Slobodan "Bobo"[1][2][3][4] Živojinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Живојиновић, pronounced [slɔbɔ̌dan ʒiʋɔjǐːnɔʋit͡ɕ]; born 23 July 1963) is a Serbian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia.
 Živojinović at Wimbledon in the mid 1980s. | |
| Country (sports) |  Yugoslavia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Born | 23 July 1963 Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Turned pro | 1981 |
| Retired | 1992 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $1,450,654 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 151–139 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 19 (26 October 1987) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1985) |
| French Open | 3R (1988) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1986) |
| US Open | 3R (1987) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 151–102 |
| Career titles | 8 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (8 September 1986) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1985) |
| French Open | 1R (1985, 1989, 1991) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1987) |
| US Open | W (1986) |
Together with Nenad Zimonjić, he is the only tennis player from Serbia to be the world No. 1 in doubles. As a singles player, he reached the semifinals of the 1985 Australian Open and the 1986 Wimbledon Championships, achieving a career-high ranking of world No. 19 in October 1987.
Tennis career edit
Živojinović represented SFR Yugoslavia as the number 15 seed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where he was defeated in the second round by France's Guy Forget.
The right-hander won two career singles titles (Houston, 1986 and Sydney, 1988), as well as eight doubles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP ranking on 26 October 1987, when he became world No. 19. Živojinović was known for his tall, wiry frame that made him the original big-boom server before Goran Ivanisevic.[5] He built his game on his big serve, enhanced greatly by his height and his muscular thighs. He was an exciting player to watch and a very troubling one to play against. His ace total in a match often became difficult to overcome, with the result that no one looked forward to playing against him.[6]
Živojinović's most notable Grand Slam results were two semifinals. As an unseeded player at the 1985 Australian Open, he memorably beat John McEnroe in a five-set quarterfinal to reach the semifinals (where he lost in straight sets to Mats Wilander). The next year, at the 1986 Wimbledon semifinal, again as an unseeded player, he lost to Ivan Lendl in a five-set match.
Over the course of his career, Živojinović amassed an overall singles record of 150 wins and 138 defeats. He was much more successful in doubles competition, winning the US Open in 1986 with Andrés Gómez. The same year, he won three more tournaments. He was ranked as the world No. 1 doubles player on 8 September 1986.
Career finals edit
Singles (2–2) edit
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Tour (2–2) |
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Mar 1985 | Nancy, France | Carpet (i) |  Tim Wilkison
|
6–4, 6–7(5–7), 7–9 |
| Win | 1–1 | Nov 1986 | Houston, United States | Carpet (i) | Scott Davis
|
6–1, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–2 | May 1988 | Forest Hills, United States | Clay | Andre Agassi
|
5–7, 6–7(2–7), 5–7 |
| Win | 2–2 | Oct 1988 | Sydney, Australia | Hard (i) | Richard Matuszewski
|
7–6(10–8), 6–3, 6–4 |
Doubles (8–6) edit
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam (1) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Tour (7) |
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1985 | Boston, United States | Hard |  Libor Pimek
|
 Peter McNamara Paul McNamee
|
2–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Nov 1985 | Wembley, UK | Carpet (i) |  Boris Becker
|
 Guy Forget Anders Järryd
|
5–7, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Win | 2–1 | Mar 1986 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker
|
John Fitzgerald  Tomáš Šmíd
|
7–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 3–1 | Mar 1986 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Stefan Edberg
|
 Wojciech Fibak Matt Mitchell
|
2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2–3 | May 1986 | Forest Hills, US | Clay | Boris Becker
|
 Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez
|
6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Aug 1986 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | Boris Becker
|
Chip Hooper Mike Leach
|
7–6, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 4–3 | Aug 1986 | US Open, New York | Hard | Andrés Gómez
|
Joakim Nyström Mats Wilander
|
4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–4 | Oct 1986 | Vienna, Austria | Carpet (i) | Brad Gilbert
|
 Ricardo Acioly Wojciech Fibak
|
walkover |
| Loss | 4–5 | Nov 1986 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard | Pat Cash
|
Sherwood Stewart Kim Warwick
|
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5–5 | Mar 1987 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker
|
Chip Hooper Michael Leach
|
7–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 6–5 | Mar 1987 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker
|
 Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez
|
3–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 7–5 | Oct 1988 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | Andrés Gómez
|
Boris Becker Eric Jelen
|
7–5, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Loss | 7–6 | Oct 1989 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | Andrés Gómez
|
Kevin Curren David Pate
|
6–4, 3–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8–6 | Feb 1990 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) | Emilio Sánchez
|
Goran Ivanišević  Balázs Taróczy
|
7–5, 6–3 |
Team competitions (1) edit
| No. | Date | Team competition | Surface | Partner/Team | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | May 1990 | World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, Germany | Clay | Goran Ivanišević Goran Prpić
|
Jim Courier Brad Gilbert Ken Flach Robert Seguso
|
2–1 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline edit
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | SF | NH | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | Q2 | 0 / 6 |
| French Open | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 8 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | SF | QF | 4R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 7 |
| US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 5 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 26 |
Personal life edit
Živojinović was engaged to Zorica Desnica whom he has a son Filip with. The couple broke up before getting married.
In 1991, Živojinović married Yugoslav folk singer Fahreta Jahić (known professionally as Lepa Brena). Their wedding on 7 December 1991 was a media event throughout the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The lavish ceremony took place at Belgrade's InterContinental Hotel with Ion Țiriac as the groom's best man. The level of interest in the event was such that Brena's manager Raka Đokić released a VHS tape of the wedding for commercial exploitation.[7]
The couple have two sons — Stefan (born in New York City in May 1992) and Viktor. On Thursday, 23 November 2000, 8-year-old Stefan was kidnapped by members of Zemun mafia clan and returned on Tuesday five days later on the side of Belgrade–Niš highway for the ransom sum reported to be more than DM 2 million.[8]
References edit
- ^ "'BOBO' LOSES NAME GAME, Won't FACE 'BOOM, BOOM' » Mitch Albom". 21 November 2008.
- ^ "Have a special feeling for India: Slobodan". telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "Davis Cup: Wider and wiser, 'Bobo' returns to India after 26 years". The Indian Express. 11 September 2014.
- ^ Allen, JA. "Pete Sampras and the Top 25 Servers in the History of Men's Tennis". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Naik, Shivani (2014-09-11). "Davis Cup: Wider and wiser, 'Bobo' returns to India after 26 years". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2022-07-30.
- ^ Allen, JA. "Pete Sampras and the Top 25 Servers in the History of Men's Tennis". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Svadba decenije, novosti.rs. Accessed 5 February 2024.
- ^ "Stefan predat na niškom autoputu", Glas-javnosti.rs, 1 December 2000.
External links edit
