Kevin Curren

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Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958 in Durban, South Africa) is a former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles.

Personal

Curren became a naturalized American citizen in April 1985.

Career

Curren played both tennis and cricket at Glenwood High School in Durban. At college he played tennis for the University of Texas at Austin in the United States and won the NCAA singles title in 1979. He turned professional later that year, and won his first top-level singles title in 1981 in Johannesburg.

In 1983, Curren reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, beating defending champion, Jimmy Connors 6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, in the fourth round, causing a big upset. Curren lost to unseeded New Zealander Chris Lewis in a dramatic five-set semi final match 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–7, 8–6, that was noteworthy for allowing Lewis to become only the seventh unseeded player to ever reach the Wimbledon final. In 1984, Curren powered his way through the draw and played Mats Wilander in the final of the Australian Open, after making a comeback from two sets down to defeat Ben Testerman in the semi-finals. Wilander won the match, played on the grass courts at Kooyong, in four sets 6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–2.

In 1985, Curren reached the final at Wimbledon with the help of coaching from Tony Roche. After defeating future champion Stefan Edberg in the fourth round in straight sets,...
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