Miloslav Mečíř

Miloslav Mečíř

Miloslav Mecir at the victory ceremony after winning the 1987 Dutch Open
Country	Czechoslovakia
Residence	Prague, Czech Republic
Born	(1964-05-19) 19 May 1964 Bojnice, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	1982
Retired	1990
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$2,632,538
Singles
Career record	262–122
Career titles	11
Highest ranking	No. 4 (22 February 1988)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	F (1989)
French Open	SF (1987)
Wimbledon	SF (1988)
US Open	F (1986)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (1987)
WCT Finals	W (1987)
Olympic Games	Gold Medal (1988)
Doubles
Career record	100–54
Career titles	9
Highest ranking	No. 4 (7 March 1988)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	4R (1987)
French Open	4R (1989)
Wimbledon	3R (1987, 1989)
US Open	4R (1987, 1988)
Other Doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	Bronze Medal (1988)
Medal record Men's Tennis Representing  Czechoslovakia Gold 1988 Seoul Singles Bronze 1988 Seoul Doubles

Miloslav Mečíř (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmɪloslaf ˈmɛtʃiːr̝]) (born 19 May 1964) is a former professional tennis player from Slovakia. He won the men's singles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games, where he represented Czechoslovakia, and played in two Grand Slam singles finals. In 1987 he won the WCT Finals, the major season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis tour.

His son, Miloslav Jr., followed his father's footsteps and is a professional tennis player.^[1]

Career

Mečíř was born in Bojnice, Czechoslovakia (now part of Slovakia).

He reached two ATP finals in 1984 and began 1985 by beating Jimmy Connors in the semi final at Philadelphia, before losing to World No. 1 John McEnroe in the final. He won his first ATP singles title in Rotterdam later that year, and ended 1985 ranked just outside the world's top 10.

He consolidated his position as a world class player in 1986, beating rising Stefan Edberg in straight sets at Wimbledon, before losing to defending champion Boris Becker in the quarter-finals. He reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open later that year, beating Mats Wilander and Boris Becker along the way to the final, where he faced fellow Czechoslovakian, defending champion and World No. 1 Ivan Lendl. The 1986 US Open was notable for the fact that four players from Czechoslovakia competed in the two singles finals for men and women – Mečíř and Lendl, Helena Suková and Martina Navrátilová. Lendl won the match in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, 6–0. Mečíř's 1986 US Open final appearance was the last major final to see a player still using a wooden racket.

Mečíř improved further in 1987, winning six singles and six doubles titles, notably winning the WCT Finals in Dallas where he defeated John McEnroe in four sets. He met Lendl again in three high-profile matches that year, winning the final of the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida, while Lendl won the final of the German Open in Hamburg and the semi-finals of the French Open.

By this time, Mečíř's sedate playing style was known to frustrate a lot of the more-powerful top ranked players. The Swedish players, in particular, were said to dislike playing against him.

Mečíř was on top form at Wimbledon in 1988, where he defeated Mats Wilander in the quarter-final. It was Wilander's only Grand Slam singles defeat of the year (he won the 1988 Australian Open, French Open and US Open) yet Mečíř beat him 6–3 6–1 6–3. He took a two-set lead in the semi-final against Edberg with a similar display, and later led by a break of serve in the final set, but Edberg eventually wore him down on the way to his first Wimbledon crown.

The highlight of Mečíř's career came later in 1988 when he was selected to represent Czechoslovakia in the Seoul Olympics. In the men's singles semi-finals he exacted revenge over Wimbledon champion Edberg, in a five-set match 3–6, 6–0, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2. He then met Tim Mayotte of the U.S. in the men's singles final and won in four sets 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2 to claim the Gold Medal. He also won a Bronze medal in the men's doubles, partnering Milan Šrejber.

In 1989, Mečíř reached his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Again he came up against Lendl and lost in straight sets 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. It was a tactical victory for Lendl, whose win saw him to reclaim the World No. 1 ranking from Wilander. After the match, Lendl apologized to the crowd, explaining that he and coach Tony Roche had decided the best tactic against Mečíř was to hit shots deep and down the centre of the court, denying his opponent the angles he thrived on.

Mečíř was a member of the Czechoslovakian teams which won the World Team Cup in 1987 and the inaugural Hopman Cup in 1989. He is currently the Slovak Davis Cup captain.

During his career, Mečíř won 11 singles titles and 9 doubles titles. His career-high world ranking in both singles and doubles was World No. 4. His total career prize money earnings was US$2,632,538. His final career singles title came in 1989 at Indian Wells. His last doubles title was also won in 1989 in Rotterdam.

Throughout most of 1989 and into 1990, Mečíř suffered from a worsening back injury and he retired in July 1990, aged just 26.

Playing style

Mečíř was a finesse player whose career straddled the transition from wooden and metal racquets towards modern graphite composites. He was noted for his touch shots as well as the ability to disguise his shots, particularly his two-handed backhand. His court coverage and graceful footwork earned him the nickname "The Big Cat". The French called him "Le Prestidigitateur" (The Conjuror).

Many top players used to cite Mečíř as the one player they most enjoyed watching because of his beautifully simple style and touch. He was known as the "Swede Killer" for the success that he had against Swedish players, especially Mats Wilander.^[2]

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1986	US Open	Hard	Ivan Lendl	4–6, 2–6, 0–6
Runner-up	1989	Australian Open	Hard	Ivan Lendl	2–6, 2–6, 2–6

Olympic finals

Singles: 1 (1 gold medal)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Gold	1988	Seoul	Hard	Tim Mayotte	3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2

Tournament wins

Singles

Wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	18 March 1985	Rotterdam	Carpet	Jakob Hlasek	6–1, 6–2
2.	29 April 1985	Hamburg	Clay	Henrik Sundström	6–4, 6–1, 6–4
3.	4 April 1986	Kitzbühel	Clay	Andrés Gómez	6–4, 4–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3
4.	5 January 1987	Auckland	Hard	Michiel Schapers	6–2, 6–3, 6–4
5.	26 January 1987	Sydney	Hard	Peter Doohan	6–2, 6–4
6.	23 February 1987	Miami	Hard	Ivan Lendl	7–5, 6–2, 7–5
7.	7 April 1987	Dallas, – WCT Finals	Carpet	John McEnroe	6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
8.	13 July 1987	Stuttgart	Clay	Jan Gunnarsson	6–0, 6–2
9.	27 July 1987	Hilversum	Clay	Guillermo Pérez Roldán	6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2
10.	20 September 1988	Seoul Olympics	Hard	Tim Mayotte	3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2
11.	13 March 1989	Indian Wells	Hard	Yannick Noah	3–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

NH = tournament not held

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

Grand Prix singles tournament timeline

• Note these events were known as The Championship Super Series (single Week) from 1970 to 1989 as part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour they became known as the Championship Series (single week) by the ATP from 1990 to 1993 eventually becoming the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 as they are known today

NH = tournament not held

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of Masters Series singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

References

External links

• Miloslav Mečíř at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Miloslav Mečíř at the International Tennis Federation
• Miloslav Mečíř at the Davis Cup