Kevin Curren

Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a South African former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 1985. During his career he won 5 singles and 16 doubles titles.

Personal life Curren was born in South Africa, and he became a naturalized American citizen in April 1985.

Tennis career

Curren played both tennis and cricket at Glenwood High School in Durban. He also quickly rose among the ranks as a junior at Montclair Lawn Tennis Club in Montclair, Durban. At college he played tennis for the University of Texas at Austin in the United States and won the NCAA singles title in 1979. He turned professional later that year, and won his first top-level singles title in 1981 in Johannesburg.

In 1983, Curren reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon and served 33 aces in beating defending champion, Jimmy Connors in the fourth round, snapping Connors' streak of 27 consecutive major quarterfinals appearances. It went on to be Connors' only 4th round loss in 35 Grand Slam tournaments appearances. Curren lost to unseeded New Zealander Chris Lewis in a five-set semifinal match which allowed Lewis to become only the seventh unseeded player to reach the Wimbledon final. In 1984, Curren played Mats Wilander in the final of the Australian Open, after beating Lendl in the fourth round and making a comeback from two sets down to defeat Ben Testerman in the semifinals. Wilander won the match, played on the grass courts at Kooyong, in four sets, returning Curren's big service well.

In 1985, after becoming an American citizen, Curren reached the final at Wimbledon with the help of coaching from Tony Roche. After defeating Larry Stefanki, Mike De Palmer, David Mustard and then future champion Stefan Edberg in the fourth round in straight sets, he eliminated the then-world No. 1, John McEnroe, in the quarterfinals. He "bewildered" world No. 3 Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, allowing him just five games. Curren was the first player to beat both American players in the same Grand Slam event. McEnroe commented that he felt overpowered. In the final, he lost in four sets to Boris Becker, in a match best remembered for making the 17-year-old Becker the youngest male Grand Slam champion (a record which was later eclipsed by Michael Chang in 1989 at the French Open). The final was intense, and Becker sent several hostile glares to Curren before and after points. On one of the final change-overs, Becker bumped Curren's shoulder as they passed one another. After his defeat, Curren was noted as saying that he thought the game would see an increase in the number of successful young players and predicted that they would have more intense, but shorter careers. Curren was the last American man to reach the final at Wimbledon until Andre Agassi did so seven years later in 1992.

He followed his second Grand Slam singles finals appearance by being upset in straight sets by Guy Forget on Grandstand court in the first round of the US Open. Frustration got the best of the fifth-seeded Curren at the post-match press conference when he commented, "I hate the city, the environment and Flushing Meadows. There is noise, the people in the grandstand are never seated and it takes an hour and a half in traffic to get here. It's sickening that with all the money they get from TV, the USTA doesn't build a better facility. The USTA should be shot. And they should drop an A-bomb on the place."

Though he never won a Grand Slam singles title, Curren did win four Grand Slam doubles titles. In 1981, he won the US Open mixed doubles, and in 1982 he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles and both men's doubles and mixed doubles at the US Open. During his career, Curren won five top-level singles titles and 26 doubles titles. His career-high rankings were world No. 5 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles. His final career singles title came in 1989 at Frankfurt, and his last doubles title was won in 1992 in Seoul. Curren retired from the professional tour in 1993.

Since retiring from the tour, Curren has served as captain of the South Africa Davis Cup team.

Grand Slam finals Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1984 Australian Open Grass Mats Wilander 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 2–6Loss 1985 Wimbledon Grass Boris Becker 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–7(3–7), 4–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1982US Open Hard Steve Denton Victor Amaya Hank Pfister 6–2, 6–7(4–7), 5–7, 6–2, 6–4

Mixed doubles: 3 (3 titles)

ATP career finals Singles: 13 (5 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Doubles: 53 (26 titles, 27 runner-ups) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1. 1980 Denver, U.S. Carpet (i) Steve Denton Wojciech Fibak Heinz Günthardt 7–5, 6–2Loss 1. 1980 Washington D.C., U.S. Carpet (i) Steve Denton Ferdi Taygan Brian Teacher 6–4, 3–6, 6–7Loss 2. 1980 North Conway, U.S. Clay Steve Denton Jimmy Connors Brian Gottfried 6–7, 3–6Win 2. 1980 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Steve Denton Wojciech Fibak Ivan Lendl 3–6, 7–6, 6–4Win 3. 1980 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Steve Denton Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 6–7, 6–4, 6–4Win 4. 1981 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet (i) Steve Denton Johan Kriek Russell Simpson 7–6, 6–3Loss 3. 1981 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) Steve Denton Sandy Mayer Frew McMillan 6–4, 3–6, 3–6Loss 4. 1981 Queen's Club, U.K. Grass Steve Denton Pat DuPré Brian Teacher 6–3, 6–7, 9–11Loss 5. 1981 Newport, U.S. Grass Billy Martin Brad Drewett Erik van Dillen 2–6, 4–6Win 5. 1981 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Steve Denton Raúl Ramírez Van Winitsky 6–3, 5–7, 7–5Win 6. 1981 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Steve Denton Sherwood Stewart Ferdi Taygan 6–7, 6–4, 6–0Loss 6. 1982Masters Doubles WCT, London Carpet (i) Steve Denton Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 4–6Win 7. 1982 Denver, U.S. Carpet (i) Steve Denton Phil Dent Kim Warwick 6–4, 6–4Win 8. 1982 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Steve Denton Peter Fleming John McEnroe 7–6, 4–6, 6–2Loss 7. 1982 Munich WCT, West Germany Carpet (i) Steve Denton Mark Edmondson Tomáš Šmíd 6–4, 5–7, 2–6Loss 8. 1982 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Fritz Buehning Mark Edmondson Sherwood Stewart 5–7, 2–6Win 9. 1982 Houston, U.S. Clay Steve Denton Mark Edmondson Peter McNamara 7–5, 6–4Win 10. 1982US Open, New York Hard Steve Denton Victor Amaya Hank Pfister 6–2, 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4Win 11. 1982 Los Angeles-2 WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) Hank Pfister Andy Andrews Drew Gitlin 4–6, 6–2, 7–5Loss 9. 1982 Amsterdam WCT, Netherlands Carpet (i) Buster Mottram Fritz Buehning Tomáš Šmíd 6–4, 3–6, 0–6Win 12. 1983 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet (i) Steve Denton Peter Fleming John McEnroe 6–4, 7–6Win 13. 1983 Munich WCT, West Germany Carpet (i) Steve Denton Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy 7–5, 2–6, 6–1Win 14. 1983 Houston WCT, U.S. Clay Steve Denton Mark Dickson Tomáš Šmíd 7–6, 6–7, 6–1Win 15. 1983 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Steve Denton Tracy Delatte Johan Kriek 6–3, 7–5Loss 10. 1983 Forest Hills WCT, U.S. Clay Steve Denton Tracy Delatte Johan Kriek 7–6, 5–7, 3–6Loss 11. 1983 Queen's Club, U.K. Grass Steve Denton Brian Gottfried Paul McNamee 4–6, 3–6Loss 12. 1984 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) Steve Denton John McEnroe Patrick McEnroe 6–7, 2–6Loss 13. 1984 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) Steve Denton Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson 4–6, 7–6, 6–7Win 16. 1984 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Wojciech Fibak Fritz Buehning Ferdi Taygan 6–4, 6–4Loss 14. 1984 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Steve Denton Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd 4–6, 3–6Loss 15. 1985 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Steve Denton Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd 6–1, 3–6, 4–6Loss 16. 1985 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) Wojciech Fibak Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd 3–6, 6–7Win 17. 1986 Queen's Club, U.K. Grass Guy Forget Darren Cahill Mark Kratzmann 6–2, 7–6Win 18. 1987 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard Paul Annacone Andrés Gómez Anders Järryd 6–4, 7–6Win 19. 1987 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard David Pate Brad Gilbert Tim Wilkison 6–3, 6–4Win 20. 1987 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard (i) David Pate Eric Korita Brad Pearce 6–4, 6–4Win 21. 1988 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) David Pate Peter Lundgren Mikael Pernfors 6–2, 6–2Loss 17. 1988 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet (i) Danie Visser Kelly Evernden Johan Kriek 6–7, 3–6Loss 18. 1988 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Alex Antonitsch Balázs Taróczy 6–4, 3–6, 6–7Win 22. 1988 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Jim Grabb Paul Annacone John Fitzgerald 7–5, 7–5Win 23. 1988 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard (i) David Pate Gary Muller Tim Wilkison 7–6, 6–4Loss 19. 1989 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard David Pate Boris Becker Jakob Hlasek 6–3, 3–6, 4–6Loss 20. 1989 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard David Pate Ken Flach Robert Seguso 4–6, 4–6Win 24. 1989 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet (i) David Pate Andrés Gómez Slobodan Živojinović 4–6, 6–3, 7–6Loss 21. 1989 Frankfurt, West Germany Carpet (i) Eric Jelen Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser 6–7, 7–6, 3–6Loss 22. 1989 Wembley, U.K. Carpet (i) Jeremy Bates Jakob Hlasek John McEnroe 1–6, 6–7Loss 23. 1990Toronto Indoor, Canada Carpet (i) Neil Broad Patrick Galbraith David Macpherson 6–2, 4–6, 3–6Loss 24. 1990 Hong Kong, UK Hard Joey Rive Pat Cash Wally Masur 3–6, 3–6Win 25. 1990 Queen's Club, U.K. Grass Jeremy Bates Henri Leconte Ivan Lendl 6–2, 7–6Loss 25. 1990 West Berlin, West Germany Carpet (i) Patrick Galbraith Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser 6–7, 6–7Loss 26. 1991 Lyon, France Hard (i) Jeremy Bates Steve DeVries David Macpherson 6–7, 6–3, 3–6Loss 27. 1992Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Gary Muller Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde 5–7, 6–4, 6–7Win 26. 1992 Seoul, South Korea Hard Gary Muller Kelly Evernden Brad Pearce 7–6, 6–4

Grand Slam singles performance timeline