"But of course it is good sometimes and bad sometimes. "I've always had the feeling after each point to look at the ground because it can be good not to see the opponent," Krajicek says. And he knows more about his body language than some of his critics have realised. Krajicek has never gained the attention of, say, Ivanisevic or Patrick Rafter, but he has a better chance of winning Wimbledon than either of them. He is the celebrity who does not seem to celebrate and the man who plays the beautiful game without beautiful rallies.īut images can not only be misleading, they can be unfair. He beats the hell out of the ball so that it does not come back, and half the time looks as though he might be on the wrong end of a beating himself. To some this makes Krajicek pretty boring. This year the fearsome delivery has brought a triple whammy of statistics: more aces, more points won behind the first serve and more service games won than any other player. It is a skill which has helped earn him a superior head-to-head record with Sampras and made him one of only two men - Goran Ivanisevic is the other - still on tour to have beaten the American at Wimbledon. Krajicek uses a hulking 6ft 5in frame to produce a near-perfect service action. He has won tournaments in Battersea and Key Biscayne he has reclaimed a place in the top five he is moving better than he has for years and if anyone can prevent Pete Sampras equalling a record 12 grand slam titles by winning Wimbledon it is the 27-year-old mauler from Muiderberg.
This year, though, no sane opponent would think Krajicek hangdog. When the habit really takes him he inspects the ground between each rally, a curiously unassertive demeanour provoking a prickly eight-year dialogue with the Dutch press, some of whom have criticised their compatriot for giving out the wrong signals.
For a man who has won Wimbledon, is a millionaire many times over and has a film star for a live-in girlfriend, Richard Krajicek hangs his head rather a lot.
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