2002 IN REVIEW
The Czech doubles specialist increased his win total and ranking for the third consecutive year…Reached final in first tournament of year in Chennai with Fukarek but lost to Bhupathi-Paes in final…Advanced to 3rd RD at Australian Open before losing to Boutter-Clement…Reached first TMS SF in Rome (w/Stepanek)…Advanced to first Grand Slam SF at Roland Garros (w/Paes) including wins over Black-Ullyett and the Bryan brothers before straight sets loss to Knowles-Nestor…Reached SF in 's-Hertogenbosch and Gstaad (w/Friedl)…Earned career-best $128,134 while finishing a career-high No. 29 in doubles.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
1994-Plays first Challenger doubles match with Jan Talian in Prostejov, but loses in straight sets…1995-Picked up four points in singles at Czech-Moravian Satellite…1996-Accumulated 30 ATP points at Czech-Moravian Satellite in doubles…1997-Earns 22 ATP points at Greece #1 Satellite in doubles…In singles, gained 11 points at Czech-Moravian Satellite…1998-Has breakthough year in doubles…Wins Challenger doubles titles in Alpirsbach (w/Friedl) and Eckental (w/Sluiter)…Reaches three Challenger and two Futures finals in doubles…In singles, best result comes from QF appearance at Poland F1…1999-Plays doubles only for first time…Wins first ATP match at Casablanca (w/Kitinov) before losing in 2nd RD…Teamed with Pala to reach QF in Bastad…Reached final at Nice (w/Friedl) and Prague (w/Pala) Challengers...2000-Won 10 doubles matches and first title while playing entire year with Friedl…Won first title in San Marino by defeating Etlis-Waite in final…Reached SF in Palermo, Shanghai and St. Petersburg…Won Challenger titles in Hamburg, Cagliari, Maia and Graz. 2001-Won all 17 matches with Friedl, including SF at Dubai and Umag…Reached QF at Roland Garros before losing to Bhupathi-Paes.
PERSONAL
Began playing tennis at age seven...Nickname is "Ciba"...Father, Jindrich, is retired; Mother, Anna, is a secretary...Has one older sister, Radka, who is a teacher...Speaks four languages (Czech, English, German, Polish)... Hobbies include ice hockey, soccer and going to the cinema...Players he admired growing up were Stefan Edberg and Miloslav Mecir...Favorite surface is clay and considers volley his best shot...His biggest career moment came at Roland Garros in 2002 when he advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal...His goal is to rank in Top 10 in doubles.
