Aaron Krickstein

Aaron Krickstein
Country (sports)  United States
Residence Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Born (1967-08-02) August 2, 1967
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro 1983
Retired 1996
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $3,710,447
Singles
Career record 395–256
Career titles 9
Highest ranking No. 6 (February 26, 1990)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open SF (1995)
French Open 4R (1985, 1994)
Wimbledon 4R (1989, 1995)
US Open SF (1989)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (1989)
Grand Slam Cup QF (1990)
Doubles
Career record 10–19
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 196 (February 25, 1985)

Aaron Krickstein (born August 2, 1967), nicknamed "Marathon Man",[1] is an American former professional tennis player, who competed on the ATP Tour from 1983 to 1996. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan,[2] he currently competes on the Outback Champions Series Over-30 tour.

Krickstein reached his career high ATP ranking of World No. 6, on February 26, 1990.[3] He achieved this ranking on the back of wins in Sydney and Los Angeles, as well as his best ever results at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Personal

Krickstein is Jewish, and in the early 1990s was one of three highly ranked Jewish-American tennis players, along with Jay Berger and Brad Gilbert.[1][4][5][6][7][8]

His sister, Kathy, won the Big Ten tennis championship in 1978.[3] He is the uncle of LPGA's golfer Morgan Pressel, who is Kathy's daughter and was the youngest winner of an LPGA major between her win in 2007 up until 2015.[9]

Career

Junior

Krickstein started playing tennis when he was six.[10] He became an active competitor on the high school tennis scene during his teens, and still holds the Michigan record for most consecutive match wins at this level (56). He played for University Liggett School.[11]

He won the American National Under 16 championship in 1982. While still only 16, he was the US National Junior Tennis Association Champion, Clay Champion, and USTA National Champion in the 18s in 1983.[12] All in all, he won five consecutive junior championships.[10]

Professional

Krickstein set an ATP record for being the youngest player to win a singles title on the ATP Tour (at age 16, 2 months after his 16th birthday, in Tel Aviv. Krickstein set a record for being the youngest player to ever break the top 10 (at age 17).[1][4]

His best finishes in a Grand Slam event were at the 1989 US Open, and at the 1995 Australian Open, where he reached the semi finals. However, with regards to majors, Krickstein is perhaps best remembered for his famous five set match with Jimmy Connors on Labor Day at the 1991 US Open, which he lost. This match is the default television filler during US Open rain delays; because of this, it is probably the most viewed tennis match of all time.[13]

In 1984 he won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championship, becoming its youngest winner, and a clay court tournament in Boston.[5] In 1989 he won the Tokyo Indoor Tennis Tournament and a hard court tournament in Sydney, Australia.[5] In 1991, 1992, and 1993 he won the South African Open.[5]

He had a record of 10 career wins from 0–2 set deficits. His nickname "Marathon Man" was a reference to his ability to make a comeback when behind in a match.[1][14][15] Krickstein won 27 of his 35 career matches that went into a fifth set.

He had an injury-plagued career, which included stress fractures in his feet, problems with his knees and wrists in 1985 and 1986, and injuries suffered when he was hurt in a car accident in 1987.[16]

He defeated a number of top players, including Ivan Lendl (world #1) in 1990, Michael Stich (world #2 and #4) in 1994 and 1991, Stefan Edberg (world #3) in 1988 at the U S Open, Boris Becker (world #3) in 1992, Mats Wilander (world #4) in 1984, and Jimmy Arias (world #5) in 1984 and Sergi Bruguera (world #5) in 1994. He won against Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Davis Cup

He was a member of the United States Davis Cup team from 1985–87, and also was a member of the 1990 squad. He compiled a 6–4 record in singles play during Davis Cup ties.[17] The highlight of Krickstein's Davis Cup career came in 1990 when he scored two hard-fought victories in a World Group Quarterfinal tie against Czechoslovakia, leading his team to a 4–1 win.

ATP Tour finals

Singles: 19 (9–10)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. October 10, 1983 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard West Germany Christoph Zipf 7–6, 6–3
Runner-up 1. May 13, 1984 Rome, Italy Clay Ecuador Andrés Gómez 6–2, 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Winner 2. July 16, 1984 Boston, U.S. Clay Argentina José Luis Clerc 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–4
Runner-up 2. July 23, 1984 Washington D.C., U.S. Clay Ecuador Andrés Gómez 2–6, 2–6
Winner 3. September 10, 1984 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Israel Shahar Perkiss 6–4, 6–1
Winner 4. September 17, 1984 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Sweden Henrik Sundström 6–7, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up 3. November 18, 1985 Hong Kong Hard Ecuador Andrés Gómez 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Runner-up 4. October 6, 1986 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard United States Brad Gilbert 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up 5. October 10, 1988 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard United States Brad Gilbert 6–4, 6–7, 2–6
Runner-up 6. November 14, 1988 Detroit, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe 5–7, 2–6
Winner 5. January 9, 1989 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Hard Soviet Union Andrei Cherkasov 6–4, 6–2
Winner 6. September 18, 1989 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Michael Chang 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 7. October 17, 1989 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet West Germany Carl-Uwe Steeb 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up 7. April 9, 1990 Tokyo, Japan Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 4–6, 5–7
Runner-up 8. September 24, 1990 Brisbane, Australia Hard United States Brad Gilbert 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up 9. September 23, 1991 Brisbane, Australia Hard Italy Gianluca Pozzi 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Winner 8. March 30, 1992 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Russia Alexander Volkov 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 10. April 20, 1992 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Austria Thomas Muster 3–6, 1–6, 3–6
Winner 9. March 29, 1993 Johannesburg, South Africa (2) Hard South Africa Grant Stafford 6–3, 7–6(9–7)

Singles performance timeline

Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 SR W–L
Grand Slams
Australian Open A A A A A A 4R 4R 4R 4R A 3R SF 1R 0 / 7 19–7
French Open A 2R 4R 2R 3R 1R 2R 3R 2R 3R 2R 4R 1R A 0 / 12 17–12
Wimbledon A A 1R A A A 4R A 2R A 3R 3R 4R A 0 / 6 11–6
US Open 4R 3R A 4R A QF SF QF 4R A 2R 1R 2R A 0 / 10 26–10
Win–Loss 3–1 3–2 3–2 4–2 2–1 4–2 12–4 9–3 8–4 5–2 4–3 7–4 9–4 0–1 0 / 35 73–35
Year End Ranking 94 12 29 26 61 15 8 20 34 28 45 35 70 1092

Records

ChampionshipYearsRecord accomplishedPlayer tied
ATP Tour1983–9510 match wins after trailing 0–2 in sets[18]Boris Becker
Roger Federer
ATP Tour1983Youngest player to end a year in the top 100 (16y 4m)Stands alone

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 David J. Goldman. Jewish Sports Star: Athletic Heroes Past and Present. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Mens Circuit – Player Biography". ITF Tennis. February 26, 1990. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Pressel continues her education". ESPN. February 19, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Peter S. Horvitz (2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes; An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Bob Wechsler. Day by day in Jewish sports history. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  6. ↑ Cohen, Rich (February 21, 1999). "People of the Book". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ Rosen, Harvey (May 10, 1989) Sporting Touch. The Jewish Post and News via Google news Page A20. Retrieved March 20, 2011
  8. ↑ Rosen, Harvey (August 15, 1990) Sporting Touch. The Jewish Post and News via Google news Page 15. Retrieved March 20, 2011
  9. ↑ Ezra Mendelsohn. Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Michigan Serves Up Baby-Faced Aaron Krickstein, 17, the Youngest Top-10 Terror in Tennis". People. September 3, 1984. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ Kay, Stanley. "US Open rain delay: What it's like for Kricksteins". Retrieved 2016-09-07.
  14. ↑ Robert Slater (2004). Great Jews in Sports. Jonathan David Publishers Inc. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  15. ↑ Bricker, Charles (June 27, 1995). "2 Sets Down, Krickstein Wins Again". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Krickstein, Aaron". Jews In Sports. Archived from the original on May 23, 2005. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Player profile – Aaron Krickstein (USA)". Davis Cup. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  18. ↑ Bricker, Charles (June 27, 1995). "2 Sets Down, Krickstein Wins Again". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved June 7, 2012.

External links

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