Bobby Kokavec

Bobby Kokavec

Country (sports)	Canada
Born	(1976-05-17) 17 May 1976 (age 49) Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$115,924
Singles
Career record	1–5
Career titles	0 0 Challenger, 1 Futures
Highest ranking	No. 232 (17 November 1997)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	Q1 (1998)
Wimbledon	Q1 (1998, 1999)
US Open	Q1 (1997)
Doubles
Career record	6–12
Career titles	0 7 Challenger, 4 Futures
Highest ranking	No. 152 (9 November 1998)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon	2R (1999)
Last updated on: 31 May 2021.

Bobby Kokavec (born 17 May 1976) is a former professional tennis player from Canada.

Biography

Kokavec grew up in Tecumseh, Ontario and attended St. Anne's Catholic High School. At the age of 15 he was an Orange Bowl semi-finalist and won national junior titles in singles and doubles. ^[1] A member of Canada's Sunshine Cup team in 1993, he also competed in the boys' events of Grand Slam tournaments and was a doubles quarter-finalist at the 1993 US Open, partnering Sjeng Schalken. He and Jocelyn Robichaud won the Under 18s doubles title at the 1994 Orange Bowl. ^[2]

As a professional tennis player he made several appearances in ATP Tour level tournaments, including the main draws of every edition of the Canadian Open from 1994 to 1999. Doubles partners included Pat Cash in the 1996 tournament and Gustavo Kuerten in the 1997 edition. He made the second round of the singles in 1998, with a win over Steve Campbell. ^[3] His best doubles performances on tour were the quarter-finals at the 1998 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, with partner Marco Osorio, as well as the quarter-finals of Boston's Pro Tennis Championships in 1999, teamed with Doug Flach.

Kokavec represented Canada in a tie against Mexico in the 1998 Davis Cup competition. The tie, an American Group 1 Quarter-final in Halifax, was won by Canada, with Kokavec's appearance coming in the first of the reverse singles, a loss to Alejandro Hernández. ^[4]

With Romania's Gabriel Trifu as his partner, Kokavec participated in the men's doubles draw at the 1999 Wimbledon Championships. Playing as qualifiers, the pair defeated Alberto Martín and Eyal Ran in the first round, then were eliminated by top seeds and eventual champions Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes. ^[5]

In 2001 he had success on the Challenger tour with three titles, all in doubles, at Granby, Binghamton and the Bronx. It was his last year on tour as injuries forced his retirement from tennis. An inductee in the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame, Kokavec now teaches tennis in Florida. ^[6]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 2 (1–1)

Legend ATP Challenger (0–1) ITF Futures (1–0)

Finals by surface Hard (0–0) Clay (1–1) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 1997	Guadalajara, Mexico	Challenger	Clay	Alejandro Hernández	4–6, 7–5, 2–6
Win	1–1	May 1999	USA F3, Tallahassee	Futures	Clay	Horst Skoff	7–5, 6–1

Doubles: 11 (7–4)

Legend ATP Challenger (3–4) ITF Futures (4–0)

Finals by surface Hard (7–2) Clay (0–2) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Nov 1997	Guadalajara, Mexico	Challenger	Clay	Marco Osorio	Nelson Aerts André Sá	6–7, 3–6
Loss	0–2	Apr 1998	San Luis Potosí, Mexico	Challenger	Clay	Jose Frontera	Edwin Kempes Peter Wessels	6–7, 6–4, 5–7
Loss	0–3	Jul 1998	Granby, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Frédéric Niemeyer	Gouichi Motomura Takao Suzuki	6–7, 1–6
Loss	0–4	Oct 1999	Houston, United States	Challenger	Hard	Jocelyn Robichaud	David Di Lucia Michael Sell	6–7, 0–6
Win	1–4	Nov 1999	USA F19, Grenelefe	Futures	Hard	Jocelyn Robichaud	Cedric Kauffmann Miles Maclagan	4–6, 7–5, 6–1
Win	2–4	Nov 1999	USA F20, Clearwater	Futures	Hard	Brandon Hawk	Dustin Mauck Keith Pollak	2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win	3–4	Feb 2000	USA F4, Corpus Christi	Futures	Hard	Christian Kordasz	Manuel Jorquera Efe Üstündağ	6–2, 6–3
Win	4–4	Jun 2001	Canada F2, Montreal	Futures	Hard	Nicolas Brochu	Andrew Nisker Tripp Phillips	6–2, 6–4
Win	5–4	Jul 2001	Granby, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Jeff Morrison	Robert Kendrick Brandon Hawk	6–4, 6–4
Win	6–4	Aug 2001	Binghamton, United States	Challenger	Hard	Frédéric Niemeyer	Andrew Nisker Amir Hadad	2–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win	7–4	Aug 2001	Bronx, United States	Challenger	Hard	Kelly Gullett	Andrew Nisker Gavin Sontag	6–4, 6–3

See also

• List of Canada Davis Cup team representatives

References

1. Rosenwald, Mike (25 December 1992). "World`s Top Amateur Loses To 15th Seed In Orange Bowl". Sun-Sentinel . Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
2. "Tennis: Lapentti beats Kuerten in Orange Bowl final". The Independent . 27 December 1994. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
3. "Du Maurier Open". The New York Times . 4 August 1998. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
4. "Davis Cup – Tie – Details". Official website of the Davis Cup . Retrieved 22 April 2016.
5. "Paes-Bhupathi enter quarterfinals". The Tribune . 29 June 1999. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
6. "Coaches & Staff". Smatts Tennis Academy. Retrieved 22 April 2016.

External links

• Bobby Kokavec at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Bobby Kokavec at the Davis Cup
• Bobby Kokavec at the International Tennis Federation