| Country (sports) |  Yugoslavia(until 1991)  Croatia(from 1991) |
|---|---|
| Born | (1972-07-14)14 July 1972 (age 53) |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | $312,767 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 10–25 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 214 (20 December 1993) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | Q2 (1990) |
| French Open | Q2 (1994) |
| Wimbledon | Q1 (1997) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 41–39 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 85 (28 July 1997) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | 1R (1997) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1997) |
| US Open | 2R (1996) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | 11–12 |
Saša Hiršzon (born 14 July 1972) is a former professionaltennis player fromCroatia[1] and current tennis coach. His highest world rankings were No. 214 in singles on 20 December 1993, and No. 85 in doubles on 28 July 1997.
Hiršzon was born inVaraždin. His grandfather Božidar Hirschsohn was a notableCroatian Jewish stage actor in Varaždin who fought with thePartisans duringWorld War II. All members of Hiršzon's paternal family, except his grandfather, perished duringthe Holocaust.[2]
Hiršzon started to play tennis at the Varaždin local tennis club. He won the national titles in the under-12, −14, −16, −18 categories.[3] Hiršzon stated that under-12 match againstMichael Chang stayed etched in his memory the most. As he did not have much money, Hiršzon came into the field with different rackets while Chang had a whole team behind him.[4]
Best known as a doubles player, Hiršzon had most of his success when partnering countrymanGoran Ivanišević. The pair appeared together in the1996 US Open and1997 French Open, but only won one match, in the former. They did however win two titles on theATP Tour, the first in 1995, at a French tournament called theGrand Prix Passing Shot Bordeaux. They won their second title on home soil, at theCroatian Indoors in 1997. It would be the only two finals that the pairing reached during their careers although they did make the semi-finals of the 1993Austrian Open, the1996 Eurocard Open inStuttgart and Munich's1998 BMW Open. The Eurocard Open was one of the tour'sMercedes Super 9 (now Masters) events and the semi-final came down to a third set tiebreak, but the Croatians were unable to defeatJacco Eltingh andPaul Haarhuis.
Hiršzon and Ivanišević also played together at the1996 Atlanta Olympics,[5] reaching the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by eventual bronze medalists,David Prinosil andMarc-Kevin Goellner, from Germany. The Croatians had made it into the quarter-finals with wins overJonas Björkman/Nicklas Kulti, the fourth seeds, followed by a victory over the Bahamian pairing ofMark Knowles andRoger Smith.[6]
As a singles player he didn't make an impression on the ATP Tour, but did have a win over world number 17Guillermo Pérez Roldán atPrague in 1990, although the Argentine did have to retire hurt.[7]
His third and finalGrand Slam appearance was in the1997 Wimbledon Championships, with a new partner,Sander Groen. They made it into the round of 16.[8][9]
He played nineDavis Cup ties forCroatia, from 1994 to 1998. On his debut in 1994, he helped Croatia gain promotion to the World Group, with a good performance in their Euro/African semi-final againstNorway. He won the fifth and deciding rubber againstHelge Koll-Frafjord, in straight sets, having earlier teamed up with Ivanišević to win a close doubles match, won 11–9 in the final set. His best singles win was over AustralianJason Stoltenberg in 1996, then number 26 in the world. By the end of his Davis Cup career he had won 11 matches for Croatia, six as a singles player and five in the doubles.[10]
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Sep 1995 | Bordeaux, France | Hard | Goran Ivanišević |  Henrik Holm Danny Sapsford | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Feb 1997 | Zagreb, Croatia | Carpet | Goran Ivanišević |  Brent Haygarth Mark Keil | 6–4, 6–3 |
| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1993 | Montauban, France | Clay |  Christian Ruud |  Massimo CierroUgo Colombini | 6–1, 6–2 |
| 2. | 1995 | Heilbronn, Germany | Carpet | Goran Ivanišević |  Martin Sinner Joost Winnink | 6–4, 6–4 |
