Michael Russell

Michael Russell or Mike Russell may refer to:

Michael Russell (tennis)

Michael Craig Russell (born May 1, 1978) is a retired American professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 60 in August 2007. His 23 United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit singles titles were the all-time record, as of November 2013. That month he became the third-highest-ranked American in the world.

In 1994 Russell was ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles in the USTA Boys' 16 rankings, and in 1996 he was ranked No. 1 in singles in the U.S. Boys' 18-Under. Playing for the University of Miami in 1996–97, he was named National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rookie of the Year, before he turned pro in 1997. A high school valedictorian, Russell is one of the few current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players who have a college degree, having earned a B.S. from the University of Phoenix with a 3.94 grade point average.

Russell has struggled with knee injuries for much of his professional career. He is perhaps best known for, on two occasions, holding surprise two-set leads in Grand Slam tournaments against former Grand Slam champions, before eventually being defeated both times. In the fourth round of the 2001 French Open (his best run at a Grand Slam) against defending and eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten (the world's # 1-ranked player), Russell led two-sets-to love and 5–3 in the third set, and held a match point, but was defeated in five sets. In the 2007 Australian Open, he held a two-sets-to-love lead over former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, before succumbing in five sets. Other career highlights include a fourth-round showing at the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, a semi-final appearance at the 2012 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and wins against top-10 players Mardy Fish and Tomas Berdych.

Michael Russell (politician)

Michael William "Mike" Russell, (born 9 August 1953 in Bromley, Kent) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Argyll and Bute constituency. He is also a television producer and director and the author of seven books.

He was Chief Executive of the SNP from 1994 to 1999 and was elected to the Scottish Parliament as a regional MSP for the South of Scotland at the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999. However, he lost his seat in the 2003 Scottish Parliament Election. He was elected again in May 2007 and was appointed Minister for Environment in Scotland's first-ever SNP administration by First Minister Alex Salmond. He was then reshuffled on 10 February 2009 to become Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution, and was later promoted on 1 December 2009 replacing Fiona Hyslop as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning. Russell was removed from the cabinet in November 2014, when Nicola Sturgeon took over as First Minister.