay (6–5)
|
| Grass (0–0)
|
| Carpet (1–1)
|
|
| Result
|
W–L
|
Template:NsDateTemplate:Ns
|
Tournament
|
Tier
|
Surface
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
| Win
|
1-0
|
Template:Dts
|
France F3, Melun
|
Futures
|
Carpet
|
Template:Flagicon Gregory Girault
|
7–6, 6–4
|
| Win
|
2-0
|
Template:Dts
|
Germany F5, Augsburg
|
Futures
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Diego Moyano
|
6–3, 6–4
|
| Win
|
3-0
|
Template:Dts
|
Germany F6, Trier
|
Futures
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Diego Moyano
|
6–2, 6–0
|
| Loss
|
3-1
|
Template:Dts
|
Scheveningen, Netherlands
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Emilio Benfele Álvarez
|
3–6, 6–3, 2–3 ret.
|
| Win
|
4-1
|
Template:Dts
|
USA F23, waco
|
Futures
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Simon Larose
|
6–1, 6–2
|
| Loss
|
4-2
|
Template:Dts
|
USA F7, Mobile
|
Futures
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Michael Russell
|
6–4, 1–6, 4–6
|
| Loss
|
4-3
|
Template:Dts
|
USA F8, Little Rock
|
Futures
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Fredrik Jonsson
|
3–6, 4–6
|
| Loss
|
4-4
|
Template:Dts
|
Germany F5, Trier
|
Futures
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Christian Kordasz
|
4–6, 2–6
|
| Loss
|
4-5
|
Template:Dts
|
Eisenach, Germany
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Oliver Gross
|
7–5, 2–6, 1–6
|
| Loss
|
4-6
|
Template:Dts
|
Aschaffenburg, Germany
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Simon Greul
|
6–7(5–7), 2–6
|
| Loss
|
4-7
|
Template:Dts
|
Waikoloa, United States
|
Challenger
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon James Blake
|
2–6, 3–6
|
| Loss
|
4-8
|
Template:Dts
|
Dallas, United States
|
Challenger
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Jeff Morrison
|
4–6, 4–6
|
| Win
|
5-8
|
Template:Dts
|
Turin, Italy
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Vadim Kutsenko
|
4–6, 6–4, 6–3
|
| Loss
|
5-9
|
Template:Dts
|
Ulm, Germany
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Oliver Gross
|
6–7(5–7), 6–4, 3–6
|
| Win
|
6-9
|
Template:Dts
|
Knoxville, United States
|
Challenger
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Mardy Fish
|
6–3, 6–4
|
| Loss
|
6-10
|
Template:Dts
|
Lübeck, Germany
|
Challenger
|
Carpet
|
Template:Flagicon Alexander Waske
|
6–7(3–7), 3–6
|
| Win
|
7-10
|
Template:Dts
|
Hilversum, Netherlands
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon John Van Lottum
|
6–3, 6–1
|
| Win
|
8-10
|
Template:Dts
|
Canada F2, Montreal
|
Futures
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Florin Mergea
|
6–7(8–10), 7–6(11–9), 6–4
|
| Win
|
9-10
|
Template:Dts
|
Athens, Greece
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Adrian Cruciat
|
6–3, 6–3
|
| Win
|
10-10
|
Template:Dts
|
Germany F9, Kassel
|
Futures
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Felipe Parada
|
6–4, 7–6(13–11)
|
Doubles: 7 (3–4)Edit
| Legend
|
| ATP Challenger (3–1)
|
| ITF Futures (0–3)
|
|
| Finals by surface
|
| Hard (1–1)
|
| Clay (2–2)
|
| Grass (0–0)
|
| Carpet (0–1)
|
|
| Result
|
W–L
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Tier
|
Surface
|
Partner
|
Opponents
|
Score
|
| Loss
|
0–1
|
Template:Dts
|
Great Britain F2, Chigwell
|
Futures
|
Carpet
|
Template:Flagicon Martijn Belgraver
|
Template:Flagicon Barry Cowan
Template:Flagicon Tom Spinks
|
4–6, 4–6
|
| Loss
|
0–2
|
Template:Dts
|
Germany F7, Augsburg
|
Futures
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Martijn Belgraver
|
Template:Flagicon Sascha Bandermann
Template:Flagicon James Greenhalgh
|
3–6, 7–6, 1–6
|
| Loss
|
0–3
|
Template:Dts
|
Italy F6, Viterbo
|
Futures
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Kepler Orellana
|
Template:Flagicon Daniele Bracciali
Template:Flagicon Filippo Messori
|
1–6, 7–5, 4–6
|
| Win
|
1–3
|
Template:Dts
|
Eisenach, Germany
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Edwin Kempes
|
Template:Flagicon Marcos Daniel
Template:Flagicon Adrián García
|
6–3, 6–4
|
| Win
|
2–3
|
Template:Dts
|
Scheveningen, Netherlands
|
Challenger
|
Clay
|
Template:Flagicon Edwin Kempes
|
Template:Flagicon Mariano Hood
Template:Flagicon Sebastián Prieto
|
6–4, 6–4
|
| Win
|
3–3
|
Template:Dts
|
Knoxville, United States
|
Challenger
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Dmitry Tursunov
|
Template:Flagicon Hugo Armando
Template:Flagicon Sergio Roitman
|
6–3, 6–4
|
| Loss
|
3–4
|
Template:Dts
|
Champaign-Urbana, United States
|
Challenger
|
Hard
|
Template:Flagicon Eric Taino
|
Template:Flagicon Gabriel Trifu
Template:Flagicon Glenn Weiner
|
3–6, 2–6
|
Performance timelinesEdit
Template:Performance key
ReferencesEdit
Template:Reflist
External linksEdit
Template:Authority control