Nicolás Pereira
# Nicolás Pereira

Nicolás Pereira (born September 29, 1970) is a former tennis player from Venezuela, who became International Tennis Federation Junior World Champion in 1988 after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

## 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 Tokyo Japan Open, beating no. 21 ranked Andrés Gómez, then lost to no. 1 ranked Ivan Lendl. In June, he beat 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 Lendl to five sets before losing. Later that summer, he reached the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix event at 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 was 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 did win the Lins and São Paulo-4 Challengers in back-to-back weeks, and was ranked no. 146 at year's end. 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 beat Mauricio Hadad at the ATP Bogotá to register his first ATP tournament 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 beating world no. 5 Boris Becker 7–6, 6–7, 7–6 in round two. In March, Pereira again caused an upset when he beat world no. 1 Thomas Muster in straight sets at the Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida. In July, Pereira won his second career ATP title when he beat Grant Stafford on the grass courts at Newport, Rhode Island.

He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on July 22, 1996, when he became the no. 74 player in the world. He represented Venezuela at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Pereira 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)

| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1–0 | Sep 1994 | Bogotá, Colombia | World Series | Clay | Mauricio Hadad | 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jul 1996 | Newport, United States | World Series | Grass | Grant Stafford | 4–6, 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)

| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1–0 | Jan 1990 | Wellington, New Zealand | World Series | Hard | Kelly Evernden | Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez Vicario | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Mar 1990 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | World Series | Carpet | Diego Nargiso | Leonardo Lavalle Jorge Lozano | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Jan 1991 | Wellington, New Zealand | World Series | Hard | Luiz Mattar | John Letts Jaime Oncins | 4–6, 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Apr 1991 | Orlando, United States | World Series | Hard | Pete Sampras | Luke Jensen Scott Melville | $7–6^{(7–5)},$ $6–7^{(6–8)},$ 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Aug 1995 | New Haven, United States | Championship Series | Hard | Leander Paes | Rick Leach Scott Melville | 3–6, 7–5, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Mar 1996 | Mexico City, Mexico | World Series | Clay | Emilio Sánchez | Donald Johnson Francisco Montana | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–4 | Jan 1991 | Bogotá, Colombia | World Series | Clay | 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)

| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1–0 | Aug 1991 | Lins, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Luis Lobo | 2–6, 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 2–0 | Aug 1991 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Martin Stringari | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Sep 1991 | Madeira, Portugal | Challenger | Hard | Byron Black | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Aug 1992 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | Martin Stringari | 3–6, 6–3, 2–6 |
| Win | 3–2 | Sep 1992 | Guarujá, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Roberto Jabali | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Sep 1993 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Fernando Meligeni | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3–4 | Oct 1993 | Cali, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Mauricio Hadad | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 4–4 | Apr 1994 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Luis Herrera | 6–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–4 | Aug 1995 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | João Cunha-Silva | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Loss | 5–5 | Nov 1995 | Santiago, Chile | Challenger | Clay | Nicolás Lapentti | 6–7, 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)

| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1991 | Salerno, Italy | Challenger | Clay | Marcos Ondruska | Emilio Benfele Álvarez Pietro Pennisi | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Aug 1992 | Lins, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | João Cunha-Silva | Cássio Motta Fernando Roese | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Aug 1992 | São Paulo, Brazil | Challenger | Clay | João Cunha-Silva | Pablo Albano Cássio Motta | walkover |
| Win | 3–1 | Sep 1992 | Bogotá, Colombia | Challenger | Clay | Mario Tabares | William Kyriakos Fernando Meligeni | 7–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 3–2 | Oct 1992 | Ponte Vedra, United States | Challenger | Hard | Daniel Vacek | Jared Palmer Jim Pugh | 6–1, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 4–2 | Jul 1993 | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Ricardo Acioly | Fernando Roese Felipe Rivera | 7–6, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–3 | Sep 1993 | Caracas, Venezuela | Challenger | Hard | Doug Flach | Richard Matuszewski John Sullivan | 6–7, 5–7 |
| Loss | 4–4 | Dec 1993 | Paget, Bermuda | Challenger | Clay | Maurice Ruah | Mark Knowles Jared Palmer | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 5–4 | Apr 1994 | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | Pablo Albano | Paul Kilderry Simon Youl | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 6–4 | Jul 1995 | Annenheim, Austria | Challenger | Grass | Diego Nargiso | Karsten Braasch Joern Renzenbrink | 6–7, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Win | 7–4 | Aug 1995 | Brasília, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Jean-Philippe Fleurian | Noam Behr Lior Mor | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 7–5 | Aug 1995 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Challenger | Hard | Jean-Philippe Fleurian | João Cunha-Silva Óscar Ortiz | 5–7, 6–4, 1–6 |
| Loss | 7–6 | Oct 1995 | Monterrey, Mexico | Challenger | Hard | David Rikl | Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 8–6 | May 2001 | USA F12, Hallandale Beach | Futures | Clay | José de Armas | Steve Berke Kyle Porter | 6–4, 2–6, 6–2 |

## Junior Grand Slam finals

### Singles: 3 (3 titles)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1988 | French Open | Clay | Magnus Larsson | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 1988 | Wimbledon | Grass | Guillaume Raoux | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 1988 | US Open | Hard | Nicklas Kulti | 6–1, 6–2 |

## Performance timelines

Key :

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

### Singles

| Tournament | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 2R | Q3 | A | 1R | A | 2R | Q2 | 1R | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% |
| French Open | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | Q2 | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% |
| Wimbledon | Q1 | 1R | A | A | Q2 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% |
| US Open | A | 1R | A | A | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | Q2 | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | 38% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0 / 18 | 8–18 | 31% |
| ATP Masters Series ||||||||||||||
| Miami | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | A | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% |
| Rome | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Canada | A | QF | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 4–2 | 67% |
| Cincinnati | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0 / 7 | 7–7 | 50% |

### Doubles

| Tournament | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | SR | W–L | Win % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Grand Slam tournaments ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% |
| French Open | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 2–5 | 29% |
| Wimbledon | Q1 | 3R | 2R | A | Q1 | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 0 / 6 | 5–6 | 45% |
| US Open | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 3–7 | 30% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–4 | 0–4 | 0 / 24 | 12–24 | 33% |
| ATP Masters Series ||||||||||||||
| Miami | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | A | 2R | A | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | 38% |
| Rome | A | 2R | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Canada | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% |
| Cincinnati | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0 / 12 | 7–12 | 37% |
