About Michael Russell (tennis)
Michael Craig Russell (born May 1, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player, and tennis coach. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 60 in August 2007. His 23 United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit singles titles were the all-time record, as of November 2013. That month he became the American No. 3. In 1994 Russell was ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles in the USTA Boys' 16 rankings, and in 1996 he was ranked No. 1 in singles in the U.S. Boys' 18-Under. Playing for the University of Miami in 1996–97, he was named National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rookie of the Year, before he turned pro in 1997. A high school valedictorian, Russell was one of few Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players in his time who had a college degree, having earned a B.S. from the University of Phoenix with a 3.94 grade point average. Russell struggled with knee injuries for much of his professional career. He is perhaps best known for, on two occasions, holding surprise two-set leads in major tournaments against former major champions, before eventually being defeated both times. In the fourth round of the 2001 French Open (his best run at a major) against defending and eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten (as well as the contemporary world No. 1), Russell led two-sets-to love and 5–3 in the third set, and held a match point, but was defeated in five sets. In the 2007 Australian Open, he held a two-sets-to-love lead over former US Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, before succumbing in five sets. Other career highlights include a fourth-round showing at the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, a semifinal appearance at the 2012 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and wins against top-10 players Mardy Fish and Tomáš Berdych. On the Challenger Tour, he finished his career at No. 8 in match wins (276) and tied for fifth in titles (15). Russell started Michael Russell Tennis, a private tennis coaching business in 2015. He has coached Frances Tiafoe, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Taylor Fritz and Mackenzie McDonald through USTA Player Development. He won the 1994 USTA National Boys' 16 Championships, beating top-seeded Kevin Kim in the finals, and won the doubles title with Geoff Abrams. In 1993, he won the USTA National Boys' 16 Indoor Doubles Championship with Kevin Kim.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.