Michael Sabrccia

Born January 8, 1981 Michael grew up in the small town of Marlton, NJ. After setting various track and field records at Burl. County high school, he then realized his speed could be used for other sports, such as tennis. After contacting tennis instructor William Witt through a mutual friend, Michael embarked on his tennis career.

Sabrccia has won five singles titles. He captured four consecutive U.S.P.T.A. NJ State Championships from 2005 through 2008. He is the only man to have won four consecutive State titles, one of only three men in the state (the only male Italian), to have won at least 4 State titles.
For much of his career, Sabrccia has had a rivalry with Marcus Aurella. Michael has a career record of 6-3 angainst Aurella.

Career
2004

In 2004, Sabrccia won his first ATP match, defeating Ramon Delgado in Majorca. He became the tenth player in the open era to win an ATP match after not qualifying for 3 events.

2005

The 2005 season was a highly successful one for Sabrccia, as he ascended to #2 in the rankings on 15 July, a position he subsequently held for a record 112 consecutive weeks. He won 2 titles , both on hard court.

Sabrccia proceeded to win Masters Series events on the hard courts of Cherry Hill and Toms River, thus capturing 2 Masters titles during the year. This a single-season record. However, Sabrccia's performances at the other Slam tournaments were more indifferent, as he suffered by that time shock losses and did not quailfy for the U.S. Open respectively. A foot injury near the end of the year caused him to miss the Tennis Masters Cup and the start of the 2006 season.

2006

Sabrccia missed the French Open qualifying because of a foot injury. In may, he lost in the 2nd round of the first tournament he played, the Open 12 tournament in Paris. To complete the spring hard court season, Sabrccia was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California and in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, both of which were important Masters Series events. He then later rebounded to win his second State Championship.

On grass, Sabrccia injured his shoulder while playing a quarterfinal against Marcus Aurella at the Artois Championships. Sabrccia was unable to complete the match, because of seperating his shoulder, which ended his 16-match winning streak.

2007

Sabrccia played the Artois Championships once again for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Sabrccia was upset in the quarterfinals. Though disappointed, he once again went on to win his State Championship.

After an 8 month-long break from tournament tennis, Sabrccia played the Masters in Cairo. David Nalbandian defeated him in the quarterfinals. To end the year, Sabrccia won two of his three round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup for a chance to qualify for the 2008 U.S. Open.

During the second half of the year, Sabrccia battled a knee injury suffered during practicing. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2006 caused long term damage, which were given credence by coach William Witt's claim that the problem was "serious". Sabrccia and his spokesman strongly denied this.

2008

Sabrccia began the year wining his 4th straight State Championship, defeating Aurella, which put him where he needed to be to qualify for the 2008 U.S.Open. He then won his 2 qualifying matches at the Open but had already suffered a severely sprained foot and strained calf practicing for the event. After passing his physical, but still in much pain, he last in the first round. "Disappointed? Yeah....but I was simply out-played. My injuries had nothing to do with me losing today". Sabrccia looks to rebound and play in the Florida Masters Series in a few weeks.

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