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Richard Krajicek
Richard Krajicek (7490710038).jpg
Krajicek at the Eastbourne International tennis tournament in 2011.
Country (sports)  Netherlands
Residence Muiderberg, Netherlands
Born (1971-12-06) 6 December 1971 (age 52)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro 1989
Retired 2003
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money $10,077,425
Singles
Career record 411–219 (65.24%)
Career titles 17
Highest ranking No. 4 (29 March 1999)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open SF (1992)
French Open SF (1993)
Wimbledon W (1996)
US Open QF (1997, 1999, 2000)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals SF (1996)
Grand Slam Cup QF (1992, 1996)
Doubles
Career record 77–60 (56.2%)
Career titles 3
Highest ranking No. 45 (26 July 1993)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open SF (1992)
French Open 3R (1991)
Wimbledon 2R (1991)
US Open 1R (1995)
Team competitions
Davis Cup QF (1993, 1994, 1995)

Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek (Czech: Krajíček; born 6 December 1971) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. In 1996, he won the men's singles title at Wimbledon, and remains the only Dutch male player to have won a major singles title. In the quarterfinals of that tournament, he delivered Pete Sampras's only defeat at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2000. Krajicek reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in March 1999. Since 2004, he has been the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. He is also the author of various sports books.

Personal life

Richard Krajicek is the son of Czech immigrants. 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). 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.

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 metres (6 feet 5 inches) 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.

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 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. Next, he 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. 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.

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).

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (title)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1996 Wimbledon Grass United States MaliVai Washington 6–3, 6–4, 6–3

Masters Series finals

Singles: 6 (2–4)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1996 Rome Clay Austria Thomas Muster 2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 1997 Stuttgart Carpet (i) Czech Republic Petr Korda 6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
Loss 1998 Canada (Toronto) Hard Australia Patrick Rafter 6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win 1998 Stuttgart Carpet (i) Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Win 1999 Key Biscayne Hard France Sébastien Grosjean 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–5
Loss 1999 Stuttgart Carpet (i) Sweden Thomas Enqvist 1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 5–7

Career finals

Singles: 26 (17–9)

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)
Result W/L Date Tournament Category Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Apr 1991 Hong Kong, UK World Series Hard Australia Wally Masur 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Apr 1992 Tokyo, Japan Championships Series Hard United States Jim Courier 4–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win 2–1 Aug 1992 Los Angeles, U.S. World Series Hard Australia Mark Woodforde 6–4, 2–6, 6–4
Win 3–1 Nov 1992 Antwerp, Belgium World Series Carpet (i) Australia Mark Woodforde 6–2, 6–2
Loss 3–2 Feb 1993 Stuttgart, Germany Championships Series Carpet (i) Germany Michael Stich 6–4, 5–7, 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 5–7
Win 4–2 Aug 1993 Los Angeles, U.S. World Series Hard United States Michael Chang 0–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5)
Win 5–2 Apr 1994 Barcelona, Spain Championships Series Clay Spain Carlos Costa 6–4, 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Win 6–2 Jun 1994 Rosmalen, Netherlands World Series Grass Germany Karsten Braasch 6–3, 6–4
Win 7–2 Oct 1994 Sydney, Australia Championships Series Hard (i) Germany Boris Becker 7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7), 2–6, 6–3
Win 8–2 Feb 1995 Stuttgart, Germany Championships Series Carpet (i) Germany Michael Stich 7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–3
Win 9–2 Mar 1995 Rotterdam, Netherlands World Series Carpet (i) Netherlands Paul Haarhuis 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss 9–3 Aug 1995 New Haven, U.S. Championships Series Hard United States Andre Agassi 6–3, 6–7(2–7), 3–6
Loss 9–4 May 1996 Rome, Italy Super 9 Clay Austria Thomas Muster 2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 10–4 Jul 1996 Wimbledon, UK Grand Slam Grass United States MaliVai Washington 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 10–5 Aug 1996 Los Angeles, U.S. World Series Hard United States Michael Chang 4–6, 3–6
Win 11–5 Mar 1997 Rotterdam, Netherlands World Series Carpet (i) Czech Republic Daniel Vacek 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)
Win 12–5 Apr 1997 Tokyo, Japan Championships Series Hard France Lionel Roux 6–2, 3–6, 6–1
Win 13–5 Jun 1997 Rosmalen, Netherlands World Series Grass France Guillaume Raoux 6–4, 7–6(9–7)
Loss 13–6 Oct 1997 Stuttgart, Germany Super 9 Carpet (i) Czech Republic Petr Korda 6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
Win 14–6 Feb 1998 St. Petersburg, Russia World Series Carpet (i) Switzerland Marc Rosset 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 14–7 Aug 1998 Toronto, Canada Super 9 Hard Australia Patrick Rafter 6–7(3–7), 4–6
Win 15–7 Nov 1998 Stuttgart, Germany Super 9 Hard (i) Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Win 16–7 Mar 1999 London, UK Championships Series Carpet (i) United Kingdom Greg Rusedski 7–6(8–6), 6–7(5–7), 7–5
Win 17–7 Mar 1999 Miami, U.S. Super 9 Hard France Sébastien Grosjean 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–5
Loss 17–8 Nov 1999 Stuttgart, Germany Super 9 Hard (i) Sweden Thomas Enqvist 1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 5–7
Loss 17–9 Jun 2000 Halle, Germany International Series Grass Germany David Prinosil 3–6, 2–6

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

Singles

Tournament 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Career SR Career win–loss
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 4R SF 2R A 2R 3R A A 3R 2R A A 2R 0 / 8 16–7
French Open A A 2R 3R SF 3R 2R QF 3R 3R 2R 3R A A A 0 / 10 22–10
Wimbledon A A 3R 3R 4R 1R 1R W 4R SF 3R 2R A QF A 1 / 11 29–10
U.S. Open A A 1R 4R 4R 2R 3R 1R QF 3R QF QF A 1R A 0 / 11 22–11
Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 1 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 1 1 / 40 N/A
Annual win–loss 0–0 0–0 6–4 12–3 12–4 3–3 4–4 13–3 8–3 9–3 9–3 8–4 0–0 4–2 1–1 N/A 89–38
Year-end championships
Tennis Masters Cup Did not qualify RR DNQ SF Did not qualify 0 / 2 3–4
Grand Slam Cup NH DNQ QF DNQ 1R DNQ QF Not Held 0 / 3 2–3
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A A 3R A A A A A A QF A A A 1R 0 / 3 4–3
Miami A A 1R QF QF A 2R 4R 4R A W A A A 1R 1 / 8 16–7
Monte Carlo A A A 1R 3R 2R QF 3R QF SF A 3R A A A 0 / 8 15–8
Rome A A 1R 1R 1R 3R A F 2R QF 2R 1R A A A 0 / 9 12–9
Hamburg A A A QF QF QF 3R 3R 2R 3R 2R A A A A 0 / 8 13–8
Montreal/Toronto A A A A A A 2R A QF F 2R 3R A 1R A 0 / 6 9–6
Cincinnati A A A 3R 2R 1R 1R 3R 2R 3R QF 1R A 3R A 0 / 10 9–10
Madrid (Stuttgart) A A A A A 2R QF 3R F W F 2R A A A 1 / 7 17–6
Paris A A 1R 3R 2R 3R QF 2R QF 2R 2R A A A A 0 / 9 6–9
Masters Series SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 7 0 / 6 0 / 6 0 / 7 0 / 7 0 / 8 1 / 7 1 / 8 0 / 5 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 2 2 / 68 N/A
Annual win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–3 11–7 7–6 7–6 10–7 13–7 14–8 17–6 15–7 5–5 0–0 2–2 0–2 N/A 101–66
Year-end ranking 392 129 45 10 15 17 11 7 11 10 10 36 – 112 147 N/A

Top 10 wins

Season 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total
Wins 0 0 1 10 4 4 5 3 4 8 3 2 0 0 0 44
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score KR
1991
1. Sweden Stefan Edberg 2 New Haven, United States Hard 3R 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 37
1992
2. Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 5 Sydney, Australia Hard 1R 5–7, 6–3, 6–3 44
3. Germany Michael Stich 5 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard QF 5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 6–4 45
4. Croatia Goran Ivanišević 7 Indian Wells, United States Hard 2R 6–0, 6–3 27
5. Germany Michael Stich 5 Tokyo, Japan Hard QF 7–6(7–5), 6–4 30
6. Sweden Stefan Edberg 1 Tokyo, Japan Hard SF 6–3, 7–5 30
7. Croatia Goran Ivanišević 8 Hamburg, Germany Clay 3R 7–5, 6–2 16
8. United States Ivan Lendl 9 Sydney, Australia Hard (i) QF 7–6(7–1), 7–5 15
9. Czechoslovakia Petr Korda 7 Antwerp, Belgium Carpet (i) QF 3–6, 6–1, 7–6(9–7) 13
10. United States Jim Courier 1 Antwerp, Belgium Carpet (i) SF 4–6, 6–4, 7–5 13
11. United States Michael Chang 5 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) RR 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4) 10
1993
12. Spain Sergi Bruguera 10 Stuttgart, Germany Carpet (i) 1R 6–2, 6–3 13
13. United States Andre Agassi 8 Miami, United States Hard 4R 6–2, 7–5 11
14. United States Pete Sampras 1 Los Angeles, United States Hard SF 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(7–3) 10
15. United States Michael Chang 9 Los Angeles, United States Hard F 0–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5) 10
1994
16. Spain Sergi Bruguera 4 Barcelona, Spain Clay QF 7–5, 6–3 24
17. Austria Thomas Muster 10 Hamburg, Germany Clay 3R 6–4, 6–4 20
18. United States Pete Sampras 1 Davis Cup, Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard RR 2–6, 7–5, 7–6(7–5), 7–5 26
19. Germany Boris Becker 7 Sydney, Australia Hard (i) F 7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7), 2–6, 6–3 32
1995
20. South Africa Wayne Ferreira 10 Stuttgart, Germany Carpet (i) 2R 6–3, 7–6(7–0) 16
21. Germany Michael Stich 9 Stuttgart, Germany Carpet (i) F 7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–3 16
22. Germany Boris Becker 4 New Haven, United States Hard QF 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 7–6(7–5) 14
23. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 New Haven, United States Hard SF 6–4, 6–4 14
24. Germany Boris Becker 4 Essen, Germany Carpet (i) 3R 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3 15
1996
25. United States Pete Sampras 1 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass QF 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 13
26. United States Michael Chang 2 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt Carpet (i) RR 6–4, 6–4 8
27. Austria Thomas Muster 5 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt Carpet (i) RR 7–6(7–4), 6–7(5–7), 6–3 8
1997
28. Sweden Thomas Enqvist 8 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) SF 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4 7
29. United States Michael Chang 2 Rosmalen, Netherlands Grass SF 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4 6
30. United States Pete Sampras 1 Stuttgart, Germany Carpet (i) 3R 6–4, 6–4 15
31. Australia Pat Rafter 3 Paris, France Carpet (i) 3R 7–5, 6–2 11
1998
32. United Kingdom Greg Rusedski 6 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) QF 3–6, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–3) 10
33. Czech Republic Petr Korda 3 Monte-Carlo, Monaco Clay QF 4–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–1 13
34. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 Rome, Italy Clay 3R 6–2, 3–6, 7–6(8–6) 11
35. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 8 Toronto, Canada Hard QF 6–4, 6–4 9
36. United Kingdom Tim Henman 10 New Haven, United States Hard QF 5–7, 6–2, 7–6(18–16) 6
37. United States Andre Agassi 5 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) 3R 6–3, 6–4 11
38. United States Pete Sampras 1 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) SF 6–7(2–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–5) 11
39. Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov 8 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) F 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 11
1999
40. United Kingdom Greg Rusedski 10 London, United Kingdom Carpet (i) F 7–6(8–6), 6–7(5–7), 7–5 9
41. United States Pete Sampras 2 Miami, United States Hard QF 6–2, 7–6(8–6) 7
42. United Kingdom Greg Rusedski 6 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) SF 6–4, 6–4 8
2000
43. Sweden Thomas Enqvist 9 Monte-Carlo, Monaco Clay 2R 7–5, 6–1 43
44. Sweden Magnus Norman 3 Toronto, Canada Hard 1R 7–5, 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)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Richard Krajicek para niños

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