About Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny (born 25 June 1982), nicknamed "Misha" and "Colonel" by his fans, is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked inside the top 10 and was the Russian No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the first time on 13 August 2007, and reached a career peak of world No. 8 in January 2008, and again in October 2010. Youzhny reached the quarterfinals of all majors, reaching the semifinals at the US Open in 2006 and 2010. The closest he came to a major final was at the 2006 US Open semifinals when he took the first set from world No. 9 Andy Roddick, after upsetting world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. At the other semifinal he lost in straight sets to the eventual champion, Nadal. Youzhny reached the finals of 21 ATP Tour-level titles, winning ten of them. He reached ATP Tour finals on all surfaces, but never won a singles title on grass. In 2010—his best season—Youzhny reached five ATP finals, winning two and ending the year as a top-10 player. Youzhny was a member of the winning Russian national team at the Davis Cup in both 2002 and 2006, playing a crucial role in 2002 when he won the deciding rubber after coming back from two-sets-to-love down.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.