Alex Molčan

Alex Molčan (born 1 December 1997) is a Slovak professional tennis player. Molčan has a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 38 achieved on 23 May 2022. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 268 achieved on 14 June 2021. He is currently the No. 1 Slovak tennis player in singles.[1] Molčan has reached three ATP 250 finals at the 2021 Belgrade Open, in Morocco in 2022 and at the 2022 ATP Lyon Open. He also reached eleven singles ITF finals, with a record of 6 wins and 5 losses which includes a 2–2 result in ATP Challenger finals. Additionally, he has reached five career doubles ITF finals, with a record of 2 wins and 3 losses, including a 1–3 result in ATP Challenger finals.

Alex Molčan
Molčan at the 2022 French Open
Country (sports) Slovakia
ResidencePrešov, Slovakia
Born (1997-12-01) 1 December 1997
Prešov, Slovakia
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro2015
PlaysLeft-handed
CoachKarol Beck
Marián Vajda
Prize moneyUS$ 1,362,138
Singles
Career record34–31 (52.3% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 38 (23 May 2022)
Current rankingNo. 52 (6 February 2023)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2022, 2023)
French Open2R (2022)
Wimbledon3R (2022)
US Open3R (2021)
Doubles
Career record1–4 (20.0% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 268 (14 June 2021)
Current rankingNo. 836 (21 November 2022)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (2023)
US Open1R (2022)
Last updated on: 21 November 2022.

Professional career

2021: First ATP final, Major debut & third round, Slovak No. 1, top 100

Ranked No. 313 at the beginning of the year in January, Molčan made his ATP debut at the 2021 Antalya Open in Turkey, where he defeated Andrey Golubev and Blaž Kavčič to qualify for the main draw. Molčan then lost in the first round to France's Hugo Grenier in straight sets.[2] In February he won the doubles title at the 2021 Challenger La Manche with compatriot Lukáš Klein.

In March, he advanced through the qualifying rounds of Open 13 in Marseille, France, defeating Antoine Hoang and Ernests Gulbis to reach his second main draw appearance. He was defeated in the first round by Lucas Pouille.

In May, at the 2021 Belgrade Open, after qualifying yet again, Molčan reached the final of an ATP tournament for the first time in his career by defeating two Serbian wildcard players Hamad Međedović and Peđa Krstin, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and clay specialist Argentinian Federico Delbonis which propelled him 74 spots up into the top 200 at World No. 181 in the rankings on 31 May 2021. In the final, he lost in straight sets to the top seed and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.[3]

He entered the top 150 on 19 July 2021 after reaching the final of the 2021 Moneta Czech Open Challenger in Prostějov, and the round of 16 as a qualifier at the 2021 Hamburg European Open defeating Gianluca Mager. In August, he won his first Challenger title at the 2021 Svijany Open in Liberec defeating Tomáš Macháč in 58 minutes where he lost just 18 games to win the title. [4][5] As a result he hit a new career-high of No. 136 on 9 August 2021.

He made his Grand Slam debut the 2021 US Open after qualifying to the main draw.[6] He overcame fellow qualifier and also making his debut Cem İlkel and Brandon Nakashima in five sets to reach the second and third round respectively for the first time in his career.[7][8][9] In the third round, he was defeated by the eleventh seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets.[10] As a result he hit a new career-high of No. 117 on 13 September 2021. He became the No. 1 Slovak player on 8 November 2021 when he reached a career-high of No. 106 in the singles rankings following a semifinal at the Challenger in Bergamo. In November, he won the title at the 2021 Tali Open Challenger in Helsinki thus breaking into the top 100 at world No. 87 in the ATP year-end rankings on 22 November 2021.[11][12]

2022: Top 40, two ATP 250 finals & 500 semifinal, Wimbledon 3rd round

He reached a career-high ranking in the top 75 at World No. 74 on 10 January 2022.

On his debut at the 2022 Australian Open he recorded his first win at this Major defeating lucky loser Roman Safiullin in the first round.[13]

In Marrakesh, Molčan recorded his first Top 10 win after defeating the top seed Félix Auger-Aliassime.[14][15] He then advanced to his second career ATP final by defeating Botic van de Zandschulp[16] and Laslo Djere.[17] In the final, Molčan lost to David Goffin in 3 sets.[18] As a result, Molčan's ranking rose 15 places, marking his top 50 debut on 11 April 2022.[19]

Molčan hired fellow Slovak Marián Vajda to join his coaching team in May 2022.[20][21][22]

At the 2022 ATP Lyon Open he reached the third tour-level final of his career, and second of the season by defeating former World No. 5 wildcard Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,[23] 5th seed Karen Khachanov, Federico Coria[24] and 4th seed Alex de Minaur en route without losing a set. He lost to top seed Cameron Norrie in three sets in the final.[25] As a result he moved into the top 40 at World No. 38 on 23 May 2022.[26]

He made his debut at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and won his first match at this Major defeating Pedro Martínez.[27] He reached the third round at this Major for the first time defeating Marcos Giron in the second round before losing to Taylor Fritz.

In Hamburg, Molčan reached the quarterfinals as an unseeded player, beating Marko Topo and 4th seed and defending champion Pablo Carreño Busta. He advanced to the biggest semifinal of his career after Borna Ćorić retired during their match with Molčan leading in the second set.[28] He lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.[29]

At the US Open he lost in the first round to Thiago Monteiro (tennis).[30]

2023

At the 2023 Australian Open, Molčan defeated Stan Wawrinka before losing to Félix Auger-Aliassime in second round.[31]

ATP career finals

Singles: 3 (3 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP Tour 250 Series (0–3)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–3)
Grass (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (0–3)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 May 2021 Belgrade Open, Serbia 250 Series Clay Novak Djokovic 4–6, 3–6
Loss 0–2 Apr 2022 Grand Prix Hassan II, Morocco 250 Series Clay David Goffin 6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Loss 0–3 May 2022 Lyon Open, France 250 Series Clay Cameron Norrie 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 1–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 11 (6–5)
Legend
ATP Challenger (2–2)
ITF Futures (4–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–2)
Clay (4–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2015 Turkey F41, Antalya Futures Hard Kirill Dmitriev 2–6, 6–0, 4–6
Win 1–1 Oct 2016 Turkey F41, Antalya Futures Hard Nikola Milojević 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1–2 Mar 2017 Egypt F7, Sharm El Sheikh Futures Hard Karim-Mohamed Maamoun 0–6, 3–6
Loss 1–3 Jul 2017 Czech Republic F5, Pardubice Futures Clay Dennis Novak 6–7(3–7), 3–6
Win 2–3 Jul 2018 Slovakia F1, Trnava Futures Clay Tomáš Jiroušek 7–6(7–5), 6–3
Win 3–3 Aug 2018 Slovakia F2, Piestany Futures Clay Ewan Moore 6–3, 6–2
Win 4–3 Aug 2018 Slovakia F3, Bratislava Futures Clay Petr Nouza 6–4, 6–3
Loss 4–4 Sep 2018 Seville, Spain Challenger Clay Kimmer Coppejans 6–7(2–7), 1–6
Loss 4–5 Jun 2021 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Federico Coria 6–7(1–7), 3–6
Win 5–5 Aug 2021 Liberec, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Tomáš Macháč 6–0, 6–1
Win 6–5 Nov 2021 Helsinki, Finland Challenger Hard (i) João Sousa 6–3, 6–2

Doubles: 5 (2–3)
Legend
ATP Challenger (1–3)
ITF Futures (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Feb 2016 Turkey F6, Antalya Futures Hard Lukáš Klein Vadim Alekseenko
Frederico Ferreira Silva		 7–6(9–7), 7–6(7–5)
Loss 1–1 Feb 2019 Bratislava, Slovakia Challenger Clay Lukáš Klein Joran Vliegen
Sander Gille		 2–6, 5–7
Loss 1–2 Nov 2020 Bratislava, Slovakia Challenger Hard Lukáš Klein Harri Heliovaara
Emil Ruusuvuori		 4–6, 3–6
Win 2–2 Feb 2021 Cherbourg, France Challenger Hard Lukáš Klein Albano Olivetti
Antoine Hoang		 1–6, 7–5, [10–6]
Loss 2–3 Mar 2021 Zadar, Croatia Challenger Clay Lukáš Klein Blaž Kavčič
Blaž Rola		 6–2, 3–6, [3–10]


Performance timelines
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (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.

Singles
Tournament202020212022W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 2R 1–1
French Open A A 2R 1–1
Wimbledon NH Q3 3R 2–1
US Open A 3R 1R 2–2
Win–loss 0–0 2–1 4–4 6–5
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters NH A A 0–0
Miami Open NH A A 0–0
Monte-Carlo Masters NH A A 0–0
Madrid Open NH A Q1 0–0
Italian Open A A Q1 0–0
Canadian Open NH A 2R 1–1
Cincinnati Masters A A 1R 0–1
Paris Masters A A 1R 0–1
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 1–3 1–3
Career statistics
202020212022Career
Tournaments 0 5 20 25
Titles / Finals 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1
Overall win–loss 0–0 7–6 26–20 33–26
Year-end ranking 312 87 50 56%

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner–up)
Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Loss 2015 Australian Open Hard Hubert Hurkacz Jake Delaney
Marc Polmans		 6–0, 2–6, [8–10]

Record against other players

Record against top 10 players

Molčan's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw matches are considered:

Player Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Carlos Alcaraz 0–1 0% 0–0 0–1 0–0 Lost (6–7(2–7), 1–6) at 2022 Hamburg
Novak Djokovic 0–2 0% 0–0 0–2 0–0 Lost (2–6, 3–6, 6–7(4–7)) at 2022 French Open
Number 2 ranked players
Casper Ruud 0–1 0% 0–1 0–0 0–0 Lost (6–7(3–7), 3–6) at 2022 Canadian Open
Number 3 ranked players
Stan Wawrinka 1–0 100% 1–0 0–0 0–0 Won (6–7(3–7), 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7-2), 6–4) at 2023 Australian Open
Number 5 ranked players
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1–0 100% 0–0 1–0 0–0 Won (6–4, 6–4) at 2022 Lyon
Number 6 ranked players
Félix Auger-Aliassime 1–1 50% 0–1 1–0 0–0 Lost (6–3, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6, 2–6) at 2023 Australian Open
Number 7 ranked players
Fernando Verdasco 1–0 100% 0–0 1–0 0–0 Won (6–2, 6–0) at 2021 Belgrade 2
David Goffin 1–1 50% 1–0 0–1 0–0 Lost (6–3, 3–6, 3–6) at 2022 Marrakech
Richard Gasquet 0–1 0% 0–1 0–0 0–0 Lost (3–6, 1–6) at 2022 Paris Masters
Number 8 ranked players
Karen Khachanov 1–0 100% 0–0 1–0 0–0 Won (6–2, 7–6(7–4)) at 2022 Lyon
Taylor Fritz 0–1 0% 0–0 0–0 0–1 Lost (4–6, 1–6, 6–7(3–7)) at 2022 Wimbledon
Diego Schwartzman 0–2 0% 0–2 0–0 0–0 Lost (7–5, 4–6, 2–6) at 2022 Cincinnati
Number 9 ranked players
Hubert Hurkacz 0–1 0% 0–1 0–0 0–0 Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2022 Dubai
Number 10 ranked players
Pablo Carreño Busta 1–0 100% 0–0 1–0 0–0 Won (6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7–5)) at 2022 Hamburg
Cameron Norrie 0–1 0% 0–0 0–1 0–0 Lost (3–6, 7–6(7–3), 1–6) at 2022 Lyon
Lucas Pouille 0–1 0% 0–1 0–0 0–0 Lost (5–7, 3–6) at 2021 Marseilles
Total 7–13 33.33% 2–7
(22.22%)		 5–5
(50%)		 0–1
(0%)		 * Statistics correct as of 27 December 2022.

Wins over 10 players
Season2022Total
Wins11
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score AMR
2022
1. Félix Auger-Aliassime 9 Marrakech, Morocco Clay 2R 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(9–7) 65

References
  1. "Rankings | Singles | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  2. "Molčan sa premiérovo predstavil ,na turnaji ATP, neuhral však ani set". SME (in Slovak). 8 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  3. "Djokovic Wins 83rd Career Title In Belgrade". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Alex Molcan Destroys the Field in Liberec". 9 August 2021.
  5. "Molcan's Maiden Moment in Liberec". 8 August 2021.
  6. "US Open: Meet the 16 Men's Singles Qualifiers".
  7. "Carlos Alcaraz Sets up Tsitsipas Showdown | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  8. "Qualifiers Make Huge Impact at the 2021 US Open". 2 September 2021.
  9. Waldstein, David (3 September 2021). "The U.S. Open is Alex Molcan's Proving Ground". The New York Times.
  10. "Schwartzman Surges Into US Open Fourth Round". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  11. "Po trofeji z Helsínk ďalšia odmena. Molčan je prvýkrát v elitnej svetovej stovke". Pravda (in Slovak). 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  12. "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Molcan and Baez Break the Top 100". 22 November 2021.
  13. "Molčan sa v premiére prebojoval do 2. kola. Aj vďaka krásnemu gestu Rusa". Pravda (in Slovak). 18 January 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  14. "Odvrátil dva mečbaly. Molčan má cenný skalp hráča z Top 10". Pravda (in Slovak). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  15. "Goffin Records 300th Win, Reaches Marrakech QFs". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  16. "Alex Molcan Scores Second Straight Marrakech Upset to Reach SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  17. "Resurgent Goffin Reaches Marrakech Final, First Of 2022". ATP Tour. 9 April 2022.
  18. "Sweet Revenge: Goffin Rallies Past Molcan For Marrakech Title". ATP Tour. 10 April 2022.
  19. "Kyrgios Continues Resurgence, Mover Of Week". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  20. "Marian Vajda to coach Alex Molcan". 2 May 2022.
  21. "Tennis: Vajda returns to coaching". 3 May 2022.
  22. "Marian Vajda, former coach of Novak Djokovic, now working with Alex Molcan".
  23. "Alex Molcan Moves Past 'Legend' Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Lyon Opener | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  24. "Cameron Norrie Passes Sebastian Baez Test to Reach Lyon SFS | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  25. "Cameron Norrie Moves Past Alex Molcan for Lyon Crown | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  26. "Sousa Soars Following Geneva Final Run, Mover Of Week". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  27. "Alex Molcan on Marian Vajda: 'It is Amazing to Work with Him' | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  28. "Tennis, ATP – Hamburg Open 2022: Molcan beats Coric". 22 July 2022.
  29. "Top-5 Alcaraz Sets All-Next Gen Final with Musetti | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  30. "Alex Molcan's Journey from Challenger Player to Top 40 | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  31. "Felix Finds A Way From Two Sets Down". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.