A record number of top-ranked players and a $1.1 million purse mark the maturation of Moscow's Kremlin Cup from a novelty stop on the men's tennis tour a few years ago to a high-caliber event boasting some of the better talent in the game.


Defending champion Marc Rosset of Switzerland will be vying to retain his title against a strong field of challengers when Moscow's premier international sporting event opens Monday at the Olympic Sports Center on Olimpiisky Prospekt. World No. 5 Sergi Bruguera of Spain is the top seed in the 32-player draw, and No. 10 Todd Martin of the United States joined the field as a wild-card Thursday. As of Friday, No. 9 Michael Chang had still not decided whether to participate.


Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov heads the list of hometown favorites. Nicknamed "Kalashnikov" for his blistering groundstrokes and meteoric rise from No. 104 in the world last year to No. 11, Kafelnikov received his first opportunity to play a professional tournament at the Kremlin Cup two years ago.


A last-minute wild-card addition to the draw this year is the colorful Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev, now ranked 13th in the world. Hometown Davis Cup heroes Alexander Volkov and Andrei Chesnokov are also in the field.


Other top contenders include claycourt specialist Thomas Muster of Austria, Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, who this week upset Sweden's Stefan Edberg at the Paris Open, and South African Wayne Ferreira. Overall, there will be nine or 10 players from the Top 20, as against only two last year.


The Kremlin Cup offers 262 ATP points to the winner, which may be critical for some players needing the points to gain entry to the upcoming year-end IBM/ATP World Championships in Frankfurt, according to Kremlin Cup media director Alexander Pesov. Chang was awaiting final results at this week's Paris Open before deciding whether to join the field in Moscow, Pesov said.


The tournament will be played on Supreme Court, a fast rubberized surface that favors big servers but maintains a decent height on the bounce. Those tired of the quick rallies produced by today's power servers will be glad to know that baseliners have done well in Moscow in the past, and that this year's draw contains a good number of them, in particular Muster and Bruguera, arguably the two best in the world.


President Boris Yeltsin, an avid player, fan, and the tournament's honorary chairman has been on hand in past years to watch matches and to award the championship trophy, although his appearances are not publicly scheduled in advance.


Pesov said that "from the beginning Moscow was a good town for big names, but curiosity was the main motivation" when the event was launched in 1989. But with sponsorship of Russia's National Sports Foundation and a number of corporations, the Kremlin Cup's $1,125,000 in prize money is up from $350,000 last year, helping to secure the tournament as a staple on the international circuit.


For all its success in acquiring big league status, the Kremlin Cup does in large part remain an exotic attraction for many players. Two years ago Tim Mayotte decided to make Moscow the last tournament of his career before joining the ATP tour board of directors, and last year Bjorn Borg chose it as the site for the end to his attempted two-year comeback. This year Brad Gilbert has selected Moscow as the spot to wrap up his distinguished career in order to become Andre Agassi's full-time coach.


The main draw consists of 32 players while the doubles tournament includes 16 teams. The singles draw begins Monday at 4 P.M. Doubles starts Wednesday at 4 P.M.


The tournament runs through next Sunday and play begins each afternoon at 4 P.M. The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday and Friday, the semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday.


A reserve or box seat costs $20 during the week and $150 for the final. Less expensive ruble tickets are also available. Tickets can be purchased at the Olimpisky Stadium box office or by calling Oleg Pryakhin at 956-3360.


The qualifying tournament which also contains a draw of 32 players begins Saturday and hard currency tickets cost $15. Qualifying rounds are always a great chance to see the truly hungry players slug it out on a high level, and up close.


The Olympic Sports Center will also be the site of the Davis Cup finals between Russia and Germany Dec. 2-4.