Teimuraz Kakulia

Teimuraz Irakleivich Kakuliya (Georgian: თეიმურაზ კაკულია, romanized: teimuraz k'ak'ulia, pronounced [tʰeimuɾaz kʼakʼulia]; 26 April 1947, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR — 25 August 2006, Tbilisi, Georgia) was a Soviet tennis player and Soviet/Georgian tennis coach.

Teimuraz Kakulia

Full name	Teimuraz Irakleivich Kakuliya
Country (sports)	Soviet Union
Born	(1947-04-26)26 April 1947 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR
Died	25 August 2006(2006-08-25) (aged 59) Tbilisi, Georgia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	1966
Retired	1978
Plays	Right-handed
Singles
Career record	31–36
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 91 (April 8, 1975)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1973)
French Open	2R (1970, 1971, 1974)
Wimbledon	3R (1972, 1976)
US Open	4R (1976)
Doubles
Career record	12–29
Career titles	0
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1973)
French Open	2R (1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975)
Wimbledon	2R (1974)
US Open	2R (1974, 1976)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	2R (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975)
Medal record Representing Soviet Union Summer Universiade 1973 Moscow Singles 1973 Moscow Doubles 1973 Moscow Mixed Doubles

Tennis career

Teimuraz Kakulia started playing tennis at the age of 11. For the most part of his tennis career, he remained in the shadow of his colleague and friend Alex Metreveli, losing to him five times in the singles finals of the USSR tennis championships. Together they took five men's doubles titles at the Soviet championships, and Kakulia won the tournament once with Marina Chuvyrina in mixed doubles.

Other highlights of Kakulia's career were winning bronze medals in the mixed doubles exhibition event at the 1968 Olympic Games at the age of 21; winning the tennis tournament at the 1973 Summer Universiade in singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles; and reaching 1972 Australian Open semifinals in men's doubles (with Metreveli). In singles, his best achievements were reaching the fourth round at the 1976 US Open as well as victories over Eddie Dibbs and Mark Edmondson. He also won the Wimbledon Plate.

In addition, Kakulia has played an integral part in the Soviet Davis Cup team victories at the Europe Zone in 1974 and 1976 after which the team advanced to the Inter-Zonal stage. As a team member, Kakulia was also a four-time European amateur champion.

In 1977, Teimuraz Kakulia was awarded the Distinguished Master of Sport of the USSR rank, the highest in the Soviet sports classification. He was only the second Soviet tennis player to join WCT, with Metreveli's being the first.

After finishing his active playing career, Kakulia focused on coaching. He was a member of the Soviet national team coaching group. Leila Meskhi, bronze medalist at the 1992 Olympics, was the most successful among his trainees. During the last 10 years of his life, illness prevented from coaching.

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.

Tournament	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	3R	A	A	2R
French Open	A	A	A	2R	2R	1R	1R	2R	1R	A
Wimbledon	Q2	A	A	A	A	3R	1R	2R	1R	3R
US Open	A	A	A	A	A	1R	A	2R	A	4R

External links

• Teimuraz Kakulia at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Teimuraz Kakulia at the International Tennis Federation
• Teimuraz Kakulia at the Davis Cup
• Умер Теймураз Какулия [Teimuraz Kakulia Dies]. Kommersant (in Russian). ITAR-TASS. August 26, 2006. Retrieved April 6, 2010.