Steve Krulevitz

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Steve Krulevitz
Country (sports) 
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1970
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record121–198
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 42
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1979)
French Open3R (1976)
Wimbledon3R (1976)
US Open2R (1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981)
Doubles
Career record130–196
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 150
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenSF (1981)
French Open3R (1981, 1982)
Wimbledon3R (1974)
US Open3R (1982)
Medal record
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place 1977 Tel Aviv Men's singles
Gold medal – first place 1977 Tel Aviv Men's doubles

Steve "Lightning" Krulevitz

All-American. He won gold medals for the United States in singles and doubles at the 1977 Maccabiah Games in Israel. He played # 1 for the Israel Davis Cup team
from 1978–80. His highest world singles ranking was No. 42. He was in the top 100 on the men’s tour from 1974 to 1983.

Early life

Krulevitz was born in

bar mitzvah at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation.[1]

During

Nazis implemented their Final Solution to the ‘Jewish Question’, his Polish grandfather’s mother, father, sisters, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins, 22 people in all, were shipped to the Auschwitz concentration camp where they were killed.[1][2]

Early career

From the age of eight or nine years old, he was friends with Harold Solomon (who was one year younger), with whom he later played on the pro tour.[7][8] In 1967 he became the youngest Maryland State Men’s champion, at 15 years of age.[1][9][10]

Krulevitz attended the

Junior Davis Cup Team.[3]

He earned a

Bob Kreiss.[13][1][14]

Professional career

Krulevitz was among the top 100 players in the world for from 1974 to 1983.

Wimbledons, 13 US Opens, 8 French Opens, and 2 Australian Opens
.

His career singles titles include Travemünde, Germany (1980) and Chichester, England (1981). Krulevitz's career doubles titles include the

Wimbledon and the French Open in 1976, and to the 3rd round of the Australian Open in 1979. In May 1982 he lost in the finals of the Tampere Open, in Finland.[16]

In May 1974 Krulevitz defeated world No. 25

Jose Higueras in Gstaad, Switzerland.[17] In June 1981 he beat World # 20 Adriano Panatta in Brussels, Belgium.[17]

Krulevitz won gold medals in singles and doubles (with Larry Nagler) for the United States at the 1977 Maccabiah Games in Tel Aviv, Israel.[18][19]

Davis Cup

Krulevitz played # 1 for the Israel Davis Cup team from 1978–1980,[1][20] and coached that Davis Cup team as well. He was 4–5 in Davis Cup competition for Israel.[14] He said in 1978: "I would never live anyplace but the States, but there is definitely a part of me that has strong feelings for Israel. It is a fantastic, courageous country."[4]

Honors

Krulevitz was inducted into the

USTA Mid-Atlantic Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993.[16]

He was inducted into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.[1]

Coaching

Krulevitz's students include Gilad Bloom (Israel), Jaime Yzaga (Peru), Reed Cordish, and Vince Spadea.

He is the varsity tennis head coach at

Newport Beach, California. He also led the team to eight consecutive A Conference titles in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association.[1][23][24] The team set an MIAA record for most consecutive titles, set a record for most championships in the year history of the league, and set a new school record for most consecutive championships in its 60-year history.[25]

Krulevitz founded the Krulevitz Tennis Program in 1984, with two 16-week indoor sessions for players of all ages from September through April and a 10-week outdoor camp June through August, with 90 students per week.[26][1]

Career finals

Doubles (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 1976
Salisbury
, U.S. 		Carpet (i) United States Trey Waltke United States Fred McNair
United States Sherwood Stewart 		3–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 Feb 1979 Sarasota, U.S. Carpet (i) Romania Ilie Năstase Australia John James
United States Keith Richardson 		7–6, 6–3
Win 2–1 Aug 1979
Stowe
, U.S. 		Hard United States Mike Cahill India Anand Amritraj
Australia Colin Dibley 		3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 3–1 Jun 1980
Brussels
, Belgium 		Clay Belgium Thierry Stevaux United States Eric Fromm
United States Cary Leeds 		6–3, 7–5
Win 4–1 Oct 1980
Tel Aviv
, Israel 		Hard Sweden Per Hjertquist United States Eric Fromm
United States Cary Leeds 		7–6, 6–3
Loss 4–2 Oct 1981
Tel Aviv
, Israel 		Hard United Kingdom John Feaver United States Steve Meister
United States Van Winitsky 		6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Loss 4–3 Jun 1983 Venice, Italy Clay Hungary Zoltán Kuhárszky Paraguay Francisco González
Paraguay Víctor Pecci 		1–6, 2–6

Writing

Krulevitz authored Lightning Strikes: The Life and Times of a Professional Tour Tennis Player, 2017.[27] It describes his life growing up in Baltimore, and as a professional tennis player.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Tennis Star Steve Krulevitz to be Inducted into Md. State Athletic Hall of Fame". August 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Where Are They Now? Jewish Baltimore's Athletic Legends". February 9, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Steve Krulevitz | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  4. ^ a b Lorge, Barry (June 4, 1978). "Krulevitz: Different Davis in Israel". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  5. ^ "World Tennis". CBS Publications. September 20, 1981 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "18 August 1978". Jewish Post.
  7. ^ "Coffee with Steve". April 2020.
  8. ^ "THE 25-YEAR REUNION OF THE STEVE KRULEVITZ TENNIS PROGRAM". Baltimore Sun.
  9. ^ "2019 Inductees".
  10. ^ "Capital Gazette: Annapolis breaking news, sports, weather and traffic".
  11. ^ a b "News & Publications · the Park School of Baltimore".
  12. ^ "Gilman Bulletin, Fall 2011".
  13. ^ MTNGUIDE06.indd
  14. ^ a b "2018-19 UCLA Men's Tennis Information Guide by UCLA Athletics - Issuu". issuu.com.
  15. ^ "Steve Krulevitz | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  16. ^ a b "USTA Mid Atlantic Section - Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d "Steve Krulevitz | Player Activity | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  18. ^ "Israel Basketball Team Loses out to Underdog U.S. Squad at 10th Maccabiah". July 22, 1977.
  19. ^ Israel Digest. World Zionist Organization, American Section. 1977.
  20. ^ "Players | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  21. ^ "Wiedmer: Rotary tennis tourney one of our town's finest events".
  22. ^ "Rising early paid off late for Gilman tennis champions". Chicago Tribune.
  23. ^ "Youth comes through for three-time league champion Gilman tennis team". Baltimore Sun.
  24. ^ "Maryland high school athletes lose vital time during pandemic". April 21, 2020.
  25. ^ "Gilman wins its fifth straight MIAA a tennis crown | MIAASports.net".
  26. ^ "The Steve Krulevitz Tennis Program - A Proven and Innovative Teaching System". Krulevitztennis.com. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  27. ISBN 978-1539370482
    .
  28. ^ "citybizlist : Baltimore : Baltimore Tennis Legend Launches Memoir".

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steve_Krulevitz&oldid=1201518519"