Jun Kato (加藤 純, Katō Jun, born 25 October 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Japan.

Jun Kato
Full nameJun Kato
Country (sports) Japan
Born (1980-10-25) 25 October 1980 (age 44)
Yokohama, Japan
Turned pro1998
Prize money$70,312
Singles
Career record0–1
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 367 (28 July 2003)
Doubles
Career record4–5
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 121 (3 May 2004)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open1R (2004)

Biography

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Kato was based in Switzerland from an early age. During his junior career he was friends with Roger Federer and partnered with him in several doubles tournaments.[1][2] He beat Federer in a national under-12s final.[3]

Turning professional in 1998, Kato made his first appearance in an ATP Tour tournament that year, the doubles at the Swiss Open Gstaad with Marco Chiudinelli. He was twice given a wildcard entry into the men's doubles draw at the Japan Open, the first in 2002, when he partnered with Gouichi Motomura to reach the quarter-finals. On the other occasion, in 2003, he and Satoshi Iwabuchi upset the top seeded pairing of Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley in the first round, en route to the semi-finals.[4]

In 2003 he won two Challenger doubles titles, on hard courts in Togliatti and Valladolid.[5][6]

Kato represented the Japan Davis Cup team in 2003, for a tie against India in New Delhi. He played the doubles rubber with Thomas Shimada, which they lost to Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes.[7] In the reverse singles he was beaten by Rohan Bopanna.[8]

He featured in the main draw of the men's doubles at the 2004 French Open, with Stephen Huss, for a first round exit, to Russians Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko.[9]

Challenger titles

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Doubles: (2)

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No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
1. 2003 Togliatti, Russia Hard   Alexander Peya   Rodolphe Cadart
  Benjamin Cassaigne
7–6(9–7), 6–4
2. 2003 Valladolid, Spain Hard   Łukasz Kubot   Philipp Mukhometov
  Tripp Phillips
4–6, 6–0, 6–1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wehrle, Michael (4 November 2011). "Jugendfreunde erinnern sich an Roger Federer". Limmattaler Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  2. ^ "ITF Tennis - Juniors - Player Profile - Kato, Jun (JPN)". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  3. ^ Bowers, Chris (2 May 2011). Roger Federer: The Greatest. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 9781843585923.
  4. ^ "Japan Open". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2 October 2003. p. 12. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  5. ^ "ITF Tennis - Pro Circuit - Togliatti Challenger - 14 July - 20 July 2003". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  6. ^ "ITF Tennis - Pro Circuit - Valladolid Challenger - 21 July - 27 July 2003". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  7. ^ Srinivasan, Kamesh (9 February 2003). "Leander-Mahesh duo makes it a no contest". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 May 2003. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Bopanna wraps it up for India". The Telegraph. 10 February 2003. Archived from the original on April 22, 2003. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  9. ^ Bricker, Charles (27 May 2004). "U.s. Is French Toast". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
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