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Star pairing Russian team to be led by Safin, Kafelnikov
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia have named Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in their squad for next week's Davis Cup world group first round tie against Slovakia. Both players ended last year in the top five but the Russians are wary of playing Dominik Hrbaty and Karol Kucera in front of their home fans in Bratislava. "I expect a very tough match, especially playing against Hrbaty and Kucera in their back yard," Russia's Davis Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev told Reuters on Monday. "Theirs is probably the worst combination for us. Kafelnikov has an 0-8 record against Hrbaty in ATP tournaments and has only one career win against him, which came in the Davis Cup. "Safin is 4-4 against Hrbaty, but lost his last match to him." A week ago Hrbaty crushed the U.S. Open champion, who finished last year ranked number two in the world, in straight sets in the fourth round at the Australian Open. Tarpishchev said the outcome of next week's tie would greatly depend on how quickly Safin and Kafelnikov recovered from their grueling start to the year. "Actually it turned out better for us that both of them didn't stay in Melbourne very long, losing their matches way before the final," he said. "But this week they're playing again in Milan and I'm worried whether they'll be fresh enough next week." In the only other Davis Cup tie between the two countries, Safin edged Hrbaty to give Russia a 3-2 quarterfinal victory in July 1999. Hrbaty's younger brother was attacked in the stands of Moscow's Olympic Sports Complex by Russian fans during his opening day match against Kafelnikov. Tarpishchev named three newcomers, Mikhail Yuzhny, Andrei Stolyarov and Denis Golovanov, to the Russian team -- but none of them are likely to see any action. The Russian captain said he was confident his team would win the Davis Cup in the next few years. "Having two players like Marat and Yevgeny on the team we just have to win it sooner or later," he said. "We have been unlucky not to win it in the last few years and it is just a matter of time before everything comes together for us." "It has hurt us in the past that we only had two top players ... but I'm optimistic this is about to change. We will win both the Davis and the Federation Cups," said Tarpishchev, who also heads Russia's Federation Cup team. "And speaking of the women, in three to four years our team will simply be the best, second to none, take my word for it."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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