Stefan Koubek

Stefan Koubek, also known as Cooley or Stef, is an Austrian professional tennis player who was born on January 2, 1977 in Klagenfurt. He has 3 singles titles, with two being on hardcourts, despite favoring clay surfaces the most. Koubek also has one doubles title. Koubek turned professional in 1994, during which he lost his first match. Between 1994 and 1998, Koubek played in ATP Challenger Series and ATP Futures events. He reached the finals in Ulm and Alpirsbach, winning his first Challenger event in the latter.

Koubek won his first ATP title as a qualifier at Atlanta in 1999. He got this by losing only one set in the whole tournament, crushing Sebastien Grosjean in the finals. In his French Open debut he reached fourth round before losing to Alex Corretja. During the 1999 season, Koubek was second only to Albert Costa in wins on clay with 28 match victories.

In 2000 Koubek won his second title on the hardcourts at Delray Beach after defeating Alex Calatrava. He reached his highest singles rank to date on March 13, 2000, when he reached 20th place in the world ranking. In 2002, Koubek had his best ever performance at a Grand Slam tournament by making the quarter finals of the Australian Open. Unfortunately, Koubek finished the year with seven consecutive first round losses. However, Koubek made a rebound for his career in 2003 by winning his third career title in Doha. However he became inconsistent and suffered huge consecutive losses after his win in Doha. At the 2004 French Open, Koubek was involved in a controversy after being tested positive for glucocorticosteroids after receiving an injection for an injured wrist. He was subsequently suspended for three months even though the ITF acknowledged that Koubek had not used the drugs to enhance performance.

As a result of his injuries and career controversy Koubek struggled in 2005, and fell from the top 100 ranking. In 2006, he began ascending through the ranks again and made his presence felt by going from rank 182nd to 80th by the end of the year. Koubek continued to climb the rankings and finished the 2007 season ranked in the top 50. In 2008, Koubek will have to undergo surgery to alleviate bulging discs, which is a potentially career threatening injury.