Kafelnikov, Rafter see No. 1 hopes dashed at Champions Cup

INDIAN WELLS, California (Ticker) -- Two players with sights set on the No. 1 ranking in men's tennis were bounced from
the second round today at the $2.2 million Champions Cup, 1999's first Super 9 event.

Second-seeded Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who came within one match victory of the top spot last month, was eliminated by
Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, 0-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, in a battle of former French Open champions.

"I just lost focus for a little while," Kafelnikov said. "I thought he (Kuerten) was nervous in the beginning. That's why he couldn't
play his normal game. But then he kind of regrouped in the beginning of the second set, although I give him a chance. I gave him
one chance to come back into the match, that was good enough."

Patrick Rafter continued his losing ways as Germany's Nicolas Kiefer outdueled the fifth-seeded Australian, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6,
7-5.

Kafelnikov, the No. 2 player in the world, had to reach the semifinals this week to overtake American Pete Sampras for the
top spot in the ATP rankings. Two weeks ago, the Russian was overcome with nerves and lost to Thomas Johansson of
Sweden in the quarterfinals at the Guardian Direct Cup in London.

"I'm not disappointed because I didn't get to No. 1 this week, but I am disappointed I lost," said Kafelnikov, who has never
won a match here in two visits. "There are only nine of these events a year. You want to play them as well as you can."

Rafter committed 41 unforced errors today and was broken in the final game of the match as he suffered the third loss in his last
four matches. The two-time defending U.S. Open champion needed to win the title this week to pass Sampras for the top spot.

Johansson, the 16th seed, also failed to reach the third round as Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands dumped him, 6-3, 6-3.

Three seeds went the distance in reaching the second round. No. 11 Todd Martin of the United States got past Australia's
Todd Woodbridge, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2; No. 12 Karol Kucera of Slovakia held off Byron Black of Zimbabwe, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; and
No. 14 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia rallied past Spain's Alberto Berasategui, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Tonight, seventh seed Tim Henman of Britain rolled past Morocco's Hicham Arazi, 6-3, 6-3 in a first-round match. Henman is
coming off a first-round loss to Jan Kroslak in London two weeks ago.

In unseeded matchups of note, American Jan-Michael Gambill, who won his first career title at Scottsdale, Arizona on Sunday,
downed Czech Jiri Novak, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). Australian teenager Lleyton Hewitt, who lost to Gambill in Sunday's final, defeated
fellow Adelaide native Mark Woodforde, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, in a rematch of last Saturday's Scottsdale semifinal.

Tonight, two-time champion Jim Courier of the United States swept past Spain's Fernando Vicente, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Vicente
was a late replacement for Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui, who withdrew.

The winner this week picks up at least 370 ATP Tour points and the first prize of $361,000.