Jan Kodeš

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Jan Kodeš
Country (sports) Czechoslovakia
ResidencePrague, Czech Republic
Born (1946-03-01) 1 March 1946 (age 78)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1966)
Retired1983
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$693,197
Int. Tennis HoF1990 (member page)
Singles
Career record630–341 (64.9%) in pre Open-Era & Open Era
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 5 (13 September 1973)
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenW (1970, 1971)
WimbledonW (1973)
US OpenF (1971, 1973)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)
WCT FinalsSF (1974)
Doubles
Career record313-183
Career titles17
Highest rankingNo. 12 (21 May 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenF (1977)

Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s.

Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French Open, where he won the singles title in 1970 and 1971. However, he also won Wimbledon on grass courts in 1973, although the tournament was largely boycotted by top players that year over the ban of Nikola Pilić by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF).[1][2][3]

Kodeš never played at the Australian Open, but was twice the runner-up at the US Open, in 1971 and 1973.[4][3] Kodeš reached his highest ATP ranking of world No. 5 in September 1973.[3] During the Open Era, he won nine top-level singles titles and 17 doubles titles.

Kodeš was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2013, he received the Czech Fair Play Award from the Czech Olympic Committee. He is an economics graduate of the Prague University.[3]

Career statistics[edit]

Grand Slam finals: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1970 French Open Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović 6–2, 6–4, 6–0
Win 1971 French Open (2) Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 8–6, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5
Loss 1971 US Open Grass United States Stan Smith 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–7(3–5)
Win 1973 Wimbledon Grass Soviet Union Alex Metreveli 6–1, 9–8(7–5), 6–3
Loss 1973 US Open (2) Grass Australia John Newcombe 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 2–6, 3–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 SR W–L Win %
Australian Open Absent 0 / 0 0–0
French Open 2R 4R 1R[a] 4R W W QF QF 4R 4R 3R 4R 3R 2R 2R 1R 2 / 16 43–13 76.79
Wimbledon 1R 1R1 1R 2R 1R 1R SF W QF 2R A 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1 / 15 19–14 57.58
US Open A A A 2R A F 2R F 4R 4R QF 3R A 2R A A 0 / 9 27–9 75.00
Win–loss 1–2 3–2 0–1 5–3 7–1 13–2 9–3 17–2 10–3 7–3 6–2 5–3 2–2 2–3 2–2 0–2 3 / 40 89–36 71.20

1 Start of the Open Era.
a 1968 French Open counts as 0 wins, 0 losses. Fernando Gentil received a walkover in the first round, after Kodeš withdrew, does not count as a Kodeš loss (nor a Gentil win).

Open era finals[edit]

Singles (9 titles, 19 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 1970 St. Petersburg, U.S. Clay Mexico Joaquín Loyo-Mayo 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Win 2. 1970 French Open, Paris Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović 6–2, 6–4, 6–0
Loss 1. 1970 Rome, Italy Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–8
Loss 2. 1971 Nice, France Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 8–10, 9–11, 1–6
Win 3. 1971 Catania, Italy Clay France Georges Goven 6–3, 6–0, 6–2
Loss 3. 1971 Rome WCT, Italy Clay Australia Rod Laver 5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Win 4. 1971 French Open, Paris Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 8–6, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5
Loss 4. 1971 US Open, New York Grass United States Stan Smith 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–7
Loss 5. 1971 Stockholm WCT, Sweden Hard (i) United States Arthur Ashe 1–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6
Loss 6. 1972 Nice, France Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 0–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 7. 1972 Rome, Italy Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–4, 1–6, 5–7, 2–6
Win 5. 1972 Barcelona, Spain Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–3, 6–2, 6–3
Win 6. 1973 Cologne, West Germany Carpet (i) New Zealand Brian Fairlie 6–1, 6–3, 6–1
Loss 8. 1973 Vancouver, Canada Carpet (i) United States Tom Gorman 6–3, 2–6, 5–7
Win 7. 1973 Wimbledon, London Grass Soviet Union Alex Metreveli 6–1, 9–8, 6–3
Loss 9. 1973 US Open, New York Grass Australia John Newcombe 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 2–6, 3–6
Loss 10. 1973 Prague, Czechoslovakia Carpet (i) Czechoslovakia Jiří Hřebec 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, 0–6, 5–7
Loss 11. 1974 Acapulco, Mexico Carpet (i) Netherlands Tom Okker 2–6, 6–7
Loss 12. 1975 Hampton, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Jimmy Connors 6–3, 3–6, 0–6
Loss 13. 1975 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–3, 2–6, 2–6, 6–4, 1–6
Loss 14. 1975 Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay Chile Jaime Fillol 4–6, 6–1, 0–6, 5–7
Loss 15. 1975 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Italy Adriano Panatta 6–2, 2–6, 5–7, 4–6
Win 8. 1975 Madrid, Spain Clay Italy Adriano Panatta 6–2, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2
Win 9. 1976 Basel, Switzerland Carpet (i) Czechoslovakia Jiří Hřebec 6–4, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 16. 1976 Nice, France Clay Italy Corrado Barazzutti 2–6, 6–2, 7–5, 6–7, 6–8
Loss 17. 1976 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–7, 2–6, 6–7
Loss 18. 1976 Aviles, Spain Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović 6–7, 1–6, 7–5, 6–7
Loss 19. 1977 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6

Doubles (17 titles, 24 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 1970 Båstad, Sweden Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović Australia Dick Crealy
Australia Allan Stone
2–6, 6–2, 12–12 ret.
Loss 2. 1970 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
8–10, 2–6, 4–6
Loss 3. 1970 Phoenix, U.S. Hard United States Charlie Pasarell Australia Dick Crealy
Australia Ray Ruffels
6–7, 3–6
Loss 4. 1970 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović Australia Bob Carmichael
Australia Ray Ruffels
5–7, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6, 3–6
Loss 5. 1971 Macon, U.S. Carpet Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović United States Clark Graebner
Brazil Thomaz Koch
3–6, 6–7
Loss 6. 1971 Catania, Italy Clay Czechoslovakia Jan Kukal France Pierre Barthès
France François Jauffret
6–7, 6–2, 3–6
Win 1. 1971 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović United States Clark Graebner
United States Erik van Dillen
7–6, 5–7, 6–3
Win 2. 1972 Nice, France Clay United States Stan Smith South Africa Frew McMillan
Romania Ilie Năstase
6–3, 3–6, 7–5
Win 3. 1972 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Romania Ilie Năstase South Africa Bob Hewitt
Romania Ion Țiriac
4–6, 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 7. 1972 Montreal, Canada Clay Czechoslovakia Jan Kukal Romania Ilie Năstase
Romania Ion Țiriac
6–7, 3–6
Win 4. 1973 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Czechoslovakia Vladimír Zedník United States Jimmy Connors
Romania Ilie Năstase
6–2, 6–4
Win 5. 1973 Prague, Czechoslovakia Mateflex Czechoslovakia Vladimír Zedník Hungary Róbert Machán
Hungary Balázs Taróczy
7–6, 7–6
Win 6. 1974 Palm Desert, U.S. Hard Czechoslovakia Vladimír Zedník United States Raymond Moore
New Zealand Onny Parun
6–4, 6–4
Win 7. 1974 Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay Czechoslovakia Jiří Hřebec Japan Kenichi Hirai
Japan Toshiro Sakai
6–1, 6–4
Loss 8. 1975 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet United Kingdom Roger Taylor United States Jimmy Connors
Romania Ilie Năstase
6–7, 2–6
Win 8. 1975 Munich, West Germany Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak Czechoslovakia Milan Holeček
West Germany Karl Meiler
7–5, 6–3
Loss 9. 1975 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak Spain Juan Gisbert Sr.
Spain Manuel Orantes
3–6, 6–7
Win 9. 1975 Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay France François Jauffret West Germany Harald Elschenbroich
Austria Hans Kary
6–2, 6–3
Loss 10. 1975 Montreal, Canada Hard Romania Ilie Năstase South Africa Cliff Drysdale
South Africa Raymond Moore
4–6, 7–5, 6–7
Win 10. 1975 Madrid, Spain Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Spain Juan Gisbert Sr.
Spain Manuel Orantes
6–4, 3–6, 9–7
Win 11. 1976 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Czechoslovakia Jiří Hřebec West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
6–7, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 12. 1977 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet Australia Ross Case Romania Ion Țiriac
Argentina Guillermo Vilas
3–6, 7–6, 4–6
Win 12. 1977 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay France François Jauffret Poland Wojciech Fibak
Netherlands Tom Okker
2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 13. 1977 French Open, Paris Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak United States Brian Gottfried
Mexico Raúl Ramírez
6–7, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 13. 1977 Barcelona, Spain Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
6–0, 6–4
Loss 14. 1977 Vienna, Austria Carpet Poland Wojciech Fibak South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
4–6, 3–6
Loss 15. 1977 Oviedo, Spain Carpet Mexico Raúl Ramírez United States Fred McNair
United States Sherwood Stewart
3–6, 1–6
Loss 16. 1978 Springfield, U.S. Carpet United States Marty Riessen United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
3–6, 3–6
Loss 17. 1978 Nice, France Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd France Patrice Dominguez
France François Jauffret
4–6, 0–6
Loss 18. 1978 Rome, Italy Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Paraguay Víctor Pecci
Chile Belus Prajoux
7–6, 6–7, 1–6
Win 14. 1978 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Brazil Carlos Kirmayr
Chile Belus Prajoux
6–3, 7–6
Loss 19. 1978 Aix-en-Provence, France Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Romania Ion Țiriac
Argentina Guillermo Vilas
6–7, 1–6
Win 15. 1978 Madrid, Spain Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
6–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win 16. 1979 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Australia Mark Edmondson
Australia John Marks
6–3, 6–1, 7–6
Loss 20. 1979 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Netherlands Tom Okker
Hungary Balázs Taróczy
1–6, 3–6
Loss 21. 1979 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd United States Gene Mayer
United States John McEnroe
4–6, 6–7
Loss 22. 1980 Barcelona, Spain Clay Hungary Balázs Taróczy United States Steve Denton
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
2–6, 7–6, 3–6
Loss 23. 1980 Cologne, West Germany Carpet Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd South Africa Bernard Mitton
Zimbabwe Andrew Pattison
4–6, 1–6
Win 17. 1982 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Hungary Balázs Taróczy
Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
7–6, 6–4
Loss 24. 1983 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Hungary Balázs Taróczy
6–3, 2–6, 3–6

At results above are not shown wins and runner-ups from 1965 to 1969, such as tournaments in Santiago, Viňa del Mar, São Paulo, Lyon, Cannes, Luxembourg, Split, Varna, Plovdiv, Paris (Racing Club) or International championships of Czechoslovakia in Bratislava. The draws of players were always minimum 32 players, same as at contemporary ATP Tour events, but they are not listed in ATP Annuals, since ATP was founded at 1972.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wimbledon: The Official History of the Championships. Barrett, John. Collins Willow 2011 ISBN 0-00-711707-8
  2. ^ "Wimbledon Singles Titles Captured by King, Kodeš". No. The Spokesman-Review. AP. 8 July 1973.
  3. ^ a b c d John Barrett, ed. (1974). World of Tennis '74 : a BP and Commercial Union yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 9780362001686.
  4. ^ "Newcombe cops U.S. net Open". No. Star–News. UPI. 10 September 1973. p. Fifteen.

Further reading[edit]

Jan Kodeš, with Petr Kolar, A Journey to Glory from behind the Iron Curtain, New Chapter Press, Chicago, 2010, ISBN 978-0942257687

External links[edit]