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Alexandar Lazarov

Alexandar Lazarov
Country (sports) Bulgaria
ResidenceSofia, Bulgaria
Born (1997-11-06) 6 November 1997 (age 27)
Miami, Florida, United States
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro2016
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CoachKrasimir Lazarov
Prize moneyUS$ 191,201
Singles
Career record7–9 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 272 (14 November 2022)
Doubles
Career record4–9 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 359 (3 February 2020)
Last updated on: 30 April 2024.

Alexandar Lazarov (Bulgarian: Александър Лазаров, born 6 November 1997) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 272 achieved on 14 November 2022 and his best doubles ranking is No. 359 achieved on 3 February 2020.[1][2]

Professional career

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2016: Professional debut, first ITF title

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In 2016 Lazarov made his debut at ATP level at the ATP Sofia Open. He received a wild card for the qualification of the event in his homeland, losing in two sets to the world No. 214 Marius Copil.[3] A month later Alexandar made his debut for the Bulgaria Davis Cup team against Turkey,[4] losing the first match to Marsel İlhan, but claiming his maiden win over Altuğ Çelikbilek in the second. In September he won his first ITF singles title at the Serbia F8 event in Sokobanja, defeating Filip Veger in the final.

2017–2020: Maiden ATP main draw appearance & ATP Cup match win

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Lazarov lost in the first qualifying round at the ATP Sofia Open in 2017 and 2018, but at the 2019 event the Bulgarian defeated Lukáš Lacko and Luca Vanni to guarantee himself a spot in the main draw for the first time. In his ATP tour main draw debut Alexandar faced former world No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, but failed to score another upset, losing to the Spaniard 2–6 1–6. After the tournament Lazarov made his Top 500 debut in the ATP rankings.

Alexandar won his second ITF singles title in 2018 at the Georgia F3 event in Telavi and a year later he added another trophy to his collection, defeating Jordan Correia in the final of the M15 event in Casablanca.

In January 2020, Lazarov participated in the Bulgarian team in the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup where the top 24 countries qualified based on the singles ATP ranking of their No. 1 country player. The Bulgarian team was No. 19 based on Dimitrov's ranking and part of Group C. Lazarov and Grigor Dimitrov pulled a victory in doubles where as the underdogs they stunned the top British experienced pair of Jamie Murray/Joe Salisbury in a close three sets match.[5][6][7][8]

2021: ATP Challenger debut

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At the beginning of the 2021 season Lazarov made the qualifying draw at the Antalya Open, but lost in three sets to Lucas Miedler. In July Alexander played his first ATP Challenger main draw match at the Iași Open after two wins in the qualification draw, but his run was stopped by Marius Copil. The Bulgarian's good form continued in the following week at the M25 event in Telavi, where he didn't lose a set on his way to his fourth ITF singles title.

In September, he received a wildcard for the main draw at the ATP Sofia Open, but could not score his maiden ATP win, losing 0–6 3–6 to Filip Krajinović. Lazarov finished his season with two consecutive ATP Challenger quarterfinals in Manama and in Antalya where he lost to the eventual champion Evgenii Tiurnev and reached a new career-high ranking of No. 405 on 13 December 2021.

2022: First ATP Challenger semifinal, Maiden ATP singles win, Top 300

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In May Lazarov reached the quarterfinals of the Shymkent Challenger in Kazakhstan as a qualifier and as a result, he made his top 400 debut on 16 May 2022. Aleksandar continued his rise in the rankings during the summer after he won his fifth ITF title on home soil in Sofia as well as a final showing at the M25 event in Tbilisi the following week.

His best result to date came at the Rafa Nadal Open, where he made his way into the main draw and after five consecutive wins he reached his first semifinal on the ATP Challenger Tour as a qualifier. During his run in Manacor, Lazarov scored upset wins over world No. 132 Aleksandar Vukic and former No. 39 Mikhail Kukushkin before his run was stopped by the eventual champion Luca Nardi in three sets.

Ranked No. 334 at the 2022 Sofia Open, his home tournament, he won his first ATP tour level match and first against a top-100 player, overcoming world No. 74 Jiří Lehečka in straight sets.[9][10][11] In the second round Lazarov player another spectacular match against World No. 30 Lorenzo Musetti and was just two points away from clinching his first ATP quarterfinal, but couldn't complete the upset, losing in three sets 7–6(5), 6–7(8), 2–6 to the Italian.[12] At the same tournament in the doubles competition, he scored another ATP main draw win with Alexander Donski before losing in the quarterfinals to top seeds Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli. After the success at his home ATP tournament, Lazarov went on to win back to back M15 events in Sozopol, where he defeated Vladyslav Orlov and Maks Kaśnikowski to claim his sixth and seventh ITF title respectfully and securing his debut in the Top 300.

On 23 November 2022, he was confirmed as a participant at the 2023 United Cup as part of the Bulgarian team.[13]

2023: Historic Davis Cup qualification, ATP 500 debut, injury

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Lazarov opened his 2023 season with a debut appearance at the United Cup, where he won his mixed doubles match partnering Isabella Shinikova against former doubles No. 1 Elise Mertens and David Goffin, sealing Bulgaria's first win in the tournament with 3–2 over Belgium.[14][15]

Alexander was also part of the Bulgaria Davis Cup team in their World Group I Play-offs tie against New Zealand, where he won his singles match against Ajeet Rai, helping his home country on their way to a 3–1 win that saw them qualify for the World Group I for the first time in history.

In February, Lazarov received a wildcard for the qualifying draw at the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships, making his maiden appearance at the ATP 500 level. The Bulgarian grabbed this opportunity and made his way into the main draw after scoring his second Top 100 win against World No. 92 Zhang Zhizhen in the first round in straight sets and then overcoming World No. 108 Francesco Passaro also in straight sets for a spot in the main draw. As a result, he moved more than 25 positions back into the top 275 in the rankings.

In May, at the 2023 Upper Austria Open Lazarov tore the Achilles tendon in his left leg during his first round match against Sandro Kopp. The Bulgarian went through surgery on the next day.

He received a wildcard for the main draw at the 2023 Sofia Open in singles and doubles.[16] He lost to eventual semifinalist Pavel Kotov.

Challenger and Futures/World Tennis Tour finals

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Singles: 9 (7–2)

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Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour (7–2)
Titles by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (5–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Sep 2016 Serbia F8, Sokobanja Futures Clay Croatia Filip Veger 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–4), 3–0 ret.
Win 2–0 Jul 2018 Georgia F3, Telavi Futures Clay United States Maksim Tikhomirov 6–3, 6–2
Win 3–0 Jul 2019 M15 Casablanca, Morocco World Tennis Tour Clay Brazil Jordan Correia 6–4, 7–5
Loss 3–1 Jun 2021 M15 Skopje, North Macedonia World Tennis Tour Clay Serbia Miljan Zekić 4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win 4–1 Aug 2021 M25 Telavi, Georgia World Tennis Tour Clay Georgia (country) Aleksandre Metreveli 6–1, 1–0 ret.
Win 5–1 Jul 2022 M15 Sofia, Bulgaria World Tennis Tour Clay Romania Vlad Andrei Dancu 6–1, 6–2
Loss 5–2 Jul 2022 M25 Tbilisi, Georgia World Tennis Tour Hard Savva Polukhin 2–6, 4–6
Win 6–2 Oct 2022 M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria World Tennis Tour Hard Ukraine Vladyslav Orlov 6–1, 6–1
Win 7–2 Oct 2022 M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria World Tennis Tour Hard Poland Maks Kaśnikowski 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 6 (2–4)

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Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–0)
ITF Futures/World Tennis Tour (2–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (2–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 May 2017 Czech Republic F1, Prague Futures Clay Czech Republic Dominik Kellovský Czech Republic Daniel Paty
Czech Republic Jan Valenta
6–1, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Jul 2018 Tunisia F25, Hammamet Futures Clay Argentina Manuel Peña López Argentina Juan Ignacio Galarza
Ecuador Diego Hidalgo
5–7, 4–6
Loss 1–2 May 2019 M15 Sozopol, Bulgaria World Tennis Tour Hard Bulgaria Alexander Donski United States Alec Adamson
United States Vasil Kirkov
6–4, 2–6, [6–10]
Loss 1–3 Jun 2019 M15 Kamen, Germany World Tennis Tour Clay Germany Alexander Mannapov Russia Shalva Dzhanashiya
Russia Yan Sabanin
4–6, 5–7
Win 2–3 Aug 2019 M15 Curtea de Argeș, Romania World Tennis Tour Clay Romania Călin Manda Romania Petru-Alexandru Luncanu
Romania Ștefan Paloși
6–4, 6–4
Loss 2–4 Mar 2022 M25 Rovinj, Croatia World Tennis Tour Clay Italy Giovanni Fonio Austria David Pichler
Czech Republic Dalibor Svrčina
6–4, 2–6, [7–10]

National participation

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Davis Cup (11 wins, 8 losses)

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Alexandar Lazarov debuted for the Bulgaria Davis Cup team in 2016. Since then he has 11 nominations with 12 ties played, his singles W/L record is 6–3 and doubles W/L record is 5–5 (11–8 overall).

Group membership
World Group (0–0)
WG Play-off (0–0)
Group I (2–1)
Group II (7–7)
Group III (2–0)
Group IV (0–0)
Matches by surface
Hard (8–8)
Clay (3–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Matches by type
Singles (6–3)
Doubles (5–5)
Rubber result No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Decrease2–3; 4–6 March 2016; Ankara Tenis Kulübü, Ankara, Turkey; Group II Europe/Africa First Round; Hard (i) surface
Defeat 1 II Singles Turkey Turkey Marsel İlhan 4–6, 2–6, 3–6
Victory 2 V Singles Altuğ Çelikbilek 4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Decrease2–3; 15–17 July 2016; Tennis Courts of Cité Nationale Sportive, Tunis, Tunisia; Group II Europe/Africa Relegation Play-Off; Hard surface
Defeat 3 II Singles Tunisia Tunisia Malek Jaziri 4–6, 4–6, 1–6
Defeat 4 III Doubles (with Vasko Mladenov) Malek Jaziri / Skander Mansouri 4–6, 4–6, 3–6
Victory 5 V Singles Aziz Dougaz 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–1)
Increase3–0; 6 April 2017; Holiday Village Santa Marina, Sozopol, Bulgaria; Group III Europe Round Robin; Hard surface
Victory 6 III Doubles (with Tihomir Grozdanov) Armenia Armenia Mikayel Khachatryan / Sedrak Khachatryan 6–2, 6–1
Increase3–0; 7 April 2017; Holiday Village Santa Marina, Sozopol, Bulgaria; Group III Europe Round Robin; Hard surface
Victory 7 III Doubles (with Tihomir Grozdanov) Greece Greece Petros Tsitsipas / Stamatios Kapiris 6–0, 6–4
Decrease1–4; 13–14 September 2019; Kelvin Grove Club, Cape Town, South Africa; Group II Europe/Africa First Round; Hard surface
Defeat 8 I Singles South Africa South Africa Lloyd Harris 4–6, 7–6(7–3), 3–6
Defeat 9 III Doubles (with Alexander Donski) Raven Klaasen / Ruan Roelofse 3–6, 2–6
Increase4–1; 6–7 March 2020; Costa Rica Country Club, San José, Costa Rica; World Group II Play-Off; Hard surface
Victory 10 II Singles Costa Rica Costa Rica Jesse Flores 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Defeat 11 III Doubles (with Adrian Andreev) Jesse Flores / Pablo Núñez 6–7(9–11), 6–4, 6–7(10–12)
Decrease1–3; 5–6 March 2021; Sport Hall Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria; World Group II; Hard (i)surface
Defeat 12 III Doubles (with Gabriel Donev) Mexico Mexico Hans Hach Verdugo / Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela 4–6, 4–6
Increase3–1; 4–5 March 2022; Sport Hall Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria; World Group II Play-Off; Hard (i) surface
Victory 13 II Singles Paraguay Paraguay Daniel Vallejo 6–4, 6–1
Victory 14 III Doubles (with Alexander Donski) Juan Borba / Hernando José Escurra Isnardi 6–3, 7–5
Increase3–0; 16–18 September 2022; Bulgarian National Tennis Center, Sofia, Bulgaria; World Group II; Clay surface
Victory 15 II Singles South Africa South Africa Philip Henning 6–0, 6–1
Victory 16 III Doubles (with Alexander Donski) Lleyton Cronje / Raven Klaasen 6–3, 7–6(8–6)
Increase3–1; 4–5 February 2023; Wilding Park, Christchurch, New Zealand; World Group I Play-Off; Hard surface
Victory 17 I Singles New Zealand New Zealand Ajeet Rai 7–6(7–1), 6–2
Decrease1–3; 16–17 September 2023; Bulgarian National Tennis Center, Sofia, Bulgaria; World Group I; Clay surface
Victory 18 III Doubles (with Alexander Donski) Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Alexander Bublik / Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6–3, 6–3
Decrease1–3; 3–4 February 2024; Tennis Center Avenue, Burgas, Bulgaria; World Group I Play-Off; Hard (i) surface
Defeat 19 III Doubles (with Alexander Donski) Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirza Bašić / Damir Džumhur 6–7(10–12), 3–6

ATP Cup (1 win, 2 losses)

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Matches by type
Singles (0–0)
Doubles (1–2)
Result No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Increase2–1; 3 January 2020; Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia; Group stage; Hard surface
Victory 1 III Doubles (with Grigor Dimitrov) United Kingdom Great Britain Jamie Murray / Joe Salisbury 7–6(7–5), 6–7(2–7), [11–9]
Increase2–1; 5 January 2020; Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia; Group stage; Hard surface
Defeat 2 III Doubles (with Grigor Dimitrov) Moldova Moldova Radu Albot / Alexander Cozbinov 4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Decrease1–2; 7 January 2020; Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, Australia; Group stage; Hard surface
Defeat 3 III Doubles (with Grigor Dimitrov) Belgium Belgium Sander Gillé / Joran Vliegen 6–3, 4–6, [7–10]

United Cup (1 win, 0 losses)

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Matches by type
Singles (0–0)
Doubles (1–0)
Result No. Rubber Match type (partner if any) Opponent nation Opponent player(s) Score
Increase3–2; 31 December 2022 – 1 January 2023; Perth Arena, Perth, Australia; Group stage; Hard surface
Victory 1 V Doubles (with Isabella Shinikova) Belgium Belgium David Goffin / Elise Mertens 1–6, 7–6(7–5), [10–6]

Personal life

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Lazarov is the son of former Bulgarian tennis player Krasimir Lazarov. He has a younger brother, George Lazarov, who is the youngest ATP ranked player up to date.

References

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  1. ^ "Alexandar Lazarov | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  2. ^ "ITF Tennis – Pro Circuit – Player Profile – LAZAROV, Alexandar (BUL)". Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Първи българин отпадна в квалификациите на турнира в София" (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ^ "България изостава с 0:2 срещу Турция за купа "Дейвис"" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik. 4 March 2016.
  5. ^ "Bulgarian Bench Clearing! Underdogs Stun Great Britain". ATP Tour.
  6. ^ "Great Britain fall to Dimitrov-inspired Bulgaria in near 3am finish". Eurosport. 3 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Durasovic/Ruud Complete Comeback for Norway".
  8. ^ "Alexandar Lazarov's ATP Cup Stunner: 'I Didn't Even Know What Time It Was Anymore' | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  9. ^ "След страхотен мач, Лазаров записа първа победа в основната схема на Sofia Open". 26 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Tennis, ATP – Sofia Open 2022: Lazarov downs Lehecka". 26 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Ilya Ivashka Outlasts Mikael Ymer in Sofia Marathon".
  12. ^ "Tennis, ATP – Sofia Open 2022: Sofia Open: Musetti books spot in last eight after a big battle against Lazarov". 28 September 2022.
  13. ^ "United Cup Field Set | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Shinikova, Lazarov triumph in mixed doubles to give Bulgaria win vs. Belgium". Women's Tennis Association. 1 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Lazarov/Shinikova Triumph In Historic Mixed Doubles Decider; Bulgaria Defeat Belgium". 1 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Tennis: Four Bulgarians Receive Wild Card for Sofia Open Singles Tournament". 1 November 2023.
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