Biography
Profile
Name:
Fernando Francisco Gonzalez Ciuffardi
Birthdate:
July 29th, 1980
Birthplace:
Santiago, Chile
Residence:
La Reina, Santiago
Nicknames:
Bombardero de La Reina, Fena, Fer, Speedy Gonzalez, Gonzo
ATP Titles:
- 11 singles
- 3 doubles
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Fernando Gonzalez began playing tennis at the Club de Tenis La Reina, that was in front of his house. His parents were members of the club. Fernando spent all day at the club and was a sparring for every player that didn’t have a partner, no matter how old they were. Later, after being ante the Hans Gildemeister club, he went with his family to Miami were he continued his career. He even got to be the number one player under 14. At 16 he got back to Chile and with 17 he won doubles title at juniors US Open with Nicolas Massu. One year later he won Roland Garros in singles and doubles, with the venezuelan Jose de Armas. He got to be Top 4 in singles juniors and No. 2 in doubles.
As a professional he has 11 ATP titles: Orlando 2000, Palermo 2002, Viña del Mar 2002, Viña del Mar 2004, Auckland 2005, Amersfoort 2005 y Basilea 2005, Beijing 2007, Viña del Mar y Munich 2008 y Viña 2009. He also won twice the Tennis World Team Cup at Dusseldorf in 2003-2004. He’s been in 11 finals, and the one at the Australian Open 2007 was the best he had in those two great weeks in Melbourne. In Australia, Fernando played his best tennis and he also got to his highest position at the ATP Ranking at No. 5. The other memorable final was at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, where he lost against another No. 1 of the world, Rafael Nadal.
As a doubles player he has two ATP titles: Valencia 2004, Basilea 2005, besides his golden medal at the Athens Olympic Games en 2004.
At the Olympics he has the record of being the first tennis player to win medals at different games in Athens 2004 (gold in doubles, bronze in singles) and Beijing 2008 (silver in singles).
Feña loves soccer, he’s a big fan of Colo Colo, and never misses a match from chilean national team. He also enjoys another sports like fishing and golf. He likes being in Chile and travels home everytime he can. He likes chilean food and hanging out with his friends.
Because of his explosive forehand and his strong serve he’s earned a lot of nicknames. The one he likes the most in Chile is “Bombardero de La Reina” and in the circuit he known as “Speedy Gonzalez“, “Feña“, “Fer” o just as “Gonzo“.
