Began playing tennis at age four... Parents Juan and Sonia own a store which sells wine and whiskey...Has two older sisters, Valentina, a lawyer, and Mariana, a housewife... When not on tour, enjoys hanging out with family and friends in countryside...Big soccer fan of Boca Juniors...Enjoys playing on all surfaces but best results have come on clay...Considers best shot his one-handed backhand..Idols growing up were countryman Alberto Mancini and Stefan Edberg...Has a 14-6 record in Davis Cup play (8-4 in singles) in 13 ties since 2000... Wife, Cecilia (married Dec. 13, 2003); daughter, Sara (born Nov. 15, 2006)...
1999 -- Advanced to first ATP QF at Umag...
2000 -- Won Challenger titles at San Luis Potosi (d. Hood) and Venice (d. Diaz)... Qualified for Roland Garros (l. to Medvedev in 3rd RD)... Reached first ATP SF in Kitzbuehel (d. Safin, l. to Corretja)... Reached 3rd RD in first US Open (l. to Sampras)...
2001 -- Won Challenger titles in Guadalajara (d. Massa), Sao Paulo-3 (d. Chela) and Buenos Aires (d. Nalbandian)...Reached QF in Mallorca...
2002 -- Finished in Top 50 for first time...Reached first ATP final in hometown of Buenos Aires (l. to Massu)...Advanced to SF in Mallorca and Bastad...Reached QF at AMS Madrid (l. to Grosjean)...
2003 -- Captured first ATP title in Acapulco (d. Zabaleta)... Runner-up in Estoril (l. to Davydenko) and AMS Hamburg (d. Roddick, Nalbandian, l. to Coria)... Advanced to SF in Barcelona and QF in Valencia...In Davis Cup SF vs. Spain, defeated No. 1 Ferrero in fourth singles rubber...Earned a career-high $695,320...
2004 -- Finalist in Costa do Sauipe (l. to Kuerten)...Also reached QF in Miami (d. Agassi, l. to Spadea) and 4th RD at AMS in Indian Wells...Began season with SF run in Doha (l. to eventual champion Escude)...On European clay, advanced to 3rd RD at AMS Monte-Carlo and QF in Barcelona...Retired in 1st RD at Roland Garros against Safin due to strained left and right adductors... Reached 2nd RD at Athens Olympics but withdrew before start of match against Andreev...
2005 -- Reached final in Amersfoort (l. to Gonzalez)...Also a SF in Acapulco and QF in Vina del Mar, Costa do Sauipe and Barcelona...In doubles, won second career ATP title in Basel (w/Gonzalez)...
2006 -- Finished in Top 30 for first time in three years after capturing second ATP title in Kitzbuhel (d. Chela)...Best stretch of season came after Wimbledon as he compiled a 17-4 mark in a five-tourney stretch... Reached SF in Bastad, QF in Amersfoort, won title in Kitzbnhel, advanced to SF in Sopot and to first final on U.S. soil, also his first on hard courts, falling to No. 7 Davydenko in New Haven...Afterwards, climbed from 54 on July 10 to No. 28 on Aug. 28...Also reached SF in Buenos Aires and QF in Acapulco and AMS Miami...Played in Davis Cup QF and SF ties, going 1-1...
2007 -- Finished in Top 50 for second straight year by reaching four SF -- Auckland, Acapulco, Barcelona and Kitzbuhel…Also QF in Costa do Sauipe and Estoril… At ATP World Team Championships in Dusseldorf, led Argentina to 2-1 comeback victory over Czech Republic by winning reverse singles and doubles rubber (w/ Acasuso).
2008
The Argentine finished in Top 75 for a ninth straight year highlighted by two ATP SF and five QF showings...Also won a Challenger title...In first four months, reached QF in Doha, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Acapulco and Houston...In May, advanced to SF in Casablanca and two months later reached SF in Stuttgart...In between, won Challenger title in Prostejov, Czech Republic (d. Vassallo Arguello)...Did not win back-to-back matches rest of season...Went 1-3 vs. Top 10 opponents with lone win over No. 10 Robredo in Doha...Compiled marks of 13-12 on clay and 7-10 on hard...In doubles, won title in Buenos Aires and reached final in Acapulco (both w/Horna)...Played in Davis Cup final vs. Spain (w/Nalbandian) and lost in four sets.