By Erik Gudris

(August 16, 2012) -- He may not be as famous as his more well-known French compatriots, but Jeremy Chardy is making a name for himself this week in Cincinnati. Find out more about this rising star who is closing in on the top 30.

1. French-Born, Belgium-Based

Chardy was born on February 12th, 1987 in Pau, France and started playing tennis at age six. He now currently resides in Liege, Belgium though he still continues to spend a lot of time in Pau so he can be close to his family.

2. Early Success

Chardy, who won the Wimbledon juniors title and reached the boys' final at the U.S. Open, turned pro in 2005 and won several Futures and Challenger events over the next several years. In 2008, he finished in the top 100 for the first time in his career based on good results including reaching the fourth round of Roland Garros where he notched his first ever win over a top ten player by beating David Nalbandian.

3. Breakthrough Year

Chardy had his breakthrough year in 2009 when he won his first ATP title in Stuttgart and climbed to a career-best ranking of No. 31.

4. Coaching Turmoil

Last year, Chardy was blindsided when his former, long time coach of over ten years Fred Fontang sued Chardy for a breach of contract based on an agreement they had made when Chardy was 18. The legal battle was resolved but the distraction caused Chardy to drop out of the top 100 in 2011.

5. 2012 Turnaround

Chardy, who received some new coaching help from Patrick Mouratoglou earlier this year, is now 20-15 and just beat Andy Roddick and Andy Murray for the first time ever this week in Cincinnati. Chardy is currently ranked No. 38.

6. Chardy Explains His Recent Success

"I think I win many matches since the beginning of the year, so I take confidence. Last week I beat Jo‑Wilfried Tsonga, this week I beat Andy Roddick first one. So my confidence go up again. Now I feel very good on court, and I play very relax. It's good when I feel like this on the court."

7. Serving with Serena

Chardy, who trains at the Mouratoglou Academy in Paris along with Serena Williams, shared a funny moment he had practicing with the Olympic gold medalist after Williams asked if she could try and return his serve a few times. When asked if Serena had any success, Chardy laughed and said, "Sometimes. She's very nice. I didn't know her at the beginning. But she's a good person, and I think she's good for the tennis."

8. Serena's Response?

When asked about Chardy's response to her moment trying to return his serves, Serena replied, "I totally returned all of Jeremy's serves. I don't know what he's talking about. He needs to come in here and be honest. I hit winners on him. (Laughter.) It's fun. He's a great guy. I'm happy for him."

9. Life After Tennis

When he's hung up his racquets for good, Chardy has said he would like to be an actor as he loves the cinema. His favorite movie of all time? "Meet Joe Black"

10. Del Potro Looms

Chardy will next face Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati.

(Photo Credit: Cincy Tennis FB)