During a relaxed day of tennis at Moscow's Olympic Sports Center, the top four players of the Russian national team -- Chesnokov, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Alexander Volkov and Andrei Cherkasov -- displayed both its talent and sense of humor, clowning around with officials, fans and scores of autograph-seeking children who were allowed to rush down from the stands to mob the players at the end of every match.
Organized by the Russian Professional Tennis League, the tournament featured an "old-timers" doubles match, in which 1973 Wimbledon finalist Alexander Metrevelli and Anatoly Volkov defeated Vladimir Egorov and Vladimir Korotev, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
Each participant in the professional tournament took home $25,000.
Despite the light-hearted atmosphere, it was also clear that egos were on the line, as players who have known and trained with one another for years, put forth their best efforts in their last tournament before the Davis Cup finals begin Friday at home against Sweden.
Chesnokov, 28, the "elder statesman" on the tour, whom national team coach Vadim Borisov has sidelined from the national team this year for supposedly being out of shape, showed the youngsters, as well as perhaps the coach, that he isn't on his way out. Without dropping a set he beat Volkov 6-4, Cherkasov 6-1 and Kafelnikov, 6-3 in a match which served as a final.
The tournament was followed Saturday night by a black-tie awards ceremony. Kafelnikov, the leader of the Russian Davis Cup team, won the player of the year award for his rise this from No. 104 in the world to No. 11 this year.
Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, presented Yeltsin's Sports Minister, Shamil Tarpischev, with an award for a lifetime of contribution to tennis. Tarpischev spent 18 years as the Russian Davis Cup coach.It had at first appeared that Kalashnikov was on hand to present his award to Kafelnikov who has been nicknamed "Kalashnikov" in the West for his blistering groundstrokes.
Elena Makarova won an award as Russia's top woman player, and Andrei Olkovsky was recognized as the country's best doubles player.
-- Philip Johnston contributed to this report.
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