Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.mosnews From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Kremlin Cup Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 15:10:35 EST Message-ID: <7.1992Nov19.151035@AmeriCast.com> DATE(YYYY/MM/DD): 1992/11/18 TITLE: Kremlin Cup: a start to future games BY: Natalya Bykanova SUBJECTS: 38 SECTION:6 *** SUMMARY: About the Kremlin Cup tournament just over in Moscow. ### Kremlin Cup: a start to future games Marc Rosset, the 22-year-old Olympic champion from Switzerland, received a prize of 45,000 dollars for winning the finals of the Kremlin Cup tournament. He was presented with the Cup by the Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The tournament, initiated by MN, this time saw the most spectacular tennis. Carl-Uwe Steeb beat his opponents neatly and competently, Marc Rosset overwhelmed others with his thundering serves, Andrei Medvedev put up a brilliant performance. The players fully deserved the 348,000 dollars prize money. This time Moscow played host not to the high-ranking players and not to middle-placed players content with local wins. The Kremlin Cup was competed for by men greedy for glory, many of whom had either won in this year's tournaments or played in the finals. What interested the spectators was not only tennis but also the seething life at the court, with many signs of our time. One day the dollar seats in the stalls were occupied by a certain astrologist, a plump man in a black hat. He won his fame by predicting the victory of Bill Clinton at the presidential elections. At the Olimpiisky Stadium the astrologist predicted success for the countryman of US president-elect, David Wheaton in the game against Andrei Cherkasov. He regularly jumped from his seat, shook a long scarf and gestured with his hands. But his stars were wrong. Wheaton lost 4:6, 6:7. "I would like to slap him in the face," Wheaton admitted later. "He really got me with his wavings." Other lovers of "dolce vita" were also present at the Cup, together with the astrologist. The business-symposium held at the tournament confirmed the sad conclusion of the existence of a whole class of loafers roaming from one presentation to another. One could easily enter Hotel Slavyanskaya, where a function was held, only by showing the door-keeper the tennis programme. After staying at the hotel for some time the "seminar participants" rushed to the Olimpiisky. This was done not to join the festival of tennis but be in time to attend a reception which was mentioned in the programme. A few dozen quite respectable men tried to slip by the guards of the VIP village (free restaurant for players and important persons of the tournament). When this strategy failed they turned to prolonged siege and for more than an hour wandered around the restaurant gates until the organizers of the business- symposium officially declared that the tennis tournament was no almshouse. But, despite all this, the number of real sports fans was much bigger. They sat on the stands far into the night, enjoying the only opportunity for Russian fans to get to know the world of tennis stars. People came from other cities which had one or two courts and a wooden racket per player. An envoy came from the miner's town of Pervomaisk to find Sassoon Khakshouri of Switzerland, founder of the Kremlin Cup tournament. He wanted to suggest to him the idea that a tennis tournament for amateurs be held in Pervomaisk and the finalists be awarded with tickets to the Kremlin Cup. Miners didn't have any other opportunity to get to this tennis festival. Of course, Kakshouri didn't refuse. Now it is difficult to say who was the first to suggest the idea that a hockey match of tennis players, coaches and sponsors of the tournament be arranged on the ice of the Olimpiisky Stadium. Two dozen skates and sticks were got hold of. Among the players were Jacob Hlasek of Switzerland, Swedes Nicklas Kulti and Michael Stadling, Marc Wheaton (USA, brother and coach of David Wheaton), as well as director of the tournament Eugene Scott and Vladimir Vainstein, head of the computer service. Only two of them -- Hlasek and Scott revealed professional hockey skills. Hlasek's father was member of the national team of Czechoslovakia and Vaclav Nedomansky was the idol of his childhood. Scott started to play in the student hockey team and chose for a long time between professional tennis and ice hockey. Andrei Cherkasov was not destined to win the Moscow tournament for the third time in a row: Cedric Pioline of France stopped him in the quarter finals. Andrei Medvedev dropped out at the same stage, losing to Carl-Uwe Steeb of Germany. Eighteen-year old Medvedev, a rising star of world tennis, is coached and lives in Karlsruhe, Germany, where he played for the local club until recently. "It is a real country life there and one can fully concentrate himself on tennis forgetting about all everyday problems," explained Andrei. Medvedev, Russian by origin, will play for the team of Ukraine because he was born and grew up in Kiev. This time he lost but as Alexander Vainstein, Moscow manager of the Kremlin Cup, put it, the road to tennis summits now passes only through the Moscow tournament. Michael Stich had only to participate in the 1990 autumn Kremlin Cup tournament to win Wimbledon in the summer of 1991. David Wheaton reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon after playing in the Moscow tournament. Marc Rosset this year's winner, twice played in the Kremlin Cup before he captured the Olympic gold. So, the Moscow tournament is the pilgrimage place for tennis players in a hope for success in future games. Natalya Bykanova *** *** This article is copyright 1992 The Moscow News. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM