Yevgeny Kafelnikov: Top 10 ATP Shots

[@Dr1n1an]

Terrific player. Great athlete and skilled. So talented!

[@ChristiaanRoest79]

Kafelnikov was such an awsome player

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Dude was nectar. His groundstrokes are gorgeous. Zero wasted movement.

[@kafoly1980]

I was a big fan of him. Thank you for these points some of them that i have never seen before. He was a very creative player especially in unpredicted situation.

[@RenggaThe]

My idol in tennis, such a good player

[@8020Alive]

Saw him play in person. Deceptively fast. Always did a great job of conserving energy and his focus on hitting deep to make sure aggressive players didn't get the best of him was admirable.

[@EDFutbolTennisMX]

yeah and his two handend backhand was so good so fast

[@tungt88]

@J.T. Very generally speaking, a modern player who does just that (hit deep to prevent aggressive players from dominating him) is Roberto Bautista Agut (he doesn't have Kafelnikov's smoothness/easy power/energy-efficiency/volleys/tactics, though).

[@The90sun]

The virtua tennis legend 🎾

[@jimb8695]

Dude was a no nonsense player. No fist pumping, no yelling & screaming, nothing really over the top. He just got out there, hit ball after ball, and won tough points/matches/tournaments. Players like Nick Kyrgios can learn a thing or two from him!

[@ediccartman7252]

Yeah unlike Kyrgios he did win big titles, but did it when the draw was relatively easy. He wasn't a fighter. Every time he faced a great champion like Sampras, Agassi or Becker, he gave up pretty fast.

[@СергейИванов-в4б7о]

@@ediccartman7252 Please do not mislead. Kafelnikov is still that fighter)) It is enough to recall his victorious Milan in 1995, when he passed G Ivanishevich, M.Stiсh and B. Becker in a row on their favorite carpet in the hall, where aces were stamped by more than a dozen per match (now few serve this way). Moreover, he played with a patient with a fever. And the victorious Roland Garros 1996. There he had a well "very light" grid (in the first 4 laps there were 3 Spaniards - specialists on the ground, whom he passed as a skating rink) And in the 3 final matches of the tournament, all the winners of the Grand Slam tournaments, and two of them had previously knocked out 3 kings of the ground. Sampras of two - S. Brugueiro and D. Currier, and M.Stiсh - last year's champion RG - T. Muster. And the fact that Kafelnikov won more decisive sets in his entire career (192) than Becker (132), Agassi (166) and Sampras (167), although his career lasted significantly less than theirs? Or don't you know that none of these great champions have won more than one of the tournaments 5 times in a row? Did Yevgeny do it at a home tournament of not the lowest rank - the Kremlin Cup? You are right only in one thing, that they beat him more often than he beat them. At first, due to more experience, and then Eugene played too many tournaments (both in singles and in pairs). That's why I wasn't always ready to compete with them on an equal footing. Such is the lot of the station wagon. Now most of the top singles players don't play a couple often. A couple more facts. Kafelnikov beat B. Becker on his favorite grass in their final match (at the Halle tournament in 1997). And also leads in a personal with R. Federer (4-2). All wins are on fast surfaces, including in 2000 at Wimbledon in 3 sets.

[@waltermodel2521]

@@ediccartman7252 What do you mean ? He beat Sampras in Rolland Garros 1996

[@robertoarosio5495]

He was an amazingly talented tennis player.

[@pavel6806]

He has beaten Sampras in the quarters of the French Open back in 1996...so better check your facts dude...

[@whitekeyboard14]

Yevgeny gave me his racquet after his last ever match at the 2002 Australian Open when he lost to Alex Kim, I was 12 years old. He walked up to me and handed it to me then signed my tennis ball. I have never used the racquet, it lives in my wardrobe. Apparently the moment was on tv but we never were able to get the footage. I wonder if anyone who is a huge fan of his would be interested in it?

[@Toddman86]

whitekeyboard14 👋👋👋

[@cjisters26]

so lucky of you

[@edwinivanrodriguez3769]

His last match in australia was in 2003 so youre a lier

[@whitekeyboard14]

Franque Worren hey mate, sorry for the late reply. I have no idea how much to sell it for. I never used it. I would like some advice on how to get a price for it?

[@whitekeyboard14]

Quang Nguyen hey man. Yes definitely would sell it. Sorry for the late reply. I just don’t know how to go about selling it or a price?

[@da480]

Fantastic player! And he was definitely under rated... some Henmans of the world got attention, while this talent was barely ever noticed.

[@dinosama7569]

Vielen Dank an Tennis TV für diese Zusammenfassung, sind ein paar Schätze dabei! :)

[@twain27]

I remember Kafelnikov for killing the only hope Sampras had to win the French Open, in the 1996 SF. Heartbreaking. Great player.

[@aiturran]

On Sampras' behalf, he was exhausted by playing long matches. It would've been more even if Sampras were in better physical condition. Yevgeny was a top player though, I enjoyed him watching him on tour.

[@Mrfix-iz4di]

He deserved to be in the hall of fame years ago

[@vitogirardi7477]

Josephh Patashinky Not sure Russians are allowed

[@cfhar080591]

@@vitogirardi7477 Marat Safin is in don't start lies.

[@ediccartman7252]

he IS there

[@vinny6_9]

@@ediccartman7252 both him and safin are now. pre-war, before all the discrimination against russian athletes.

[@tungt88]

+Tennis TV You guys forgot about the shot Kafelnikov hit around the net post against Gustavo Kuerten in 2000 Cincinnati Masters QF ...

[@ohmygoodlord]

He has a great attitude.

[@elshali5813]

Tennis changing so mach, but i like old school mach more than modern tennis.

[@Radnally]

Watched him play woodbridge at the 1999 AO. Great player

[@bgdn5]

He was a great tennisist for sure.

[@ルドルフ-e3t]

he is legend

[@omarvillanueva1422]

The ice man! Great Player!

[@tennisfitapp]

He was amazing back then!

[@ChristiaanRoest79]

Tennis was way nicer to watch back then

[@vinny6_9]

courts were faster, you can tell by watching these rallies.

[@gi0seppe]

Quanto ho amato questo giocatore...

[@3883melange]

So incredible!!

[@pacochuquiure7807]

I think he retired at 29 years old, Ríos at 27 years old, Rafter at 29 years old and Guga Kuerten had his first hip surgery at 26 years old. Think about it as one of the reasons to the ascent of the Federer generation.

[@nujeru99]

Let me guess...a Djokovic fan??

[@aryomedianus2936]

@@nujeru99 Let me not to guess and saying with certainty , are u Fed's cousin ?

[@vinny6_9]

yup, 30 back then was like 40+ now.

[@nizzam1]

Those rallies against enqvist were out of this world !! 😮

[@shobhitk8992]

Father of Russian Tennis 🙏. Yevgeny Kafelnikov achieved everything in Tennis life. 2 different singles grand slams, ATP World No 1 rank, 1 Davis Cup victory, 4 doubles grand slams, Olympic Gold medallist, and won titles on all 4 surfaces including 6-0 set victory over Sampras, Agassi, Chang, Kuerten and many big shots ❤️

[@ediccartman7252]

6-0 against Sampras was on clay. And in all their following matches he didn't win a set .

[@shobhitk8992]

Kafelnikov had winning records against almost all the players of the ATP tour except Sampras, Agassi, Hewitt, Ivanisevic and Becker, Thomas Johansson and Hrbaty

[@shobhitk8992]

Kafelnikov had winning records against greats like Edberg, Courier, Chang, Rafter, Krajicek,Rios, Greg Rusedski, Henman, Enqvist, Philippusis, Safin, Federer, , Stich, Moya,

[@shobhitk8992]

Great rivalry with Muster and Kuerten as well.

[@shobhitk8992]

Top 10 player for 9 years. Top 5 for 5 years. Former world No.1

[@masters.1000]

Tennis was so good back then...

[@masters.1000]

@Marquis De Sade I prefer the variation of courts and style of players, not the homogenic thing we got now. Since the 2000's we had the best tennis, then the ATP fucked up in 2009.

[@masters.1000]

@계란방구 Says some guy from Asia. Go and eat a dog or cat before calling someone "stupid".

[@masters.1000]

@계란방구 Good luck with the worms and parasites.

[@markchandy6766]

lol have you ever watched a serve and volley match? the whole match? serve and volley is the most monotonous thing in tennis. Either its a winner after 3 shots or a miss. Don't even get me started on the horrendous returns. Tennis now is a mental battle as much as it is a skill battle. A technically weaker Federer in the early 2000's would wipe the floor with these guys, yet a technically superior Federer had to work hard to win against his rivals post 2005.

[@isobeferrero9778]

本当にバランスの良い選手だった。意外なほどバックハンドのスライスを多用している。

[@lugardboy]

Those good Ol days

[@АллаКастулина]

My favourite player of all times

[@Masterdoctorgenius14]

He never celebrated his points.

[@2Majesties]

Thank you for pointing this out. I'm so sick of the fist pumps by today's players after EVERY point.

[@Femaqui07]

@@2Majesties Do you really prefer this cold heart celebration?? thank god tennis evolved

[@2Majesties]

@@Femaqui07 Winning a super tough point or a game or a set, fine. But pumping your fist after every point won as if you need constant praise or reaffirmation to succeed is a bit silly.

[@ohmygoodlord]

This is attitude.

[@mihaidanielescu]

Russian indoctrination

[@Osiris3657]

You know you're old school when you tuck your shirt into your shorts when playing tennis.

[@zainmaulana8871]

My idol

[@armendarizosvaldo26]

Que elegancia la que tenía ese Kafelnikov jajaja

[@tophana]

Ive got a feeling there was different type of tennis about a dozen of yrs ago, wow

[@racephase]

My fav player and Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast is responsible for that :)

[@jaydeeppatil1488]

He might be the only no 1 player in the world who never won a masters title

[@renevazquez2235]

Me gustaba esa cancha que no tiene la línea de los dobles. Se ve mejor

[@egorgeroev3597]

Next Marcelo Rios Please!!!

[@edwinivanrodriguez3769]

Egor Geroev jajaja Marcelo Ríos! He’ll never ever be in the hall of fame

[@jeffhermida4788]

Back when no one slid on hardcourts. today it is an essential part of the game.

[@rchrismeijer3183]

Saw him training at AO His serve had little movement but he fired them like nothing.

[@tungt88]

+rchris Meijer Agassi described Yevgeny's serve as "slippery", and I think that's a good way to put it -- he isn't going to knock you down with it (even when he powered up his serve a bit thanks to one of his coaches, Larry Stefanki), but he disguised his serve quite well, and placed it really, really well (while having to expend very little effort or energy per shot). His steady 2nd serve, and excellent returns, were also crucial to his game. Kafelnikov and Nalbandian, IMHO, played very similar games, in terms of how they opened up the tennis court (Yevgeny was the more dedicated player, which is why he won Slams in both singles and doubles, had an Olympic Gold Medal [beating Kuerten, Philippoussis, and a very determined Tommy Haas in the finals], and overall had a much better career than David). Nalbandian was a bit smarter, a bit better of a tactician, but didn't take the training/conditioning seriously enough (or else he'd be right up there with Kafelnikov) -- David's strokes (although very solid, and great on the backhand side) weren't quite as "energy-efficient" or "easy power" as Kafelnikov's, and I think that's key, too (think Tomas Berdych with 17% less power).

[@Apanblod]

@@tungt88 I also think Kafelnikov was a better all around player shot for shot compared to Nalbandian. He was one of the better doubles players of his time and his net game was definitely more solid than David's.

[@tungt88]

@@Apanblod Yes -- Yevgeny was just a bit better in every dept. except in tactics -- where Nalbandian (in my mind) has the winning edge. Being a "bit better" in everything else, though, translates to a pretty big overall advantage, especially in the "day in/day out" mental toughness grind of the Tour.

[@eyesonuall]

Best Russian player ever!

[@SainyaHokage]

Yevgeny Kalashnikov

[@smashthestateX]

the HD is making me cry of joy! FUKING HATE 480p shit

[@Necrid-Power-Channel]

Yevgeny Kafelnikov красавец!

[@kh2freek]

My man kept it tucked

[@thomasmischke1785]

Did He only play @ the Mercedes cup?

[@tperm1]

Cool video

[@ForeverAneveh]

Grande Eugenio

[@yachtbesitzer5383]

Michael Stich next please

[@twist777hz]

Stich's serve and backhand were works of art. I was so disappointed when he lost to Kafelnikov in the 1996 French Open final.

[@tungt88]

@@twist777hz To be fair, Kafelnikov was like the natural foil to Stich, as his strengths paired up perfectly with Stich's weaknesses, and this showed in their H2H record (8-3 in favor of Yevgeny & 4-1 on clay -- Stich's lone clay win was in Davis Cup, indoors).

[@Bhavyo]

@@tungt88 What u think were Stichs weaknesses? I always thought, his main weakness is only that he couldnt constantly deliver his best level of play. Stich was in so good shape at the FO 96, beating the current champ Thomas Muster in the process, i thought he had a good chance against Kafelnikow. But in the end, he did play good, but had no chance to win the trophy.

[@tungt88]

@@Bhavyo Stich had a very, very thin window for his highest level of play -- the biggest legends of tennis have a very high "average" playing level, and Stich's average playing level was considerably less than his peak playing level. Kafelnikov's average playing level was considerably higher than Michael's, and with an energy-efficient game style, combined with an extremely good return & backhand combo (excellent passing shots/groundstrokes) + excellent net game (doubles), meant that he could put consistent, high-quality pressure on Stich when serving or returning (in best of 3, or best of 5). Basically, he could wear down Stich to where cracks would appear in Stich's (already) somewhat fragile game (Stich generally needed to coast on his serve and win quick points offensively. If that didn't happen, he was in big trouble, unlike BB, who had more durability in groundstroke exchanges). It's almost as if Yevgeny was custom-built to handle Stich. tl;dr -- Stich didn't have a lot of weaknesses, but Kafelnikov could break up Michael's "glass cannon" game to where weaknesses would occur.

[@Bhavyo]

@@tungt88 Good summary! i though think that Stichs A+++ game is a little bit higher than Kafelinikows, but as you said, the overall average performance from Stich was a problem. When not in shape, he really looked sloppy. It was painfull to watch. And, in contrary to Becker, he wasnt that much of a fighter like Becker, who could turn matches around. Stichs A+++ game was a thing of beauty though. On some matches, he was not far away from Sampras Elite Level tennis. But when Sampras had maybe 100 phantastic performances, Stich maybe had 5-10.

[@lucaantonelli1511]

Great feel. Kaf def Djokovic 76 76 76

[@Globox822]

When Novak was a fetus?

[@ronhill1502]

Hahahaha. I agree. Because Djoko could've beat this guy any time after the age of 7.

[@anseinueseima408]

The absolute best player to not win a masters1000, after this tournament has been a thing.

[@king0vdarkness]

wow won 2 slams

[@ediccartman7252]

First Russian player , who won GS

[@cyriljacob4839]

Kafelnikov grunts like the male version of Arantxa Sanchez Vikario.

[@jasonenglisbe6480]

Who is he playing in the points at 0:40 in and 3:22 in?

[@Nounours542]

Thomas Enqvist

[@TokyoSpirit404]

@@Nounours542 Enqvist was one of my favorite players. I enjoyed every time he and Kafelnikov played against each other. And I wanted them to play together in doubles. But Kafelnikov played doubles with Vacek (mostly).

[@glebovsergey9259]

Tokyo Spirit404 He played with Andrey Olkhovskiy in Davis Cup. There were the great matches!!! I remember when Evgheny and Andrey won the match against Woodford and Woodbridge in 1995 in Sankt-Petersburg. It was FANTASTIC!!!

[@Apanblod]

@@TokyoSpirit404 As far as I recall, Enqvist was never a doubles player of any esteem. I don't think he would have been good enough to play with Kafelnikov considering he was one of the best doubles players in the world.

[@POObumpoopo]

SPEED UP THE COURTS AGAIN.

[@YesSirPhil]

This wont help. Only for serve bots. We need old racket string technology back or smaller Tennis rackets. Then it wont be so easy to pass players who attack (the net).

[@Globox822]

Even on fast courts same players win Won’t change much

[@benyang2427]

@@Globox822 Agree. Best players will make adjustments. Slowing down the grass didn't help guys like Davydenko who continued to play horribly on that surface as everything is really moreso about mechanics & footwork than court speed.

[@benyang2427]

@@YesSirPhil I'd disagree with that. Smaller racquets with older technology would only benefit stronger boned players like a Sampras or Becker that generated power with their shoulders & by muscling the ball over. Power isn't necessarily generated by just racquet technology these days but moreso racquet speed/wrist pronation. A good comparison would be baseball...not every player is fortunate to be strong enough like a Barry Bonds or Mark Mcguire whom could muscle the ball into the bleachers...majority of players hit home runs through bat speed.

[@philippoussis1984]

Check out his T-shirt always shoved in shorts. USSR style

[@nalbandian99]

Who is the player with the ugly forehand at 3’25

[@suatkayatennis]

Thomas Enqvist of Sweden

[@nalbandian99]

Suat Kaya thank you !

[@hemil]

Rafa Nadal

[@DanesinTexas]

Kafelnikov vs Sweden 🤣🤣👍👍

[@shobhitk8992]

He was all court player. He could defeat Becker on grass and indoor carpet. He could defeat Moya and Muster on clay. He could defeeat Rafter, Krajicek and Ivanisevic on indoors. He could defeat Agassi on hard courts. Basically everyone he defeated but struggled against Sampras

[@saltnugget]

Kafelkinov my favorite bookworm and weirdo 😁😁😁. Who's wearing a tennis shirt like that lmao

[@giorgioromano898]

Kafelnikov ha criticato pesantemente il bravissimo eccezionale grandissimo straordinario jannich sinner secondo me è molto invidioso del grandissimo sinner dei suoi tantissimi successi del fatto che sia numero 1 del mondo con pieno merito che pena che squallore l invidia è sentimento orribile orrendo denota un animo pessimo negativo

[@maxmaximus4532]

Nobody back there slides on the hard, I wonder why they didn't? Is it bcz of the courts or shoe or nobody practiced sliding on the hard courts

[@tailowalexander4572]

Kalaschnikow

[@gregorsamsa555]

Best player never to won Masters 1000 title

[@julianbobasso4142]

This guy grunted like Djokovic

[@glebovsergey9259]

Julian Bobasso He is much better than Djokovic.

[@ediccartman7252]

@@glebovsergey9259 no, he isn't . He lost too many matches with players , he must've won in a landslide . In general , he was very unstable. He has a very bad statistics with Sampras ( beat him only twice on the clay ) , Agassi, Becker , Ivanisevic. Yes he won pretty many titles , but most of them were small tournaments ( didn't take any Masters ) .

[@cyriljacob4839]

Well oiled Russian machine..

[@NastyaSiberia]

👏👏👏🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺

[@katerinadicamella]

That just shows you how mens tennis has evolved. If this is top ten points of all the matches of an past champion and former no.1, also consistent top 10 player of many years then we're in tennis ultra acceleration. Bc today you can find point or two like that in almost every match outside the top 50, and for sure nearly all of the points in Djokovic's match

[@msmolinski6389]

Probably you haven’t watched the same video as us or you are from 2050

[@vins6814]

lol

[@Morlich209]

you realize it is highly unlikely these are the top 10 points he played in his career right?. These are just 10 good shots that they happened to choose

[@katerinadicamella]

For those have replied, I'm still waiting more until reveals the reason of this comment, it's a actual comment but a bit more of a experiment... I'll wait~

[@chuint459]

What a load of crap you said, my friend

[@alanleandro17]

Marry me kafelnikov

[@pavlevasiljevic3758]

Who

[@gijsvossenaar2364]

Why all players had the same forehand technique

[@nickodiaz]

russian school, the heir is daniil medvedev.

[@ediccartman7252]

Not really, Medvedev's style has nothing common with Kafelnikov's.

[@tomasslapak6966]

This guys really no sells matches like today...

[@BubuBarong]

Any of the fab four would do just as well within a single slam

[@ЕвгенийСергеев-и6л9в]

Как болел за него раньше, и как не нравится его поведение сейчас((

[@ПопугайЯкуб]

да он и раньше был такой же))) но техника у него просто потрясающая и красивая, особенно удар справа, такого замаха нет ни у кого.

[@tperm1]

First as always

[@LazyTheCandy]

what are those forehands so ugly haha, looks like medvedev backhand

[@michelegavelli2479]

He’s very similar to medvedev

[@EDFutbolTennisMX]

medvedev is similar to him

[@glebovsergey9259]

He was much better.

[@tungt88]

@@glebovsergey9259 Kafelnikov with better return of serve, better backhand, and much better volleys (also, much more energy-efficient playstyle). Medvedev with (slightly) better tactics, better movement, and (considerably) better mental toughness. I think Kafelnikov used his serve (somewhat) better than Medvedev does right now. Yevgeny may well be the overall better player when Daniil's career is over, but still too early to tell. I really like both players, though!

[@ediccartman7252]

​​@@tungt88 u wrote this comment 2 years ago, now you will have to confess, that Med is 10 times smarter and mentally stronger, than Yevgeny . There's no way Kafelnikov could've won final of USO against Jokovich . And of course Med's title in Rome: can't imagine Yevgeny rising his technique to the level, when he wins Masters on the surface, he hates most of all. He just doesn't have enough brain for this.

[@alexanderm128]

Tennis is different nowadays. Rafa or Murray would easily reach those lobs AND return an aggressive shot back. Most of current top 50 players would at least run for those lobs and try to return. Sampras? No, impossible to get this lob.

[@aprilludgate4466]

и этот бес дал плюсовую на нишикори?

[@wladurban8520]

Женька был крутым

[@MrBrolu]

My idol

[@ediccartman7252]

Mine too.