Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov (Belarusian: Уладзімір Мікалаевіч Валчкоў, Uładzimir Mikałajevič Vałčkoŭ; Владимир Николаевич Волчков; born April 7, 1978) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Voltchkov reached the semifinals at the 2000 Wimbledon Championships, where, as a qualifier, he lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets. He represented Belarus in both the Davis Cup and the Olympic Games in 2000, also won the Wimbledon juniors competition in 1996. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 25.
Voltchkov had excellent results as a junior, capturing the Wimbledon juniors title by defeating Ivan Ljubičić in 1996. He compiled a singles win–loss record of 69–34, reaching as high as No. 7 in the world in 1996.
Junior Grand Slam results:
His highest achievement came in 2000, inspired by the film Gladiator.[1] After watching the movie four times, he reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships as a qualifier, causing the British press to dub him "The Vladiator". En route to the semifinals, he beat Juan Ignacio Chela, Cédric Pioline, Younes El Aynaoui, Wayne Ferreira and Byron Black, then lost to eventual champion Pete Sampras. Voltchkov has a 30–16 career Davis Cup record (17–11 in singles).[2]
