Filippo Volandri

Filippo Volandri (born on 5 September 1981 in Livorno, Italy) is an Italian professional male tennis player. Volandri is a right-handed player who reached a career-high ranking of 25 on July 23, 2007. He turned pro in 1997, and as of January 2006, had earned over $1,300,000 in prize money. In September 2006, he lost the final of the Bucharest ATP tournament against Jürgen Melzer (6–1, 7–5). Volandri won the second title of his career in September 2006, beating Nicolás Lapentti in the final of the Sicily International in Palermo.

Rome Masters success

At the Rome Masters in 2007 Volandri, having entered as a wild card, recorded the biggest win of his career by dispatching world number one Roger Federer in straight sets, 6–2 6–4. Volandri celebrated by doing a lap of honour around centre court, high-fiving spectators in the furthest-forward rows.

Afterwards Volandri hailed the victory as not only for himself but for Italy, telling something of the regard in which Federer, who holds the record for the longest spell as the world's top-ranked male player, is held. The result was all the more felt due to Italy's relative under-achievement on the men's tennis scene in recent times. For his part Federer offered few excuses for the out-of-character display.

Hopes that this might be the start of Italy's re-emergence among the top nations of professional men's tennis were heightened when Volandri went on to beat highly-tipped world number 12 Tomáš Berdych 6–2 6–3, in the...
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