Miloslav Mečíř (; born 19 May 1964) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. He won the 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. He reached a highest ranking of world No. 4 in singles in February 1988 and won 11 singles titles during his career. His son Miloslav Jr. is also a former professional tennis player.
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 in the US Open semi finals. He "handled the West German's booming serve with ease, used his groundstrokes to move Becker from side to side, and hit his serves so deep that Becker had trouble handling them" and Mecir won in five sets. In the final 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. 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 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. He was overpowered by Lendl on a hot day when the court surface reached 135 degrees. Lendl's win saw him 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.
Major finals Grand Slam finals Singles: 2 (0–2) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1986 US Open Hard Ivan Lendl 4–6, 2–6, 0–6Loss 1989 Australian Open Hard Ivan Lendl 2–6, 2–6, 2–6
WCT Year–end championship finals Singles: 1 (1–0) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1987DallasCarpet (i) John McEnroe6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Olympic finals Singles: 1 (1 gold medal) ResultYearLocationSurfaceOpponentScoreGold1988SeoulHard Tim Mayotte3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2
ATP career finals Singles: 24 (11 titles / 13 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam (0–2)Year-end championships – WCT (1–0)Grand Prix (9–11) ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Dec 1983 Adelaide, Australia Grass Mike Bauer 6–3, 4–6, 1–6Loss 0–2 Sep 1984 Palermo, Italy Clay Francesco Cancellotti 0–6, 3–6Loss 0–3 Oct 1984 Cologne, West Germany Carpet (i) Joakim Nyström 6–7, 2–6Loss 0–4 Jan 1985 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet (i) John McEnroe 3–6, 6–7(5–7), 1–6Win 1–4 Mar 1985 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Jakob Hlasek 6–1, 6–2Win 2–4 Apr 1985 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Henrik Sundström 6–4, 6–1, 6–4Loss 2–5 May 1985 Rome, Italy Clay Yannick Noah 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–7(4–7)Win 3–5 Aug 1986 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Andrés Gómez 6–4, 4–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3Loss 3–6 Aug 1986US Open, New York Hard Ivan Lendl 4–6, 2–6, 0–6Loss 3–7 Sep 1986 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Henri Leconte 2–6, 7–5, 4–6, 2–6Win 4–7 Jan 1987 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Michiel Schapers 6–2, 6–3, 6–4Win 5–7 Jan 1987 Sydney, Australia Grass Peter Doohan 6–2, 6–4Win 6–7 Feb 1987 Miami, U.S. Hard Ivan Lendl 7–5, 6–2, 7–5Loss 6–8 Mar 1987 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Boris Becker 4–6, 3–6Win 7–8 Apr 1987WCT Finals, Dallas Carpet (i) John McEnroe 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2Loss 7–9 Apr 1987 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Ivan Lendl 1–6, 3–6, 3–6Win 8–9 Jul 1987 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay Jan Gunnarsson 6–0, 6–2Win 9–9 Jul 1987 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Guillermo Pérez Roldán 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2Loss 9–10 Aug 1987 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Emilio Sánchez 4–6, 1–6, 6–4, 1–6Loss 9–11 Feb 1988 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Stefan Edberg 6–7(5–7), 2–6Loss 9–12 Mar 1988 Orlando, U.S. Hard Andrei Chesnokov 6–7(6–8), 1–6Win 10–12 Sep 1988Olympic Games, Seoul Hard Tim Mayotte 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2Loss 10–13 Jan 1989Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Ivan Lendl 2–6, 2–6, 2–6Win 11–13 Mar 1989 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Yannick Noah 3–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
Doubles: 12 (9 titles / 3 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam (0–0)Year-end championships – ATP (1–0)Grand Prix (8–3) ResultW–LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1–0 Jul 1986 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Tomáš Šmíd Tom Nijssen Johan Vekemans 6–4, 6–2Win 2–0 Oct 1986 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Tomáš Šmíd Jakob Hlasek Pavel Složil 6–2, 3–6, 6–4Win 3–0 Apr 1987 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Tomáš Šmíd Claudio Mezzadri Jim Pugh 4–6, 7–6, 6–2Loss 3–1 May 1987 Rome, Italy Clay Tomáš Šmíd Guy Forget Yannick Noah 2–6, 7–6, 3–6Win 4–1 Jul 1987 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Wojciech Fibak Tom Nijssen Johan Vekemans 7–6, 5–7, 6–2Loss 4–2 Aug 1987 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Tomáš Šmíd Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez 6–7, 6–7Win 5–2 Aug 1987 Prague, Czechoslovakia Clay Tomáš Šmíd Stanislav Birner Jaroslav Navrátil 6–3, 6–7, 6–3Win 6–2 Sep 1987 Barcelona, Spain Clay Tomáš Šmíd Javier Frana Christian Miniussi 6–1, 6–2Win 7–2 Nov 1987 Wembley, U.K. Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Ken Flach Robert Seguso 7–5, 6–4Win 8–2 Dec 1987Masters Doubles, New York Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Ken Flach Robert Seguso 6–4, 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–3Loss 8–3 Feb 1988 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Boris Becker Eric Jelen 3–6, 3–6Win 9–3 Feb 1989 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Milan Šrejber Jan Gunnarsson Magnus Gustafsson 7–6, 6–0
Singles performance timelines
Grand Slam tournaments Tournament 19831984198519861987198819891990 Career SR Career win–loss Australian Open1R2RANHQFA F4R 0 / 512–5 French OpenA1R3R2RSFA1R1R 0 / 68–6 WimbledonA2R1RQF3RSF3R2R 0 / 715–7 US OpenAA2R FQF3R3RA 0 / 515–5 Grand Slam Win–loss0–12–33–311–314–47–210–44–3N/A50–23Grand Slam SR 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 23N/A Year-end ranking101509961318116N/A
Grand Prix tournaments Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Career SR Indian WellsAAAAQFQFW1R 1 / 4 MiamiNHNH2RAWSF2RA 1 / 4 Monte CarloAAA3RAAAA 0 / 1 RomeA1R F3R1RA1RA 0 / 5 HamburgAAW F FAAA 1 / 3 CanadaAAAAAA1RA 0 / 1 CincinnatiAAAAA1RAA 0 / 1 ParisAAA1R2R2R2RA 0 / 4 The MastersAAAARRAAA 0 / 1 Grand Prix SR 0 / 0 0 / 1 1 / 3 0 / 4 1 / 5 0 / 4 1 / 5 0 / 1 3 / 23
Record against top-10 players
Mečíř's record against those who have been ranked in the top 10, with active players in boldface. PlayerYearsMatchesRecordWin%HardClayGrassCarpetNumber 1 ranked players Andre Agassi198811–01–00–00–00–0 Ilie Nastase198411–01–00–00–00–0 Pete Sampras198911–01–00–00–00–0 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 Lendl1986–198961–51–20–20–00–1Number 2 ranked players Michael Chang198911–01–00–00–00–0 Goran Ivanišević198911–01–00–00–00–0 Petr Korda198811–00–01–00–00–0 Manuel Orantes198311–00–01–00–00–0 Michael Stich199010–10–00–00–10–0Number 3 ranked players Yannick Noah1985–198932–12–00–10–00–0 Vitas Gerulaitis198410–10–00–00–00–1Number 4 ranked players Guy Forget1986–198844–02–00–00–02–0 Andrés Gómez1986–198722–00–01–00–01–0 Brad Gilbert1984–198832–10–01–01–00–1 Pat Cash198721–10–01–00–00–1 José Luis Clerc198510–10–00–10–00–0Number 5 ranked players Jimmy Arias198711–01–00–00–00–0 Anders Järryd1983–198794–50–02–30–22–0 Kevin Curren198710–10–00–00–00–1 Henri Leconte198620–20–00–20–00–0Number 6 ranked players Henrik Sundström1984–198522–00–02–00–00–0 Kent Carlsson1984–198764–21–03–20–00–0Number 7 ranked players Jay Berger198811–01–00–00–00–0 Johan Kriek198711–00–00–00–01–0 Tim Mayotte198811–01–00–00–00–0 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 Teacher198410–10–00–00–10–0Number 8 ranked players Karel Nováček1986–198733–01–02–00–00–0Number 9 ranked players Bill Scanlon1986–198722–01–00–01–00–0 Andrei Chesnokov1983–198821–10–11–00–00–0Number 10 ranked players Mikael Pernfors1986–198733–01–02–00–00–0 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 Fibak198610–10–00–00–00–1Total1983–199014981–6825–13 ()28–28 ()5–8 ()23–19 ()
Top 10 wins Season198219831984198519861987198819891990TotalWins00165741024