Steven Diez (Spanish: Díez,[1] pronounced [ˈdi.eθ]; born March 17, 1991) is a Canadian and former Spanish professional tennis player. Raised primarily in and competing for Spain early in his career, he has since gone on to represent the country of his birth, Canada, in the Davis Cup.[2] Diez was a member of the Canadian team that won the 2022 ATP Cup.[3]

Steven Diez
Country (sports) Canada
ResidenceBarcelona, Spain
Born (1991-03-17) March 17, 1991 (age 33)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro2009
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachMarcos Roy
Prize moneyUS $977,779
Singles
Career record2–14
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 134 (18 November 2019)
Current rankingNo. 270 (19 June 2023)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (2013, 2020, 2021)
French Open1R (2020)
WimbledonQ2 (2013, 2017, 2019)
US OpenQ3 (2016, 2019)
Doubles
Career record1–1
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 267 (8 February 2021)
Current rankingNo. 832 (19 June 2023)
Last updated on: 24 June 2023.

Tennis career

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2007

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Diez competed in the main draw of two senior level ITF Futures tournaments in the autumn, losing both times in the first round. In his first match, at Spain F39 in late October, he fell to world No. 422 Carles Poch Gradin. He fared much better a month later taking a set off world No. 425 Juan Albert Viloca-Puig before losing.

2008

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Diez won his first tour match in his third tournament of the year, Spain F11. He won his first ever doubles match too, partnering Ignacio Morente-Gemas to the second round of Spain F13. He then won two matches partnering Javier Valenzuela-Gonzalez to reach the semifinals of Spain F14. The same pairing reached the semis in their next tournament too, in July, at Spain F26.

In late April he competed in qualifying for an ATP World Tour event, the 2008 Torneo Godó, losing in the first round to Marc López. In July in consecutively played Futures he won his first-round match, but he failed, in singles, to reach the second round in his last five events of the year. Partnering Valenzuela-Gonzalez, he reached the second round in more events than not during this same stretch. He finished the year ranked world No. 1190 in singles and No. 1274 in doubles.

2009

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In his third main draw for the year Diez had a break through in reaching the semi-finals of Spain F5. Two weeks later he reached his first career final, in doubles partnering José Checa Calvo at Spain F7. In June, he competed in his first main draw in an ATP Challenger, as a wild card entrant at the 2009 Open Diputación Ciudad de Pozoblanco, and reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual runner-up, Thiago Alves.

The following week Diez captured his first tour title, that of Spain F23 in singles, defeating David Canudas-Fernandez in the final. His singles wins stopped there as he won only one further tour main draw for the remainder of the year while losing eight. In doubles, however, Diez continued to do well not losing in the first round for the year aside from his very first tourney. He finished the year ranked world No. 571 in singles and No. 893 in doubles.

2010

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Diez did not win a singles main-draw match in his first five events of the year leading into a call-up of sorts by Tennis Canada to represent the country of his birth in the Davis Cup. Diez was recruited for his clay court ability as Canada faced Colombia on red clay in Bogotá. Despite breaking the serve in the first game of the match, Diez went down to World No. 93 Santiago Giraldo in straight sets as Canada lost the tie, 1–4.

In April, Diez finally won a main draw singles match, at Spain F11. He reached the second round in three consecutive events before taking his second title of this career, Spain F15 in May. He then reached the semi-finals in two of his next three events. As one of the top-ranked Canadians, Diez received wild cards into events in Canada this summer. After losing in the first round of the Challenger de Granby, he qualified for the main draw of the Vancouver Open, but lost in three close sets to Alex Kuznetsov in the first round. He won a set from Michael Russell, before falling in the first round of qualifying for the 2010 Rogers Cup in Toronto, in early August.

After reaching the semifinals of Spain F30 the week after the Rogers Cup, and losing in the first round of Belgium F3 the following week, Diez was off from match play until last week, where, as the No. 6 seed at Canada F4, he reached the semifinals. En route he won his quarterfinal match over No. 2 seed Brendan Evans, 3–6, 6–1, 3–0 ret. In doubles, he and partner Nikolai Haessig, a top Canadian junior, lost in the first round.

The following week Diez was upset in the first round of Canada F5, as the No. 4 seed, to world No. 792 Phillip Simmonds , 2–6, 3–6. He and partner Haessig reached the semifinals in doubles however. This result saw Steven's doubles ranking reach a new career high the following week, of World No. 769. After two weeks off, he played three consecutive Futures events in Spain, reaching the second round in Spain F37 in Sabadell, the quarterfinals at Spain F38 in Sant Cugat, and losing in the first round of Spain F39 in Vilafranca del Penedès. In doubles, he and partner Abraham Gonzalez-Jimenez reached the second round of Spain F37 and lost in the first round of Spain F38. They did not compete at Spain F39.

2019: Career-high ranking

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He reached a career-high ranking of world No. 134, on 18 November 2019.

2020: Grand Slam debut at French Open

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After 15 attempts at qualifying at a major, he finally made his Grand Slam debut at the 2020 French Open.

2022: ATP Cup champion

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He won the ATP Cup with team Canada defeating the Spanish team.[4]

Singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(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.
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q2 Q1 A A Q1 A A Q2 Q2 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
French Open A A A Q1 Q1 A A Q2 A A 1R Q2 A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon A A A Q2 Q1 A Q1 Q2 A Q2 NH Q1 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open A A A Q1 A A Q3 A A Q3 A Q1 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 1 0–1 0%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells A A A A Q1 A A A A A NH Q1 A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Rome A A A A A A A A A A Q2 A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Toronto / Montreal Q1 Q1 A Q1 Q1 A 2R A A Q2 NH Q1 Q1 A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 1 1–1 50%

Other finals

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Team competitions: 1 (1 title)

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Result    Date    Tournament Surface Partners Opponents Score
Win Jan 2022 ATP Cup, Sydney Hard   Félix Auger-Aliassime
  Denis Shapovalov
  Brayden Schnur
  Roberto Bautista Agut
  Pablo Carreño Busta
  A Davidovich Fokina
  Albert Ramos Viñolas
  Pedro Martínez
2–0

Challenger and Futures finals

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Singles: 41 (23–18)

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Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (1–5)
ITF Futures Tour (22–13)
Titles by surface
Hard (6–7)
Clay (17–11)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 2009 Spain F23, Elche Futures Clay   David Cañudas-Fernández 6–1, 6–4
Win 2–0 May 2010 Spain F15, Balaguer Futures Clay   David Estruch 6–2, 6–1
Win 3–0 Apr 2011 Brazil F11, Aracaju Futures Clay (i)   Roman Vögeli 6–1, 6–2
Loss 3–1 Jul 2011 Canada F3, Mississauga Futures Hard   Li Zhe 2–6, 3–6
Win 4–1 Oct 2011 Spain F39, Vilafranca Futures Clay   Jordi Samper Montaña 3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win 5–1 Nov 2011 Spain F41, Madrid Futures Clay   Matthew Pierot 6–0, 6–2
Loss 5–2 Jan 2012 Turkey F3, Antalya Futures Hard   Dimitar Kutrovsky 3–6, 0–6
Win 6–2 Feb 2012 Spain F3, Murcia Futures Clay   Pedro Sousa 2–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 6–3 May 2012 Spain F11, Lleida Futures Clay   Sergio Gutiérrez Ferrol 6–3, 1–6, 5–7
Win 7–3 May 2012 Poland F1, Sobota Futures Clay   Andriej Kapaś 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Win 8–3 Oct 2012 Algeria F1, Annaba Futures Clay   Gerald Melzer 6–2, 6–3
Win 9–3 Oct 2012 Algeria F2, Annaba Futures Clay   Alexander Slabinsky 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win 10–3 Oct 2012 Algeria F3, Alger Futures Clay   Francesco Picco 6–1, 4–6, 6–2
Loss 10–4 May 2013 Spain F14, Valldoreix Futures Clay   Taro Daniel 3–6, 2–6
Win 11–4 Jun 2013 Spain F16, Santa Margarida de Montbui Futures Hard   José Checa Calvo 6–1, 6–2
Win 12–4 Jun 2013 Spain F17, Martos Futures Hard   Ramkumar Ramanathan 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–4
Loss 12–5 Jan 2014 Nouméa, New Caledonia Challenger Hard   Alejandro Falla 2–6, 2–6
Win 13–5 Aug 2015 Switzerland F4, Sion Futures Clay   Federico Coria 5–7, 7–5, 6–1
Win 14–5 Oct 2015 Spain F32, Sant Cugat del Vallès Futures Clay   Marcos Giraldi Requena 6–1, 6–0
Loss 14–6 Oct 2015 Greece F8, Heraklion Futures Hard   Václav Šafránek 6–7(8–10), 4–6
Win 15–6 Nov 2015 Greece F9, Heraklion Futures Hard   Stefanos Tsitsipas 6–2, 6–0
Loss 15–7 Jan 2016 Spain F1, Castelldefels Futures Clay   Gerard Granollers Pujol 3–6, 1–6
Win 16–7 Feb 2016 Spain F2, Peguera Futures Clay   Paweł Ciaś 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(9–7)
Win 17–7 Feb 2016 Spain F4, Murcia Futures Clay   Alex de Minaur 6–3, 6–4
Win 18–7 Mar 2016 Spain F6, Tarragona Futures Clay   Gerard Granollers Pujol 5–7, 6–1, 6–0
Loss 18–8 Mar 2016 Morocco F2, Beni Mellal Futures Clay   Lamine Ouahab 2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Loss 18–9 Apr 2016 Spain F7, Madrid Futures Hard   Akira Santillan 4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 18–10 Jun 2016 Moscow, Russia Challenger Clay   Mikhail Kukushkin 3–6, 3–6
Loss 18–11 Oct 2017 Spain F31, Sabadell Futures Clay   Sergio Gutiérrez Ferrol 3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win 19–11 Oct 2017 Spain F32, Melilla Futures Clay   Miguel Semmler 6–2, 6–0
Loss 19–12 Oct 2017 Tunisia F31, Hammamet Futures Clay   Nino Serdarušić 3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss 19–13 Jan 2018 China F2, Anning Futures Clay   Yang Tsung-hua 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(4–7)
Win 20–13 Apr 2018 Spain F10, Majadahonda Futures Clay   Pedro Cachin 6–3, 3–6, 7–5
Loss 20–14 Nov 2018 Tunisia F39, Monastir Futures Hard   Ivan Gakhov 6–3, 2–6, 1–6
Win 21–14 Dec 2018 Tunisia F43, Monastir Futures Hard   Gabriel Petit 6–2, 6–3
Win 22–14 Dec 2018 Tunisia F45, Monastir Futures Hard   Clément Tabur 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
Win 23–14 Jan 2019 Burnie, Australia Challenger Hard   Maverick Banes 7–5, 6–1
Loss 23–15 Oct 2019 Ningbo, China Challenger Hard   Yasutaka Uchiyama 1-6, 3-6
Loss 23–16 Feb 2021 Las Palmas, Spain Challenger Clay   Enzo Couacaud 6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)
Loss 23–17 Oct 2022 M25 Girona, Spain World Tennis Tour Clay   Oriol Roca Batalla 3–6, 3–6
Loss 23–18 Dec 2022 Maspalomas, Spain Challenger Clay   Dušan Lajović 1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 21 (9–12)

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Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–1)
ITF Futures Tour (9–11)
Finals by surface
Hard (3–8)
Clay (6–4)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Mar 2009 Spain F7, Terrassa Futures Clay   José Checa Calvo   Francesco Aldi
  Alessandro Piccari
0–6, 2–6
Loss 0–2 Oct 2009 Spain F34, Córdoba Futures Hard   Juan Lizariturry   Agustín Boje-Ordóñez
  Pablo Martín-Adalia
3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–3 Jan 2011 Israel F1, Eilat Futures Hard   Fernando Vicente   Jozef Kovalík
  Adrian Sikora
6–2, 3–6, [10–12]
Loss 0–4 Jan 2011 Israel F2, Eilat Futures Hard   Nikola Ćaćić   Damir Džumhur
  Ismar Gorčić
3–6, 4–6
Win 1–4 Mar 2011 Portugal F1, Faro Futures Hard   Fernando Vicente   Agustín Boje-Ordóñez
  Pablo Martín-Adalia
6–3, 6–4
Win 2–4 Apr 2011 Brazil F9, Santa Maria Futures Clay   Roman Vögeli   Daniel Alejandro López Cassaccia
  Martín Ríos-Benítez
7–6(7–5), 6–3
Win 3–4 Apr 2011 Brazil F11, Aracaju Futures Clay (i)   Roman Vögeli   Mauricio Doria-Medina
  Daniel Alejandro López Cassaccia
6–1, 7–6(7–0)
Loss 3–5 Jun 2011 Spain F20, Martos Futures Hard   Ilya Belyaev   Harri Heliövaara
  Denys Molchanov
3–6, 4–6
Win 4–5 Oct 2011 Spain F35, Sevilla Futures Clay   Fernando Vicente   Axel Álvarez Llamas
  Ricardo Ojeda Lara
6–2, 6–1
Win 5–5 Oct 2011 Spain F38, Sabadell Futures Clay   João Sousa   Miguel Ángel López Jaén
  Gabriel Trujillo Soler
6–3, 3–6, [10–7]
Win 6–5 Oct 2012 Algeria F2, Annaba Futures Hard   Marc Giner   Francesc Montañés-Roca
  Ronald Slobodchikov
6–4, 6–2
Win 7–5 Mar 2013 Croatia F5, Rovinj Futures Clay   Tomislav Brkić   Nikolaus Moser
  Tristan-Samuel Weissborn
6–2, 6–2
Loss 7–6 Jun 2013 Russia F8, Moscow Futures Clay   Vladislav Dubinsky   Aliaksandr Bury
  Volodymyr Uzhylovskyi
0–6, 1–6
Loss 7–7 Aug 2014 Como, Italy Challenger Clay   Enrique López Pérez   Guido Andreozzi
  Facundo Argüello
2–6, 2–6
Loss 7–8 Oct 2015 Spain F32, Sant Cugat del Vallès Futures Clay   Andrés Artuñedo Martínavarro   Sergio Martos Gornés
  Pol Toledo Bagué
2–6, 3–6
Loss 7–9 Nov 2015 Cyprus F2, Limassol Futures Hard   Andrés Artuñedo Martínavarro   Petros Chrysochos
  Nino Serdarušić
6–1, 4–6, [3–10]
Loss 7–10 Dec 2015 Cyprus F3, Limassol Futures Hard   Andrés Artuñedo Martínavarro   Konstantinos Economidis
  Markos Kalovelonis
6–4, 3–6, [5–10]
Win 8–10 Oct 2017 Tunisia F31, Hammamet Futures Clay   Bruno Mardones   Guy den Heijer
  Sidane Pontjodikromo
6–2, 6–4
Loss 8–11 Mar 2018 Portugal F6, Lisbon Futures Hard   Bruno Mardones   Kenneth Raisma
  Emil Ruusuvuori
6–7(2–7), 2–6
Win 9–11 Nov 2018 Tunisia F40, Monastir Futures Hard   Sergio Martos Gornés   Mikalai Haliak
  Alexander Zgirovsky
6–3, 6–1
Loss 9–12 Dec 2018 Tunisia F43, Monastir Futures Hard   Marco Bortolotti   Evan Hoyt
  Luke Johnson
4–6, 2–6

References

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  1. ^ "Steven Díez: la joya hispano-canadiense debuta con los norteamericanos en la Davis – MARCA.com". www.marca.com. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Vancouver Sun: Steven Diez, raised in Spain, now Canada's Davis Cup clay court ace". Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  3. ^ "Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov victories help Canada claim 1st ATP Cup title". CBC News. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "From 'Survival Mode' to World Champions: Inside Canada's ATP Cup Victory".
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