# Tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's singles

Czechoslovakia's Miloslav Mečíř defeated the United States' Tim Mayotte in the final, 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2, to win the gold medal in Men's Singles tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics. It was Czechoslovakia's first medal at the event. The United States' Brad Gilbert and Sweden's Stefan Edberg won the bronze medals. It was Sweden's first men's singles Olympic medal.
The tournament was held at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul, South Korea. Tennis was officially re-introduced as an official sport in the 1988 Summer Olympics, after being held as a demonstration sport in the 1968 Olympic Games and 1984 Olympic Games. It was discontinued from being an official sport after the 1924 Olympic Games before its re-introduction. There were 64 competitors from 32 nations. Nations were limited to three players each (down from four before tennis's Olympic hiatus).

## Background

This was the eighth (medal) appearance of the men's singles tennis event. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics where tennis has been on the program: from 1896 to 1924 and then from 1988 to the current program. Demonstration events were held in 1968 and 1984.
Number one seed and the favorite was Stefan Edberg of Sweden, the winner of the 1984 demonstration event as well as the reigning Wimbledon champion.
Bermuda, Brazil, West Germany, Haiti, Israel, the Ivory Coast, New Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, Poland, South Korea, the Soviet Union, and Zimbabwe each made their debut in the event. France made its seventh appearance, most among all nations, having missed only the 1904 event.

## Competition format

The competition was a single-elimination tournament. Unlike previous Olympic tournaments, no bronze-medal match was held. All matches were best-of-five sets. The 12-point tie-breaker, common by 1988, was used in the Olympics for the first time.

## Schedule

All times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
| Tuesday, 20 September 1988 Wednesday, 21 September 1988 | | Round of 64 |
| Thursday, 22 September 1988 | | Round of 32 |
| Saturday, 24 September 1988 | | Round of 16 |
| Monday, 26 September 1988 | | Quarterfinals |
| Wednesday, 28 September 1988 | | Semifinals |
| Friday, 30 September 1988 | 11:12 | Final |

## Seeds

* Stefan Edberg (SWE) (semifinals, bronze medalist)
* Tim Mayotte (USA) (finals, silver medalist)
* Miloslav Mečíř (TCH) (champion, gold medalist)
* Henri Leconte (FRA) (second round)
* Brad Gilbert (USA) (semifinals, bronze medalist)
* Emilio Sánchez (ESP) (second round)
* Anders Järryd (SWE) (third round)
* Andrei Chesnokov (URS) (first round)
* Darren Cahill (AUS) (second round)
* Jakob Hlasek (SUI) (third round)
* Ronald Agénor (HAI) (first round)
* Amos Mansdorf (ISR) (third round)
* Martín Jaite (ARG) (quarterfinals)
* John Fitzgerald (AUS) (first round)
* Slobodan Živojinović (YUG) (second round)
* Luiz Mattar (BRA) (first round)

## Draw
### Key

* Q = Qualifier
* WC = Wild card
* LL = Lucky loser
* Alt = Alternate
* SE = Special exempt
* PR = Protected ranking
* ITF = ITF entry
* JE = Junior exempt
* w/o = Walkover
* r = Retired
* d = Defaulted
* SR = Special ranking

### Finals

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final (gold-medal match) | Final (gold-medal match) | Final (gold-medal match) | Final (gold-medal match) | Final (gold-medal match) | Final (gold-medal match) |
| 1 | Stefan Edberg (SWE) | 6 | 7 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Paolo Canè (ITA) | 1 | 5 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Paolo Canè (ITA) | 1 | 5 | 4 | | 1 | Stefan Edberg (SWE) | 6 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Miloslav Mečíř (TCH) | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Miloslav Mečíř (TCH) | 3 | 7$^7$ | 6 | 6 | 3 | Miloslav Mečíř (TCH) | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | |
| | Michiel Schapers (NED) | 6 | 6$^2$ | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Michiel Schapers (NED) | 6 | 6$^2$ | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | 3 | Miloslav Mečíř (TCH) | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Tim Mayotte (USA) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 5/WC | Brad Gilbert (USA) | 5 | 6 | 7$^7$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Tim Mayotte (USA) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 13 | Martín Jaite (ARG) | 7 | 1 | 6$^1$ | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Martín Jaite (ARG) | 7 | 1 | 6$^1$ | 3 | 5/WC | Brad Gilbert (USA) | 4 | 4 | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Tim Mayotte (USA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| | Carl-Uwe Steeb (FRG) | 6$^4$ | 5 | 3 | | 2 | Tim Mayotte (USA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Tim Mayotte (USA) | 7$^7$ | 7 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Top half
#### Section 1

| First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 1 | S Edberg (SWE) | 7$^7$ | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| WC | H Skoff (AUT) | 6$^3$ | 2 | 3 | | 1 | S Edberg (SWE) | 6 | 7$^7$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | T Tsuchihashi (JPN) | 6$^5$ | 2 | 4 | | Q | A Moreno (MEX) | 2 | 6$^2$ | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | A Moreno (MEX) | 7$^7$ | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | 1 | S Edberg (SWE) | 6 | 6 | 7$^7$ | | | | | | |
| Q | Z Ali (IND) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | 10 | J Hlasek (SUI) | 2 | 4 | 6$^3$ | | | | | | |
| | V Caballero (PAR) | 3 | 2 | 4 | | Q | Z Ali (IND) | 4 | 5 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | S Alger (BER) | 3 | 4 | 2 | | 10 | J Hlasek (SUI) | 6 | 7 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | J Hlasek (SUI) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | S Edberg (SWE) | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| 14 | J Fitzgerald (AUS) | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | P Canè (ITA) | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Q | G Connell (CAN) | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | Q | G Connell (CAN) | 4 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | S Abdullahi (NGR) | 2 | 5 | 3 | | Q | J Sánchez (ESP) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | J Sánchez (ESP) | 6 | 7 | 6 | | | | | | | | Q | J Sánchez (ESP) | 6$^1$ | 6 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| | P Canè (ITA) | 6 | 7$^7$ | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | | P Canè (ITA) | 7$^7$ | 4 | 6 | 6 | | | | | |
| | M Šrejber (TCH) | 3 | 6$^4$ | 6 | 3 | | P Canè (ITA) | 7 | 6 | 6$^4$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | S Matsuoka (JPN) | 3 | 4 | 3 | | 6 | E Sánchez (ESP) | 5 | 3 | 7$^7$ | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | E Sánchez (ESP) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### Section 2

| First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 3 | M Mečíř (TCH) | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7$^8$ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | E Jelen (FRG) | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6$^6$ | | 3 | M Mečíř (TCH) | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | G Bloom (ISR) | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | | J Bates (GBR) | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | J Bates (GBR) | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | | | | | | | | 3 | M Mečíř (TCH) | 7$^7$ | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| Q | O Camporese (ITA) | 2 | 0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | G Forget (FRA) | 6$^1$ | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | G Forget (FRA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | G Forget (FRA) | 7 | 7$^8$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | M Christensen (DEN) | 5 | 2 | 4 | | | 15 | S Živojinović (YUG) | 5 | 6$^6$ | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | S Živojinović (YUG) | 7 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | M Mečíř (TCH) | 3 | 7$^7$ | 6 | 6 |
| 11/WC | R Agénor (HAI) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | r | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | M Schapers (NED) | 6 | 6$^2$ | 2 | 4 |
| | L Lavalle (MEX) | 3 | 6 | 6 | 2 | | | L Lavalle (MEX) | 3 | 4 | 6$^2$ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | S Casal (ESP) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | S Casal (ESP) | 6 | 6 | 7$^7$ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | M Gurr (ZIM) | 2 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | S Casal (ESP) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | |
| Q | W Kowalski (POL) | 2 | 4 | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | M Schapers (NED) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | |
| Q | T Mmoh (NGR) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | Q | T Mmoh (NGR) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | M Schapers (NED) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | | | M Schapers (NED) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8/WC | A Chesnokov (URS) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Bottom half
#### Section 3

| First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 5/WC | B Gilbert (USA) | 6 | 7 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | M Tauson (DEN) | 2 | 5 | 1 | | | 5/WC | B Gilbert (USA) | 6 | 1 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | A Cherkasov (URS) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | Q | A Cherkasov (URS) | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | H Chapacú (PAR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | 5/WC | B Gilbert (USA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | |
| WC | N Odizor (NGR) | 4 | 3 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | R Seguso (USA) | 2 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | |
| | R Seguso (USA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | R Seguso (USA) | 6 | 7$^7$ | 6$^8$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | A Antonitsch (AUT) | 2 | 4 | 7$^7$ | 2 | | 9/Q | D Cahill (AUS) | 3 | 6$^3$ | 7$^{10}$ | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9/Q | D Cahill (AUS) | 6 | 6 | 6$^2$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5/WC | B Gilbert (USA) | 5 | 6 | 7$^7$ | 6 |
| 13 | M Jaite (ARG) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | M Jaite (ARG) | 7 | 1 | 6$^1$ | 3 |
| Q | C Pridham (CAN) | 1 | 3 | 2 | | | 13 | M Jaite (ARG) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | S Perkiss (ISR) | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | | Q | J Frana (ARG) | 2 | 4 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | J Frana (ARG) | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | 13 | M Jaite (ARG) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | |
| | B-S Kim (KOR) | 7 | 3 | 6 | 6$^3$ | 6 | | | | | | | | | B-S Kim (KOR) | 4 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | |
| LL | G Kalovelonis (GRE) | 5 | 6 | 2 | 7$^7$ | 3 | | B-S Kim (KOR) | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | V Amritraj (IND) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | H Leconte (FRA) | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | H Leconte (FRA) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### Section 4

| First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Third round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 7/WC | A Järryd (SWE) | 7$^{10}$ | 4 | 7 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | M Laurendeau (CAN) | 6$^8$ | 6 | 5 | 5 | | 7/WC | A Järryd (SWE) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | C N'Goran (CIV) | 7$^{11}$ | 6 | 2 | 6$^3$ | 5 | | A Castle (GBR) | 0 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | A Castle (GBR) | 6$^9$ | 3 | 6 | 7$^7$ | 7 | | | | | | | | 7/WC | A Järryd (SWE) | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | | | | | |
| Q | C-U Steeb (FRG) | 7 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | C-U Steeb (FRG) | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | | | | | |
| Q | A Volkov (URS) | 5 | 4 | 3 | | | Q | C-U Steeb (FRG) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | W Masur (AUS) | 6 | 6 | 4 | 6$^7$ | 6 | | W Masur (AUS) | 3 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | L Mattar (BRA) | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7$^9$ | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | C-U Steeb (FRG) | 6$^4$ | 5 | 3 |
| 12 | A Mansdorf (ISR) | 6 | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | T Mayotte (USA) | 7$^7$ | 7 | 6 |
| Q | J-S Yoo (KOR) | 2 | 4 | 5 | | | 12 | A Mansdorf (ISR) | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | K Evernden (NZL) | 7$^7$ | 6 | 6 | | | | K Evernden (NZL) | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Q | G Ivanišević (YUG) | 6$^0$ | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | 12 | A Mansdorf (ISR) | 4 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | |
| | D Nargiso (ITA) | 4 | 2 | 7$^7$ | 7$^7$ | 8 | | | | | | | | 2 | T Mayotte (USA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | |
| | F Maciel (MEX) | 6 | 6 | 6$^2$ | 6$^3$ | 6 | | D Nargiso (ITA) | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | D-W Song (KOR) | 3 | 3 | 4 | | | 2 | T Mayotte (USA) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | T Mayotte (USA) | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |