Richard Krajicek, called up at the eleventh hour to replace Ivan Lendl in the Aegon Masters field at the Royal Albert Hall, was trying to balance being on court and in the picture for a top job when he faced Pat Cash on Wednesday.
It is no secret that the former Wimbledon champion from Holland is the frontrunner for the post of ATP CEO once former Nike executive Adam Helfant departs at the end of the year. But Krajicek was concerned that emerging into the spotlight might look like a campaign move.
“I have made it plain I am keen on getting the job,” he said, “but I don’t want to be seen shouting about it from the rooftops. The ATP board have interviewed me, and it is now up to them to make their decision. I’ll just have to be patient. And, in the meantime, I want to say as little as possible.”
There are many who feel Krajicek should already have been confirmed, but doubts remain as to his business experience, even though he has run the ATP tournament in Rotterdam for several years and has worked extensively in the charity field with the Dutch government.
What he has in abundance is presence. Unlike his predecessors, who were never totally comfortable in the company of rank-and-file players, the 6-foot-4 Krajicek receives instant respect every time he walks into a locker room. There is no substitute for having done what every player who picks up a racket dreams of doing. There is no substitute for winning Wimbledon.
Naturally, you need other assets, and the multilingual Krajicek has plenty. If the ATP board members get cold feet and start looking outside the game for another corporate figure, they will be making a serious mistake.
On court, Krajicek did his best, considering he had been notified that he was playing only five days ago and had not played in weeks. However, he was unable to get the better of Cash, another Wimbledon champion, who is six years his senior at 46. Krajicek went down in his first round-robin match 6-7, 6-4, 10-6.
Cash’s ability to come through in the clutch, despite the age gap, may have had something to with a new training routine that he has been undergoing in Surrey with Margot Wells, a former Scottish hurdler and wife of Alan Wells, the 100-meter gold medalist at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
“I knew I wasn’t as fast as I used to be, so I decided to do some serious sprint work,” Cash said. “At first, my body said, ‘What’s going on?’ because I was running in a dead straight line and we tennis players aren’t used to that. It also felt a bit tough when I got back on court and reverted to moving left and right — different muscles. But I do think it has made me faster, although still not as fast as I was, of course.”
Cash tests himself against his 17-year-old son, Jett, himself an aspiring tennis player.
“I have to admit he can beat me now in a straight sprint, although I am pretty good at cheating!” Cash said, laughing.
Play continues until Sunday in this event, which is the final stop on the ATP Champions Tour. John McEnroe and Henri Leconte are also competing in the Legends event. A younger group playing Champions Tour singles includes Goran Ivanisevic, Thomas Enqvist, Mark Philippoussis, Younes El Aynaoui and local favorite Tim Henman.
