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Richard Krajicek

Dutch tennis player


Dutch tennis player

FieldValue
nameRichard Krajicek
imageRichard Krajicek (7490710038).jpg
captionKrajicek at the Eastbourne International tennis tournament in 2011.
country
residenceMuiderberg, Netherlands
birth_date
birth_placeRotterdam, Netherlands
height1.96 m
turnedpro1989
retired2003
playsRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
careerprizemoney$10,077,425
singlesrecord(65.2%)
singlestitles17
highestsinglesrankingNo. 4 (29 March 1999)
AustralianOpenresultSF (1992)
FrenchOpenresultSF (1993)
WimbledonresultW (1996)
USOpenresultQF (1997, 1999, 2000)
Othertournamentsyes
MastersCupresultSF (1996)
GrandSlamCupresultQF (1992, 1996)
doublesrecord(56.2%)
doublestitles3
highestdoublesrankingNo. 45 (26 July 1993)
AustralianOpenDoublesresultSF (1992)
FrenchOpenDoublesresult3R (1991)
WimbledonDoublesresult2R (1991)
USOpenDoublesresult1R (1995)
Teamyes
DavisCupresultQF (1993, 1994, 1995)

Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek (; born 6 December 1971) is a Dutch former professional tennis player and tournament director. Krajicek won 17 singles titles during his career, including the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first (and only) Dutchman to win a major singles title. He reached a career high world No. 4 ranking in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in March 1999. Retiring from the sport in 2003, Krajicek has been the tournament director of the Rotterdam Open since 2004. He is also the author of various sports books.

Personal life

Richard Krajicek is the son of Czech immigrants and grew up in The Hague. In primary school, he was in the same class as later professional road bicyle racer Michael Boogerd. Nicknamed "de Kraai" (Dutch for "the crow") in his home country, one of Krajicek's siblings is Michaëlla Krajicek, a half-sister and fellow tennis professional. A distant cousin of his is another tennis player, the American Austin Krajicek.

In the nineties Krajicek had a relationship with Italian actress and model Lory Del Santo, with whom he had a son who was born prematurely and died of an infection after two weeks of life. In 1999, he married model, writer and hostess of Holland's Next Top Model and Benelux's Next Top Model, Daphne Deckers, with whom he lives in Muiderberg and has two children (a son and a daughter).

Krajicek is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a political party in the Netherlands.

Career

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. His biggest achievement as a youngster was winning the Wiltshire Open in the UK after beating Steven White in straight sets in the final. He turned professional in 1989, and in 1991 won his first top-level singles title in Hong Kong and his first tour doubles title at the Dutch Open.

In 1992, the 1.95 m Dutchman reached his first Grand Slam semi-finals at the Australian Open. He had to withdraw from this semi-final match due to a shoulder injury. The next year, he reached the semi-finals 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, "Eighty 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."

At the 1996 Italian Open, Krajicek reached the final, before losing in four sets to the reigning champion, Thomas Muster. At the French Open later that year, Krajicek was the only player to take a set off the eventual champion, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, during their quarterfinal match.

Coming into 1996 Wimbledon, Krajicek had never previously progressed beyond the fourth round at the tournament and had lost in the first round in the two previous years. He was seen as 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 No. 2) Thomas Muster pulled out shortly before the tournament due to an injury, Krajicek was declared the 17th seed and moved to Muster's place in the draw. Opinions differ, therefore, on whether he won the tournament as an unseeded player.

Krajicek beat former champion Michael Stich in the fourth round and met Sampras in the quarterfinals. By that time, Krajicek had managed to turn his notably weak slice backhand into an aggressive top-spin shot. Krajicek defeated Sampras in straight sets, becoming the only player to beat Sampras in a Wimbledon singles match in the eight-year period from 1993 until Sampras's fourth-round loss to Roger Federer in 2001. (Krajicek's Wimbledon victory over Sampras proved to be no fluke, since he ended his career with a 6–4 record against the American player.) Next, Krajicek beat Australia's Jason Stoltenberg in the semi-finals, 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 1997, Krajicek's defence of his Wimbledon title ended in the fourth round, when Tim Henman defeated him in four sets.

In 1998, Krajicek was in the Wimbledon semi-finals again, losing to Goran Ivanišević in a marathon match, 13–15 in the fifth set, with both players serving a combined 38 aces. His final attempt at a Wimbledon title was in 2002, when he lost in the quarterfinals to Xavier Malisse. Krajicek beat world No. 5 Andre Agassi, world No. 1 Sampras and world No. 9 Yevgeny Kafelnikov on his way to the Stuttgart Masters title in November.

At the 1999 US Open, Krajicek lost a quarterfinal matchup to Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite the loss, he set several most aces records that day. In the 2000 U.S. Open, Krajicek met Sampras in the quarterfinals, winning the first set and going up 6–2 during the second-set tiebreaker, but then losing six straight points and 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 three doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 4 in 1999.

Since retiring from the ATP Tour, 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, Fast Balls (Dutch: Harde Ballen).

Significant finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1996WimbledonGrassUSA MaliVai Washington6–3, 6–4, 6–3

Masters Series finals

Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runners-up)

ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1996RomeClayAUT Thomas Muster2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss1997StuttgartCarpet (i)CZE Petr Korda6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
Loss1998Canada (Toronto)HardAUS Patrick Rafter6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win1998StuttgartCarpet (i)RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Win1999Key BiscayneHardFRA Sébastien Grosjean4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–5
Loss1999StuttgartCarpet (i)SWE Thomas Enqvist1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 5–7

Career finals

Singles: 26 (17 titles, 9 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam (1–0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
ATP Super 9 (2–4)
ATP Championship Series (5–3)
ATP World Series (9–2)

|

Finals by surface
Hard (7–5)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (3–1)
Carpet (6–2)

|}

ResultW/LDateTournamentCategorySurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Apr 1991Hong Kong, UKWorld SeriesHardAUS Wally Masur6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Loss1–1Apr 1992Tokyo, JapanChampionships SeriesHardUSA Jim Courier4–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win2–1Aug 1992Los Angeles, U.S.World SeriesHardAUS Mark Woodforde6–4, 2–6, 6–4
Win3–1Nov 1992Antwerp, BelgiumWorld SeriesCarpet (i)AUS Mark Woodforde6–2, 6–2
Loss3–2Feb 1993Stuttgart, GermanyChampionships SeriesCarpet (i)GER Michael Stich6–4, 5–7, 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 5–7
Win4–2Aug 1993Los Angeles, U.S.World SeriesHardUSA Michael Chang0–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5)
Win5–2Apr 1994Barcelona, SpainChampionships SeriesClayESP Carlos Costa6–4, 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Win6–2Jun 1994Rosmalen, NetherlandsWorld SeriesGrassGER Karsten Braasch6–3, 6–4
Win7–2Oct 1994Sydney, AustraliaChampionships SeriesHard (i)GER Boris Becker7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7), 2–6, 6–3
Win8–2Feb 1995Stuttgart, GermanyChampionships SeriesCarpet (i)GER Michael Stich7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–3
Win9–2Mar 1995Rotterdam, NetherlandsWorld SeriesCarpet (i)NED Paul Haarhuis7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss9–3Aug 1995New Haven, U.S.Championships SeriesHardUSA Andre Agassi6–3, 6–7(2–7), 3–6
Loss9–4May 1996Rome, ItalySuper 9ClayAUT Thomas Muster2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win10–4Jul 1996Wimbledon, UKGrand SlamGrassUSA MaliVai Washington6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Loss10–5Aug 1996Los Angeles, U.S.World SeriesHardUSA Michael Chang4–6, 3–6
Win11–5Mar 1997Rotterdam, NetherlandsWorld SeriesCarpet (i)CZE Daniel Vacek7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)
Win12–5Apr 1997Tokyo, JapanChampionships SeriesHardFRA Lionel Roux6–2, 3–6, 6–1
Win13–5Jun 1997Rosmalen, NetherlandsWorld SeriesGrassFRA Guillaume Raoux6–4, 7–6(9–7)
Loss13–6Oct 1997Stuttgart, GermanySuper 9Carpet (i)CZE Petr Korda6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
Win14–6Feb 1998St. Petersburg, RussiaWorld SeriesCarpet (i)SUI Marc Rosset6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss14–7Aug 1998Toronto, CanadaSuper 9HardAUS Patrick Rafter6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win15–7Nov 1998Stuttgart, GermanySuper 9Hard (i)RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Win16–7Mar 1999London, UKChampionships SeriesCarpet (i)GBR Greg Rusedski7–6(8–6), 6–7(5–7), 7–5
Win17–7Mar 1999Miami, U.S.Super 9HardFRA Sébastien Grosjean4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–5
Loss17–8Nov 1999Stuttgart, GermanySuper 9Hard (i)SWE Thomas Enqvist1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 5–7
Loss17–9Jun 2000Halle, GermanyInternational SeriesGrassGER David Prinosil3–6, 2–6

Performance timelines

Singles

Tournament198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003Career SRCareer win–loss
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian OpenAA4RSF2RA2R3RAA3R2RAA2R0 / 816–7
French OpenAA2R3RSF3R2RQF3R3R2R3RAAA0 / 1022–10
WimbledonAA3R3R4R1R1RW4RSF3R2RAQFA1 / 1129–10
U.S. OpenAA1R4R4R2R3R1RQF3RQFQFA1RA0 / 1122–11
Grand Slam SR0 / 00 / 00 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 30 / 41 / 40 / 30 / 30 / 40 / 40 / 00 / 20 / 11 / 40N/A
Annual win–loss0–00–06–412–312–43–34–413–38–39–39–38–40–04–21–1N/A89–38
Year-end championships
Tennis Masters CupDid not qualifyRRDNQSFDid not qualify0 / 23–4
Grand Slam CupNHDNQQFDNQ1RDNQQFNot Held0 / 32–3
ATP Masters Series
Indian WellsAAA3RAAAAAAQFAAA1R0 / 34–3
MiamiAA1RQFQFA2R4R4RAWAAA1R1 / 816–7
Monte CarloAAA1R3R2RQF3RQFSFA3RAAA0 / 815–8
RomeAA1R1R1R3RAF2RQF2R1RAAA0 / 912–9
HamburgAAAQFQFQF3R3R2R3R2RAAAA0 / 813–8
Montreal/TorontoAAAAAA2RAQFF2R3RA1RA0 / 69–6
CincinnatiAAA3R2R1R1R3R2R3RQF1RA3RA0 / 109–10
Madrid (Stuttgart)AAAAA2RQF3RFWF2RAAA1 / 717–6
ParisAA1R3R2R3RQF2RQF2R2RAAAA0 / 96–9
Masters Series SR0 / 00 / 00 / 30 / 70 / 60 / 60 / 70 / 70 / 81 / 71 / 80 / 50 / 00 / 20 / 22 / 68N/A
Annual win–loss0–00–00–311–77–67–610–713–714–817–615–75–50–02–20–2N/A101–66
Year-end ranking3921294510151711711101036112147N/A

Top 10 wins

Wins001104453483200044
#PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreKR1991199219931994199519961997199819992000
1.SWE Stefan Edberg2New Haven, United StatesHard3R4–6, 6–3, 6–337
2.TCH Ivan Lendl5Sydney, AustraliaHard1R5–7, 6–3, 6–344
3.GER Michael Stich5Australian Open, MelbourneHardQF5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 6–445
4.CRO Goran Ivanišević7Indian Wells, United StatesHard2R6–0, 6–327
5.GER Michael Stich5Tokyo, JapanHardQF7–6(7–5), 6–430
6.SWE Stefan Edberg1Tokyo, JapanHardSF6–3, 7–530
7.CRO Goran Ivanišević8Hamburg, GermanyClay3R7–5, 6–216
8.USA Ivan Lendl9Sydney, AustraliaHard (i)QF7–6(7–1), 7–515
9.TCH Petr Korda7Antwerp, BelgiumCarpet (i)QF3–6, 6–1, 7–6(9–7)13
10.USA Jim Courier1Antwerp, BelgiumCarpet (i)SF4–6, 6–4, 7–513
11.USA Michael Chang5ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, GermanyCarpet (i)RR2–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)10
12.ESP Sergi Bruguera10Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i)1R6–2, 6–313
13.USA Andre Agassi8Miami, United StatesHard4R6–2, 7–511
14.USA Pete Sampras1Los Angeles, United StatesHardSF6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–3)10
15.USA Michael Chang9Los Angeles, United StatesHardF0–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5)10
16.ESP Sergi Bruguera4Barcelona, SpainClayQF7–5, 6–324
17.AUT Thomas Muster10Hamburg, GermanyClay3R6–4, 6–420
18.USA Pete Sampras1Davis Cup, Rotterdam, NetherlandsHardRR2–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–5), 7–526
19.GER Boris Becker7Sydney, AustraliaHard (i)F7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7), 2–6, 6–332
20.RSA Wayne Ferreira10Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i)2R6–3, 7–6(7–0)16
21.GER Michael Stich9Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i)F7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–316
22.GER Boris Becker4New Haven, United StatesHardQF7–6(7–5), 3–6, 7–6(7–5)14
23.RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov6New Haven, United StatesHardSF6–4, 6–414
24.GER Boris Becker4Essen, GermanyCarpet (i)3R6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–315
25.USA Pete Sampras1Wimbledon, United KingdomGrassQF7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–413
26.USA Michael Chang2ATP Tour World Championships, FrankfurtCarpet (i)RR6–4, 6–48
27.AUT Thomas Muster5ATP Tour World Championships, FrankfurtCarpet (i)RR7–6(7–4), 6–7(5–7), 6–38
28.SWE Thomas Enqvist8Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i)SF6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–47
29.USA Michael Chang2Rosmalen, NetherlandsGrassSF6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–46
30.USA Pete Sampras1Stuttgart, GermanyCarpet (i)3R6–4, 6–415
31.AUS Pat Rafter3Paris, FranceCarpet (i)3R7–5, 6–211
32.GBR Greg Rusedski6Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i)QF3–6, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–3)10
33.CZE Petr Korda3Monte-Carlo, MonacoClayQF4–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–113
34.RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov6Rome, ItalyClay3R6–2, 3–6, 7–6(8–6)11
35.RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov8Toronto, CanadaHardQF6–4, 6–49
36.GBR Tim Henman10New Haven, United StatesHardQF5–7, 6–2, 7–6(18–16)6
37.USA Andre Agassi5Stuttgart, GermanyHard (i)3R6–3, 6–411
38.USA Pete Sampras1Stuttgart, GermanyHard (i)SF6–7(2–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–5)11
39.RUS Yevgeny Kafelnikov8Stuttgart, GermanyHard (i)F6–4, 6–3, 6–311
40.GBR Greg Rusedski10London, United KingdomCarpet (i)F7–6(8–6), 6–7(5–7), 7–59
41.USA Pete Sampras2Miami, United StatesHardQF6–2, 7–6(8–6)7
42.GBR Greg Rusedski6Stuttgart, GermanyHard (i)SF6–4, 6–48
43.SWE Thomas Enqvist9Monte-Carlo, MonacoClay2R7–5, 6–143
44.SWE Magnus Norman3Toronto, CanadaHard1R7–5, 7–6(9–7)24

Honours

  • Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1997)
  • Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (17 November 2017)
  • Medal of Honour for Ingenuity and Entrepreneurship of the Order of the House of Orange (17 juni 2024)

Bibliography

List of books written by Richard Krajicek:

  • Een half jaar netpost (2003) with Tino Bakker
  • Naar de top (2005) with Anja de Crom
  • Harde ballen (2005)
  • Honger naar de bal (2006)
  • Alle ballen verzamelen (2007)

References

References

  1. Gelink, Roeland. (February 2020). "Michael Boogerd brak door in Bezuidenhout".
  2. (11 August 2011). "NCAA champs storm E'ville Futures event".
  3. (1 May 2018). "Lory Del Santo: "I cried only for Richard Krajicek"".
  4. (31 July 2022). "Lory Del Santo: "Eric Clapton e la morte di nostro figlio? Questione di secondi. Marco Cucolo non sa che fare di sé, ma va bene così"".
  5. [https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/44842327/alec-deckers-over-achternaam-ze-dachten-ons-meer-anonimiteit-te-geven Alec Deckers over achternaam: ’Ze dachten ons meer anonimiteit te geven...’] – website of Dutch newspaper [[De Telegraaf]]
  6. {{in lang. nl [http://www.elsevier.nl/Politiek/nieuws/2009/11/Krajicek-schrijft-mee-aan-VVD-verkiezingsprogramma-ELSEVIER251046W/ Krajicek schrijft mee aan VVD-verkiezingsprogramma] {{webarchive. link. (8 September 2014 , Elsevier, 17 November 2012)
  7. Mcginty, Stephen. (10 January 2006). "Crowd's racket over Murray's 'sexist' quip". The Scotsman.
  8. "Players – Head to Head". [[Association of Tennis Professionals.
  9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20000816215423/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1998/wimbledon/ 'It's just really sweet' - Sampras repeats for record-tying 5th Wimbledon title]
  10. [https://web.archive.org/web/20000824132347/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1998/wimbledon/news/1998/07/03/wimbledon_update_2/ Powerful Pete - Sampras stops Henman, to face Ivanisevic in Wimbledon final]
  11. Roberts, Selena. (7 September 2000). "U.S. OPEN; Sampras Awakes To Stop Krajicek". The New York Times.
  12. (11 March 2001). "Award seals Kuerten's dream year". BBC News.
  13. Richard Krajicek. "Tennis – CBSSports.com Scoreboard, Schedules, Players". Sportsline.com.
  14. (1 November 2004). "Q&A: Richard Krajicek". BBC News.
  15. [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1997/03/22/petr-krajicek-de-vader-van-richard-ik-moet-mezelf-7346987-a62294 Petr Krajicek, de vader van Richard: 'Ik moet mezelf al zovéél verwijten'] – – website of the Dutch newspaper [[NRC Handelsblad]]
  16. [https://www.weekend-online.nl/nieuws/richard-krajicek-geridderd/ Richard Krajicek geridderd] – website of Dutch magazine [[:nl:Weekend (tijdschrift). Weekend]]
  17. [https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/01/12/in-mijn-hele-leven-staat-risicomijdend-gedrag-voorop-a1588171 'In mijn hele leven staat risicomijdend gedrag voorop'] – website of the Dutch newspaper [[NRC Handelsblad]]
  18. [https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/06/17/koning-reikt-eremedaille-van-de-huisorde-van-oranje-uit-aan-richard-krajicek Koning reikt Eremedaille van de Huisorde van Oranje uit aan Richard Krajicek] – website of the [[Dutch royal house]]
  19. "Richard Krajicek".
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