Slobodan Živojinović
Živojinović at Wimbledon in the mid 1980s. | |
| Country (sports) | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Born | 23 July 1963 Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Turned pro | 1981 |
| Retired | 1992 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US $1,450,654 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 151–139 (52.07%) |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 19 (26 October 1987) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1985) |
| French Open | 3R (1988) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1986) |
| US Open | 3R (1987) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 152–102 (59.84%) |
| Career titles | 8 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (8 September 1986) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1985) |
| French Open | 1R (1985, 1989, 1991) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1987) |
| US Open | W (1986) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | 36–26 (Sin. 24–15, Dbs. 12–11) |
Slobodan "Boba"[1][2][3][4] Živojinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Живојиновић, pronounced [slɔbɔ̌dan ʒiʋɔjǐːnɔʋit͡ɕ]; born 23 July 1963) is a Serbian former professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia.
Together with Nenad Zimonjić, he is the only tennis player from Serbia to be the world No. 1 in doubles. As a singles player, he reached the semifinals of the 1985 Australian Open and the 1986 Wimbledon Championships, achieving a career-high ranking of world No. 19 in October 1987.
Tennis career
Živojinović represented SFR Yugoslavia as the number 15 seed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, where he was defeated in the second round by France's Guy Forget.
The right-hander won two career singles titles (Houston, 1986 and Sydney, 1988), as well as eight doubles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP ranking on 26 October 1987, when he became world No. 19. Živojinović was known for his tall, wiry frame that made him the original big-boom server before Goran Ivanisevic.[5] He built his game on his big serve, enhanced greatly by his height and his muscular thighs. He was an exciting player to watch and a very troubling one to play against. His ace total in a match often became difficult to overcome, with the result that no one looked forward to playing against him.[4]
Živojinović's most notable Grand Slam results were two semifinals. As an unseeded player at the 1985 Australian Open, he memorably beat John McEnroe in a five-set quarterfinal to reach the semifinals (where he lost in straight sets to Mats Wilander). The next year, at the 1986 Wimbledon semifinal, again as an unseeded player, he lost to Ivan Lendl in a five-set match.
Over the course of his career, Živojinović amassed an overall singles record of 152 wins and 139 defeats. He was much more successful in doubles competition, winning the US Open in 1986 with Andrés Gómez. The same year, he won three more tournaments. He was ranked as the world No. 1 doubles player on 8 September 1986.
Career finals
Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
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| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Mar 1985 | Nancy, France | Carpet (i) | Tim Wilkison | 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 7–9 |
| Win | 1–1 | Nov 1986 | Houston, United States | Carpet (i) | Scott Davis | 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–2 | May 1988 | Forest Hills, United States | Clay | Andre Agassi | 5–7, 6–7(2–7), 5–7 |
| Win | 2–2 | Oct 1988 | Sydney, Australia | Hard (i) | Richard Matuszewski | 7–6(10–8), 6–3, 6–4 |
Doubles: 14 (8 titles, 6 runner-ups)
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| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1985 | Boston, United States | Hard | Libor Pimek | Peter McNamara Paul McNamee |
2–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Nov 1985 | Wembley, UK | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker | Guy Forget Anders Järryd |
5–7, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Win | 2–1 | Mar 1986 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker | John Fitzgerald Tomáš Šmíd |
7–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 3–1 | Mar 1986 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Stefan Edberg | Wojciech Fibak Matt Mitchell |
2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3–2 | May 1986 | Forest Hills, US | Clay | Boris Becker | Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez |
6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Aug 1986 | Toronto, Canada | Hard | Boris Becker | Chip Hooper Mike Leach |
7–6, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 4–3 | Aug 1986 | US Open, New York | Hard | Andrés Gómez | Joakim Nyström Mats Wilander |
4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–4 | Oct 1986 | Vienna, Austria | Carpet (i) | Brad Gilbert | Ricardo Acioly Wojciech Fibak |
walkover |
| Loss | 4–5 | Nov 1986 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard | Pat Cash | Sherwood Stewart Kim Warwick |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5–5 | Mar 1987 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker | Chip Hooper Michael Leach |
7–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 6–5 | Mar 1987 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | Boris Becker | Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez |
3–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 7–5 | Oct 1988 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | Andrés Gómez | Boris Becker Eric Jelen |
7–5, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Loss | 7–6 | Oct 1989 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | Andrés Gómez | Kevin Curren David Pate |
6–4, 3–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8–6 | Feb 1990 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet (i) | Emilio Sánchez | Goran Ivanišević Balázs Taróczy |
7–5, 6–3 |
Team competitions: 1 (1 title)
| Result | Date | Team competition | Surface | Partner/Team | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | May 1990 | World Team Cup, Düsseldorf, Germany | Clay | Goran Ivanišević Goran Prpić |
Jim Courier Brad Gilbert Ken Flach Robert Seguso |
2–1 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | SF | NH | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | Q2 | 0 / 6 |
| French Open | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 8 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 2R | SF | QF | 4R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 7 |
| US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 5 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 26 |
Personal life
In the early-to-mid 1980s, active professional tennis player Živojinović became engaged to Zorica Desnica.[6] The couple had a son, Filip, in 1985.[6] They split up during the late 1980s.
In October 1989, Živojinović began dating the Yugoslav folk superstar Lepa Brena, having reportedly met her at the premiere of her star vehicle movie Hajde da se volimo 2.[7] Their 7 December 1991 wedding—a lavish ceremony at Belgrade's InterContinental Hotel with tennis player Ion Țiriac as the groom's best man—was a media event throughout Yugoslavia.[8][9] The level of attention it generated in the country was such that Brena's manager Raka Đokić subsequently released a VHS tape of the wedding for commercial exploitation.[10]
The couple's child, son Stefan Emerald Živojinović, was born in May 1992 in New York City.[11] Their second son, Viktor Ernest Živojinović, was born in March 1998 in Miami.[11] On 23 November 2000, eight-year-old Stefan was kidnapped by the Zemun Clan in front of the family's home in Belgrade. He was released five days later and left on the side of a highway after his family paid a ransom reported to be more than DM 2 million.[12]
References
- ^ "'BOBO' LOSES NAME GAME, Won't FACE 'BOOM, BOOM' » Mitch Albom". 21 November 2008.
- ^ "Have a special feeling for India: Slobodan". telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "Davis Cup: Wider and wiser, 'Bobo' returns to India after 26 years". The Indian Express. 11 September 2014.
- ^ a b Allen, JA. "Pete Sampras and the Top 25 Servers in the History of Men's Tennis". Bleacher Report.
- ^ Naik, Shivani (2014-09-11). "Davis Cup: Wider and wiser, 'Bobo' returns to India after 26 years". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2022-07-30.
- ^ a b Vuković, Teodora (29 August 2021). "Buran kraj ljubavi i skladan prijateljski odnos: U ovome su uspeli samo Boba Živojinović i Zorica Nakić". Story.rs. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Kako su se upoznali Brena i Boba?". Espreso.co.rs. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Raskoš i glamur koji još uvek niko nije dostigao: Kako je Lepa Brena izgledala u venčanici dizajniranoj samo za nju?". Espreso.co.rs. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Milošević, Đorđe (25 June 2025). "Oni su bili nepoželjni na svadbi Bobe i Brene: Zvali 600 ljudi, prekinuli Dnevnik, ali za njih nisu hteli da čuju". Mondo.rs. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ Svadba decenije, novosti.rs. Accessed 5 February 2024.
- ^ a b Jovanović, Viktorija (20 July 2024). ""Naša prava imena su čudna": Stefan Živojinović otkrio kako se u stvari zovu on i Viktor i zašto je Lepa Brena tako odlučila". Nova.rs. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ "Stefan predat na niškom autoputu", Glas-javnosti.rs, 1 December 2000.