richard krajicek + tattoo watch: goran ivanisevic

Richard Krajicek will take a break from his duties as director of the Rotterdam tournament to play in the Gibson Guitar Champions Cup at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Tennis Served Fresh obtained the transcript from a recent interview. Here are some bits:

On the current state of grasscourt tennis: “I played in the days of Sampras, Rafter, and Ivanisevic, the great grass court players. Now it’s all baseliners. The grass has changed, players tell me. It’s slower, and therefore it is more difficult to play serve and volley. I believe it is a shame because I always liked watching contrasting players. Like Borg against McEnroe, Lendl against Edberg and Rafter against Agassi.”

On ending a Sampras winning streak at Wimbledon: “Beating Pete in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1996 felt amazing, but I knew it would mean nothing if I would have lost in the next round. It wasn’t over yet. I wanted the whole Championship. Winning Wimbledon changed my life. I’m not a tattoo kind of guy, but I can understand why Goran has ‘Wimbledon Champion’ tattooed on his back. It’s just the highest high.”

Tattoo Watch: Speaking of Goran’s tattoo, I don’t think he ended up getting that “Wimbledon Champion” tattoo on his back (or his front). He only has that cross/shark above.

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Details: The Gibson Guitar Champions Cup, part of the Champions Tennis Series, will be held August 22-26, 2007 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. Featured players in the round-robin tournament include John McEnroe, Pat Cash, Mats Wilander, Wayne Ferreira, Jim Courier, Richard Krajicek, Todd Martin, and Mal Washington. For more information, visit www.tennisfame.com.

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