Jan Kodeš

Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles events in the early 1970s.

For his son, also a professional tennis player, see Jan Kodeš Jr.
Jan Kodeš
Country (sports) Czechoslovakia
ResidencePrague, Czech Republic
Born (1946-03-01) 1 March 1946
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur tour from 1966)
Retired1983
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$693,197
Int. Tennis HoF1990 (member page)
Singles
Career record454–261 (63.5%)
Career titles11
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)

His greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French Open played at the Stade Roland Garros. He won the singles title there in 1970, beating Željko Franulović in the final in straight sets, and again in 1971, this time defeating Ilie Năstase in the final in four sets. He also won Wimbledon on grass in 1973, although 13 of the top 16 players, and 81 players in total, did not play the tournament[1] that year because of a boycott over the banning from Wimbledon of Nikola Pilić by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). Kodeš beat home favorite Roger Taylor in the semifinals in five sets and Alex Metreveli in the final in three straight sets.[2][3]

Kodeš never played the Australian Open but he was twice the runner-up at the US Open, in 1971, losing to Stan Smith, and 1973 when he lost in five sets to John Newcombe.[4][3]

He reached his highest ATP ranking of world No. 5 in September 1973.[3] During the open era, he won a total of 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

Grand Slam finals: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win1970French Open (1)Clay Željko Franulović6–2, 6–4, 6–0
Win1971French Open (2)Clay Ilie Năstase8–6, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5
Loss1971US Open (1)Grass Stan Smith6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 6–7(3–5)
Win1973WimbledonGrass Alex Metreveli6–1, 9–8(7–5), 6–3
Loss1973US Open (2)Grass John Newcombe4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 2–6, 3–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament1966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981SRW–LWin %
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

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

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

Further reading

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

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