Aaron Krickstein

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.

Aaron Krickstein
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceBoca Raton, FL
Born (1967-08-02) August 2, 1967
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro1983
Retired1996
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$3,709,772
Singles
Career record395–256
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 6 (February 26, 1990)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenSF (1995)
French Open4R (1985, 1994)
Wimbledon4R (1989, 1995)
US OpenSF (1989)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1989)
Grand Slam CupQF (1990)
Doubles
Career record10–19
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 196 (February 25, 1985)

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. 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. Before retractable roofs were constructed for use at the US Open, this match was the default television filler during tournament 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)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. Oct 1983 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Christoph Zipf 7–6, 6–3
Loss 1. May 1984 Rome, Italy Clay Andrés Gómez 6–2, 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win 2. Jul 1984 Boston, U.S. Clay José Luis Clerc 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 6–4
Loss 2. Jul 1984 Washington D.C., U.S. Clay Andrés Gómez 2–6, 2–6
Win 3. Sep 1984 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Shahar Perkiss 6–4, 6–1
Win 4. Sep 1984 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Henrik Sundström 6–7, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 3. Nov 1985 Hong Kong Hard Andrés Gómez 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss 4. Oct 1986 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Brad Gilbert 5–7, 2–6
Loss 5. Oct 1988 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Brad Gilbert 6–4, 6–7, 2–6
Loss 6. Nov 1988 Detroit, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 5–7, 2–6
Win 5. Jan 1989 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Hard Andrei Cherkasov 6–4, 6–2
Win 6. Sep 1989 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Michael Chang 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win 7. Oct 1989 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Carl-Uwe Steeb 6–2, 6–2
Loss 7. Apr 1990 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard Stefan Edberg 4–6, 5–7
Loss 8. Sep 1990 Brisbane, Australia Hard Brad Gilbert 3–6, 1–6
Loss 9. Sep 1991 Brisbane, Australia Hard Gianluca Pozzi 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 8. Mar 1992 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Alexander Volkov 6–4, 6–4
Loss 10. Apr 1992 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Thomas Muster 3–6, 1–6, 3–6
Win 9. Mar 1993 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Grant Stafford 6–3, 7–6(9–7)

Singles performance timeline
Tournament19831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996SRW–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
  • These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
ChampionshipYearsRecord accomplishedPlayer tied
ATP Tour1983–9510 match wins after trailing 0–2 in sets[18]Boris Becker
Roger Federer
1983Youngest player to end a year in the top 100 (16y 4m; #94)Stands alone
Youngest player to win a singles title (16y 2m)Stands alone

See also

References
  1. 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. "Pressel continues her education". ESPN. February 19, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2011. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. 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. 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. "Michigan Serves Up Baby-Faced Aaron Krickstein, 17, the Youngest Top-10 Terror in Tennis". People. September 3, 1984. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Kay, Stanley. "US Open rain delay: What it's like for Kricksteins". Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  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.
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