A Krajicek Tennis Player?
Contents
A Krajicek Tennis Player?
This is a blog about tennis player Michal Krajicek.
Early Life
Tommy Haas was Krajicek’s first coach. Richard Krajicek is a Dutch former professional tennis player. He was born on 30 December, 1974, in Volendam, Netherlands. He is the son of Czech immigrants, who were both professional tennis players. His father, Karel Krajicek, played Davis Cup for Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. His mother, Drahomira, played Fed Cup for Czechoslovakia in the 1970s.
Richard Krajicek’s family
Krajicek was born on 6 December 1971, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to Czech expatriates Karel Krajicek, an engineer, and Drahomira “Miroslava” Subertova. He has an older sister named Helena. His parents divorced when he was four years old. Krajicek did not see his father for seventeen years (until 1988), but the two have since been reconciled. When Krajicek was eight years old, he started playing tennis at the nearby tennis club Biljartspelen.
His tennis career
Richard Krajicek was born on December 6, 1971, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, and is of Dutch descent. His father, Zdeněk, was a professional tennis player and later coached Richard and another son, Tomáš. The family immigrated to the Netherlands when Krajicek was four years old. In 1986 Krajicek won both the Orange Bowl tennis tournament for boys under 16 and the Wimbledon junior singles title.
Wimbledon 1996
A Krajicek was a tennis player who became popular after winning the Wimbledon in 1996. He was born on the 14th of December in 1971 in the Netherlands. He started playing tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 1990.
The final
In the final, Krajicek defeated Malivai Washington in straight sets to become the first Dutch player to win a Grand Slam singles title. Krajicek was the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon since Boris Becker in 1985. He was also only the second Dutchman (after Jan Flim) to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
After Wimbledon
What does it take to be a Grand Slam champion? For Dutchman Richard Krajicek, it was a mixture of dedication, hard work and a bit of luck.
Krajicek first burst onto the tennis scene at Wimbledon in 1996, when he defeated defending champion Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals. He went on to defeat MaliVai Washington in the final to become the first Dutch player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Since then, Krajicek has been a regular fixture on the ATP Tour, winning 13 singles titles and reaching as high as No. 4 in the world rankings. He has also won two doubles titles, including one at Wimbledon with countryman Jacco Eltingh.
Krajicek’s biggest rival during his career has been Sampras, who he twice defeated at Wimbledon (in 1996 and 2000) and also beat in the quarter-finals of the US Open in 1998.
The two players met for the final time at Wimbledon in 2001, with Sampras winning in five sets. Krajicek retired from tennis in 2003.
Later Years
Once ranked as high as No.4 in the world, Krajicek’s game fell off in the later years of his career. In his last year on the tour, Krajicek was ranked No.61.
Krajicek’s injuries
In his later years, Krajicek struggled with injuries, including a wrist injury that required surgery in 2003. In 2004, he was diagnosed with a heart condition that curtailed his playing. He retired from professional tennis in 2007.
His retirement
He announced his retirement on 30 August 2013, after a career of more than 20 years.
