The tournament's prize fund was a million dollars.
Newsweek magazine recently wrote that the colossal breakthrough of Russian tennis in the past 10-15 would have been impossible without such a capable manager as Shamil Tarpishchev, the captain of the national selection board and President of the Russian Tennis Federation.
Shamil Tarpishchev spoke in an interview about the results of the Kremlin Cup and plans for the future.
Question: Mr. Tarpishchev, were you surprised by the victories of the Russian players?
Answer: First of all, I want to say that I am very pleased with such precious victories. The Kremlin Cup, a landmark event for the future of national tennis, involves numerous conferences and seminars for summing up annual results. Loving parents enroll their kids at tennis schools after each tournament. Television coverage also plays an important role in attracting amateur players. Moreover, our champions pass on their experience to beginners.
Unfortunately, our players, who were in top form, had to play against each other at the beginning of the tournament.
Most importantly, I am quite happy with their performance. It is hardly surprising that Russian players have won in three out of four categories, namely, men's and women's singles and men's doubles.
Q.: Who are the best players?
A.: Nikolai Davydenko and Yelena Dementyeva both won well-deserved victories. Safin and Tursunov won for the first time in the men's doubles. Although Safin already has one victory to his credit, Tursunov has never won in this category before.
Q.: Some foreign sports commentators believe we are witnessing a Russian tennis renaissance. What do you think about the current situation in national tennis?
A.: In the 1970s, tennis received meager funding because it was a non-Olympic sport. At that time, table tennis was more popular than big tennis, which was mostly played by diplomats. The Moscow Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and Soviet embassies abroad therefore had good tennis courts. Nevertheless, such talented players as Andrei Chesnokov, Alexander Volkov, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Larisa Savchenko and Natalia Zvereva paved the way for today's champions. And we still rely on traditional coaching techniques. Russia has taken first place in children's, amateur, professional and wheelchair tennis for the last four years. Just this year, over 300 Russian players have won at various international tournaments in 50 countries. Seven men and 20 women, including Nikolai Davydenko, Marat Safin, Mikhail Yuzhny, Igor Andreyev, Dmitry Tursunov, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Yelena Dementyeva, Maria Sharapova, Anna Chakvetadze, Vera Zvonaryova, Yelena Likhovtseva and Dinara Safina, are listed among the world's top 100 players.
Q.: When will members of the Russian Olympic team be selected for Beijing-2008 Olympics?
A.: The Olympic team will comprise four men and four women, plus several pairs. The Roland Garros tournament, in the first week of next June, will be the final deadline for selecting the players according to their final global ratings.
Q.: What are our chances at Beijing Olympics?
A.: I have no doubts that our players will do their best to win in Beijing. Although our chances are quite good, much will depend on the final draw. We are also determined to defend our title against the US team at the Davis Cup finals in Portland, Oregon.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
