John-Laffnie de Jager

John-Laffnie de Jager (born 17 March 1973) is a South African former tour professional tennis player. A doubles specialist, de Jager reached the semi-finals for three different grand slam tournaments three times in three different years partnering three different fellow South African players. de Jager is the current non-playing captain of the South Africa Davis Cup team.

Career

A native of Ermelo, de Jager turned professional in 1992 during which year he played his only tour singles. He won two of five matches he played on the challenger circuit and reached through qualifying the main draw at Wimbledon, where he lost in the first round to future champion Richard Krajicek, 7–5 6–1 6–2. He played but one other event in singles, a challenger in Dublin in October, before focusing his tennis exclusively on doubles. His career high singles ranking stood at World No. 313, reached in October.

De Jager won back-to-back challenger events in doubles in September 1991, partnering compatriots, in Madeira partnering Byron Talbot and in Jerusalem with Christo van Rensburg. He played some half dozen times with Van Rensburg in 1991-2 and some dozen times, but with limited success, with Johan de Beer. He won two more challenger events the following year, in June partnering Zimbabwean Byron Black and in November with Capetonian Marius Barnard. 1993 saw de Jager reach his first of three grand slam semis, in partnership with yet another South African, Marcos Ondruska. Together they reached the second round at the Roland Garros and the third round at Wimbledon. In October, de Jager reached his first Grand Prix event final, in Lyon partnering still another South African and Capetonian, Stefan Kruger.

1994 saw de Jager reach four grand prix semi-finals, with three different partners (all southern Africans), another final and capture his first grand prix win, in Tel Aviv partnering still another compatriot, Pietermaritzburg native Lan Bale. Aside from a few occasions, most notable of which was a four tournament stint where he partnered Aussie doubles master John Fitzgerald, de Jager and Bale remained a team into 1995. Together they reached the Stuttgart Indoor, Munich, and Italian Open grand prix, but faltered at the French where they went out in the first round. After a third round exit at Wimbledon, and first round exit at Flushing Meadows, the partnership was dissolved in September. The change worked immediately for de Jager as he won his very next tournament, the Toulouse Grand Prix, partnering Swede Jonas Björkman. He again had success in Lyon, reaching the final with star compatriot Wayne Ferreira. Beginning 1996 playing mostly with Gary Muller, de Jager played the late spring and summer with some 10 different partners and without reaching a single event final. His misfortune got worse in the first of half of 1997, where a string of first round loses saw his doubles ranking fall from No. 53 in September 1996 to No. 164 by August 1997. A new partnership with yet another compatriot, this time Robbie Koenig saw de Jager recover his form, with a quarterfinal result at the U.S. Open followed by winning a challenger event and reaching the finals of another. Then with Pretoria's Chris Haggard, he won the following two challengers as well.

De Jager began 1998 partnering Koenig, reaching the semis of the Sydney Outdoor, the third round of the Australian Open, and the second round or better of every tournament but one through Roland Garros, where they reached the third round. Their success continued throughout the summer, culminating in but only de Jager's second grand slam semis appearance, at the 1998 U.S. Open. During the autumn de Jager partnership altered between the one of him and Koenig and a newer one, with yet another South African, David Adams. De Jager played exclusively with Adams for 1999 and the tandem met with success in reaching the finals or better six times in International Series events. This led to their competing in the ATP Doubles Championship, where they lost in the round robin however. The duo had an even year 2000 nevertheless winning back-to-back in February, in Rotterdam and London, in Munich in May, and reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon. At the Sydney Olympics, they again finished as semi-finalists, for de Jager, for the third and final time. He achieved his career high ranking in doubles at the end of July, at World No. 11.

He reached two Grand Slam finals in mixed doubles. In 1995 he reached the final of the French Open with Jill Hetherington but they lost 6–7 6–7 to Larisa Neiland and Todd Woodbridge. In 1997 he partnered Larisa Neiland to reach the final of the Australian Open, but they lost 3–6, 7–6, 5–7 to Manon Bollegraf and Rick Leach.

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1989	Wimbledon	Grass	Template:Flagicon Wayne Ferreira	Template:Flagicon Jared Palmer Template:Flagicon Jonathan Stark	6–7(4–7), 6–7(2–7)
Loss	1991	Wimbledon	Grass	Template:Flagicon Andrei Medvedev	Template:Flagicon Karim Alami Template:Flagicon Greg Rusedski	6–1, 6–7(4–7), 4–6
Win	1991	US Open	Hard	Template:Flagicon Karim Alami	Template:Flagicon Michael Joyce Template:Flagicon Vince Spadea	6–4, 6–7, 6–1

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1995	French Open	Clay	Template:Flagicon Jill Hetherington	Template:Flagicon Larisa Savchenko Neiland Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge	6–7(8–10), 6–7(4–7)
Loss	1997	Australian Open	Hard	Template:Flagicon Larisa Savchenko Neiland	Template:Flagicon Manon Bollegraf Template:Flagicon Rick Leach	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7

Olympic finals

Doubles: 1

Outcome	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents	Score
4th place	2000	Sydney	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Àlex Corretja Template:Flagicon Albert Costa	6–2, 4–6, 3–6

ATP career finals

Doubles: 19 (7 titles, 12 runner-ups)

Legend Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) ATP Masters Series (0–2) ATP Championship Series (3–2) ATP World Series (4–8)

Finals by surface Hard (4–6) Clay (1–1) Grass (0–1) Carpet (2–4)

Finals by setting Outdoors (2–6) Indoors (5–6)

Result	W–L	Template:NsDateTemplate:Ns	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	[[1992 Kremlin Cup – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Moscow, Russia	World Series	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Marius Barnard	Template:Flagicon David Adams Template:Flagicon Andrei Olhovskiy	6–4, 3–6, 7–6
Loss	1–1	[[1993 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Lyon, France	World Series	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Stefan Kruger	Template:Flagicon Gary Muller Template:Flagicon Danie Visser	3–6, 6–7
Loss	1–2	[[1994 Swiss Indoors|Template:Dts]]	Basel, Switzerland	World Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Lan Bale	Template:Flagicon Jared Palmer Template:Flagicon Patrick McEnroe	3–6, 6–7
Win	2–2	[[1994 Tel Aviv Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Tel Aviv, Israel	World Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Lan Bale	Template:Flagicon Jan Apell Template:Flagicon Jonas Björkman	6–7, 6–2, 7–6
Win	3–2	[[1995 Grand Prix de Tennis de Toulouse – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Toulouse, France	World Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Jonas Björkman	Template:Flagicon Dave Randall Template:Flagicon Greg Van Emburgh	7–6, 7–6
Loss	3–3	[[1995 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Lyon, France	World Series	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Wayne Ferreira	Template:Flagicon Jakob Hlasek Template:Flagicon Yevgeny Kafelnikov	3–6, 3–6
Loss	3–4	[[1998 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Halle, Germany	World Series	Grass	Template:Flagicon Marc-Kevin Goellner	Template:Flagicon Ellis Ferreira Template:Flagicon Rick Leach	6–4, 4–6, 6–7
Loss	3–5	[[1998 CA-TennisTrophy – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Vienna, Austria	Championship Series	Carpet	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Yevgeny Kafelnikov Template:Flagicon Daniel Vacek	5–7, 3–6
Loss	3–6	[[1999 Dubai Tennis Championships – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	World Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Wayne Black Template:Flagicon Sandon Stolle	6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Win	4–6	[[1999 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Championship Series	Carpet	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Neil Broad Template:Flagicon Peter Tramacchi	6–7, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	4–7	[[1999 Italian Open – Men's doubles|Template:Dts]]	Rome, Italy	Masters Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Ellis Ferreira Template:Flagicon Rick Leach	7–6, 1–6, 2–6
Loss	4–8	[[1999 Legg Mason Tennis Classic – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Washington, United States	Championship Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Justin Gimelstob Template:Flagicon Sébastien Lareau	5–7, 7–6, 3–6
Loss	4–9	[[1999 Grand Prix de Tennis de Toulouse – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Toulouse, France	World Series	Carpet	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Olivier Delaître Template:Flagicon Jeff Tarango	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Loss	4–10	[[1999 Eurocard Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Stuttgart, Germany	Masters Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Byron Black Template:Flagicon Jonas Björkman	7–6, 6–7, 0–6
Win	5–10	[[2000 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Championship Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Tim Henman Template:Flagicon Yevgeny Kafelnikov	5–7, 6–2, 6–3
Win	6–10	[[2000 Axa Cup – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	London, United Kingdom	Championship Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Jan-Michael Gambill Template:Flagicon Scott Humphries	6–3, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(13–11)
Win	7–10	[[2000 BMW Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Munich, Germany	International Series	Clay	Template:Flagicon David Adams	Template:Flagicon Max Mirnyi Template:Flagicon Nenad Zimonjić	6–4, 6–4
Loss	7–11	[[2001 Heineken Open Shanghai – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	Shanghai, China	International Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Robbie Koenig	Template:Flagicon Byron Black Template:Flagicon Thomas Shimada	2–6, 6–3, 5–7
Loss	7–12	[[2002 Siebel Open – Doubles|Template:Dts]]	San Jose, United States	International Series	Hard	Template:Flagicon Robbie Koenig	Template:Flagicon Wayne Black Template:Flagicon Kevin Ullyett	3–6, 6–4, [5–10]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Doubles: 9 (7–2)

Legend ATP Challenger (7–2) ITF Futures (0–0)

Finals by surface Hard (5–1) Clay (1–0) Grass (0–1) Carpet (1–0)

Result	W–L	Template:NsDateTemplate:Ns	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Template:Dts	Newcastle, United Kingdom	Challenger	Grass	Template:Flagicon Christo van Rensburg	Template:Flagicon Nicholas Fulwood Template:Flagicon Peter Nyborg	6–7, 1–6
Win	1–1	Template:Dts	Madeira, Portugal	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Byron Talbot	Template:Flagicon Byron Black Template:Flagicon T. J. Middleton	2–6, 7–6, 6–4
Win	2–1	Template:Dts	Jerusalem, Israel	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Christo van Rensburg	Template:Flagicon Nduka Odizor Template:Flagicon Bryan Shelton	6–2, 6–4
Win	3–1	Template:Dts	Turin, Italy	Challenger	Clay	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon T. J. Middleton Template:Flagicon Ted Scherman	6–4, 6–2
Win	4–1	Template:Dts	Sedona, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Robbie Koenig	Template:Flagicon Adam Peterson Template:Flagicon Eric Taino	6–2, 6–2
Loss	4–2	Template:Dts	Brest, France	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Robbie Koenig	Template:Flagicon Dave Randall Template:Flagicon Jack Waite	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Win	5–2	Template:Dts	Aachen, Germany	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Chris Haggard	Template:Flagicon Dave Randall Template:Flagicon Jack Waite	3–6, 6–1, 7–6
Win	6–2	Template:Dts	Neumünster, Germany	Challenger	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Chris Haggard	Template:Flagicon Lars Burgsmüller Template:Flagicon Markus Hantschk	6–3, 6–1
Win	7–2	Template:Dts	Lexington, United States	Challenger	Hard	Template:Flagicon Robbie Koenig	Template:Flagicon Paul Kilderry Template:Flagicon Jack Waite	7–6(7–1), 7–5

Performance timelines

Doubles

Tournament	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	SF	2R	1R	2R	1R	3R	3R	2R	A	1R	2R	0 / 10	12–10	Template:Tennis win percentage
French Open	A	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	2R	1R	1R	A	1R	A	0 / 9	2–9	Template:Tennis win percentage
Wimbledon	2R	3R	1R	3R	1R	2R	3R	3R	SF	2R	2R	1R	0 / 12	16–12	Template:Tennis win percentage
US Open	1R	1R	3R	1R	2R	QF	SF	2R	1R	QF	A	1R	0 / 11	14–11	Template:Tennis win percentage
Win–loss	1–2	7–4	3–4	2–4	2–4	4–4	9–4	5–4	5–4	4–2	1–3	1–3	0 / 42	44–42	Template:Tennis win percentage
National Representation
Summer Olympic Games	A	Not Held			A	Not Held			4th	Not Held			0 / 1	3–2	Template:Tennis win percentage
Year-end Championships
ATP World Tour Finals	Did not qualify							RR	DNQ				0 / 1	0–3	Template:Tennis win percentage
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells	A	A	SF	2R	QF	A	1R	1R	QF	1R	1R	A	0 / 8	8–8	Template:Tennis win percentage
Miami	A	A	2R	3R	1R	2R	1R	2R	3R	QF	2R	A	0 / 9	7–9	Template:Tennis win percentage
Monte Carlo	A	A	SF	QF	1R	A	A	1R	2R	1R	1R	A	0 / 7	6–7	Template:Tennis win percentage
Rome	A	1R	SF	SF	1R	Q1	1R	F	1R	A	1R	A	0 / 8	10–8	Template:Tennis win percentage
Hamburg	A	A	2R	1R	QF	A	2R	2R	1R	A	A	A	0 / 6	5–6	Template:Tennis win percentage
Canada	A	1R	A	A	A	A	1R	SF	QF	A	A	A	0 / 4	5–4	Template:Tennis win percentage
Cincinnati	A	2R	1R	2R	A	A	2R	QF	1R	A	A	A	0 / 6	5–6	Template:Tennis win percentage
Stuttgart	A	A	A	A	QF	A	1R	F	2R	A	A	A	0 / 4	5–4	Template:Tennis win percentage
Paris	A	Q3	1R	2R	A	A	1R	2R	QF	A	A	A	0 / 5	3–5	Template:Tennis win percentage
Win–loss	0–0	1–3	11–7	9–7	6–6	1–1	2–8	14–9	7–9	2–3	1–4	0–0	0 / 57	54–57	Template:Tennis win percentage

Mixed doubles

Tournament	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	1R	2R	SF	F	A	1R	2R	A	A	A	0 / 6	9–6	Template:Tennis win percentage
French Open	1R	1R	F	3R	A	QF	3R	SF	A	A	A	0 / 7	12–7	Template:Tennis win percentage
Wimbledon	2R	1R	2R	1R	QF	1R	2R	QF	2R	1R	2R	0 / 11	11–11	Template:Tennis win percentage
US Open	A	SF	1R	2R	A	2R	QF	A	A	A	A	0 / 5	7–5	Template:Tennis win percentage
Win–loss	1–2	3–4	7–4	5–4	7–2	3–3	4–4	7–3	1–1	0–1	1–1	0 / 29	39–29	Template:Tennis win percentage

External links

• Template:ATP
• Template:ITF
• Template:First word Template:PAGENAMEBASE at the Davis CupTemplate:EditAtWikidata