ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 8, 1996 TAG: 9607080151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Previously known at Wimbledon only for a chauvinistic wisecrack, Richard Krajicek achieved a more lasting and significant fame Sunday on Centre Court when he earned his first Grand Slam title.
The first Dutch player to win a major championship and the second unseeded player to win Wimbledon, Krajicek pounded out 14 aces, punishing overheads and sizzling passing shots to beat MaliVai Washington 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
A bizarre Wimbledon of huge upsets, freak injuries and countless rain delays hardly could have let the final Sunday pass without more wackiness - starting with a streaker on Centre Court and continuing with showers that halted play three times.
No sooner had the players picked up their rackets to pose for photographers at the net than a topless 23-year-old blond woman leaped from the stands, raced down one side of the court and, in front of the Royal Box, flipped up her only garment, a tiny white apron.
``The Duke of Kent was laughing like mad,'' said Peter Goord, a Centre Court spectator. ``She then ran into the policemen's arms. There was no way she was trying to get away.''
The Royal Box was packed at the time. Alongside the Duke and Duchess of Kent were Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, their son, and Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo.
Both players broke into laughter, as did most of the 14,000 fans, at the stunt by a woman who had been working at Wimbledon with the catering service.
``I was a little bit tight, and then she comes out,'' Krajicek said. ``At least for me, it put a smile on my face. In a way, it was good. It broke the tension a little bit.''
Walking back to the baseline, Washington lifted his tennis shirt to bare his own chest and received an ovation.
``She lifted [her apron] up and she was smiling at me,'' Washington said. ``Then I got flustered and, boom, three sets later I was gone. Maybe if she had run back, I would have had a little better luck.''
The match, between two players who had lost in the opening round the past two years, didn't equal that first flourish of excitement. Though Krajicek played well and Washington never quit, there were too many starts and stops for either of them to get into the flow and produce the kind of majestic tennis that occasionally has been seen in men's finals.
The match lasted 1 hour, 33 minutes, but took 4 hours to complete because of all the rain.
Krajicek, at 6-foot-5 the tallest Wimbledon champion in 50 years, took advantage of his imposing height and recently beefed-up body to dominate Washington from the net and the baseline. Krajicek didn't reach the level he showed in beating three-time defending champion Pete Sampras in a quarterfinal and 1991 champion Michael Stich in the fourth round.
But on this day, it wasn't necessary.
It was the first Wimbledon final between two unseeded players, and Krajicek, 24, joined Boris Becker in 1985 as the only unseeded champions. The business of being unseeded, though, deserves an asterisk. Krajicek came into the tournament ranked No.13 in the world, but was pushed out of the seedings because of his past failures here. When Thomas Muster, seeded No.7 despite a No.2 ranking, dropped out because of an injury, Krajicek was slipped into his spot as a sort of shadow 17th seed.
``I think next year I might get a seed,'' Krajicek said with a wry smile.
At Wimbledon, Krajicek had been best known for his ill-advised remark in 1992 that ``80 percent of the top 100 women [in professional tennis] are lazy, fat pigs'' who shouldn't be allowed on Centre Court.
He apologized for that ``stupid statement,'' but followed it with another indiscretion.
``What I meant to say, actually, is only 75 percent,'' he said. ``A lot of women are overweight.''
He had no regrets about the reasoning behind his remarks - that women should not get equal pay for unequal play, because they compete in best-of-three-sets matches instead of best-of-fives as the men do. He also insisted fans want to see the men's matches more and that most women's matches should be taken off the show courts.
Women's star Martina Navratilova responded by saying, ``I'm going to beat him up.''
At every Wimbledon since, including this year, Krajicek has been reminded of his wisecrack. No matter how often he apologizes or tries to brush it off, the issue hasn't vanished. Maybe now, with a Wimbledon title behind him, people will forgive or forget.
On Sunday, one of those watching at Centre Court was former Dutch great Tom Okker, who lost in the final of the 1968 U.S. Open to Arthur Ashe. Washington was the first black men's finalist at Wimbledon since Ashe won in 1975.
Krajicek's victory was a breakthrough after he never advanced beyond the semifinal round in two previous Grand Slam events - the Australian Open in 1992 and French Open in 1993. He never quite made it into the elite ranks, but his victory ensures he will move back into the top 10. He had been ranked as high as No.8 in 1993.
Krajicek, the tallest Wimbledon champ since 6-5 Frenchman Yvon Petra won in long flannels in 1946, earned $608,375. Washington got $304,187.
Krajicek's bludgeoning serves - he led the tournament with 147 aces and hit 129 mph on the radar gun - left Washington lunging time and again to get a racket on the ball. In the first two sets, Krajicek never yielded more than two points while serving.
In his five-set semifinal victory over Todd Martin on Saturday, Washington relied on service returns and passing shots to keep the bigger man at bay. But he rarely found the target Sunday, converting only three return and three passing winners.
``His serve was coming in real strong,'' Washington said. ``When you're serving like that, heck, all you have to do is hold out the rest of the set and, boom, you're there.''
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Richard Krajicek rejoices after winning theby CNBWimbledon singles championship in straight sets. 2. Runner-up
MaliVai Washington stretches for a backhand return during the men's
singles final Sunday at Wimbledon. color.