Karol Beck

Began playing tennis at age six...Nicknamed "Bekis"...Father, Karol, manages his son; mother, Maria...Has one younger brother, Peter...His best results as a junior was reaching singles QF and doubles SF at Wimbledon in 2000...Hobbies include playing basketball, soccer and going to cinema...Favorite surfaces are hard and grass courts and considers backhand as best shot...Says playing Sampras in 2002 Davis Cup 1st RD tie is his biggest tennis highlight (lost in four sets in opening match)...Has an 8-10 match record in nine ties (5-6 in singles) since 2002...Coached by Jan Kroslak and physical trainer is Michal Kovarcik.

2011 -- The top player from Slovakia finished just outside Top 100, highlighted by a 29-14 match record in Challengers and 1 title…Went 4-10 in ATP World Tour play with QF in Johannesburg (l. to Anderson) and 3R at Wimbledon (l. to Ferrer) as a qualifier...Won title at Segovia Challenger (d. Burquier) in August and runner-up at Sarajevo (W/D vs. Delic) in March and Eckental (l. to R. Ram) in November...

2010 -- Won 3 Challenger titles in 4 finals appearances and reached QF or better 7 times at Challengers…Lone ATP-level match win came at Wimbledon (d. Ventura)... 

2009 -- The No. 2 Slovak (behind No. 82 Lacko) compiled a 26-15 Challenger match record with title in Pozoblanco, Spain (d. Alves) in July and runner-up in Heilbronn (l. to Becker) in January…Also SF at Wroclaw, Istanbul and Salzburg…Qualified at Wimbledon and beat No. 27 Lopez 10-8 in fifth set before losing in next round to Almagro 7-5 in fifth set…Went 4-7 in ATP World Tour level play...

2008 -- Moved up over 300 ranking positions and compiled a 24-12 match record in Challenger play, highlighted by runner-up at Kolding (l. to Karanusic) in October and Helsinki (l. to Tursunov) following month…Reached SF at Belgrade, Besancon and Manchester…In first outing of season, won title at German Futures #1…

2007 -- Returned from a two-year suspension in November and played in three Challengers (1-3 mark) and two Futures events, winning one title…

2006 -- On February 13, International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced he tested positive for clenbuterol during September 2005 Davis Cup SF against Argentina…He was suspended for two years until October 31, 2007…

2005 -- The Slovak No. 2 (behind Hrbaty) finished in Top 65 for third straight year, highlighted by helping his country to its first Davis Cup final (l. to Croatia 3-2)... Compiled a 5-1 combined record in Cup play (3-0 in doubles) in victories over defending champ Spain, the Netherlands and Argentina but did not play in final... In February, advanced to back-to-back QF in Milan and Marseille and did not win consecutive ATP matches again until June when he reached 3rd RD at Queen's (l. to Roddick)... In March, captured Sunrise Challenger title (d. Sanguinetti)... During summer hard court circuit, advanced to SF in Indianapolis, losing to eventual champ Ginepri, and reached first ATP Masters Series QF in Montreal with wins over Nalbandian and Davydenko (l. to Mathieu)... In Davis Cup SF, defeated No. 8 Coria in opening rubber... Went 2-4 vs. Top 10 opponents... Compiled records of 15-18 on hard, 3-3 on grass, 2-2 on carpet and 0-4 on clay...

2004 -- Finished in Top 50 for first time and improved his year-end ranking for fifth straight year...Reached his first career ATP final in St. Petersburg (l. to Youzhny) and won a personal-best 22 matches on ATP circuit...Went 6-4 in Grand Slams play, reaching 2nd RD at Australian Open, 3rd RD at Wimbledon and 4th RD at US Open...Won Challenger title in Wroclaw (d. Hernych) and added another title at Surbiton Challenger (d. Moodie) on grass...Also reached QF at Queen's, defeating Henman in 2nd RD, Karlovic in 3rd RD (l. to H.T. Lee)...Continued form at Wimbledon with 3rd RD (d. Robredo, l. to Malisse)...Compiled 10-3 record on grass overall...Played at Athens Olympics (l. to Calleri in 1st RD) and turned in Grand Slam-best 4th RD at US Open (l. to Hewitt)...

2003 -- Finished in Top 100 for first time and won 10 matches on ATP circuit...Also compiled 15-9 mark in Challengers...Reached lone ATP QF in Copenhagen...Began year with title at Heilbronn Challenger (d. Melzer)....Won two matches in Slovak Republic's Davis Cup victory in tie against Luxembourg...

2002 -- Compiled a 24-13 match record in Challengers and appeared in three finals, winning title in Bristol on grass (d. Peya)...Also made his Davis Cup debut and lost in 1st RD tie to Sampras in four sets in opening match (l. to Roddick in dead rubber)...Won Greece #2 Futures title and one month later reached QF at Budapest Challenger...His best stretch came in June-July when he qualified for his first career Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon and rallied from two-sets deficit in 1st RD to beat Simoni in five sets before losing in next round to Pavel...Also runner-up in Manchester (l. to Voltchkov)...In doubles, won three titles while reaching two other finals...

2001 -- Improved his ranking for a second straight year by winning Russia #1 Futures title and reaching final at Croatia #2 in Zagreb...Advanced to first Challenger final in Togliatti, Russia (l. to Peya)... In doubles, won titles in Oberstaufen (w/Sekac) and Togliatti (w/Zelenay)...