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Country (sports) | ![]() |
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Residence | Prague, Czech Republic |
Born | (1970-07-15)15 July 1970 (age 54) Prague,Czechoslovakia (nowCzech Republic) |
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Turned pro | 1990 |
Retired | 2009 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Prize money | $2,337,009 |
Singles | |
Career record | 0–4 |
Career titles | 0 |
Highest ranking | No. 435 (23 August 1993) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 394–359 |
Career titles | 16 |
Highest ranking | No. 5 (5 November 2007) |
Pavel Vízner (born 15 July 1970) is a retired professionalmale tennis player from the Czech Republic. Vízner has reached the French Open final twice, having had turned professional in 1990 and achieved a career high doubles ranking of World No. 5 in November 2007.
While Vízner had played tournaments in 1988 and 1989 before professionalism in 1990, he won his first title in Prague in 1993 on theChallenger circuit, defeatingSwedesTomas Nydahl andMikael Tillström in the final, partnered byDavid Rikl, also a player with a higher doubles ranking and ultimately more success. He won another minor title inGuayaquil,Ecuador later in 1995.
Pavel broke through in 1996, winning a total of five titles; three of them being major titles. His first major title that he won was atSankt Pölten, withSláva Doseděl where they defeatedDavid Adams andMenno Oosting in the final. His next title he won withPaul Kilderry overAnders Järryd and number 7 doubles playerMark Knowles in a tournament inRosmalen, Netherlands. En route, he and partner Kilderry beat the 4th, 7th, 12th, and 14th-ranked doubles players. He won another title yet again inGstaad, Switzerland, beatingDavid Macpherson andTrevor Kronemann in the final, asideJiří Novák (a doubles talent in a later day) InGrand Slam men's doubles performance, he participated in the French Open and theU.S. Open, and made the third round atWimbledon. He ended 1996 ranked 28, having had broken into the top 100 for doubles.
1997 was title dry for Vízner; however he did make the semifinals of theWimbledon men's doubles tournament withMartin Damm, who yet again thrived as a doubles player. He participated in the Australian Open for the first time, but remained title dry for several years until 2003, and did not reach a final until 1998.
While the years of 1998, 1999 and 2000 were somewhat dull for Vízner title-wise, he did win minor titles in each of these years. He made the finals of tournaments in these three years as well, and lost a close match at the1999 Wimbledon Championships to 6th-rankedOlivier Delaître and 12th-rankedFabrice Santoro in the second round of doubles competition along withPeter Tramacchi, in five sets, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6.
His equalled-best Grand Slam performance to date came in 2001 where he andPetr Pála lost in the final of the2001 French Open to IndiansMahesh Bhupathi andLeander Paes. Vízner and Pála also made the quarterfinals of the2001 Wimbledon Championships, but lost toBelarus'sMax Mirnyi, ranked 5th, and Belarusian compatriotVladimir Voltchkov, ranked 406th, despite being up 2–1 in set score. In 2001, he also reached number 13, his highest rank to date.
He dropped out of the top 20 for doubles in 2002, having not won a title and losing early in many events.
2003, however, broke his title drought. He won anInternational Series Gold tournament inStuttgart and one other title with compatriotTomáš Cibulec. He finished the year ranked 27.
In 2004, Pavel won three titles, making them his 6th, 7th and 8th titles of his career. He then went on to lose in the third round of Wimbledon and the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in 2005 alongsideCyril Suk. He wonCosta do Sauípe andEstoril with youngster partnerLukáš Dlouhý in 2006, and the team lost in the semifinals of the French Open.
2007 was a successful year for Vizner, as for the veteran aged 37 teamed with the young Dlouhý. The team defended their Costa do Sauípe title and continued their success to make the finals ofAcapulco right after, but lost toPotito Starace andMartín Vassallo Argüello 0–6, 2–6.
He went on to equal his best Grand Slam performance by making the finals of the2007 French Open men's doubles tournament with Lukáš Dlouhý, notching a win over co-ranked number ones and twin brothersBob andMike Bryan, and then beat2006 Wimbledon runners-upFabrice Santoro andNenad Zimonjić. They were to playMark Knowles andDaniel Nestor in the final. Vízner and Dlouhý easily took the first set 6–2, but then lost the next two and therefore lost to Knowles and Nestor.
Vízner went on to win anATP Masters Series tournament withMahesh Bhupathi at theCanada Masters inMontréal. En route, the team took outLeander Paes andMartin Damm, the defending U.S. Open champions of 2006 for men's doubles, and Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals. They beatPaul Hanley andKevin Ullyett in the final.
Vízner returned to partnering with Dlouhý, and made a comeback as a team; as for they beat the Knowles / Nestor team avenging them for their French Open victory at the2007 Cincinnati Masters. However, their success was halted by the eventual-winningIsraeli duo ofJonathan Erlich andAndy Ram. As of 21 August 2007 Vízner is ranked 14, one away from his all-time career-high doubles ranking after 19 years of playing professional tournaments.
Pavel came to make the finals of the2007 U.S. Open with Dlouhý, but lost in the final toJulian Knowle andSimon Aspelin in two sets. He achieved a career-high ranking of number 6 the week after the U.S. Open. In achieving this, the team again defeated Knowles/Nestor and then Hanley/Ullyett, before losing in the final.
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 2001 | French Open | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–7, 3–6 |
Legend |
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Grand Slam (0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
ATP Masters Series (1) |
ATP International Series Gold (3) |
ATP Tour (12) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | 20 May 1996 | Sankt Pölten | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–7, 6–4, 6–3 |
2. | 10 June 1996 | Rosmalen | Grass | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 7–5, 6–3 |
3. | 8 July 1996 | Gstaad | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 4–6, 7–6, 7–6 |
4. | 24 February 2003 | Copenhagen | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 7–5, 5–7, 6–2 |
5. | 14 July 2003 | Stuttgart | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
6. | 9 February 2004 | Milan | Carpet (i) | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–4, 6–4 |
7. | 27 September 2004 | Shanghai | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(13–11) |
8. | 4 October 2004 | Tokyo | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 5–1, retired |
9. | 13 June 2005 | s’Hertogenbosch | Grass | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–3, 6–4 |
10. | 20 February 2006 | Costa do Sauípe | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–1, 4–6, [10–3] |
11. | 1 May 2006 | Estoril | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–3, 6–1 |
12. | 9 October 2006 | Vienna | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–4, 3–6, [12–10] |
13. | 12 February 2007 | Costa do Sauípe | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–2, 7–6(7–4) |
14. | 9 July 2007 | Gstaad | Clay | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 7–5, 5–7, [10–7] |
15. | 5 August 2007 | Montréal | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 6–4, 6–4 |
16. | 17 February 2008 | Marseille | Hard | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | 7–6(7–0), 7–5 |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 10 |
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | F | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | SF | F | 0 / 11 |
Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | QF | QF | 0 / 11 |
U.S. Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | QF | 2R | F | 0 / 11 |
Year-end ranking | 408 | 426 | 643 | 247 | 208 | 141 | 28 | 50 | 60 | 76 | 59 | 17 | 34 | 27 | 20 | 27 | 15 | 5 | N / A |