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Jiří Veselý facts for kids

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Not to be confused with Jan Veselý.
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Jiří Veselý
Vesely MLC21 (51603150925).jpg
Veselý at the 2021 Internationaux de Tennis de Vendée
Country (sports)  Czech Republic
Residence Březnice, Czech Republic
Born (1993-07-10) 10 July 1993 (age 31)
Příbram, Czech Republic
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Turned pro 2009
Plays Left-handed
(two-handed backhand)
Coach Emanuel Rehola (2023–),
Jaroslav Navrátil, Dušan Lojda (2021–2023)
Prize money US $6,103,578
Singles
Career record 143–169 (45.83% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles 2
Highest ranking No. 35 (27 April 2015)
Current ranking No. 337 (21 October 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 2R (2018, 2021)
French Open 3R (2017)
Wimbledon 4R (2016, 2018)
US Open 3R (2015, 2023)
Doubles
Career record 39–66 (37.14% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles 2
Highest ranking No. 94 (8 June 2015)
Current ranking No. 1031 (21 October 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open 2R (2016)
French Open 3R (2017)
Wimbledon 2R (2014)
US Open 2R (2013, 2014, 2015)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (2013)
Medal record
Men's tennis
Representing a Olympic flag.svg mixed-NOCs team
Youth Olympic Games
Gold 2010 Singapore Doubles

Jiří Veselý (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈvɛsɛliː]; born 10 July 1993) is a Czech professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35 on 27 April 2015.

Juniors

In 2011, Veselý won the boys' singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Australian Luke Saville in straight sets. He also won the boys' doubles titles at the Australian Open, partnering Filip Horanský of Slovakia; they defeated Ben Wagland and Andrew Whittington of Australia in the final. The same year he reached the finals of the US Open boys' singles and the Wimbledon boys' doubles (as well the final of the US Open boys' doubles in 2010).

Veselý reached the No. 1 junior combined world ranking in January 2011, compiling a singles win–loss record of 125–45.

Professional career

2012–2015: Grand Slam debut, first singles and doubles titles, Top 35 debut and career-high ranking

Veselý made his Davis Cup debut for Czech Republic in February 2013, and to date has nine singles titles on the ITF Futures circuit to his name and three Challengers.

Veselý qualified into the 2013 French Open for his first appearance into the main draw of a Grand Slam. Vesely was, at the time, the youngest player in the world's top 100 at 20 years and 3 months old. In 2014, Veselý reached the 3rd round of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open where he lost to Andy Murray in three sets.

Veselý won his first Grand Slam match at the 2014 French Open, then the following month reached the third round of a Major for the first time in his career at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships as a wildcard. He beat Gaël Monfils in five sets in the second round, before being defeated by fellow wildcard Nick Kyrgios in four sets. He also won his first ATP doubles title at the 2014 Kremlin Cup with countryman František Čermák.

Veselý reached two singles finals at ATP World Tour, winning his first title at the 2015 Heineken Open in Auckland, after defeating Adrian Mannarino.

He reached the third round of a Major for the second time in his career at the 2015 Us Open and first at this Major, with a victory over Ivo Karlović.

2016: Two ATP top 10 wins, including over the World No. 1 Djokovic, Wimbledon fourth round

Veselý represented the Czech Republic at the 2016 Hopman Cup alongside Karolína Plíšková. He recorded a singles win over Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, however was defeated by Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine and Jack Sock of the United States.

At the Monte Carlo, he beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a stunning second-round upset. It was the first time Djokovic had lost at a Masters tournament prior to the final since the 2014 Shanghai Masters, and his earliest exit from any tournament in three years. However, he lost to Gaël Monfils in straights sets in the third round. Veselý made it to the third round of the 2016 Istanbul Open – Singles before losing to Grigor Dimitrov. At the Nice Open, he lost to Leonardo Mayer in the first round. Veselý made it to the second round of the 2016 French Open by beating Rajeev Ram in the first round. He lost to Nicolás Almagro.

Veselý started his grass court season at 2016 Aegon Championships by losing to Kevin Anderson in qualifying, but earned the lucky loser spot. He beat Jérémy Chardy in the first round before falling to Milos Raonic in the second round. He next competed at the 2016 Nottingham Open. He beat Horacio Zeballos, but lost to 8th seeded Gilles Müller in the second.

At the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, Jiří pushed through 3 consecutive tie-broken sets, besting world No. 8 Dominic Thiem, to move through to the third round. It was his second top 10 win of his career after beating Novak Djokovic earlier in the season. He defeated the 31st seed João Sousa in the third round. Jiří lost to fellow countryman Tomáš Berdych in a hard-fought five set match.

Veselý next competed at the 2016 Davis Cup representing his country. He lost both of his matches to the French.

Jiří was seeded 8th at the 2016 Croatia Open. In the first round, he won in straight sets, but was forced to retire in the second round against Carlos Berlocq due to injury. He next competed at the 2016 Western & Southern Open where he lost in the first round to Marcel Granollers. The 2016 Winston-Salem Open proved dreadful for him as he was forced to retire again during his match in the third round to Andrey Kuznetsov. He was able to Compete at the 2016 US Open. He beat Saketh Myneni in the first round and set up a rematch of Monte Carlo with world number one Novak Djokovic. However, Veselý pulled out before the match was set to begin because of a left arm injury.

His first tournament since the US Open was the 2016 Shenzhen Open, where he was seeded 8th. He won his first two matches in straight sets, but lost to his idol and countryman Tomáš Berdych in three sets. He finished his season by competing at the 2016 Japan Open. Jiří won his first round match against Kevin Anderson in three sets before losing to David Goffin in the second round.

2017–2020: Second doubles title, second singles title & first since 2015

Veselý won his second doubles title partnering Roman Jebavý at the 2017 Istanbul Open.

Veselý started off 2020 by playing on the ATP Challenger tour, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2020 Bangkok Challenger II, before losing to eventual champion Federico Gaio in straight sets. He then entered the main draw in 2020 Maharashtra Open. He opened his campaign by defeating wildcard Arjun Kadhe, then beat 7th seed Salvatore Caruso in straight sets, before saving a match point in the final tiebreak to defeat Ilya Ivashka in 3 tight sets. In the semifinals, he once again required 3 sets, saving 4 match points to defeat Ričardas Berankis, to advance to his first tour-level final since April 2015. He defeated Egor Gerasimov in 3 sets to win the title.

2022: Second victory over Djokovic, first ATP 500 final

Veselý started his 2022 season at the Adelaide International 1. He lost in the first round to sixth seed Tommy Paul. Getting past qualifying at the Sydney Classic, he was defeated in the first round by Brandon Nakashima. At the Australian Open, he was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by American wildcard Stefan Kozlov.

Seeded fourth and defending champion from when the Maharashtra Open was last held in 2020, Veselý failed to defend his title; he lost in the quarterfinals to sixth seed and eventual finalist, Emil Ruusuvuori. As a result, his ranking fell from 80 to 123; he exited the top 100 for the first time since the beginning of 2020. In February, as the top seed at the Bengaluru Open, he retired after losing the first set to opponent, sixth seed Enzo Couacaud, due to fatigue caused by a bout of food poisoning.

In Doha, he lost in the first round to Arthur Rinderknech. Ranked World No. 123 at the time, Veselý qualified for the Dubai Championships by defeating Hady Habib and Alexei Popyrin. He then reached the quarterfinals with victories over world No. 24 Marin Čilić and eighth seed and world No. 15, Roberto Bautista Agut. In the quarterfinals, he recorded his second career victory over Novak Djokovic, defeating the World No. 1 in straight sets to reach the semifinal, his first since 2020 in Pune. This victory also allowed Daniil Medvedev to ascend to the World No. 1 ranking, marking the first time a male player outside the Big Four held the number 1 ranking since Andy Roddick in 2004. He then defeated sixth seed and world No. 14, Denis Shapovalov, in three sets to reach his first ATP 500 final claiming his third top-20 win in the tournament. He lost the final in straight sets to second seed and world No. 7, Andrey Rublev. After the tournament, his ranking improved from 123 to 74.

In March, Veselý competed at the Challenger di Roseto degli Abruzzi II. As the top seed, he lost in the first round to Nino Serdarušić. Seeded fourth at the Andalucía Challenger, he reached the semifinals where he was defeated by Jaume Munar. At the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakesh, he retired in the third set during his first-round match against Malek Jaziri. In Estoril, he lost in the first round to qualifier Hugo Dellien. At the Mutua Madrid Open, he fell in the first round of qualifying to David Goffin. At Roland Garros, he was beaten in the first round by Steve Johnson.

Veselý started his grass-court season at the Nottingham Open. Seeded second, he lost in the first round to British tennis player, Ryan Peniston. Seeded second at the Ilkley Trophy, he made it to the quarterfinals where he was defeated by fifth seed and eventual finalist, Jack Sock. At Wimbledon, he reached the third round where he lost to 30th seed and world No. 32, Tommy Paul.

After Wimbledon, Veselý played at the Hall of Fame Open. Seeded seventh, he withdrew from his second-round match against Steve Johnson.

In August, Veselý competed at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open. Seeded second, he lost in the second round to Gilles Simon. Seeded second at the Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby, he was defeated in the first round by American qualifier Aidan Mayo. At the US Open, he lost in the first round to 20th seed and world No. 23, Dan Evans.

2023: Return to the Tour, Major third round, back to top 300

He returned to the ATP Tour after an eight-month absence at the 2023 French Open using protected ranking.

He entered the 2023 Surbiton Trophy using protected ranking. He won his first ATP tour level match after his return at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships defeating 22nd seed Sebastian Korda also with protected ranking.

Again using his protected ranking, Veselý matched his best performance in the US Open by reaching the third round. He defeated qualifier Enzo Couacaud and 20th seed Francisco Cerúndolo, both in five sets and lost to qualifier Borna Gojo.

Coaches

Veselý's former coaches were Jaroslav Navrátil and Dušan Lojda. In December 2015 Veselý began to work with Tomáš Krupa, formerly the longtime coach of Tomáš Berdych.

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

Current through the 2024 Australian Open.

Tournament 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Q1 A 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R A 2R 1R A 1R 0 / 9 2–9
French Open A 1R 2R 1R 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R A 0 / 11 5–11
Wimbledon A Q2 3R 2R 4R 2R 4R 3R NH 2R 3R 2R Q2 0 / 9 16–9
US Open A 1R 1R 3R 2R 1R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R A 0 / 10 5–9
Win–loss 0–0 0–2 3–4 3–4 5–3 3–4 4–3 2–4 1–2 2–4 2–4 3–3 0–1 0 / 39 28–38
ATP Masters 1000
Indian Wells Open A A 3R 1R 1R 2R 1R A NH A A A 0 / 5 3–5
Miami Open A A 2R 1R 1R 3R 2R A NH 1R A A 0 / 6 4–6
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A 1R 3R 2R A A NH Q1 A A 0 / 3 3–3
Madrid Open A A A 1R A A A A NH A Q1 A 0 / 1 0–1
Italian Open A A A 2R A 2R A A A A A A 0 / 2 2–2
Canadian Open A A A A A A A A NH A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Cincinnati Open A A A 1R 1R 1R A A A A A A 0 / 3 0–3
Shanghai Masters A A A A A 1R A A NH A A 0 / 1 0–1
Paris Masters A A A 1R A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 3–2 1–7 2–4 5–6 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0 / 22 12–22
Career statistics
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Career
Tournaments 0 5 17 29 21 24 17 11 7 15 12 4 1 Career total: 163
Titles 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Career total: 2
Finals 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 Career total: 4
Overall win–loss 0–0 0–7 16–17 24–30 21–22 24–26 16–18 9–11 12–6 10–16 8–11 3–4 0–1 2 / 163 143–169
Win %  –  0% 48% 44% 49% 48% 47% 45% 67% 38% 42% 43% 0% Career total: 46%
Year-end ranking 263 85 66 41 55 62 89 105 68 82 112 292 $5,554,625

Doubles

Current through the 2022 Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R 2R 1R 1R A A 1R 1R 1–6
French Open A A 2R 1R 3R 1R A 1R A 1R 3–6
Wimbledon Q2 2R 1R A 1R A A NH 1R A 1–4
US Open 2R 2R 2R A 1R A A A A 1R 3–4
Win–loss 1–1 2–2 2–3 1–2 2–4 0–2 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–3 8–20
National Representation
Davis Cup A A 1R A 1R Z1 Z1 RR 2–4
Career Statistics
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Career
Tournaments 1 5 18 7 15 7 1 2 9 7 71
Titles 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
Finals 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3
Overall win–loss 1–1 7–4 7–16 4–7 9–12 6–6 0–2 0–2 3–9 2–7 39–66
Year-end rankings 305 123 181 184 135 177 584 651 342 686 37.14%

ATP Tour finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP 500 (0–1)
ATP 250 (2–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (2–2)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2015 Auckland Open, New Zealand ATP 250 Hard France Adrian Mannarino 6–3, 6–2
Loss 1–1 Apr 2015 Romanian Open, Romania ATP 250 Clay Spain Guillermo García López 6–7(5–7), 6–7(11–13)
Win 2–1 Feb 2020 Maharashtra Open, India ATP 250 Hard Belarus Egor Gerasimov 7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–3
Loss 2–2 Feb 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships, UAE ATP 500 Hard Russia Andrey Rublev 3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP 500 (0–0)
ATP 250 (2–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–0)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (1–1)
Indoor (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2014 Kremlin Cup, Russia ATP 250 Hard (i) Czech Republic František Čermák Australia Sam Groth
Australia Chris Guccione		 7–6(7–2), 7–5
Win 2–0 May 2017 Istanbul Open, Turkey ATP 250 Clay Czech Republic Roman Jebavý Turkey Tuna Altuna
Italy Alessandro Motti		 6–0, 6–0
Loss 2–1 Jul 2018 Croatia Open Umag, Croatia ATP 250 Clay Czech Republic Roman Jebavý Netherlands Robin Haase
Netherlands Matwé Middelkoop		 4–6, 4–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 23 (18 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (8–4)
ITF Futures (9–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–0)
Clay (12–5)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 May 2011 Czech Republic F1, Teplice Futures Clay Slovakia Norbert Gombos 3–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–1
Win 2–0 Jan 2012 China F1, Shenzhen Futures Hard United States Austin Krajicek 6–4, 7–5
Win 3–0 Jul 2012 Czech Republic F4, Prostějov Futures Clay Austria Dominic Thiem 6–4, 6–4
Win 4–0 Jul 2012 Czech Republic F5, Prague Futures Clay Slovakia Norbert Gombos 6–4, 6–0
Loss 4–1 Jul 2012 Czech Republic F6, Liberec Futures Clay Czech Republic Adam Pavlásek 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 0–6
Win 5–1 Aug 2012 Austria F5, Wels Futures Clay Austria Marc Rath 6–2, 6–2
Win 6–1 Sep 2012 Portugal F4, Espinho Futures Clay Switzerland Henri Laaksonen 6–2, 6–4
Win 7–1 Jan 2013 Israel F1, Eilat Futures Hard Spain Guillermo Olaso 6–1, 6–2
Win 8–1 Jan 2013 Israel F2, Eliat Futures Hard Republic of Ireland James McGee 6–2, 6–4
Win 9–1 Mar 2013 USA F6, Harlingen Futures Hard United States Bjorn Fratangelo 5–7, 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Win 10–1 Apr 2013 Mersin, Turkey Challenger Clay Germany Simon Greul 6–1, 6–1
Win 11–1 May 2013 Ostrava, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Belgium Steve Darcis 6–4, 6–4
Loss 11–2 May 2013 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek 4–6, 2–6
Loss 11–3 Jul 2013 Braunschweig, Germany Challenger Clay Germany Florian Mayer 6–4, 2–6, 1–6
Win 12–3 Aug 2013 Liberec, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Argentina Federico Delbonis 6–7(2–7), 7–6(9–7), 6–4
Win 13–3 Jun 2014 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Slovakia Norbert Gombos 6–2, 6–2
Loss 13–4 Jun 2014 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Lukáš Rosol 6–3, 4–6, 4–6
Win 14–4 Jun 2015 Prostějov, Czech Republic (2) Challenger Clay Serbia Laslo Djere 6–4, 6–2
Win 15–4 Jun 2017 Prostějov, Czech Republic (3) Challenger Clay Argentina Federico Delbonis 5–7, 6–1, 7–5
Loss 15–5 May 2018 Heilbronn, Germany Challenger Clay Germany Rudolf Molleker 6–4, 4–6, 5–7
Win 16–5 Nov 2019 Eckental, Germany Challenger Carpet (i) Belgium Steve Darcis 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Win 17–5 Oct 2021 Mouilleron-le-Captif, France Challenger Hard (i) Slovakia Norbert Gombos 6–4, 6–4
Win 18–5 May 2024 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Belgium Gauthier Onclin 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(7–3)

Doubles: 10 (6 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Legend
ATP Challenger Tour (1–3)
ITF Futures (5–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–0)
Clay (4–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Nov 2010 Czech Republic F5, Opava Futures Carpet (i) Czech Republic Radim Urbanek Czech Republic Michal Konečný
Czech Republic Daniel Lustig		 6–7(7–9), 2–6
Loss 0–2 May 2012 Ostrava, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Adam Pavlásek Moldova Radu Albot
Russia Teymuraz Gabashvili		 5–7, 7–5, [8–10]
Win 1–2 May 2012 Czech Republic F2, Most Futures Clay Czech Republic Jaroslav Pospíšil Canada Érik Chvojka
Czech Republic Marek Michalička		 6–1, 6–4
Win 2–2 May 2012 Czech Republic F3, Jablonec nad Nisou Futures Clay Czech Republic Jaroslav Pospíšil Australia Peter Luczak
Australia Blake Mott		 7–5, 6–4
Win 3–2 Jul 2012 Czech Republic F4, Prostějov Futures Clay Czech Republic Adam Pavlásek Italy Riccardo Bellotti
Austria Dominic Thiem		 7–6(7–2), 6–3
Win 4–2 Jan 2013 Israel F1, Eilat Futures Hard Czech Republic Roman Jebavý Spain Jaime Pulgar-García
Spain Andoni Vivanco-Guzmán		 6–3, 6–1
Win 5–2 Jan 2013 Israel F2, Eilat Futures Hard Czech Republic Roman Jebavý Italy Matteo Fago
Italy Claudio Grassi		 6–4, 7–5
Win 6–2 Jun 2014 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Roman Jebavý Chinese Taipei Lee Hsin-han
China Zhang Ze		 6–1, 6–3
Loss 6–3 Jun 2018 Caltanissetta, Italy Challenger Clay Slovenia Blaž Rola Italy Federico Gaio
Italy Andrea Pellegrino		 6–7(4–7), 6–7(5–7)
Loss 6–4 Jun 2019 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Jiří Lehečka Slovakia Filip Polášek
Austria Philipp Oswald		 4–6, 6–7(4–7)

Best Grand Slam results details

Wins over top 10 players

Season 2016 ... 2019 2022 Total
Wins 2 1 1 4
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score JVR
2016
1. Serbia Novak Djokovic No. 1 Monte-Carlo Masters, France Clay 2R 6–4, 2–6, 6–4 No. 55
2. Austria Dominic Thiem No. 8 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass 2R 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3) No. 64
2019
3. Germany Alexander Zverev No. 5 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass 1R 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5 No. 124
2022
4. Serbia Novak Djokovic No. 1 Dubai Championships, UAE Hard QF 6–4, 7–6(7–4) No. 123
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