Reborn Krajicek finds elbow room

Richard Krajicek is perhaps tennis's ultimate walking, talking example of persistence in the face of an impossibly stacked deck, someone who has come through four operations and is again wowing Wimbledon with the brand of tennis which won him the title there six years ago.

Tomorrow, the man who expected to be on holiday in Majorca with his family will tackle Mark Philippoussis for a place in the quarter-finals. The 6ft 6in Dutchman and the 6ft 4in Australian have more than a booming serve in common. Both have undergone three knee operations, while Krajicek edges in front in the sickness stakes by four surgery visits to three because of the elbow which kept him fretting on the sidelines of the sport for 20 months.

This was the injury which threatened his career and which has given Krajicek what he calls "black moments". Rohan Goetske, the Australian who has been his coach for the past 11 years, said: "Richard was down and I had to push him but things weren't looking good so I had to be careful. There wasn't too much to kick any more. It was the most difficult time I have known with him. Now he is in the second week of Wimbledon, he has nearly 72 hours off before the Philippoussis match and has to get fresh, get good legs because he is mentally strong.

"From here, anything is possible. The elbow just has to hold out. I am unbelievably delighted because if someone had told me all this four weeks ago I would have laughed. Now we are moving into uncharted territory."

The elbow of his serving arm began giving Krajicek pain and problems two years ago and over the winter of 2000 he rested it for five months, opting for a trial return in a doubles event at the Indian Wells tournament in California's warmth in March last year. After suffering more pain he had a scan and was told an operation would be necessary. This was carried out on 29 March at Arlington, Virginia, by Dr Robert Nirschl, an expert in repairing the sore elbows of baseball pitchers.

"The problem was degenerative tissue," said Krajicek in the aftermath of Friday's third-round win over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan. "They basically scooped out 40 per cent of my tendon, like ice cream, and then they rolled it together like a piece of meat. The nerve was also pinched so they cut the ligament. I had a good feeling with Dr Nirschl. He has been doing this for 26 years. He operated on Stan Smith and Manuel Orantes for the same injury and they both made successful comebacks. He expected me to be back in three to six months and I was counting on that."

But it did not happen. Planned returns – at the US Open last September, on the European winter indoor circuit, at this spring's clay court season – all had to be abandoned because of pain in the elbow. Through all this Krajicek had kept Goetske, friend as well as coach, on the payroll but then they decided on what they called "two D-Days". The first decision was whether Krajicek would be able to play the Dutch grass event in Rosmalen and therefore be able to come to Wimbledon. If that failed he would try for the North American build-up to the US Open. And if that did not work Goetske would be sacked.

"If that had happened I could have said goodbye to the highest level of tennis," Krajicek admitted. "I would have tried to play in Australia next winter and if I still had problems I probably would have turned in the towel." Instead he played Rosmalen and lost to Roger Federer in his first match. This delighted him for two reasons. First, he was pain-free afterwards. Second, he was given a standing ovation by the Dutch crowd.

"The public back home have always respected Richard because of his skills," said one Dutch tennis journalist. "But he doesn't have Tim Henman's popularity, and that bothers him, because they say he is always injured. But Rosmalen was an emotional occasion which delighted him because it was such a rare thing."

Krajicek was brought to the country as a child by his Czech immigrant parents (he calls himself "Holland's first asylum seeker") and when they separated he sided with his mother and turned his back on the father, Petr. Another joyful thing for Krajicek is that, after years of bitterness, father and son are now reconciled.

It happened in bizarre fashion. Petr Krajicek read newspaper comments by Richard that he wanted to talk to his father again and decided to write to him. But he could not bring himself to post the letter, so he travelled to Krajicek's luxury home in Muiderbeg, 12 miles from Amsterdam, intending to deliver it personally. When Richard's wife, the actress and model Daphne Deckers, spotted a strange man in the garden, she called out, "We have a burglar." "No," said Richard, "that's my father."

Though Petr ran off, Richard caught up with him and they made their peace. If that has been happy news, there remains one concern for Krajicek, who has a four-year-old daughter, Emma, and a son, Alec, two. Alec is in a delicate condition because of a blood disorder called Kawasaki's disease, so the enforced spell off the circuit enabled Richard to spend more time with him.

In addition to keeping in physical shape, Richard also qualified for sea-going licences for his motor-boat, studied Spanish and is taking an open university course in law.

"I have passed my first two exams, so I am pretty happy with that," he smiled. "I just need another 30 now to become a lawyer, but it has kept my mind off things." Looking to the future, he has also signed up to take over as chief executive and tournament director of the Rotterdam indoor event in 2004.

But for the present, there is Wimbledon, where Krajicek, on doctor's orders, is resisting the temptation to serve full blast just yet. Though he joked on Friday:"Everything aches except the elbow", he added: "In 1996 after I beat Pete Sampras in the fourth round I had the feeling I could go all the way. This time I am just amazed I made it to the fourth round, but my recovery abilities are getting better. Maybe I can win a couple more."

His followers in the VIP box, who include a childhood friend, Rodger Linse, the manager of Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy, certainly hope so. And if the dream should end tomorrow? "The easy thing would be to quit and go out reminding myself I won Wimbledon in '96." But somehow you know Richard Krajicek won't do that.