Czech professional tennis player and coach
Pavel Složil (born 29 December 1955) is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia.
Složil enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won 32 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 29 times, including at the French Open in.
Slozil and his partner, Renata Tomanová (also from Czechoslovakia), won the 1978 French Open mixed-doubles championship, defeating Virginia Ruzici (Romania) and Patrice Dominguez (France). The mixed doubles championship was an important event in those days, contested by top players, with John McEnroe and Mary Carillo having won the year before.
In 1985, Složil achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4.
Složil participated in eleven Davis Cup ties for Czechoslovakia from 1978 to 1986, posting a 7–2 record in doubles and a 4–2 record in singles. He was a member of the winning Czech Davis Cup team in 1980, along with teammates Ivan Lendl , Tomáš Šmíd and Jan Kodeš .
Složil served as Steffi Graf 's coach from November 1986 until the end of 1991. Shortly after the start of his tenure as Graf's coach, she had her Grand Slam breakthrough year in 1987, winning six tournaments and then defeating Martina Navratilova in the French Open. Graf went on to be a finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open , losing both times to Navratilova. The next year, Graf achieved a calendar year's Grand Slam , a feat performed only twice before. She also won the 1988 Olympics singles and the Wimbledon ladies' doubles that same year.
From 1987 through 1991, coached by Složil, Graf won ten Grand Slam singles championships, winning the Australian Open (1988–89-90), the French Open (1987–88), Wimbledon (1988–89-91) and the US Open (1988–89), plus numerous side tournaments.
He subsequently served as coach for Jennifer Capriati , Anna Kournikova and Magdalena Maleeva between 1992 and 1999.
In 2002, he began work at the World Tennis Club in Naples , Florida. He served there as Tennis Director until 2014 when he began coaching and teaching at the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy, also in Naples. There he works with the junior players in the morning and continues to teach tennis to a wide range of players.
Career finals
Singles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Result
W/L
Date
Tournament
Surface
Opponent
Score
Loss
0–1
Jul 1979
Kitzbühel , Austria
Clay
Vitas Gerulaitis
2–6, 2–6, 4–6
Win
1–1
Mar 1981
Nancy , France
Carpet (i)
Ilie Năstase
6–2, 7–5
Loss
1–2
Feb 1983
Delray Beach WCT , U.S.
Clay
Guillermo Vilas
1–6, 4–6, 0–6
Loss
1–3
Oct 1984
Vienna , Austria
Carpet (i)
Tim Wilkison
1–6, 1–6, 2–6
Win
2–3
Aug 1985
Kitzbühel, Austria
Clay
Michael Westphal
7–5, 6–2
Doubles (32 titles, 29 runner-ups)
Result
W/L
Date
Tournament
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Loss
1.
1978
Kitzbühel , Austria
Clay
Pavel Hutka
Mike Fishbach Chris Lewis
7–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss
2.
1978
Madrid , Spain
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Wojciech Fibak Jan Kodeš
7–6, 1–6, 2–6
Loss
3.
1979
Nice , France
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Peter McNamara Paul McNamee
1–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss
4.
1979
Florence , Italy
Clay
Ivan Lendl
Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta
4–6, 3–6
Loss
5.
1979
Stuttgart Outdoor , Germany
Clay
Wojciech Fibak
Colin Dowdeswell Frew McMillan
4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 4–6
Loss
6.
1979
Cologne , Germany
Carpet (i)
Heinz Günthardt
Gene Mayer Stan Smith
3–6, 4–6
Loss
7.
1980
Vienna, Austria
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Gianni Ocleppo Christophe Roger-Vasselin
def.
Loss
8.
1980
Barcelona , Spain
Clay
Balázs Taróczy
Steve Denton Ivan Lendl
2–6, 7–6, 3–6
Loss
9.
1980
Vienna , Austria
Carpet (i)
Heinz Günthardt
Bob Lutz Stan Smith
1–6, 2–6
Loss
10.
1981
Linz , Austria
Hard (i)
Brad Drewett
Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson
4–6, 6–7
Loss
11.
1981
Nice, France
Clay
Chris Lewis
Yannick Noah Pascal Portes
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Loss
12.
1981
Monte Carlo , Monaco
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy
3–6, 3–6
Win
1.
1981
Florence , Italy
Clay
Raúl Ramírez
Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta
6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Win
2.
1981
Boston , U.S.
Clay
Raúl Ramírez
Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez
6–4, 7–6
Loss
13.
1981
Washington, D.C. , U.S.
Hard
Ferdi Taygan
Raúl Ramírez Van Winitsky
7–5, 6–7, 6–7
Loss
14.
1981
North Conway , U.S.
Clay
Ferdi Taygan
Heinz Günthardt Peter McNamara
7–6, 5–7, 4–6
Loss
15.
1981
Geneva, Switzerland
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy
4–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss
16.
1981
Basel, Switzerland
Hard (i)
Markus Günthardt
José Luis Clerc Ilie Năstase
6–7, 7–6, 6–7
Win
3.
1982
Genova WCT, Italy
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Mike Cahill Buster Mottram
6–7, 7–5, 6–3
Win
4.
1982
Brussels , Belgium
Carpet (i)
Sherwood Stewart
Tracy Delatte Chris Dunk
6–4, 6–7, 7–5
Win
5.
1982
Madrid, Spain
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy
6–1, 3–6, 9–7
Win
6.
1982
Hamburg, Germany
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson
6–4, 6–3
Loss
17.
1982
Kitzbühel, Austria
Clay
Rod Frawley
Mark Edmondson Kim Warwick
6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Loss
18.
1982
Cap d'Agde WCT, France
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Andy Andrews Drew Gitlin
2–6, 4–6
Win
7.
1982
Geneva, Switzerland
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Carl Limberger Mike Myburg
6–4, 6–0
Loss
19.
1982
Basel, Switzerland
Hard (i)
Fritz Buehning
Henri Leconte Yannick Noah
2–6, 2–6
Win
8.
1982
Vienna , Austria
Carpet (i)
Henri Leconte
Mark Dickson Terry Moor
6–1, 7–6
Win
9.
1982
Dortmund WCT, Germany
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Mike Cahill Francisco González
6–2, 6–7, 6–1
Win
10.
1982
Toulouse , France
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Jean-Louis Haillet Yannick Noah
6–4, 6–4
Win
11.
1983
Richmond WCT , U.S.
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Fritz Buehning Brian Teacher
6–2, 6–4
Win
12.
1983
Delray Beach WCT , U.S.
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Anand Amritraj Johan Kriek
7–6, 6–4
Loss
20.
1983
Rotterdam , Netherlands
Carpet (i)
Peter Fleming
Fritz Buehning Tom Gullikson
6–7, 6–4, 6–7
Win
13.
1983
Milan , Italy
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Fritz Buehning Peter Fleming
6–2, 5–7, 6–4
Loss
21.
1983
Lisbon , Portugal
Clay
Ferdi Taygan
Carlos Kirmayr Cássio Motta
5–7, 4–6
Win
14.
1983
Madrid, Spain
Clay
Heinz Günthardt
Markus Günthardt Zoltán Kuhárszky
6–3, 6–3
Win
15.
1983
Munich , Germany
Clay
Chris Lewis
Anders Järryd Tomáš Šmíd
6–4, 6–2
Win
16.
1983
Gstaad , Switzerland
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Colin Dowdeswell Wojciech Fibak
6–7, 6–4, 6–2
Loss
22.
1983
Stuttgart Outdoor , Germany
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Anand Amritraj Mike Bauer
6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Win
17.
1983
Kitzbühel , Austria
Clay
Wojciech Fibak
Colin Dowdeswell Zoltán Kuhárszky
7–5, 6–2
Win
18.
1983
Basel , Switzerland
Hard (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Stefan Edberg Florin Segărceanu
6–1, 3–6, 7–6
Win
19.
1983
Toulouse , France
Carpet (i)
Heinz Günthardt
Bernard Mitton Butch Walts
5–7, 7–5, 6–4
Win
20.
1984
Masters Doubles WCT , London
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson
1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win
21.
1984
Milan , Italy
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Kevin Curren Steve Denton
6–4, 6–3
Loss
23.
1984
French Open , Paris
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Henri Leconte Yannick Noah
4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win
22.
1984
Washington, D.C. , U.S.
Clay
Ferdi Taygan
Drew Gitlin Blaine Willenborg
7–6, 6–1
Win
23.
1984
Bordeaux , France
Clay
Blaine Willenborg
Loïc Courteau Guy Forget
6–1, 6–4
Win
24.
1984
Barcelona , Spain
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Martín Jaite Víctor Pecci
6–2, 6–0
Win
25.
1984
Basel , Switzerland
Hard (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Stefan Edberg Tim Wilkison
7–6, 6–2
Loss
24.
1984
Wembley , England
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Andrés Gómez Ivan Lendl
2–6, 2–6
Win
26.
1984
Treviso , Italy
Clay
Tim Wilkison
Jan Gunnarsson Sherwood Stewart
6–2, 6–3
Loss
25.
1984
Toulouse, France
Carpet (i)
Tim Wilkison
Jan Gunnarsson Michael Mortensen
4–6, 2–6
Loss
26.
1984
Masters , New York
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Peter Fleming John McEnroe
2–6, 2–6
Win
27.
1985
Memphis , U.S.
Hard (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Kevin Curren Steve Denton
1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win
28.
1985
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Vitas Gerulaitis Paul McNamee
6–4, 6–4
Win
29.
1985
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Clay
Tomáš Šmíd
Shlomo Glickstein Shahar Perkiss
6–2, 6–3
Win
30.
1985
Nice, France
Clay
Claudio Panatta
Loïc Courteau Guy Forget
3–6, 6–3, 8–6
Loss
27.
1985
Indianapolis , U.S.
Clay
Kim Warwick
Ken Flach Robert Seguso
4–6, 4–6
Loss
28.
1985
Toulouse, France
Carpet (i)
Tomáš Šmíd
Ricardo Acuña Jakob Hlasek
6–3, 2–6, 7–9
Win
31.
1986
Nice, France
Clay
Jakob Hlasek
Gary Donnelly Colin Dowdeswell
6–3, 4–6, 11–9
Win
32.
1986
Saint Vincent , Italy
Clay
Libor Pimek
Bud Cox Michael Fancutt
6–3, 6–3
Loss
29.
1986
Toulouse, France
Carpet (i)
Jakob Hlasek
Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd
2–6, 6–3, 4–6
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