Eric Butorac

Eric Butorac (born May 22, 1981), nicknamed Booty, is an American retired professional tennis player. He was a doubles specialist, and for a period of approximately six years was the No. 3 ranked American doubles player. His best result was reaching the 2014 Australian Open finals with partner Raven Klaasen. Their run to the final included a victory over the World No. 1 team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

He attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where he played on the men's tennis team for one year before transferring to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he graduated in 2003.

Family

Template:BLP unreferenced section Butorac is of Croatian descent. Butorac's parents, Jan and Tim Butorac, are directors of the Rochester Tennis Connection (Indoor & Outdoor site) in Rochester, Minnesota. His brother, Jeff, is a basketball coach at Century High School. Tim Butorac is a USPTA professional, teaching tennis at the Rochester Indoor Tennis Club during the winter and at the Kutzky/Rochester Outdoor Tennis Center during the summer months.

College career

Eric Butorac played at Ball State University for one year before transferring to Gustavus Adolphus College. He has a long history with Gustavus: his father played for coach Steve Wilkinson, and, at age five, Eric attended tennis camp with Wilkinson. He closed out his senior season of 2003 by winning both the NCAA Division III singles and doubles championships, with Kevin Whipple as his partner.

Recent activity

Template:BLP sources section In July 2006, Butorac and Jamie Murray reached their first ATP Tour doubles final, in Los Angeles, losing in straight sets to the Bryan brothers, who were the world's top-ranked doubles team.

In early February 2007, the US-Scots pair claimed their first doubles title in a Challenger event in Dallas, and a week later they won their first ATP title at the SAP Open. They continued their winning run the following week when the unseeded pair defeated second seeds Julian Knowle and Jürgen Melzer, 7–5, 6–3, to capture the doubles title of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at the Racquet Club of Memphis.

In April, May, and June 2009, Butorac and American Scott Lipsky won the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger, the Estoril Open in Portugal, and a tournament in Nottingham, England.

In 2010, Butorac paired with Rajeev Ram to make the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. He also won titles in Chennai (with Ram), Tokyo and Stockholm (with Rojer). He was on the 2010 roster of the Boston Lobsters in the World Team Tennis pro league.

In 2011, Butorac had his best season reaching a career-high ranking of no. 17, and finishing as the no. 9 team in the world with partner Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands. They won three titles and made the semifinals of the Australian Open.

In 2012, Butorac made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and won the doubles title in São Paulo (with Bruno Soares).

In 2013, Butorac made it to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open and won the doubles title in Kuala Lumpur with Raven Klaasen.

In 2014, Butorac started his year with reaching the final of the Australian Open. He then went on to win titles in Memphis and Stockholm. All of these were with partner Raven Klaasen.

Off court

Template:BLP unreferenced section In 2009 Butorac started the Minnesota Tennis Challenge, a charity event to benefit St. Paul Urban Tennis. Participants included Bob and Mike Bryan, Justin Gimelstob, Rajeev Ram, Melanie Oudin, and Somdev Devvarman. Butorac is a regular speaker at coaching conventions and USTA showcases around the country.

Starting in 2010, Butorac has been the volunteer assistant coach at Harvard University. He is one of only three players from the NCAA Division III ranks to ever make a living on the tour.

Butorac was the president of the ATP Player's Council. He succeeded Roger Federer as president (whom he served under as VP for the previous term). He was succeeded by Novak Djokovic on August 30, 2016.

In February 2022, Butorac was named Tournament Director of the Western & Southern Open. The Western & Southern Open features an ATP Masters 1000 as well as a WTA 1000 tournament in the same week at the same venue, making it one of five events to host concurrent top tier tour tournaments.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2014	Australian Open	Hard	Template:Flagicon Raven Klaasen	Template:Flagicon Łukasz Kubot Template:Flagicon Robert Lindstedt	3–6, 3–6

ATP career finals

Doubles: 29 (18 titles, 11 runners-up)

Legend ( Doubles) Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) ATP World Tour 500 Series (2–2) ATP World Tour 250 Series (16–8)

Titles by surface Hard (12–9) Clay (5–2) Grass (1–0) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Template:NsDateTemplate:Ns	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	[[2006 Countrywide Classic – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Los Angeles Open, United States	International	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jamie Murray	Template:Flagicon Bob Bryan Template:Flagicon Mike Bryan	2–6, 4–6
Win	1–1	[[2007 SAP Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Pacific Coast Championships, United States	International	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jamie Murray	Template:Flagicon Chris Haggard Template:Flagicon Rainer Schüttler	7–5, 7–6(8–6)
Win	2–1	[[2007 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, United States	Intl. Gold	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jamie Murray	Template:Flagicon Jürgen Melzer Template:Flagicon Julian Knowle	7–5, 6–3
Win	3–1	[[2007 Nottingham Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Nottingham Open, United Kingdom	International	Grass	Template:Flagicon Jamie Murray	Template:Flagicon Joshua Goodall Template:Flagicon Ross Hutchins	4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win	4–1	[[2008 Countrywide Classic – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Los Angeles Open, United States	International	Hard	Template:Flagicon Rohan Bopanna	Template:Flagicon Travis Parrott Template:Flagicon Dušan Vemić	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5)
Win	5–1	[[2009 Chennai Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Chennai Open, India	250 Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Rajeev Ram	Template:Flagicon Jean-Claude Scherrer Template:Flagicon Stan Wawrinka	6–3, 6–4
Win	6–1	[[2009 Estoril Open – Men's doubles|Template:Dts]]	Estoril Open, Portugal	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Scott Lipsky	Template:Flagicon Martin Damm Template:Flagicon Robert Lindstedt	6–3, 6–2
Win	7–1	[[2009 PTT Thailand Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Thailand Open, Thailand	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Rajeev Ram	Template:Flagicon Guillermo García López Template:Flagicon Mischa Zverev	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss	7–2	[[2010 BMW Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Bavarian International Tennis Championships, Germany	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Michael Kohlmann	Template:Flagicon Oliver Marach Template:Flagicon Santiago Ventura	7–5, 3–6, [14–16]
Loss	7–3	[[2010 Farmers Classic – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Los Angeles Open, United States (2)	250 Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Bob Bryan Template:Flagicon Mike Bryan	7–6(8–6), 2–6, [7–10]
Win	8–3	[[2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Japan Open, Japan	500 Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Andreas Seppi Template:Flagicon Dmitry Tursunov	6–3, 6–2
Win	9–3	[[2010 If Stockholm Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Stockholm Open, Sweden	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Johan Brunström Template:Flagicon Jarkko Nieminen	6–3, 6–4
Loss	9–4	[[2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, United States	500 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Max Mirnyi Template:Flagicon Daniel Nestor	2–6, 7–6(8–6), [3–10]
Win	10–4	[[2011 Estoril Open – Men's doubles|Template:Dts]]	Estoril Open, Portugal (2)	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Marc López Template:Flagicon David Marrero	6–3, 6–4
Win	11–4	[[2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Open de Nice Côte d'Azur, France	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Santiago González Template:Flagicon David Marrero	6–3, 6–4
Win	12–4	[[2011 Proton Malaysian Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Malaysian Open, Malaysia	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon František Čermák Template:Flagicon Filip Polášek	6–1, 6–3
Loss	12–5	[[2011 Valencia Open 500 – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Valencia Open, Spain	500 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Jean-Julien Rojer	Template:Flagicon Bob Bryan Template:Flagicon Mike Bryan	4–6, 6–7(9–11)
Win	13–5	[[2012 Brasil Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Brasil Open, Brazil	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Bruno Soares	Template:Flagicon Michal Mertiňák Template:Flagicon André Sá	3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Loss	13–6	[[2012 PTT Thailand Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Thailand Open, Thailand	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Paul Hanley	Template:Flagicon Lu Yen-hsun Template:Flagicon Danai Udomchoke	3–6, 4–6
Loss	13–7	[[2013 Brisbane International – Men's doubles|Template:Dts]]	Brisbane International, Australia	250 Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Paul Hanley	Template:Flagicon Marcelo Melo Template:Flagicon Tommy Robredo	6–4, 1–6, [5–10]
Loss	13–8	[[2013 BMW Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Bavarian International Tennis Championships, Germany	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Marcos Baghdatis	Template:Flagicon Jarkko Nieminen Template:Flagicon Dmitry Tursunov	1–6, 4–6
Win	14–8	[[2013 Proton Malaysian Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Malaysian Open, Malaysia (2)	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Raven Klaasen	Template:Flagicon Pablo Cuevas Template:Flagicon Horacio Zeballos	6–2, 6–4
Loss	14–9	[[2014 Australian Open – Men's doubles|Template:Dts]]	Australian Open, Australia	Grand Slam	Hard	Template:Flagicon Raven Klaasen	Template:Flagicon Łukasz Kubot Template:Flagicon Robert Lindstedt	3–6, 3–6
Win	15–9	[[2014 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, United States	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Raven Klaasen	Template:Flagicon Bob Bryan Template:Flagicon Mike Bryan	6–4, 6–4
Win	16–9	[[2014 Stockholm Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Stockholm Open, Sweden (2)	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Raven Klaasen	Template:Flagicon Treat Huey Template:Flagicon Jack Sock	6–4, 6–3
Loss	16–10	[[2015 Winston-Salem Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Winston-Salem Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Scott Lipsky	Template:Flagicon Dominic Inglot Template:Flagicon Robert Lindstedt	2–6, 4–6
Win	17–10	[[2015 Valencia Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Valencia Open, Spain	250 Series	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Scott Lipsky	Template:Flagicon Feliciano López Template:Flagicon Max Mirnyi	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss	17–11	[[2016 ASB Classic – Men's doubles|Template:Dts]]	Auckland Open, New Zealand	250 Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Scott Lipsky	Template:Flagicon Mate Pavić Template:Flagicon Michael Venus	5–7, 4–6
Win	18–11	[[2016 Estoril Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Estoril Open, Portugal (3)	250 Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon Scott Lipsky	Template:Flagicon Łukasz Kubot Template:Flagicon Marcin Matkowski	6–4, 3–6, [10–8]

Doubles performance timeline

Current till 2016 US Open.

Tournament	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	SR	W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	2R	3R	1R	QF	SF	QF	3R	F	3R	2R	0 / 10	23–10
French Open	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	3R	2R	2R	1R	3R	0 / 10	6–10
Wimbledon	3R	2R	2R	1R	2R	2R	1R	3R	2R	A	0 / 9	9–9
US Open	2R	1R	1R	1R	2R	2R	2R	QF	3R	1R	0 / 10	9–10
Win–loss	4–4	3–4	1–4	3–4	6–4	7–4	4–4	11–4	5–4	3-3	0 / 39	47–39

External links

• Template:ATP
• Template:ITF
• Eric Butorac's Minnesota Tennis Challenge