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Kafelnikov wins Weber Open Story Posted June 14, 1998 at 12:37 HALLE, Germany (AP) _ Yevgeny Kafelnikov wasted three match points but held on to beat Magnus Larsson 6-4, 6-4 and capture the Gerry Weber Open tennis tournament Sunday. Kafelnikov, seeking a title to build his confidence for Wimbledon, won the $875,000 grass-court tuneup for the second straight year. For the former French Open winner, the championship was his 16th but first since February. ``I've been too nervous in decisive moments to win,'' Kafelnikov said. ``But winning was the best preparation for Wimbledon.'' Kafelnikov threatened to blow out Larsson, a former top 10 player making a comeback from a lingering virus. Attacking the net, the world No. 7 won the first set in 33 minutes and took a 5-1 lead in the second. But the second-seeded Kafelnikov double faulted to let Larsson close to within 5-3 and allowed two match points to slip away in the next game. After the second one, a forehand that sailed long, the Russian shook his fists at the sky, blaming the error on the sound of an overhead jet. Kafelnikov earned $122,000 US for the win while Larsson received $72,400.
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