Starting last year at No. 64 in the world, Santiago Giraldi jumped to a career best 44 in February after reaching the semifinals in Auckland before losing to eventual winner David Ferrer.

The Colombian reached his first ATP World Tour singles final at home in Colombia, losing to Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the final. He reached six other quarterfinals last year in Brisbane, Acapulco, 's-Hertogenbosch, Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel and Tokyo.

Nicknamed Santi, he started playing tennis at the age of two and is now coached by Marcos Gorriz.