Sole seeded survivor
Kafelnikov advances to men's final, meets Enqvist
Posted: Friday January 29, 1999 02:04 AM
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Kafelnikov: "I definitely feel like the underdog." AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Playing with robotic precision from the baseline, Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov reached the final of the Australian Open and virtually guaranteed he'll walk away with the title.
Kafelnikov, winner of the 1996 French Open, beat Germany's Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 Friday night and will play for his second Grand Slam title Sunday against unseeded Swede Thomas Enqvist.
"I know I will get my chances," Kafelnikov said. "Thomas is known, I wouldn't say for choking, but ..."
Kafelnikov pointed out how Enqvist has had lapses in some big matches and could be vulnerable on his serve.
"I'm glad the last two matches didn't go to five sets," Kafelnikov said. "They were both under two hours. I saved some energy for the final. I promise you it's going to be a long one."
Despite his confidence and higher ranking than the No. 21 Enqvist, Kafelnikov isn't too cocky.
"I definitely feel like the underdog," the No. 10 Kafelnikov said. "He's in great form at the moment. Hopefully I'll feel fresh. He hasn't been stretched to the limit."
Against Haas, Kafelnikov broke on his first opportunity in the second game, saved a break point at 5-3, then polished off the set with an ace.
Haas, a 20-year-old ranked No. 33, performed well in his first major semifinal, but couldn't match Kafelnikov's strength and stamina in long rallies over the next two sets.
Kafelnikov, 24, simply stayed back and slugged it out, making Haas sprint from corner to corner until he broke down.
On important points, Kafelnikov said, Haas "played stupid shots. He was playing his great shots at the wrong time."
Enqvist reached his first Grand Slam tournament final a day earlier by beating 91st-ranked Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
Enqvist, set back last year by a foot injury, now has won 14 consecutive matches this year, including victories over U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter and runner-up Mark Philippoussis in the third and fourth rounds here.
"It's very exciting, unbelievable, to be in a Grand Slam final," said the 24-year-old Swede, who once was ranked sixth in the world and now is No. 21. Enqvist's best previous Grand Slam tournament result was the 1996 Australian, where he lost in the quarterfinals.
Lapentti had come from behind in three five-set matches this tournament and upset seventh-seeded Karol Kucera in the quarterfinals.
Because of that, Enqvist said, "I felt like I had to keep the pressure up, and I was able to do that."
He added, "There never have been as many good players as now. Twenty or 25 players can go to a Grand Slam tournament and have a chance to win it. That has to be very exciting."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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