Kafelnikov outlasts Haas for glory

SYDNEY, SEPT. 28. Former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov outlasted Germany's Tommy Haas in a marathon Olympic final to claim the men's singles gold medal for Russia here today.

After a see-saw, sometimes scrappy, battle that lasted three hours, 35 minutes, Kafelnikov finally triumphed 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Haas, 22, went into the final set looking the more likely winner but just as victory looked within his grasp he stumbled. Two unforced errors in the eighth game of the final set handing Kafelnikov the chance to serve out for the match.

The big Russian, who had failed to reproduce the blistering form he displayed en route to the final, made no mistake, powerfully killing off the match to secure an Olympic gold medal he has said will mean more to him and his country than his 1996 French Open and 1999 Australian Open titles.

Kafelnikov's win completes a fantastic month for Russian tennis after Marat Safin's triumph in the U.S. Open.

It also marks a remarkable renaissance for Kafelnikov who had arrived in Sydney in total despair about his form after failing to win a singles title all year - a remarkable statistic for a player who plays more tournaments than almost any other top player and has won at least three titles every year since 1994.

Haas was left to rue what might have been if he had taken the numerous opportunities he had in a cagey 1hr. 10min first set in which both players had their service broken twice.

The German was the first to break serve in the fifth game of the match. But he squandered the advantage in the very next game by blasting a simple forehand long with the court at his mercy.

He then had another golden opportunity when he took a 3-0 lead in the tie-break but Kafelnikov produced the big shots when he needed them to edge the set.

Haas levelled things up after claiming the only break of the second set for a 5-3 lead.

Kafelnikov, who until then had not come close to the kind of form he displayed on the way to the final, switched gears in the middle of the third, breaking in the sixth and eighth game to take the set 6-2. But the momentum immediately swung back behind the German at the start of the fourth, a solitary break in the first game being enough to set up the tense finale.

Despite his defeat, Haas will leave Sydney happy after rediscovering the kind of form that helped him to briefly break into the world top ten at the end of last year.

Having got here early after a second round loss at the U.S. Open, Haas had time to work on his strength and fitness and gained a much-needed confidence boost when he upset south Africa's Wayne Ferreira, the 14th seed, in the first round and went on to claim the scalp of Spanish 6th seed Alex Corretja on his way to the final.

Second gold for Venus

Venus Williams claimed her second gold of the Sydney Olympics when she teamed up with younger sister Serena to sweep aside their Dutch opponents in the final of the women's doubles here today.

The Williams overpowered Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans 6-1, 6-1 to finish the tournament without having dropped a single set.

Venus beat Russia's Elena Dementieva yesterday to win the singles gold.

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