Kafelnikov’s countryman, Mikhail Youzhny, has reached the title round of the ongoing Swiss Open by getting better of Victor Hanescu of Romania in the semi final match played yesterday. Youzhny won the match in the straight sets by 6-3, 6-3.
This is the first time that Youzhny has made his way into the final of Swiss Open. He will take on the winner of the match between Robin Haase of Netherlands and Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the final.
The tickets of the final match were already sold out even before the start of the tournament. That’s because the spectators were thinking that the two local lads Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka would make it to the final. But, it wasn’t to be. Both those star players were surprisingly eliminated at early stages.
So, the final match is not going to be as prestigious as it was anticipated to be, but, the organizers are hopeful that a fair amount of spectators will turn up for that game.
Talking to the reporters after securing victory over Hanescu, Youzhny said, “I had reached the final 4 here a couple of years back. It’s fantastic that I have gone one step further this time around.”
“I think I was not at my best today. After yesterday’s match, I was a bit exhausted and that reflected in my performance.”
“I think there were a lot of unforced errors committed by both Victor and me. It’s nice that I eventually came on top, but, I will have to improve.”
If Youzhny manages to win the title here in Gstaad, he will become the first Russian player to do that in the last 18 years.
The last Russian player who had lifted the trophy in Gstaad was Kafelnikov. He had done that in 1995.