| Karel Nováček | |
| Country: | (1993–96) |
| Residence: | Boca Raton, Florida |
| Birth Date: | 30 March 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Prostějov, Czechoslovakia |
| Turnedpro: | 1984 |
| Retired: | 1996 |
| Plays: | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Careerprizemoney: | $3,729,540 |
| Singlestitles: | 13 |
| Highestsinglesranking: | No. 8 (18 November 1991) |
| Australianopenresult: | 4R (1995) |
| Frenchopenresult: | QF (1987, 1993) |
| Wimbledonresult: | 4R (1991) |
| Usopenresult: | SF (1994) |
| Othertournaments: | Yes |
| Masterscupresult: | RR (1991) |
| Doublesrecord: | 168–179 |
| Doublestitles: | 6 |
| Highestdoublesranking: | No. 25 (28 February 1994) |
| Australianopendoublesresult: | SF (1994) |
| Frenchopendoublesresult: | QF (1990) |
| Wimbledondoublesresult: | 3R (1994) |
| Usopendoublesresult: | F (1993) |
Karel Nováček (born 30 March 1965) is a retired Czech former top ten tennis player born in Prostějov, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic). In his career, Nováček won 13 singles titles and six doubles titles. His highest singles ranking was World No. 8, which he achieved on 18 November 1991.
His best performance at a Grand Slam came at the 1994 US Open where he defeated Alexander Vladimirovich Volkov, Andriy Medvedev, Todd Woodbridge, Javier Frana and Jaime Yzaga before losing to Michael Stich in the semifinal. In 1997, Novacek was suspended for three months for failing a drug test at the 1995 French Open; he forfeited $185,765, but denied taking cocaine knowingly.[1]
Nováček lived in Boca Raton, Florida, United States for 20 years, and then moved back to Czech Republic. Karel and Maya Nováček married in 1990; as of 2002, they had three children.[2] In 2002, the Boca Raton News reported that their ten-year-old daughter Anika was a promising tennis player, winning several tournaments.[2]
| Legend (singles) | |
|---|---|
| Grand Slam (0–0) | |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) | |
| ATP Masters Series (1–0) | |
| ATP Tour (12–7) |
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Aug 1986 | Washington, U.S. | Clay |  Thierry Tulasne | 6–1, 7–6(7–4) | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Oct 1986 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) |  Brad Gilbert | 6–3, 3–6, 5–7, 0–6 | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Oct 1987 | Palermo, Italy | Clay |  Martín Jaite | 6–7(5–7), 7–6(9–7), 4–6 | |
| Win | 2–2 | Jul 1989 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay |  Emilio Sánchez | 6–2, 6–4 | |
| Win | 3–2 | May 1990 | Munich, West Germany | Clay |  Thomas Muster | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 3–3 | Aug 1990 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Horacio de la Peña | 4–6, 6–7(4–7), 6–2, 2–6 | |
| Win | 4–3 | Jan 1991 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Jean-Philippe Fleurian | 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4) | |
| Loss | 4–4 | Apr 1991 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay | Sergi Bruguera | 6–7(7–9), 1–6 | |
| Win | 5–4 | May 1991 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay |  Magnus Gustafsson | 6–3, 6–3, 5–7, 0–6, 6–1 | |
| Win | 6–4 | Aug 1991 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Magnus Gustafsson | 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–4), 6–2 | |
| Win | 7–4 | Aug 1991 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | Clay | Magnus Gustafsson | 7–6(7–5), 6–2 | |
| Win | 8–4 | Jul 1992 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | Jordi Arrese | 6–2, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5 | |
| Win | 9–4 | Aug 1992 | San Marino, San Marino | Clay | Francisco Clavet | 7–5, 6–2 | |
| Win | 10–4 | Aug 1992 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | Clay | Franco Davín | 6–1, 6–1 | |
| Win | 11–4 | Feb 1993 | Dubai, U.A.E. | Hard | Fabrice Santoro | 6–4, 7–5 | |
| Loss | 11–5 | Feb 1993 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet | Anders Järryd | 3–6, 5–7 | |
| Win | 12–5 | Mar 1993 | Zaragoza, Spain | Clay | Jonas Svensson | 3–6, 6–2, 6–1 | |
| Loss | 12–6 | Apr 1993 | Estoril, Portugal | Clay |  Andriy Medvedev | 4–6, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 12–7 | Jul 1993 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Sergi Bruguera | 3–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 13–7 | Aug 1994 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay |  Richard Fromberg | 7–5, 6–4, 7–6(9–7) |
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | Career SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | NH | A | A | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | A | 3R | 4R | A | 0 / 5 | |
| French Open | 3R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 12 | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 10 | |
| US Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | 3R | A | 3R | SF | 1R | A | 0 / 7 | |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 34 | |
| ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | Not MS1 Before 1990 | 1R | A | 3R | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 3 | ||||||
| Key Biscayne | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 0 / 5 | |||||||
| Monte Carlo | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 6 | |||||||
| Rome | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | |||||||
| Hamburg | 1R | W | QF | 3R | 1R | A | A | 1 / 5 | |||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | |||||||
| Cincinnati | 1R | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 2 | |||||||
| Stuttgart (Stockholm) | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | |||||||
| Paris | 1R | QF | 1R | 3R | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | |||||||
| Masters Series SR | N/A | 0 / 8 | 1 / 6 | 0 / 7 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 34 | ||||||
| Year-end ranking | 138 | 159 | 33 | 76 | 127 | 74 | 34 | 8 | 23 | 17 | 28 | 121 | 409 | N/A | |
