'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Czech Republic (earlier Czechoslovakia) has churned out numerous Grand Slam champions across singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories over the years. Despite being a relatively small nation, Czech Republic has remarkably produced some of the sport's greatest players.
Numerically speaking, Czechoslovakian athletes won a total of 11 Grand Slam titles in men's singles and 4 women's singles titles prior to 1 January 1993. Post the peaceful dissolution of the nation into Czech Republic and Slovakia, its athletes have accounted for one men's singles Grand Slam title and three women's singles Majors.
Here, we take a look at eight of the greatest athletes to have represented Czechoslovakia and later Czech Republic :
NOTE : Martina Navratilova, who was born in Czechoslovakia, is not included in the list as all of her Grand Slam titles came post her acquiring citizenship of United States of America. However, she will and will always remain the greatest Czech-born player of all time.
#8 Peter Korda
The only male player from the country to have won a Grand Slam singles title in the post Czechoslovakia era is Peter Korda. He won the 1998 Australian Open beating Marcelo Rios in the final. The following week, he rose to his career best ATP ranking of world number 2.
His most famous achievement is winning the now defunct Grand Slam Cup in 1993. In the semi-finals of the Grand Slam Cup that year, Korda beat Pete Sampras and Michael Stich in the semi-finals and the final, both in 5 sets. What is really special about this is that he managed to beat the World Number 1 ranked player and the World Number 2 ranked player in 5 sets in the span of just 3 days.
After having tested positive for steroidal substance - Nandrolone during Wimbledon 1998, he was given a 12-month suspension by the ATP. He retired from the sport during the duration of the ban.
#7 Tomas Berdych
Arguably the most recognizable tennis face from Czech Republic in men's tennis post the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Tomas Berdych has been a regular fixture in the ATP Tour for the last 11 years or so. With just under 29 million US dollars in earnings, Berdych is 9th in the all-time list of highest-grossing men's earners.
Berdych reached a career-high ranking of World Number 4 in May 2015. He has made at least the semis of every single Grand Slam and even made the Wimbledon final in 2010 where he was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal. This was his best ever performance in a Grand Slam. En route to his way to the final, he beat defending champion Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in successive matches.
His crowning trophy till date is the Paris Masters trophy which he won as an unseeded player way back in 2005.
Berdych has also helped the Czech Republic win the Davis Cup twice in 2012 and 2013.
#6 Jana Novotna
One of the most popular women's singles players of all time, Jana Novotna was a relentless fighter on-court. Outside the court too, she was a determined fighter who braved many battles -- most notably her long struggle against cancer. Though she may have lost her life to the dreaded disease, Novotna fought it relentlessly to the very end.
Novotna reached a career-high of World Number 2 in the WTA rankings and won a total of 24 WTA titles in her 12-year career. She made the semi-finals at least of all the 4 Grand Slams over the course of her career and most notably won the Wimbledon Championships in 1998. She also won the WTA Finals in 1998.
She was an equally accomplished doubles player, having ascended to the top of the WTA rankings. In doubles, she won 12 Grand Slam titles and 2 WTA Finals trophies. In all, she won 76 WTA doubles titles. Apart from this, she also won 4 mixed doubles titles, the Fed Cup, the Hopman Cup and 3 Olympic medals.
#5 Hana Mandlikova
Hana Mandlikova was a fierce competitor in the 1980's. She won a total of 4 Grand Slam singles titles. The only Grand Slam missing in her trophy cabinet is Wimbledon, where she finished as the runner-up twice.
Mandlikova attained a career-high singles ranking of number 3 and at the time was the only player, apart from Christ Evert and Martina Navratilova, to have won Grand Slam trophies on grass, clay and hard courts. Mandlikova was ranked inside the top-10 for 7 consecutive years and within the top-50 for 12 consecutive years.
One of her greatest achievements, which is not often talked about, is how she ended Chris Evert's 72-match winning streak on clay at the 1981 French Open.
After retirement, Mandlikova took up coaching responsibilities. She guided her compatriot Jana Novotna to the Wimbledon trophy in 1998 and was also the coach of the Czech Republic Fed Cup team till 1996.
#4 Karolina Pliskova
Among the current roster of WTA players, no player has a better serve than Karolina Pliskova. Over the last 3 years or so, Pliskova has topped the 'Most Aces' charts on the WTA Tour. The powerful 6'1 Czech uses her dominant serve to considerable advantage and that has helped her attain the World Number 1 ranking.
Pliskova has won 11 WTA titles till date and is presently ranked 7th on the WTA Tour ranking. Her best Grand Slam performance till date was at the final of the 2016 US Open, where she finished as the runner-up. She lost a tough 3-set contest to top seed Angelique Kerber.
Pliskova has helped Czech Replublic win the Fed Cup on 3 different occasions. The year 2016 was also a momentous one for Pliskova in terms of her doubles performances as she reached a career-high ranking of World Number 11 in doubles that year.
#3 Petra Kvitova
One simply cannot talk about Petra Kvitova's achievements without bringing to reference her remarkable comeback to the highest levels of the sport following the horrifying knife attack by a burglar on her. It is believed that the injuries she suffered were so bad that she was in danger of losing her fingers. But the Czech woman with steely resolve knows one thing -- to fight relentlessly whether it is on-court or off-court.
With a little under 29 Million USD in career on-court prize money earnings, Kvitova is already ranked 8th in the all-time list despite being only 28 years old. Kvitova has won 25 WTA Singles titles till date and won the most WTA titles among all players in 2018 -- her first full season since her comeback from the horrific injury.
Kvitova's gameplay is suited to grass and understandably she has won the Wimbledon Championships twice in 2011 and 2014. She was also the WTA Tour Finals winner in 2011.
#2 Jan Kodes
Czech Jan Kodes reached a career-high ATP ranking of World Number 5 and won the prestigious Wimbledon Championships in 1973.
During the course of his 15-year professional tennis career, Kodes won 8 top level singles titles, which include 3 Grand Slam singles titles and 17 doubles titles. His record at the US Open is pretty impressive even though he never won at New York. In 1971, Kodes beat both the top seed John Newcombe and the third seed and sentimental favourite Arthur Ashe before losing to another American Stan Smith in the final.
A very talented clay court player, Kodes won back-to-back French Open titles in 1970 and 1971, beating Zeljko Franulovic and Ilie Nastase in the final matches respectively.
A thorough gentleman, Kodes was also an economics graduate. After retirement from the sport in 1983, Kodes was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993.
#1 Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl is one of the few select group of individuals to have enjoyed a successful tennis career both as a player and as a coach. His powerful forehands topped with heavy topspin was the forereunner to today's slugfests that we see from the baseline. Lendl is the only male tennis player to have recorded a win percentage of 90% or over for 5 calendar years. Lendl won 8 Grand Slam titles in his career.
In 16 years, Lendl won 94 Singles titles -- the 3rd highest of all time behind only Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors..
Post-retirement, the reclusive Lendl took up coaching and most notably had two spells as the coach of Andy Murray. Before hiring Lendl, Murray had faced defeats in Grand Slams, falling at the last hurdle to the other members of the Big 4.
Lendl helped Murray win his first Grand Slam Major at the US Open of 2012 following his loss to Federer in the final of Wimbledon the same year.
In 2016, Lendl helped Murray attain the ATP World Number 1 ranking.
Before the start of the US Open 2018, Lendl took over as coach of Alexander Zverev and coached him to his maiden ATP Finals win in London.
