Yevgeny Kafelnikov

Yevgeny Kafelnikov Country RussiaResidence Sochi, RussiaDate of birth February 18, 1974(1974-02-18) (age 34) Place of birth Sochi, Soviet Union Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Weight 89 kg(200 lb/14.0 st) Turned pro 1992 Retired 2003 Plays Right-handed; two-handed backhand Career prize money $23,883,797 Singles Career record: 609-306 Career titles: 26 Highest ranking: No. 1 (May 3, 1999) Grand Slam results Australian OpenW (1999) French OpenW (1996) WimbledonQF (1995) US OpenSF (1999, 2001) Doubles Career record: 358-213 Career titles: 27 Highest ranking: No. 4 (March 30, 1998)

Olympic medal record Men's tennisGold 2000 Sydney Singles

Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov (born 18 February 1974; Russian: Евгений Александрович Кафельников, Russian pronunciation: [jɪvˈgenʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf]) is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Russia. He won two Grand Slam singles titles (one French Open and one Australian Open), four Grand Slam doubles titles, and the men's singles gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. He also helped Russia win the Davis Cup in 2002. He is the last man to have won both the singles and men's doubles titles at the same Grand Slam tournament, which he did at the 1996 French Open.

1 Career
- 1.1 Records
2 Life after tennis
3 Grand Slam singles finals
- 3.1 Wins (2)
- 3.2 Runner-up (1)
4 Grand Slam doubles finals
- 4.1 Wins (4)
- 4.2 Runner-up (1)
5 Career singles finals (46)
- 5.1 Wins (26)
- 5.2 Runner-ups (20)
6 Singles performance timeline
7 Career doubles finals (41)
- 7.1 Wins (27)
- 7.2 Runner-ups (14)
8 Doubles performance timeline
9 Team titles
10 Trivia
11 External links

Career

Kafelnikov was born in Sochi then part of the RSFSR of Soviet Union.He turned professional in 1992 and won his first top-level singles title in Adelaide in 1994.

In 1995, Kafelnikov defeated World No. 1 Andre Agassi in the quarter-finals of the French Open before losing to eventual champion Thomas Muster in the semi-finals.

A year later, in 1996, Kafelnikov captured both the singles and the men's doubles titles at the French Open. In the semifinals, Kafelnikov eliminated Pete Sampras and then beat former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich in the final 7–6, 7–5, 7–6.

In 1997, Kafelnikov won the men's doubles titles at both the French Open and the US Open.

In 1999, Kafelnikov won his second Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. He defeated Thomas Enqvist in four sets in the final. In May that year, he reached the World No. 1 men's singles ranking. However, he lost seven straight matches thereafter, and relinquished that ranking after six weeks.

Kafelnikov was in the Australian Open final again in 2000, but was defeated in four sets by Andre Agassi. That summer, he won the men's singles Gold Medal for Russia at the Sydney Olympic Games. In the final, he defeated Tommy Haas of Germany 7–6, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3.

In 2002, Kafelnikov was part of the Russian team that won the Davis Cup for the first time. In Russia's semifinal win over Argentina, Kafelnikov saved two match points in a singles rubber against Gastón Gaudio and won the 4 hour, 10 minute match 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 2–6, 8–6. The following day, he partnered Marat Safin in the longest doubles match in Davis Cup history. The pair eventually lost the 6 hour, 20 minute match 4–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 17-19. Russia eventually overcame Argentina 3–2 and went on to defeat France in the final 3–2.

Kafelnikov won his third French Open men's doubles title in 2002. He reached the French Open men's doubles final for the fourth time in 2003, when he finished runner-up.

In 2003, betting on a Kafelnikov match in Lyon was suspended when an ominously large wager was made on his opponent, Fernando Vicente, loser of his previous 12 matches. Vicente won in straight sets.[1]

Records

Kafelnikov retired from the professional tour in 2004, having won 26 singles and 27 doubles titles. During his career he won $23,883,797 US dollars in career prize money, which puts him at no.5 on the all time ATP prize money list.

He won singles titles in 12 different countries: Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, the United States, and Uzbekistan.

Life after tennis

Since retiring, Kafelnikov has had a few impressive finishes at the 2005 World Series of Poker. He also played on the European PGA tour at the 2005 Russian Open. Famously he stated that he was there not to make up the numbers, before finishing last by 20 odd shots. He now works as a commentator for Russian TV covering tennis. During the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Kafelnikov coached Marat Safin in the absence of Hernan Gumy.

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final 1996 French Open Michael Stich7–6(4), 7–5, 7–6(4) 1999 Australian Open Thomas Enqvist4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 7–6(1)

Runner-up (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final 2000 Australian Open Andre Agassi3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4

Grand Slam doubles finals

Wins (4)

Year Championship Partner Opponents in Final Score in Final 1996 French Open Daniel Vacek Guy Forget&
Jakob Hlasek6–2, 6–3 1997French Open Daniel Vacek Todd Woodbridge&
Mark Woodforde7–6, 4–6, 6–3 1997 U.S. Open Daniel Vacek Jonas Björkman&
Nicklas Kulti7–6, 6–3 2002French Open Paul Haarhuis Mark Knowles&
Daniel Nestor7–5, 6–4

Runner-up (1)

Year Championship Partner Opponents in Final Score in Final 2003 French Open Paul Haarhuis Bob Bryan&
Mike Bryan7–6(3), 6–3

Career singles finals (46)

Wins (26)

Legend Grand Slam (2) Tennis Masters Cup (0) ATP Masters Series (0) Olympic Gold (1) ATP Tour (23)

Titles by Surface Hard (9) Grass (3) Clay (3) Carpet (11)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in Final Score in Final 1. 10 January 1994 Adelaide, AustraliaHard Alexander Volkov6–4, 6–3 2. 7 March 1994 Copenhagen, DenmarkCarpet Daniel Vacek6–3, 7–5 3. 29 August 1994 Long Island, U.S.Hard Cédric Pioline5–7, 6–1, 6–2 4. 20 February 1995 Milan, ItalyCarpet Boris Becker7–5, 5–7, 7–6(6) 5. 27 March 1995 St. Petersburg, RussiaCarpet Guillaume Raoux6–2, 6–2 6. 17 July 1995 Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Jakob Hlasek6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 7. 28 August 1995Long Island, U.S. Hard Jan Siemerink7–6(0), 6–2 8. 8 January 1996Adelaide, Australia Hard Byron Black7–6(0), 3–6, 6–1 9. 6 May 1996 Prague, Czech RepublicClay Bohdan Ulihrach7–5, 1–6, 6–3 10. 10 June 1996 French Open, ParisClay Michael Stich7–6(4), 7–5, 7–6(4) 11. 7 October 1996 Lyon, France Carpet Arnaud Boetsch7–5, 6–3 12. 16 June 1997 Halle, GermanyGrass Petr Korda7–6(2), 6–7(5), 7–6(7) 13. 18 August 1997 New Haven, U.S. Hard Patrick Rafter7–6(4), 6–4 14. 10 November 1997 Moscow, Russia Carpet Petr Korda 7–6(2), 6–4 15. 2 March 1998 LondonCarpet Cédric Pioline 7–5, 6–4 16. 15 June 1998Halle, Germany Grass Magnus Larsson6–4, 6–4 17. 16 November 1998Moscow, Russia Carpet Goran Ivanišević7–6(2), 7–6(5) 18. 1 February 1999 Australian Open, MelbourneHard Thomas Enqvist4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 7–6(1) 19. 22 February 1999 Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet Tim Henman6–2, 7–6(3) 20. 15 November 1999Moscow, Russia Carpet Byron Black 7–6(2), 6–4 21. 2 October 2000 Sydney Olympics, Australia Hard Tommy Haas7–6(4), 3–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 22. 30 October 2000Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) David Prinosil6–2, 7–5 23. 19 February 2001 Marseille, France Hard (i) Sébastien Grosjean7–6(5), 6–2 24. 8 October 2001Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Nicolas Kiefer6–4, 7–5 25. 17 June 2002Halle, Germany Grass Nicolas Kiefer 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 26. 16 September 2002 Tashkent, UzbekistanHard Vladimir Voltchkov7–6(6), 7–5

Runner-ups (20)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in Final Score in Final 1. 9 May 1994 Hamburg, GermanyClay Andrei Medvedev6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 2. 24 April 1995 Nice, FranceClay Marc Rosset6–4, 6–0 3. 11 March 1996 Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet Goran Ivanišević6–4, 3–6, 6–3 4. 1 April 1996 St. Petersburg, RussiaCarpet Magnus Gustafsson6–2, 7-(4) 5. 24 June 1996 Halle, GermanyGrass Nicklas Kulti6–7(5), 6–3, 6–4 6. 22 July 1996 Stuttgart Outdoor, GermanyClay Thomas Muster6–2, 6–2, 6–4 7. 4 November 1996 Paris, FranceCarpet Thomas Enqvist6–2, 6–4, 7–5 8. 11 November 1996 Moscow, RussiaCarpet Goran Ivanišević 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 9. 17 November 1997 Singles Championships, HanoverHard Pete Sampras6–3, 6–2, 6–2 10. 9 February 1998 Marseille, FranceHard (i) Thomas Enqvist 6–4, 6–1 11. 21 September 1998 Tashkent, UzbekistanHard Tim Henman7–5, 6–4 12. 2 November 1998 Stuttgart Indoor, GermanyHard (i) Richard Krajicek6–4, 6–3, 6–3 13. 9 August 1999 Montreal, CanadaHard Thomas Johansson1–6, 6–3, 6–3 14. 23 August 1999 Washington D.C., U.S.Hard Andre Agassi7–6(3), 6–1 15. 31 January 2000 Australian Open, MelbourneHard Andre Agassi 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 16. 28 February 2000 LondonHard (i) Marc Rosset 6–4, 6–4 17. 27 November 2000 Stockholm, SwedenHard (i) Thomas Johansson 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 18. 17 September 2001Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hard Marat Safin6–2, 6–2 19. 5 November 2001Paris, France Carpet Sébastien Grosjean7–6(3), 6–1, 6–7(5), 6–4 20. 3 February 2003 Milan, ItalyCarpet Martin Verkerk6–4, 5–7, 7–5

Singles performance timeline

Tournament 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Career SR Grand Slams Australian OpenLQ 2R QF QF A A W F QF 2R 2R 1 / 8 French Open2R 3R SF W QF 2R 2R QF QF 2R 2R 1 / 11 WimbledonA 3R QF 1R 4R 1R 3R 2R 3R 3R 1R 0 / 10 U.S. OpenA 4R 3R A 2R 4R SF 3R SF 2R 3R 0 / 9 Grand Slam SR 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 4 1 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 1 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 2 / 38 Year-End Championship Tennis Masters CupA A RR RR F RR SF RR SF A A 0 / 7 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells MastersLQ A A A A 1R 1R 2R SF QF 2R 0 / 6 Miami MastersLQ A A A A 3R 2R 4R 3R 3R 3R 0 / 6 Monte Carlo MastersA SF 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 0 / 10 Rome MastersA 2R 1R 3R 3R 3R 3R 2R 2R 2R SF 0 / 10 Hamburg MastersA F 1R SF SF 1R A 1R 1R 1R A 0 / 8 Canada MastersA A QF A SF QF F QF 1R 3R 2R 0 / 8 Cincinnati MastersA 2R 1R QF QF SF SF 3R QF 1R 2R 0 / 10 Madrid Masters2R SF 2R 1R 2R F 2R SF SF 2R 1R 0 / 11 Paris MastersLQ 2R A F SF SF 2R 3R F 3R A 0 / 8 Masters Series SR 0 / 1 0 / 6 0 / 6 0 / 6 0 / 7 0 / 9 0 / 8 0 / 9 0 / 9 0 / 9 0 / 7 0 / 77 Year End Ranking 102 11 6 3 5 11 2 5 4 27 41 N/A

A = did not attend
LQ = lost in qualifying draw

Career doubles finals (41)

Wins (27)

Legend Grand Slam (4) Tennis Masters Cup (0) ATP Masters Series (7) ATP Tour (16)

Titles by Surface Hard (9) Clay (13) Grass (0) Carpet (5)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score 1. 11 April 1994 Barcelona, SpainClay David Rikl Jim Courier&
Javier Sánchez5–7, 6–1, 6–4 2. 2 May 1994 Munich, GermanyClay David Rikl Boris Becker&
Petr Korda7–6, 7–5 3. 16 May 1994 Rome, ItalyClay David Rikl Wayne Ferreira&
Javier Sánchez 6–1, 7–5 4. 24 October 1994 Lyon, FranceCarpet Jakob Hlasek Martin Damm&
Patrick Rafter6–7, 7–6, 7–6 5. 10 April 1995 Estoril, PortugalClay Andrei Olhovskiy Marc-Kevin Goellner&
Diego Nargiso5–7, 7–5, 6–2 6. 15 May 1995 Hamburg, GermanyClay Wayne Ferreira Byron Black&
Andrei Olhovskiy6–1, 7–6 7. 31 July 1995 Montreal, CanadaHard Andrei Olhovskiy Brian MacPhie &
Sandon Stolle6–2, 6–2 8. 23 October 1995 Lyon, FranceCarpet Jakob Hlasek John-Laffnie de Jager &
Wayne Ferreira 6–3, 6–3 9. 1 April 1996 St. Petersburg, RussiaCarpet Andrei Olhovskiy Nicklas Kulti&
Peter Nyborg 6–3, 6–4 10. 6 May 1996 Prague, Czech RepublicClay Daniel Vacek Luis Lobo&
Javier Sánchez 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 11. 10 June 1996 French Open, ParisClay Daniel Vacek Jakob Hlasek&
Guy Forget6–2, 6–3 12. 30 September 1996 Basel, SwitzerlandHard (i) Daniel Vacek David Adams&
Menno Oosting6–3, 6–4 13. 14 October 1996 Vienna, AustriaCarpet Daniel Vacek Pavel Vízner&
Menno Oosting 7–6, 6–4 14. 9 June 1997 French Open, ParisClay Daniel Vacek Todd Woodbridge&
Mark Woodforde7–6, 4–6, 6–3 15. 14 July 1997 Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Daniel Vacek Trevor Kronemann &
David Macpherson4–6, 7–6, 6–3 16. 8 September 1997 U.S. Open, New YorkHard Daniel Vacek Jonas Björkman&
Nicklas Kulti 7–6, 6–3 17. 23 February 1998 Antwerp, BelgiumHard Wayne Ferreira Tomás Carbonell&
Francisco Roig7–5, 3–6, 6–2 18. 19 October 1998 Vienna, AustriaCarpet Daniel Vacek David Adams &
John Laffnie De Jager 7–5, 6–3 19. 19 April 1999 Barcelona, SpainClay Paul Haarhuis Massimo Bertolini &
Cristian Brandi 7–5, 6–3 20. 24 April 2000 Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Wayne Ferreira Paul Haarhuis&
Sandon Stolle 6–3, 2–6, 6–1 21. 16 October 2000 Vienna, AustriaHard (i) Nenad Zimonjić Jiří Novák&
David Rikl6–4, 6–4 22. 19 March 2001 Indian Wells, U.S.Hard Wayne Ferreira Jonas Björkman &
Todd Woodbridge 6–2, 7–5 23. 14 May 2001 Rome, ItalyClay Wayne Ferreira Daniel Nestor&
Sandon Stolle 6–4, 7–6(6) 24. 29 October 2001 St. Petersburg, RussiaHard Denis Golovanov Irakli Labadze&
Marat Safin7–5, 6–4 25. 10 June 2002 French Open, ParisClay Paul Haarhuis Mark Knowles&
Daniel Nestor 7–5, 6–4 26. 17 March 2003 Indian Wells, U.S.Hard Wayne Ferreira Bob Bryan&
Mike Bryan3–6, 7–5, 6–4 27. 4 August 2003 Washington D.C., U.S.Hard Sargis Sargsian Chris Haggard&
Paul Hanley7–5, 4–6, 6–2

Runner-ups (14)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score 1. 7 February 1994 Marseille, FranceCarpet Martin Damm Jan Siemerink
Daniel Vacek6–7, 6–4, 6–1 2. 25 April 1994 Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Daniel Vacek Nicklas Kulti
Magnus Larsson3–6, 7–6, 6–4 3. 27 March 1995 St. Petersburg, RussiaCarpet Jakob Hlasek Martin Damm
Anders Järryd6–4, 6–2 4. 26 June 1995 Halle, GermanyGrass Andrei Olhovskiy Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis6–2, 3–6, 6–3 5. 26 February 1996 Antwerp, BelgiumCarpet Menno Oosting Jonas Björkman
Nicklas Kulti 6–4, 6–4 6. 24 June 1996 Halle, GermanyGrass Daniel Vacek Byron Black
Grant Connell6–1, 7–5 7. 4 November 1996 Paris, FranceCarpet Daniel Vacek Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 8. 2 March 1998 London, EnglandCarpet Daniel Vacek Martin Damm
Jim Grabb6–4, 7–5 9. 16 November 1998 Moscow, RussiaCarpet Daniel Vacek Jared Palmer
Jeff Tarango6–4, 6–7, 6–2 10. 21 February 2000 Rotterdam, NetherlandsHard (i) Tim Henman David Adams
John-Laffnie De Jager 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 11. 15 May 2000 Rome, ItalyClay Wayne Ferreira Martin Damm
Dominik Hrbatý6–4, 4–6, 6–3 12. 22 April 2002 Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Paul Haarhuis Jonas Björkman
Todd Woodbridge6–3, 3–6, 10-7 13. 9 June 2003 French Open, ParisClay Paul Haarhuis Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan7–6, 6–3 14. 21 July 2003 Stuttgart, GermanyClay Kevin Ullyett Tomáš Cibulec
Pavel Vízner3–6, 6–3, 6–4

Doubles performance timeline

Tournament 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Career SR Grand Slams Australian Open1R QF 3R A A QF 3R 3R 2R 2R 0 / 8 French Open2R QF W W 2R QF QF 1R W F 3 / 10 WimbledonSF SF 3R 1R 3R 2R A A 3R 2R 0 / 8 U.S. Open1R 2R A W 2R 1R SF 2R 3R 1R 1 / 9 Grand Slam SR 0 / 4 0 / 4 1 / 3 2 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 1 / 4 0 / 4 4 / 35 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells MastersA A A A QF 1R SF W 1R W 2 / 6 Miami MastersA A A A QF 2R 2R A A 1R 0 / 4 Monte Carlo MastersF QF QF SF 1R 2R W 1R F QF 1 / 10 Rome MastersW A QF 2R QF 1R F W 2R QF 2 / 9 Hamburg MastersA W 1R SF 1R A 2R 1R SF A 1 / 7 Canada MastersA W A QF 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1 / 8 Cincinnati Masters1R 1R 1R 1R SF 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R 0 / 10 Madrid MastersQF QF 1R 1R QF 1R QF QF 2R A 0 / 9 Paris Masters1R A F 1R 2R QF 2R A 2R A 0 / 7 Masters Series SR 1 / 5 2 / 5 0 / 6 0 / 7 0 / 9 0 / 8 1 / 9 2 / 7 0 / 8 1 / 6 7 / 70 Year End Ranking 12 9 5 6 19 46 12 28 15 17 N/A

A = did not participate in the tournament.

Team titles

2002 - Davis Cup winner with Russia

Trivia

Kafelnikov starred in Virtua Tennis, an arcade tennis game. In that game, he has a strong backhand.

He also obtained a wildcard entry into the 2005 Cadillac Russian Open golf tournament, in Moscow, shooting rounds of 88 and 96 to finish 40 over par and missed the cut by 24 strokes.

He played exclusively with and endorsed racquets from Austrian company, Fischer throughout his career.

External links

Sporting positions Preceded by
Pete Sampras World No. 1
May 3, 1999 - June 13, 1999 Succeeded by
Pete Sampras Awards Preceded by
Andre Agassi Olympic Tennis Champion
2000 Succeeded by
Nicolas Massu