Cape Town - Raven klaasen is in the middle of a late-career resurgence. At 33 years old, the former Kuils River resident has reached a career-high ranking of 15th on the ATP World Tour doubles standings and is once again in contention for top titles on the Tour.
The 2014 Australian Open finalist has been back in Cape Town for almost nine years, after leaving home at the age of 14 to pursue his dream, and believes his return has played an integral role in his renaissance.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in King William’s Town, but we moved to Cape Town when I was about three years old.
When and how did you get started playing tennis?
When exactly I can’t tell you, but I usually tell people about five or six years old because both of my parents are tennis players, and both at a pretty high level too. My father has represented South Africa a few times in senior events. I have been around the sport for as long as I can remember. At about five or six I got my first racket, and the rest is history.
Did you start by playing for a club or at school?
I had an overall tennis upbringing. I only started at school level when I got to high school. Before that it was sort of club level. My parents played tennis for Bellville United Tennis Club. I grew up in Kuils River so I played at a local club there and then we moved over to Kuilsriver Tennis Club.
In that Kuils River community is where I started playing competitive tennis, but between my mom and dad they initially did most of the hard yards as far as teaching me the game. Then as I got older, I started going to different coaches and playing in different areas.
What was it about the sport that you fell in love with?
It’s a weird thing because these days I consider tennis more of a job than a passion. But in the beginning it was just so much fun. My parents actually allowed me to play whichever sports I wanted to when I was young, so I didn’t really specialise in tennis until I got to about 14.
I think the key moment for me was realising that I had fun playing other sports, but didn’t really want to sacrifice much time for those sports. I realised that I was happy to give up certain things to spend extra time playing tennis. So that was when I realised that this was what I wanted to do as a profession one day.
Was there a moment or big result that made you realise you could make it as a professional?
I don’t know if ‘naïve’ is the right word but I always had a dream of playing professional tennis, whether or not I was actually good enough. I think it was sort of blind desire and hunger that kept pushing me all these years.
I think the first time I really felt like this was something I wanted to do was when I qualified to play Wimbledon when I was a junior. That tournament has always held a special place in my heart because I grew up watching it on TV, because of the similar time zones, and when I played there I realised it was something I wanted to do.
What was the experience like?
I was 17 when I was fortunate enough to play at Wimbledon, so it was my last year as a junior. I kind of blossomed late, so in my last year as a junior I did well and my ranking was high enough to play in the qualifiers for the main event. I played in the qualifiers, which are actually held at a different venue, and then I played at the main event. Once I got to the main site at Wimbledon I felt like ‘this is really where you want to play tennis.’
I remember the last match like it was yesterday. I played a guy who is still on tour today, Lukasz Kubot, and my parents were there. At 6-6 in the third set, I won five break points to go up 7-6 and serve for the match and I ended up not getting it and losing 6-8 in the third set after like three hours of play. I was shattered by that for months afterwards. The overall experience of playing the tournament was spectacular, but my personal result was a bit disappointing.
Why do you say your parents are the most inspirational people in your life?
I’m very fortunate to have had parents who went that extra mile to create opportunities for me. My parents were the ones who were the driving factor behind my career because they sacrificed a lot of time and money to create opportunities for me. When I look back at how many things had to work out to get me to this point, it really wouldn’t be possible without what they did for me.
It’s sort of a combination of having the right support structure, the right opportunities, and then meeting different people throughout the years who were like ‘we want to help you out and make things possible for you.’ I think that my biggest asset was given to me by my parents; they said ‘just show people that you’re willing to go that extra yard and they will want to help you.’ I think that is something that they instilled at an early age, and I have remembered that throughout.
I’ve had some up and downs throughout my career, probably more downs. I’ve had knee surgeries where I have had to miss time from the game and that support structure from them always remained strong. They come from a different time in South Africa’s history and when you see their desire and passion for me to keep playing and reach my goals, it really motivates me to go on and achieve even more.
When you do something as isolated and lonely as tennis, you need people that you can depend on in your corner when things aren’t going well. It’s not an easy profession to be in, and it’s not easy for a parent either because they had to let me go at an early age to give me the opportunities to play this sport. I certainly wouldn’t be sitting at 15th in the world if it wasn’t for them.
Why is professional tennis such a “difficult” and “lonely” job?
You leave home at an early age, because coming from South Africa we don’t really have exposure to that many events here. If you want to have a shot you have to leave home and spend endless months on the road, due to our economy and how difficult it is to go back and forth. You end up spending months and months on the road, by yourself and trying to get by.
Even on the court, when you play the sport, you’re by yourself out there competing. As you go along, the pressure of trying to have enough money to stay on the road and support yourself and keep going really does wear on a lot of people.
What I have noticed over the years is that very few tennis players actually get to their peak-performances levels because they have to stop before they get there. That’s what becomes quite difficult about the sport; the isolation.
But, then on the flip side, when you do have success, you bask in the glory by yourself. It’s sort of a catch-22.
How did your tennis journey start?
I’ve been away from home since about 14. South Africa used to have a tennis facility in Johannesburg, and then later in Pretoria that was called the International Tennis Federation Tennis Academy. I went there when I was 14 and I spent my last four years in Gauteng, from 14 to 18. I would come home once or twice a year.
Once I turned 18, I went to the USA and spent the next four years in Florida. It was a situation where home was just for when I wasn’t playing tournaments. Any time I wasn’t playing tennis I would leave for home. I would probably spend no more than six to eight weeks a year in Cape Town, and the rest of the time I would be away from home.
When did you move back to Cape Town?
As the years passed on, I kind of spent more and more time in Cape Town and fell back in love with the city. I had three knee operations between 2005 and 2007 and I came home to do that, and I met some old school friends, got back in touch with my family and met my wife, who I actually went to high school with. I realised that there was a lot in Cape Town that I had given up for so many years.
I decided to make a go of trying to base myself in Cape Town, and I think having a place that is home has given me a comfort level. So when I do come off the tour I feel like I am with people that I care about, as opposed to taking time off and still feeling like you’re away from home. I have been based out of Cape Town for the last eight of nine years and it’s worked well for me.
Has that played a role in your improved performances?
Hundred percent. I think that if I was to look back at my career before surgery and after surgery, the biggest thing that I have learned is how to pick the people that you put around you. Even though it’s an individual sport, the team around you dictates how close you can get to your maximum potential. Once I got to Cape Town I started putting some key pieces in place.
My family and friends and wife have always been around me and a good source of support but then I met a coach, Stephan de Kock, who I still work with. I met a mental trainer, Gielie Hoffmann, who I still work with. So coming home put that core team around me that really works well for me, and now I’ve added one more component on the road. Jeff Coetzee, who used to play and now helps me with coaching on road. Through that I have managed to be close to my best level more consistently.
Would you suggest to young, aspiring professionals that they should consider basing themselves in South Africa?
The biggest difficulty for tennis players is that there are so many people giving you input in the beginning. I thought I had to go abroad to learn how to play tennis and the reality is that you do have to leave the country to play tennis because the competitions are abroad, but what you can do is play in South Africa and become a very good tennis player.
You really have to trust in the person coaching you and I think South Africa has lots of good coaches and resources and a climate that is advantageous to playing tennis.
But the one unfortunate thing we don’t have is the exposure to the international game the way they do in Europe, with that many countries and players close to each other. So yes, you could learn how to play the game here, but to make a success of it you have to travel and spend time abroad.
When and why did you switch focus to doubles?
I could sit and talk about that question for a very long time, but most tennis players think about playing singles when they start and that was my dream too. I made the switch to doubles in 2012. I think I still played a little bit of singles in 2011.
I had gotten to a point in my career where I had tried so long at singles and had some success, but not quite enough to justify extending my career any further. Then given the knee surgeries I had, I got to a stage where I couldn’t do the training anymore and wasn’t seeing enough rewards to carry on.
I initially decided to give the doubles a go just to see if I could do something in that format. It was tough in the beginning but as time went on, I realised my skill-set actually works well in doubles. I had some success in 2012 and decided to keep going and I’m glad I did.
Why do you say your skill-set suits doubles?
I spent four years in Johannesburg playing at high altitude, and when you play at 7 000-feet it teaches you to play very well at the net. I think that gave me an advantage in terms of being able to play closer to the net, which really works well in doubles and as you can see with South Africa, we have a long history of successful doubles players going back. That was definitely an advantage and then also my ability to move.
My body has been my biggest asset – my athleticism and explosiveness. I certainly can’t hit the ball as hard as some of the new generation, but I can run fast enough to keep up.
How do you feel about reaching your highest-ever ranking (15th in the world) at the age of 33?
I am very excited about it. It’s something that sometimes you forget to enjoy because the ATP World Tour is continuously moving. I have spent a week at this ranking and I already feel like I’m ready for more. I want to keep moving and I want keep looking for more ways to get better.
To have this success at this late stage also just shows me how persistence can pay off in the long run. I have now gotten to the point where I feel like my best tennis is still ahead of me.
Now, it’s just a matter of managing my body as I get older and trying to really make sure that I tick every box and do the right things consistently. Making it in professional tennis is not rocket science. A big part of it is just doing the right things day in and day out.
What would you say is your greatest achievement?
As I stand here today, it would be hard to not pick out that Australian Open final in 2014. Every time I think back to that, I think back fondly. It is spectacular to think that I have a piece of silverware at my house that says I played in the final of a grand slam. That was something that I wouldn’t have even been able to dream of four or five years ago.
I have now won nine events on the ATP World Tour, including a Master 1 000 event, so the only thing missing now is a grand slam title. I’m really doing all I can to create that opportunity again.
Was losing that Australian Open final a bittersweet moment?
If you want to sit down for dinner we can talk about that for a long time … right now, as things stand, that is the highlight of my career but if you speak to me in 25 years and it’s still the highlight of my career, I would be kind of disappointed. When I first started my goal was so much lower than playing in a grand slam final, so as disappointed as I am I will always be proud of that achievement. Like I say, I’m going to try and keep pushing to correct that.
How do you feel about your performances so far this season?
We had a very good start to the year. We made the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and we lost to the eventual champions. It was actually the second consecutive year that I’ve lost to the eventual champions. We played a good match and did ourselves proud, and then a few weeks later we made the final in Miami which was a big result as well. That has kind of given me the kick-start to get my ranking up to 15th.
Once you get to this area of the rankings you really have to perform well to keep moving forward. The guys ahead of you are putting up results every week. Now it’s about getting used to and comfortable with this new position and everything that brings. The biggest thing is that I have proven to myself that I can play at this level, now I just have to do it more regularly.
You seem to be more successful on hard courts. What surface do you enjoy the most?
In terms of pure enjoyment, I probably like grass the most just because I grew up watching Wimbledon. But the reality is that I grew up on hard courts in South Africa and when you spend that much time on a certain surface, it gets to be the one you’re most comfortable on. If you look at my career, I do have the occasional result on clay or grass, but for the most part the hard courts are where I make my living.
You’ve had four different partners since the start of 2015. Is Rajeev Ram a permanent partner, or will you see how it goes?
As long as we keep doing the right things, we will try to stay together as long as possible. Unfortunately, what has happened in doubles now is that there are certain rules in place that make it a little bit more difficult for teams to stay together than what it was in past.
One of the most important things in doubles is actually having the confidence in your partner, and confidence that you can reach your goals together. I think Raj and I aren’t even close to what we could potentially do. I would certainly look for a little bit of stability over the next couple of years.
Who do you most enjoy, or dislike, playing against?
I guess the guys I beat I like playing against, and the guys I lose to I don’t like playing against (laughs). The funny thing about doubles is that I have now proven to myself that I can beat anybody – I have beaten all the guys ahead of me and all the guys behind me.
Like I said earlier, it’s about the continuity of performances now. You look at teams that play well day in and day out and think about how impressive it is that they can bring that high level every day. But I would say the Bryan brothers (identical twins Bob and Mike, from the USA) ... being able to play against them and win when they were number one in the world was obviously my favourite, and I still enjoy playing against them.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thinking back to when I started playing tennis, I thought it was almost impossible to do it here. Now that I have the experience of all the years on tour, I want to tell people to just be patient with the results. Figure out what works for you as an individual, do that consistently over time and don’t panic about the results.
I did that for many years – you compare yourself to other people and you make rash decisions in the moment; you don’t let the game come to you, you try to force the game. I think that is the most important thing I have learned over the years: The game rewards you for the work you put in. Hard work is a given, determination and hunger is a given, but just do the right things over a period of time and you will be rewarded. And it’s worth it when you break through and reach the point where you believe you have made it.
Weekend Argus