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Alex Molčan

Molčan at the 2022 French Open
Country (sports)	Slovakia
Residence	Prešov, Slovakia
Born	(1997-12-01) 1 December 1997 (age 27) Prešov, Slovakia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	2015
Plays	Left-handed
Coach	Karol Beck Marián Vajda (2022–2023)
Prize money	US$ 2,177,568
Singles
Career record	50–44
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 38 (23 May 2022)
Current ranking	No. 462 (18 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (2022, 2023)
French Open	2R (2022, 2023)
Wimbledon	3R (2022)
US Open	3R (2021)
Doubles
Career record	3–9
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 268 (14 June 2021)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2023)
US Open	1R (2022)
Last updated on: 30 November 2024.

Alex Molčan (born 1 December 1997) is a Slovak professional tennis player. Molčan has a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 38 achieved on 23 May 2022. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 268 achieved on 14 June 2021. He is currently the No. 7 Slovak tennis player.

Molčan has reached three ATP 250 finals at the 2021 Belgrade Open, in Morocco in 2022 and at the 2022 ATP Lyon Open. He also reached eleven singles ITF finals, with a record of 6 wins and 5 losses which includes a 2–2 result in ATP Challenger finals. Additionally, he has reached five career doubles ITF finals, with a record of 2 wins and 3 losses, including a 1–3 result in ATP Challenger finals.

Professional career

2021: First ATP final, Major debut & third round, Slovak No. 1, top 100

Ranked No. 313 at the beginning of the year in January, Molčan made his ATP debut at the 2021 Antalya Open in Turkey, where he defeated Andrey Golubev and Blaž Kavčič to qualify for the main draw. Molčan then lost in the first round to France's Hugo Grenier in straight sets. In February he won the doubles title at the 2021 Challenger La Manche with compatriot Lukáš Klein.

In March, he advanced through the qualifying rounds of Open 13 in Marseille, France, defeating Antoine Hoang and Ernests Gulbis to reach his second main draw appearance. He was defeated in the first round by Lucas Pouille.

In May, ranked world No. 255 at the 2021 Belgrade Open, after qualifying yet again, Molčan reached the final of an ATP tournament for the first time in his career by defeating two Serbian wildcard players Hamad Međedović and Peđa Krstin, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and clay specialist Argentinian Federico Delbonis which propelled him 74 spots up into the top 200 at World No. 181 in the rankings on 31 May 2021. In the final, he lost in straight sets to the top seed and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

He entered the top 150 on 19 July 2021 after reaching the final of the 2021 Moneta Czech Open Challenger in Prostějov, and the round of 16 as a qualifier at the 2021 Hamburg European Open defeating Gianluca Mager. In August, he won his first Challenger title at the 2021 Svijany Open in Liberec defeating Tomáš Macháč in 58 minutes where he lost just 18 games to win the title. As a result, he hit a new career-high of No. 136 on 9 August 2021.

He made his Grand Slam debut the 2021 US Open after qualifying to the main draw. He overcame fellow qualifier and also making his debut Cem İlkel and Brandon Nakashima in five sets to reach the second and third round respectively for the first time in his career. In the third round, he was defeated by the eleventh seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets. As a result, he hit a new career-high of No. 117 on 13 September 2021. He became the No. 1 Slovak player on 8 November 2021 when he reached a career-high of No. 106 in the singles rankings following a semifinal at the Challenger in Bergamo. In November, he won the title at the 2021 Tali Open Challenger in Helsinki thus breaking into the top 100 at world No. 87 in the ATP year-end rankings on 22 November 2021.

2022: Top 40, two ATP 250 finals & 500 semifinal, Wimbledon third round

He reached a career-high ranking in the top 75 at World No. 74 on 10 January 2022.

On his debut at the 2022 Australian Open he recorded his first win at this Major defeating lucky loser Roman Safiullin in the first round.

In Marrakesh, Molčan recorded his first Top 10 win after defeating the top seed Félix Auger-Aliassime. He then advanced to his second career ATP final by defeating Botic van de Zandschulp and Laslo Djere. In the final, Molčan lost to David Goffin in 3 sets. As a result, Molčan's ranking rose 15 places, marking his top 50 debut on 11 April 2022.

Molčan hired fellow Slovak Marián Vajda to join his coaching team in May 2022.

At the 2022 ATP Lyon Open he reached the third tour-level final of his career, and second of the season by defeating former World No. 5 wildcard Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 5th seed Karen Khachanov, Federico Coria and 4th seed Alex de Minaur en route without losing a set. He lost to top seed Cameron Norrie in three sets in the final. As a result, he moved into the top 40 at World No. 38 on 23 May 2022.

He made his debut at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and won his first match at this Major defeating Pedro Martínez. He reached the third round at this Major for the first time defeating Marcos Giron in the second round before losing to Taylor Fritz.

In Hamburg, Molčan reached the quarterfinals as an unseeded player, beating Marko Topo and 4th seed and defending champion Pablo Carreño Busta. He advanced to the biggest semifinal of his career after Borna Ćorić retired during their match with Molčan leading in the second set. He lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

At the US Open he lost in the first round to Thiago Monteiro. In September he won his two matches in the 2022 Davis Cup World Group I against Romania.

2023-2024: Two Masters third rounds, 400 positions rankings drop

Molčan started his 2023 season at the Maharashtra Open in Pune. Seeded fifth, he lost in the first round to Laslo Đere. At the ASB Classic in Auckland, he was defeated in the first round by Quentin Halys. At the Australian Open, he earned his first win of the year by beating 2014 champion, Stan Wawrinka, in the first round in a five-set thriller. He lost in the second round to sixth seed and world No. 7, Félix Auger-Aliassime.

After the Australian Open, Molčan represented Slovakia in the Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands. He lost to Tim van Rijthoven. In the end, the Netherlands won the tie over Slovakia 4–0. Seeded seventh at the Argentina Open, he fell in the first round to two-time champion Dominic Thiem. Seeded ninth at the Rio Open, he lost in the second round to Hugo Dellien. In Acapulco, he retired during his first-round match against Matteo Berrettini due to injury. In March, he competed at the BNP Paribas Open. Making his debut at this tournament, he defeated Albert Ramos Viñolas and upset 18th seed and world No. 20, Borna Ćorić, in the second round to reach the third round of a Masters for the first time in his career. He was defeated in the third round by Márton Fucsovics. At the following tournament, the 2023 Miami Open, he reached in two weeks back-to-back third rounds of a Masters 1000, defeating Jordan Thompson and upset 28th seed Yoshihito Nishioka. He withdrew from his third round match against world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev due to a right hip injury. At the Banja Luka Open he defeated Taro Daniel, Alexei Popyrin and Laslo Djere to reach the semifinals, where he was defeated by Andrey Rublev.

At the US Open he lost to Grigor Dimitrov, after leading two sets to love, in five sets with three tiebreaks, in a match lasting close to 4 hours and 40 minutes, the longest of the day.

As a part of Slovak Davis Cup team, Molčan helped to defeat Greece. He won both his singles matches, including a win against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

After an up and down 2023 season, Molčan and Marián Vajda ended their coaching partnership in September. He finished the 2023 season outside of the top 100, ranked No. 119.

He further fell out of the top 150 at world No. 162 on 1 April 2024 and out of the top 400 on 21 October 2024.

ATP career finals

Singles: 3 (3 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	May 2021	Belgrade Open, Serbia	250 Series	Clay	Novak Djokovic	4–6, 3–6
Loss	0–2	Apr 2022	Grand Prix Hassan II, Morocco	250 Series	Clay	David Goffin	6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	0–3	May 2022	Lyon Open, France	250 Series	Clay	Cameron Norrie	3–6, 7–6, 1–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 11 (6–5)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Oct 2015	Turkey F41, Antalya	Futures	Hard	Kirill Dmitriev	2–6, 6–0, 4–6
Win	1–1	Oct 2016	Turkey F41, Antalya	Futures	Hard	Nikola Milojević	6–4, 7–5
Loss	1–2	Mar 2017	Egypt F7, Sharm El Sheikh	Futures	Hard	Karim-Mohamed Maamoun	0–6, 3–6
Loss	1–3	Jul 2017	Czech Republic F5, Pardubice	Futures	Clay	Dennis Novak	6–7, 3–6
Win	2–3	Jul 2018	Slovakia F1, Trnava	Futures	Clay	Tomáš Jiroušek	7–6, 6–3
Win	3–3	Aug 2018	Slovakia F2, Piešťany	Futures	Clay	Ewan Moore	6–3, 6–2
Win	4–3	Aug 2018	Slovakia F3, Bratislava	Futures	Clay	Petr Nouza	6–4, 6–3
Loss	4–4	Sep 2018	Seville, Spain	Challenger	Clay	Kimmer Coppejans	6–7, 1–6
Loss	4–5	Jun 2021	Prostějov, Czech Republic	Challenger	Clay	Federico Coria	6–7, 3–6
Win	5–5	Aug 2021	Liberec, Czech Republic	Challenger	Clay	Tomáš Macháč	6–0, 6–1
Win	6–5	Nov 2021	Helsinki, Finland	Challenger	Hard (i)	João Sousa	6–3, 6–2

Doubles: 5 (2–3)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Feb 2016	Turkey F6, Antalya	Futures	Hard	Lukáš Klein	Vadim Alekseenko Frederico Ferreira Silva	7–6, 7–6
Loss	1–1	Feb 2019	Bratislava, Slovakia	Challenger	Clay	Lukáš Klein	Joran Vliegen Sander Gillé	2–6, 5–7
Loss	1–2	Nov 2020	Bratislava, Slovakia	Challenger	Hard	Lukáš Klein	Harri Heliövaara Emil Ruusuvuori	4–6, 3–6
Win	2–2	Feb 2021	Cherbourg, France	Challenger	Hard	Lukáš Klein	Albano Olivetti Antoine Hoang	1–6, 7–5,
Loss	2–3	Mar 2021	Zadar, Croatia	Challenger	Clay	Lukáš Klein	Blaž Kavčič Blaž Rola	6–2, 3–6,

Performance timelines

Singles

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner–up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Loss	2015	Australian Open	Hard	Hubert Hurkacz	Jake Delaney Marc Polmans	6–0, 2–6,

Record against other players

Record against top 10 players

Molčan's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who are active in boldface. Only ATP Tour main draw and Davis Cup matches are considered:

Player	Record	Win %	Hard	Clay	Grass	Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Carlos Alcaraz	0–1	0%	–	0–1	–	Lost (6–7, 1–6) at 2022 Hamburg
Novak Djokovic	0–2	0%	–	0–2	–	Lost (2–6, 3–6, 6–7) at 2022 French Open
Number 2 ranked players
Casper Ruud	0–2	0%	0–1	0–1	–	Lost (6–7, 3–6) at 2022 Canadian Open
Alexander Zverev	0–3	0%	–	0–3	–	Lost (0–6, 3–6) at 2023 Hamburg
Number 3 ranked players
Stefanos Tsitsipas	1–0	100%	1–0	–	–	Won (7–6, 4–6, 6–3) at 2023 Davis Cup
Stan Wawrinka	1–0	100%	1–0	–	–	Won (6–7, 6–3, 1–6, 7–6, 6–4) at 2023 Australian Open
Grigor Dimitrov	0–1	0%	0–1	–	–	Lost (7–6, 7–6, 1–6, 5–7, 6–7) at 2023 US Open
Dominic Thiem	0–1	0%	–	0–1	–	Lost (6–7, 3–6) at 2023 Buenos Aires
Number 5 ranked players
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	1–0	100%	–	1–0	–	Won (6–4, 6–4) at 2022 Lyon
Taylor Fritz	0–1	0%	–	–	0–1	Lost (4–6, 1–6, 6–7) at 2022 Wimbledon
Andrey Rublev	0–2	0%	–	0–2	–	Lost (3–6, 4–6) at 2023 Rome
Number 6 ranked players
Alex de Minaur	1–0	100%	–	1–0	–	Won (7–6, 6–2) at 2022 Lyon
Félix Auger-Aliassime	1–1	50%	0–1	1–0	–	Lost (6–3, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 2–6) at 2023 Australian Open
Matteo Berrettini	0–1	0%	0–1	–	–	Lost (0–6, 0–1) at 2023 Acapulco
Hubert Hurkacz	0–1	0%	0–1	–	–	Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2022 Dubai
Number 7 ranked players
Fernando Verdasco	1–0	100%	–	1–0	–	Won (6–2, 6–0) at 2021 Belgrade 2
David Goffin	1–1	50%	1–0	0–1	–	Lost (6–3, 3–6, 3–6) at 2022 Marrakech
Richard Gasquet	0–1	0%	0–1	–	–	Lost (3–6, 1–6) at 2022 Paris Masters
Number 8 ranked players
Karen Khachanov	1–0	100%	–	1–0	–	Won (6–2, 7–6) at 2022 Lyon
Cameron Norrie	0–1	0%	–	0–1	–	Lost (3–6, 7–6, 1–6) at 2022 Lyon
Diego Schwartzman	0–2	0%	0–2	–	–	Lost (7–5, 4–6, 2–6) at 2022 Cincinnati
Number 10 ranked players
Pablo Carreño Busta	1–0	100%	–	1–0	–	Won (6–3, 1–6, 7–6) at 2022 Hamburg
Lucas Pouille	0–1	0%	0–1	–	–	Lost (5–7, 3–6) at 2021 Marseilles
Denis Shapovalov	0–1	0%	0–1	–	–	Lost (4–6, 0–6) at 2022 Doha
Total	9–23	28.13%	3–10 (23.08%)	6–12 (33.33%)	0–1 (0%)	* Statistics correct as of 7 November 2024.

Wins over 10 players

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	AMR
2022
1.	Félix Auger-Aliassime	9	Marrakech, Morocco	Clay	2R	6–4, 2–6, 7–6	65
2023
2.	Stefanos Tsitsipas	5	Davis Cup, Athens, Greece	Hard	G4	7–6, 4–6, 6–3	113

References

1. "Rankings | Singles". ATP Tour.
2. "Molčan sa premiérovo predstavil ,na turnaji ATP, neuhral však ani set". SME (in Slovak). 8 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
3. "Novak Djokovic Returns to Belgrade Final with Martin Victory". ATP Tour.
4. "Djokovic Wins 83rd Career Title In Belgrade". ATP Tour. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
5. "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Alex Molcan Destroys the Field in Liberec". 9 August 2021.
6. "Molcan's Maiden Moment in Liberec". 8 August 2021.
7. "US Open: Meet the 16 Men's Singles Qualifiers".
8. "Carlos Alcaraz Sets Up Tsitsipas Showdown | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
9. "Qualifiers Make Huge Impact at the 2021 US Open". 2 September 2021.
10. Waldstein, David (3 September 2021). "The U.S. Open is Alex Molcan's Proving Ground". The New York Times.
11. "Schwartzman Surges Into US Open Fourth Round". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
12. "Po trofeji z Helsínk ďalšia odmena. Molčan je prvýkrát v elitnej svetovej stovke". Pravda (in Slovak). 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
13. "Challenger Tour Weekly Recap: Molcan and Baez Break the Top 100". 22 November 2021.
14. "Molčan sa v premiére prebojoval do 2. kola. Aj vďaka krásnemu gestu Rusa". Pravda (in Slovak). 18 January 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
15. "Odvrátil dva mečbaly. Molčan má cenný skalp hráča z Top 10". Pravda (in Slovak). 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
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19. "Sweet Revenge: Goffin Rallies Past Molcan For Marrakech Title". ATP Tour. 10 April 2022.
20. "Kyrgios Continues Resurgence, Mover Of Week". atpworldtour.com. ATP. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
21. "Marian Vajda to coach Alex Molcan". 2 May 2022.
22. "Tennis: Vajda returns to coaching". 3 May 2022.
23. "Marian Vajda, former coach of Novak Djokovic, now working with Alex Molcan".
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32. "Catching up With...Alex Molcan, who sees an opening with Djokovic's former coach".
33. "Krajinovic Fends Off Home Favourite Nagal In Pune Battle". ATP Tour. 2 January 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
34. "Barrere Survives Isner Serving Storm, Cyclone Hale In Auckland". ATP Tour. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
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38. Roberts, Matt (5 February 2023). "DOMINANT DUTCH SEE OFF SLOVAKIA TO ADVANCE TO THE FINALS". www.daviscup.com. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
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40. "Norrie Edges Brazilian No. 1 Monteiro In Wild Rio Nightcap". ATP Tour. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
41. "BERRETTINI BROTHERS MAKE A FINE DEBUT". abiertomexicanodetenis.com. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
42. "No. 4 Taylor Fritz earns narrow victory at Indian Wells". sportsnaut.com. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
43. "Stan Wawrinka upsets No. 7 Holger Rune in Indian Wells". sportsnaut.com. 13 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
44. @TennisONEApp (26 March 2023). "Alex Molcan has withdrawn from the tournament due to right hip injury" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
45. "Tennis, ATP – Banja Luka Open 2023: Molcan gets past Popyrin". Tennis Majors. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
46. Chris Oddo (29 August 2023). "By the numbers: Facts and figures from Round 1 at the 2023 US Open". usopen.org. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
47. "US Open: Dimitrov executes stunning comeback against Molcan". 29 August 2023.
48. "Molcan squanders two-set lead to lose epic encounter to Dimitrov". 29 August 2023.
49. "3 things that stood out in Alex Molcan's win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Davis Cup". 18 September 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
50. "Skvelý Molčan zdolal svetovú päťku. Pre Slovensko získal rozhodujúci bod". Pravda (in Slovak). 17 September 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
51. "Molčan ukončil spoluprácu s Vajdom. Vynikajúci človek, veľká osobnosť, povedal".

External links

• Alex Molčan at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Alex Molčan at the International Tennis Federation

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals Top Slovak male singles tennis players
As of Dec 15, 2024
1. Jozef Kovalik (127 ) 2. Lukas Klein (136 ) 3. Martin Klizan (291 15) 4. Milos Karol (422 ) 5. Andrej Martin (425 1)
6. Norbert Gombos (431 2) 7. Alex Molcan (469 1) 8. Lukas Pokorny (509 20) 9. Peter Benjamin Privara (804 ) 10. Michal Krajci (1,120 1)

• 1997 births
• Living people
• Slovak male tennis players
• Sportspeople from Prešov