Pepe Imaz

{{short description|Spanish tennis player and coach}}

{{Infobox tennis biography

| name = Jose Imaz-Ruiz

| image =

| caption =

| country = {{flagicon|ESP}} Spain

| residence =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1974|5|30}}

| birth_place = Arnedo, Spain{{cite web|url=https://as.com/tenis/2017/10/01/mas_tenis/1506888277_279732.html|title=Pepe Imaz: "Djokovic tiene amor, respeto y aceptación"|date=2 October 2017|publisher=Diario As|language=Spanish}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|m=1.78}}

| turnedpro = 1995

| plays = Right-handed

| careerprizemoney = $114,053

| singlesrecord = 3-6

| singlestitles = 0

| highestsinglesranking = No. 146 (11 May 1998)

| FrenchOpenresult = 2R (1998)

| Wimbledonresult = Q1 (1994)

| doublesrecord = 2-6

| doublestitles = 0

| highestdoublesranking = No. 167 (22 Apr 1996)

}}

José "Pepe" Imaz Ruiz (born 30 May 1974 in Arnedo) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Spain.Pepe Imaz Escuela internacional de tenis {{cite web |url=http://www.pepeimaz.com/english/pepeimaz.html |title=Pepe Imaz .:: Escuela internacional de tenis - Trabajo mental y emocional ::. Marbella - Málaga |accessdate=2012-04-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805131159/http://www.pepeimaz.com/english/pepeimaz.html |archivedate=2014-08-05 }} "When Pepe Imaz is asked “who are you” he answers “I am Pepe Imaz”. He wants to mean that a person is just that: one person."[http://itftennis.com/ProCircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?PlayerID=10002598 ITF Tennis Profile]

Playing career

Imaz made his debut on the ATP Tour at the 1995 Austrian Open.{{cite web|url=http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Im/J/Jose-Imaz-Ruiz.aspx|title=Jose Imaz-Ruiz - Overview - ATP World Tour - Tennis|publisher=}} He lost to Sergi Bruguera in the second round, having earlier beaten Christian Miniussi.

His most noteworthy performance came in the 1998 French Open, the only Grand Slam of his career. The Spaniard had a five set opening round win over Jean-Baptiste Perlant. He then lost in straight sets to eventual champion Carlos Moyá, but would come close to winning the second set tiebreak, which lasted for 30 points, and in which he blew several set points.{{cite web|url=http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.com/preview/1998/05/29/pagina-36/396492/pdf.html|title=Moyá cree que Ríos es favorito|date=29 May 1995|publisher=Mundo Deportivo|language=Spanish}}

Coaching career

Imaz's tennis school is based at Marbella's Puente Romano resort. The school preaches a philosophy of Amor y Paz (Love and Peace) as the overriding factors when coaching tennis, in which he uses meditation and the power of lengthy hugs. In 2013, then professional tennis player Marko Djokovic used Imaz's methodologies to help alleviate symptoms of his depression. In 2016, post-Novak Djokovic's win at the French Open, Imaz became part of Novak's support team from Wimbledon onwards.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38230881|title=Novak Djokovic splits with coach Boris Becker after three years|date=6 December 2016|via=www.bbc.co.uk}} In April 2018, Djokovic stopped working with him, and also announced the end of his "cooperation" with Radek Štěpánek and Andre Agassi.{{cite web|url=http://novakdjokovic.com/en/news/media/announcement-04042018/|title=Announcement|date=4 April 2018|via=novakdjokovic.com}} As of August 2018, Djokovic and Imaz were close friends.{{cite web|url=http://sportklub.rs/Blog/Sasa-Ozmo/a249937-Novak-Sport-Klub-Pepe-Imaz-Marjan-Vajda-Boris-Beker.html|title=Novak za SK: Pepe i dalje bliska osoba, ishrana ista|date=29 August 2018|publisher=Sport Klub|language=Serbian}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ubitennis.net/2018/08/novak-djokovic-blasts-context-claims-made-split-imaz/|title=Novak Djokovic Blasts 'Out Of Context' Claims Made About Split With Imaz|date=31 August 2018|via=ubitennis.net}}

ATP Challenger Tour finals

=Doubles: (2-3)=

class="sortable wikitable"

!Result

!No.

!Year

!Tournament

!Surface

!Partner

!Opponents

!class="unsortable"|Score

bgcolor=98fb98|Win

|1.

|1993

|style="background:moccasin;"|Seville, Spain

|Clay

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Emilio Benfele Álvarez

|{{flagicon|USA}} Steve Campbell
{{flagicon|USA}} John Yancey

|6–7, 6–1, 6–2

bgcolor=98fb98|Win

|2.

|1994

|style="background:moccasin;"|Seville, Spain

|Clay

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Emilio Benfele Álvarez

|{{flagicon|GER}} Patrick Baur
{{flagicon|GER}} Torben Theine

|6–1, 6–3

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss

|1.

|1995

|style="background:moccasin;"|Scheveningen, Netherlands

|Clay

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Emilio Benfele Álvarez

|{{flagicon|ISR}} Eyal Ran
{{flagicon|ROM}} Andrei Pavel

|4–6, 4–6

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss

|2.

|1995

|style="background:moccasin;"|Graz, Austria

|Clay

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Emilio Benfele Álvarez

|{{flagicon|ARG}} Pablo Albano
{{flagicon|CZE}} Vojtěch Flégl

|4–6, 3–6

style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss

|3.

|1997

|style="background:moccasin;"|Seville, Spain

|Clay

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Emilio Benfele Álvarez

|{{flagicon|FIN}} Tuomas Ketola
{{flagicon|GER}} Michael Kohlmann

|6–4, 1–6, 3–6

References

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