Yevgeny Kafelnikov: The Pride of Russia
Born on February 18th, 1974 in Sochi, Russia, Yevgeny Kafelnikov first turned to tennis when he was six years old. Yevgeny turned to the professional circuit in 1992 and in the following year, he made it to his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Grand Slam quarterfinal in Barcelona. In 1993, Yevgeny landed the Challenger singles trophy in Rogaska and a doubles title in Dresden. In the next year, he added the Copenhagen and Long Island trophies to his name and overcame countryman Volkov to take the ultimate prize in Adelaide in the first all-Russian final showdown in the Open Era. In addition to winning four doubles titles that season; Yevgeny helped Russia win the first Davis Cup final in history. In 1995, the Russian clinched an impressive four singles and four doubles trophies, becoming the first Russian in history to make it into the ATP world top ten rankings slot. For a second consecutive year, Yevgeny led Russia to the Davis Cup final, where his side eventually lost out to the USA. The Russian also made it to the French Open semi-finals after famously overcoming the world number one Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. Furthermore, Yevgeny successfully defended his Long Island title by defeating Siemerink with ease.
Yevgeny’s impressive form continued into 1996 when he took four singles titles and five doubles titles. That year, he established his dominance at the French Open in Roland Garros by clinching both the 1996 singles and doubles titles. In 1997, Yevgeny added the Halle, New Haven and Moscow titles to his burgeoning trophy cabinet and ended the season after making it to the final of the ATP World Championship where he bowed out to Pete Sampras. Although a finger injury ruled him out of a portion of the season, Yevgeny nevertheless won the Grand Slam doubles trophies at both the French Open and the U.S. Open tournaments.
Yevgeny’s impressive form continued into the 1998 season when he took a further three singles titles and made to the finals of another three. The Russian characteristically recorded success in the doubles sphere as well by winnings two trophies. In May 1999, Yevgeny was elevated to the ATP world number one spot; an achievement which became the source of much pride for Russia. Yevgeny took the second Grand Slam trophy of his career at the 1999 Australian Open in addition to sealing three other titles before ending the year as the number two in the world.
In the following year, the Russian mounted a successful campaign at the Australian Open, yet he succumbed to Andre Agassi in the final match. Yevgeny brought further pride for his country by taking the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where he overcame Tommy Haas in the singles event. He also inspired Russia to its first ATP World Team Championship final, where the country eventually lost to the Slovak Republic. Yevgeny took the Moscow singles title for the fourth successive year in 2000. Doubles success did not evade him either and Yevgeny landed the 20th doubles trophy of his career at the year’s TMS Monte Carlo contest.
In 2001, Yevgeny Kafelnikov landed a further two ATP titles from three finals participations, successfully defending his Moscow title for the fifth year in a row. Yevgeny’s 2002 campaign, though marred by inconsistency, did not come without laudable success. That year he earned his fourth Grand Slam doubles trophy and won two more ATP singles awards. Yevgeny inspired Russia to its 2001 Davis Cup triumph, where Russia beat France in the finals. 2003 saw the Russians form dip considerably, but he nevertheless managed to make it to one singles final and clinched two doubles crowns. At the conclusion of that season, the man from Russia finally decided to put his rackets to rest for good. Yevgeny has since then tried his hand at golf and poker and currently serves as a tennis analyst for a Russian TV. He has also been known to coach countryman Marat Safin for a brief spell in 2008.
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