Kafelnikov Evgeniy Alexandrovich
Born 02/18/1974
Personal achievements:
- Olympic champion 2000 in singles.
- Winner of 2 Grand Slam singles tournaments (Roland Garros-1996; Australian Open-1999).
- Australian Open 2000 finalist in singles.
- Winner of 26 ATP singles tournaments.
- Finalist of 20 ATP tournaments in singles.
- Professional career singles win-loss record: 609-306.
- Retained the title of world number one for 6 weeks.
- Winner of 4 Grand Slam tournaments in doubles (Roland Garros - 1996, 1997, 2002, US Open - 1997).
- Finalist of Roland Garros 2003 in doubles.
- Winner of 27 ATP doubles tournaments.
- Finalist of 14 ATP tournaments in doubles.
- Professional career doubles win-loss record: 358-213.
Team Achievements:
- Winner of the 2002 Davis Cup.
- Davis Cup finalist 1994, 1995.
Career
Evgeniy won his first match at an ATP series tournament in 1992 in Moscow.
In 1993, the athlete won the Challenger category competition for the first time.
At the beginning of 1994, on the eve of his twentieth birthday, in Adelaide, the young tennis player finally won the ATP Championship cup, albeit not the most prestigious one yet. After this success, Kafelnikov convincingly spent the first part of the season on hard surfaces and confidently entered the top 100 of the world rankings. The tennis player progressed all year, ending up in 11th place at the end of the year.
Consistently good play throughout the next season allowed him to firmly gain a foothold in the first echelon of players, but 1996 was truly triumphant for Evgeniy. He won a brilliant victory at the Roland Garros tournament. For the first time in history, a tennis player from Russia won such a prestigious competition. We managed to win in two categories at once: singles and doubles. No other player could repeat such an achievement in the future.
In 1999, tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov topped the ranking of professional tennis players, winning his second Grand Slam singles tournament in Australia.
In Sydney in 2000, the Russian athlete became the Olympic champion.
And in 2002, the Russian team managed to win the Davis Cup, which Evgeniy had previously called the main missing trophy. Although Kafelnikov did not bring any points to the team in the final against the French team, he, like Russian fans and experts, considered the victory deserved, since he had been the leader of the team for a long time.
A year later, Kafelnikov announced his retirement at the age of 29. He explained his decision by the fact that new young players are appearing on the tour, including from Russia, with whom it is becoming increasingly difficult for older generation tennis players to compete.
Start
Evgeniy began playing tennis at the age of six and trained in his native Sochi until he came of age. Literally a year after the start of training, Kafelnikov came to the attention of the coaches of the USSR youth team, who began to closely monitor the young tennis player.
Zhenya’s first victories came in doubles. Together with Andrei Medvedev, he became a two-time European champion at his age, and in 1990 they became winners of the junior Davis Cup.
In 1991, Kafelnikov changed his coach and moved to Moscow along with Anatoly Aleksandrovich Lepeshin, who was able to find sponsors for a promising player.
Childhood and family of Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Zhenya was born in Sochi.
His dad is a famous volleyball player. He began to teach his son to play sports from early childhood. The boy played tennis from the age of six. He changed several coaches, but each of them gave the athlete something useful for his future career. The athlete first came to Moscow at the age of eleven. In those years, tennis was just beginning to develop, Zhenya’s success grew at a tremendous pace. At first, the coaches did not notice that the capable boy was striving to learn something new, studying more with those athletes who had already proven themselves.
In the European Championship, as a fourteen-year-old teenager, he took first place. This surprised his coaches, who after this victory finally paid attention to Kafelnikov.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov plays not only tennis, but also golf
In his native Sochi, he had practically no one to compete with. From time to time he took part in tournaments that took place there, or played with party leaders who came to Sochi on vacation. Thanks to this, the young athlete learned to play on any surface. It was a good school. Soon his career began.
Climbing
New country - new order. Since 1992, Kafelnikov has been a professional, meaning his income directly depends on his results. In just two seasons, Evgeniy went from an mediocre master to an elite player. Judge for yourself: he met the year 1993 as the 275th racket in the world, and at the time of the chiming clock on December 31, 1994, he was in full swing knocking on the TOP 10, settling in 11th position.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov in his youth
The first victories at ATP Tour tournaments were not long in coming. Kafelnikov also performs successfully at Grand Slam tournaments. So, in the 1995 season he reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros and was among the top eight at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
With the growth of Evgeniy’s sportsmanship, the Russian national team takes a leading position in the Davis Cup, with Kafelnikov participating in the final battles against the Swedes and Americans for two years in a row.
Biography of Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Evgeniy was lucky to be born in the warmest city in Russia - Sochi. Another lucky thing for Evgeniy is to be born to a father who gained fame in volleyball. It was his father who instilled in the boy a love of sports from childhood. Even before school, Kafelnikov began attending tennis classes. The future first racket of the world had to change coaches several times, but the athlete is grateful to each of them for the invaluable experience. Perhaps Kafelnikov’s success lies precisely in the symbiosis of coaching approaches.
The tennis player came to the capital to compete at the age of 11. In Russia, this sport was still developing, so Evgeniy had little competition at local competitions. 3 years later, having entered the European Championship, Evgeniy becomes the winner. At that time, it became clear that the teenager had a great sports future. And Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov managed to meet the expectations of the coaches. Soon it became too crowded for the tennis player in his hometown, so he increasingly turned his attention to national and international tournaments.
Very quickly the tennis player acquired a large number of awards and cups. And this was surprising for his teachers, since usually talented teenage athletes lose their former grip as they grow up. Evgeniy's success grew rapidly. His professional career started at the age of 20. Kafelnikov received a master of sports, and then was recognized as the 11th racket in the world. Thanks to Evgeniy, the Russian national team got a chance to play in the Davis Cup final.
Since 1995, Kafelnikov’s major victories have happened, which he always dreamed of and which became reality. He became the first among domestic tennis players to win Roland Garros in both doubles and singles. And then there was Sydney and the long-awaited Olympic gold. In 2002, Evgeniy conquered another peak - the Davis Cup. And after winning the Australian Open, Kafelnikov was personally congratulated by the President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. No wonder, because for the first time Russian tennis managed to reach first position in the world championship.
One day, Kafelnikov left professional sports, quietly, without loud statements in the press. Now he is a coach and businessman.
In 2003, Yevgeny Kafelnikov retired from tennis. Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova forced her father to lose weight Yevgeny Kafelnikov - winner of the Russian title of the best tennis player of the 20th century (photo from 1998) Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova made her father lose weight
Yevgeny Kafelnikov began to rapidly gain excess weight after finishing his sports career (pictured with his daughter Alesya and her ex-boyfriend Nikita Novikov) Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova made her father lose weight
In the near future, Yevgeny Kafelnikov plans to lose weight up to 95 kilograms (now his weight is 105 kilograms) Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova made her father lose weight
Thanks to an argument with his daughter, Yevgeny Kafelnikov lost 10 kilograms in just a month. Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova made her father lose weight
Yevgeny Kafelnikov made a bet with Alesya, according to which he should regularly visit the gym and limit himself in diet. Let's bet? How Alesya Kafelnikova forced her father to lose weight Yevgeny Kafelnikov Ester Abner show in Moscow: unrecognizable Kafelnikova and blooming Bondarchuk Yevgeny Kafelnikov with his daughter Alesya Stars at the Valentin Yudashkin show: the maestro kicked off Fashion Week in Moscow
Yevgeny Kafelnikov divorced Alesya’s mother, Maria, because of her excessive religiosity and took custody of her only daughter. The girls are ripe! Representatives of famous families are new stars. Alesya's father, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, is a former famous tennis player, and now vice-president of the Russian Tennis Federation. The girls are ripe! Representatives of famous families are new stars
Alesya Kafelnikova adores her father The girls are ripe! Representatives of famous families are new stars Yevgeny Kafelnikov (photo from 1996) Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova forced her father to lose weight Yevgeny Kafelnikov sometimes still allows himself to drink a glass of red wine and eat a delicious meat steak. Let's argue? How Alesya Kafelnikova made her father lose weight
Evgeny Kafelnikov and Maria Tishkova Alesya Kafelnikova’s mother told when she feels proud of her daughter
Alesya is the daughter of tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Alesya Kafelnikova’s mother told when she feels proud of her daughter.
Evgeny and Alesya Kafelnikov met after a long separation Alesya Kafelnikova made peace with her father and posted a joint photo
Evgeny and Alesya Kafelnikov (archive photo) Alesya Kafelnikova made peace with her father and posted a joint photo Only recently the stars managed to improve their relationship Alesya Kafelnikova made peace with her father and posted a joint photo
Father and daughter had a fight two years ago and have hardly spoken since then. Alesya Kafelnikova made peace with her father and posted a photo together
In the correspondence that the model showed on Twitter, the guy called Lesya “cutie” Lesya Kafelnikova forgot Pharaoh and fell in love with a handsome blogger from the USA Evgeny and Ales Kafelnikov Kafelnikova is sure that she will still date the rapper Pharaoh
The star admitted that she finally began to communicate with Kafelnikov’s parent and is sure that she will still meet with rapper Pharaoh
In 2010, Yevgeny Kafelnikov reached the Wimbledon final for the first time in his career - paired with Wayne Ferreira at the veterans tournament. Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya's mother and is looking for a new life partner. new life partner
Evgeny Kafelnikov (2015) Evgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with his mother Alesya and is looking for a new life partner
Yevgeny Kafelnikov hopes that he will meet his love Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya’s mother and is looking for a new life partner Yevgeny and Alesya Kafelnikov at the premiere screening of the film “Hero” (2016) Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya’s mother and is looking for a new life partner Yevgeny Kafelnikov tries not to miss shows in which his daughter participates, and monitors her nutrition. Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya’s mother and is looking for a new life partner
Alesya Kafelnikova stayed with her father after her parents divorced. Yevgeny Kafelnikov broke up with Alesya’s mother again and is looking for a new life partner.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov is a caring father. Alesya adores her dad Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya's mother and is looking for a new life partner Yevgeny Kafelnikov admitted that he dreams of a son Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya's mother and is looking for a new life partner
During a broadcast on the social network Periscope, Yevgeny Kafelnikov said that he hoped to meet a new love. Yevgeny Kafelnikov broke up with Alesya’s mother again and is looking for a new life partner. It seems that Yevgeny Kafelnikov was unable to restore his family. Yevgeny Kafelnikov broke up with Alesya’s mother again and is looking for a new life partner.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov and his ex-wife, Maria Tishkova, began appearing together at official events Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with his mother Alesya and is looking for a new life partner
At the beginning of 2015, it became known that Yevgeny Kafelnikov returned to his ex-wife and Alesya Kafelnikova’s mother, Maria Tishkova, 14 years after the divorce, Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with Alesya’s mother and was looking for a new life partner. Yevgeny Kafelnikov admitted to a fan that he had not communicated for a year with his ex-wife and is open to new relationships Yevgeny Kafelnikov again broke up with his mother Alesya and is looking for a new life partner
Alesya Kafelnikova with her parents Kafelnikova's manager denied rumors that her father considers her anorexic
Yevgeny Kafelnikov carefully takes care of his daughter and monitors her health. Kafelnikova's manager denied rumors that her father considers her anorexic.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov does not believe that his daughter is on the verge of anorexia Kafelnikova’s manager denied rumors that her father considers her anorexic Yevgeny Kafelnikov with his daughter Alesya (in Edem Couture) Full house at the premiere of the film “Hero” in Moscow: stars, it-girls and businessmen supported the acting debut of Dima Bilan
Recently, Yevgeny Kafelnikov began to lose weight at the insistence of Alesya Kafelnikova's followers believe that soon the scales will stop reacting to her Yevgeny Kafelnikov monitors his daughter's nutrition Kafelnikova's followers believe that soon the scales will stop reacting to her Yevgeny Kafelnikov sharply condemned Maria Sharapova The doping scandal could put an end to his career Maria Sharapova
Alesya Kafelnikova with her parents (by the way, Yevgeny Kafelnikov recently announced his separation from Alesya’s mother and his readiness to find a new other half) Alesya Kafelnikova dreams of losing weight and goes on a diet Alesya Kafelnikova, after breaking up with Nikita Novikov, went out with her father. It is likely that now that the girl has a new boyfriend, she will attend events with him. Alesya Kafelnikova showed a “naked” photo and a new boyfriend
Champion
By 1996, Kafelnikov was finally consolidating his status as an elite tennis player. First of all, experts note the versatility of our player: he performs with equal success on all courts, demonstrating smart play on the back line, which, coupled with excellent endurance, allows Evgeniy to be considered one of the main favorites of the Tour.
Our compatriot becomes a true star of world tennis after defeating the great Pete Sampras in the semi-finals of Roland Garros. But these were flowers: two days later, Kafelnikov beat Michael Stich and became the first Russian tennis player to celebrate success at the Grand Slam tournament.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov - winner of Roland Garros 1996
What is noteworthy is that Evgeniy achieved a golden double: together with Daniel Vacek, he won the doubles competition. The Russian-Czech tandem will become a Grand Slam triumphant twice more in the 1997 season: first, confirming the non-accidentality of its success on French soil and crowning the year with a victory at the US Open.
In singles, Kafelnikov showed himself especially brightly at the Australian Open, becoming its winner in the winter of 1999, defeating Thomas Enquist, and losing in the final of the first tournament of the 21st century to Andre Agassi.
Well, Kafelnikov won his main victory on October 2, 2000 in Sydney. Having broken the pressure of Tommy Haas in a five-set match, Evgeniy becomes an Olympic champion and a hero of Russia, summing up with this triumph his many years of being among the top ten strongest tennis players in the world.
Victory
In singles:
- Adelaide, hard, 1994.
- Copenhagen, carpet, 1994.
- Long Island, hard, 1994.
- Milan, carpet, 1995.
- St. Petersburg, carpet, 1995.
- Gstaad, Grunt, 1995.
- Long Island, hard, 1995.
- Adelaide, hard, 1996.
- Prague, ground, 1996.
- Paris, clay, 1996 (Grand Slam tournament).
- Lyon, carpet, 1996.
- Halle, grass, 1997.
- New Haven, hard, 1997.
- Moscow, carpet, 1997.
- London, carpet, 1998.
- Halle, grass, 1998.
- Moscow, carpet, 1998.
- Melbourne, hard, 1999 (Grand Slam tournament).
- Rotterdam, carpet, 1999.
- Moscow, carpet, 1999.
- Sydney, hard, 2000 (Olympic Games).
- Moscow, carpet, 2000.
- Marseille, carpet, 2001.
- Moscow, carpet, 2001.
- Halle, grass, 2002.
- Tashkent, hard, 2002.
In doubles:
- Barcelona, clay, 1994, with David Rikl.
- Munich, ground, 1994, with David Rickl.
- Italy, soil, 1994, with David Rikl.
- Lyon, carpet, 1994, with Jakob Glasek
- Oeiras, soil, 1995, with Andrey Olkhovsky.
- Hamburg, ground, 1995, with Wayne Ferreira.
- Montreal, hard, 1995, with Andrey Olkhovsky.
- Lyon, carpet, 1995, with Jakob Glasek.
- St. Petersburg, carpet, 1996, with Andrey Olkhovsky.
- Prague, ground, 1996, with Daniel Vacek.
- Paris, clay, 1996, with Daniel Vacek (Grand Slam tournament).
- Basel, hard, 1996, with Daniel Vacek.
- Vienna, carpet, 1996, with Daniel Vacek.
- Paris, clay, 1997, with Daniel Vacek (Grand Slam tournament).
- Gstaad, ground, 1997, with Daniel Vacek.
- New York, hard, 1997, with Daniel Vacek.
- Antwerp, hard, 1998, with Wayne Ferreira.
- Vienna, carpet, 1998, with Daniel Vacek.
- Barcelona, clay, 1999, with Paul Harhuis.
- Monte Carlo, dirt, 2000, with Wayne Ferreira.
- Vienna, hard, 2000, with Nenad Zimonjic.
- Indian Wells, hard, 2001, with Wayne Ferreira.
- Rome, ground, 2001, with Wayne Ferreira.
- St. Petersburg, hard, with Denis Golovanov.
- Paris, ground, 2002, with Paul Harhuis.
- Indian Wells, hard, 2003, with Wayne Ferreira.
- Washington, hard, 2003, with Sargis Sargsyan.
In a team:
Davis Cup, 2002, with Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny.
Recession and the long-awaited Davis Cup
Unfortunately, success in Sydney was the last significant personal victory in Evgeniy’s career. If at the end of 2001 he even improved his position on the Tour, finishing the season in 4th place and having two quarterfinals and one semifinal at the Grand Slam tournaments, then in 2002 Kafelnikov’s results began to deteriorate sharply.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov - winner of the 2002 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team
By the fall, Evgeniy’s game had completely gone wrong, and he was unable to become the winner of the home Kremlin Cup for the sixth time in a row. But the third time, Kafelnikov won the Davis Cup. And even though the formal laurels of the winners belong primarily to Mikhail Youzhny and Marat Safin, our hero’s contribution to the team’s success cannot be underestimated. It was Kafelnikov who was the locomotive of domestic tennis, followed by the rest.
Childhood and youth
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov was born on February 18, 1974. His small homeland is the city of Sochi, Krasnodar Territory, where his parents still live. According to Evgeniy’s stories, he had a completely ordinary childhood: his parents kept the child under control, but were not overly strict.
Kafelnikov’s father, Alexander Nikodimovich, was a professional volleyball player, his mother, Valentina Fedorovna, was not serious about sports.
A friend of Alexander Kafelnikov, Valery Peschanko, first suggested giving five-year-old Evgeniy a racket and, after watching the boy perform exercises, noted a good sense of the ball.
After working with the child for several weeks and making sure of the talent, Peschanko handed Evgeniy over to coach Valery Shishkin. Under the leadership of Shishkin, Evgeniy successfully performed at domestic Russian competitions, at one of which he was noted by Shamil Anvyarovich Tarpishchev, captain of the USSR national tennis team, as a promising player. Thanks to the help of Shamil Anvyarovich, Evgeniy got the opportunity to travel to tournaments abroad.
In 1991, after an internship in the USA at the Nick Bollettieri Academy, Evgeniy considered it necessary to part with his coach. Anatoly Lepeshin became Kafelnikov’s new mentor, who led the talented junior to great achievements on the adult tour.
Heritage
Despite the fact that Kafelnikov was unable to leave on a winning note, ending his career as the 41st racket in the world, his legacy is beyond doubt. While Russia was recovering from the collapse of the USSR, he became one of the main athletes of the new country, proving with his play that there are professionals not only in the West.
In addition to his own achievements, Evgeniy paved the way to glory for Marat Safin, showing by his example how one can be successful. This assessment of his performance is confirmed by the fact that Kafelnikov finished the season six times in the top ten tennis players in the world. Add to this two victories at the Grand Slam tournaments and the title of Olympic champion - by all measures, a grandiose career!
Video archive dedicated to Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Yevgeny Kafelnikov spoke about his daughter, the conflict with Sharapova and the crisis in business
Yevgeny Kafelnikov gave a frank interview to the Sports.ru portal. In a conversation with a journalist, the tennis star was extremely honest and gave detailed answers to all questions, leaving little to the imagination.
As it turned out, over the past three years, Kafelnikov has lost a very significant part of his fortune. “What has happened over the past three years is complete horror. I will not hide: I was lucky enough to earn a very large amount of money by our standards, which I invested in real estate. And because of what's happening, a lot of your tenants are leaving. Because the economic situation in the country is getting worse. I still feel good, I don’t cry. But from the figures that I receive monthly, I see that these earnings have decreased three times,” the athlete frankly stated.
Evgeniy with his daughter
East News
The conversation could not help but touch upon the scandalous situation with Maria Sharapova: after the doping story, Evgeni did not support the tennis player, but literally openly opposed her. He admitted that he understood exactly what the drug was used for, which was regarded as doping: “Because I understood what it was used for. In order to have an advantage over your rivals. When they say that this is a harmless drug, I don’t believe it. She used it specifically for some purpose. Let's say you have heart problems. Then you announce it in advance: I have problems. Then all questions would disappear. But if you didn’t do this before and continued to use this drug, I refuse to believe that it is harmless.”
Evgeniy also spoke about raising his daughter, an aspiring model and a very scandalous young lady. According to her father, Alesya exaggerates when she says that she has been completely self-sufficient since she was 18 years old: “She exaggerates—wishful thinking. Now she had been in London for two months, I missed her, she missed me. This did not affect the relationship: she loves me madly, I love her madly. I welcome that she is busy with something. “Dad, don’t interfere. Me myself. I’m not asking you for money.” She has bank cards, which are on me, but the expenses have dropped significantly. I see from the reports: the child is earning money.”
Kafelnikov managed to play the role of a stern dad, meeting virtually with his daughter’s beloved rapper Pharaoh: “I had a tough conversation with him - on the topic of drugs. Music, drugs, everything is connected, so I said, “Don’t even think about doing this with my daughter.”
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