Austin Krajicek returned home to Allen a few days ago on top of the tennis world. For more than two decades, he toiled to become one of the best in the world. It finally happened last Saturday, on Paris’ famed Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros, when Krajicek and his Croatian partner Ivan Dodig toppled the Belgium duo of Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen in straight sets to win the French Open men’s doubles title.
The victory marked Krajicek’s first Grand Slam title, entering him into a select fraternity of tennis players. The win also elevated the 32-year-old Texas A&M alum to No. 1 in the world men’s doubles rankings. It was a special moment, and one Krajicek believes the state of Texas helped him achieve.
“I always felt at home in Texas,” Krajicek says. “I think that was a big part of my story and journey.”
Krajicek was born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in the Sunshine State, where he became one of the nation’s top youth tennis players. For college, he decided to play for former U.S. Open doubles champion Steve Denton and assistant coach Bob McKinley at Texas A&M. He emerged as a star for the Aggies, becoming a four-time doubles All-American and two-time singles All-American. He won the 2011 NCAA doubles title, the first national championship in the program’s history. Ahead of his sophomore year, he won the USTA 18-year-olds national championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Perhaps just as important, he found a home along the way.
“I really felt like an adopted Texan from the moment I got to College Station,” Krajicek says. “Absolutely loved my time there. Coach Denton and Coach McKinley were huge influences—not just in tennis, but also off the court in all aspects of life.”
Krajicek turned pro after his NCAA career ended, but struggled to reach the heights he’d accomplished as an amateur. He maxed out as a singles player at No. 94 in the world. The hard-serving lefty was more successful in doubles, cracking the top 50 in the ATP rankings and winning a few tournaments at the ATP 250 level.
Still, he was nowhere close to the apex of his sport, and perhaps never would have been had he and his wife not relocated from College Station to North Texas in 2021. Shortly after their arrival, Mexican doubles player Hans Hach Verdugo connected Krajicek with Dallas-based coach Phillip Farmer. Farmer, who also currently coaches Hach Verdugo and John Isner, quickly saw potential in Krajicek.
“I really felt like with Austin’s size, his leftiness in his game, and his doubles IQ—he’s a very smart guy—as well as his professionalism, hard work, and how much he’s driven, I really thought he could win a Slam,” Farmer says. “And if you’re winning a Slam, you’re basically putting yourself already with points in contention for being up there to go for the No. 1 spot.”
Farmer coached twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, considered the greatest men’s tennis doubles duo of all time, for their first few Grand Slam finals as well as their first title. He watched them win through talent, but he never forgot how unfazed they could seem in big moments. So when it came time to work with Krajicek years later, Farmer drilled down on technique, but also placed a heavy emphasis on how it could serve his game mentally, too.
“Bob and Mike, the Bryan brothers, talk a lot about if you’re relaxed in your hands, then the magic can come out of your racket and your shots because you’re more free and you’re more loose,” Farmer says, and so he worked with Krajicek to remain fluid throughout his upper body—his hands, but also his wrists and arms.
Krajicek says his tactical approach, mental game, and intangibles have improved significantly working with Farmer. After years of grinding, the wins began piling up like cordwood. He made the semifinals of the Olympics and his first ATP 1000 final a few weeks apart in 2021. Krajicek partnered with Dodig for the first time that August, and a dominant team was born. Since last May, the duo has played in 12 finals, including a victory at the Paris Masters in November and the Monte Carlo Masters in April.
But nothing compares to the French Open victory. The duo had made the final in 2022 only to lose in a heartbreaking three-set defeat. That only made this year’s victory sweeter, if not any less stressful. “I would like to say that the second time you’re not nervous, and you’re a little bit calmer going out there,” Krajicek says, “but you’re just as nervous.”
Farmer had a sense of déjà vu in the crowd watching Krajicek drop his racket and lift his arms triumphantly. Twenty years earlier, the Bryan twins won their first Grand Slam title at the French Open. Now, he watched another one of his players realize his potential on the famed red clay.
Krajicek is now the 20th American to rank No. 1 in men’s doubles since the rankings began in 1976. He is the third American who went to college in Texas to reach No. 1 after TCU legend David Pate and SMU great Richey Reneberg. Nevertheless, he says the accomplishment has only made him hungrier to get back to work later this week, with his eye on winning Wimbledon next month.
Which is the sort of thing you might expect someone who put down roots here to say. Krajicek might have finally reached the top of tennis, but in true Texas fashion, he wants to go even bigger.
