Martin Kližan (; born 11 July 1989) is a Slovak professional
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. He has a career-high singles
ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...
of world No. 24, achieved on 27 April 2015, and No. 73 in doubles, achieved on 4 May 2015. He won the
2006 French Open boys' singles title. He is currently the No. 4 Slovak player.
Career
Junior career
In 2005, he won the European Junior Championship in the under-16 category, in both singles and doubles. In doubles, his partner was compatriot
Andrej Martin. Kližan then went on to win the
2006 French Open boys' singles competition.
As a young man, Kližan posted a 54–21 win–loss record in singles and 58–18 in doubles. He reached the boys' No. 1 combined world ranking on 1 January 2007.
2007: Turned Professional
Kližan turned pro in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
.
2010–11: Top 100 debut
In
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, Kližan qualified for the
US Open. In his first main-draw Grand Slam tournament appearance, he lost to former world No. 1
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat (; born 12 February 1980) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Pro ...
in the first round.
Later in the year, Kližan won his first
Challenger tournament as a
wildcard in his hometown of
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
at the
Slovak Open
The Slovak Open is a professional tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Indoor courts, indoor hardcourts. It is an ATP Challenger Tour 125, ATP Challenger 125 and an ITF Women's Circuit event. It was part of the Tretorn SERIE+ on the ATP Cha ...
. He would subsequently break into the top 100 in September of the following year.
2012: Best Grand Slam fourth round run, Top 30 debut
In his
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
debut, Kližan defeated
Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela (; born 30 August 1979), nicknamed as "El Flaco" or "Liliano," is a tennis coach and former professional player from Argentina. Chela was given a three-month ban from the professional tour in 2001 for failing a drugs test. Post ...
11–9 in the fifth set in the first round, before losing in five sets to
Viktor Troicki in the second round, despite being 2–1 up in sets. He competed in men's singles at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, as well as the men's doubles with
Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko (; born 3 November 1987) is a former professional Slovak tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is World No. 44, achieved in January 2013.
Tennis career Juniors
As a junior Lacko compiled a singles win–loss record ...
.
At the
2012 US Open, Kližan advanced to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, upsetting fifth seeded
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
in the second round in four sets.
2013: Loss of form
Coming into
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, Kližan was expected to reach at least the top 20. However, with his inconsistent nature, Kližan alternated good results with very bad ones. After first-round losses at the start of the season, he reached the quarterfinals in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. Due to this result, he reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 26.
He went on with poor results until the semifinals in
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
. At the
2013 French Open
The 2013 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 112th edition (83rd as a Grand Slam) of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 26 May to 9 ...
, he lost in the second round against eventual champion
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
, despite winning the first set. Subsequently, he participated in a
Challenger tournament in Caltanissetta, Italy, where Kližan suffered a shocking loss to non-ranked player
Pablo Carreño Busta
Pablo Carreño Busta (; born 12 July 1991) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 by the ATP, which he first achieved on 11 September 2017. He also reached a best doubles ranking of No. 16 on 17 July ...
in the first round. Afterwards, Klizan returned to the main tour and after reaching the quarterfinals in
Umag
Umag (; ; ) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia.
Its patron saint is Peregrine (martyr), St. Peregrine.
Geography
It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia.
Demographics
According to the ...
and winning his first-round match in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
against
Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê, São Paulo, Tietê) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010.
Bellucci used a string of ATP Challeng ...
, lost in the first round of every tournament, peaking at the
2013 US Open, where he lost to
Donald Young. He did not play for six weeks due to a wrist injury and withdrew from
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, where he was the defending champion.
2014: Return to form, First Australian and French Open third rounds

Kližan started the year with a first-round loss at the Nouméa, New Caledonia
Challenger tournament to World No. 258
Kimmer Coppejans
Kimmer Coppejans (born 7 February 1994) is a Belgium, Belgian tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking is world No. 97, achieved in June 2015. Coppejans competes mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Career
He was the Junior Champion at th ...
. After a poor start of the year, he found very good subsequent form at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. Starting from qualifying, his achieved his best result in Australia by reaching the third round as a lucky loser, where he lost to another lucky loser:
Stéphane Robert
Stéphane Robert (; born 17 May 1980) is a French tennis coach and a former professional player.
Professional career 2007–2008
Robert missed 16 months of tennis action in 2007–2008 because he was infected with the Hepatitis A virus in F ...
.
He continued his good form at the 500 tournament in
Rio. Starting again from qualifying, he reached the second round. This result saw Kližan return to the top 100 of the rankings at World No. 97. In
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
, Kližan reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to semifinalist
Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê, São Paulo, Tietê) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010.
Bellucci used a string of ATP Challeng ...
.
Starting from qualifying once more, Kližan surprisingly won the
BMW Open, beating
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny (born 25 June 1982), nicknamed "Misha" and "Colonel" by his fans, is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked inside the top 10 and was the Russian No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the Associ ...
and
Tommy Haas
Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German–American former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017, and was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in May ...
en route to the final, where he defeated top seeded
Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini (; born 24 May 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP ranking of world No. 9 achieved on 15 July 2019. Fognini's most successful surface is Clay court#Red clay, ...
. It was the second final and second title in Kližan's main-circuit career. He won both titles beating Fognini in the final.
At
Roland Garros, Kližan had his best
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
result to date. He reached the third round after defeating World No. 11
Kei Nishikori
is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the only Japanese man in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles, reaching his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015, and the second man in history to do so after ...
in straight sets and
Robin Haase
Robin Haase (; born 6 April 1987) is a Dutch professional tennis player.
He reached his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 in July 2012 and his highest doubles ranking of world No. 29 in May 2023 ...
.
At the beginning of the grass season, he reached the quarterfinals, where he was beaten by
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 7 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, attained in July 2007. Gasquet won 16 singles ...
in
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
. At
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, he lost in the first round in four sets to former champion
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
.
At the
China Open, Kližan got revenge by turning the tables on Nadal, defeating him in the quarterfinals.
2015–16: Top 25 debut, 2 ATP 500 titles
Kližan played at the
2015 Australian Open
The 2015 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 19 January to 1 February 2015. It was the 103rd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Stan Wawrinka was the de ...
as the 32nd seed. He retired from his second-round match against
João Sousa
João Pedro Coelho Marinho de Sousa (born 30 March 1989), known as João Sousa (), is a Portuguese former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of No. 28 on 16 May 2016 a ...
.
Kližan won his third ATP doubles title at the
Rio Open
The Rio Open, also known as the ''Rio Open presented by Claro'' for sponsorship reasons, is a tennis event on the ATP Tour and former WTA International Tournaments event. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Jockey Club Brasile ...
, partnering
Philipp Oswald.
He played two singles matches and also the doubles match in a
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
tie against Slovenia, which Slovakia won 5–0. Originally, the Slovak nominations were announced without Kližan, but he later changed his decision and decided to partake in the tie.
In April, Kližan won his third ATP title in
Casablanca
Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
, defeating
Daniel Gimeno Traver in the final. In
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion
Kei Nishikori
is a Japanese professional tennis player. He is the only Japanese man in the Open Era to have been ranked in the top five in singles, reaching his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in March 2015, and the second man in history to do so after ...
.
At the
2015 French Open, Kližan defeated
Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe Jr. ( ; born January 20, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. He reached his career high at world No. 10 in singles on June 19, 2023, becoming the first Sierra Leonean American man to be ranked in the top 10 by the ...
in the first round and lost to
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon (; born 27 December 1984) is a French former tennis player. He turned professional in 2002 and won fourteen singles titles on the ATP Tour, and attained a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 6, on 5 January 2009.
Personal li ...
in the second round. He later received wild card into challenger in
Prostějov
Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...
. Kližan defeated fellow Slovak player
Norbert Gombos
Norbert Gombos (, ; born 13 August 1990, occasionally spelled Norbert Gomboš) is a Slovak professional tennis player competing primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 80 on 2 October 20 ...
in the first round, but lost in the second round to young Serbian player
Laslo Djere.
In July, Kližan again played
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
for Slovakia and won both his matches.
He subsequently won his fourth title in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, beating
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in November 2016. Mon ...
in the final, coming back from a set down. On his way to the title, Kližan saved eight match points (five against
Roberto Bautista Agut
Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP in singles, achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista Agut ...
and three against
Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.
He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at th ...
).
Kližan seized his second ATP 500 title at the
2016 German Open, defeating
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is a Uruguayan tennis coach and a former professional player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open – Men's doubles, 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna, and was especially noted t ...
in the final in straight sets.
2017: Injuries, Four ATP quarterfinals, out of top 100
Kližan started the season with in
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, where he received a bye in the first round and lost in the second round to
Aljaž Bedene
Aljaž Bedene (born 18 July 1989) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as No. 43 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2018. He reached four singles finals ...
. This was followed by a first-round loss in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, where he retired with a foot injury. He then lost a tight, five-set match against No. 4 seed
Stan Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
at the
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
.
Kližan reached the quarterfinals in both
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. As he was the defending champion in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, his ranking dropped substantially after these tournaments. In
Acapulco
Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...
, Kližan lost in the first round to top seed
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
.
At the
2017 BNP Paribas Open, Kližan lost in the second round to
Pablo Cuevas
Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is a Uruguayan tennis coach and a former professional player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open – Men's doubles, 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna, and was especially noted t ...
and in the first round of
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
in first round to
Benoît Paire
Benoît "Ben" Paire (; born 8 May 1989) is a French professional tennis player.
His best result in a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam has been reaching the fourth round, which he has achieved on four occasions. He has won three singles titles, ...
. This was followed by a first-round loss in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
to qualifier
Laslo Djere. Kližan qualified for the main draw of the
2017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but he lost to
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player of Latin American descent. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008 French Open – Men's singles, 2008, 201 ...
in the first round, after receiving two game penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct in the third set.
In
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, Kližan defeated two qualifiers:
Maximilian Marterer
Maximilian Marterer (born 15 June 1995) is a German professional tennis player. He has a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 45, achieved in 13 August 2018.
Professional career
2015-2017: ATP and to ...
and
Bjorn Fratangelo
Bjorn Fratangelo ( ; born July 19, 1993) is an American tennis coach and former professional player.
In 2011, he won the boys' singles title at the French Open defeating Dominic Thiem. Fratangelo was only the second American to win the event, f ...
, before losing to top seed and eventual winner
Lucas Pouille
Lucas Pouille (, born 23 February 1994) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 10, achieved on 19 March 2018 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 79, achieved on 11 April 2016. ...
in the quarterfinals.
In
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Kližan defeated
Nicolás Kicker
Nicolás Kicker (, born 16 August 1992 in Merlo) is an Argentine tennis player. He plays mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour. Kicker achieved his highest career singles ranking of 78 in June 2017. He has won 4 singles titles, and 1 doubles title o ...
and
Mischa Zverev
Mikhail "Mischa" Alexandrovich Zverev. (born 22 August 1987) is a German retired professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 25 on 24 July 2017.
At the 2017 Australian Open, Zverev defeated world No. 1 An ...
, before losing to
Chung Hyeon
Chung Hyeon (; ; born 19 May 1996) is a South Korean professional tennis player. He is the 2017 Next Gen Finals champion. As an unseeded player, he became the first Korean player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2018 Australian Open.
J ...
in the quarterfinals.
At the
2017 French Open, Kližan defeated
Laurent Lokoli in the first round before losing to World No. 1
Andy Murray
Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
. This was followed by two Challengers, where he played as the top seed. In
Prostějov
Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...
, Kližan lost in the second round to qualifier
Markus Eriksson (ranked 476 at the time). In
Poprad-Tatry, he lost to
Roberto Carballés Baena
Roberto Carballés Baena (; born 23 March 1993) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 49 on 10 April 2023 and a career-high doubles ranking of wo ...
in the quarterfinals.
Kližan played one grass tournament before
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
. In
Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
, he retired in his first-round match against
Marsel İlhan. At
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, Kližan retired in the first round again, this time he played
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
. After the points from winning the
2016 German Open were deducted, Kližan dropped out of the top 100.
2018: Sixth ATP title
Kližan reached the round of 16 at the
Sofia Open, where he was defeated by
Stan Wawrinka
Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
in three sets. In March, Kližan won the
Indian Wells Challenger tournament.
At the
Barcelona Open later in the year, he beat
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
for the first time in five encounters (1–4). Kližan later lost in quarterfinals to
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
. In
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Kližan qualified into the main draw and reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to
Chung Hyeon
Chung Hyeon (; ; born 19 May 1996) is a South Korean professional tennis player. He is the 2017 Next Gen Finals champion. As an unseeded player, he became the first Korean player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2018 Australian Open.
J ...
.
Kližan qualified for the main draw at
Roland Garros, where he lost in the second round to
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils (; born 1 September 1986) is a French professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked as high as world No. 6 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in November 2016. Mon ...
. During the grass season, Kližan did not play at any ATP tournaments.
Coming into the
2018 Generali Open Kitzbühel with a career record of 127–128 in singles, Kližan ensured his record would have more wins than losses by not only reaching the semifinals, but by also going on and winning the whole tournament. Kližan did just that, defeating
Denis Istomin in the final, top seed
Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved in March 2020. Thiem won 17 ATP Tour-level s ...
as well as
Dušan Lajović
Dušan Lajović ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Лајовић; born 30 June 1990) is a Serbian professional tennis player. On 29 April 2019, he reached his career-high singles ranking of world No. 23. On 21 September 2020, he peaked at No. 82 in the doubl ...
in the quarterfinals, against whom he saved two match points. Kližan and Thiem met again in
St. Petersburg Open final, this time Thiem won. It was the first loss in seven finals for Kližan in an ATP World Tour final.
2019: French Open third round
In
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Kližan lost in the second round to
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi (born 21 February 1984) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 on 28 January 2013. He became the first Italian to win a title on all three surfaces.
Personal lif ...
. Kližan then lost in the first round of
Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Kližan played for Slovakia in
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...
match against Canada, he won one of his singles rubbers and also in doubles alongside
Filip Polášek
Filip Polášek (; born 21 July 1985) is an inactive Slovak professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He reached his highest doubles ranking of world No. 7 in February 2020, and has won 17 titles on the ATP Tour.
He was forced to re ...
, but Slovakia eventually lost 2–3. In
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Kližan reached quarterfinals, where he lost to the eventual champion
Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev ( rus, Даниил Сергеевич Медведев, p=dənʲɪˈil sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 11 February 1996) is a Russian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ...
.
2021–22: Retirement
Martin Kližan's retirement to be announced after Wimbledon was reported on 2 June 2021, according to information published by the Slovakian Tennis Federation. He played his last match at Wimbledon on 22 June 2021.
2023–25: Comeback, return to top 300
Since his retirement, Kližan ran in the local elections for
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Petržalka
Petržalka (; ; ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 people.
Names and etymology
The German name ...
and applied for the position of president of the Slovak Tennis Association, both of which failed. During the free time, he was watching his previous tennis matches. After a re-watch of the
2014 China Open quarterfinals win against Nadal, Kližan started having ideas about a comeback to professional tennis.
In September 2023, he started preparing and training at the
IMG Academy
IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...
.
In December 2023, Kližan made his return for the qualifying at the M15 ITF tournament in
Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
.
In 2024, Kližan won four ITF tournaments: in Heraklion, Telde, Valldoreix and in Reggio Emilia. As a result he returned to the top 400 at world No. 369 on 24 June 2024 and to the top 350 on 5 August 2024. In December Kližan broke into the worlds top 300. He finished the year at world No. 291.
In February 2025, Kližan qualified into the main draw of the ATP tournament in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
. He lost in the first round to
Francisco Comesaña.
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
Records
Criticism
In January 2022, Martin Kližan faced criticism after publishing post on Instagram, in which he attacked the sexual orientation of former tennis player
artina Navrátilovábecause of her statement towards tennis player
ovak Đokovićregarding his refusal to be vaccinated. Kližan leaned against Navrátilová and called her "the most famous tennis lesbian" and said with contempt for her sexual orientation: "''I do not know if Mrs. Navrátilová is aware of how the most important process in the world works, namely the process of human race reproduction, if by any chance she reads this post, then, Mrs. Navrátilová, a woman with a woman and a man with a man cannot conceive a newborn.''"
In February 2025, he posted a selfie on social media from a lunch with Daniel Bombic, a well-known figure from the conspiracy scene accused of spreading neo-Nazism. Kližan faced a wave of criticism, and Instagram subsequently removed the photo.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Klizan, Martin
1989 births
Living people
French Open junior champions
Tennis players from Bratislava
Slovak male tennis players
Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic tennis players for Slovakia
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles
21st-century Slovak sportsmen