Teimuraz Besikovich Gabashvili(Georgian; born May 23, 1985 in Tbilisi, USSR) - Russian professional tennis player, master of sports. Winner of one ATP tournament in doubles.

general information

Teimuraz is the eldest of the three children of Besik and Anna Gabashvili; his brother's name is Levan, and his sister is Ekaterina. Gabashvili was born in Tbilisi, but at the age of nine he moved to Moscow with his family. Now the Russian and his ex-wife Maria Melikhova have one joint child - daughter Nicole (born 2012).

Teimuraz is not the only professional athlete in the family: his brother, Levan, plays basketball.

Gabashvili took up a racket for the first time at the age of six.

Sports career

Teimuraz began his professional career in 2001. In August 2002, playing doubles with Alexander Pavlyuchenkov, he won the first title in the Futures series. In June 2003, he got his first victory on the "futures" in singles, won in Spain. In July of the same year, he won two more "futures" in Georgia, and in August one in Russia. In July 2004, Gabashvili made his debut on the ATP tour, having made his way through the qualifications for the tournament in Båstad. The Russian lost his first match at the main competitions of the association to Olivier Patiens - 3-6 6-4 6-7 (1). Three weeks after the performance in Bostad, in an alliance with Dmitry Vlasov, he won the doubles trophy at the Challenger in Togliatti. At the end of August, he also reached the first singles final at the Challengers. It happened in Bukhara, where in the final he loses to Michal Mertinjak. In October 2004, for the second time in the season, he took part in the main competitions of the ATP tour, having received a special invitation from the organizers of the tournament in Moscow, where Gabashvili lost in the first round.

In February 2005, Teimuraz made it through the qualifications for the Delray Beach tournament, where he defeated James Blake in the first round and lost to fellow American Vincent Spady in the second. In June, he reached the final of the Challenger in Barcelona, ​​where he lost to Argentina's Sergio Roitman. In July, he celebrates his first Challenger singles win by defeating Adrian Garcia in the final in Poznań. In October, he won the first round match at a tournament in Moscow, defeating Gilles Muller, but in the next stage he is inferior to Maxim Mirny. At the end of the season, he reached the final of the Challenger in Reunion, and in the doubles draw of that tournament he won in an alliance with Stéphane Robert.

Master of Sports, Russian tennis player Teimuraz Gabashvili, thanks to natural talent and hard work, was able to win many serious awards in tennis, beating such masters as Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, Thomas Johansson, James Blake and others.

First steps in sports

Little Teimuraz attended the tennis section from the age of five, and when at the age of ten he moved from his native Georgia to Russia with his family, it was decided to continue training. However, the Gabashvili family did not have funds for a tennis teacher, and Andrey Kesarov offered to train a talented boy, showing good prospects, for free. He became his mentor for the next ten years.

Professional level of Teimuraz Gabashvili

Teimuraz Gabashvili entered the adult level in 2001 and during his career won many victories in tournaments of varying complexity. In the period from 2007 to 2011 in singles, he was able to reach the quarter finals of the ATP competition 10 times. In 2007, a tournament in Indianapolis allowed Teimuraz to the final stage, however, in doubles. He conquered the Challenger tournaments in Poznań, Ted, Krlsruhe, Milan and Mons. The highest position in the ATP ranking - 59th line - was with a young athlete in 2009. Unfortunately, by the end of this year, Gabashvili drops out of even the top 100, dropping to 106th position.

Return to the TOP-100

A year later, Teimuraz Gabashvili loudly declares himself again, this time in the fight for the cup of one of the Grand Slam tournaments - Roland Garros. At the beginning of the tournament, the Russian tennis player occupied only the 114th position in the world ranking, but a confident victory in six matches in a row with a score of 15-0 allowed him to rise much higher - to the 88th position in the ranking. On the fourth lap, Austrian Jurgen Melzer interrupted the athlete's victorious march.

In the next two years, Gabashvili fell below the hundredth line - in 2011 he occupied the 138th position, in 2012 - the 182nd. Sporting achievements in 2013 and 2014 allowed him to take revenge again and conquer first the 76th line of the ATP rating, then the 67th.

To date, Teimuraz Gabashvili continues active performances and in April 2015 in doubles he was able to win the first ATP tournament in his career, held in Houston. A couple of Russians were Lithuanian Richardas Berankis. This very inspiring event in the life of an athlete took place thanks to grueling training and hard work.

Reference:

Teimuraz Gabashvili(May 23, 1985 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR) is a Russian tennis player. Turned professional in 2001. Master of Sports of Russia.
Father is an auditor, mother is a doctor. Born in Tbilisi, at the age of 9 he moved to Moscow. Teimuraz's brother Levan is a professional basketball player. There is also a younger sister Catherine. Wife - Maria Melikhova.

Sports achivments
- 10 times reached the quarterfinals of ATP tournaments in singles:
- Memphis, USA - February 2007, lost to Mardy Fish;
- Rotterdam, Netherlands - February 2008, lost to Gilles Simon;
- Zagreb, Croatia - February 2008, lost to Ivan Lubicic;
- Amersfoort, Netherlands - July 2008, lost to Marc Giquel;
- Bucharest, Romania - September 2008, lost to Richard Gasquet;
- Casablanca, Morocco - April 2009, lost to Florent Serra;
- Bostad, Sweden - July 2009, lost to Tommy Robredo;
- New Haven, USA - August 2010, lost to Denis Istomin;
- Houston, USA - April 2011, lost to Ryan Sweeting;
- 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands - June 2011, lost to Ivan Dodig;
- Finalist of the ATP tournament in Indianapolis in doubles in July 2007 (with Ivo Karlovic).

During his career he won 5 "Challengers":
2005 - Poznan (clay)
2008 - Telde, Karlsruhe, Milan (all clay), Mons (hard, hall)
He has victories over Philip Kohlschreiber, James Blake, Igor Andreev, Potito Starace, Thomas Johansson, Xavier Malisse, Dominik Grbaty, Michel Llodra, Fernando Gonzalez, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Ernest Gulbis, Andy Roddick.
Roland Garros 2010
One of the most successful tournaments in Gabashvili's career was the 2010 French Open.
At the beginning of the tournament, Gabashvili was in 114th place in the world rankings and started from the qualification, where, being seeded under the 9th number, he consistently beat Croatian Roko Karanushich (6-1 7-63), Frenchman Thierry Asion (6-2 6 -0) and American Ryler Dehart (7-62 6-4). In the main draw, Teimuraz defeated Austrian Daniel Köllerer (6-2 6-2 6-1), Slovenian Greg Zhemlya (6-3 6-1 6-1) and sixth seeded American Andy Roddick (6-4 6-4 6-2 ). Thus, taking into account the qualifications, Gabashvili won 6 matches in a row with a total score of 15-0 in sets. In the 4th round, Gabashvili lost to the Austrian Jurgen Meltzer with a score of 66-7 6-4 1-6 4-6.
Prior to this tournament, in his entire career, Gabashvili won three matches in the main draw at all Grand Slam tournaments. In addition, for the first time in his career, Gabashvili won three matches in a row in the main draw at the ATP tournament, he had not had more than two wins in a row before. Thanks to his successful performance, Gabashvili rose from 114th to 88th place in the ranking.

Interesting Facts
Gabashvili became the first tennis player to use the new Hawkeye system on Wimbledon's center court. It happened on June 25, 2007 in the first round match against Roger Federer. Gabashvili made a mistake in that request.

For some time, Teimuraz doubted whether it was worth telling the whole world about his personal life. And only after his wife Maria gave the go-ahead, he agreed. I think that in this case any comments are superfluous.

Dinara KAFISKINA

All in all, we did amazingly well. Apparently, indeed, fate, - says Teimuraz. - At one time I studied and trained in Valencia at the academy. Maria is a former tennis player. She also studied there. At first, we just talked, felt sympathy for each other. I was then 18 years old, and my girlfriend was only 15. And, imagine, two years later we met by chance on an airplane. I flew from Moscow to Tashkent. Of course, we realized that we collided for a reason. That situation became, perhaps, the most memorable in my life. In general, we exchanged mobile phones and email addresses. And they began to correspond on the Internet and communicate by phone.

What do you like about your future wife?

I liked absolutely everything about it. Agree, this does not happen often. Maria is very educated, educated and kind. And, of course, her attitude towards me is pleasant. She looks after me, one might say, (smiles). But I would like to notice - I am behind her, of course, too. How else? I can't even imagine. If people really love each other and respect.

- What is the most important for you external or internal world?

Maria is very beautiful. But, of course, in order to live together, the inner world is more important. You can't be with a girl who has nothing to talk about. Even if she looks the most beautiful in the whole wide world.

- When you made an offer, how sure were you that you would not refuse?

I confess, I was not sure that I would agree immediately. But, judging by the fact that she did not refuse, our feelings were mutual. Only, unfortunately, we do not often manage to be together. But I am glad that my wife, if possible, comes to tournaments where I participate, and supports me after defeats and rejoices with me when I win. Maria worries about me all the time. Nicely. She understands tennis. And this is very good. Helps with everything, but does not make comments. That's why I have my own coach. Mary is my soul mate.

- Since your family is so athletic, are you talking about tennis at home?

Of course. As without it. We watch games, discuss for a long time ...

- Do you play together?

Rarely. Once. But when we play, I win, of course, I (smiles).

- And the holidays, probably, are not so often celebrated together?

Yes. And there is. For example, we began to celebrate Valentine's Day together relatively recently. Maria studied, I played. Was on the road. Even on birthdays, it was impossible to be together. Only in hindsight, gifts were given to each other. This is the life of a tennis player. This is our job. What to do. All holidays fade into the background.

- What do you usually prefer to present to each other?

I give what my wife usually wants. When I found out that I wanted a newfangled handbag complete with shoes, I immediately bought it for her. And I once liked one watch. My wife wanted me to buy them. But I refused. I told her then, it's much better when men give gifts to their beloved soul mates.

Father is an auditor, mother is a doctor. Born in Tbilisi, at the age of 9 he moved to Moscow. Teimuraz's brother Levan is a professional basketball player. There is also a younger sister Catherine. Wife - Maria Melikhova.

Sports achivments

5 times reached the quarterfinals of ATP tournaments in singles:

Memphis, USA - February 2007, lost to Murdy Fish;

Rotterdam, The Netherlands - February 2008, lost to Gilles Simon;

Zagreb, Croatia - February 2008, lost to Ivan Ljubicic;

Amersfurt, The Netherlands - July 2008, lost to Marc Giquel;

Bucharest, Romania - September 2008, lost to Richard Gasquet.

Finalist of the ATP tournament in Indianapolis in doubles in July 2007 (with Ivo Karlovic).

During his career he won 5 "Challengers":

Best of the day

2005 - Poznan (ground)

2008 - Telde, Karlsruhe, Milan (all - clay), Mons (indoor hard)

He has victories over Philip Kohlschreiber, James Blake, Igor Andreev, Potito Starace, Thomas Johansson, Xavier Malisse, Dominik Grbaty, Michel Llodra, Fernando Gonzalez, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Ernest Gulbis, Andy Roddick.

Roland Garros 2010

One of the most successful tournaments in Gabashvili's career was the 2010 French Open.

At the beginning of the tournament, Gabashvili was in 114th place in the world rankings and started from the qualification, where, being seeded under the 9th number, he consistently beat Croatian Roko Karanushich (6-1 7-63), Frenchman Thierry Asion (6-2 6 -0) and American Ryler Dehart (7-62 6-4). In the main draw, Teimuraz defeated Austrian Daniel Köllerer (6-2 6-2 6-1), Slovenian Greg Zhemlya (6-3 6-1 6-1) and sixth seeded American Andy Roddick (6-4 6-4 6-2 ). Thus, taking into account the qualifications, Gabashvili won 6 matches in a row with a total score of 15-0 in sets. In the 4th round, Gabashvili lost to the Austrian Jurgen Meltzer with a score of 66-7 6-4 1-6 4-6.

Prior to this tournament, in his entire career, Gabashvili won 3 matches in the main draw at all Grand Slam tournaments. In addition, for the first time in his career, Gabashvili won three matches in a row in the main draw at the ATP tournament, earlier he had not had more than 2 victories in a row. Thanks to his successful performance, Gabashvili rose from 114th to 88th place in the ranking.

Gabashvili became the first tennis player to use the new Hawkeye system on Wimbledon's center court. It happened on June 25, 2007 in the first round match against Roger Federer. Gabashvili made a mistake in that request.