Blog by Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Posted on September 25, 2009
Well, here I am back in Paris, the city where I won my first Grand Slam title back in 1996. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but Paris is also where I won the Davis Cup in 2002 with the Russian team, and they were the last real glory days of my career so this city is so special for me. I know it quite well and I still know the places that I went while I was on the main Tour - all the restaurants and stuff like that. In a way it’s weird - no-one recognises me now around here but I’m not too worried about that, it’s just great to be here competing with the guys. I saw Guy Forget, who is also the tournament director here, in the locker room earlier and I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to play here, because it really is a privilege. The club is so beautiful and all the people here are treating us with so much respect, it’s wonderful.
So far I’ve won one match and lost one, which isn’t so bad. Beating Thomas Muster today felt pretty good, although I was so tired afterwards I had to go and take a nap in the locker rooms! I’m still not quite in the shape I want to be yet, but I’m getting there. After playing in Eindhoven last year for the first time in over five years, I realised how good these guys still are. Stefan Edberg is 43 years old and he’s still as fit as he was 20 years ago and that’s given me a goal to aim for. I have promised myself that I will get myself in the best possible shape for the future, because I hate to disappoint myself and the fans by losing. But I can’t remember ever beating Thomas Muster on Tour before, he was like my nemesis, so I’m feeling pretty good today.
Being in Paris has made me think about that Roland Garros title I won, and I can’t believe it was 13 years ago! Certainly a lot has happened since then but I wouldn’t change anything because I know what I’ve been through to get success in my life and it was a very hard journey. I admit I have made some mistakes which, with the experience I have now I might not have made, but I’m quite happy with what I have accomplished as a tennis player, so it was all worth it. Especially now that I’m back playing competitive tennis. I always said throughout my career that I needed to set some goals and one of my goals at the time was to win a Grand Slam and I was overjoyed when I did that. And because that happened in Paris, it is always going to be special to me.
Yevgeny