Friday, August 11, 2000
Tired and teed off, Kafelnikov crumbles
Golf-loving star adds chapter to enigmatic lore
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — As former Bengals coach Sam Wyche once said, downplaying a loss, “There's tennis to be served and golf to be played.” In Yevgeny Kafelnikov's case, there's now more time for the latter.
The enigmatic Russian tennis star, a golf fanatic, freed himself up for a weekend on the links with a pair of defeats Thursday. Often questioned in regard to tanking matches, the fifth seed lost 6-4, 6-1 to Arnaud Clement and then later defaulted in the third set of a doubles match.
This time he had an excuse: He got just five hours of sleep after his singles match Wednesday night ended at 12:38a.m. After failing to convert a break point at 5-4 in the first set Thursday, things began to unravel.
Kafelnikov totaled 23 unforced errors, and he lost his temper throughout the match. He smashed balls up into the crowd, slammed his racket on the ground and cursed himself out.
“It all escalated — feeling tired, all the frustration coming out,” he said. “With all the rain delays, it has been a long couple of days.”
Kafelnikov's character has been called into question repeatedly, including a lecture from ATP Tour CEO Mark Miles last year after a comment Kafelnikov made about not caring about losing. He has been jeered by fans who felt he tanked matches.
He is one of the few Tour players who religiously plays both singles and doubles. He has played more matches than anyone else the past six years, averaging 160 a year.
Pete Sampras, asked this week about Kafelnikov's schedule, said money was his motivator: “If there's money to be made, Yevgeny's going to play.”
Replied Kafelnikov: “Pete can say whatever he wants. He shouldn't judge what I do. I like the game, like competing.”
Kafelnikov is known as “the banker” on the Tour because of his penchant to gamble on everything. Another nickname from the links: Kafelnigolf. He is a cut-up in the locker room. He wonders aloud about trying one day to become a pro golfer.
“This guy is really of a different breed,” his doubles partner, Wayne Ferreira, has said. “If you had to invent him, it would take some time.”
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