EXCLUSIVE | John-Laffnie de Jager discusses his 7 ATP doubles titles
· The South African
Ermelo-born former ATP tennis player John-Laffnie de Jager sat down with The South African’s Dave Marshall to discuss his experiences of winning seven doubles titles.
He won seven ATP doubles titles during his career, four of them alongside compatriot David Adams.
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Success was immediate
The pair’s early success was immediate.
“We just started, and we had a good run,” De Jager recalls.
“The first tournament we played together; we made the final in Vienna. Then we won back-to-back in Rotterdam and London – the first year they held a tournament in London. Those two indoors tournaments were probably the most fun and memorable for me.”
But Olympic glory proved elusive. The duo finished fourth at the Sydney 2000 Games, a result De Jager still calls “horrible.”
“It’s the worst, man, coming fourth at the Olympics. It’s so close. In South Africa, an Olympic medal is massive. You’re right there … and then it slips away,” he says.
The pair lost a tight semi-final to Alex Corretja and Alberto Costa, 6-4 in the third.
“What made the loss even worse, we felt that if we had to play them 100 times, we would have won 99 times.”
Crushing defeat
The semi-final loss followed a crushing defeat to Sebastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor in the earlier rounds, but even in disappointment, John-Laffnie de Jager reflected on their strength as a team.
That year, De Jager and Adams had beaten the legendary Woodbridge-Woodforde “Woodies” trio three times in major events.
The third-place match at the Olympics proved equally dramatic.
At 4-3 in the second set, with break points for them, David Adams – usually flawless on overheads – misfired.
Moments later, rain started pelting the court. The water was flying straight into David’s eye, the umpire suspended play, and the tension mounted.
“The Olympics were always huge for me,” John-Laffnie de Jager said.
“I played Davis Cup, but the Olympics – it was something special. That semi-final, that chaos – it’s one of those matches I’ll never forget.”
“The talent was there,” De Jager said.
“It just wasn’t our day at the Olympics.”
Runners-up at the Australian Open and French Open
John-Laffnie de Jager reached the mixed doubles final at two Grand Slams: the 1995 French Open and the 1997 Australian Open.
While the French Open in 1995 was De Jager’s first final, he admits the Australian Open holds a special place in his memory.
“The finals in Australia were more special for me,” De Jager said.
“I love Australia.”
Clay, he explained, was never his surface.
“I still have marks on my knees from falling and sliding when I was 15, 16,” he recalled.
“I spent so much time on my knees on the clay.”
For John-Laffnie de Jager, the hard courts of Melbourne – despite coming later in his career – were the stage that left the most lasting impression.
Five Grand Slam Semi-Final Appearances
Reaching the semi-finals of a Grand Slam is a career milestone. Doing it five times, with five different partners, speaks to adaptability and resilience – qualities that defined much of John-Laffnie de Jager’s doubles career.
His first semi-final came at the Australian Open, partnering Marcos Andruska in men’s doubles – an experience he still considers the most memorable.
“That one was special,” De Jager said.
“It was my first.”
The run was anything but straightforward. Along the way, they defeated second seeds Kelly Jones and Rick Leach, followed by Wayne Ferreira and Peter Norval.
But in the quarter-finals, disaster nearly struck.
While jumping for an overhead, De Jager landed awkwardly.
“It felt like I jumped onto a sword,” he recalled.
De Jager collapsed to the ground; ankle badly injured.
Tournament trainer Bill Norris assessed him and initially ruled him out. However, De Jager refused to accept it.
“I told him, ‘If you strap it, I’m playing.’”
Norris agreed – but only after making him sign a waiver absolving the medical staff of responsibility.
With his ankle heavily taped, De Jager returned to court, hopping between points, and somehow finished the match.
“We ended up winning,” he said.
Their run finally ended in the semi-finals against Danie Visser and Laurie Warder, but the moment left a lasting impression – not just for the result, but for the fight it took to get there.
Beyond that breakthrough, John-Laffnie de Jager reached Grand Slam semi-finals across all disciplines.
He made the Australian Open men’s doubles semi-finals, the US Open men’s doubles semi-finals, and advanced to the semi-finals of mixed doubles at Wimbledon and the US Open, partnering Jill Hetherington.
In total, he reached five Grand Slam semi-finals and contested two finals.
Asked which stood out most, John-Laffnie de Jager’s answer was immediate.
“The first one,” he said.
“And then Wimbledon.”
Wimbledon, he explains, always carried extra meaning. Grass was his favourite surface – even though it punished his body more than any other.
“I always stayed so low,” De Jager said.
“That was terrible for my back.”
The cold London conditions only added to the strain. Between matches, recovery became his routine.
“I’d practice, do what I had to do, then go back to my apartment and lie flat on my back,” De Jager said.
Pain, preparation, and perseverance – it was the price of competing at a place he still calls the most special tournament in the world.
Favourite and Least Favourite Doubles Partner
When asked about his favourite doubles’ partners, John-Laffnie de Jager’s answer was immediate: Christo van Rensburg.
“Christo taught me how to play doubles,” he says.
“I learned so much from him. My whole doubles career really started because of him. I travelled with him for probably 12 weeks that year. He gave me the break I needed.”
Other partnerships were equally memorable.
John-Laffnie de Jager often played with Robbie Koenig, calling him “best mates” and praising the fun they had on court together. And of course, his partnership with David Adams produced some of his best results.
Interestingly, De Jager noted, he often played on the left side with David, despite personally preferring the right-hand side.
“If you tell me you’re going to play for your life, I’ll pick the right. But my best results with David were on the left side. With Christo and Robbie, I was usually on the deuce court; with David, the ad court.”
For De Jager, success in doubles was as much about friendship and trust as it was about skill.
Even a career with multiple doubles titles has its tricky partnerships. For De Jager, that distinction goes to Nikolay Davydenko.
“I played with him at Wimbledon one year,” De Jager recalled.
“The only time he came to the net was to shake hands. It was hilarious.”
Their first-round match against Rick Leach and Brian MacPhie quickly revealed the challenge.
Davydenko stood in the alley while he served, leaving De Jager to cover nearly the entire court.
“Rick Leach looked at me and started laughing – he knew it was going to be easy because I’d have to do everything,” De Jager said.
Despite his attempts to guide Davydenko into better positioning, the Russian remained steadfast.
“He just wouldn’t change. It was a good experience,” De Jager laughed, “but we got tidied up.”
Dave Marshall caught up with John-Laffnie de Jager at the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne, exclusively for The South African.