Richard Krajicek
Full name: Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek
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| Bio | Krajicek is a Dutch former professional tennis player. In 1996 he won the Men's Singles title at Wimbledon, the only Dutch player to have done so. In the quarter-finals of that tournament he defeated Pete Sampras. This was Sampras's only singles defeat at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000. Since 2004 Krajicek has been the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. He is also the author of various sports books. Krajicek reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 4 in March 1999. Richard Krajicek is the son of Czech immigrants. In 1999, Krajicek married model, writer and hostess of Holland's Next Top Model and Benelux' Next Top Model, Daphne Deckers(married July 7, 1999) She played a part in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997. The couple have one daughter, Emma (born Mar. 26, 1998) and one son, Alec (born May 2, 2000). Nicknamed "de Kraai" (Dutch for "the crow") in his home country, Krajicek has, among his siblings, half-sister Michaëlla Krajicek who also is a professional tennis player. Richard Krajicek began playing tennis at the age of four. As a youngster he won both the Dutch under-12 and the under-14 National Championships twice. He turned professional in 1989, and in 1991 won his first top-level singles title at Hong Kong, and his first tour doubles title in Hilversum. At age 12, decided to switch from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand. Coached by Australian Rohan Goetzke, whole career since junior. Who is now technical director of the Dutch Tennis Federation. In 1992, the 1.96 m (6' 5") Dutchman reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open. He had to withdraw from this semifinal match due to a shoulder injury. The following year, he reached the semifinals at the French Open, where he lost in four sets to the defending champion Jim Courier. Also in 1992, Krajicek made a controversial comment regarding equal pay for women in Grand Slam events, saying, "80 percent of the top 100 women are fat pigs who don't deserve equal pay." Later, he jokingly clarified his comments, remarking, "What I meant to say was that only 75 percent are fat pigs."Krajicek later showed remorse for the comment. Coming to Wimbledon in 1996, Krajicek had never previously progressed beyond the fourth round, and had lost in the first round in the two previous years. He was seen a player with potential, having one of the fastest serves at the time, but was not considered to be a strong contender for the title. The clear favourite was Pete Sampras, who had won the title for the past three consecutive years. Despite being ranked within the world's top 16, Krajicek just missed out on the seedings for the tournament, but when seventh seed (and world number two) Thomas Muster pulled out shortly before the tournament due to an injury, Krajicek was given Muster's place in the draw. He beat former champion Michael Stich in the fourth round, and met Sampras in the quarterfinals. By that time, he had managed to turn his notably weak slice backhand into an aggressive top-spin shot. Krajicek shocked the tennis world by defeating Sampras in straight sets and becoming the only player to beat Sampras in a Wimbledon singles match in the eight-year period from 1993 until Sampras' fourth-round loss to Roger Federer in the 2001 tournament. Next, he beat Australia's Jason Stoltenberg in the semifinals, and went on to face American MaliVai Washington in the final. He won the final in straight sets to become the first Dutchman to win Wimbledon. In 1998, Krajicek was in the Wimbledon semifinals again, where he lost to Goran Ivanišević in a marathon match, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6, 13-15, with both players serving a combined 38 aces. His final attempt at winning a second Wimbledon title was in 2002, when he lost in the quarterfinals to Xavier Malisse. In September 1999, Nike dedicated its new European headquarters in Hilversum and the Dutchman was one of four athletes to have an office building named after him. In February 1999, as part of celebration for Royal Dutch Tennis Association centenary, the Dutch Postal system released a stamp featuring the '96 Wimbledon champion At the 1999 U.S. Open, Krajicek lost a quarterfinal matchup to Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite the loss, Krajicek set several most aces records that day. In the 2000 U.S. Open, Krajicek met Sampras in the quarterfinals, winning the first set and being up 6-2 during the second set tiebreaker but then went on to lose six straight points and eventually lost the match. In 2000, Krajicek was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award for his efforts to help youth in his home country. He was named ATP Comeback Player of the Year in 2002. Krajicek retired from the professional tour in 2003. During his career, he won 17 singles titles and 3 doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world no. 4 in 1999. Krajicek's Wimbledon victory over Sampras proved to be no fluke, amassing a 6–4 record against the American player. Since retiring from the ATP circuit, Krajicek runs The Richard Krajicek Foundation which builds sports facilities for children in inner-city areas in the Netherlands. In 2004 Krajicek became the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. In 2005, he published a book on tennis called 'Fast Balls' (Dutch: 'Harde Ballen') |
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