Go Back To Part I

Richard Krajicek returned the next day for a 22-minute installment to complete a 7-5,
7-6(3), 6-4 victory to end Pete Sampras’ 25-match winning streak at The Championships.

“I played unbelievable,” says Krajicek. “This is the only tournament
I’ve ever played, where every rain delay I played the same or even better than
the last one. I remember I played Michael Stich at Hamburg in 1992, but we went
off five times. Whoever was losing at each rain delay came back and reversed
the score. The momentum switched with the rain. It’s quite normal, something
happens during the rain delay.

“In 1996, at Wimbledon, nothing fazed me.”

“After I beat Pete, I still wasn’t thinking too much about winning the title. But once I saw that Goran
[Ivanisevic] lost, I thought, ‘Hey, this can maybe happen.’ Goran was a tough
opponent for me.”

“In the past, he did look too far ahead in the draw,” admits Rohan Goetzke.
“But this time, he adjusted his training and the tactics dependent on the
courts.”

“Richard was very superstitious and we largely stayed at the hotel resting and relaxing,” said Deckers. “On the morning of match day, he had ordered pancake from room service and ate them while watching cartoons on the BBC,” says Deckers. “He focused solely on each point, game and set. He was very
analytical. He never over celebrated a point, feeling that you leave your celebration
for the end of the match.”

The pressure level has gone up a notch.

“It was a no-win situation, the whole pressure changed,” said Goetzke.
“I felt whoever he played, he would win it. This was it. He was fired up
and ready to get the job done.”

Says Krajicek, 20 years on, “I think from the moment I beat Stich, I had
the feeling that I wouldn’t be happy with any result. I beat Stich and I put
my hands up. I beat Sampras, normally I should be ecstatic but I just raised
my arms. Nothing more.

“I kept in my brain that I’d been in semi-finals before. A nice result,
but I don’t want a nice result. I want to go for it all. It can happen, a letdown.
I remember the 1993 Roland Garros semi-finals, when I played Jim Courier, a
great player, but there I was really happy with a semi-final, which I didn’t
expect to reach. I wasn’t happy, I wanted more.

“I was the underdog when I played Stich and Pete, then I became the favourite
– particularly when MaliVai Washington beat Todd Martin,” said Krajicek,
who returned from his semi-final victory over Jason Stoltenberg on the old Court
No. 1, to watch the fifth set in his hotel room. “It suddenly totally turned
around.”

By improving his backhand return, rather than block returns Krajicek had become
able to strike passing shots. The other parts of his game were in place. By returning
better, he secured more breaks and it took less pressure off his serve, which
included 127 aces during The Championships’ fortnight.

Daphne Deckers had met Krajicek at a dinner party hosted by a Dutch skier two years
earlier.

“Richard told me he was the World No. 8,” remembers Deckers. “I
had no idea. I was modelling and had just written my first book.

“He said, ‘Models don’t write books!’ [Deckers has now written 22 books.]

At the Conrad Hilton, a 20-minute drive from The Championships, Krajicek and
Deckers are scouring the hotel’s VHS collection in search of Braveheart, Mel
Gibson’s 1995 historical execution of the 13th century Scottish warrior, William
Wallace, who led the Scots in battle against the English during the reign of
King Edward I.

It resonated for Krajicek, the son of Czech immigrants and a fractured childhood,
driven by his father’s pursuit of making a champion.

“I had room service that night and because I’d watched Braveheart a few
months before, and really liked it, it was inspirational. I watched it in the
hotel, on a video that I rented downstairs. It wasn’t on demand.”

Superstition and routine dominated the Wimbledon fortnight. Krajicek had eaten pancakes for breakfast each day, barring the day off between the semi-final and final. “We realised it could be the
biggest moment of our lives,” says Deckers.

“On the morning of the final we watched one particular scene from Braveheart again,” says Krajicek.
“I watched the speech before the Scots battled the English in Stirling…

‘Sons of Scotland, I am William Wallace.’

‘William Wallace is seven-feet tall,’ says a young solider.

‘Yes, I’ve heard. Kills men by the hundreds, and if he were here he’d consume
the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts of lightning from his arse.
I AM William Wallace. And I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance
of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What would
you do without freedom? Will you fight?’

‘Fight?’ says an older soldier. ‘Against that? No, we will run; and we will
live.

‘Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you’ll live — at least a while. And dying
in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days
from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and
tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!’

‘Alba gu bra! [Scotland forever!]’

“Then I was ready to go,” recalls Krajicek, who headed out to the
All England Club at 10:30 a.m.

Krajicek meets Wessels, who has lost to Ivan Ljubicic in the junior semi-finals,
for a one-hour hit. Wessels has a flight home, immediately afterwards. He won’t
get home to Amsterdam until the third set of the final.

“I was quite relaxed, as much as I could be,” recalls Krajicek. “It
was my first Grand Slam final and I knew the opportunity to play in the Wimbledon final against someone outside the Top
10, as Mal was, might not happen again. I think it was the first match we played.

“After lunch, Rohan said in general, especially because it was on grass,
‘Play your game, be aggressive and come in. But watch out if you come in on
his backhand, because he likes to hit a crosscourt pass or into the body. Enjoy
it, it will be a great experience. Go and beat him.'”

Deckers vividly recalls, “Following a quarter-final loss [to Yevgeny Kafelnikov] at Roland Garros the month before, I woke to tell Richard that ‘I’d dreamed
you will win Wimbledon.’ He didn’t believe me. It has never happened to me before.”

It’s 2:03 p.m.

As Referee Alan Mills ushers Krajicek and Washington to the net to pose for
photographs, Melissa Johnson, a 23-year-old design graduate from Manchester
Polytechnic, working as waitress at a pizza stall within the grounds, jumps
over the two-foot high wall in a mini pinny and streaks across Centre Court,
as the Duke and Duchess of Kent watch on from the Royal Box.

She spends the rest of the final in police custody.

“The streaker broke the tension,” says Krajicek. “There was
still a bit of tension afterwards, but it dissipated.” For Deckers, she
was a bundle of nerves. “I was really, really nervous. He had experienced
so much pain throughout his career – knees, elbow and shoulder. “

“My rhythm on my serve was good, but I found it difficult to return Mal’s
serve,” said Krajicek. “I wasn’t thrown off, because I knew it was
going to happen, but I had played a few serve and volley players, which gave
me a target. But now, against Mal, it was different. He was staying back. I
was returning a bit less, especially in the second set, where I was lucky to
get the break. But I was serving very well until 4-1, double break in the third
set. I suddenly realised I could win Wimbledon and got pretty nervous. I straight away dropped my serve for the first time in the match, but after that game I calmed down and finished the match with a good service game to break.”

It’s 6:06 p.m.

Game. Set. Match. Championship, Krajicek. 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. After two rain delays,
he drops to his knees just as his childhood hero, Bjorn Borg, did in each of
his five successive victories between 1976 and 1980. After 94 protracted minutes,
he holds the trophy like a baby. The lid falls off.

“He was always very ambitious,” says Deckers, finally able to celebrate.
“Despite the pain and a difficult childhood, it was his Dad’s dream for
him to become a tennis player. Victory liberated him from his childhood and
helped him rebuild his relationship with his Dad. Victory changed everything.
He broke out of his shell, he was free of pressure and helped him to set him
sights on winning another Grand Slam. It ended the negativity of his childhood.”

In the locker room, there are hugs and tears. Goetzke told him, “No one can
take this away from you. You’ve proved you can do it!” Franker asks, “‘Where
is the racquet you hit the last ball with?’ Krajicek signs the grip and it’s
later auctioned for charity in Suriname.” Krajicek gets a tux from
the old Court No. 2. “Daphne is always ensuring I am dressed smartly,”
he teases. “But she didn’t notice my bow tie was lopsided! It’s a funny
memory of the Wimbledon Ball.”

The prospect of going through The Hague in an open carriage was politely declined,
following Krajicek’s return to the Netherlands two months later, after the US
Open.

“I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do that’, says Krajicek. “But I did
say I wanted some interaction with kids to play tennis. I did a clinic in an
inner-city neighbourhood in The Hague and spoke with the kids and parents about
his little opportunities they had. It inspired me to set up the Richard Krajicek
Foundation six months later.

“We built and now work in 112 playgrounds, used for tennis, basketball and football, and give scholarships to kids to become
sports teachers,” says Deckers, who married Krajicek on 7 July 1999, exactly three years after the Wimbledon triumph. “I’ve
never watched a professional match prior to meeting Richard, but now we’re a
total tennis playing family.” Today, their son, Alec, is at the start of
his professional tennis journey, and their daughter, Emma, is heading to university. Both graduated on 7 July.

Krajicek chased his dream and proved through hard work that goals could be
realised. Winning Wimbledon was the making of him. As a keen and fierce competitor,
Krajicek was also smart. With great economy of movement, he never bulked up
but used his lean, rangy frame to maximise his talent. He became the standard-bearer
for every Dutch player, and while injuries continued to mount during the rest of his career, he has inspired
thousands in his Foundation’s work and, since 2004, as the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Krajicek’s golden Wimbledon trophy now sits in his living room.

Unpolished after 20 years, but not unloved.

Go Back To Part I

Paul Annacone has coached the two men who have won more Wimbledon titles than anyone else: Roger Federer (8) and Pete Sampras (7). According to the former World No. 12, there are differences between what makes them great on grass.

“Pete’s is obviously his serve. To me, he’s probably the best clutch server or serve-game holder that I’ve ever seen,” Annacone told ATPTour.com. “I think that Roger is a little bit different because his serve is unbelievable, but the rest of his grass-court game in terms of his ability to take the ball early and just rush you so well, that is very different from most people. I think that’s probably the difference. Roger rushes you from the back of the court by good court position and first-strike tennis. Pete overwhelms you with his serve.”

Read: Murray Wimbledon Lesson, ‘Big 4’ Racquet Draw Top New Fan Experience Prizes

While their games aren’t identical, Annacone believes Federer and Sampras share grass-court characteristics that helped them succeed.

“They were the two best grass-court players of their own eras and the grass courts played very differently in those times,” Annacone said. “Ultimately, they were incredibly confident and clear in big moments under pressure. In grass-court tennis, when you have such little time to adjust, both players were really good at thinking on their feet, and they ultimately trusted their games in the big moments.”

Pete Sampras, Paul Annacone” />

During the 1990s when Sampras dominated at Wimbledon, there was far more serve and volleying on grass. However, Annacone says grass-court tennis today revolves around the serve and first strike or return and first strike.

“You better be good from the get-go and be able to really set your tone about what your game plan and style is very early,” Annacone said. “Both of those guys were amazing at that.”

In recent years, players have been able to successfully adapt their games to grass. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is not best known for his serve or first-strike tennis, has won five of the past 10 Wimbledon titles.

“You can play your own style on all the different surfaces and you couldn’t do that years ago with the same kind of success,” Annacone said. “Back in the day when Pete was doing it, it was more bang-bang tennis, and so I think things change and the evolution happens, but the best players learn to adapt.”

Would Federer dominate on grass during Sampras’ era and vice versa? According to Annacone, it’s not so much about the era, but the player.

“I don’t really like to compare eras, because I just think the great players are going to figure it out,” Annacone said. “The tennis has changed. I just think that great players figure it out, they know what to do, and they would’ve adapted to different circumstances if they were in that era.”

Members of the ATP Coach Programme, in collaboration with the ATP, have announced a second round of fan experiences featuring top ATP players, in continued support of coaches affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative gives fans the opportunity to bid for ultimate tennis experiences with top ATP players and coaches through auctions and prize draws. Running 6-27 July 2020, the second round of experiences features a private coaching session with Andy Murray at Wimbledon, including two tickets to the men’s singles final and lunch at the members’ enclosure.

Private sessions are also available with ATP Players Grigor Dimitrov, Feliciano Lopez and Stan Wawrinka onsite at 2021 ATP Tour and Grand Slam events, as well as ATP coaches Severin Luthi, Carlos Moya, Toni Nadal, Magnus Norman and Dani Vallverdu. A frame featuring signed rackets from each of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal will also be available via prize draw.

Learn More About Dream Experiences

“There are some fantastic new experiences up for grabs that I hope fans will be excited by,” said Andy Murray, former World No.1. “I am personally very happy to be involved. So many areas of our sport have been affected throughout the Tour suspension, including coaches. It’s important we help each other where we can. I think everybody involved has done a great job in creating something unique for fans that also supports a worthy cause.”

Launched last month, the first round of bidding raised over USD $90,000 including a USD $19,000 winning bid for a US Open VIP Package and coaching session with Ivan Lendl. Funds raised will be allocated by the ATP Coaches Committee to support the members of the ATP Coach Programme, whose ability to work has been impacted by the ongoing pandemic. In addition, a part of proceeds will be donated to a global COVID-19 relief fund.

“It has been really exciting to see the response the initiative has received so far. It’s fair to say it has exceeded all our expectations and will go a long way to help coaches,” said Dani Vallverdu, ATP Coach. “I want to thank everyone for their generous contributions and look forward to fans enjoying the incredible experiences lined up in the second round.”

“I would like to commend all coaches, players and tournaments who are coming together to bring these experiences to life,” said Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman. “As a fan, to spend time on court with some of the biggest names in tennis and see tournaments in such a unique way will be inspiring.”

For more information on available experiences and merchandise or to donate to the initiative please click here.

The ATP has today announced how the revised FedEx ATP Rankings will be calculated once the Tour resumes. The Rankings, which reflect a player’s standing among the world’s best players and are used for tournament entry and seedings, are the lifeblood of professional tennis.

In anticipation of a return to competition in August, the Rankings, which traditionally operate on a “Best 18” results basis over 52 weeks, will now cover a period of 22 months (March 2019 – December 2020). The Rankings have been frozen since 16 March 2020, just days after the ATP Tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic..

The revised Rankings system aims to deliver the following key objectives:

• Provide flexibility & fairness to players across all levels in parallel with the condensed number of points available as part of the revised provisional 2020 calendar.
• Provide stability for players who cannot or prefer not to compete in 2020 due to health & safety.
• Provide a system that can adapt to further changes in the calendar if necessary.
• Reward players who perform well following the resumption of the Tour in 2020.
• Retain the principle of defending tournament points week by week in 2021, maintaining player mobility in the rankings.

BEST OF 2019 & 2020 RESULTS:
Among the key elements of the revised 22-month Ranking system are the following:

• A player’s ranking will be comprised of his “Best 18” results between March 2019 and December 2020.
• A player cannot count the same Tour-level tournament twice in his “Best 18” breakdown. For example, a player who played the Mutua Madrid Open in 2019 and plays Madrid again in 2020, will count the better of those two results.
• Tour-level tournament points added in 2020 that count in a player’s Ranking Breakdown will remain on a player’s ranking for 52 weeks, or until the event in question is played again in 2021, whichever comes first.

The temporary changes to the Rankings system have been made in consultation with the four Grand Slam tournaments and the ITF. Should the 2021 season be impacted by Covid-19, further adjustments to Rankings will be considered.

NITTO ATP FINALS QUALIFICATIONS:
The revised FedEx ATP Rankings will determine the singles qualifiers to the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals. As per normal, points earned at the season finale (as an additional 19th event) in 2019 will not count towards a player’s qualification for the 2020 event, ensuring a level playing field for 2020 qualification.

In doubles, the 2020 FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings will continue to be used to determine the eight teams that make it to London.

A full FAQ on the revised FedEx ATP Rankings, including details related to the ATP Challenger Tour, is available here.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes to the FedEx ATP Rankings have been made to preserve the principles of merit, fairness and mobility in an attempt to apply a similar approach to the normal ATP Rankings. The Rankings will be updated on the Monday after the first week of competition once the Tour resumes. This will be the first time the Rankings are released since 16 March, when they were frozen due to the suspension of the ATP Tour. Below is a list of questions and answers relating to the Rankings changes.

(Note: The term Tour-level events used in the FAQ includes Grand Slams and ATP Tour tournaments.)

Why make these changes now?
Due to the uncertainty of the calendar through 2020 as a result of COVID-19, points from the 16 March 2020 frozen Rankings will not drop in 2020 unless they are replaced by a better result. Additionally, this will provide stability to players who may not feel comfortable travelling and competing due to the pandemic.

How will players be affected by the Rankings changes?
For the remainder of 2020, no player will have fewer points than he currently has in his frozen ranking. But players can improve their points total by playing after the Tour’s resumption and achieving results that are strong enough to be included in their countable results (“Best 18”).   

When will the FedEx ATP Rankings be run for the first time since being frozen on 16 March?
The Rankings will be updated on the Monday after the first week of competition once the Tour resumes.

Which Ranking will be used for seeding when the Tour resumes?
The 16 March Rankings will be used for seeding for the first two (2) weeks of competition. Thereafter, players will be seeded based on the latest FedEx ATP Rankings. Based on a return to competition as the provisional calendar states, the US Open will use the first published Rankings (24 August).

How will 2020 events played after the Tour resumption count toward a player’s ranking?
Players can use the best result from 2019 or 2020 from the same Tour-level event (if played after the Tour resumption).  If a player’s 2019 result is better than his 2020 result, his 2020 result will not be included in his ranking breakdown.

How will 2020 ATP Challenger Tour /ITF World Tennis Tour events played after the Tour resumption count toward a player’s ranking?
Any points obtained at ATP Challenger Tour/ITF World Tennis Tour events upon Tour resumption will be considered among a player’s ‘Best of Other Countable’ results. A result obtained in 2020 that is not better than his lowest ‘Best of Other Countable’ results will be included in the Non-Countable results on his ranking breakdown.

If a player has the same result from both the 2019 and 2020 Tour-level event, which year will be counted in his Ranking?
If a player earns the same result in both 2019 and 2020 at the same Tour-level event, he will keep his 2019 result and not count the 2020 result. An improved result in 2020 will be considered among his ‘Best of Other Countable’ results and will only improve a player’s points total if the 2020 result is better than his lowest ‘Best of Other Countable’ result.

What happens if a player earns the same or fewer points in 2020 than 2019 at the same Tour-level event?
The 2020 result will not count. The player will keep his 2019 result (which stays as a mandatory result if the event was a mandatory 2019 tournament). This ensures rankings integrity as a player cannot improve his ranking by losing early in the same round as 2019.

Can a player count 2019 points and 2020 points from the same Tour-level event in his ranking breakdown?
No, a player may only count each Tour-level event once.

How will points at the Tour level be replaced/dropped from the Tour resumption until end of 2020?
After the Tour resumption through the end of 2020, a player will replace Tour-level points from the same event only if his 2020 result is better than his 2019 result. If a player competes at an event in 2020 that he did not contest in 2019, points earned at that event must exceed the points of his lowest countable result to displace that lowest countable result from his ‘Best of Other Countable’ total.  

In 2021, points will drop based on their standard scheduled drop date when the Tour-level event is played.

How will qualifications be handled for the Nitto ATP Finals?
Historically, the FedEx ATP Rankings have served as the official determinant for singles qualifications into ATP’s season-ending event, and this will continue to be the case. Due to the Tour suspension, the FedEx ATP Race To London this year will not accurately reflect which players are likely to qualify. For that reason, ATP will not promote the Race this year. The Race to Milan will also not be promoted since it will follow a similar approach to the Nitto ATP Finals qualification.

The FedEx ATP Rankings run on 9 November will be used for Nitto ATP Finals singles qualification. The FedEx ATP Doubles Team Rankings, reflecting only results earned by teams in 2020 prior to 9 November, will be used for Nitto ATP Finals doubles qualification.

Will points from the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals be extended into 2021?
No. Points earned at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals will drop 9 November, 2020 after the Rolex Paris Masters. As per existing ATP Tour rules, 2019 Nitto ATP Finals points will not count for qualification into the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020.

Why is the Nitto ATP Finals drop date not extended 52 weeks?
The Nitto ATP Finals is an extra event in a player’s Rankings breakdown and not part of the “Best 18” results. Points from the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals will drop as per its normal process on 9 November after the 2020 Rolex Paris Masters. This ensures that players who did not qualify for last year’s season finale have the same opportunity to qualify this year as do the players who competed in London in 2019.

Will drop dates be extended for events that took place prior to the Tour’s suspension? 
Provided that the calendar resumes as normal in 2021, drop dates for events played early in 2020 (6 January-9 March) will not change. Except for the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, all other drop dates for events that were not played in 2020 will be extended for another 52 weeks.

How long will Tour events played after the Tour resumes stay on the Rankings?
2020 Tour events after resumption will stay on the Rankings for 52 weeks OR until the event is played again in 2021, whichever comes first. Any events played in 2021 will stay on for 52 weeks as standard.

How long will ATP Challenger/ITF World Tennis Tour events after Tour resumption stay on the Rankings?
ATP Challenger Tour/ITF World Tennis Tour events played after the Tour resumes will stay on the Rankings for 52 weeks.

Why are ATP Challenger Tour/ITF World Tennis Tour events being added differently than Tour-level events?
ATP Challenger Tour and ITF World Tennis Tour events are scheduled on a one-year basis and do not have consistent spots in the calendar. Therefore, all results from these events will be added to a player’s Rankings breakdown. However, results will only improve a player’s “Best 18” points total if better than a player’s lowest ‘Best of Other Countable’ result.

Will events played in 2020 after the suspension be considered mandatory?
No.

Will mandatory events that were originally scheduled to drop during the Tour’s suspension be considered mandatory for rankings purposes?
All events that were considered mandatory on the 16 March Ranking will remain mandatory if they are not replaced by a player’s 2020 result.

How will zero-point ranking penalties given in 2019 be handled?
Only if a player plays the same event in 2020 will a player’s 2019 zero-point ranking penalty be removed.

What happens if a player plays the 2020 edition of a Tour-level event and did not play that same event in 2019?
The 2020 result will be considered part of the player’s ‘Best of Other Countable’ results on the player’s Rankings breakdown.

Why is the US Open doubles points breakdown the same as an ATP Masters 1000 points breakdown?
The Masters 1000 doubles points breakdown will be used at the 2020 US Open doubles based on a reduced 32-draw size (the same as a Masters 1000).   

How will entries for ATP Cup work?
The FedEx ATP Rankings run on 14 September 2020 will be used for the first entry deadline and the Rankings run on 16 November 2020 will be used for the second entry deadline.

Editor’s Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Wimbledon would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the grass-court Grand Slam. This story was originally published on 7 July 2016.

At the only grass-court tournament in continental Europe, the lawns are wet
and the tennis balls are low bouncing. A one-time happy hunting ground, Richard
Krajicek is far from positive. His spirits, and those of his coach, Rohan Goetzke,
have worsened progressively. Narrow wins over Jacco Eltingh and Hendrik Jan
Davids precede a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Paul Haarhuis. Goetzke is fuming.

“He put in a shocker,” recalls Goetzke, his Australian coach of nearly
six years. “He was hitting the ball okay, but he wasn’t confident.”

“I wasn’t motivated to play,” admits Krajicek. “During my career,
I battled myself as well as my opponent. There were times in practice when my
coach would be shaking his head. My attitude was bad, not even that – I wasn’t
trying, but I was getting too upset. I was too much of a perfectionist.”

Goetzke tells Krajicek, “There’s nothing wrong with your game. You serve
and return well. You’re a whinger!

“If you go on holiday, I’m gone. Wimbledon is the biggest tournament of
the year. You’re going to look back on your career and wonder where it went.
Do something!”

A holiday beckons.

“We had planned to go to Austria, for a sporting vacation,” remembers
his wife, Daphne Deckers, 20 years on. “Richard was always improving with
Rohan, although life as a professional tennis player is hugely stressful for
all parties.”

Krajicek takes time out. But he soon calls Goetzke, ready to work. They head
to London. “You can win this,” Goetzke tells Krajicek. “You can
go a long way. You need to enjoy the process, the ride.”

“We decided to train on hard courts, as I always struggled with rhythm,”
remembers Krajicek. “My game wasn’t too much rhythm, but the points were
so short that after a couple of days on the grass, I felt I was playing worse
and worse. Maybe I was serving and volleying good, but I had no timing. I was
reading this article that when Andre Agassi won Wimbledon in 1992, he spent
hardly any time on grass. It was all hard courts. He just wanted timing. I hit
a few times on hard court, only 20 minutes a day, then I kept having a good
feeling.”

Aged 24, Krajicek has already overcome two knee surgeries and he’s also been
out of action for five months without going under the knife. “My knee was
always a problem,” explains Krajicek. “It was part of my body. I was
told I was quite strong, but because I was always serve and volleying, and I
was tall I had more chance for injury. That was the downside, but the upside
was that I was able to play the way I did.”

With two first-round losses at The Championships – to decent grass-court players:
Darren Cahill in 1994 and to Bryan Shelton in 1995, Krajicek’s main goal is
to survive round one. Despite being No. 14 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, he
isn’t among the list of 16 seeds. But No. 2-ranked Thomas Muster is angered
by his seeding of seventh and withdraws due to a left thigh muscle injury that
he picked up at The Queen’s Club. The announcement comes through on 20 June,
following the Austrian’s 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 loss to Brett Steven at the Gerry Weber
Open in Halle. Krajicek moves into Muster’s slot. It’s three days before The
Championships begins.

Krajicek comes up against Steven on the ‘graveyard.’ Court No. 2.

“He wasn’t focused,” remembers Stanley Franker, who, at the time
was the Dutch Davis Cup captain. “He was trying so hard to lose the match.
I remember leaving the court, because it was so frustrating.”

“The third round was bad weather, windy and cold,” says Krajicek.
“I got back in my negativity, in my old ways for the first two sets. I
won the first set 7-6(5), then I lost 6-7(5).”

At 1-4 down in the third set, Krajicek is on the edge.

“Then I turned a switch in my head,” says Krajicek. “‘Okay,
let’s stop complaining and play,’ I told myself. It was probably my most important
match for the way I thought.”

“I returned to see him re-born,” says Franker, who stays to see Krajicek win 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2.

Goetzke recalls, “Afterwards, I asked, ‘You okay?’

“He said, ‘You don’t need to say anything, I’m good’. It was like going
back to his younger days…”

Krajicek first met Goetzke aged 16. On a four-week European tour in 1989,
they hit it off and Krajicek’s game continually developed in his training alongside
the likes of Paul Dogger and Eltingh.

“It wasn’t immediately apparent that he would make it, like some juniors”
says Goetzke. “Richard was competitive and wanted to win, but he got frustrated
easily. He learned to be a pro.”

“At the age of 10, he didn’t have big shots,” admits Franker. “But
he had a great game. He was a little lazy, but he worked on his attitude and
he responded well. He later shot up and was totally uncoordinated. But his body
developed. Rohan and Richard were a fantastic match.”

“He wanted to win and fight, and he could hang in there,” says Goetzke.
“But it cost a lot of energy and time. I recall coming down on him once
in practice, when he was playing with younger players, prior to going to the
1991 Stuttgart Indoors. I told him to ‘go back and apologise, otherwise we’re
done.’ It was a rollercoaster.”

Krajicek says, “Rohan always knew when to be tough with me and when to
take it easy, Strategically, he helped me improve as a player and into a happier
person.”

“I got tough on some players and I didn’t care who it was,” says
Franker, who helped to establish the standard for every Dutch player in the
1980s and 1990s. “If they saw my face, they knew they hard to work. You
had to be 100 per cent professional, otherwise you wouldn’t play for Holland.
You had to walk the walk and set an example.”

Peter Wessels is a product of the Dutch system. As one of the world’s
top juniors he is enlisted by Goetzke to practise with Krajicek, from his second-round
victory over Derrick Rostagno. “Peter was someone Richard knew,” says
Goetzke. “Someone he felt comfortable with, so it enabled him to relax
and it gave both of them a lift.

“At the start, we’d nearly gone back to a double-handed backhand, that’s
how bad it had been. Richard’s backhand had been a weakness, his lesser stroke.
But he served great, was good at the net and had good movement. In stopping
his bid to try to perfect his backhand, we worked on his strengths. It was then
tough to find a hole in his game.”

Krajicek and Wessels sessions are not too long, an hour or so a day. “I
remember him being pretty relaxed yet very focused and determined,” remembers
Wessels, who is now based in the United Arab Emirates. “In the past, they’d
practised serve accuracy by aiming on muesli bars placed in the service box.
These were muesli bars we both hated, but if one of us hit the bar the other
one was forced to eat it. I remember hitting the bar, but he never ate it…”

“To me, personally, he looked different on court compared to some other
tournaments where I’ve seen him play. In the training sessions, he was
a bit more positive than usual. Sometimes he could get down on himself or even
a bit cranky when things didn’t go his way, but I didn’t see that at all
during the tournament.

“It motivated me that he did so well. I had in my mind that it would be
a great story if two Dutchmen could win Wimbledon in the same year.”

It’s three years since Krajicek first played on Centre Court, when he
lost to defending champion Andre Agassi 7-5, 7-6(7), 7-6(8) in the 1993 fourth
round. For the past two days, it has been raining in London. Krajicek stayed
on top of Michael Stich, one of the sport’s most naturally talented players,
in a tough fourth-round victory by maintaining a really aggressive brand of
tennis. Today, Wednesday, 3 July, Krajicek is confident that he can overcome
Pete Sampras, the three-time champion, in a contest on the sport’s grandest
stage. The pair has met four times, but not since the Paris Indoors at the end
of 1994.

“I always played good against Pete,” admits Krajicek, who saves five
break points in a 12-minute third game. “I knew he was a great front runner.”
With rain interrupting the match at 2-2 in the first set, Sir Cliff Richard,
a member of the All England Club, is coaxed by chief executive Christopher Gorringe
to sing during a break in play of three hours and 40 minutes. A request for
one song, ‘Summer Holiday’, becomes an impromptu concert and his backing group,
the ‘Shadows’, feature Pam Shriver, Conchita Martinez, Gigi Fernandez, Virginia
Wade, and finally, to a big cheer, Martina Navratilova. The rain delay lasts
three hours and 40 minutes. Krajicek bides him time, “relaxing, only doing
things to help you feel good.

“Once I won that third game and we got to 4-4 and 5-5, I was surprised
how well he played. I was surprised how well he started. There was so much energy.
He felt really good on the court. It was a different Pete Sampras to any time
I played him. Because I’d stayed with him, saving all of those break point chances,
I felt that his energy level come down a bit. He knew I would be intimidated
a bit by Centre Court. If Pete had broken me in the third game, I think it would
have been totally different. I had a bit of luck, but from 4-4 we were equals.”

The second chapter lasts one hour and 37 minutes. The third passage, a further
51 minutes. With a two-sets-to-love lead and at 1-1 in the third set, just as
Krajicek strikes his 23rd ace, and, in spite of blue skies overhead, the players
are forced into the locker room. Krajicek and Sampras don’t return until the
next day. “The reason why we couldn’t play was because one of the ground
staff slipped under the covers, leaving the court exposed,” remembers Krajicek.
With physio Jan Naaktgeboren set to work on Krajicek’s increasingly sore shoulder,
the hotel and room service beckoned. “Play was cancelled pretty much straight
away.

“So many times you see top players compete and they are struggling in
the beginning of a tournament, then an opponent makes a mistake or something
happens, then their fortunes change. In my brain, I hoped this wasn’t something
that would save Pete. Maybe, if we’d returned, the match might have changed.
Because I was in the flow and he was struggling. In the end, he had a night
to re-group with his coach and I had a night of thinking what might happen.”

Goetzke recalls, “Pete did not like to play Richard. You always felt in
the match with Pete, and it was a tall order to come back from two sets down.
Richard regrouped and carried the momentum into the following day.”

Go To Part II: Continue Reading…