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 No lose situation Kafelnikov will hold No. 1 ranking even with a loss
Posted: Monday April 26, 1999 06:38 PM
MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who has not won a match since late February and has lost five times in a row, will become the world's top-ranked tennis player next week -- even if he loses again. Pete Sampras, currently No. 1, has withdrawn from his defense of the Atlanta clay court tournament this week because of a back injury, which likely will keep him sidelined until next month's Italian Open. That means Sampras automatically loses 172 ranking points and will drop to 3,367, while Kafelnikov, who has none to lose, will at least remain unchanged with 3,382. "I have now achieved what I set out to achieve my whole life -- to be No. 1 and to win a Grand Slam," Kafelnikov said on the eve of his first round match against journeyman Australian Richard Fromberg. "Now there is definitely going to be more pressure but I knew it was going to happen. I am not in the best form right at the moment but I think I deserve it. I won a Grand Slam and I had a great start to the year." Winner of the Australian Open in January, the Russian has had several chances to replace Sampras as No. 1 but has squandered them all. He has been in poor form since winning an indoor tournament in London two months ago. Kafelnikov lost his opening matches at Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Estoril, Barcelona and Monte Carlo and goes into this week's Czech Open clay court tournament as the top seed because of his No. 2 ranking. Sampras has been No. 1 for 267 weeks during his career and is four weeks away from breaking Ivan Lendl's record of 270.
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