Blaž Kavčič

Blaž Kavčič (born 5 March 1987) is a Slovenian former professional tennis 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.

This article is about Slovenian tennis player. For Slovenian politician, see Blaž Kavčič (politician).

Blaž Kavčič
Country (sports) Slovenia
ResidenceDubai, UAE
Born (1987-03-05) 5 March 1987
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)
Current rankingNo. 1218T (25 July 2022)[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)
Current rankingNo. 2155T (25 July 2021)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open1R (2011, 2012)
Last updated on: 25 July 2022.

Tennis career

2005–2006: Turned Pro, Davis Cup debut

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

In 2008 he qualified for ATP events – 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

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.

2011

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

In the 2011 Australian Open he reached the second round for the first time in his career. He was the first Slovenian ATP player in 2R of Australia.

As a first Slovenian player on ATP Masters 1000 series he performed at 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and lost in three sets in the first round against Olivier Rochus.

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

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

In the 2011 US Open he played his first tournament where he lost in 1R. He also played his first Grand Slam men's doubles and lost in first round.

2012

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

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

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

2013

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.

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

2021

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

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

Singles: 36 (19–17)
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 North Macedonia Predrag Rusevski 6–3, 6–3
Win 2–0 Sep 2006 Croatia F6, Zagreb Futures Clay Slovenia Rok Jark 6–4, 7–5
Loss 2–1 Dec 2006 Tunisia F7, Mégrine Futures Hard Tunisia Malek Jaziri 6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Loss 2–2 Jun 2007 Bosnia and Herxegovina F4, Prijedor Futures Clay North Macedonia Predrag Rusevski 3–6, 4-6
Loss 2–3 Jun 2008 Slovenia F3, Koper Futures Clay Slovenia Grega Žemlja 6–2, 1–6, 2–6
Loss 2–4 May 2009 Sanremo, Italy Challenger Clay South Africa Kevin Anderson 6–2, 2–6, 5–7
Loss 2–5 May 2009 Busan, South Korea Challenger Hard Thailand Danai Udomchoke 2–6, 2–6
Win 3–5 May 2009 Alessandria, Italy Challenger Clay United States Jesse Levine 7–5, 6–3
Win 4–5 Jun 2009 Constanța, Romania Challenger Clay Germany Julian Reister 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 4–6 Jul 2009 Rijeka, Croatia Challenger Clay Italy Paolo Lorenzi 3–6, 6–7(2–7)
Win 5–6 Aug 2010 Qarshi, Uzbekistan Challenger Hard New Zealand Michael Venus 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–5)
Win 6–6 Sep 2010 Rijeka, Croatia Challenger Clay Spain Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–5)
Win 7–6 Sep 2010 Ljubljana, Slovenia Challenger Clay Belgium David Goffin 6–2, 4–6, 7–5
Loss 7–7 Aug 2011 Qarshi, Uzbekistan Challenger Hard Uzbekistan Denis Istomin 3–6, 6–1, 1–6
Win 8–7 Sep 2011 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Challenger Clay Spain Pere Riba 6–4, 6–1
Loss 8–8 Mar 2012 Florianópolis, Brazil Challenger Clay Italy Simone Bolelli 3–6, 4–6
Win 9–8 Apr 2012 São Paulo, Brazil Challenger Clay Brazil Júlio Silva 6–3, 7–5
Win 10–8 Jun 2012 Fürth, Germany Challenger Clay Ukraine Sergiy Stakhovsky 6–3, 2–6, 6–2
Win 11–8 Sep 2013 Bangkok, Thailand Challenger Hard South Korea Suk-Young Jeong 6–3, 6–1
Win 12–8 Jun 2014 Fergana, Uzbekistan Challenger Hard Russia Alexander Kudryavtsev 6–4, 7–6(10–8)
Win 13–8 Jun 2014 Tianjin, China Challenger Hard Russia Alexander Kudryavtsev 6–2, 3–6, 7–5
Loss 13–9 Jun 2014 Nanchang, China Challenger Hard Japan Go Soeda 3–6, 6–2, 6–7(3–7)
Win 14–9 Jul 2014 Portorož, Slovenia Challenger Hard Luxembourg Gilles Müller 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–1
Win 15–9 Mar 2015 Shenzhen, China Challenger Hard Brazil André Ghem 7–5, 6–4
Loss 15–10 Apr 2015 Batman, Turkey Challenger Hard Israel Dudi Sela 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 3–6
Loss 15–11 Jul 2016 Winnipeg, Canada Challenger Hard Japan Go Soeda 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 2–6
Win 16–11 Sep 2016 Bangkok, Thailand Challenger Hard Japan Go Soeda 6–0, 1–0 ret.
Loss 16–12 Jan 2017 Bangkok, Thailand Challenger Hard Serbia Janko Tipsarević 3–6, 6–7(1–7)
Loss 16–13 Feb 2017 Kyoto, Japan Challenger Hard Japan Yasutaka Uchiyama 3–6, 4–6
Loss 16–14 Mar 2017 Shenzhen, China Challenger Hard Japan Yūichi Sugita 6–7(6–8), 4–6
Win 17–14 Jul 2017 Winnipeg, Canada Challenger Hard Canada Peter Polansky 7–5, 3–6, 7–5
Win 18–14 Jul 2017 Granby, Canada Challenger Hard Canada Peter Polansky 6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Win 19–14 Sep 2018 Shanghai, China Challenger Hard Japan Hiroki Moriya 6–1, 7–6(7–1)
Loss 19–15 Nov 2018 Shenzhen, China Challenger Hard Serbia Miomir Kecmanović 2–6, 6–2, 3–6
Loss 19–16 Oct 2020 Biella, Italy Challenger Clay Argentina Facundo Bagnis 7–6(7–4), 4–6 ret.
Loss 19–17 Apr 2021 Split, Croatia Challenger Clay Slovenia Blaž Rola 6–2, 3–6, 2–6

Doubles: 15 (5–9)
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 Slovenia Rok Jarc Croatia Gordan Peranec
Spain Carlos Rexach-Itoiz		 7–6(10–8), 6–1
Loss 1–1 Oct 2006 Portugal F4, Albufeira Futures Hard Slovenia Grega Žemlja Croatia Vjekoslav Skenderovic
Croatia Joško Topić		 3–6, 0–6
Loss 1–2 Apr 2007 Croatia F5, Rovinj Futures Clay Czech Republic Jaroslav Pospíšil Croatia Nikola Martinovic
Croatia Joško Topić		 3–6, 3–6
Loss 1–3 Apr 2007 Italy F11, Padova Futures Clay Slovenia Grega Žemlja Argentina Alejandro Fabbri
Spain Gabriel Trujillo Soler		 6–7(5–7), 2–6
Loss 1–4 May 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina F3, Brčko Futures Clay Sweden Daniel Danilović North Macedonia Lazar Magdinchev
North Macedonia Predrag Rusevski		 4–6, 2–6
Win 2–4 Jun 2007 Slovenia F2, Maribor Futures Clay Slovenia Luka Ocvirk Croatia Ante Nakic-Alfirevic
Croatia Antonio Veić		 6–3, 6–0
Win 3–4 Sep 2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina F5, Mostar Futures Clay Czech Republic Jaroslav Pospíšil Netherlands Matwé Middelkoop
Italy Francesco Piccari		 4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win 4–4 Mar 2012 Florianópolis, Brazil Challenger Clay Croatia Antonio Velc Spain Javier Martí
Portugal Leonardo Tavares		 6–3, 6–3
Loss 4–5 Apr 2012 Blumenau, Brazil Challenger Clay Croatia Antonio Velc Croatia Marin Draganja
Croatia Dino Marcan		 2–6, 0–6
Loss 4–6 Nov 2012 Montevideo, Uruguay Challenger Clay Croatia Franko Škugor Croatia Nikola Mektić
Croatia Antonio Velc		 2–6, 7–5, [7–10]
Win 5–6 Oct 2015 Sacramento, USA Challenger Hard Slovenia Grega Žemlja Germany Daniel Brands
Germany Dustin Brown		 6–1, 3–6, [10–3]
Loss 5–7 Feb 2017 Budapest, Hungary Challenger Hard Croatia Franko Škugor Croatia Dino Marcan
Austria Tristan-Samuel Weissborn		 3–6, 6–3, [14–16]
Loss 5–8 Apr 2017 Anning, China Challenger Clay Australia Steven de Waard Croatia Dino Marcan
Austria Tristan-Samuel Weissborn		 7–5, 3–6, [7–10]
Loss 5–9 Nov 2019 Charlottesville, USA Challenger Hard United States Sekou Bangoura United States Mitchell Krueger
Slovenia Blaž Rola		 4–6, 2–6
Win 6-9 Mar 2021 Zadar, Croatia Challenger Clay Slovenia Blaž Rola Slovakia Lukáš Klein
Slovakia Alex Molčan		 2–6, 6–2, [10–3]

Singles performance timeline
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.
Tournament2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021SRW–LWin%
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

Singles performances (17–9)
Edition Round Date Against Surface Opponent Result Outcome
2006 Europe/Africa Zone Group II
1R
 7-Apr-2006 Algeria Algeria Clay Rachid Baba-Aisa 6–0, 6–1 Win
2008 Europe/Africa Zone Group II 1R 11-Apr-2008 Cyprus 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 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 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 Lithuania Clay Gvidas Sabeckis 6–2, 6–3, 6–1 Win
SF
 20-Sep-2009 Latvia Latvia Carpet Andis Juška 3–6, 4–6, 2–6 Lose
2010 Europe/Africa Zone Group II
1R
 5-Mar-2010 Norway Norway Hard Stian Boretti 6–2, 6–4, 6–2 Win
QF 9-Jul-2010 Bulgaria 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 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 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 Italy Clay Potito Starace 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 4–6 Lose
2012 Europe/Africa Zone Group I
1R
 10-Feb-2012 Denmark Denmark Hard Frederik Nielsen 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 Win
2R 6-Apr-2012 South Africa 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 Poland Hard (I) Jerzy Janowicz 3–6, 3–6, 5–7 Lose
PO 13-Sep-2013 South Africa South Africa Clay Ruan Roalofse 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 Win
2014 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 1R 31-Jan-2014 Portugal 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 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 Monaco Hard Lucas Catarina 6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 6–4 Win
2020 World Group I Play-offs
RPO
 7-Mar-2020 Pakistan Pakistan Grass Aqeel Khan 6–0, 6–7(6–8), 4–6 Lose

Doubles performances (5–4)
Edition Round Date Partnering Against Surface Opponent Result Outcome
2011 Europe/Africa Zone Group I 2R 9-Jul-2011 Grega Žemlja Italy 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Pakistan Grass Aqeel Khan
Aisam Qureshi		 3–6, 6–7(7–9) Lose

References
  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 answe…" (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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