John-Laffnie de Jager
Encyclopedia
John-Laffnie de Jager is a South Africa
n former tour professional tennis
player. A doubles specialist, de Jager reached the semi-finals for three different grand slam
tournaments three times in three different years partnering three different fellow South African players. de Jager is the current non-playing captain of the South Africa Davis Cup team
.
, de Jager turned professional in 1992 during which year he played his only tour singles. He won two of five matches he played on the challenger
circuit and reached through qualifying the main draw at Wimbledon
, where he lost in the first round to future champion Richard Krajicek
, 7-5 6-1 6-2. He played but one other event in singles, a challenger in Dublin in October, before focussing his tennis exclusively on doubles. His career high singles ranking stood at World No. 313, reached in October.
De Jager won back-to-back challenger events in doubles in September 1991, partnering compatriots, in Madeira
partnering Byron Talbot
and in Jerusalem with Christo van Rensburg
. He played some half dozen times with Van Rensburg in 1991-2 and some dozen times, but with limited success, with Johan De Beer. He won two more challenger events the following year, in June partnering Zimbabwean Byron Black
and in November with Capetonian Marius Barnard
. 1993 saw de Jager reach his first of three grand slam semis, in partnership with yet another South African, Marcos Ondruska
. Together they reached the second round at the Roland Garros and the third round at Wimbledon. In October, de Jager reached his first Grand Prix event final, in Lyon
partnering still another South African and Capetonian, Stefan Kruger
.
1994 saw de Jager reach four grand prix semi-finals, with three different partners (all southern Africans), another final and capture his first grand prix win, in Tel Aviv
partnering still another compatriot, Pietermaritzburg native Lan Bale
. Aside from a few occasions, most notable of which was a four tournament stint where he partnered Aussie doubles master John Fitzgerald, de Jager and Bale remained a team into 1995. Together they reached the Stuttgart Indoor, Munich, and Italian Open grand prix, but faltered at the French where they went out in the first round. After a third round exit at Wimbledon, and first round exit at Flushing Meadows, the partnership was dissolved in September. The change worked immediately for de Jager as he won his very next tournament, the Toulouse
Grand Prix, partnering Swede Jonas Björkman
. He again had success in Lyon, reaching the final with star compatriot Wayne Ferriera. Beginning 1996 playing mostly with Gary Muller
, de Jager played the late spring and summer with some 10 different partners and without reaching a single event final. His misfortune got worse in the first of half of 1997, where a string of first round loses saw his doubles ranking fall from No. 53 in September '96 to No. 164 by August of '97. A new partnership with yet another compatriot, this time Robbie Koenig
saw de Jager recover his form, with a quarterfinal result at the U.S. Open followed by winning a challenger event and reaching the finals of another. Then with Pretoria's Chris Haggard
, he won the following two challengers as well.
De Jager began 1998 partnering Koenig, reaching the semis of the Sydney Outdoor, the third round of the Australian Open
, and the second round or better of every tournament but one through Roland Garros, where they reached the third round. Their success continued throughout the summer, culminating in but only de Jager's second grand slam semis appearance, at the '98 U.S. Open. During the autumn de Jager partnership altered between the one of him and Koenig and a newer one, with yet anouther South African, David Adams
. De Jager played exclusively with Adams for 1999 and the tandem met with success in reaching the finals or better six times in International Series
events. This let to their competing in the ATP Doubles Championship, where they lost in the round robin however. The duo had an even year 2000 nevertheless winning back-to-back in February, in Rotterdam
and London, in Munich
in May, and reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon. At the Sydney Olympics
, they again finished semi-finalists, for de Jager, for the third and final time. He achieved his career high ranking in doubles at the end of July, at World No. 11.
He reached two Grand Slam finals in Mixed Doubles. In 1995 he reached the final of the French Open with Jill Hetherington
but they lost 6-7 6-7 to Larisa Neiland
and Todd Woodbridge
. In 1997 he partnered Larisa Neiland
to reach the final of the Australian Open, but they lost 3-6, 7-6, 5-7 to Manon Bollegraf
and Rick Leach
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n former tour professional tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. A doubles specialist, de Jager reached the semi-finals for three different grand slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournaments three times in three different years partnering three different fellow South African players. de Jager is the current non-playing captain of the South Africa Davis Cup team
South Africa Davis Cup team
The South Africa Davis Cup team represents South Africa in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the South African Tennis Association....
.
Career
A native of JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, de Jager turned professional in 1992 during which year he played his only tour singles. He won two of five matches he played on the challenger
ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments...
circuit and reached through qualifying the main draw at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, where he lost in the first round to future champion Richard Krajicek
Richard Krajicek
Richard Peter Stanislav Krajicek is a Dutch former professional tennis player. In 1996 he won the men's singles title at Wimbledon, the only Dutch player to have done so. In the quarterfinals of that tournament he defeated Pete Sampras. This was Sampras' only singles defeat at Wimbledon between...
, 7-5 6-1 6-2. He played but one other event in singles, a challenger in Dublin in October, before focussing his tennis exclusively on doubles. His career high singles ranking stood at World No. 313, reached in October.
De Jager won back-to-back challenger events in doubles in September 1991, partnering compatriots, in Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
partnering Byron Talbot
Byron Talbot
Byron Talbot , is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won seven doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional six times...
and in Jerusalem with Christo van Rensburg
Christo Van Rensburg
Christo van Rensburg is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.Van Rensburg turned professional in 1983...
. He played some half dozen times with Van Rensburg in 1991-2 and some dozen times, but with limited success, with Johan De Beer. He won two more challenger events the following year, in June partnering Zimbabwean Byron Black
Byron Black
Byron Black is a former touring professional tennis and Davis Cup player for Zimbabwe.- Biography :He is the brother of Cara and Wayne Black, both professional tennis players...
and in November with Capetonian Marius Barnard
Marius Barnard (tennis)
Marius Barnard is a retired South African professional tennis player, who primarily played in doubles matches.Barnard was born in Cape Town, South Africa.-External links:*...
. 1993 saw de Jager reach his first of three grand slam semis, in partnership with yet another South African, Marcos Ondruska
Marcos Ondruska
Marcos Ondruska is a former tennis player from South Africa, who turned professional in 1989. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he defeated Goran Ivanišević in the first round before falling to Norway's Christian Ruud...
. Together they reached the second round at the Roland Garros and the third round at Wimbledon. In October, de Jager reached his first Grand Prix event final, in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
partnering still another South African and Capetonian, Stefan Kruger
Stefan Kruger
Stefan Kruger is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won 3 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 5 times. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of World No...
.
1994 saw de Jager reach four grand prix semi-finals, with three different partners (all southern Africans), another final and capture his first grand prix win, in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
partnering still another compatriot, Pietermaritzburg native Lan Bale
Lan Bale
Lan Bale , is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won 4 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 4 times. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of World No...
. Aside from a few occasions, most notable of which was a four tournament stint where he partnered Aussie doubles master John Fitzgerald, de Jager and Bale remained a team into 1995. Together they reached the Stuttgart Indoor, Munich, and Italian Open grand prix, but faltered at the French where they went out in the first round. After a third round exit at Wimbledon, and first round exit at Flushing Meadows, the partnership was dissolved in September. The change worked immediately for de Jager as he won his very next tournament, the Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
Grand Prix, partnering Swede Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
. He again had success in Lyon, reaching the final with star compatriot Wayne Ferriera. Beginning 1996 playing mostly with Gary Muller
Gary Muller
Gary Muller is a South African tennis player.In February 1987, he returned from a four and a half month break after damaging his knee cartilage to defeat Marcel Freeman in the first round of the United States Pro Indoor tennis championship.-External links:* at the New York Times** ]...
, de Jager played the late spring and summer with some 10 different partners and without reaching a single event final. His misfortune got worse in the first of half of 1997, where a string of first round loses saw his doubles ranking fall from No. 53 in September '96 to No. 164 by August of '97. A new partnership with yet another compatriot, this time Robbie Koenig
Robbie Koenig
Robbie Koenig is a retired professional tennis player from South Africa. Most notable for reaching the semi finals of the 1998 US Open Men's doubles competition...
saw de Jager recover his form, with a quarterfinal result at the U.S. Open followed by winning a challenger event and reaching the finals of another. Then with Pretoria's Chris Haggard
Chris Haggard
Chris Haggard is a professional tennis player from South Africa.After finishing runner-up in the NAIA national men's tennis championship singles draw in 1991 while playing for Auburn University-Montgomery, Haggard turned pro in 1993. He has won six ATP Tour doubles titles and finished runner-up a...
, he won the following two challengers as well.
De Jager began 1998 partnering Koenig, reaching the semis of the Sydney Outdoor, the third round of the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, and the second round or better of every tournament but one through Roland Garros, where they reached the third round. Their success continued throughout the summer, culminating in but only de Jager's second grand slam semis appearance, at the '98 U.S. Open. During the autumn de Jager partnership altered between the one of him and Koenig and a newer one, with yet anouther South African, David Adams
David Adams (tennis)
David Adams is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. He turned pro in 1989. During his career he won 19 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 33 times, including at the French Open in 1992. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of World No...
. De Jager played exclusively with Adams for 1999 and the tandem met with success in reaching the finals or better six times in International Series
ATP International Series
The International Series was a series of professional tennis tournaments held internationally as part of the ATP Tour until 2008....
events. This let to their competing in the ATP Doubles Championship, where they lost in the round robin however. The duo had an even year 2000 nevertheless winning back-to-back in February, in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and London, in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in May, and reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon. At the Sydney Olympics
Tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics
The tennis competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia consisted of singles and doubles events for both men and women.-Medal table:-Events:-References:*...
, they again finished semi-finalists, for de Jager, for the third and final time. He achieved his career high ranking in doubles at the end of July, at World No. 11.
He reached two Grand Slam finals in Mixed Doubles. In 1995 he reached the final of the French Open with Jill Hetherington
Jill Hetherington
Jill Hetherington Hultquist is a former Canadian professional tennis player. Hultquist played college tennis for the University of Florida, and is the current women's tennis head coach at the University of Washington....
but they lost 6-7 6-7 to Larisa Neiland
Larisa Neiland
Larisa Savchenko Neiland is a former tennis player who represented Latvia. A former number-one ranked doubles player, Neiland won two women's doubles Grand Slam titles. She also won two singles titles and sixty-five doubles titles.-Career:Neiland turned professional in 1983...
and Todd Woodbridge
Todd Woodbridge
Todd Andrew Woodbridge is an Australian former tennis player. He was born in Sydney and turned professional in 1988. He is best known for his successful Doubles partnerships with Mark Woodforde and later Jonas Björkman...
. In 1997 he partnered Larisa Neiland
Larisa Neiland
Larisa Savchenko Neiland is a former tennis player who represented Latvia. A former number-one ranked doubles player, Neiland won two women's doubles Grand Slam titles. She also won two singles titles and sixty-five doubles titles.-Career:Neiland turned professional in 1983...
to reach the final of the Australian Open, but they lost 3-6, 7-6, 5-7 to Manon Bollegraf
Manon Bollegraf
Manon Maria Bollegraf is a former professional female tennis player from the Netherlands, who finished fourth in women's doubles at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.-History:...
and Rick Leach
Rick Leach
----Rick Leach is a former professional tennis player and a coach from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 5 Grand Slam men's doubles titles , and 4 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles . Leach reached the World No...
.