Tomas Ugo Behrend (born 12 December 1974 in Porto Alegre, Brazil) is a German former professional tennis player. He competed professionally from 1994 until his retirement in 2007, representing Germany in international competition.
Behrend reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 74 in October 2005 and a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 43 in October 2007. He won seven ATP Challenger Tour singles titles and one Futures event, but no titles on the main ATP Tour.
Early life and nationality
Behrend is of German descent and was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, later raised in Novo Hamburgo, where his father, Claudio, a former volleyball player, operated a graphic and printing company. Behrend began playing tennis at age five and also participated in swimming, football, handball, and volleyball as a youth. He has three brothers and is a supporter of the Brazilian club Grêmio and the German club Borussia Dortmund.
In 1991, at age 17, Behrend moved to Germany to play club tennis. Through his German ancestry, he obtained a German passport, which facilitated travel and was financially more advantageous than representing Brazil, given that Brazilian players faced a 45% tax on prize money at the time.
Professional career
Behrend won his first Futures and Challenger titles in 1998. Although he did not achieve sustained success on the main tour, he held winning head-to-head records against two former world No. 1 players: Carlos Moyá (whom he defeated twice while Moyá was ranked in the top 10) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (whom he defeated at Palermo in 2005). His best result on the ATP Tour was a semifinal appearance at Palermo in 2005, where he lost to Filippo Volandri.
In 2003, Behrend was selected to play Davis Cup for Germany against Belarus at age 28. He lost his only Davis Cup match to Max Mirnyi in five sets (5–7, 2–6, 7–6(6), 6–2, 6–4). Behrend expressed that representing a nation in the World Group of Davis Cup was a dream for any player and that, at his age, it may have been his last chance.
Behrend stated he had always wished to be called up by Brazil but was dissatisfied with the selection politics, particularly concerning the fourth player position. He described himself as "a Brazilian with a German passport."
Grand Slam results
In singles at Grand Slam tournaments, Behrend reached the second round at the Australian Open (2000) and the French Open (2005) and reached the first round at Wimbledon (2003, 2005) and the US Open (2003, 2005).
Post-career
After retiring in 2007, Behrend opened a tennis academy in his hometown of Alsdorf, Germany, called "ToBe." He has expressed regret that he never had the opportunity to play Andre Agassi before he retired.
