Miloslav Mečíř


Miloslav Mečíř 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 season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis tour.
His son Miloslav Jr. is a professional tennis player.

Career

Mečíř was born in Bojnice, Czechoslovakia.
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 yet Mečíř beat him 6–3, 6–1, 6–3. 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 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 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".
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.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

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)

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, GermanyCarpet Joakim Nyström6–7, 2–6
Loss0–4Jan 1985Philadelphia, U.S.Carpet John McEnroe3–6, 6–7, 1–6
Win1–4Mar 1985Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet Jakob Hlasek6–1, 6–2
Win2–4Apr 1985Hamburg, GermanyClay Henrik Sundström6–4, 6–1, 6–4
Loss2–5May 1985Rome, ItalyClay Yannick Noah3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–7
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, 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, USAHard Ivan Lendl7–5, 6–2, 7–5
Loss6–8Mar 1987Milan, ItalyCarpet Boris Becker4–6, 3–6
Win7–8Apr 1987WCT Finals, DallasCarpet John McEnroe6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss7–9Apr 1987Hamburg, GermanyClay Ivan Lendl1–6, 3–6, 3–6
Win8–9Jul 1987Stuttgart, 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 Stefan Edberg6–7, 2–6
Loss9–12Mar 1988Orlando, U.S.Hard Andrei Chesnokov6–7, 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)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1.28 July 1986Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Tomáš Šmíd Tom Nijssen
Johan Vekemans		6–4, 6–2
Win2.6 October 1986Toulouse, FranceHard Tomáš Šmíd Jakob Hlasek
Pavel Složil		6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Winner3.27 April 1987Hamburg, 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, CzechoslovakiaClay 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 Tomáš Šmíd Ken Flach
Robert Seguso		7–5, 6–4
Win8.7 December 1987Masters Doubles, LondonCarpet Tomáš Šmíd Ken Flach
Robert Seguso		6–4, 7–5, 6–7, 6–3
Loss3.15 February 1988Milan, ItalyCarpet Tomáš Šmíd Boris Becker
Eric Jelen		3–6, 3–6
Win9.6 February 1989Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet Milan Šrejber Jan Gunnarsson
Magnus Gustafsson		7–6, 6–0

Grand Slam singles performance 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

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