It’s so like Raven to swoop in and snatch a diamond
IN a perfect build-up for the US Open, South Africa’s Raven Klaasen put in a great performance to be named the most valuable player in the World Team Tennis (WTT) championship final last week.
Klaasen helped his team, the San Diego Aviators, defeat the Orange County Breakers 25-14 to win their first WTT title at the historic Forest Hills Stadium in New York.
Raven Klaasen (doubles, mixed doubles), Darija Jurak (doubles, mixed doubles) and Shelby Rogers (women’s singles, doubles) each won two events in the top-seeded Aviators’ success.
Matches are scored differently to conventional tennis matches.
Klaasen, ranked No 10 in doubles on the ATP World Tour, was presented with a one-carat diamond after the match. He teamed up with Jurak and Justin Harrison to post a pair of 5-2 wins in mixed doubles and men’s doubles.
“It feels really nice to get the MVP award but it feels a bit undeserved because our whole team played very well,” said Klaasen, who credited team chemistry with their success.
“We were apart for four days and when we saw each other again, it felt like we had been apart for a year.
“Our team chemistry has been great. We will be friends for the rest of our lives,” he added.
Winning the title at Forest Hills was also special for Aviators coach John Lloyd, named WTT Coach of the Year earlier this month.
“It brings a lot of memories back; I played back in the US Open when it was on grass and clay,” said Lloyd, in his second year at the helm of the new champions. “In fact, on this court I lost to the great Bjorn Borg. It was nice to play on this beautiful court. To come back and win this title was great.”
During the on-court prize-giving, Billie Jean King joked that it would take a South African in Raven Klaasen playing many thousands of miles away from home to win a South African diamond in the final.
Klaasen and his American partner Rajeev Ram are seeded seventh in the doubles for the US Open.