Andrei Pavel

Andrei Pavel
Pavel at the 2012 BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy
Country (sports) Romania
Born (1974-01-27) 27 January 1974
Constanța, SR Romania
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Turned pro1995
Retired23 September 2009
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$5,225,028
Singles
Career record277–266
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 13 (25 October 2004)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (1999, 2004)
French OpenQF (2002)
Wimbledon3R (2000, 2002)
US Open4R (2000, 2004)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004)
Doubles
Career record142–136
Career titles6
Highest rankingNo. 18 (30 April 2007)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2005)
French OpenSF (2006)
Wimbledon3R (2004, 2007, 2009)
US Open2R (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1996, 2000, 2004)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon2R (2009)
US Open1R (2009)
Last updated on: 18 April 2025.

Andrei Pavel (born 27 January 1974) is a Romanian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 and won three titles, including the 2001 Canada Masters. He also reached a career-high in doubles of No. 18 and won six doubles titles.

Early life

Pavel began playing tennis at the age of eight and moved to Germany at sixteen in 1990.[1]

Career

In 2001, he won the biggest title of his career, the 2001 Canada Masters in Montreal, defeating Patrick Rafter in the final.

In 2002, while he was about to play a quarterfinal at Roland Garros, he jumped into a car and made an express round-trip to Germany to attend the birth of his son. It equalled to 1000 miles in 24 hоurs, in the pouring rain with... Àlex Corretja waiting for his return on the Central. "It's a bit odd that these two events overlapped, said the Romanian. But no matter the sporting challenge: I would not have missed the birth of Marius for the world. The whole story with the rain was a godsend for the press, but for me, it didn’t really made a difference: I would have gone no matter what."[2]

In 2006, Pavel played what John McEnroe considers to be the best first round match at a Grand Slam he has ever seen at the US Open in August 2006, where he lost to Andre Agassi in four sets; 6–7(4), 7–6(8), 7–6(6), 6–2; taking three and half hours. Had Pavel won, it would have been Agassi's last match in a professional tournament.[3]

In 2009, he played his last singles match in his homeland tournament in Bucharest against Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.[4] At the same tournament, he also played two more exhibition matches, one facing Goran Ivanišević, while in the other he paired up with Ilie Năstase against Mansour Bahrami and Yannick Noah.[5]

He attended the Olympic Games five times, and played for 20 years on the Romania Davis Cup team. He became the captain of the team in 2009.[6]

After retirement

After retiring from professional tennis in 2009, Pavel moved into coaching and worked with several ATP and WTA players as well as Romanian prospects. Some notable players he has coached include Benjamin Becker, a former ATP Top 40 player; Marius Copil, whom he coached during part of Copil’s rise into the Top 100; and Horia Tecău, the Romanian doubles specialist and Grand Slam champion.

On the WTA Tour, Pavel worked with several prominent players, including former world No. 1 Simona Halep, joining her coaching team in 2017 alongside Darren Cahill. Earlier in his coaching career he also coached former world No. 1 Jelena Janković and collaborated with Tamira Paszek on the WTA Tour. In addition, he worked with Romanian WTA players such as Sorana Cîrstea and Monica Niculescu during parts of their careers.

He is currently coaching Nicholas David Ionel, Ștefan Paloși and Sebastian Gima.[7]

Personal life

Pavel was married to a German woman, Simone, from 1994 to 2014, and they have two children: a daughter, Caroline, and a son, Marius.[8]

In 2010, after spending 20 years in Germany, he relocated to Arizona, United States, where he co-founded the Pavel Blackwood Tennis Academy. Since 2018, he has been in a relationship with Adriana Vărbanciu, and in April 2023, they welcomed their daughter, Andreea.[9] He currently resides in Bucharest, Romania.

Career finals

Singles (3 wins, 6 losses)

Legend (singles)
Grand Slam (0-0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0-0)
ATP Masters Series (1-1)
ATP International Series Gold (1-0)
ATP Tour (1-5)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. Apr 1998 Tokyo, Japan Hard Byron Black 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1. Apr 1999 Munich, Germany Clay Franco Squillari 4–6, 3–6
Loss 2. Jun 1999 s’Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Patrick Rafter 6–3, 6–7(7–9), 4–6
Win 2. May 2000 St. Pölten, Austria Clay Andrew Ilie 7–5, 3–6, 6–2
Win 3. Jul 2001 Montreal, Canada Hard Patrick Rafter 7–6(7–3), 2–6, 6–3
Loss 3. Oct 2003 Paris, France Carpet Tim Henman 2–6, 6–7(6–8), 6–7(2–7)
Loss 4. Apr 2005 Munich, Germany Clay David Nalbandian 4–6, 1–6
Loss 5. May 2006 Pörtschach, Austria Clay Nikolay Davydenko 0–6, 3–6
Loss 6. Jul 2007 Umag, Croatia Clay Carlos Moyá 4–6, 2–6

Doubles (6 titles, 5 runners-up)

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. Sep 1998 Bucharest, Romania Clay Gabriel Trifu George Cosac
Dinu Pescariu 		7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–4)
Loss 1. Feb 1999 Saint Petersburg, Russia Carpet Menno Oosting Jeff Tarango
Daniel Vacek 		6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Loss 2. Jan 2005 Doha, Qatar Hard Mikhail Youzhny Albert Costa
Rafael Nadal 		3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win 2. Jul 2005 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Leoš Friedl Christophe Rochus
Olivier Rochus 		6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–0
Loss 3. Sep 2005 Bucharest, Romania Clay Victor Hănescu José Acasuso
Sebastián Prieto 		3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win 3. Jan 2006 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Rogier Wassen Simon Aspelin
Todd Perry 		3–6, 7–5, [4–10]
Win 4. May 2006 Munich, Germany Clay Alexander Waske Alexander Peya
Björn Phau 		6–4, 6–2
Win 5. Jul 2006 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Jiří Novák Marco Chiudinelli
Jean-Claude Scherrer 		6–3, 6–1
Loss 4. Feb 2007 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard Alexander Waske Martin Damm
Leander Paes 		3–6, 7–6(7–5), [7–10]
Win 6. Apr 2007 Barcelona, Spain Clay Alexander Waske Rafael Nadal
Bartolomé Salvá Vidal 		6–3, 7–6(7–1)
Loss 5. May 2009 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Horia Tecău Marcelo Melo
André Sá 		7–6(11–9), 2–6, [7–10]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 8 (4–4)

Legend
ATP Challenger (4–4)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–0)
Clay (2–3)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 1995 Scheveningen, Netherlands Challenger Clay Jordi Arrese 3–6, 7–6, 4–6
Win 1–1 Jul 1996 Montauban, France Challenger Clay Stephane Huet 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1–2 May 1997 Ljubljana, Slovenia Challenger Clay Brett Steven 6–7, 2–6
Loss 1–3 Mar 1998 Magdeburg, Germany Challenger Carpet Lars Burgsmuller 3–7, 4–6
Win 2–3 Jul 1999 Venice, Italy Challenger Clay Slava Dosedel 6–2, 6–0
Win 3–3 Nov 2004 Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Challenger Hard Karol Kucera walkover
Win 4–3 Dec 2004 Port Louis, Mauritius Challenger Hard Lee Hyung-taik 6–3, 6–1
Loss 4–4 May 2007 Tunis, Tunisia Challenger Clay Simone Bolelli 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 2–6

Doubles: 9 (5–4)

Legend
ATP Challenger (5–4)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (4–2)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1994 Prague, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Alex Radulescu Eyal Ran
Glenn Wilson 		6–4, 6–2
Win 2–0 Jul 1995 Scheveningen, Netherlands Challenger Clay Eyal Ran Emilio Benfele Álvarez
Pepe Imaz 		6–4, 6–4
Win 3–0 Sep 1995 Prostejov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Glenn Wilson Jeff Belloli
Jack Waite 		7–5, 6–3
Loss 3–1 Jun 1996 Zagreb, Croatia Challenger Clay Clinton Ferreira Donald Johnson
Jack Waite 		6–3, 1–6, 0–6
Loss 3–2 Jul 1996 Montauban, France Challenger Clay Clinton Ferreira Gilles Bastie
Claude N'Goran 		4–6, 6–1, 6–7
Loss 3–3 Nov 1996 Port Louis, Mauritius Challenger Grass Sander Groen Patrick Baur
Joost Winnink 		1–0 ret.
Win 4–3 Sep 1999 Brasov, Romania Challenger Clay Gabriel Trifu Gheorghe Cosac
Dinu-Mihai Pescariu 		6–2, 6–2
Loss 4–4 Nov 2004 Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Challenger Hard Gabriel Trifu Karol Beck
Jaroslav Levinsky 		7–6(7–4), 6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7)
Win 5–4 Dec 2004 Port Louis, Mauritius Challenger Hard Gabriel Trifu Jeff Coetzee
Rik De Voest 		6–3, 6–4

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1992 French Open Clay Mose Navarra 6–1, 3–6, 6–3


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.
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 W ‑ L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A A LQ 1R A 4R A 2R 3R 1R 4R 2R 2R LQ 1R 1R 11–10 52
French Open A A A A A A A 2R A 1R 1R 1R QF A 2R 1R 1R LQ A 1R 6–9 40
Wimbledon A A A A LQ A LQ 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R 3R A 2R 2R 2R 2R A 1R 9–11 45
US Open A A A A LQ A 1R 1R 1R 1R 4R 2R 1R A 4R[a] 1R 1R 2R A 1R 8–11 42
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 2–4 0–2 3–4 5–3 2–4 8–4 0–1 8–3 2–4 2–4 2–2 0–1 0–4 34–41 45
Olympic Games
Singles NH 1R Not held 1R Not held 1R Not held 1R Not held A NH N/A
ATP Masters Series 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A A A A A A A A LQ A 1R 2R 1R 2R 3R 1R LQ A A
Miami Masters A A A A A A A A A 3R 3R 4R QF 2R QF 1R 1R LQ A A
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A A A A A A 2R LQ 2R 3R A 3R A A 1R A A
Rome Masters A A A A A A A A A A 3R 1R 2R A QF 1R A A A A
Madrid Masters(Stuttgart) A A A A A LQ LQ LQ 2R QF QF 2R 1R LQ 3R 1R A 1R A A
Canada Masters A A A A A A A A A A 2R W 2R A 1R 2R A A A A
Cincinnati Masters A A A A A A A A A 1R 1R 2R 1R A 1R 1R A LQ A A
Paris Masters A A A A A 1R A A LQ A 1R 1R 1R F 3R 1R A A A
Hamburg Masters A A A A A A A A A A SF 1R 2R A 3R 1R A LQ A
Year-end ranking 460 548 489 311 408 214 135 118 68 41 27 28 26 69 18 80 113 75 1142 600 NA

a 2004 US Open counts as 3 wins, 0 losses. Roger Federer walkover in round 4, after Pavel withdrew because of a back injury,[10] does not count as a Pavel loss (nor a Federer win).

References

  1. ^ Nicolae, Razvan (22 October 2018). "Andrei Pavel, ultimul tenismen român care a câştigat un turneu Masters! Sfertfinalist la Roland Garros în 2002". Fanatik.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  2. ^ Willecoq, Guillaume (14 May 2014). "The day Andrei Pavel left a match to see the birth of his son". We Are Tennis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. ^ Clarey, Christopher (29 August 2006). "Agassi Survives Three Tie Breakers". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. ^ "The statistical tribute to Andrei Pavel (1990-2009)". MensTennisForums. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Adio Andrei Pavel!** „Cneazul" s-a retras după un meci cu Goran Ivanisevic". ProSport.ro (in Romanian). 26 September 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  6. ^ "Andrei Pavel". ATPTour.com. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Coaches". ATPTour.com. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  8. ^ Conțescu, Daniel (20 December 2018). "Cum arată copiii lui Andrei Pavel. Fiul "Cneazului", Marius, practică voleiul". Libertatea (in Romanian). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  9. ^ Focșăneanu, Iulian (2 April 2023). "Andrei Pavel a fost asaltat cu mesaje după ce iubita lui a născut o fetiţă. Sorana Cîrstea şi fiul lui Ion Ţiriac, printre primii care l-au felicitat!". AS (in Romanian). Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Agassi sets up Federer tie". BBC Sport. September 6, 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
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