http://www.atptennis.com/
October 6, 2002
Mathieu's Talent Ripens in Moscow

==The 20-year-old Frenchman wins his first ATP title at the Kremlin Cup.==

France's brightest young prospect Paul-Henri Mathieu capped a remarkable
week in Moscow by claiming his first ATP singles title, and becoming the
first qualifier of 2002 to wind up with the champion's trophy.

In Sunday's Kremlin Cup final, the 20-year-old star soared past Sjeng
Schlaken of The Netherlands 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, claiming the last eight games
in a row. Schalken only a day earlier had halted Yevgeny Kafelnikov's
incredible 28-win streak in Moscow, preventing the Russian from earning
his sixth consecutive title.

Having played three qualifying matches just for a spot in the main draw,
Mathieu ended up winning eight consecutive matches in Moscow, and playing
a stunning 22 sets to notch his first big career win. The young Paris
resident also earned the distinction as the first French player and first
qualifer to conquer the Kremlin Cup. The last time a qualifier hoisted
any ATP trophy was last year, when Albert Portas won the Tennis Masters
Hamburg title.

Mathieu has long been touted as the next great French hope, especially
after he won the 2000 junior Roland Garros title (defeating Spain's Tommy
Robredo in the final). And although he had only reached two ATP quarterfinals
prior to this week, he's shown glimmers of his oustanding talent this
year, making a run to the fourth round at Roland Garros, where he was
edged in five sets by Andre Agassi. This week in Moscow, the young
Frenchman's game truly clicked together, as he fought past veterans Jiri
Novak and Rainer Schuettler before shocking top seed Marat Safin in the
semifinals on the Russian's home turf.

What the Players Said:

Mathieu: "It's hard to realize that I won my first ATP title. It does not
happen very often that a qualifier wins an event. I've been waiting for
this moment for a long time. This is what you play tennis for."

"This is the first time I come to Russia. I don't know why the crowd was
behind me, maybe because I was the younger player."

"The first set was tough. I was nervous but then again I was always losing
the first set here before winning so I knew I could come back. In the second
and third sets I played my best tennis of the week, even better than against
(Marat) Safin in the semifinals."

"I think I can improve even further and then I will see how good I can be.
Right now I want to win as many matches as possible in the last two or three
events I play this year. I have a tournament in Lyon next week so I cannot
celebrate too much tonight!"

Schalken: "I was the favorite today, but I knew he could be dangerous. If he
could beat (Jiri) Novak and (Marat) Safin was warned before the match. I was
actually happy to get away with winning the first set because I felt I wasn't
quick enough on my feet today. After the first set he just had an energy
explosion. I'm of course disappointed to lose after the big win against
(Yevgeny) Kafelnikov, but he was just the better player today. It's a pretty
good effort to win a tournament."