Pavel Složil (born 29 December 1955) is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia.

Pavel Složil
Country (sports) Czechoslovakia
Born (1955-12-29) 29 December 1955 (age 68)
Opava, Czechoslovakia
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$925,242
Singles
Career record144–163
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 35 (12 November 1984)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open3R (1982)
US Open2R (1985, 1986)
Doubles
Career record358–155
Career titles32
Highest rankingNo. 4 (18 February 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenF (1984)
WimbledonSF (1986)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenW (1978)
Medal record
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1977 Sofia Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1977 Sofia Mixed Doubles

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 edit

Singles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) edit

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 1979 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Vitas Gerulaitis 2–6, 2–6, 4–6
Win 1–1 1981 Nancy, France Carpet (i)   Ilie Năstase 6–2, 7–5
Loss 1–2 1983 Delray Beach WCT, U.S. Clay   Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 4–6, 0–6
Loss 1–3 1984 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i)   Tim Wilkison 1–6, 1–6, 2–6
Win 2–3 1985 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Michael Westphal 7–5, 6–2

Doubles (32 titles, 29 runner-ups) edit

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   Wojtek 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   Wojtek 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
  Wojtek 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   Wojtek 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

External links edit