Jan Kodes

Czech Born 1946 175 cm Right handed
Head to heads vs Ilie Nastase (20)vs Stan Smith (13)vs Mark Cox (12)vs Karl Meiler (11)vs Arthur Ashe (11)vs Zeljko Franulovic (11)

Match log

1983

Vigo CH, challengerClay, August
R16LLuca Bottazzi4-6 3-6
R32WRoberto Vizcaino4-6 7-5 6-2
HilversumClay, July
R32LJerome Vanier1-6 5-7

1982

HilversumClay, July
R32LJerome Potier3-6 3-6
Zell Am See WCTClay, July
R32LWojtek Fibak3-6 3-6
MadridClay, April
R32LJose Higueras5-7 1-6
BournemouthClay, April
R32LPablo Arraya1-6 4-6
CairoClay, February
R32LZoltan Kuharszky2-6 5-7
Tunis CH, challengerClay, February
R32LCraig Wittus5-7 6-7
Nairobi CH, challengerClay, February
R16LDrew Gitlin4-6 3-6
R32WGregoire Rafaitin6-4 5-7 6-1

1981

CologneHard, October
R32LTony Giammalva5-7 2-6
HilversumClay, July
R32LHaroon Ismail2-6 6-4 3-6
Stuttgart OutdoorClay, July
R32LTomas Smid2-6 3-6
San Remo CH, challengerClay, July
R16LIlie Nastase3-6 1-6
R32WOtto Panman7-6 6-4
WimbledonGrass, June
R128LVijay Amritraj0-6 1-6 5-7
BrusselsClay, June
R16LPer Hjertquist5-7 5-7
R32WGustavo Guerrero6-2 6-4
Roland GarrosClay, May
R128LDiego Perez2-6 1-6 4-6
FlorenceClay, May
R32LAntonio Zugarelli2-6 0-6
Lagos CH, challengerHard, March
R16LLarry Stefanki0-6 3-6
R32WStephen Olagbegi6-3 6-3

1980

SofiaCarpet, December
R32LStefan Simonsson6-2 2-6 1-6
BolognaCarpet, November
R32LChristophe Roger-Vasselin2-6 4-6
ViennaHard, October
R32LRussell Simpson6-4 0-6 2-6
BarcelonaClay, October
R32LTomas Smid1-6 7-6 8-10
R64WAndrew Jarrett5-0 RET
MadridClay, September
R64LAndres Gomez2-6 2-6
CincinnatiHard, August
R64LVictor Amaya3-6 3-6
Montreal / TorontoHard, August
R64LJohn Sadri4-6 3-6
IndianapolisClay, August
R64LMario Martinez2-6 4-6
KitzbuhelClay, July
R16LChris Lewis4-6 0-6
R32WChristophe Casa6-7 6-3 6-0
WimbledonGrass, June
R64LVictor Pecci3-6 4-6 4-6
R128WTony Giammalva7-6 5-7 6-3 6-3
Roland GarrosClay, May
R64LStanislav Birner2-6 2-6 3-6
R128WChris Mayotte4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
MunichClay, May
R16LChristophe Roger-Vasselin1-6 7-5 0-6
R32WTom Okker7-5 1-6 6-3
HamburgClay, May
R64LHans Gildemeister4-6 0-6

1979

CologneHard, October
R32LWojtek Fibak2-6 6-4 3-6
BaselHard, October
R32LYannick Noah2-6 0-6
BarcelonaClay, October
R32LHarold Solomon4-6 1-6
R64WAlvaro Fillol6-3 6-4
US OpenHard, August
R64LBuster C Mottram3-6 6-7 2-6
R128WDavid Schneider3-6 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-1
BostonClay, August
R32LJohn Lloyd4-6 1-6
R64WJohn Yuill7-6 3-6 6-3
Montreal / TorontoHard, August
R32LJohn McEnroe5-7 3-6
R64WVictor Amaya0-6 7-5 6-0

Jan Kodes

A Prague man playing for communist Czechoslovakia, Jan Kodes did his best work on Paris clay, winning Roland Garros back to back: 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 over Zeljko Franulovic in the 1970 final, then 8-6, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 against Ilie Nastase a year later. His 3 Grand Slam titles, two in Paris and one at Wimbledon, were built on legs, patience and refusal, and the Wimbledon is the one people still argue about.

It came in 1973, when eighty-one ATP players boycotted over the Nikola Pilic suspension. Kodes beat who was there, surviving Roger Taylor in a five-set semifinal, then Alex Metreveli 6-1, 9-8, 6-3 in the final. He answered the asterisk in New York: US Open finals in 1971 and 1973, the second reached with a five-set semifinal win over Stan Smith before John Newcombe outlasted him in five more. Alongside 10 career titles came fifteen years of Davis Cup, a place on the team that finally won it in 1980, and the captaincy from 1982.