He's the man
Henman successfully defends President's Cup
Posted: Sunday September 20, 1998 05:43 PM
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Henman took home $66,400 for the title Al Bello/Allsport |
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) -- Second-seeded Tim Henman of Great Britain defeated top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia to capture the President's Cup on Sunday in the final match of the $500,000 President's Cup Tournament on the ATP tour.
"I was rooting for Yevgeny, but frankly speaking, Tim was stronger today," President Islam Karimov said at the ceremony.
Defending champion Henman broke Kafelnikov in two sets -- 7-5, 6-4 -- to win the cup for the second consecutive year.
"I was playing for the second time in this tournament and I will definitely return here for a third time," Henman said.
The former French Open winner, Kafelnikov was fighting for his 17th career title. In the first set he broke Henman's serve in the seventh game but double faulted four times in the 10th to let Henman equalize and close the set with an overhead smash in the 2th.
"The 10th set was a turning point of the match, when Kafelnikov committed two double faults," Henman told reporters.
"This victory is very important for me, because I've lost many tournaments this year," said Henman, the 24-year-old Wimbledon semifinalist.
Henman still has a chance to earn a berth at the ATP Championship in Hannover, Germany this year. Marcelo Rios, Pete Sampras and Patrick Rafter have already collected enough points to qualify.
Henman took home $66,400 for the title, while Kafelnikov earned 39,300.
The finals drew 4,500 spectators at the hardcourts of Yunusobod Tennis Stadium in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.
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