[俄熊] Kafelnikov Deals Aces From A Different Deck
Kafelnikov Deals Aces From A Different Deck
Yevgeny Kafelnikov By Scoop Malinowski
12/14/2004
Former Grand Slam champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov is now a poker champion. Last
month he won the Russian Open in Moscow, defeating a field of 52 in the $300
Omaha hi-lo competition.
Kafelnikov, who earned nearly $25 million during his tennis career, won just
over $10,000 for the poker triumph.
The 30-year-old Kafelnikov's preferred game of cards is the more complex
Omaha hi-lo — a form of poker that is popular with many professionals as
there is a lot of "dead money" in the game. "Dead money" is poker-speak for
players with plenty of cash who are very unlikely to win.
The former world number one told The Independent newspaper of Great Britain
that it is highly unlikely he will ever play professional tennis again.
The 1999 Australian Open champion admitted he would rather play poker
nowadays — in part because couldn't bear to face his fellow Russians as a
loser.
"I have retired, but I have not officially announced it," said the 1996
French Open champion and 1996 Olympic gold medallist. "Some people still
think I am just taking a break, but I believe that my time in tennis has gone
by. Even if I came back, I would have no chance to play at the same level I
was."
Kafelnikov stated it was the dread of losing face to his compatriots that has
really made his mind up to put his racquet down for good.
"The most important things was not to disappoint my fans," said the
Sochi-born, Muscovite, who is a divorced father of a six-year-old daughter
named Alesja. "It is very hard to earn a good image in Russia. Once you do
you're a hero. But if you then do something wrong, you're treated like, like,
I can't even think of a word for it. So when people on the street in Moscow
ask why I stopped playing, I say 'because I don't want to see you people
crying when I lose'. They understand that."
Kafelnikov, who operates several businesses in Russia with his primary
venture a real estate company, said that he had channeled his competitive
energies to poker because it's both mentally and physically challenging.
"I find it very exciting," said Kafelnikov, who receives coaching from the
2002 poker Rookie of the Year, Kirill Gerasimov. "Because you win not with
the cards but with your skills. With body language you can win a game, but
also you can lose a game."
Kafelnikov also recently competed in an event in England in which the winner
collected $500,000.
Speaking about the current tennis landscape, Kafelnikov said that while he
agrees that world number one Roger Federer is an outstanding player, he still
believes Pete Sampras, who posted an 11-2 record against Kafelnikov and held
the year-end top spot a record six straight years, is the best player he's
ever seen.
"Federer is good on all surfaces, very universal. Maybe his weakness is clay,
but he can be successful there too," Kafelnikov said. "The best ever? For me,
it is hard to think that anyone could be better than Sampras, not even
Federer."
Long-time Tennis Week.com contributing writer Scoop Malinowski has made a
mark interviewing some of the greatest champions in tennis, boxing and
baseball with his distinctive "Biofile" series. Check out more Biofiles at
www.thebiofile.com.
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