YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV

CURRENT SINGLES RANKING: 6 (May 18)
CURRENT INDIVIDUAL DOUBLES RANKING: 5 (May 11)
1998 WIN-LOSS RECORD: 18-11



CAMPIONATI INTERNAZIONALI D'ITALIA TIM CUP
Rome, Italy
May 11th-May 17th, 1998
Surface: Clay
Draw: 64
Prize Money: $2,200,000
Seeded: 6

SINGLES
Round 1: Defeated Thomas Johansson.....7-6(7-5), 6-2
Round 2: Defeated Todd Martin.....1-6, 7-6(7-4), 6-3
Round 3: Lost to Richard Krajicek.....2-6, 6-3, 6-7(6-8)

DOUBLES
Round 1: With Daniel Vacek Defeated Alonso/Portas.....2-0, retired
Round 2: With Daniel Vacek Defeated Jensen/Jensen.....6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinal: With Daniel Vacek Lost to Lobo/Sanchez.....7-5, 4-6, 4-6



Check out the draw at the ATP site!


THIS WEEK'S ARTICLES
May 13: Kafelnikov survives heat, Martin


LAST WEEK'S ARTICLES
Apr 29: Meligeni surprises Kafelnikov
Apr 27: Kafelnikov wins Czech Open opener


Communicate with other Yevgeny fans as well as other tennis fans! Post messages on Tennis Magazine's bulletin board or chat with other fans at Sportsline's Tennis Chat Room!


COMMENTS
Hating Henman - A Battersea Revenge
By Nellie Whiteley

When British No. 2 Tim Henman faced world no. 7 Yevgeny Kafelnikov at Battersea Park at the end of February, 4,999 Brits cheered for Tim...and one British woman cheered for Yevgeny.

In sport of one thing you can be sure. If the British invented it, then they are, amongst the worst at playing it, as British tennis records will testify. The emergence of British tennis began in 1995 when Greg Rusedski gave up his Canadian nationality to become a Brit. Whilst the British public would never really accept him as one of their own - not with a jaw that size - he did have the fastest serve in the world. He was also prepared to wear a Union Jack headscarf at Wimbledon, so he had something in his favour.

But at the same time and with a little less razzmatazz a real British tennis player was emerging. And who could have a cleaner British pedigree than Tim Henman? Born and residing in Oxford and with a family tree littered with relatives who had served and volleyed on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon. Now here was a British man on whom they could pin their hopes.

In 1995 he gave them a mixed bag at Wimbledon. Disqualified from a doubles match (a first for the tournament) for landing a ball hit in anger on an unfortunate ball girl's ear. The British public immediately forgave him as the next day he presented her with a large bouquet of flowers and publicly kissed her. She probably dared not make a fuss and the whole nasty incident was hastily swept under the turf, never to be referred to again. Fortunately it was all overshadowed the next day when Jeff Tarango marched off court mid-match, accusing the umpire of cheating. Mrs Tarango kindly further obliged in upstaging Henman's bad behaviour by punching the umpire in the face. We are constantly reminded of this incident whenever there is so much as a sniff of Tarango news. Henman did not disgrace himself in the singles, finally bowing out with British dignity to Sampras in the second round. Sampras said some nice, encouraging things about our boy (would he have dared not to?) and everyone was happy.

I like to follow tennis all the year round (not just for those two hysterical Wimbledon weeks that seem to be British tennis) and have always been more interested in personalities than nationalities. From early 1994 I had been hitching my racket to the quiet, unassuming and incredibly cute young Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov. I closely followed his rapid rise up the rankings and was ecstatic when in 1996 he clinched his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. He graciously, proudly and with a touching shyness accepted his trophy. He was pleased, the previous day he had also won the doubles, and his acceptance speech as he took his singles title even endeared him to my husband.

A few weeks later the Wimbledon draw was announced. Yevgeny, seeded 5, was due to meet Henman in the first round and then had an easy draw. He should do well.

"What if Tim wins?, my husband said. "Nonsense, Kafelnikov has just won the French Open and last week was a runner up at Halle. That proves that not only can he win a Grand Slam, but he also knows how to play on grass. Henman's only ranked about 67 in the world and lost in their previous encounter."

The media build-up was huge. The day arrived and the players walked out onto the centre court. Tim fans know (and love) the story. He took the first and second set. I turned the television off. Yevgeny fought back to take the third and fourth. I put the television back on. Two match points came his way, he lost the first, and the crowd went wild. He lost the second, Henman went on to win the match and the British public. Henmania was born. Tim went storming on to the quarterfinals, rose up the rankings. Greg was temporarily forgotten and tennis was safe in British hands. Everyone was happy except me (and presumably Kafelnikov). I hadn't liked Henman from the start and what he had dared to do to Yevgeny was the ultimate in insults.

From then on it was war and while every Kafelnikov result is eagerly awaited in our house, anxiety levels reach their peaks whenever a Yevgeny/Tim match occurs. Yevgeny victories (and he always gets them) are celebrated with champagne and joy. Tim did beat Yevgeny at the 1997 ATP World Championships when, due to player injury, Henman was asked to stand in at the last moment for one match. Yevgeny, already safely through to the semi-finals, had nothing to lose but energy, and said afterwards that it was only an exhibition match. I would let this defeat go.

Throughout 1997 British tennis continued to improve. Tim reached a career high of 14, took two titles and remained in the top 20 all year. Greg, who in 1996 had slipped down the rankings and out of British interest suddenly emerged the better player. He was a runner-up at the US Open and reached a career high of number 4, totally overshadowing Tim. Even the British forgot about his jaw size and dubious origins and took him to their hearts.

As the 1998 season began, neither Tim nor Greg got off to a great start. Tim failed to defend his Sydney International title, losing to Kucera in the final. Greg didn't do much until taking a title in Antwerp towards the end of February. However, the growth in British tennis had given us a new ATP tournament, the Guardian Direct Cup at Battersea Park. A strong field of top 20 players entered, including Tim, Greg and Yevgeny. Now here at last was a chance to see my hero. I took a risk and bought a quarterfinal day ticket, reasonably confident that he would get that far.

Yevgeny didn't get off to a great start in 1998. Maybe the firework that blew up in his face at the New Year's party he attended was an omen. He missed the first few weeks due to a knee injury and returned to play in February at Marseilles, where he was runner-up, but then lost two of his next three matches. Going into the Guardian Direct Cup, Tim had posted four first round defeats to players he should have beaten. His confidence was at an all-time low and the British held their collective breath, confident that their darling would return to form on British soil.

The draw was announced. Looked like plain sailing for Greg (who subsequently crashed out in the first round). Yevgeny should be OK. Tim gets to play Krajicek in the first round, Krajicek is on form, Tim is certainly not. The publicity machine clattered on. Henman could beat Krajicek - after all, hadn't he proved that last year at Wimbledon when he had put out the defending champion? If Henman did get through his first round match it could then lead to a Henman/Kafelnikov quarterfinal. Tim put up a superb fight and display of tennis to beat Krajicek, while by Wednesday Kafelnikov had sailed through his first and second round matches to get to the quarterfinal stage. I would see him play - but whom would he meet? At 9.30pm the night before quarterfinals day I knew - Henman. Their first British meeting since THAT DAY. For me it was time for the ultimate revenge. All those Kafelnikov wins over Henman were fantastic, but to do it on British soil with me there to watch...I could settle for nothing less than a Kafelnikov victory.

But could he do it? Sometimes criticised for not being as strong mentally as he should be and knowing he would have to fight a fiercely patriotic crowd. Yevgeny was going to have it tough. We would both have to give it everything we had. I went appropriately dressed in my T-shirt, which was specially commissioned by my husband - Kafelnikov pictures front and back, and a message that reads "Yevgeny! Yevgeny! Get your balls and racket out. Show me what it's all about!" Do you think his English is good enough to understand the subtle message? I've asked many people. There is nothing subtle about THAT message, they reply. "Look", I said as I left home, "this is an opportunity of a lifetime just to see him. I'd rather see him lose to Henman than never see him at all." My husband knew I was lying.

I arrived at the tournament with a friend ("If I hadn't been prepared to be totally embarrassed I would never have agreed to come with you", she had said) at 9.45. They were due on court at 12.30. The seconds dragged, anxiety levels rose - this was crunch time. At 12.15 we took our seats, immediately behind one of the players chairs - please let Yevgeny sit there, not Tim. Memories of what happened to Monica Seles came to me. They must have occurred to my friend as well, for I suddenly noticed a shadow of horror cross her face. "No, it's OK", I said, "I wouldn't". She looked relieved.

I took my jumper off. You could hear the shock reverberate around the court as the crowd saw the pictures and read the message on my T-shirt. It was then that I really understood how tough it would be.

At 12.30 the players were introduced onto court. Tim received a huge round of applause, then Yevgeny, even more gorgeous in real life. I stood up and cheered for him. From then on it was me against the crowd. My husband was confident that I could shout as loudly as 5,000 people, but Yevgeny wasn't aware of it. I would have to let him know. Play was announced, the crowd clapped, Kafelnikov walked past. "Come on Yevgeny!", I yelled, the volume of which even startled me. He turned, looked in my direction, surprised perhaps by the strength of support for him in the British crowd. The scene was set, I kept it up throughout the match. And what a match it was. Tim started well, he looked focused, determined and aggressive. The crowd roared at every point he won. Yevgeny looked as if it was a bit early in the day to be out of bed, let alone playing competitive tennis. His body language said it all. The crowd offered little in the way of support. It was at 3-3 in the first set that Henman broke to go 4-3 up. Despite my loud support, some expletives and wall-kicking from Kafelnikov he failed to wake up and lost the first set 4-6. The crowd went wild.

Henman continued to maintain the pressure in the second set and at 4-4 got a beak point against Kafelnikov's serve. It was at that point that I knew I could not witness a Kafelnikov defeat. My lone support grew louder and louder. Kafelnikov suddenly woke up and after some further tussle won the game, went on to break Henman's serve and took the second set 6-4.

That had a double effect. Yevgeny started playing better (but by no means his best) tennis and Tim's serve fell apart, with it the rest of his game. The third set was a joy. I shouted and cheered fairly confident now that revenge would be met. Kafelnikov took it 6-2. While I will never support Henman against any player, as that Wimbledon wound will always be sore, the score had finally been settled on British soil.

In Kafelnikov's post-match interview on court he said it had been a big win. He had known he would have to take on the crowd, and had then been surprised and pleased to find some loud support for him. It had helped him win the match. I was ecstatic. He had noticed.

I got his autograph. "I'm your biggest fan Yevgeny", I said. "Yes, please, thank you", he said, trying to read the message on my T-shirt.

Later we watched him and Daniel Vacek give a brilliant display of doubles to beat Ivanisevic and Ljubicic 6-1 6-4.

Very occasionally there are days in your life that are so exquisitely perfect that you wish you could box them up and re-live them from time to time. This was just such one of those days. Yevgeny, thank you, but please shave off the beard.

Posted: April 13th

Anyone who wishes to comment or write to Nellie directly may email her at whiteley@lightman.co.uk


LINKS
Joe's ATP Statistics site: Yevgeny's ATP Statistics
Jelle's Page: Yevgeny's Head-To-Head Results


HOW TO REACH YEVGENY

• International Management Group
  One Erieview Plaza
  Suite 1300
  Cleveland, OH 44114, USA
  Tel. 216-522-1200
  

You're visiting tennis buff since January 10, 1998

Photograph by Bob Child of The Associated Press.