Category Archives: Tennis

Ice hockey, Tennis

Jaroslav Drobný

Parameter Value
Used Name Jaroslav Drobný
Born 12 October 1921; Praha (Prague) (CZE)
Died 13 September 2001; Tooting-Greater London (GBR)
Affiliations ČLTK Praha (CZE)

Jaroslav Drobný won an Olympic silver medal with the Czechoslovakian ice hockey squad at the 1948 St. Moritz Olympics, but was more famous as a tennis player. For years, he played ice hockey during the winter and tennis in the summer, but his hockey career was cut short in 1949. During a tennis tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, he defected from communist Czechoslovakia with a fellow Davis Cup player, Vladimír Černík. Drobný, who had won the 1947 World Championships with Czechoslovakia, could no longer represent his country on the ice.

As an Egyptian citizen, Drobný won Grand Slam singles titles at Roland Garros (1951, 1952) and Wimbledon (1954). His 1954 Wimbledon championship made him the first left-hander to win that title. He was also a five-time runner-up in Grand Slam events; three times at Roland Garros (1946, 1948, 1950), and twice at Wimbledon (1949, 1952). His ice hockey legacy could still be found in his dark prescription glasses, which he needed following a hockey accident that severely affected his eyesight.

Drobný uniquely competed at Wimbledon for four different “nations.” He first played there in 1938, representing Czechoslovakia, and again under that designation in 1946-49. In 1939, following political upheaval in Europe, he was listed from the Nazi-occupied protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia. Following his 1949 defection, Drobný was given an Egyptian passport, and won his Grand Slam titles representing that nation from 1950-59. In 1959, he traded his Egyptian passport for a British one, and lived in London for the rest of his life. During a 15-year amateur career, he won over 130 singles titles, and was world ranked in the top 10 from 1946-55. Drobný was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1997 he was made a member of the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.

Basketball, Tennis

Farhang Mohtadi

Parameter Value
Full Name Matthew Farhang Mohtadi
Used Name Farhang Mohtadi
Original Name فرهنگ •مهتدی
Born 6 January 1926

Farhang Mohtadi played basketball for Iran at the 1948 Olympics, appearing in one game, a loss against France. He had earned a B.E. degree from Teheran University in 1945 but in 1948 was studying at Birmingham University in England. Mohtadi was better known as a tennis player and during his years in England played at Wimbledon seven consecutive years (1949-55), although he lost in the first round each year. In 1954 he lost in the final of the North England Hardcourts Championships to Polish player Ignacy Tłoczyński. Mohtadi also excelled at table tennis, making the final of the 1944 Middle East Championships, and squash, competing in the British Open Championships.

He eventually earned a B.Sc. degree and later a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Birmingham. Mohtadi finally settled in Canada where he taught at the University of Calgary, serving as chairman of the department of chemical and petroleum engineering and director of public relations in the engineering department.

His son, Nick Mohtadi, played briefly on the professional tennis tour, including a bronze medal win at the 1979 World University Games in mixed doubles and one doubles appearance at Wimbledon. Nick Mohtadi later became a renowned orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Calgary, with special expertise in sports medicine and clinical epidemiology.

Tennis

Ion Ţiriac

Parameter Value
Full Name Ion Ioan Ţiriac
Born 9 May 1939 in Braşov; ROU
Measurements 183 cm / 84 kg
Affiliations Sportul Studenţesc; Bucureşti

Ion Ţiriac played ice hockey for Romania at the 1964 Winter Olympics, but it was only a prelude to a much larger life. His main sport was tennis and he became one of the top players in the world, winning the 1970 French Open men’s doubles alongside Ilie Năstase. Ţiriac’s best finish in a singles Grand Slam was making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 1968. He was best known for his doubles play, winning 22 career professional titles.

After his playing career ended in the mid-1970s, Ţiriac turned to managing athletes, most notably as the coach and manager of Boris Becker from 1984-1993. He also coached or managed, among others, Năstase, Guillermo Vilas, Mary Joe Fernández, Goran Ivanišević, and Marat Safin. Ţiriac also started running and managing tennis events, including the Madrid Tennis Open, the Italian Open, and in Romania, the BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy. In 2013 Ţiriac was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Țiriac’s business interests then branched out and in 1990, after the fall of Communism in Romania, he founded Banca Țiriac, the first private bank in that country. The bank merged several times, eventually becoming UniCredit Ţiriac Bank, one of the largest banks in Romania. He also became involved in other businesses, including insurance, auto leasing, auto dealerships, and local airlines, with his various ventures entitled Tiriac Holdings, TiriacAIR, HVB Tiriac Bank, Allianz-Tiriac Asigurari Romania, TiriacAuto, Tiriac Leasing, and Tir Travel.

In 2007 Ţiriac was named to Forbes list of the wealthiest people in the world, and in 2014 his net worth was estimated at over $2 billion (US). He was considered, at that time, as the richest former athlete of all-time.

Games Sport Team Position
1964 Ice Hockey Romania 12