From: clin@eng.umd.edu (Charles Lin)
Subject: Re: The Krickstein Group
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 92 03:58:02 GMT
Organization: College of Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park
Originator: clin@coke.eng.umd.edu


   Actually, I haven't seen Krickstein play since, since he beat
Agassi in the first round of the US Open, and that was when I saw
it live.   Let's see how much I recall from Krickstein.  Well, the
first I heard of him must have been around 1983 or so.  A year before
he started to make it big during the summer clay court circuit
(when there used to be such a thing), Jimmy Arias had made a name
for himself.   He had reached three finals in four weeks with
Gomez and Jose Luis Clerc also playing well (Clerc won three of
four as I recall, and Gomez won the other).  It was the first time
I had heard of Nick Bollitieri and how he came up with players
that had big forehands and no volleys.

   In fact, it was the following year when Krickstein came around
(he may have done well in that year's US Open, or the one after,
I don't recall.  I know Arias was in the 1983 US Open semifinals,
losing to Lendl.  Was that the one where he beat Noah in the
quarters, and Noah had beaten Krickstein in the round of 16,
and Krickstein had beaten Gerulaitis in the third round?  It
was so long ago) which was probably in 1984.  Krickstein faced
Clerc in the finals of the tournament in Boston, I believe,
at the Longwood Cricket Club.  He had gone down two breaks and
3-0 in the final set, before coming back to win it 7-5 in the
third.  Quite a turnaround.  Clerc later complained about how
he (Clerc) was hitting like a woman, if I recall.

    Krickstein is supposedly a very shy person.  He doesn't like
to say much at interviews.  His father is a doctor, and further
back,  (grandfathers, etc.) they might have been rabbis.  It
was said that Arias was more the street fighter compared to
Krickstein, and that he was more of a quiet competitor.  I think
Wheaton used to room with himi, and even noted how quiet he was. It seemed
like Krickstein disappeared only a few years after, more or less
a dangerous player, but people had figured out his power forehand
like they had with Arias.  Also, injuries, most notably the knee,
has kept him from playing entirely healthy.  Only recently (mainly
in 1990) had it looked like Krickstein might be coming back, though 
I still don't see so much of him these days.

   I suppose he is noted for being (at the time) the youngest player
to have advanced a round in the US Open, and has been quite regular
in getting to the fourth round of the US Open the past few years.
Also, noted for beating a relatively unknown Stefan Edberg in that
first round.  

   One interesting note stroke-wise is how short his backswing is
on the backhand side.  It's amazing how he gets power on that side.
Similar to the short kind of backswing Courier has.  

   Other than that, I don't know that much about what's happened
to Krickstein.  He certainly doesn't get the press of other
major players, and I'm sure he's pretty happy that he doesn't.

--
   ______    __    __   ___  ____
  / ____ \  |  |  |__| |   \ |  |    Charles Lin
 | /    \_| |  |   __  |    \|  |    e-mail: clin@eng.umd.edu
 | |        |  |  |  | |  |\    |   
 | |     _  |  |  |__| |__| \___|    University of Maryland
 | \____/ | |  |____                 "I hate big sigs." -- Moo
  \______/  \_______|
Newsgroups: rec.sport.tennis