Top-Speeded Krajicek Wins Title

The latent talent of Richard Krajicek revealed itself, fully formed, here in the Wimbledon men’s singles final. The man about whom there has been so much speculation--for both his physical and mental fortitude--matured in the crucible of Wimbledon. Sunday, he won his first Grand Slam title.

Krajicek defeated MaliVai Washington, who played bravely in the face of devastating serving by Krajicek, who won, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, in a match that three times was suspended because of rain.

Krajicek, 24, is only the second unseeded player to win Wimbledon, after Boris Becker in 1985, and the first Dutch player to win a Grand Slam title.

Washington, 27, who grew up in Glen Cove, N.Y., starred at Michigan in the late 1980s and now lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., was also unseeded.

Sunday’s match between two such lightly regarded players underscored the strangeness of this year’s tournament, which in the first week was wrecked by the loss of several star players and in the second week was wracked by rain.

Krajicek’s lack of seeding here was viewed by some as unfair. Ranked No. 13, it was surprising that he was not included in the top 16 seeded players. As he beat two former champions--first Michael Stich and then Pete Sampras--it became clear that many questions had been answered about his ability on grass. Krajicek will move into the top 10 this week.

Physically, Krajicek has endured many injuries. He defaulted out of the semifinal of the 1992 Australian Open because of a shoulder injury. That provoked the comment from Andre Agassi that all Krajicek had to do was look at a tennis court and he’d get injured. He sat out much of 1994 because of tendinitis in both knees.

Krajicek is sound now, and that, plus the confidence gained here, will likely change the complexion of his career. Sunday’s match did much to bolster the reputation of both players. Krajicek showed his full talent and Washington showed his capacity to fight and his great poise.

As is so often the case on grass, it came down to serving, and Krajicek held the advantage. He came into the match with 133 aces, to Washington’s 76. At 6 feet 5, Krajicek’s fulcrum and the force he can apply to the ball is considerable. He had 14 aces Sunday and won 88% of his first serve points.

“That was the difference in the match,” Washington said. “His serves were really coming in. When a guy is doing that, it’s tough to break.”

Krajicek’s maturation has been hard learned. He became instantly unpopular on the women’s tour when he called female players “fat, lazy pigs.” He’s far more circumspect now.

Smiling but looking shell-shocked after the match, Krajicek was nearly at a loss for words.

“I feel happy but I don’t think I’ve realized it,” he said. “So many people have come up and talked to me that I haven’t had a moment for myself. I don’t feel bad, so I think it’s a good sign.”

The tension, and formality, of a Wimbledon final was broken by the appearance of a streaker on Centre Court. The players were at the net having their pictures taken when a woman, clad only in a white apron, raced across the court.

It was the first streaker ever here, although, of course, there were odds laid for such an occasion: first 5-1, then 4-1.

Krajicek laughed then flushed and Washington playfully pulled his shirt up to the crowd.

Moments later, as the balls were rolled out for the warmup, the clouds rolled in and the rain came.

When the match did start, Krajicek unveiled a weapon other than his serve. He defeated Sampras with sizzling backhand service returns down the line, but his forehand did his bidding Sunday.

Krajicek broke Washington in his first service game. Washington held his next serve, barely. He faced two break points and each time warded off danger with a service winner.

Each player served well and as a consequence the points were relatively short. At one point late in the first set someone in the crowd yelled, “Boor-ing,” and the scattered applause seemed to speak for the consensus.

There was a certain dull sameness to the points. From time to time a rally erupted, although each player had to work around a weak stroke: an unreliable backhand for Krajicek and a dodgy forehand for Washington.

The second set was delayed twice by rain. Krajicek broke Washington in the ninth game, although again Washington showed his mettle by dealing with the first two break points with service winners. He fell to the third break point and Krajicek took a 5-4 lead and held his serve for the set.

Washington held to open the third set, then play was again halted.

Krajicek dominated play when the match resumed.

Washington, who had been down, 1-5, in the third set against Todd Martin in the semifinal, made his comeback a game earlier Sunday. Krajicek, who had not even been down 0-30 on his serve, was facing three break points. Washington converted and got his first break. He still had one to make up and he was unable.

Krajicek won by forcing Washington deep into a corner where he was unable to get to the ball. Krajicek sank to his knees, a la Bjorn Borg, and raised his arms in victory. Just to show there’s still a little maturation left, Krajicek admitted that for a moment he wasn’t sure he had won.

“I wondered if I had made a fool of myself,” he said.

Washington had never before gotten beyond the second round at Wimbledon and his ranking of No. 20 will improve.

“It’s great when you can come into a tournament with everyone in the world there, the best players, at a Grand Slam, and you’re still standing on the last day, you’re one of the two,” Washington said. “I look at that and say, for the fortnight, I’m the second-best player in the world.”

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Facts and Figures

WIMBLEDON MEN’S SINGLES PAYOUTS

* Loser of the first round--$9,416

* Loser of the second round--$15,384

* Loser of the third round--$25,440

* Loser of the fourth round--$43,960

* Quarterfinalists--$81,640

* Semifinalists--$157,000

* Runner-up--$314,000

* Winner--$628,000