Players: Aaron Krickstein and Christoph Zipf
- Aaron Krickstein. the rising American teenager grew up at the Bollettieri Academy
Aaron Krickstein, born in 1967, was one of the first prodigies to grow up at Bollettiere Academy in Florida with Jimmy Arias, who was three years his senior. In 1983, at the age of 16, while Krickstein was winning the US 18s indoor, clay and national titles, he made his first steps on the ATP Tour.
Its initial results were disappointing until s US Openwhere he beat another rising star, Stefan Edberg, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, as well as world number 16 Vitas Gerulaitis, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. That pushed Krickstein to the fourth round, where he lost Roland Garros champion and world No. 4 Yannick Noah 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.
- Christopher Zipf. a promising junior trying to find his way on the ATP Tour
Christoph Zipf born in 1962, was a promising German teenager who won the European Under-18 Championship in 1979; the same year he reached the quarterfinals in the boys tournament. Wimbledon. However, he did not achieve the success he had hoped for on the ATP tour, and at the end of 1983 he had yet to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
The placeTel Aviv, Israel
The Tel Aviv Open was established in 1978 and its first two editions were won by Dutch legend Tom Okker. The tournament was not held in 1982, but returned to the Grand Prix schedule in 1983.
The factsFirst final for both Krickstein and Zipf
By October 1983, despite his young age, Krickstein was well known among tennis fans. He was one of the first American players to play on tour, having been brought up in the growing military discipline at Bollettiere’s academy. A few weeks before the Tel Aviv Open, Krickstein had achieved fame by becoming the youngest player ever to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam. He achieved this feat in the US Open with a prestigious victory over Vitas Gerulaitis, who at that time was still ranked 16th.
Krickstein became one of the tournament favorites when he defeated world No. 24 Henrik Sundstrom 6-3, 1-0 (rev.) in the first round in Tel Aviv. In the final on October 15, he faced Zipf, who was also playing in his first final on the ATP Tour. It was only Krickstein’s sixth appearance at a professional event, but she held her nerve to win 7-6, 6-3. He was the youngest player ever to win an ATP Tour title, a record that still stands almost 40 years later.
The five youngest ATP Tour tournament winners.
- Aaron Krickstein, 1983, Tel Aviv (16 years, 2 months)
- Michael Chang, 1988, San Francisco (16 years, 7 months)
- Leighton Hewitt, 1998, Adelaide (16 years, 10 months)
- Guillermo Perez-Roldan, 1987, Munich (17 years, 6 months)
- Boris Becker, 1985, Queen’s Club (17 years, 7 months)
What next? Krickstein is ranked 6th in the world
Despite an injury-plagued career, Aaron Krickstein would still collect nine titles and rise to world No. 6 in 1990, a few months after achieving his best Grand Slam performance at the 1989 US Open, where he reached the semifinals (lost by Boris Becker 6-4, 6-3, 6-4).
However, Krickstein is best remembered for his epic five-set match against Jimmy Connors on Labor Day in the 1991 US Open. The American led 2-1 in the set and led 5-2 in the fifth set before losing the match in a tiebreaker. It has become a staple of rain-delayed replays at the US Open for years, making it one of the most-watched tennis matches of all time. Krickstein’s last appearance on the ATP Tour took place in 1996.
