Marc Rosset


Marc Rosset is a former professional tennis player from Switzerland who is best remembered for winning the men's singles gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games. He also won one Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open in 1992 partnering compatriot Jakob Hlasek.

Career

Rosset turned professional in 1988 and won his first tour singles title in 1989 in Geneva as a wildcard, defeating Guillermo Pérez Roldán. His first doubles title was won in Geneva as well in 1991 with partner Sergi Bruguera.
1992 was the pinnacle of Rosset's career. Representing Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, he defeated several top players en route to qualifying for the men's singles final, including Jim Courier, Goran Ivanišević, Wayne Ferreira, and Emilio Sánchez. In the final, he faced Spain's Jordi Arrese and won an exciting five-set match to claim the gold medal. Rosset also won the 1992 French Open men's doubles title with partner Jakob Hlasek. Rosset also was a member of the Swiss team which reached the final of the 1992 Davis Cup. Switzerland lost in the final to the United States despite Rosset's winning a five-set singles rubber against Jim Courier.
Rosset's most memorable Davis Cup match came in defeat in a singles rubber against Arnaud Clément of France in 2001, which he lost 15–13 in the fifth set after 5 hours and 46 minutes. During the later years of his playing career, Rosset also served as the Swiss Davis Cup team captain.
Rosset also enjoyed success playing in other international team competitions for Switzerland. In 1996, he was a member of the teams which won the World Team Cup and finished runners-up in the Hopman Cup. That year he also achieved his best performance at a Grand Slam when he beat Carl-Uwe Steeb, Jiří Novák, Jakob Hlasek, Stefan Edberg and Bernd Karbacher before losing to Michael Stich in the semifinals.
Rosset had a 2–2 record against his successor as Switzerland's top male tennis player, Roger Federer. Rosset won their first two meetings in 2000, but Federer won their meetings in 2001 and 2003.
At 2.01 meters, Rosset was one of the game's tallest players throughout his career. He was one of the game's fastest servers and most prolific servers of aces for most of his career.
Rosset changed his flight plans after a first-round defeat at the US Open in September 1998. After he changed his plans, the flight he had originally planned to take, Swissair Flight 111, crashed in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all on board.
Rosset's career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 9, and his career-high doubles ranking was world No. 8. He won a total of 15 top-level singles titles and eight doubles titles. He won at least one singles title on all surfaces: clay, grass, carpet, and hard court.

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Olympic Games

Singles: 1 (1 gold medal)

Career finals

Singles: 23 (15–8)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1.Sep 1989Geneva, SwitzerlandClay Guillermo Pérez Roldán6–4, 7–5
Loss1.Apr 1990Madrid, SpainClay Andrés Gómez3–6, 6–7
Loss2.May 1990Bologna, ItalyClay Richard Fromberg6–4, 4–6, 6–7
Win2.Oct 1990Lyon, FranceCarpet Mats Wilander6–3, 6–2
Win3.Aug 1992Summer Olympics, SpainClay Jordi Arrese7–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 8–6
Win4.Nov 1992Moscow, RussiaCarpet Carl Uwe Steeb6–3, 6–2
Win5.Feb 1993Marseille, FranceCarpet Jan Siemerink6–2, 7–6
Win6.Aug 1993Long Island, USAHard Michael Chang6–4, 3–6, 6–1
Win7.Nov 1993Moscow, RussiaCarpet Patrik Kühnen6–4, 6–3
Win8.Feb 1994Marseille, FranceCarpet Arnaud Boetsch7–6, 7–6
Loss3.Aug 1994New Haven, United StatesHard Boris Becker3–6, 5–7
Win9.Oct 1994Lyon, FranceCarpet Jim Courier6–4, 7–6
Loss4.Nov 1994Paris, FranceCarpet Andre Agassi3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Win10.Apr 1995Nice, FranceClay Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–4, 6–0
Win11.Jun 1995Halle, GermanyGrass Michael Stich3–6, 7–6, 7–6
Loss5.Mar 1996Milan, ItalyCarpet Goran Ivanišević3–6, 6–7
Win12.Feb 1997Antwerp, BelgiumHard Tim Henman6–2, 7–5, 6–4
Loss6.Sep 1997Tashkent, UzbekistanHard Tim Henman6–7, 4–6
Loss7.Feb 1998St. Petersburg, RussiaCarpet Richard Krajicek4–6, 6–7
Loss8.Feb 1998Antwerp, BelgiumHard Greg Rusedski6–7, 6–3, 1–6, 4–6,
Win13.Feb 1999St. Petersburg, RussiaCarpet David Prinosil6–3, 6–4
Win14.Feb 2000Marseille, FranceHard Roger Federer2–6, 6–3, 7–6
Win15.Feb 2000London, UKHard Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–4, 6–4

Singles performance timeline

Doubles: 12 (9–3)

Top 10 wins