Brian Baker’s Remarkable Comeback

Written by: Staff on 29th August 2012

Brian Baker's Remarkable Comeback

epa03289314 Brian Baker of the US returns to Benoit Paire of France during their third round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2012. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

(Courtesy of the US Open 2012)

Brian Baker begins his US Open today against Jan Hajek, marking his return to Flushing Meadows for the first time since, as a promising up-and-comer in 2005, he defeated No. 9 seed Gaston Gaudio to reach the second round.

The ensuing years were littered with injuries and surgeries that drove Baker out of the game for four years; prior to his comeback, he was serving as an assistant coach and taking classes at Belmont University in Tennessee. Feeling like he still had some good tennis in him, Baker began a comeback last year that has surprised even him.

Here’s a look at his road back:

July 2011 – Baker makes his return to professional tennis after a four-year absence following multiple hip surgeries and elbow ligament replacement (Tommy John) surgery, entering the qualifying at the USTA Pro Circuit Futures in Pittsburgh. Baker wins three matches in qualifying and five in the main draw to take the tournament title without dropping a set. Later that month he enters the ATP world rankings at No. 752.

November 2011 – He qualifies and advances to the final at the Knoxville Challenger in his home state, improving his ranking to No. 460.

January 2012 – He wins the second USTA Pro Circuit tournament title of his comeback, taking the title at the Futures in Weston, Fla., to crack the Top 400.

March 2012 – He adds a third Futures crown in less than a year, winning the title in Costa Mesa, Calif., without dropping a set.

April 2012 – He qualifies and takes the title at the Savannah Challenger for the first Challenger title of his comeback. The victory also propels Baker into the Top 300 and helps him secure the USTA wild card into the 2012 French Open.

May 2012 – He qualifies for the ATP event in Nice, France, and advances to the final, posting wins over Gael Monfils and Nikolay Davydenko and rising to a career-best No. 141.

May/June 2012 – In his first Grand Slam main draw since the 2005 US Open, he defeats Xavier Malisse at the French Open before falling to No. 11 seed Gilles Simon in five sets in the second round.

June 2012 – He backs up his showing at Roland Garros by qualifying for Wimbledon, where he advances to the fourth round and breaks into the Top 100 for the first time.

August 2012 – He reaches the second round at the Emirates Airline US Open Series event in Cincinnati, ascending to a career-best No. 70 in the world.

Topics: American tennis news, Brian Baker, Jan Hajek, Sports, tennis injuries, Tennis News, US Open 2012