Kevin Curren

South African tennis player Kevin Curren was born on March 2, 1958 in Durban, South Africa. He reached two Grand Slam singles finals and also won four titles in doubles. The tall and lanky American player who prefers to play on grass courts became a naturalized American in 1985.

He turned pro in 1980 and won his first top level singles title year later. In 1983, he went on to reach his first Grand Slam semi final in Wimbledon before losing to Chris Lewis. A year later he made it to the final of the Australian Open before bowing out to Mats Wilander.

He also reached the final in Wimbledon a year later, playing against 17-year old Boris Becker who eventually won the title, becoming the youngest male player to become a Grand Slam champion, a record that would next be held by Michael Chang. He reached the quarterfinals in Wimbledon in 1990 before falling to Goran Ivanisevic in five sets.

Curren was more fortunate in doubles, wining in the mixed doubles at the 1981 US Open and then the 1982 mixed doubles in Wimbledon. He also won the mixed doubles and men’s doubles titles at the US Open.

He reached a career high rank at number 5 in singles in 1985 and a career high rank of number 3 in 1983. Curren retired in 1993 and went to serve as captain of the South African Davis Cup team. He earned a total of US$3,055,510 for the entirety of his career. He currently resides in Austin, Texas, USA.