Miloslav Mečíř Explained

Miloslav Mečíř
Residence:Bratislava, Slovakia
Birth Date:1964 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Bojnice, Czechoslovakia
Height:1.90 m
Turnedpro:1982
Retired:1990
Plays:Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney:$2,632,538
Singlestitles:11
Highestsinglesranking:No. 4 (22 February 1988)
Australianopenresult:F (1989)
Frenchopenresult:SF (1987)
Wimbledonresult:SF (1988)
Usopenresult:F (1986)
Othertournaments:yes
Masterscupresult:RR (1987)
Wctfinalsresult:W (1987)
Olympicsresult:W (1988)
Doublesrecord:100–54
Doublestitles:9
Highestdoublesranking:No. 4 (7 March 1988)
Othertournamentsdoubles:yes
Masterscupdoublesresult:W (1987)
Olympicsdoublesresult:SF (1988)
Australianopendoublesresult:4R (1987)
Frenchopendoublesresult:4R (1989)
Wimbledondoublesresult:3R (1987, 1989)
Usopendoublesresult:4R (1987, 1988)
Team:yes
Daviscupresult:SF (1985, 1986)
Hopmancupresult:W (1989)
Medaltemplates-Expand:yes

Miloslav Mečíř (in Slovak pronounced as /ˈmilɔslaw ˈmetʂiːr̝̊/; born 19 May 1964) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. He won the men's singles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games, representing Czechoslovakia, and contested two major singles finals. In 1987 he won the WCT Finals, the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis tour. His son Miloslav Jr. is also a former 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 semifinal 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 quarterfinals. 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 Czechoslovak, 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 Navratilova. 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 semifinals 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 quarterfinal. 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 in straight sets. He took a two-set lead in the semifinal 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. He defeated Eric Jelen, Jeremy Bates, Guy Forget and Michiel Schapers and then in the men's singles semifinals he exacted revenge over Wimbledon champion Edberg, in a five-set match. 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.[2]

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. 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 Czechoslovak teams that 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 nine doubles titles. His career-high world ranking in both singles and doubles was world No. 4. 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.[3]

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss Hard 4–6, 2–6, 0–6
Loss Hard Ivan Lendl 2–6, 2–6, 2–6

WCT Year–end championship finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

Olympic finals

Singles: 1 (1 gold medal)

ATP Career finals

Singles: 24 (11 titles, 13 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–2)
Year-end championships – WCT (1–0)
Grand Prix (9–11)
ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Dec 1983Adelaide, AustraliaGrass Mike Bauer6–3, 4–6, 1–6
Loss0–2Sep 1984Palermo, ItalyClay Francesco Cancellotti0–6, 3–6
Loss0–3Oct 1984Cologne, West GermanyCarpet (i) Joakim Nyström6–7, 2–6
Loss0–4Jan 1985Philadelphia, U.S.Carpet (i) John McEnroe3–6, 6–7(5–7), 1–6
Win1–4Mar 1985Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Jakob Hlasek6–1, 6–2
Win2–4Apr 1985Hamburg, West GermanyClay Henrik Sundström6–4, 6–1, 6–4
Loss2–5May 1985Rome, ItalyClay Yannick Noah3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win3–5Apr 1986Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Andrés Gómez6–4, 4–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3
Loss3–6Aug 1986US Open, New YorkHard Ivan Lendl4–6, 2–6, 0–6
Loss3–7Sep 1986Hamburg, West GermanyClay Henri Leconte2–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6
Win4–7Jan 1987Auckland, New ZealandHard Michiel Schapers6–2, 6–3, 6–4
Win5–7Jan 1987Sydney, AustraliaGrass Peter Doohan6–2, 6–4
Win6–7Feb 1987Miami, U.S.Hard Ivan Lendl7–5, 6–2, 7–5
Loss6–8Mar 1987Milan, ItalyCarpet (i) Boris Becker4–6, 3–6
Win7–8Apr 1987WCT Finals, DallasCarpet (i) John McEnroe6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss7–9Apr 1987Hamburg, West GermanyClay Ivan Lendl1–6, 3–6, 3–6
Win8–9Jul 1987Stuttgart, West GermanyClay Jan Gunnarsson6–0, 6–2
Win9–9Jul 1987Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Guillermo Pérez Roldán6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss9–10Aug 1987Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Emilio Sánchez4–6, 1–6, 6–4, 1–6
Loss9–11Feb 1988Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Stefan Edberg6–7(5–7), 2–6
Loss9–12Mar 1988Orlando, U.S.Hard Andrei Chesnokov6–7(6–8), 1–6
Win10–12Sep 1988Olympic Games, SeoulHard Tim Mayotte3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2
Loss10–13Jan 1989Australian Open, MelbourneHard Ivan Lendl2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win11–13Mar 1989Indian Wells, U.S.Hard Yannick Noah3–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles: 12 (9 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
Year-end championships – ATP (1–0)
Grand Prix (8–3)
ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1.28 July 1986Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Tomáš Šmíd Tom Nijssen
Johan Vekemans		6–4, 6–2
Win2.6 October 1986Toulouse, FranceHard (i) Tomáš Šmíd Jakob Hlasek
Pavel Složil		6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Win3.27 April 1987Hamburg, West GermanyClay Tomáš Šmíd Claudio Mezzadri
Jim Pugh		4–6, 7–6, 6–2
Loss1.11 May 1987Rome, ItalyClay Tomáš Šmíd Guy Forget
Yannick Noah		2–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win4.27 July 1987Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Wojciech Fibak Tom Nijssen
Johan Vekemans		7–6, 5–7, 6–2
Loss2.3 August 1987Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Tomáš Šmíd Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez		6–7, 6–7
Win5.10 August 1987Prague, Czechoslovakia Clay Tomáš Šmíd Stanislav Birner
Jaroslav Navrátil		6–3, 6–7, 6–3
Win6.21 September 1987Barcelona, SpainClay Tomáš Šmíd Javier Frana
Christian Miniussi		6–1, 6–2
Win7.9 November 1987Wembley, U.K.Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Ken Flach
Robert Seguso		7–5, 6–4
Win8.7 December 1987Masters Doubles, New YorkCarpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Ken Flach
Robert Seguso		6–4, 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–3
Loss3.15 February 1988Milan, ItalyCarpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Boris Becker
Eric Jelen		3–6, 3–6
Win9.6 February 1989Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Milan Šrejber Jan Gunnarsson
Magnus Gustafsson		7–6, 6–0

Singles performance timelines

Grand Slam tournaments

Tournament 19831984198519861987198819891990Career SR Career win–loss
Australian Open1R2RANHQFAF4R0 / 512–5
French OpenA1R3R2RSFA1R1R0 / 68–6
WimbledonA2R1RQF3RSF3R2R0 / 715–7
US OpenAA2RFQF3R3RA0 / 515–5
Grand Slam Win–loss0–12–33–311–314–47–210–44–3N/A50–23
Grand Slam SR0 / 10 / 30 / 30 / 30 / 40 / 20 / 40 / 30 / 23N/A
Year-end ranking101509961318116N/A

Grand Prix tournaments

Tournament Career SR
Indian WellsAAAAQFQFW1R1 / 4
MiamiNHNH2RAWSF2RA1 / 4
Monte CarloAAA3RAAAA0 / 1
RomeA1RF3R1RA1RA0 / 5
HamburgAAWFFAAA1 / 3
CanadaAAAAAA1RA0 / 1
CincinnatiAAAAA1RAA0 / 1
ParisAAA1R2R2R2RA0 / 4
The MastersAAAARRAAA0 / 1
Grand Prix SR0 / 00 / 11 / 30 / 41 / 50 / 41 / 50 / 13 / 23

Record against top-10 players

Mečíř's record against those who have been ranked in the top 10, with active players in boldface.

PlayerYearsMatcheswidth=40 data-sort-type="number"RecordWin%width=35 data-sort-type="number"Hardwidth=35 data-sort-type="number"Claywidth=35 data-sort-type="number"Grasswidth=35Carpet
Number 1 ranked players
Andre Agassi198811–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Ilie Nastase198411–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Pete Sampras198911–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Mats Wilander1985–1988117–41–12–21–03–1
Jimmy Connors1985–198942–21–10–10–01–0
John McEnroe1985–198952–30–01–01–30–0
Stefan Edberg1983–1990155–103–10–22–30–4
Thomas Muster1986–198831–20–01–20–00–0
Boris Becker1985–199092–71–20–10–11–3
Ivan Lendl1986–198961–51–20–20–00–1
Number 2 ranked players
Michael Chang198911–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Goran Ivanišević198911–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Petr Korda198811–0bgcolor=lime0–01–00–00–0
Manuel Orantes198311–0bgcolor=lime0–01–00–00–0
Michael Stich199010–10–00–00–10–0
Number 3 ranked players
Yannick Noah1985–198932–12–00–10–00–0
Vitas Gerulaitis198410–10–00–00–00–1
Number 4 ranked players
Guy Forget1986–198844–0bgcolor=lime2–00–00–02–0
Andrés Gómez1986–198722–0bgcolor=lime0–01–00–01–0
Brad Gilbert1984–198832–10–01–01–00–1
Pat Cash198721–10–01–00–00–1
José Luis Clerc198510–10–00–10–00–0
Number 5 ranked players
Jimmy Arias198711–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Anders Järryd1983–198794–50–02–30–22–0
Kevin Curren198710–10–00–00–00–1
Henri Leconte198620–20–00–20–00–0
Number 6 ranked players
Henrik Sundström1984–198522–0bgcolor=lime0–02–00–00–0
Kent Carlsson1984–198764–21–03–20–00–0
Number 7 ranked players
Jay Berger198811–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Johan Kriek198711–0bgcolor=lime0–00–00–01–0
Tim Mayotte198811–0bgcolor=lime1–00–00–00–0
Jakob Hlasek1985–198754–11–01–00–02–1
Joakim Nyström1984–198664–21–21–00–02–0
Emilio Sánchez1986–199063–30–20–10–03–0
Juan Aguilera1984–198930–30–00–30–00–0
Sandy Mayer198410–10–10–00–00–0
Brian Teacher198410–10–00–00–10–0
Number 8 ranked players
Karel Nováček1986–198733–0bgcolor=lime1–02–00–00–0
Number 9 ranked players
Bill Scanlon1986–198722–0bgcolor=lime1–00–01–00–0
Andrei Chesnokov1983–198821–10–11–00–00–0
Number 10 ranked players
Mikael Pernfors1986–198733–0bgcolor=lime1–02–00–00–0
Jonas Svensson1986–198864–20–01–10–03–1
Martín Jaite1983–198753–20–03–20–00–0
Thierry Tulasne1985–198942–20–01–20–01–0
Wojciech Fibak198610–10–00–00–00–1
Total1983–199014981–6825–13
28–28
5–8
23–19

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ITF Tennis – Mens Circuit – Player Biography: MECIR, Miloslav (SVK) . 18 August 2012 . 22 September 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130922031926/http://www.itftennis.com/ProCircuit/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=100054820 . live .
  2. Miloslav Mečíř . 23 September 2020 . 10 December 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081210081408/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/me/miloslav-mecir-1.html . live .
  3. Web site: Stefan Edberg's matches on tape. https://web.archive.org/web/20080220021536/http://geocities.com/edhead01us/tapes.html. 20 February 2008.

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