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No. 1 vs. No. 2 Kafelnikov sets up final showdown with Agassi
Posted: Friday January 28, 2000 12:00 AM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov finally had to beat a top 15 player at this year's Australian Open. It was quick and easy. To keep his title he now has to beat an Andre Agassi strong enough to withstand 37 aces by Pete Sampras. Kafelnikov wielded a lethal forehand Friday in advancing to Sunday's final with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 12 Magnus Norman in 90 minutes. Norman, in his first Grand Slam semifinal, looked nothing like the solid slugger who ousted No. 4 Nicolas Kiefer in the quarterfinals. He committed 41 unforced errors to 18 by Kafelnikov. Kafelnikov, seeded second, said he would relax before the final by playing golf Saturday. But, he said, after a match like Agassi's dramatic five-set comeback against Sampras in their semifinal, "I have a big responsibility to make sure I don't disappoint the crowd." He has a 4-5 record against Agassi, who has won their last three meetings. Norman said, however, that "if Yevgeny can play like he did today, I think he's got a good chance." Kafelnikov broke at love in Norman's first service game and generally appeared unruffled by the Swede's hard hitting. He won 10 of the first 11 games and didn't yield a break point until the final set's fourth game. Norman cashed that in with a backhand down the line, tying the score at 2-2. But Kafelnikov broke him for the sixth time for 4-3 and then held serve twice more. Norman threw down his racket in disgust several times. The first outburst came when Kafelnikov broke him in the second set's first game with a forehand that zipped through the tiny opening Norman had left him down the line. Describing himself as "an emotional guy," Norman said, "I would do anything to get one more chance, to show that I can play better than I did today." This time, he said, "you start thinking that it's the semis, all this media attention there's been this week, I'm not really used to that." Kafelnikov started in a good position, with Agassi and Sampras in the other half of the draw, and saw the three other seeded players in his quarter fall by the third round. On his way to the final, he beat Jens Knippschild, Daniel Vacek, Stefan Kobek, qualifier Chistophe Rochus, Younes El Aynaoui and Norman, and lost only his very first set, in a tiebreaker.
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