The Kremlin Cup is back in Russian hands.
In an anticlimactic, but nevertheless crowd-pleasing two-set final that did not do justice to the quality of tennis seen throughout the week, the unseeded Russian polished off a sluggish Chuck Adams of the United States on Sunday, 6-2, 6-4, to capture the fifth annual title of Moscow's showcase international athletics event.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin shook the champion's hand after the match and led the applause from the crowd of more than 12,000 at the Olympic Sports Center. Volkov returned the compliment, saying, "Without Boris Nikolayevich, none of us would be here today."
Volkov's victory brought to a close a week of upsets on the indoor courts at the Olympic Sports Center. In Saturday's dramatic semifinals, Adams ousted two-time defending champion and sixth seed Marc Rosset of Switzerland, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Volkov, ranked 38th world, came from behind to beat 27th-ranked Jacco Eltingh of the Netherlands, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
Top seeds Sergi Bruguera and Todd Martin, the world's fifth- and tenth-ranked players, had been knocked out of the tournament Wednesday. Martin fell to Adams in two tiebreakers.
Volkov took home $156,000 for the win, and Adams earned $93,000.
Andrei Cherkasov of Russia won the first two Kremlin Cup titles in 1990 and 1991, while Rosset had captured the tournament the last two years.
Sunday's match was all Volkov's, all the way. The Russian earned his first break in the third game of the first set after Adams had squandered two game points. Two games later, Volkov gained another break to go up 4-1 on one of Adams' numerous unforced errors in the match. The crowd cheered for the break and then for Yeltsin's entrance, which Adams' said -- half-jokingly -- was a "distraction."
"His hair was so white, there as a reflection off the lights and it broke my concentration," he said.
Adams, ranked 61st in the world before the tournament, never hit the stride he had shown in beating Martin in the second round, or world No. 15 Rosset the day before. It was not for lack of trying: he changed rackets, pulled his strings, abused the ball, shook his head and toweled off, all to no avail, as Volkov kept his shots near the alleys and the baseline. The Russian took advantage of more unforced errors by Adams and his own strong volleys to close out the first set 6-2.
It looked like it would be a rout as Adams quickly faced triple break point on his serve in the first game of the second set. But Volkov began taking something off his shots, waiting for Adams to make mistakes, and for a brief time the American showed signs of recovery. He fought back to win the first game, broke Volkov in the second and held his serve again to go up 3-0 with a powerful service winner.
"I kind of relaxed because I thought he was going to give me the match as a gift," Volkov said afterwards. "But then I regained my control and he didn't use his opportunity."
Volkov rallied to tie the set at 3-3, and the decisive point came with Adams serving at 30-40. From the baselines the players slugged out one of the longest rallies of the match, before Volkov finally came up to net. Adams beat him with a lob, but Volkov hustled back to dig out a return. On Adams' drop-shot volley, Volkov then charged the net again and blew a shot past Adams' helpless backhand to seize the break and a 4-3 lead.
From there, each player held serve, with Volkov closing out the match with two service winners and an ace in the final game.
"He hits a lot of good shots and is very fast," Adams said of his opponent after the match. "I wasn't as sharp as I needed to be to play him," he added, saying he felt "sluggish" from the whole week of matches. Volkov, meanwhile, had the benefit of an extra day's rest, since his quarterfinal opponent, Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, had withdrawn with a leg injury Thursday.
The doubles title went to Eltingh and his Dutch partner, Paul Haarhuis, by default against Daniel Adams and Andrei Olkhovsky, when Adams withdrew Sunday with a fever. Instead, Eltingh and Haarhuis played Olkhovsky and Russia's Andrei Merinov in an exhibition, which the Russians won.
Russia's tennis fans and players now look ahead to the Davis Cup final against Sweden, Dec. 2 to 4. Also, Russia's top players will compete in a Russia Cup tournament beginning Nov. 26. Both events will be held at the Olympic Sports Center.
In an anticlimactic, but nevertheless crowd-pleasing two-set final that did not do justice to the quality of tennis seen throughout the week, the unseeded Russian polished off a sluggish Chuck Adams of the United States on Sunday, 6-2, 6-4, to capture the fifth annual title of Moscow's showcase international athletics event.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin shook the champion's hand after the match and led the applause from the crowd of more than 12,000 at the Olympic Sports Center. Volkov returned the compliment, saying, "Without Boris Nikolayevich, none of us would be here today."
Volkov's victory brought to a close a week of upsets on the indoor courts at the Olympic Sports Center. In Saturday's dramatic semifinals, Adams ousted two-time defending champion and sixth seed Marc Rosset of Switzerland, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Volkov, ranked 38th world, came from behind to beat 27th-ranked Jacco Eltingh of the Netherlands, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
Top seeds Sergi Bruguera and Todd Martin, the world's fifth- and tenth-ranked players, had been knocked out of the tournament Wednesday. Martin fell to Adams in two tiebreakers.
Volkov took home $156,000 for the win, and Adams earned $93,000.
Andrei Cherkasov of Russia won the first two Kremlin Cup titles in 1990 and 1991, while Rosset had captured the tournament the last two years.
Sunday's match was all Volkov's, all the way. The Russian earned his first break in the third game of the first set after Adams had squandered two game points. Two games later, Volkov gained another break to go up 4-1 on one of Adams' numerous unforced errors in the match. The crowd cheered for the break and then for Yeltsin's entrance, which Adams' said -- half-jokingly -- was a "distraction."
"His hair was so white, there as a reflection off the lights and it broke my concentration," he said.
Adams, ranked 61st in the world before the tournament, never hit the stride he had shown in beating Martin in the second round, or world No. 15 Rosset the day before. It was not for lack of trying: he changed rackets, pulled his strings, abused the ball, shook his head and toweled off, all to no avail, as Volkov kept his shots near the alleys and the baseline. The Russian took advantage of more unforced errors by Adams and his own strong volleys to close out the first set 6-2.
It looked like it would be a rout as Adams quickly faced triple break point on his serve in the first game of the second set. But Volkov began taking something off his shots, waiting for Adams to make mistakes, and for a brief time the American showed signs of recovery. He fought back to win the first game, broke Volkov in the second and held his serve again to go up 3-0 with a powerful service winner.
"I kind of relaxed because I thought he was going to give me the match as a gift," Volkov said afterwards. "But then I regained my control and he didn't use his opportunity."
Volkov rallied to tie the set at 3-3, and the decisive point came with Adams serving at 30-40. From the baselines the players slugged out one of the longest rallies of the match, before Volkov finally came up to net. Adams beat him with a lob, but Volkov hustled back to dig out a return. On Adams' drop-shot volley, Volkov then charged the net again and blew a shot past Adams' helpless backhand to seize the break and a 4-3 lead.
From there, each player held serve, with Volkov closing out the match with two service winners and an ace in the final game.
"He hits a lot of good shots and is very fast," Adams said of his opponent after the match. "I wasn't as sharp as I needed to be to play him," he added, saying he felt "sluggish" from the whole week of matches. Volkov, meanwhile, had the benefit of an extra day's rest, since his quarterfinal opponent, Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, had withdrawn with a leg injury Thursday.
The doubles title went to Eltingh and his Dutch partner, Paul Haarhuis, by default against Daniel Adams and Andrei Olkhovsky, when Adams withdrew Sunday with a fever. Instead, Eltingh and Haarhuis played Olkhovsky and Russia's Andrei Merinov in an exhibition, which the Russians won.
Russia's tennis fans and players now look ahead to the Davis Cup final against Sweden, Dec. 2 to 4. Also, Russia's top players will compete in a Russia Cup tournament beginning Nov. 26. Both events will be held at the Olympic Sports Center.
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