Kafelnikov Claims The Olympic Gold Medal 
In An Epic Marathon Match For Glory
 
 

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV R U S S I A GOLD MEDAL

SYDNEY, SEPT. 28, 2000.  Former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov outlasted Germany's Tommy Haas in an enthralling marathon Olympic finale to claim the men's singles Gold Medal for Russia here in Sydney on Thursday.  Kafelnikov, who never dropped a set since opening day was twice pegged back by the durable German but ultimately proved too strong for Haas.

The epic encounter lasted for 3 and 1/2 hours with the first set alone taking 70 minutes, before the Russian triumphed over the German 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 then celebrated by heaving his racket 15 rows into the stands and threw a ball into the upper deck.  He then waved a Russian flag to cheers from the crowd, which included International Olympic Committee president 
Juan Antonio Samaranch. 

Yevgeny Kafelnikov's beaming smile is hardly a regular feature of world tennis, but the Russian could not contain his glee.  "To add a gold medal to my career, it's absolutely fantastic," Kafelnikov said.

The Russian, who had found it difficult to reproduce the blistering and devastating form he displayed en route to the final, made no mistake, powerfully killing off the match to secure an Olympic gold medal he has said will mean more to him and his country than his 1996 French Open and 1999 Australian Open titles. 

It also marks a remarkable renaissance for the Grand Slam Champion who had arrived in Sydney in total despair about his form after failing to win a singles title all year-- a remarkable statistic for a top player who has won at least three titles every year since 1994. 

He had talked of skipping the Olympics because he was discouraged by the way he was playing.  "I thought that I wasn't even going to challenge for any medals," he said. 
"I was just hoping to participate."
 
 
 

ONE MOMENT IN TIME
Yevgeny racing with destiny en rote towards feeling eternity.

On a mild, sunny day, both players held up well physically despite the many long points and long games.  The match came down to the only break point of the final set, and Haas hit a backhand into the net.  That gave Kafelnikov a 5-3 lead, and 
he served out the match at love.

Kafelnikov improved to 5-1 this year in five-setters, including three victories at the French Open.  "I said, `Well, maybe that's good,"' he said.  "In best-of-five my chances are a little better than in best-of-three."

Kafelnikov's win also capped a marvelous month for Russian tennis after fellow Russian Elena Dementieva won the silver in women's singles losing only to Venus Williams and, less than three weeks ago, countryman Marat Safin routed Pete Sampras to win the US Open. "My country is taking over in tennis," Kafelnikov said.  "It has been a very sensational year."
 
 
 

THE FLAME AND THE FLAG
Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov waves his nation's flag around the Olympic Stadium to celebrate his Gold Medal victory.

Kafelnikov easily slashed through what seemingly was a very tough Olympic draw winning each match in excellently in straight sets till the finals.  He mercifully gave up only one game in his first round match then got rid of the fast rising Chela, who had scored amazing upset victory over Tim Henman this year, in the second round.  Then, he overpowered and eliminated giant Mark Philippoussis, the last Australian hopeful for the gold before humiliating the top seed and reigning French Open Champion Gustavo Kuerten in the fourth round.

Arnaud Di Pasquale of France who lost to Kafelnikov in the semifinals won the bronze in men's singles Wednesday, beating Roger Federer of Switzerland 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-3.  Former women's no. 1 Monica Seles who lost to compatriot Venus in their semifinal encounter bounced back to bag the bronze medal over Aussie Elena Dokic.
 
 
 

SUMMON THE HEROES
The Medalist Of The Millennium Games: France's Arnaud Di Pasquale - bronze, Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov - gold, and Germany's Tommy Haas - silveer during the ceremony in Sydney Thursday, Sept. 28, 2000.

Meanwhile, the Woodies, who lost their first ever match together, also lost their last.  In between was a decade of greatness, excellence, and achievement-- a record 61 titles, including 11 Grand Slam tournaments and a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics over the Tim Henman led British team.  Seeded No. 1, the best and most famous doubles team in tennis history was the tournament favorite, sentimental and otherwise, ended with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2) loss in the final to Canadians Sebastien Lareau and Daniel Nestor. 

They're going out still ranked No. 1 in the world, and this year they won their first French Open title and their sixth Wimbledon championship. The partnership is being dissolved because Mark Woodforde, who turned 35 last week, plans to retire at the 
end of the year.

"I'm not disappointed about the loss.  I'm just emotional because it's over," a red-eyed Todd Woodbridge said.  "It's a silver medal today, but our partnership has been gold," Woodforde added.  Then they hugged at the net as a crowd of 10,000 gave them 
a roaring send-off.
 
 
 

HEROES LIVE FOREVER
Australia's Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde reaches the silver medal at the end of a golden decade of achievement.

In the women's doubles, Venus Williams annexed yet another gold to her name after she teamed up with sister Serena to sweep aside their Dutch opponents Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans 6-1, 6-1.

Tommy Haas took his defeat well.  He will leave Sydney happy after rediscovering the kind of form that helped him to break into the world top ten at the end of last year.  Haas had time to work on his strength and fitness and gained a much-needed confidence boost when he upset south Africa's Wayne Ferreira in the first round and went on to claim the scalp of Spanish Alex Corretja on his way to the final.  Like Kafelnikov, he was smiling on the medal podium.  "Going home with the silver medal, I couldn't ask for more,"  Haas said.

Haas was however, left to rue what might have been if he had taken the numerous opportunities he had in a cagey 1 hr. 10 min first set in which both players had their service broken twice.  The German was the first to break serve in the fifth game of the match.  But he squandered the advantage in the very next game by blasting a simple forehand long with the court at his mercy.  The Russian dissected Haas' serve once again to surge into a 5-3 lead.  However, with the first set within his grasp, Kafelnikov placed a forehand wide and slammed a simple volley into the net to hand Haas a reprieve and take the set into a tiebreak.

Haas then had another golden opportunity when he took a 3-0 lead in the tie-break.  But not for the last time, Kafelnikov found an extra gear on the key points, producing the big shots when he needed them including a glorious cross-court pass to defy Haas to reach set point.  Haas then dumped a backhand into the bottom of the net and Kafelnikov completed his 7-1 run to take the tiebreak 7-4 and edge the set.
 
 
 

DARE TO DREAM
Germany's Tommy Haas feels the olympic heat during his titanic battle for the gold medal versus Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

To his credit, Haas responded resolutely.  The hustling Haas kept coming back and wowed the sellout crowd with several scrambling saves, once blocking a Kafelnikov overhead back for a winner.  He forced the only break of the second set and restored parity after a forehand from Kafelnikov clipped the net and bounced out for a 5-3 lead. 

However, Kafelnikov, who until then had not come close to the kind of form he displayed on the way to the final, switched gears in the middle of the third, breaking in the sixth and eighth game.  The Russian, always a threat on Haas' serve, went on to brake him three times in the third set, forcing a string of errors with unerring groundstrokes, particularly on the backhand side to take the set 6-2.

With his advantage restored, Kafelnikov looked poised to clinch victory, but Haas refused to succumb without a battle and exploited a period of slack play from the Russian.  The momentum immediately swung back behind the German after the start of the fourth, a solitary break in the first game and holding serve five consecutive times being enough to set up 
the intriguing and tense finale.
 
 
 

THE MOMENT YOU
HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
An Olympic Gold Medal means more to 
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and his country than 
his Grand Slam Titles.

Haas refused to buckle, showing admirable resilience against his confident opponent.  Into the final set, Haas was looking to be the more likely winner but just as victory looked within his grasp he stumbled.  Kafelnikov capitalized on Haas' serve to gain crucial breaks while Haas' hopes was hampered with a flurry of unforced errors.  The persistent German continued to press, but this time Kafelnikov subdued his opponent for good, forcing the critical break at 4-3.  After two unforced errors by Haas in the eighth game of the final set Kafelnikov, served out the match nervelessly at love before launching his racquet into the crowd with a smile of satisfaction.