Ariel Behar (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈɾjel βeˈaɾ];[1][a] born November 12, 1989) is a Uruguayan professional tennis player. He specializes in men's doubles and has won three ATP titles with Ecuadorian partner Gonzalo Escobar. His career-high doubles ranking is World No. 37 achieved on 1 April 2024. He has taken part of the Uruguay Davis Cup team since 2009.[2]

Ariel Behar
Behar at the 2021 French Open
Country (sports) Uruguay
ResidenceBuenos Aires, Argentina
Born (1989-11-12) 12 November 1989 (age 34)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro2006
PlaysRight Handed (Double Handed Backhand)
Prize money$950,202
Singles
Career record1–5 (ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 823 (17 February 2014)
Doubles
Career record101–110 (ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 37 (1 April 2022)
Current rankingNo. 37 (1 April 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2024)
French Open2R (2022, 2023)
WimbledonQF (2023)
US Open3R (2022)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (2023)
French Open1R (2022)
Wimbledon1R (2021, 2022)
Last updated on: 2 April 2024.

Personal edit

Behar played tennis for the first time at 3 years old and began playing seriously aged 10. Growing up, he admired Roger Federer and Andre Agassi. He is from a Jewish family but is "not a big fan" of religion.[3]

Professional career edit

2012–2017: ATP and Grand Slam debut edit

Since the mid 2010s till 2017, Behar competed primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour, where he won 7 doubles titles.

Partnering with Aliaksandr Bury, he was a semifinalist at the 2017 Estoril Open, an ATP 250 tournament.

He entered the main draw at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, his first appearance at a Grand Slam.

2018–2022: Three doubles titles, 15 Challenger titles, top 40 edit

Partnering with Ecuadorian Gonzalo Escobar, Behar won two ATP titles at the 2021 Delray Beach Open and the 2021 Andalucía Open[4] and reached three other finals on the ATP tour in 2021 after winning two ATP Challenger Tour titles together in 2020. The pair won a total of eight Challenger titles between 2018 and 2020. Behar entered the top 50 following the final at the 2021 Serbia Open on 26 April 2021. He finished the year 2021 ranked No. 41, a career-high year-end doubles ranking and reached his career-high doubles ranking of No. 39 on 31 January 2022 following the 2022 Australian Open. Also in 2022, he reached a fourth final and won his third ATP 250 title with Escobar at the 2022 Serbia Open defeating top seeds Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić.[5]

2023: Wimbledon quarterfinal, two ATP finals, back to top 50 edit

At the 2023 Córdoba Open he reached the quarterfinals with Nicolas Barrientos.[6] At the next Golden swing tournament he reached the final at the 2023 Argentina Open also with Barrientos where they lost to Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini.[7]

At the 2023 French Open he won his first round match with new partner Adam Pavlásek over Albert Ramos Viñolas and Bernabe Zapata Miralles. At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships he reached the quarterfinals of a Major for the first time with Adam Pavlásek defeating former Wimbledon champions, ninth seeded pair of Mate Pavic/Nikola Mektic before losing to eventual champions Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.[8] As a result he returned to the top 50 on 17 July 2023.

He reached his tenth ATP final and second of the season with Pavlasek at the 2023 European Open but lost to the Tsitsipas brothers.[9]

2024: Australian Open quarterfinal, back to top 40 edit

At the 2024 Australian Open he made the quarterfinals with Pavlasek. The Uruguayan-Czech team upset fifth seeds Santiago González and Neal Skupski in three sets to advance and face next, first time doubles quarterfinalists newly formed Chinese-Czech duo of Zhang Zhizhen and Tomáš Macháč.[10] As a result he returned the top 40 in the rankings on 29 January 2024.

ATP career finals edit

Doubles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups) edit

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–7)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (2–3)
Grass (0–2)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (3–6)
Indoor (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2021 Delray Beach Open,
United States
250 Series Hard   Gonzalo Escobar   Christian Harrison
  Ryan Harrison
6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–4), [10–4]
Loss 1–1 Mar 2021 Argentina Open,
Argentina
250 Series Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Tomislav Brkić
  Nikola Ćaćić
3–6, 5–7
Win 2–1 Apr 2021 Andalucía Open,
Spain
250 Series Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Tomislav Brkić
  Nikola Ćaćić
6–2, 6–4
Loss 2–2 Apr 2021 Serbia Open,
Serbia
250 Series Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Ivan Sabanov
  Matej Sabanov
3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 2–3 Jun 2021 Stuttgart Open,
Germany
250 Series Grass   Gonzalo Escobar   Marcelo Demoliner
  Santiago González
6–4, 3–6, [8–10]
Loss 2–4 Jan 2022 Adelaide International,
Australia
250 Series Hard   Gonzalo Escobar   Wesley Koolhof
  Neal Skupski
6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win 3–4 Apr 2022 Serbia Open,
Serbia
250 Series Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Nikola Mektić
  Mate Pavić
6–2, 3–6, [10–7]
Loss 3–5 Jun 2022 Mallorca Championships,
Spain
250 Series Grass   Gonzalo Escobar   Rafael Matos
  David Vega Hernández
6–75–7, 7–68–6, [1–10]
Loss 3–6 Feb 2023 Argentina Open, Argentina 250 Series Clay   Nicolás Barrientos   Simone Bolelli
  Fabio Fognini
2–6, 4–6
Loss 3–7 Oct 2023 European Open, Antwerp 250 Series Hard (i)   Adam Pavlásek   Petros Tsitsipas
  Stefanos Tsitsipas
7–6(7–5), 4–6, [8–10]

Challenger and Futures finals edit

Doubles: 56 (27–29) edit

Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (23–23)
ITF Futures Tour (4–6)
Titles by surface
Hard (6–5)
Clay (21–24)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2009 Venezuela F7, Barquisimeto Futures Clay   Mauricio Echazú   Francisco Carbajal
  Eduardo Struvay
5–7, 6–1, [4–10]
Loss 0–2 Oct 2009 Venezuela F8, Caracas Futures Hard   Francisco Carbajal   Piero Luisi
  Román Recarte
4–6, 6–3, [9–11]
Loss 0–3 Oct 2009 Venezuela F9, Caracas Futures Hard   Mauricio Echazú   Luis David Martínez
  Yohny Romero
6–7(5–7), 5–7
Win 1–3 Jan 2011 Brazil F2, Salvador Futures Clay   Matteo Volante   José Benítez
  Daniel Alejandro López Cassaccia
6–3, 6–2
Loss 1–4 Jan 2011 Brazil F5, João Pessoa Futures Clay   Luis David Martínez   Marcelo Demoliner
  Morgan Phillips
3–6, 5–7
Win 2–4 Aug 2011 Ecuador F5, Guayaquil Futures Hard   Guido Andreozzi   Alejandro González
  Felipe Mantilla
7–6(11–9), 4–6, [10–8]
Win 3–4 Jan 2012 Bucaramanga, Colombia Challenger Clay   Horacio Zeballos   Miguel Ángel López Jaén
  Paolo Lorenzi
6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 3–5 Mar 2012 Salinas, Ecuador Challenger Clay   Carlos Salamanca   Martín Alund
  Horacio Zeballos
3–6, 3–6
Win 4–5 Aug 2012 Colombia F2, Medellín Futures Clay   Duilio Beretta   Nicolás Barrientos
  Michael Quintero
2–1 ret.
Loss 4–6 Oct 2012 Villa Allende, Argentina Challenger Clay   Guillermo Durán   Facundo Bagnis
  Diego Junqueira
1–6, 2–6
Loss 4–7 Nov 2012 São Leopoldo, Brazil Challenger Clay   Horacio Zeballos   Fabiano de Paula
  Júlio Silva
1–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 4–8 Jul 2013 France F12, Bourg-en-Bresse Futures Clay   Carlos Poch Gradin   Germain Gigounon
  Yannik Reuter
4–6, 6–3, [4–10]
Win 5–8 Jun 2014 Košice, Slovakia Challenger Clay   Facundo Argüello   Andriej Kapaś
  Błażej Koniusz
6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Loss 5–9 Dec 2014 Chile F12, Santiago Futures Clay   Gonzalo Lama   Julio Peralta
  Hans Podlipnik Castillo
6–7(3–7), 2–6
Win 6–9 Jul 2015 Scheveningen, Netherlands Challenger Clay   Eduardo Dischinger   Aslan Karatsev
  Andrey Kuznetsov
ret.
Win 7–9 Jul 2015 Belgium F8, Middelkerke Futures Hard   Sander Arends   Sander Gillé
  Joran Vliegen
6–7(1–7), 6–4, [10–7]
Win 8–9 Feb 2016 Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Challenger Clay   Giovanni Lapentti   Jonathan Eysseric
  Franko Škugor
7–5, 6–4
Win 9–9 Jun 2016 Poprad-Tatry, Slovakia Challenger Clay   Andrey Golubev   Lukáš Dlouhý
  Andrej Martin
6–2, 5–7, [10–5]
Loss 9–10 Aug 2016 Liberec, Czech Republic Challenger Clay   Dino Marcan   Jonathan Eysseric
  André Ghem
0–6, 4–6
Loss 9–11 Sep 2016 Seville, Spain Challenger Clay   Enrique López Pérez   Íñigo Cervantes Huegun
  Oriol Roca Batalla
2–6, 5–6 ret.
Loss 9–12 Oct 2016 Orléans, France Challenger Hard (i)   Andrei Vasilevski   Nikola Mektić
  Franko Škugor
2–6, 5–7
Loss 9–13 Oct 2016 Lima, Peru Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Lama   Sergio Galdós
  Leonardo Mayer
2–6, 6–7(7–9)
Win 10–13 Nov 2016 Guayaquil, Ecuador Challenger Clay   Fabiano de Paula   Marcelo Arévalo
  Sergio Galdós
6–2, 6–4
Loss 10–14 Nov 2016 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Marcelo Arévalo
  Sergio Galdós
4–6, 1–6
Loss 10–15 Sep 2017 Genova, Italy Challenger Clay   Guido Andreozzi   Tim Pütz
  Jan-Lennard Struff
6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10)
Win 11–15 Oct 2017 Buenos Aires, Argentina Challenger Clay   Fabiano de Paula   Máximo González
  Fabrício Neis
7–6(7–3), 5–7, [10–8]
Loss 11–16 Nov 2017 Montevideo, Uruguay Challenger Clay   Fabiano de Paula   Romain Arneodo
  Fernando Romboli
6–2, 4–6, [8–10]
Win 12–16 Mar 2018 Punta del Este, Uruguay Challenger Clay   Facundo Bagnis   Simone Bolelli
  Alessandro Giannessi
6–2, 7–6(9–7)
Win 13–16 Mar 2018 Marbella, Spain Challenger Clay   Guido Andreozzi   Martin Kližan
  Jozef Kovalík
6–3, 6–4
Loss 13–17 Apr 2018 Alicante, Spain Challenger Clay   Guido Andreozzi   Wesley Koolhof
  Artem Sitak
3–6, 2–6
Loss 13–18 Apr 2018 Barletta, Italy Challenger Clay   Máximo González   Denys Molchanov
  Igor Zelenay
1–6, 2–6
Loss 13–19 Apr 2018 Francavilla, Italy Challenger Clay   Máximo González   Julian Ocleppo
  Andrea Vavassori
6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)
Loss 13–20 May 2018 Braga, Portugal Challenger Clay   Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela   Sander Arends
  Adil Shamasdin
2–6, 1–6
Win 14–20 Jun 2018 Vicenza, Italy Challenger Clay   Enrique López Pérez   Facundo Bagnis
  Fabrício Neis
6–2, 6–4
Win 15–20 Sep 2018 Mallorca, Spain Challenger Hard   Enrique López Pérez   Daniel Evans
  Gerard Granollers Pujol
w/o
Loss 15–21 Oct 2018 Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Challenger Clay   Roberto Quiroz   Leander Paes
  Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela
6–4, 3–6, [5–10]
Loss 15–22 Oct 2018 Lima, Peru Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Guido Andreozzi
  Guillermo Durán
6–2, 6–7(5–7), [5–10]
Loss 15–23 Jan 2019 Playford, Australia Challenger Hard   Enrique López Pérez   Max Purcell
  Luke Saville
4–6, 5–7
Loss 15–24 Apr 2019 San Luis Potosi, Mexico Challenger Clay   Roberto Quiroz   Marcelo Arevalo
  Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela
6–1, 4–6, [10–12]
Win 16–24 May 2019 Jerusalem, Israel Challenger Hard   Gonzalo Escobar   Evan King
  Julian Ocleppo
6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 16–25 Jun 2019 Parma, Italy Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Laurynas Grigelis
  Andrea Pellegrino
6–1, 3–6, [7–10]
Win 17–25 Jul 2019 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Andrey Golubev
  Aleksandr Nedovyesov
6–7(4–7), 7–5, [10–8]
Win 18–25 Sep 2019 Genoa, Italy Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Guido Andreozzi
  Andrés Molteni
3–6, 6–4, [10–3]
Loss 18–26 Sep 2019 Biella, Italy Challenger Clay   Andrey Golubev   Tomislav Brkić
  Ante Pavić
6–7(2–7), 4–6
Win 19–26 Oct 2019 Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Orlando Luz
  Luis David Martínez
6–7(5–7), 6–4, [12–10]
Win 20–26 Oct 2019 Lima, Peru Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Felipe Meligeni Alves
  Luis David Martínez
6–2, 2–6, [10–3]
Win 21–26 Nov 2019 Guayaquil, Ecuador Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Thiago Seyboth Wild
  Pedro Sakamoto
7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)
Loss 21–27 Nov 2019 Houston, USA Challenger Hard   Gonzalo Escobar   Jonathan Erlich
  Santiago González
3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 22–27 Jan 2020 Newport Beach, USA Challenger Hard   Gonzalo Escobar   Antonio Šančić
  Tristan-Samuel Weissborn
6–2, 6–4
Win 23–27 Aug 2020 Todi, Italy Challenger Clay   Andrey Golubev   Elliot Benchetrit
  Hugo Gaston
6–4, 6–2
Win 24–27 Aug 2020 Trieste, Italy Challenger Clay   Andrey Golubev   Tristan Lamasine
  Hugo Gaston
6–4, 6–2
Win 25–27 Sep 2020 Cordenons, Italy Challenger Clay   Andrey Golubev   Hugo Nys
  Andrés Molteni
7–5, 6–4
Loss 25–28 Sep 2020 Aix-en-Provence, France Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Andrés Molteni
  Hugo Nys
4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 25–29 Oct 2020 Parma, Italy Challenger Clay   Gonzalo Escobar   Marcelo Arévalo
  Tomislav Brkić
4–6, 4–6
Win 26–29 Oct 2020 Istanbul, Turkey Challenger Hard   Gonzalo Escobar   Robert Galloway
  Nathaniel Lammons
4–6, 6–3, [10–7]
Win 27–29 May 2023 Francavilla al Mare, Italy Challenger Clay   Nicolás Barrientos   Sander Arends
  Petros Tsitsipas
7–6(7–1), 3–6, [10–6]

Best Grand Slam results details edit

Doubles edit

a Because of a delay in schedule due to rain, the first two rounds of the competition were played best-of-three sets instead of the usual best-of-five format.

Wins over top 10 players edit

Doubles edit

  • Behar has a 6–12 (33.3%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Type 2020 2021 2022 2024 Total
Wins 0 2 3 1 6
# Opponents Rank Event Surface Rd Score Partner ABR
2021
1.   Marcelo Melo
  Horia Tecău
9
22
Melbourne, Australia Hard QF 7–6(7–4), 6–3   Gonzalo Escobar 60
2.   Marin Čilić
  Ivan Dodig
274
9
Stuttgart, Germany Grass SF 7–6(7–5), 1–6, [14–10]   Gonzalo Escobar 51
2022
3.   Nikola Mektić
  Mate Pavić
7
4
Belgrade, Serbia Clay F 6–2, 3–6, [10–7]   Gonzalo Escobar 49
4.   Jamie Murray
  Michael Venus
18
9
Rome, Italy Clay 1R 6–7(2–7), 6–3, [10–5]   Gonzalo Escobar 49
5.   Joe Salisbury
  Rajeev Ram
1
2
Montreal, Canada Hard 2R 6–4, 7–6(7–3)   Gonzalo Escobar 46
2024
6.   Neal Skupski
  Santiago González
10
11
AO, Melbourne, Australia Hard 3R 3-6, 7-6 (7–1), 6-4   Adam Pavlásek 48

Notes edit

  1. ^ In isolation, Behar is pronounced [beˈaɾ].

References edit

  1. ^ etennistv (2 August 2013). "ATP Challenger Segovia, 2013 - interview with Ariel Behar". YouTube. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  2. ^ Player profile daviscup.com [dead link]
  3. ^ Kalenberg, Martín (5 March 2012). "Tenista de la selección uruguaya Ariel Behar: "Hay muchas cosas duras y difíciles en el tenis profesional"". CCIU (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Ariel Behar, Gonzalo Escobar Capture Marbella Doubles Crown | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  5. ^ "Ariel Behar/ Gonzalo Escobar Clinch Belgrade Title | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  6. ^ "Doubles Drama: Barrientos/Behar, Doumbia/Reboul Save MPs In Cordoba".
  7. ^ "Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini Return to Buenos Aires Winners' Circle". ATP Tour.
  8. ^ "Wimbledon 2023: Neal Skupski & Wesley Koolhof to make men's doubles semi-final debut". 7 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Hijikata/Purcell Clinch Tokyo Title, Tsitsipas Brothers Win Antwerp Trophy". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Bopanna/Ebden cut through tie-break tension for QF spot".

External links edit