Robbie Koenig

Robbie Koenig (/ˈknɪɡ/ KOH-nig;[1][2][3] born 5 July 1971) is a retired professional tennis player from South Africa who is now a tennis commentator and analyst. He won five doubles titles and reached the semifinals of the 1998 US Open men's doubles competition. Koenig works as a tennis broadcaster for a host of TV channels around the world, most notably the ATP Masters 1000 events, the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon (Radio) as well as the premier online tennis channel of TennisTV.com

Robbie Koenig
Country (sports) South Africa
ResidenceDurban, South Africa
Born (1971-07-05) 5 July 1971
Durban, South Africa
Turned pro1992 (first senior event 1989)
Retired2005
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$944,191
Singles
Career record3–11
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 262 (9 November 1992)
Grand Slam Singles results
French OpenQ1 (1996, 1997)
WimbledonQ3 (1992)
US OpenQ1 (1992, 1996, 1997)
Doubles
Career record176–210
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 28 (19 May 2003)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (1998, 2004)
French Open2R (1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005)
Wimbledon3R (1998, 1999)
US OpenSF (1998)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian OpenSF (2001)
French Open1R (1998, 1999, 2003)
WimbledonSF (2001)
US OpenSF (2002)

Playing career

Koenig achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 262, notably reaching the third round of Washington in 1992. He had wins early on in his singles career over the likes of Tim Henman, Pat Rafter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Felix Mantilla. Most of his success, however, came in doubles. He won 5 titles (with 6 further finals), reaching a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 28 in May 2003. As well as his US Open doubles semi-finals appearance in 1998, Koenig reached the round-of-16 twice at Wimbledon in 1998 and 1999. He was also a quarter-finalist on 3 other occasions at the US Open in 1997, 2001 and 2004. In Mixed Doubles he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2001 and the US Open in 2002. He also represented South Africa in Davis Cup on four occasions and was captained by 1985 Wimbledon finalist, Kevin Curren.

Commentating career

Koenig is known for his commentary on the ATP World Tour at their Masters 1000 events matches broadcast on Tennis Channel as well as the online tennis broadcast site TennisTV, often as part of a commentating duo alongside Jason Goodall. He has been assigned to commentate at the Australian Open and US Open. He can also be heard on Fox Sports in Australia, Star Sports in Asia, ESPN International as well as SuperSport in South Africa where he co-hosts during the Grand Slam events.

ATP Tour finals

Doubles (5 titles, 6 runners-up)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 17 May 1999 St. Pölten, Austria Clay Brent Haygarth Andrew Florent
Andrei Olhovskiy
7–5, 4–6, 5–7
Runner-up 2. 7 February 2000 Dubai, UAE Hard Peter Tramacchi Jiří Novák
David Rikl
2–6, 5–7
Runner-up 3. 11 September 2000 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hard Marius Barnard Justin Gimelstob
Scott Humphries
3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 4. 17 September 2001 Shanghai, China Hard John-Laffnie de Jager Byron Black
Thomas Shimada
2–6, 6–3, 5–7
Runner-up 5. 25 February 2002 San Jose, U.S. Hard John-Laffnie de Jager Wayne Black
Kevin Ullyett
3–6, 6–4, [5–10]
Winner 1. 22 July 2002 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Thomas Shimada Lucas Arnold Ker
Álex Corretja
7–6(7–3), 6–4
Winner 2. 9 September 2002 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hard David Adams Raemon Sluiter
Martin Verkerk
6–2, 7–5
Winner 3. 6 January 2003 Auckland, New Zealand Hard David Adams Tomáš Cibulec
Leoš Friedl
7–6(7–5), 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up 6. 21 April 2003 Barcelona, Spain Clay Chris Haggard Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan
4–6, 3–6
Winner 4. 18 August 2003 Long Island, U.S. Hard Martín Rodríguez Martin Damm
Cyril Suk
6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Winner 5. 16 August 2004 Washington, U.S. Hard Chris Haggard Travis Parrott
Dmitry Tursunov
7–6(7–3), 6–1

References

  1. ATPWorldTour (30 March 2013). "Koenig, Goodall Preview 2013 Miami Final Murray Ferrer". Retrieved 24 January 2018 via YouTube.
  2. ATPWorldTour (27 November 2010). "Nadal Vs Federer in London Final Experts Preview". Retrieved 24 January 2018 via YouTube.
  3. ATPWorldTour (20 March 2011). "Experts Debate Nadal Vs Djokovic Indian Wells Final". Retrieved 24 January 2018 via YouTube.
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