Yevgeny Kafelnikov, avenging a loss before a home crowd, beat Petr Korda 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 on Sunday to capture the Kremlin Cup and qualify for this week's ATP Tour Championship in Hanover, Germany.
Kafelnikov, the top seed, lost last year's final at Moscow's indoor Olympic Stadium."I'm in seventh heaven," Kafelnikov said after beating the second seed before a near-capacity crowd of 18,000. "It's a great pleasure to win a tournament like this in your hometown."
Kafelnikov, No. 7 in the world, knew he had to play conservatively against Korda, a Czech ranked 15th.
"I didn't approach the net because the key to the victory was in holding Korda on the baseline," he said. "If I played too active and aggressive I would narrow my chances because it is Korda's style of playing."
Kafelnikov started out strong, breaking in the second game. Then Korda broke back and both players held serve, forcing a tiebreaker. Kafelnikov won the tiebreak easily and had few problems in the second set, his lone break coming in the third game.
Kafelnikov had played Korda twice before this year, beating him both times. Korda has yet to win a tournament this year.
Kafelnikov earned $157,400 and Korda won $93,000.
Stockholm Open
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Jonas Bjorkman, finally playing well in his home country, rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the second set Sunday to beat Jan Siemerink in four sets and win the Stockholm Open.
"This one was the biggest win in my career," he said. "It's very special to win in Sweden."
Bjorkman won 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-4 before a sellout crowd at Royal Tennis Hall for his 67th match victory this year, tops on the ATP Tour. It was his second straight finals appearance, having lost last week to Pete Sampras in the Paris Open.
Bjorkman became the third Swede to win the tournament following Thomas Enqvist won in 1995 and 1996.
He earned $112,000 for his third title of the year, with the previous wins coming in New Zealand and Indianapolis.
Bjorkman, who plays in the ATP Tour World Championship in Germany starting Tuesday, will remain No. 4 in the rankings.
Only three other Swedes - Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg have been ranked higher than Bjorkman. They were all No. 1 at one time.
Siemerink earned $66,200 for his first appearance in a final this year. The Dutchman will finished the year ranked inside the top 100.
Siemerink, serving well early on, clinched the first set with his eighth ace. He earned the only service break with a cross-court passing shot to lead 3-1.
Bjorkman's returns, one of the best in the game, keyed the vital break in the eighth game of the second set. He controlled the tiebreak from the outset, racing to a 4-0 lead and won it 7-2. Siemerink was broken at the start of the third set.
"It was important to get that break," Bjorkman said. "After that I felt very strong. The crowd helped me a lot. In the first set I couldn't read Jan's serve."
Bjorkman fought off two break points before holding his serve to 4-4 in the fourth set. He earned the only break of the set to go ahead 5-4 after Siemerink netted a volley.
In the semifinals, Bjorkman beat Pat Rafter 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3). Rafter's loss gave Sampras the No. 1 year-end ranking for the fifth consecutive year, tying the record set by Jimmy Connors.
Siemerink was the first Dutch finalist in this event since Tom Okker lost to Stan Smith in the 1974 final. He dropped from a career-high 15th to 105th on the ATP Tour rankings during the year.
Siemerink defeated Boris Becker in the second round and Cedric Pioline in the quarterfinals.
Marc-Kevin Goellner and Richey Reneberg won the doubles title, downing top seeds Ellis Ferreira and Patrick Galbraith 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4).
Ameritech Cup
CHICAGO - Lindsay Davenport's "amazing" year got even better Sunday.
She zoomed through the first set in 26 minutes and then came from 4-1 down in the second to beat Nathalie Tauziat 6-0, 7-5 to win the Ameritech Cup - her sixth tournament title of the season.
"I've spent more time on the court this year because I've enjoyed it more. I've learned new shots. The last couple of years I've lost weight and improved my movement on the court. I've gotten stronger," Davenport said, explaining her transformation into one of the game's top players.
"I've dedicated myself to my career and it's worked out," she said.
Davenport's victory earned her $79,000 and will move her from No. 5 to a career-high No. 3.
"I didn't know that," she said. "The rankings have never been my set goal. But it's amazing."
Tauziat, who had to play singles and a late double match Saturday night, struggled with her serve, double-faulting nine times.
"I don't think I served well because I was a little tired from doubles last night," she said. "I got a little unlucky for it to be 6-0 in the first. I had game points in each of the first three games."
After losing serve three times in the first set, Tauziat jumped out 3-0 and 4-1 in the second. But Davenport, with a half-volley, topspin lob and then two straight whipping, cross-court forehands, broke in the seventh game.
Tauziat had a set point at 5-4 when Davenport double-faulted to 30-40. But Davenport hit an ace and service winner to hold.
Davenport broke again to 6-5 when Tauziat committed two double-faults, then captured the match with three straight strong serves.
"I always play a good first set and then the second one is closer," said Davenport, who has increased her mobility to go with some of the game's cleanest groundstrokes.
"When you are on a roll, sometimes your mind wanders and you find yourself down. That's what happened a bit today, but I was able to climb back in."
Tauziat, who qualified for the season-ending Chase Championships in New York's Madison Square Garden, will move to 14th from 17th in the rankings and will get another shot at Davenport this week in Philadelphia.
Davenport, who beat Tauziat in a final at Zurich, Switzerland, last month, is now 5-1 lifetime against her French opponent.
Tauziat did get a victory Sunday when she teamed with fellow French player Alexandra Fusai to beat Davenport and Monica Seles 6-3, 6-2 in the doubles final.
ATP World Championship Field Set
MONTE CARLO, Monaco - Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Spain's Sergi Bruguera claimed the final two spots Sunday in the eight-man ATP Tour World Championship.
Kafelnikov advanced with a straight-sets win Sunday over Petr Korda in the final of the Kremlin Cup.
Bruguera got in when Marcelo Rios lost to Julian Alonso 6-2, 6-1 in the Sunday's final in Santiago, Chile. Rios needed to win to reach the season-ending championships and, by losing, forfeited the spot to Bruguera.
Kafelnikov and Bruguera join six other players who had already qualified for the tournament, which opens Tuesday: Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Patrick Rafter, Jonas Bjorkman, Carlos Moya and Greg Rusedski.