Tribute to Miloslav Mecir - Part 01
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Miloslav Mecir is a former professional tennis player from Slovakia. He won the men's singles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games. He was a finesse player whose career straddled the transition from wooden and metal racquets towards modern graphite composites. He was noted for his touch shots as well as the ability to disguise his shots, particularly his two-handed backhand. His nickname : "The Big Cat".
Mats Wilander has said when Mecir played his best tennis even the other top-players at the time used to rush to watch him play. No one wanted to miss that.
The guy played at the highest level for only very few years, plagued by injuries, yet left an indelible impression. Anyone who saw him (and is tennis knowledgeable) will say that he was a very special player. Incredible hands and touch!! What McEnroe could do with volleys and half volleys he could too from the BASELINE with ground strokes: hands of magician. And yes his footwork was fantastic!
In tennis pantheon there’s a very specific elite of players who although unknown or ignored by the public and the masses are held in the highest esteem and reverence by their rivals, the great players who played against them, and by some who were lucky to watch them and understood how special they were.... players like the great Ellsworth Vines, Lew Hoad and a few others...
Mecir is surely in that special gallery of the tennis pantheon.
(congrats for the video)
Agreed. Pure magic when he was on fire. And the best player ever on making passing shots, he had a natural talent for that
If Mecir, with his huge legs and good height, had a great serve...he would've held a least 3 or 4 majors.
Lew Hoad, yes, Mecir, absolutely.
YES！！
今でも彼のテニスはファンタステックだ。
My favorite player.
Elegant, unpredictable, looking so nice and as if he didn't need to win.
graceful and effortless.....I always felt he was jogging, never running. mysterious skill.
I think part of it was that while his legs were moving fast, his upper body was always quite upright, disguising the motion of his legs. It's possibly one of the reasons he later had problems with his back.
An artist on the court. Beautiful tennis.
He never seemed to break a sweat or lose his cool. Wonderful athlete and player
A real and unique genius , felt for a lot of us as an outsider within the tennis world. Such a pity he hasn't gotten all the credit he deserves.
you are so right. good to know that there are people who don`t judge a tennis player like him by the titles but by the playing
great talent... gorgeous backhand... a kind of nalbandian of these time... so smooth... he played semifinals of all grand slams... achive final in us open and australia... legend...
Comparison Totally on point ,very similar ways to trick and outplay opponents.
Belongs in the discussion of most talented player never to win a slam. Just look what the tennis greats of his era say about him.
Number 4 in the world with no coach and shirking from training in favour of match play. I remember
In addition he did not waste his talent but was cut short by back injury at 26, otherwise I am sure he would have won slams and spent some time as world number 1.
What I remember most about him was his reputation as a Swede killer because of his record against the big crop of top swedes inspired by the Borg era. Particularly against Matts Wilander to whom he was like kriptonite.
I used to watch him practice with Marian Vajda (Novak’s coach) in Bratislava’s Slovan tennis centre.
They were in their teens at the time (so was I) but already hitting great. Milo was always my favourite of all time player. Fantastic to watch. Very humble and used to be known to go fishing sometimes after the match ...so he wouldn’t have to face media :)
Viliam Gazo I`ve never seen anyone like him ,..,... When I hear the name : Miloslav Mecir ...,. I get quiet and I get goosebumps all over my body ..,..... Everyone that knows tennis, knows that we are talking about a really SPECIAL human being here .,.. I mean .,.. Look at his game !!! .,.. It`s not tennis, IT`S ART !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .,.......,..,,...
@@rubenjohannessen7006 in my childhood once i said my mother that miloslav was a god to me... she get angry with my coment... but Mecir was an inspiration to me...
Milo was a fucking GENIUS.
That's it
"of all time" ?? GOAT do not exist friend :))
BUT, for sure, anyone who appreciate tennis ... appreciate Miroslav ... When knowing :)
Mcenroe ... Borg .... and Mecir (and Vijay Armitraj in a different maner) .
do i forget someone ?? :)
And he wasn't very fond of shower after matches, they said
Talentwise easily top 3 in history. His movements and shots are poetically beautiful and clever, his court coverage is excellent, his tennis IQ is probably the highest ever in this sport. What he didn't have is the predator instinct and go-getter attitude. He was unlucky because he entered the tennis pro tour when power tennis took over. Despite all this he should have won one major at least.
dimmykarras agree with everything you said ( and very well said) except the power tennis factor.
On his day Mecir could beat ANYONE including powerful Lendl or Becker - the real problem was that his heyday was too short, because of the back injury. He became world famous around 86/87, won Olympic gold 88... and then it was it, sadly,,, in 1989 he was already struggling to play due to his back problems, and retired 1990 - he never had the time window necessary to totally develop his staggering potential.
If the body can’t really play, then all the willpower and go-getter attitude won’t make any difference...
It was tennis loss sadly..
Alongside mecir I d put henri leconte and petr korda..
1. do not over hit 2. hit to corners and open court 3. use all spins top, slice, and side spin 4. converge on net at any moment and finish point off with volley 5. hit behind the player 6. play smart, stray calm and do not get anxious ... these and more are the strategies of Mecir
The guy could find angles from wherever he was hitting. I remember him hitting winner after winner against Becker in one match and Boris was on the verge of tears.
Haha, please tell what match that was, I'd love to see it!
The most graceful tennis player in history. Changed my way of how I looked and played the game.
agreed- the best footwork of any player hands down not even close
@@sean8470 surely not the best footwork !!
he even did not need it ! :)
but the way he was compensating (?) counterbalancing (?) with the chest and shoulders ??
oooh my god !! :)))
the result ?? the best timing of the open era :)
No sir, David Nalbandian was the Pele of tennis
@@sylvio9771 funny :)
He was like Stefan Edberg but with a two-handed backhand, they were pure elegance, everything seemed to come effortlessly.
His footwork and balance was so good that he never looked like a 6'3" 180-pound guy when playing. I remember being shocked at finding out how tall and heavy he was, because he always looked like a smaller, lithe man on court. For me he is the GOAT to never win a slam. If only he had beaten Edberg at the Wimbledon SF in 1988, when he was 2 sets up and toying with him...sigh
Edberg, ... Wimbeldon, ... we will never find out why he lost.
Mecir had the best footwork of all time. So graceful. He created angles that no one else could see. That two-handed backhand drive was just incredible. Legend.
@ Jason Bennett. Mecir had great footwork, but Borg and Connors had the greatest footwork of any of the men pro tennis players I've seen.
@@michaelbarlow6610 Borg and Connors' footwork were completely different. Borg was very strong and fast. Connors was textbook preparation. But neither of them disguised their shots and created angles like Mecir. Mecir threw players off by his unorthodox footwork, wrong-footing everyone. Although Borg and Connors won a zillion more tournaments, I would rather watch Mecir because he was so unorthodox. All three great players for sure!
@@ElevenMileRecords . I wasn't comparing Borg's footwork to Connors' footwork because to do so would be pointless because they both had outstanding, flawless footwork. Mecir was able to hit the ball behind opponents so often as he did, because he would hesitate a fraction of a second before making contact with the ball which threw off his opponents. In other words, he disguised his shots very, very well. His hard to anticipate groundstrokes were not due to any unusual footwork on his part, but rather was because he had a superb ability to wait until the last possible moment to make contact with the ball which forced his opponents to guess which direction he was going to hit the ball. If he had developed an excellent, offensive serve and had improved his volley, he would have achieved more in his pro tennis career, although injuries sadly shortened his pro career.
@@michaelbarlow6610 You are exactly right. The way he hesitated a fraction of a section was incredible. i don't think anybody else ever did that. Watching him hold that ball on the racquet for that split second, then go behind the opponent and wrong-foot him was just amazing. Well said my friend! I sure do miss the tennis of the 80's.
@@ElevenMileRecords . Mecir for a number of games in the first set against Lendl in the 1986 U.S. Open final, was controlling the rallies in that first set, beautifully maneuvering Lendl out-of-position to win points , but because Lendl that year (and the next year 1987) was at his absolute peak, Lendl was too strong and powerful for Mecir in that match. Mecir made the greatest retrieve on a tennis court I have ever scene when in the Lipton International Player's tournament final against Lendl, during a baseline rally, Lendl hit a superbly angled topspin backhand crosscourt that forced Mecir to run full- speed to his backhand side and incredibly, Mecir hit the ball two-handed right next to the stands when the ball was no more than about 6 inches off the court, and after the point continued, Mecir won the point on a Lendl error. The overwhelming majority of players would have hit that desperation backhand one-handed, but Mecir had such excellent footspeed that he amazingly was able to flick the ball back at the last moment before the ball hit the court out of bounds!
The man they called the Cat . Subtle genius.
mecir!!! in my view the greatest strength of this legendary player was his footwork. His game was very clean his backhand was incredible and had an underrated serve
Mecir
My favorite tennis player
A genius
A big cat 😊
This guy was elegant to watch, I've haven't seen a player since who can disguise their shots as well as this, sometimes it seemed as if he were toying with his opponents.
Mecir's groundstrokes are very fluid and smooth. Opponents must've had a very hard time reading his shots.
How much I loved his backhand. His opponents could just not understand where he would hit it and so many times they would just stand watching the ball pass by completely baffled.
Feel like Giles Simon comes closest to this style in today's top 100.
Pure talent
So smooth! He could hold his backhand forever!
For sure !
Un tennis atypique mr Mecir une autre epoque une impression etrange d etre la sans y etre surnomme le chat touch man superbe quel toucher l artiste
On n'en verra plus des comme ça. Mais c'est marrant de voir son fils jouer : on a un peu l'impression de le revoir.
One of my favourit "Gattone" Mecir...I regretted very much when he lost on Edberg at Wimbledon after he won the first and second set in a spectacular semifinal
He was known as a "swede killer" because of his habit to take out the Swedes!!
He won the Gold medal in the Olympics.
The master of the inside out forehand and backhand.
outstanding player who had near perfect footwork
Milos won big tournaments like Indian Wells in 89, Key Biscayne in 87 , Dallas in 87 etc., especially against the Swedes he was so strong , unfortunately he had big injury Problems with his back
Nice tribute! Mecir is one of the most talented players I´ve ever watched and the greatest to emerge from Slovakia so far. I think that up to this day you can find some Mecir influence in most slovakian tennis pros, like Karol Kucera or Martin Klizan. It´s a pity his career was cut short by chronic problems with his spine. He had the potential to win a Slam wearing a blindfold. ;)
You are right ! With Karol Kucera, the influence was obvious ! And it is also the case with his son !!
I loved watching this guy play. The “Big Cat” was the perfect nickname for how well he moved. I always thought he was the tennis equivalent of Fred Couples or Ernie Els (The Big Easy) bc of how fluid and effortless it looked.
Mecir instinctively knew how to "construct" points. He was a big guy (6-3/180+ pounds), but played more strategically. Injuries kept him from winning a major.
@Gumball LastRally. It wasn't injuries that prevented Miloslav Mecir from winning a major singles title, rather it was a lack of a great serve, a better volley and a lack of inner drive to dominate the game. His injuries, unfortunately, kept him from having a longer pro tennis career. He had his chances to win a major singles title, for example against Lendl in the 1986 U.S. Open final and 1989 Australian Open final and against Edberg in the 1988 Wimbledon semifinals when Mecir lead that match two sets-to-love.
Incredible tennis player, the most beautiful to see playing with Mc Enroe. Perhaps the most talented who didn't manage to win a grand slam as his talent would have deserve it. As he was asking by a journalist "where did you find this tricky shots able to put your opponnent at 5 meters from the ball in one shot ? he answered "What is important in Tennis his to give a shot where your opponent is not hahahahahahahaha
I totally agree with you. He was one of my favorite to watch of all time. Mecir, Nalbandian, and Rios I would think are the top contenders for best players to not win a Slam...as they were better than a couple of players who did win a Slam.
He was also asked during a post-match interview (US Open 1986) how fast he could run a 100 meters. He answered he didn't know, cause he had never run that far….
@@didfanful 😂😂😂 Slovakian humour 😝
@@Tristan.Suba.44 Sure ! He was such a likeable and rare kind of player.
Forever love for Miloslav from the wonderful two-hunded backhand
So Classy and smooth. I remember that wimbledon 1/4 final against wilander .stunning performance.a revelation for me in a time of long boring rallies. He Did the same in the first two sets of the following semi against edberg . But the swede finally made it to the final.
I remember that match Mecir (‘The Big Cat’ as he was know) had Edberg frustrated, angry and perplexed until he got off the boil and Edberg won. Effortless player, but also a confidence player. Some times his game would fall apart (serving underarm). Still, he was an talented player who had the game to win a slam. Only modern player similar is Andy Murray (both all court players)
@@seanwilliams1538 Yes, but unlike Murray, Mecir wasn't an over-opinionated, whining, moaning sod.
la classe internationale le miloslav
Two of them were just amazing and my godfathers! 🙏🎾
No one could read the direction of his shots. Unfortunately, the health problems with his back prevented him to become the best.
Also known as the "Swede Killer". I remember watching him play in a match, and the commentators claimed that he scheduled tournaments where there was good fishing and it drove his decisions about which tournaments to play.
The Artist
It’s not so much about Mecir’s back hand or fore hand. It is more about his “before” hand - an ability to anticipate where his opponent was likely to be - or lure him exactly where he preferred him to be before hand - and then befuddle him 🙂 He was too good to merely compete to win which is all about a mundane killer’s instinct. He was gifted with something far superior - a creator’s instinct and would rather conjure up magic where tennis was the eternal winner no matter who won a mere match on a given day. 3:02
Mecir, Rios and Nalbandian Reached a slam final, but did not win. ( Rios lost to a drug cheat though) Great talents in their decade. Thanks for the video.
in someway like Lendl ... look the way he stand his back. allways right ... legs are running arms are working ... the back stand allaways in some equilibrium ... then arms are allways ... free .
A lesson for a lot of players.
sorry ... i mean ... in my opinion this way to be, to play give ... the timing.
then the precision ....
and victories :)
smooth...smooth......
Genius.
sorry !
some people were asking about " prefered palyers" Borg Mcenroe Sampas Federer ....
... never without Mrislav ^^^^
7.10 min. - nehraje to Sagvan Tofi ?
Slovensko dalo svetu niekoľko výnimočných športovcov - M.Mečíř , Peter Sagan , Peter Šťastný .
marvelous mecir the great champion as a cat feelings not a bourrin
It could be assumed that he inspired Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Sebastian Korda
The cat.
H2H he was 1-5 against Lendl. He should have won more.... had the game to do it. Not sure why.
The Cat
Wonderful backhand, would have had a better career overall if Miroslav could have added another weapon (serve)… his matches against Ivan were always electric (SLK-CZE)…
That’s really cool to watch Mecir winning so many points against Lendl but, unfortunately, that doesn’t reflect the reality : Lendl was Mecir’s pet peeve...
Amazing talent and an amazing athlete considering he didn’t like to train or practise. Spent most of the day fishing I believe. Natural fitness or foresight?
simply a genius: with a better service (his was hampered by bakcache) he could win any of the Gran Slam
L.S.G. Luca Stefano Ghedini MILOSLAV MECIR IS THE GREATEST PLAYER I HAVE EVER SEEN PLAY THE GAME!!!!!!!! It's mindblowing that he didnt win a multiple of slams!!!!!!! He is MINDBLOWING to watch!!!!! I have never seen a player that took my breath away like he did!!!..... He had it all!!!! Power, finesse, footwork.. You name it.... If it is one mysterious player in tennis, HE IS THAT GUY!!!!!! I actually get speechless when I hear the name " MECIR " !!!,.... In my opinion he is the G.O.A.T !!!!! We will never see such a MAGESTIC FORCE OF NATURE LIKE HIM AGAIN!!!!!!!! MINDBLOWING..,.!! SIMPLY MINDBLOWING!!!!!!!
he can be considered the "Michael Nechem'evič Tal" of tennis
This is just my opinion but he serves like a right handed McEnroe and that style tortures your back. I've tried it for a while but all that twisting motion on your back will kill you. You are literally facing sideways to the court and twist towards the court as you serve, repeat that over and over and you'll definitely feel it in the morning. If Mercer had a more conventional serve style, that would probably ease his "backaches".
@@gforcekaras McEnroe states that he began serving that way after he hurt his back and that his service motion reduces back pain. If you are experiencing back pain trying to imitate McEnroe, then your service motion differs from his.
Comparé au tennis actuel, on a l'impression que Lendl et Mecir font un entraînement… Je ne me souvenais pas d'une telle différence de puissance entre le tennis des années 80 et l'actuel.
Crack total
Lendl won that match.
He was, actually, Mecir’s pet peeve...
who’s here after Serena just compared Sloane to mecir
Nobody.
Gorgeous player, fantastic geometry and trajectories, but what a poor serve
Also known as "swede killer"😂😇
A
How does a guy, over 6’, with tree-trunk-thighs , not have a better first serve?...All the more reason to be awed by Il Gattone.
He had a weak back, and he knew it ! He had to be careful on the serve gesture.
@@ambidextrousspin2271 What's interesting is that Kucera (whom he coached) had a similar service motion -- though Kucera could hit the ball harder.
@@fselrahc I completely agree with you ! Have you seen Miloslav's son playing ?
If I try to hit winners all the time, I can make you a good video too.
Probably right. But will you won as many matches ? :)
@@ambidextrousspin2271 No. But I am no professional player, who is practicing two hours a day.
It is difficult to get more than 50 percent at the lines and on the lines over a period of two sets.
But trying is fun and by far less exhausting than working the points.