Željko Franulović
Franulović at the 1975 Dutch Open in Hilversum in July 1975.
Country (sports) Yugoslavia
ResidenceSplit, Croatia
Born (1947-06-13) 13 June 1947
Korčula, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Turned pro1969 (ILTF World Circuit from 1963)
Retired1980
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record543–401 (57.5%)[1]
Career titles23[1]
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1 March 1971)
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenF (1970)
Wimbledon3R (1970)
US Open3R (1975, 1976, 1977)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1970, 1971)
Doubles
Career record190–203
Career titles7
Highest rankingNo. 312 (3 January 1983)

Željko Franulović (Croatian pronunciation: [ʒêːʎko franǔːloʋitɕ];[2][3] born 13 June 1947) is a Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005.[4]

Whilst his career-high ATP singles ranking was world No. 30, the ATP rankings were installed after his 1969–1971 heyday – Franulović was ranked inside the top 20 in both 1970 and 1971, reaching as high as world No. 8 in March 1971. Finalist of the 1970 French Open and winner in Monte Carlo the same year. His singles career lasted 20 years from 1963 to 1983 in which he won 23 career titles.[1]

Biography

Franulović was born on the island of Korčula to father Ivo and mother Katica, but at the age of one month got brought to Split where he grew up.[5] His playing career lasted for 20 years between 1963 and 1983, during which he won a total of twenty three singles titles, as well as seven doubles titles. He played his first singles tournament at the 1963 Yugoslavian International Championships.[1] In 1967 he won his first title at the same event.[1]

He is remembered for reaching the French Open final in 1970, which he lost to Czech Jan Kodeš in straight sets.[6] He reached the semifinals the following year. He also won the Monte-Carlo Masters in 1970. He won his final singles title in 1982 at the San Benedetto Open in Italy.[1] He played his final tournament at the ATP Essen Challenger event in 1983.[1]

Since retiring from playing tennis, Franulović became involved in the ATP since the 1990s.[7] He was the coach of the Croatian Davis Cup Team from 1994 to 1997.[7] He was the Tournament Representative for Europe on the Association of Tennis Professionals' Board of Directors, between 2007 and 2009.[8]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1970French OpenClayCzechoslovakia Jan Kodeš2–6, 4–6, 0–6

Grand Prix Super Series finals

Singles: 3 (3 titles)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win1970Monte CarloClaySpain Manuel Orantes6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Win1970Buenos AiresClaySpain Manuel Orantes6–4, 6–2, 6–0
Win1971Buenos Aires (2)ClayRomania Ilie Năstase6–3, 7–6, 6–1

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament196619671968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983 SR
Australian Open A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0
French Open 1R 1R 4R QF F SF 1R 2R 3R 3R A 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R A 1R 0 / 16
Wimbledon Q1 1R A 2R 3R 2R A A A A 2R A A A A A A A 0 / 5
US Open A A 1R 1R A 2R A A A 3R 3R 3R A A A A A A 0 / 6
Strike rate 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 27

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

Orders

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Players: Franulović, Željko". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "žèljeti". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2018-03-17. Žȇljko
  3. ↑ "Fránjo". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2018-03-17. Franúlović
  4. ↑ Zeljko Franulovic Announces Record Attendance
  5. ↑ Marković, Rodoljub (May 1969). "Željko Franulović - Prvi reket domaćeg tenisa". Tempo. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Tennis photographic encyclopedia, tennis player, Australian open, French open, Wimbledon, us open, tennis championships & hero images by sporting-heroes.net".
  7. 1 2 "Željko Franulović". Tennis Club Split. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  8. ↑ "USTA urges ATP to relocate event". Sports Business Daily. 2009-12-07. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  9. ↑ Remise de décorations dans les ordres de Saint-Charles et des Grimaldi par S.A.S le Prince Albert II
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