Richard Krajicek
Richard Krajicek
Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek (Czech: Krajíček; born 6 December 1971) is a Dutch
                                                                                                                  Richard Krajicek
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,[1] with whom he had a son who was born
prematurely and died of an infection after two weeks of life.[2] 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).[3]
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
                                                                                                   Krajicek at the Eastbourne International tennis
of his is another tennis player, the American Austin Krajicek.[4]
                                                                                                                 tournament in 2011.
Krajicek is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a political           Country (sports)         Netherlands
party in the Netherlands.[5]                                                                      Residence           Muiderberg, Netherlands
                                                                                                  Born                6 December 1971
                                                                                                                      Rotterdam, Netherlands
Career                                                                                            Height              1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Richard Krajicek began playing tennis at the age of four. As a youngster he won both the          Turned pro          1989
Dutch under-12 and the under-14 National Championships twice. His biggest achievement             Retired             2003
as a youngster was winning the Wiltshire Open in the UK after beating Steven White in             Plays               Right-handed (one-handed
straight sets in the final. He turned professional in 1989, and in 1991 won his first top-level                       backhand)
singles title in Hong Kong and his first tour doubles title at the Dutch Open.
                                                                                                  Prize money         $10,077,425
In 1992, the 1.95 metres (6 feet 5 inches) Dutchman reached his first Grand Slam semi-                                 Singles
finals at the Australian Open. He had to withdraw from this semi-final match due to a             Career record       411–219
shoulder injury. The next year, he reached the semi-finals at the French Open, where he lost
                                                                                                  Career titles       17
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,                 Highest ranking     No. 4 (29 March 1999)
"Eighty percent of the top 100 women are fat pigs who don't deserve equal pay." Later, he                   Grand Slam singles results
jokingly clarified his comments, remarking, "What I meant to say was that only 75 percent         Australian Open     SF (1992)
are fat pigs."[6]                                                                                 French Open         SF (1993)
At the 1996 Italian Open, Krajicek reached the final, before losing in four sets to the           Wimbledon           W (1996)
reigning champion, Thomas Muster. At the French Open later that year, Krajicek was the            US Open             QF (1997, 1999, 2000)
only player to take a set off the eventual champion, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, during their                             Other tournaments
quarterfinal match.
                                                                                                  Tour Finals         SF (1996)
Coming into 1996 Wimbledon, Krajicek had never previously progressed beyond the fourth            Grand Slam Cup      QF (1992, 1996)
round at the tournament and had lost in the first round in the two previous years. He was                             Doubles
seen as a player with potential, having one of the fastest serves at the time, but was not
                                                                                                  Career record       77–60
considered to be a strong contender for the title. The clear favourite was Pete Sampras, who
                                                                                                  Career titles       3
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             Highest ranking     No. 45 (26 July 1993)
seventh seed (and world No. 2) Thomas Muster pulled out shortly before the tournament                       Grand Slam doubles results
due to an injury, Krajicek was declared the 17th seed and moved to Muster's place in the          Australian Open     SF (1992)
draw. Opinions differ, therefore, on whether he won the tournament as an unseeded player.
                                                                                                  French Open         3R (1991)
He beat former champion Michael Stich in the fourth round and met Sampras in the                  Wimbledon           2R (1991)
quarterfinals. By that time, he had managed to turn his notably weak slice backhand into an       US Open             1R (1995)
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                        Team competitions
until Sampras's fourth-round loss to Roger Federer in 2001. Next, he beat Australia's Jason     Davis Cup          QF (1993, 1994, 1995)
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.[7][8] 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.[9] In 2000, Krajicek was awarded the ATP Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award for his efforts to help youth
in his home country.[10] He was named ATP Comeback Player of the Year in 2002.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13] In 2004, Krajicek became the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
Singles: 1 (1 title)
Loss 1996 Rome Clay Thomas Muster 2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
                                             Carpet
 Loss     1997     Stuttgart
                                             (i)
                                                             Petr Korda               6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
Win 1999 Key Biscayne Hard Sébastien Grosjean 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–5
                                             Carpet
 Loss     1999     Stuttgart                                 Thomas Enqvist           1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 5–7
                                             (i)
Career finals
Win 1–0 Apr 1991 Hong Kong, UK World Series Hard Wally Masur 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
                                                             Championships
 Loss       1–1     Apr 1992    Tokyo, Japan
                                                             Series
                                                                                    Hard           Jim Courier       4–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
                    Aug
 Win        2–1                 Los Angeles, U.S.            World Series           Hard           Mark Woodforde    6–4, 2–6, 6–4
                    1992
                    Nov                                                             Carpet
 Win        3–1                 Antwerp, Belgium             World Series                          Mark Woodforde    6–2, 6–2
                    1992                                                            (i)
                    Aug
 Win        4–2
                    1993
                                Los Angeles, U.S.            World Series           Hard           Michael Chang     0–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–5)
                                                             Championships
 Win        5–2     Apr 1994    Barcelona, Spain
                                                             Series
                                                                                    Clay           Carlos Costa      6–4, 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Win 6–2 Jun 1994 Rosmalen, Netherlands World Series Grass Karsten Braasch 6–3, 6–4
                                                             Championships
 Win        7–2     Oct 1994    Sydney, Australia
                                                             Series
                                                                                    Hard (i)       Boris Becker      7–6(7–5), 7–6(9–7), 2–6, 6–3
 Win        8–2
                    Feb
                                Stuttgart, Germany
                                                             Championships          Carpet
                                                                                                   Michael Stich     7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–
                    1995                                     Series                 (i)                              3
                    Mar                                                             Carpet
 Win        9–2
                    1995
                                Rotterdam, Netherlands       World Series
                                                                                    (i)
                                                                                                   Paul Haarhuis     7–6(7–5), 6–4
                    Aug                                      Championships
 Loss       9–3
                    1995
                                New Haven, U.S.
                                                             Series
                                                                                    Hard          Andre Agassi       6–3, 6–7(2–7), 3–6
                    May
 Loss       9–4                 Rome, Italy                  Super 9                Clay           Thomas Muster     2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
                    1996
                                                                                                  MaliVai
 Win        10–4    Jul 1996    Wimbledon, UK                Grand Slam             Grass                            6–3, 6–4, 6–3
                                                                                               Washington
                    Aug
 Loss       10–5                Los Angeles, U.S.            World Series           Hard           Michael Chang     4–6, 3–6
                    1996
                    Mar                                                             Carpet
 Win        11–5
                    1997
                                Rotterdam, Netherlands       World Series
                                                                                    (i)
                                                                                                   Daniel Vacek      7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5)
                                                             Championships
 Win        12–5    Apr 1997    Tokyo, Japan                                        Hard           Lionel Roux       6–2, 3–6, 6–1
                                                             Series
 Win        13–5    Jun 1997    Rosmalen, Netherlands        World Series           Grass          Guillaume Raoux   6–4, 7–6(9–7)
                                                                                    Carpet
 Loss       13–6    Oct 1997    Stuttgart, Germany           Super 9
                                                                                    (i)
                                                                                                   Petr Korda        6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
                    Feb                                                             Carpet
 Win        14–6
                    1998
                                St. Petersburg, Russia       World Series
                                                                                    (i)
                                                                                                 Marc Rosset         6–4, 7–6(7–5)
                    Aug
 Loss       14–7
                    1998
                                Toronto, Canada              Super 9                Hard           Patrick Rafter    6–7(3–7), 4–6
                    Nov                                                                            Yevgeny
 Win        15–7                Stuttgart, Germany           Super 9                Hard (i)                         6–4, 6–3, 6–3
                    1998                                                                       Kafelnikov
                    Mar                                                                            Sébastien
 Win        17–7                Miami, U.S.                  Super 9                Hard                             4–6, 6–1, 6–2, 7–5
                    1999                                                                       Grosjean
                    Nov
 Loss       17–8                Stuttgart, Germany           Super 9                Hard (i)       Thomas Enqvist    1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 5–7
                    1999
Loss 17–9 Jun 2000 Halle, Germany International Series Grass David Prinosil 3–6, 2–6
Performance timelines
Key
 W      F   SF     QF    #R    RR   Q#     DNQ      A   NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ)
did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Singles
                                                                                                                                                                      Career
                                                                                                                                                           Career
  Tournament          1989    1990     1991     1992    1993    1994    1995    1996     1997      1998      1999        2000     2001      2002    2003               win–
                                                                                                                                                            SR
                                                                                                                                                                       loss
Wimbledon A A 3R 3R 4R 1R 1R W 4R SF 3R 2R A QF A 1 / 11 29–10
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
                          Did not qualify       RR              DNQ             SF                                   Did not qualify                        0/2           3–4
Cup
Grand Slam Cup NH DNQ QF DNQ 1R DNQ QF Not Held 0/3 2–3
Cincinnati A A A 3R 2R 1R 1R 3R 2R 3R QF 1R A 3R A 0 / 10 9–10
Madrid
                       A        A         A      A       A      2R      QF      3R           F         W         F        2R       A         A        A     1/7           17–6
(Stuttgart)
Paris                  A        A       1R      3R      2R      3R      QF      2R       QF        2R        2R            A       A         A        A     0/9           6–9
Masters Series
                      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
SR
                                                                                                                                                                          101–
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
                                                                                                                                                                           66
Year-end
                      392      129        45     10      15      17      11         7     11           10     10           36          –    112     147             N/A
ranking
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. Stefan Edberg 2 New Haven, United States Hard 3R 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 37
1992
                                                                            Carpet
9.    Petr Korda           7      Antwerp, Belgium
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       QF   3–6, 6–1, 7–6(9–7)                                 13
                                                                            Carpet
10.   Jim Courier          1      Antwerp, Belgium                                     SF   4–6, 6–4, 7–5                                      13
                                                                            (i)
                                                          1993
                                                                            Carpet
12.   Sergi Bruguera       10     Stuttgart, Germany                                   1R   6–2, 6–3                                           13
                                                                            (i)
15.   Michael Chang        9      Los Angeles, United States                Hard       F                  (7–3)           (7–5)                10
                                                                                            0–6, 7–6              , 7–6
                                                          1994
                                                                            Carpet
20.   Wayne Ferreira       10     Stuttgart, Germany
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       2R   6–3, 7–6(7–0)                                      16
                                                                            Carpet
21.   Michael Stich        9      Stuttgart, Germany
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       F    7–6(7–4), 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 1–6, 6–3                  16
22. Boris Becker 4 New Haven, United States Hard QF 7–6(7–5), 3–6, 7–6(7–5) 14
23. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6 New Haven, United States Hard SF 6–4, 6–4 14
                                                                            Carpet
24.   Boris Becker         4      Essen, Germany
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       3R   6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3                                 15
1996
25. Pete Sampras 1 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass QF 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 6–4 13
                                                                            Carpet
26.   Michael Chang        2      ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt              RR   6–4, 6–4                                           8
                                                                            (i)
                                                                            Carpet
27.   Thomas Muster        5      ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       RR   7–6(7–4), 6–7(5–7), 6–3                            8
1997
                                                                            Carpet
28.   Thomas Enqvist       8      Rotterdam, Netherlands
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       SF   6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4                                 7
                                                                            Carpet
30.   Pete Sampras         1      Stuttgart, Germany                                   3R   6–4, 6–4                                           15
                                                                            (i)
                                                                            Carpet
31.   Pat Rafter           3      Paris, France                                        3R   7–5, 6–2                                           11
                                                                            (i)
                                                          1998
                                                                            Carpet
32.   Greg Rusedski        6      Rotterdam, Netherlands
                                                                            (i)
                                                                                       QF   3–6, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–3)                            10
39. Yevgeny Kafelnikov 8 Stuttgart, Germany Hard (i) F 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 11
1999
                                                                                     Carpet
 40.       Greg Rusedski                 10      London, United Kingdom
                                                                                     (i)
                                                                                                F    7–6(8–6), 6–7(5–7), 7–5            9
2000
Honours
    Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (1997)[14]
    Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (17 November 2017)[15][16]
    Medal of Honour for Ingenuity and Entrepreneurship of the Order of the House of Orange (17 juni 2024)[17]
Bibliography
List of books written by Richard Krajicek:[18]
References
 1. "Lory Del Santo: "I cried only for Richard Krajicek" " (https://www.tio.ch/people/gossip/1256324/lory-del-santo-i-cried-only-for-ric
    hard-krajicek). Ticinonline (in Italian). 1 May 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
 2. "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" " (https://www.corriere.it/cronache/22_luglio_31/lory-del-santo-intervista2-a921074a-0f3b-11ed-ab90-1e61a5c98d2
    a.shtmll) (in Italian). 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
 3. Alec Deckers over achternaam: ’Ze dachten ons meer anonimiteit te geven...’ (https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/44842327/alec-de
    ckers-over-achternaam-ze-dachten-ons-meer-anonimiteit-te-geven) – website of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf
 4. "NCAA champs storm E'ville Futures event" (https://www.theintelligencer.com/sports/article/NCAA-champs-storm-E-ville-Future
    s-event-10434489.php). The Edwardsville Intelligencer. 11 August 2011.
 5. (in Dutch) Krajicek schrijft mee aan VVD-verkiezingsprogramma (http://www.elsevier.nl/Politiek/nieuws/2009/11/Krajicek-schrijft
    -mee-aan-VVD-verkiezingsprogramma-ELSEVIER251046W/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20140908111708/http://w
    ww.elsevier.nl/Politiek/nieuws/2009/11/Krajicek-schrijft-mee-aan-VVD-verkiezingsprogramma-ELSEVIER251046W/) 8
    September 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Elsevier, 17 November 2012
 6. Mcginty, Stephen (10 January 2006). "Crowd's racket over Murray's 'sexist' quip" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011060513134
    2/http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Crowds--racket-over-Murrays.2740847.jp). The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the
    original (http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=41472006) on 5 June 2011.
 7. sportsillustrated.cnn.com (https://web.archive.org/web/20000816215423/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1998/wimbledo
    n/)
 8. sportsillustrated.cnn.com (https://web.archive.org/web/20000824132347/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/1998/wimbledo
    n/news/1998/07/03/wimbledon_update_2/)
 9. Roberts, Selena (7 September 2000). "U.S. OPEN; Sampras Awakes To Stop Krajicek" (https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/07/s
    ports/us-open-sampras-awakes-to-stop-krajicek.html). The New York Times.
10. "Award seals Kuerten's dream year" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/1213996.stm). BBC News. 11 March 2001.
    Retrieved 22 May 2010.
11. Richard Krajicek. "Tennis – CBSSports.com Scoreboard, Schedules, Players" (https://web.archive.org/web/20041209111311/ht
    tp://www.sportsline.com/tennis/players/playerpage/201551/2003). Sportsline.com. Archived from the original (http://www.sportsl
    ine.com/tennis/players/playerpage/201551/2003) on 9 December 2004. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
12. "Players – Head to Head" (http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=K214&oId=S402).
    www.atpworldtour.com. ATP.
13. "Q&A: Richard Krajicek" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/have_your_say/3756696.stm). BBC News. 1 November 2004.
    Retrieved 22 May 2010.
14. Petr Krajicek, de vader van Richard: 'Ik moet mezelf al zovéél verwijten' (https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/1997/03/22/petr-krajicek-de-
    vader-van-richard-ik-moet-mezelf-7346987-a62294) – – website of the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad
15. Richard Krajicek geridderd (https://www.weekend-online.nl/nieuws/richard-krajicek-geridderd/) – website of Dutch magazine
    Weekend
16. 'In mijn hele leven staat risicomijdend gedrag voorop' (https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2018/01/12/in-mijn-hele-leven-staat-risicomijd
    end-gedrag-voorop-a1588171) – website of the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad
17. Koning reikt Eremedaille van de Huisorde van Oranje uit aan Richard Krajicek (https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/actueel/nieuws/202
    4/06/17/koning-reikt-eremedaille-van-de-huisorde-van-oranje-uit-aan-richard-krajicek) – website of the Dutch royal house
18. "Richard Krajicek" (http://www.bol.com/nl/c/boeken/richard-krajicek/33118/index.html). bol.com. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
External links
    Richard Krajicek (https://www.atptour.com/en/players/-/K214/overview) at the Association of Tennis Professionals
    Richard Krajicek (https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/richard-krajicek/800180959/ned) at the International Tennis Federation
    Richard Krajicek (https://www.daviscup.com/en/players/player.aspx?id=800180959) at the Davis Cup
    Richard Krajicek Foundation (http://www.krajicek.nl/)
    Sunday Times article 14 February 2010 (https://archive.today/20110604214438/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/art
    icle7026057.ece)