Nicolás Pereira

Nicolás Pereira (born September 29, 1970) is a commentator for the Tennis Channel and former professional tennis player, who became the ITF Junior World Champion in 1988 after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Nicolás Pereira
Country (sports) Venezuela
ResidenceCaracas, Venezuela
Born (1970-09-29) 29 September 1970 (age 53)
Salto, Uruguay
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro1987
Retired1997
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,077,159
Singles
Career record81–125
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 74 (22 July 1996)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1990, 1995)
French Open2R (1989)
Wimbledon2R (1994, 1996)
US Open3R (1995)
Doubles
Career record114–133
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 44 (19 November 1990)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1991, 1996)
French Open3R (1990)
Wimbledon3R (1989)
US Open3R (1996)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open2R (1991)
Wimbledon1R (1990, 1993)
Last updated on: 11 December 2021.

Professional career

In the fall of 1988, Pereira registered wins on the pro tour against Brad Gilbert and Amos Mansdorf. He finished 1988 ranked No. 151 in the world rankings.

In April 1989, Pereira reached the quarterfinals of the Japan Open, defeating No. 21 ranked Andrés Gómez before losing to No. 1 ranked Ivan Lendl. In June, he defeated world No. 3 Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the first round of the Queens Club grass-court tournament.

A few weeks later, in the first round of Wimbledon, he took eventual semifinalist Lendl to five sets before losing. Later that summer, he reached the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix event in Montreal, the Canadian Open. There he beat No. 10 ranked Tim Mayotte, then lost to No. 14 ranked Jay Berger. Pereira, at 19 years of age, finished 1989 ranked No. 121.

However, Pereira's progress stalled over the next three years. In 1990, he lost most of his matches in the first round of ATP level tournaments and finished the year ranked No. 238. In 1991, he won the Lins and São Paulo-4 Challengers in back-to-back weeks, and ended the year ranked No. 146. He won the Guarujá Brazil Challenger in September 1992 and was ranked No. 138 at the end of the year.

In 1993, Pereira defeated Aaron Krickstein in the first round at the Bermuda Challenger. At the end of 1993, Pereira was ranked No. 141.

1994 marked a resurgence for Pereira. In March, he won the San Luis Potosí Challenger. At Wimbledon, he reached the second round where he lost a thrilling five-set match to No. 18 Andre Agassi. In September, Pereira defeated Mauricio Hadad in the final of the Bancolombia Open to win his first ATP singles title. He closed out 1994 ranked No. 110. 1995 was a mixed year for Pereira. In July, he won the Rio Brazil Challenger title by defeating João Cunha e Silva in straight sets. The next week at New Haven, he defeated MaliVai Washington in the second round, then lost to No. 10 Marc Rosset.

At the U.S. Open, Pereira reached the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. At the end of the year, Nicolas was ranked No. 134.

1996 was another inconsistent year for Pereira. He started the year well in Doha by qualifying, then defeated world No. 5 Boris Becker 7–6, 6–7, 7–6 in the second round to reach the quarterfinals. In March, Pereira again caused an upset when he defeated world No. 1 Thomas Muster in straight sets at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida. In July, Pereira won his second ATP title, defeating Grant Stafford on the grass courts at Newport, Rhode Island. He reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 74 the following week on July 22, 1996.

Pereira represented Venezuela at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, losing in the second round to eventual bronze medalist Leander Paes. He finished the year ranked No. 110.

Pereira retired in September 1997.

ATP career finals

Singles: 2 (2 titles)

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (2–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (2–0)
Indoors (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Sep 1994Bogotá, ColombiaWorld SeriesClay Mauricio Hadad6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win2–0Jul 1996Newport, United StatesWorld SeriesGrass Grant Stafford4–6, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP Championship Series (0–1)
ATP World Series (3–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–2)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Finals by setting
Outdoors (3–3)
Indoors (0–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Jan 1990Wellington, New ZealandWorld SeriesHard Kelly Evernden Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez Vicario
6–4, 7–6
Loss1–1Mar 1990Rotterdam, NetherlandsWorld SeriesCarpet Diego Nargiso Leonardo Lavalle
Jorge Lozano
6–7, 4–6
Win2–1Jan 1991Wellington, New ZealandWorld SeriesHard Luiz Mattar John Letts
Jaime Oncins
4–6, 7–6, 6–2
Loss2–2Apr 1991Orlando, United StatesWorld SeriesHard Pete Sampras Luke Jensen
Scott Melville
7–6(7–5), 6–7(6–8), 3–6
Loss2–3Aug 1995New Haven, United StatesChampionship SeriesHard Leander Paes Rick Leach
Scott Melville
3–6, 7–5, 4–6
Loss2–4Mar 1996Mexico City, MexicoWorld SeriesClay Emilio Sánchez Donald Johnson
Francisco Montana
2–6, 4–6
Win3–4Jan 1991Bogotá, ColombiaWorld SeriesClay David Rikl Pablo Campana
Nicolás Lapentti
6–3, 7–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals

Singles: 10 (5–5)

Legend
ATP Challenger (5–5)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–2)
Clay (3–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Aug 1991Lins, BrazilChallengerClay Luis Lobo2–6, 6–3, 7–6
Win2–0Aug 1991São Paulo, BrazilChallengerClay Martin Stringari6–3, 6–2
Loss2–1Sep 1991Madeira, PortugalChallengerHard Byron Black3–6, 4–6
Loss2–2Aug 1992São Paulo, BrazilChallengerClay Martin Stringari3–6, 6–3, 2–6
Win3–2Sep 1992Guarujá, BrazilChallengerHard Roberto Jabali6–4, 6–4
Loss3–3Sep 1993São Paulo, BrazilChallengerHard Fernando Meligeni5–7, 2–6
Loss3–4Oct 1993Cali, ColombiaChallengerClay Mauricio Hadad6–7, 6–7
Win4–4Apr 1994San Luis Potosí, MexicoChallengerClay Luis Herrera6–7, 6–2, 6–2
Win5–4Aug 1995Rio de Janeiro, BrazilChallengerHard João Cunha-Silva7–5, 6–3
Loss5–5Nov 1995Santiago, ChileChallengerClay Nicolás Lapentti6–7, 3–6

Doubles: 14 (8–6)

Legend
ATP Challenger (7–6)
ITF Futures (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–4)
Clay (4–2)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Jul 1991Salerno, ItalyChallengerClay Marcos Ondruska Emilio Benfele Álvarez
Pietro Pennisi
6–4, 6–4
Win2–0Aug 1992Lins, BrazilChallengerClay João Cunha-Silva Cássio Motta
Fernando Roese
6–3, 6–4
Loss2–1Aug 1992São Paulo, BrazilChallengerClay João Cunha-Silva Pablo Albano
Cássio Motta
walkover
Win3–1Sep 1992Bogotá, ColombiaChallengerClay Mario Tabares William Kyriakos
Fernando Meligeni
7–6, 7–5
Loss3–2Oct 1992Ponte Vedra, United StatesChallengerHard Daniel Vacek Jared Palmer
Jim Pugh
6–1, 3–6, 2–6
Win4–2Jul 1993Belo Horizonte, BrazilChallengerHard Ricardo Acioly Fernando Roese
Felipe Rivera
7–6, 5–7, 6–3
Loss4–3Sep 1993Caracas, VenezuelaChallengerHard Doug Flach Richard Matuszewski
John Sullivan
6–7, 5–7
Loss4–4Dec 1993Paget, BermudaChallengerClay Maurice Ruah Mark Knowles
Jared Palmer
1–6, 3–6
Win5–4Apr 1994Puerto Vallarta, MexicoChallengerHard Pablo Albano Paul Kilderry
Simon Youl
6–4, 3–6, 7–6
Win6–4Jul 1995Annenheim, AustriaChallengerGrass Diego Nargiso Karsten Braasch
Joern Renzenbrink
6–7, 6–4, 7–6
Win7–4Aug 1995Brasília, BrazilChallengerHard Jean-Philippe Fleurian Noam Behr
Lior Mor
7–6, 6–2
Loss7–5Aug 1995Rio de Janeiro, BrazilChallengerHard Jean-Philippe Fleurian João Cunha-Silva
Óscar Ortiz
5–7, 6–4, 1–6
Loss7–6Oct 1995Monterrey, MexicoChallengerHard David Rikl Mark Knowles
Daniel Nestor
6–3, 1–6, 4–6
Win8–6May 2001USA F12, Hallandale BeachFuturesClay José de Armas Steve Berke
Kyle Porter
6–4, 2–6, 6–2

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (3 titles)

ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1988French OpenClay Magnus Larsson7–6, 6–3
Win1988WimbledonGrass Guillaume Raoux7–6, 6–2
Win1988US OpenHard Nicklas Kulti6–1, 6–2

Performance timelines

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament1988198919901991199219931994199519961997SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAA2RQ3A1RA2RQ21R0 / 42–433%
French OpenA2R1RAAAAA1RQ20 / 31–325%
WimbledonQ11RAAQ21R2R1R2R1R0 / 62–625%
US OpenA1RAAQ12R1R3R1RQ20 / 53–538%
Win–loss0–01–31–20–00–01–31–23–31–30–20 / 188–1831%
ATP Masters Series
MiamiA1R1RAAA1RA3RA0 / 42–433%
RomeAQ1AAAAAAAA0 / 00–0 – 
CanadaAQFAAAA2RAAA0 / 24–267%
CincinnatiAA2RAAAQ1AAA0 / 11–150%
ParisAAAAAQ2AAAA0 / 00–0 – 
Win–loss0–03–21–20–00–00–01–20–02–10–00 / 77–750%

Doubles

Tournament1988198919901991199219931994199519961997SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAA1R2RA1RA1R2R1R0 / 62–625%
French OpenA1R3R1RAAAA1R1R0 / 52–529%
WimbledonQ13R2RAQ12R1RA2R1R0 / 65–645%
US OpenA2R1RAA1R1R1R3R1R0 / 73–730%
Win–loss0–03–33–41–20–01–30–20–24–40–40 / 2412–2433%
ATP Masters Series
MiamiAA1R2R1RA2RA2RA0 / 53–538%
RomeA2RA2RAAAAAA0 / 22–250%
CanadaA1R2RAAA2RAAA0 / 32–340%
CincinnatiAA1RAAA1RAAA0 / 20–20%
Win–loss0–01–21–32–20–10–02–30–01–10–00 / 127–1237%

See also

List of Grand Slam Boys' Singles champions

External links