Tennis: Kafelnikov keeps Korda at bay

Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the top seed, won the Kremlin Cup title for the first time and secured a place in this week's ATP Tour World Championship in Hannover when he beat Petr Korda, of the Czech Republic, 7-6, 6-4 yesterday in Moscow.

Kafelnikov and Korda were evenly matched until the first-set tie-break, when the 23-year-old Russian put together four consecutive winning points to take the first set in 38 minutes.

In the second set Kafelnikov had the crucial break in the third game when the Czech, who made 43 unforced errors, hit a backhand into the net.

Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman made it a hat-trick of home wins yesterday when he won the Stockholm Open, fighting back to defeat Dutchman Jan Siemerink 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The world No 4, who has also qualified for the ATP finals, found his way back after losing a tentative first set. His trophy was the third in succession for a Swedish player here following two titles for his Davis Cup team-mate Thomas Enqvist in the previous two years.

It was Bjorkman's 67th match win of the year, the most this season on the ATP Tour, and his second successive appearance in a final. He lost last Sunday to Pete Sampras in the Paris Open.

Lindsay Davenport ended Serena Williams' run in the Ameritech Cup in Chicago, beating the 16-year-old sister of Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final. Serena Williams, ranked No 304 when she entered the tournament as a wild card, had won three matches, including back-to- back victories over Mary Pierce and Monica Seles.

Williams had to take an injury time-out in the fourth game of the second set to have a sprained left ankle retaped although she refused to use the injury as a excuse. She later dropped out of the doubles event with her sister because of the problem. Saturday's match was only the 15th of her professional career.