Johan Christiaan Kriek (born April 5, 1958) is a South African–American former professional tennis player. He won two Australian Open titles, defeating Steve Denton in four sets in the 1981 final and the same opponent in the 1982 final in straight sets, when he tamed Denton's powerful serve and "relentlessly whipped winners past him from all angles of the court".
Kriek reached the semifinals at the French Open and US Open, as well as the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships. He won 14 professional singles and eight doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 7 in September 1984.
Career Johan Kriek turned professional in 1978 at the age of 20. Kriek made his first Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon’s in 1978, reaching the second round. In the 1978 US Open, Kriek advanced to the quarterfinals. The following year, in 1979, he reached the quarter-finals at the US Open for the second consecutive year, losing to American Vitas Gerulaitis.
1980 saw Kriek make the semi-finals of the US Open. Going into the tournament unseeded, he was defeated by Bjorn Borg in the semi-final despite winning the first two sets. By the end of 1980, Kriek had risen to No.18 in the singles rankings, marking the first time he had entered the top 20. This marked the first of six consecutive years of Kriek being inside the top 20.
Going into the 1981 Australian Open Kriek was seeded fourth. He won his first two matches in straight sets, before defeating Chris Lewis in five sets in the third round. He defeated Tim Mayotte in the quarter final in straight sets and defeated former champion Mark Edmondson in the semi-final to set up a final with the American Steve Denton. Kriek won the final in four sets. In doing so, Kriek became the first African and South African to win a Grand Slam tournament. Kriek reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 1981.
1982 also saw Kriek defeat John McEnroe in the Memphis Open. He won the La Costa WCT, defeating Roscoe Tanner in the final. 1982 saw Kriek record his highest end of year ranking, reaching No.12. He again reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, losing to John McEnroe in four sets. Kriek went into the Australian Open of 1982 as defending Champion and top seed. He reached the quarter-finals of the competition after dropping only one set. He defeated American Drew Gitlin to advance through the semi-finals. After beating Paul McNamee in the semis, he once again defeated Steve Denton in the final, to make it back to back Australian Open titles. He qualified for the Volvo Masters for the first time, defeating Denton in the first round, before being eliminated by Jimmy Connors in the second round of the competition.
Kriek continued to enjoy success at grass tournaments, winning the Bristol Open in 1983, and reaching the final of the doubles tournament. He also won the Johannesburg Open in the country of his birth, defeating British player Colin Dowdeswell in the final. In the 1983 Volvo Masters he reached the quarter-finals stage, losing to eventual winner John McEnroe.
He reached the semi-final stage of the 1984 Australian Open but was unable to add to his previous successes, losing to eventual winner Mats Wilander. Kriek did however record his second success at Bristol. In September 1984 he reached his highest ever position in the ranking at No.7. He reached the quarter-finals of the end of years Masters, losing to Mats Wilander.
Kriek partnered fellow Grand Slam winner Yannick Noah in the 1985 Chicago doubles and the pair won the tournament. Kriek lost in the 1985 final of Queens to Boris Becker. Kriek was unable to reach the latter stages of that year’s Wimbledon, losing in the fourth round to Paul Annacone. He again competed in the end of year Masters Tournament, managing a victory over Stefan Edberg in the first round of the competition, but was once again unable to progress past the quarter-finals. Kriek recorded his best finish in the French Open in 1986. He defeated Guillermo Vilas in the quarter-final, before suffering a straight sets defeat to Ivan Lendl in the semi-final.
Kriek's final singles title came at the Livingston Open in the US, where he defeated German Christian Saceanu in the final in 1987. Following persistent injuries, Kriek had dropped down to no. 52 by 1989.MCENROE PLAYS LIKE MCENROE - The Washington Post While Kriek did not win another singles title, he reached his career high ranking of No. 12 in doubles in 1988. He enjoyed success at two more doubles events, winning the Philadelphia Open and the Tokyo Open at the start of 1989. The final three single finals he reached all ended in defeat, the last of which was the 1989 Memphis final. Kriek made his final appearance at a Grand Slam at Wimbledon in 1991, where he was eliminated in the first round.
Kriek retired having won 14 singles titles, including two Grand Slams. He also won 8 doubles titles.
Post tennis After retiring from tennis, Kriek transitioned into coaching, setting up the Johan Kriek Tennis Academy. He has also worked on several philanthropic projects including helping to supply citizens of developing nations with clean drinking water.
Style of play Due to his stature, Kriek relied on speed rather than physical strength. He was known for being able to retrieve difficult shots which would often results in long rallies. Kriek grew up on the hard courts of South Africa, but he was perhaps most effective on grass, being an effective serve and volleyer which made him a dangerous opponent on grass, resulting in him winning back to back Australian Opens.
Personal life He attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a public school located in Pretoria. Kriek became a naturalized American citizen in August 1982. He currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida with his wife, Daga and their two children.
Grand Slam finals Singles: (2 titles) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore Win 1981 Australian Open Grass Steve Denton 6–2, 7–6(7–1), 6–7(1–7), 6–4 Win 1982 Australian Open (2) Grass Steve Denton 6–3, 6–3, 6–2
Career finals Singles: 27 (14 titles / 13 runner-ups) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Sep 1978 Hartford, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 2–6, 4–6Win 1–1 Feb 1979 Sarasota, U.S. Carpet Rick Meyer 7–6, 6–2Loss 1–2 Oct 1979 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Brian Gottfried 5–7, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6Loss 1–3 Mar 1980 Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) Stan Smith 6–2, 6–7, 2–6Loss 1–4 Aug 1980 Stowe, U.S. Hard Bob Lutz 3–6, 1–6Win 2–4 Jan 1981 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet (i) Vitas Gerulaitis 7–6, 3–6, 7–6Loss 2–5 May 1981WCT Finals, Dallas Carpet (i) John McEnroe 1–6, 2–6, 4–6Win 3–5 Jul 1981 Newport, U.S. Grass Hank Pfister 3–6, 6–3, 7–5Win 4–5 Jan 1982Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Steve Denton 6–2, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4Win 5–5 Feb 1982 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) John McEnroe 6–3, 3–6, 6–4Loss 5–6 Feb 1982 Monterrey, Mexico Carpet Jimmy Connors 2–6, 6–3, 3–6Win 6–6 Aug 1982 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Roscoe Tanner 6–0, 4–6, 6–0, 6–4Win 7–6 Dec 1982Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Steve Denton 6–3, 6–3, 6–2Loss 7–7 Apr 1983 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Gene Mayer 6–7, 1–6Win 8–7 May 1983 Tampa, U.S. Carpet Bob Lutz 6–2, 6–4Win 9–7 Jun 1983 Bristol, UK Grass Tom Gullikson 7–6, 7–5Win 10–7 Nov 1983 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Colin Dowdeswell 6–4, 4–6, 1–6, 7–5, 6–3Loss 10–8 Mar 1984 Boca West, U.S. Hard Jimmy Connors 5–7, 4–6Win 11–8 Jun 1984 Bristol, UK Grass Brian Teacher 6–7, 7–6, 6–4Win 12–8 Aug 1984 Livingston, U.S. Hard Michael Westphal 6–2, 6–4Win 13–8 May 1985 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Jimmy Arias 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2Loss 13–9 Jun 1985 London Queen's Club, UK Grass Boris Becker 2–6, 3–6Loss 13–10 Sep 1985 San Francisco, U.S. Hard (i) Stefan Edberg 4–6, 2–6Win 14–10 Jul 1987 Livingston, U.S. Hard Christian Saceanu 7–6, 3–6, 6–2Loss 14–11 Jul 1988 Schenectady, U.S. Hard Tim Mayotte 7–5, 3–6, 2–6Loss 14–12 Oct 1988 San Francisco, U.S. Hard (i) Michael Chang 2–6, 3–6Loss 14–13 Feb 1989 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Brad Gilbert 2–6, 2–6, ret.
Doubles: 15 (8 titles / 7 runner-ups) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1–0 Feb 1980 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) Fritz Buehning Brian Gottfried Frew McMillan 3–6, 6–3, 7–6Loss 1–1 Oct 1980 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) Tim Gullikson Peter Fleming John McEnroe 6–4, 1–6, 2–6Loss 1–2 Jan 1981 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet Russell Simpson Kevin Curren Steve Denton 6–7, 2–6Loss 1–3 Jun 1981 Bristol, UK Grass John Austin Billy Martin Russell Simpson 6–3, 3–6, 10–12Win 2–3 Aug 1981 Stowe, U.S. Hard Larry Stefanki Brian Gottfried Bob Lutz 2–6, 6–1, 6–2Win 3–3 May 1982 Forest Hills WCT, U.S. Clay Tracy Delatte Dick Stockton Erik van Dillen 6–3, 7–6Win 4–3 Aug 1982 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Fritz Buehning Bob Lutz Raúl Ramírez 3–6, 7–6, 6–3Loss 4–4 Feb 1983 Delray Beach WCT, U.S. Clay Anand Amritraj Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd 6–7, 4–6Loss 4–5 Apr 1983 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Tracy Delatte Kevin Curren Steve Denton 3–6, 5–7Win 5–5 May 1983 Forest Hills WCT, U.S. Clay Tracy Delatte Kevin Curren Steve Denton 7–6, 1–6, 6–1Loss 5–6 Jun 1983 Bristol, UK Grass Tom Gullikson John Alexander John Fitzgerald 5–7, 4–6Loss 5–7 Nov 1983 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Peter Fleming Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson 6–7, 5–7Win 6–7 Apr 1985 Chicago, U.S. Carpet (i) Yannick Noah Ken Flach Robert Seguso 3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, 6–4Win 7–7 Feb 1988 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet (i) Kelly Evernden Kevin Curren Danie Visser 7–6, 6–3Win 8–7 Apr 1988 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard John Fitzgerald Steve Denton David Pate 6–4, 6–4
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
South Africa United StatesTournament197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994SRW–L Australian OpenA/AAAAWWQFSFQFNH2R2R3RAAAAA2 / 825–6 French OpenAA1RAAAAAASF1RAAAAAAA0 / 34–3 WimbledonA2R3R3RQFQF3R4R3R2R4R1R1RA1RAAA0 / 1324–13 US OpenAQFQFSF3R3R4R3R2R3R3R3R1RAAAAA0 / 1229–12Win–loss0–05–26–37–212–212–28–39–36–37–35–43–32–30–00–10–00–00–02 / 3682–34Year-end ranking27827351813121513142348395241327410971178861
References
External links
bio - file interview with John Kriek