Blaž Kavčič

(Redirected from Blaz Kavčič)

Blaž Kavčič (born 5 March 1987) is a Slovenian tennis coach and former professional player. He was the highest ranked Slovenian male player ever, achieving a career-high of World No. 68 in August 2012, until Aljaž Bedene began to play for Slovenia again in January 2018, overtaking him with a career high ranking of 49. He became the first Slovenian ATP singles player to: achieve a Top 100 ranking, win a Grand Slam main draw match and perform at the Summer Olympics. He became the second Slovene ATP player earning over 2 million US dollars in prize money and is the second highest ever paid male Slovene player in history after Aljaž Bedene.

Blaž Kavčič
Country (sports) Slovenia
ResidenceDubai, UAE
Born (1987-03-05) 5 March 1987 (age 37)
Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro2005
Retired2022
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachBlaž Trupej
Prize money$2,017,578
Official websiteen.blazkavcic.com
Singles
Career record57–89
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 68 (6 August 2012)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2013)
French Open2R (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
Wimbledon2R (2015)
US Open3R (2014)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2012)
Doubles
Career record13–17
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 178 (13 May 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open1R (2011, 2012)
Last updated on: 25 July 2022.

Tennis career

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2005–2007: Turning pro, Davis Cup debut

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Kavčič turned professional in 2005 playing exclusively on the ATP Futures and ATP Challenger Series circuit for three seasons.

In 2006, Kavčič made his Davis Cup debut for Slovenia.

2008–2009: ATP Challenger debut

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In 2008 he qualified for the ATP event in Zagreb, where he lost to Roko Karanušić. In Pörtschach he defeated Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round before losing to Igor Kunitsyn. He finished the year ranked No. 260.

In 2009 he didn't play in any of ATP Tour main draws. He played in qualifications of three Grand Slams, but lost all of them. He also played in Davis Cup.

2010–2011: Major debut and first wins

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In 2010 he reached the second round in Houston on clay, but lost to big serving Sam Querrey.

Kavčič played in the 2010 French Open where he won his first grand slam match by defeating Eduardo Schwank. He became the first Slovenian male player to directly qualify for a Grand Slam tournament without having to go through qualifying rounds.

Together with Slovenia Davis Cup Team he won the 2010 Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group II, ensuring Slovenia to advance to Europe/Africa Zone Group I.

In 2011 in Chennai he reached his first career quarterfinal on the ATP Tour. He lost there against Tomáš Berdych from Czech Republic.[2]

At the 2011 Australian Open he reached the second round for the first time in his career. He was the first Slovenian ATP player ever in the second round of the Major in Australia.

As the first Slovenian player to participate in the ATP Masters 1000 series, he made his debut at 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and lost in three sets in the first round against Olivier Rochus.

At the 2011 Serbia Open he lost his second quarterfinal match in straight sets against Novak Djokovic.

At the 2011 Swedish Open he lost his third quarterfinal match against Tomáš Berdych.

At the 2011 US Open he played his first tournament where he lost in the first round. He also played his first Grand Slam men's doubles and lost in the first round.

2012: Career high ranking, historic Olympics debut

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At the 2012 Australian Open he lost in the second round against Juan Martín del Potro.

At the 2012 French Open he lost in straight sets in the second round against Novak Djokovic.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics he reached second round where he lost against David Ferrer. He was the first Slovenian who competed in the men's singles tennis competition at the Olympic Games.[3]

2013–2014: Two Grand Slam third rounds

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At the 2013 Australian Open, Kavcic made it to the third round of a grand slam for the first time in his career, defeating the 29th seed Thomaz Bellucci and local wildcard James Duckworth, before losing to 7th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets.

At the 2013 French Open he lost in five sets in the second round against Andreas Seppi.

At the 2014 US Open he reached the third round for the first time at this Major, defeating Donald Young and 30th seed Jeremy Chardy on the way but withdrew from his third round match with third seed Stan Wawrinka.

2020–2021: Thirty Challenger finals and third doubles title

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At the 2021 Zadar Open he won his third Challenger doubles title partnering his good friend Blaž Rola. At the 2021 Split Open he lost to Rola in his 31st Challenger singles final.[4]

2022: Retirement

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He officially announced his retirement in April at the end of the season in September after the Davis Cup.[5][6][7]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 36 (19–17)

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Legend (singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (17–14)
ITF Futures Tour (2–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (10–10)
Clay (9–7)
Grass (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Aug 2006 Croatia F4, Čakovec Futures Clay   Predrag Rusevski 6–3, 6–3
Win 2–0 Sep 2006 Croatia F6, Zagreb Futures Clay   Rok Jark 6–4, 7–5
Loss 2–1 Dec 2006 Tunisia F7, Mégrine Futures Hard   Malek Jaziri 6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Loss 2–2 Jun 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina F4, Prijedor Futures Clay   Predrag Rusevski 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–3 Jun 2008 Slovenia F3, Koper Futures Clay   Grega Žemlja 6–2, 1–6, 2–6
Loss 2–4 May 2009 Sanremo, Italy Challenger Clay   Kevin Anderson 6–2, 2–6, 5–7
Loss 2–5 May 2009 Busan, South Korea Challenger Hard   Danai Udomchoke 2–6, 2–6
Win 3–5 May 2009 Alessandria, Italy Challenger Clay   Jesse Levine 7–5, 6–3
Win 4–5 Jun 2009 Constanța, Romania Challenger Clay   Julian Reister 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 4–6 Jul 2009 Rijeka, Croatia Challenger Clay   Paolo Lorenzi 3–6, 6–7(2–7)
Win 5–6 Aug 2010 Qarshi, Uzbekistan Challenger Hard   Michael Venus 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5)
Win 6–6 Sep 2010 Rijeka, Croatia Challenger Clay   Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)
Win 7–6 Sep 2010 Ljubljana, Slovenia Challenger Clay   David Goffin 6–2, 4–6, 7–5
Loss 7–7 Aug 2011 Qarshi, Uzbekistan Challenger Hard   Denis Istomin 3–6, 6–1, 1–6
Win 8–7 Sep 2011 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Challenger Clay   Pere Riba 6–4, 6–1
Loss 8–8 Mar 2012 Florianópolis, Brazil Challenger Clay   Simone Bolelli 3–6, 4–6
Win 9–8 Apr 2012 São Paulo, Brazil Challenger Clay   Júlio Silva 6–3, 7–5
Win 10–8 Jun 2012 Fürth, Germany Challenger Clay   Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–3, 2–6, 6–2
Win 11–8 Sep 2013 Bangkok, Thailand Challenger Hard   Suk-Young Jeong 6–3, 6–1
Win 12–8 Jun 2014 Fergana, Uzbekistan Challenger Hard   Alexander Kudryavtsev 6–4, 7–6(10–8)
Win 13–8 Jun 2014 Tianjin, China Challenger Hard   Alexander Kudryavtsev 6–2, 3–6, 7–5
Loss 13–9 Jun 2014 Nanchang, China Challenger Hard   Go Soeda 3–6, 6–2, 6–7(3–7)
Win 14–9 Jul 2014 Portorož, Slovenia Challenger Hard   Gilles Müller 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–1
Win 15–9 Mar 2015 Shenzhen, China Challenger Hard   André Ghem 7–5, 6–4
Loss 15–10 Apr 2015 Batman, Turkey Challenger Hard   Dudi Sela 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 3–6
Loss 15–11 Jul 2016 Winnipeg, Canada Challenger Hard   Go Soeda 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 2–6
Win 16–11 Sep 2016 Bangkok, Thailand Challenger Hard   Go Soeda 6–0, 1–0 ret.
Loss 16–12 Jan 2017 Bangkok, Thailand Challenger Hard   Janko Tipsarević 3–6, 6–7(1–7)
Loss 16–13 Feb 2017 Kyoto, Japan Challenger Hard   Yasutaka Uchiyama 3–6, 4–6
Loss 16–14 Mar 2017 Shenzhen, China Challenger Hard   Yūichi Sugita 6–7(6–8), 4–6
Win 17–14 Jul 2017 Winnipeg, Canada Challenger Hard   Peter Polansky 7–5, 3–6, 7–5
Win 18–14 Jul 2017 Granby, Canada Challenger Hard   Peter Polansky 6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Win 19–14 Sep 2018 Shanghai, China Challenger Hard   Hiroki Moriya 6–1, 7–6(7–1)
Loss 19–15 Nov 2018 Shenzhen, China Challenger Hard   Miomir Kecmanović 2–6, 6–2, 3–6
Loss 19–16 Oct 2020 Biella, Italy Challenger Clay   Facundo Bagnis 7–6(7–4), 4–6 ret.
Loss 19–17 Apr 2021 Split, Croatia Challenger Clay   Blaž Rola 6–2, 3–6, 2–6

Doubles: 15 (5–9)

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Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (3–5)
ITF Futures Tour (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–3)
Clay (4–6)
Grass (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Nov 2005 Tunisia F4, Sfax Futures Hard   Rok Jarc   Gordan Peranec
  Carlos Rexach-Itoiz
7–6(10–8), 6–1
Loss 1–1 Oct 2006 Portugal F4, Albufeira Futures Hard   Grega Žemlja   Vjekoslav Skenderovic
  Joško Topić
3–6, 0–6
Loss 1–2 Apr 2007 Croatia F5, Rovinj Futures Clay   Jaroslav Pospíšil   Nikola Martinovic
  Joško Topić
3–6, 3–6
Loss 1–3 Apr 2007 Italy F11, Padova Futures Clay   Grega Žemlja   Alejandro Fabbri
  Gabriel Trujillo Soler
6–7(5–7), 2–6
Loss 1–4 May 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina F3, Brčko Futures Clay   Daniel Danilović   Lazar Magdinchev
  Predrag Rusevski
4–6, 2–6
Win 2–4 Jun 2007 Slovenia F2, Maribor Futures Clay   Luka Ocvirk   Ante Nakic-Alfirevic
  Antonio Veić
6–3, 6–0
Win 3–4 Sep 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina F5, Mostar Futures Clay   Jaroslav Pospíšil   Matwé Middelkoop
  Francesco Piccari
4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win 4–4 Mar 2012 Florianópolis, Brazil Challenger Clay   Antonio Velc   Javier Martí
  Leonardo Tavares
6–3, 6–3
Loss 4–5 Apr 2012 Blumenau, Brazil Challenger Clay   Antonio Velc   Marin Draganja
  Dino Marcan
2–6, 0–6
Loss 4–6 Nov 2012 Montevideo, Uruguay Challenger Clay   Franko Škugor   Nikola Mektić
  Antonio Velc
2–6, 7–5, [7–10]
Win 5–6 Oct 2015 Sacramento, USA Challenger Hard   Grega Žemlja   Daniel Brands
  Dustin Brown
6–1, 3–6, [10–3]
Loss 5–7 Feb 2017 Budapest, Hungary Challenger Hard   Franko Škugor   Dino Marcan
  Tristan-Samuel Weissborn
3–6, 6–3, [14–16]
Loss 5–8 Apr 2017 Anning, China Challenger Clay   Steven de Waard   Dino Marcan
  Tristan-Samuel Weissborn
7–5, 3–6, [7–10]
Loss 5–9 Nov 2019 Charlottesville, USA Challenger Hard   Sekou Bangoura   Mitchell Krueger
  Blaž Rola
4–6, 2–6
Win 6-9 Mar 2021 Zadar, Croatia Challenger Clay   Blaž Rola   Lukáš Klein
  Alex Molčan
2–6, 6–2, [10–3]

Singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Q2 1R 2R 2R 3R 2R 1R A Q2 1R A Q2 A 0 / 7 5–7 42%
French Open A 2R 2R 2R 2R Q2 1R A Q2 Q1 A Q1 Q2 0 / 5 4–5 44%
Wimbledon Q3 1R 1R 1R 1R A 2R Q1 Q1 A Q2 NH Q1 0 / 5 1–5 17%
US Open Q3 A 1R 1R Q2 3R* A Q2 1R A Q2 A Q1 0 / 4 2–3 40%
Win–loss 0–0 1–3 2–4 2–4 3–3 3–1 1–3 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 21 12–20 38%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Miami Open A A 1R A 1R A A A A A A NH A 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A A Q2 A A A A A A NH A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Italian Open A A Q2 1R Q2 A Q1 A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 3 0–3 0%
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics Not Held 2R Not Held A NH A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Career statistics
Overall win–loss 3–2 7–8 13–18 6–15 11–15 7–7 3–10 0–0 1–2 2–8 0–0 0–1 0–0 0 / 90 57–89 39%
Year-end ranking 125 112 92 92 102 105 151 217 97 206 345 269 293 N/A

Davis Cup

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Singles performances (17–9)

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Edition Round Date Against Surface Opponent Result Outcome
2006 Europe/Africa Zone Group II
1R
7-Apr-2006   Algeria Clay Rachid Baba-Aisa 6–0, 6–1 Win
2008 Europe/Africa Zone Group II 1R 11-Apr-2008   Cyprus Hard Marcos Baghdatis 4–6, 3–6, 4–6 Lose
13-Apr-2008 Photos Kallias 6–1, 6–1 Win
RPO
20-Jul-2008   Tunisia Clay Haithem Abid 6–3, 3–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–2 Win
2009 Europe/Africa Zone Group II 1R 6-Mar-2009   Egypt Carpet Karim Maamoun 6–0, 6–2, 6–2 Win
8-Mar-2009 Mahmoud Ezz 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4 Win
QF
10-Jul-2009   Lithuania Clay Gvidas Sabeckis 6–2, 6–3, 6–1 Win
SF
20-Sep-2009   Latvia Carpet Andis Juška 3–6, 4–6, 2–6 Lose
2010 Europe/Africa Zone Group II
1R
5-Mar-2010   Norway Hard Stian Boretti 6–2, 6–4, 6–2 Win
QF 9-Jul-2010   Bulgaria Clay Grigor Dimitrov 1–6, 6–1, 6–0, 6–3 Win
11-Jul-2010 Todor Enev 6–2, 6–1 Win
SF 17-Sep-2010   Lithuania Hard Ričardas Berankis 6–3, 2–6, 6–7(9–11), 4–6 Lose
19-Sep-2010 Laurynas Grigelis 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5) Win
2011 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 4-Mar-2011   Finland Clay Harri Heliövaara 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–4 Win
6-Mar-2011 Jarkko Nieminen 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 Lose
2R 8-Jul-2011   Italy Clay Potito Starace 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 4–6 Lose
2012 Europe/Africa Zone Group I
1R
10-Feb-2012   Denmark Hard Frederik Nielsen 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 Win
2R 6-Apr-2012   South Africa Hard Ruan Roalofse 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–1, 6–3 Win
8-Apr-2012 Izak van der Merwe 6–7(3–7), 4–6, 4–6 Lose
2013 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 1-Feb-2013   Poland Hard (I) Jerzy Janowicz 3–6, 3–6, 5–7 Lose
PO 13-Sep-2013   South Africa Clay Ruan Roalofse 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 Win
2014 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 31-Jan-2014   Portugal Hard (I) Gastão Elias 7–6(16–14), 6–1, 6–4 Win
2-Feb-2014 João Sousa 7–5, 7–5, 6–2 Win
2R
4-Apr-2014   Israel Clay Amir Weintraub 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6 Lose
2017 Europe/Africa Zone Group II
1R
5-Feb-2017   Monaco Hard Lucas Catarina 6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 6–4 Win
2020 World Group I Play-offs
RPO
7-Mar-2020   Pakistan Grass Aqeel Khan 6–0, 6–7(6–8), 4–6 Lose

Doubles performances (5–4)

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Edition Round Date Partnering Against Surface Opponent Result Outcome
2011 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 2R 9-Jul-2011 Grega Žemlja   Italy Clay Potito Starace
Daniele Bracciali
6–7(3–7), 6–7(4–7), 2–6 Lose
2012 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 11-Feb-2012 Grega Žemlja   Denmark Hard Thomas Kromann
Frederik Nielsen
6–4, 6–7(7–5), 6–4, 7–5 Win
2R 7-Apr-2012 Grega Žemlja   South Africa Hard Raven Klaasen
Izak van der Merwe
7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7), 1–6, 4–6 Lose
2013 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 2-Feb-2013 Grega Žemlja   Poland Hard (I) Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Marcin Matkowski
6–3, 2–6, 6–2, 4–6, 13–11 Win
PO 13-Sep-2013 Blaž Rola   South Africa Clay Raven Klaasen
Nikala Scholtz
7–5, 6–1, 7–6(7–4) Win
2014 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 1-Feb-2014 Grega Žemlja   Portugal Hard (I) Gastão Elias
João Sousa
6–3, 7–5, 7–6(7–5) Win
2015 Europe/Africa Zone Group I RPO 1-Nov-2015 Blaž Rola   Lithuania Hard (I) Laurynas Grigelis
Lukas Mugevicius
6–4, 7–6(7–1), 6–4 Win
2017 Europe/Africa Zone Group II 1R 5-Feb-2017 Grega Žemlja   Monaco Hard Romain Arneodo
Benjamin Balleret
2–6, 4–6, 3–6 Lose
2020 World Group I Play-offs
RPO
7-Mar-2020 Tom Kočevar-Dešman   Pakistan Grass Aqeel Khan
Aisam Qureshi
3–6, 6–7(7–9) Lose

References

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  1. ^ ATP Profile
  2. ^ "Tomas Berdych destroys Blaz Kavcic; moves into the semi-finals – SkiStar Swedish Open 2011". blogs.bettor.com. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Tomas Result: David Ferrer races past Blaž Kavčič". sportsmole.co.uk. 31 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Blaž Rola Wins ATP Challenger Split Open Title!". Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  5. ^ @Markohrastar (23 April 2022). "(THREAD) 🧵Blaž Kavčič gave a long interview pending his retirement in September, so I decided to share some answer…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Konec je kariere enega najbolj prepoznavnih obrazov slovenskega tenisa".
  7. ^ "Former Slovenian tennis player Blaž Kavčič recalls the time he beat Roger Federer in practice, says the Swiss demanded an immediate rematch".
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