Kevin Curren
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|
| Country (sports) |
 South Africa United States
|
|---|---|
| Residence | Austin, TX, USA |
| Born |
2 March 1958 Durban, South Africa |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Turned pro | 1979 |
| Retired | 1993 |
| Plays | Right-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $3,055,510 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 338–235 (Grand Prix, WCT, ATP & Grand Slam-level, and Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 5 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (22 July 1985) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1984) |
| French Open | 2R (1992) |
| Wimbledon | F (1985) |
| US Open | 4R (1981, 1990) |
| Other tournaments | |
| WCT Finals | SF (1984) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 430–249 (Grand Prix, WCT, ATP & Grand Slam-level, and Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 26 |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (3 January 1983) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1981) |
| French Open | QF (1984) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1982, 1983) |
| US Open | W (1982) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (1982) |
| US Open | W (1981, 1982) |
Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a 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.
Curren became a naturalized American citizen in April 1985.
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, beating defending champion, Jimmy Connors, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, in the fourth round, snapping Connors' streak of 27 consecutive major quarterfinals appearances. It went on to be his only 4th round loss in 35 Grand Slam tournaments appearances. Curren lost to unseeded New Zealander Chris Lewis in a dramatic five-set semifinal match, 7–6, 4–6, 6–7, 7–6, 6–8, which allowed Lewis to become only the seventh unseeded player to reach the Wimbledon final. In 1984, Curren powered his way through the draw and played Mats Wilander in the final of the Australian Open, after 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, 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–2.
In 1985, Curren became an American citizen, and 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, 7–6, 6–3, 7–6, he comprehensively eliminated the then-World No. 1 John McEnroe in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 6–2, 6–4, and World No. 3 Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1. Curren was the first player to beat both legends in the same Grand Slam event. McEnroe commented that he felt overpowered and later that he had difficulty in dealing with Curren's highly individualistic and very fast serving, which, in its low toss, was hard to read and tended to produce low balls that skipped on the grass courts of the time. In the final, he lost in four sets to Boris Becker, 3–6, 7–6, 6–7, 4–6, 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 very heated and intense, and Becker sent several hostile glares to Curren before and after points. On one of the final change-overs, Becker even 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.
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