Making the sign of the cross for luck, Yury Luzkhov dipped his hand into the bejeweled silver Davis Cup trophy Thursday to determine the draw for the historic tournament final, pitting an underdog Russian team against Sweden.


"Alexander Volkov," Moscow's beaming mayor announced before a room of Russian and world tennis luminaries at the Olympic Penta Hotel, on the eve of Russia's first Davis Cup finals appearance. "My favorite player."


Luzhkov's pick meant that Volkov, ranked 25th in the world, will take on world No. 7 Stefan Edberg, in the first singles match Friday beginning at 2 P.M. at Moscow's Olympic Sports Center. World No. 11 Yevgeny Kafelnikov will play No. 19 Magnus Larsson in Friday's other match.


Kafelnikov and Andre Olkhovskiy will challenge world doubles champions Jan Appell and Jonas Bjorkman on Saturday. In Sunday's reverse singles matches Kafelnikov will play Edberg and Volkov will play Larsson.


If Luzhkov was fishing for luck, he may not have found it. Kafelnikov played the first match in Russia's earlier wins over Germany, the Czech Republic and Australia, and non-playing team captain Vadim Borisov said he had hoped the pattern would continue, especially since Kafelnikov must play doubles Saturday and could benefit from the extra rest by playing in the first match.


"But I'm not disappointed because Alexander Volkov has just won the Kremlin Cup and is in very good form," he said. Borisov added that the support of the crowd "is very important to us" and hoped for a big turnout at the 15,000-seat stadium.


Swedish captain John-Anders Sjogren said, "For my team, it's a good draw."


In a five-match competition, every game is critical, and the talented but erratic Volkov will need to display the sharpness he had in winning the Kremlin Cup in November and in beating Stich in September's semifinal. Edberg has beaten Volkov in three of their five meetings.


Kafelnikov is Russia's top player, but will face a tough challenge from the hot-hitting Larsson and from Edberg, a former world No. 1 and anchor of Sweden's seven successive Davis Cup finals appearances -- including three titles -- in the 1980s. Sweden's other team members have never participated in the finals.


Edberg thought Saturday's doubles match could be pivotal in the finals, as it was when Sweden rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the United States, 3-2, in September's semifinals. "The most important thing for the team is to fight for every point," Edberg said.


Russia's players and captain were all smiles at the draw, and dismissed reports of friction on the team, which arose last month at the Kremlin Cup, when Kafelnikov said he did not have a good relationship with Borisov and that he was not sure he would play on the Davis Cup team.


"We have always had a very friendly atmosphere, and especially now before the match," Borisov said. He acknowledged that "sometimes the players' personal coaches don't get along with the captain." Borisov is known to have had differences with Anatoly Lepeshin, Kafelnikov's coach, over the player's training regimen.


The Russian team spent Thursday morning and part of the afternoon practicing. The Swedish team, which flew in to Moscow on Sunday, spent the morning before the draw sightseeing, including a visit to Red Square.


The stakes are high for the Russian team, which advanced with a 4-1 victory over defending champion Germany in September. Not only is there the prestige of winning the 94-year-old silver trophy in the team international equivalent of Wimbledon, but there is also the players' place in history.


"They will set an example for the younger generation who will see them as heroes and try to copy them," Borisov said. "It means everything."


Nikita Mikhailkov, president of the All-Russian Tennis Association, echoed the captain's testimony to the importance of the match -- win or lose.


"We are living in difficult times, but the fact that Russia is playing a great team like Sweden is a sign that we are a great country," he said. Russia's previous best performances were semifinal appearances in 1974 and 1976. It joined the competition as the Soviet Union in 1962.