Dimitri Poliakov (born 19 January 1968) is a former professional tennis player from Ukraine.

Dimitri Poliakov
Country (sports)Soviet Union Soviet Union (1989–91)
Ukraine Ukraine (1991–1999)
ResidenceKharkiv, Ukraine
Born (1968-01-19) 19 January 1968 (age 56)
Kyiv, Soviet Union
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro1989
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$438,529
Singles
Career record35–47
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 93 (10 June 1991)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1992)
French Open2R (1994)
Wimbledon1R (1990)
US Open2R (1993)
Doubles
Career record22–35
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 119 (13 July 1992)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1992)
Wimbledon1R (1992)
US Open1R (1991)

Career edit

Poliakov, a clay court specialist and the Soviet singles champion in 1990, had his breakthrough year in 1991, when he won the Yugoslavia Open, an ATP Tour event. This saw him break into the top 100 for the first time. He was also runner-up in the Austrian Open, with partner Pablo Arraya. These would be the only two ATP Tour finals that he reached during his career.

In 1993 he made it into the semi-finals of the Kremlin Cup, as qualifier. He defeated number three seed Amos Mansdorf in the opening round and then best Zimbabwean Byron Black 6–0, 6–3 and Martin Damm of the Czech Republic. His tournament ended when he was defeated by Marc Rosset in three sets.[1]

He had one of the best wins of his career in 1992 when he defeated world number 12 Carlos Costa in Vienna in straight sets.

From 1993 to 1998, Poliakov was a regular fixture in the Ukraine Davis Cup team. He had a 10–2 record in singles. His doubles record was 9–5 and seven of those wins came with Andrei Medvedev, which is a national record. He had also played in two Davis Cup campaigns for the Soviet Union team in 1990 and 1991.[2]

He reached the second round of a Grand Slam singles draw on three occasions, twice as a qualifier. In the men's doubles he appeared in three Grand Slam tournaments but never progressed part the first round.[3]

ATP career finals edit

Singles: 1 (1–0) edit

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 May 1991 Umag, Yugoslavia Clay   Javier Sánchez 6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 1 (0–1) edit

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1991 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Pablo Arraya   Tomás Carbonell
  Francisco Roig
7–6, 2–6, 4–6

Challenger titles edit

Singles: (4) edit

No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
1. 1989 Fürth, West Germany Clay   Federico Mordegan 6–2, 6–1
2. 1990 Neu-Ulm, West Germany Clay   Bart Wuyts 3–6, 7–5, 6–3
3. 1991 Bielefeld, Germany Clay   Lars Koslowski 6–4, 6–1
4. 1993 Bruck, Austria Clay   Simon Touzil 6–4, 6–1

Doubles: (5) edit

No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
1. 1989 Fürth, West Germany Clay   Vladimir Gabrichidze   Cristiano Caratti
  Federico Mordegan
6–4, 6–7, 6–4
2. 1990 Knokke, Belgium Clay   Andrei Olhovskiy   Xavier Daufresne
  Denis Langaskens
6–4, 4–6, 6–3
3. 1990 Verona, Italy Clay   Slava Doseděl   Jacco Eltingh
  Menno Oosting
6–0, 6–7, 6–4
4. 1991 Porto, Portugal Clay   Tomáš Anzari   Paul Haarhuis
  Mark Koevermans
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
5. 1993 Eisenach, Germany Clay   Christer Allgårdh   Vladimir Gabrichidze
  Andrei Merinov
6–7, 6–4, 6–4

References edit