I believe we are talking about 2 different issues. The first issue - coaching- should be unrelated to betting. There are arguments on both sides of the issue of coaching but whether it is permitted or not it should not be part of the betting argument.

 The second issue - betting- is extremely complicated.  Clearly the players and their entourage should be prohibited from betting on tennis but how can you prevent the rest of the world from wagering on tennis. The tennis powers have no control on the gambling powers of the world.  Complicating things are the fact that tennis is an individual sport while other sports like basketball, soccer, football, and baseball where there is heavy betting are team sports.  Thus it is far more difficult for an individual to control a game.  Boxing, which is similar to tennis in that it is also an individual sport, has been haunted by gambling suspicions forever.

 Bottom line is that the tennis powers and the players have to control the betting issue. Wozniacki may have had nothing but good intentions to default that match, but the perception created with the fans is unacceptable. The case of the Williams Sisters in Palm Desert should have taught everybody.  Perception turns into reality. You can deny all you want that your intentions are honorable (and they may be) but if you create an environment to the outside world that allows them to draw a dishonorable perception then it behooves you to alter your behavior.

 The tennis rules committee should consider these cases and create rules which prohibit what Wozniacki did.  For example a "lucky loser" rule where a player who is unable to continue in the draw is replaced by a "lucky loser".   It would also give the fans a better deal as they would never be faced with the issue of going to a tournament and having no match to watch.

Betting on tennis matches is a problem for the sport, even those nickel and dime bets some Italian players were involved with.   Still shocks me there are folks out there placing bets on 1st round small WTA events.  Makes you wonder what happens come Wimbledon finals time.

 

I still think the whole WTA coaching rule debacle just has to go. Period.   And like I said, Wozniacki is a young, naive, up and comer. I hope she doesn't suffer any penalty. At the same time, can someone have a talk with her and her father about not ever giving away a match like she did in Luxembourg? 

 

Now about Mr Kafelnikov I never said he wouldn't/shouldn't get in the HoF. I do question whether he'll be for sure a first balloter. I would have thought he was already eligible. But I don't believe his name is on the 2010 list - but I could be wrong. 

 

Popularity, or perceived popularity has a lot to do with getting into the HoF. Gabriela Sabatini is a perfect example. A one time Slam champion, she reached 2 other finals, ranked as high as #3, won 2 WTA Championships, and more than two dozen tournaments, had wins over every significant player she faced. A Wimbledon doubles champ. An Olympic silver medalist. Yes she has very good credentials. So do tohers no in the HoF. Gaby was very popular, and that's why she breezed into the Hall. Yannick Noah, whose credentials are even more suspect than Sabatini's, also got right in.

 

So Kafelnikov will get into the HoF. But, I might bet a few rubles he doesn't get in on the first ballot. There's lots that goes on behind the scenes in the world of tennis.  Perception is not always reality. And reality can be skewered by the folks in power.

Kafelnikovs career.....

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

1993-Reached first ATP QF in Barcelona (d. Stich, first Top 10 win)...Won first Challenger singles title in Rogaska and doubles in Dresden (w/Davids)...1994-In Adelaide, defeated Volkov in first all-Russian final in Open Era...Also won titles in Copenhagen and Long Island...Reached Hamburg final...Helped his country to first Davis Cup final with 7-1 singles mark...Won four doubles titles...1995-Won four singles and four doubles titles...The first Russian ever to finish in Top 10 and first player since E. Sanchez in 1990 to finish in Top 10 in singles and doubles...Helped his country to Davis Cup final vs. U.S. for second consecutive year, where Russians lost 3-2...Beat No. 1 Agassi in Roland Garros QF before losing to eventual champion Muster in first Slam SF...Repeated title in Long Island (d. Siemerink)...The first Russian to qualify for ATP World Championship...In doubles, won four titles with three partners...1996-Became first player on tour to finish in the Top 5 in singles and doubles since John McEnroe in 1989...Tied a career-best with four singles titles (in a tour-high 10 finals) and won a career-high five doubles titles (in eight finals)...Made biggest breakthrough by winning singles (d. Stich) and doubles titles (w/Vacek) at Roland Garros...Became first Russian to win a Grand Slam title and first player to win both titles in Paris since Ken Rosewall in 1968...Became first player to compete in more than 100 singles matches in consecutive seasons since Lendl in 1981-82...Only player during year to reach singles finals on four surfaces (carpet, clay, hard, grass)...1997-Captured titles on three different surfaces: in Halle (grass), New Haven (hard) and Moscow (carpet)...Closed season by reaching final of ATP World Championship (l. to Sampras)...Missed three months of season after fracturing a finger on his right hand during a gym workout on Jan. 9...Won Grand Slam doubles titles at Roland Garros and US Open (w/Vacek) and finished No. 5 in Team Rankings (w/Vacek)...1998-Won three singles titles and finalist in three others while winning two doubles titles...Led ATP in total matches played (150)...Missed first month of action due to a skiing accident on Dec. 28, '97 in Austria where he suffered left knee injury...1999-Finished a year-end best No. 2, highlighted by becoming No. 1 on ATP Rankings in May and capturing his second career Grand Slam title at Australian Open (d. Enqvist)...Won three titles and at least 55 matches for sixth consecutive season and led circuit in total matches played (136) for fifth time in last six years...Captured title in Rotterdam (d.Henman)...Took over No. 1 on May 3 and held position for six weeks...On July 26, began first of 16 consecutive weeks played in Kitzbuehel and advanced to SF...Following week, reached final at TMS Montreal (l. to Johansson)...During five-tournament hard court stretch, compiled an 18-5 mark with final in Washington and SF at US Open (l. to Agassi)..Closed regular season by winning his third straight Moscow title (d. B. Black)...In doubles, won title in Barcelona (w/Haarhuis)...2000-Played in most singles and doubles matches (156)...Played in over 100 singles matches for third time (101) in career...Reached his third career Grand Slam final at Australian Open (l. to Agassi) and final at London-indoor (l. to Rosset)...Won gold medal in singles at Sydney Olympics with five-set victory over Haas....Helped his country to its first ATP World Team Champ. final in Dusseldorf (l. to Slovak Republic)...Reached QF at Roland Garros and collected title in Moscow for fourth consecutive year (d. Prinosil), had his 23-match winning streak in Russian tournaments come to an end with SF loss to Hrbaty in St. Petersburg and reached final in Stockholm (l. to Johansson)...In doubles, won his 20th career title at TMS Monte Carlo (w/W. Ferreira) to become 10th player in Open Era to win 20 singles and doubles titles during his career...Earned a career-high $3,755,599...2001 - The ATP's workhorse played in most singles and doubles matches (142) for seventh time in eight years... Won two ATP titles in three finals...Also compiled consistent Grand Slam results by reaching QF or better in three of four tournaments for second time in his career (1995)...Opened first two months of season with an 18-5 match record, winning title in Marseille (d. Grosjean) reaching SF in Milan and QF in Doha and Australian Open...At ATP World Team Championship in Dusseldorf led his country to final (l. to Australia) with three match wins...Continued success at Roland Garros with QF, losing to eventual champion Kuerten for second straight year...His best stretch came from beginning of US Open until rest of season as he compiled a 27-7 record...He advanced to SF at Flushing Meadows (d. Kuerten in QF, l. to Hewitt), reached final in Tashkent (l. to Safin), won his fifth straight title in Moscow (d. Kiefer) and reached consecutive SF at TMS Stuttgart and St. Petersburg and final at TMS Paris (l. to Grosjean)...Closed season by reaching SF at Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney (l. to Grosjean) after going 3-0 in round robin play...Went 4-1 in five-set matches during year)...Only player to win 60-plus matches in each of last three seasons...Won an ATP-best 29 indoor matches (29-8) and went 13-0 vs. left-handed players...Finished No. 3 in aces with a career-high 669...Compiled a personal-best 44-17 record on hard, 11-8 on clay, 9-1 on carpet and 5-2 on grass...2002-Captured two ATP singles titles and won his fourth Grand Slam doubles crown during an up-and-down campaign...He extended his streak of having won at least one title for nine straight years, longest active on tour...He played well for his country, leading Russia to Davis Cup title (d. France 3-2) and ATP World Team Championship runner-up showing in Dusseldorf (l. to Argentina)...In June, captured grass court title in Halle (d. Kiefer) and finished campaign by winning 22 of his final 33 matches...In September, won Tashkent for first time (d. Voltchkov in F) despite playing with a dislocated fourth finger in left hand...Followed with 8-6 in fifth set victory (saved two match points) over Gaudio in Davis Cup SF in Moscow...After winning 4:10 marathon, next day lost a 6:20 doubles battle to Arnold-Nalbandian (w/Safin) in longest doubles match in Davis Cup history (19-17 in fifth)...Had a 3-2 singles mark in Davis Cup play and went 3-0 in five-set matches (17-2 since 1998)...During European indoor circuit, had his Moscow winning streak of 28 straight matches snapped with SF loss to Schalken...In doubles, won his 25th career title (fourth Grand Slam) at Roland Garros (w/Haarhuis)...One of eight players in Open Era to win 25 singles and 25 doubles titles.

 

Changs career

 

1987-Became the youngest player at 15 years, 6 months to win a main draw match at the US Open (d. McNamee) after taking a wild card...Also the youngest player to reach a tour SF (at 15 years, 7 months) in Scottsdale...Won the Las Vegas Challenger (d. J. Levine)...1988-Captured his first Tour title in San Francisco (d. Kriek) at 16 years, 7 months...1989-Became the youngest Roland Garros and Grand Slam champion (17 years, 3 months)...His thrilling five-set win for the title over Edberg was coupled with his RD 16 win over No. 1 Lendl, in which he served underhanded at one point after cramping but won 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in a 4-hour, 37-minute match...Became the first American male to win the Roland Garros since Tony Trabert in 1955...After Roland Garros victory, climbed from 19 to No. 6 and later to 5 on Aug. 7, making him the youngest player ever to rank in the Top 5...1990-Began the year with a fractured hip...Reached the QF in Tokyo and Roland Garros...Beat Wheaton, Agassi, Sampras and Jay Berger to claim the Canadian Open title, his lone title of the year...Helped the U.S. to Davis Cup title...1991-Won his only title of the year in Birmingham (d. Raoux)... 1992-Won TMS Indian Wells and Miami...Reached US Open SF, losing to Edberg in a 5-hour, 26-minute marathon (longest in Open history)...Qualified for ATP Tour World Championship...1993-Had five titles in seven finals...Enjoyed most of his success in Asia, winning four of five titles...Won all four matches to lead the U.S. to the Peugeot ATP Tour World Team Championship, and competed in his second consecutive year-ending World Championship...1994-Won six titles in nine finals...Repeated title efforts in Jakarta (d. Rikl), Cincinnati (d. Edberg) and Beijing (d. Jarryd) and won for the first time in Philadelphia (d. Haarhuis), Hong Kong (d. Rafter) and Atlanta (d. Martin)...Qualified for his third consecutive ATP Tour World Championship... 1995-Reached his first ATP Tour World Championship final (d. Sampras in SF, l. to Becker) in Frankfurt ...Repeated titles in Hong Kong (d. Bjorkman), Atlanta (d. No. 1 Agassi) and Beijing (d. Furlan)... Compiled an 18-1 record in Asia...En route to the French final, defeated Stich in 4th RD and two-time defending champion Bruguera in SF...Won titles in Tokyo and Beijing...1996-Joined Sampras and Ivanisevic as Top 10 finishers on the ATP Tour for fifth consecutive year...Won TMS Indian Wells (d. Haarhuis) and added titles during North America summer hard court circuit in Washington (d. W. Ferreira) and Los Angeles (d. Krajicek)...Reached his first Australian Open final (l. to Becker) and closed Grand Slam season by advancing to his first US Open final (l. to Sampras)...Jumped to career-high No. 2 ranking after Flushing Meadows and a victory would have put him at No. 1...Had 50-9 record on hard courts...Qualified for ATP Tour World Championship for fifth consecutive year...1997-Captured five ATP Tour titles in as many finals and ranked No. 2 most of year...Began first four months with a 28-4 record...Put together win streaks of 11 and 10...Reached SF at Australian and US Opens...Helped U.S. into Davis Cup final with victories over Rafter and Philippoussis in SF tie...Qualified for ATP Tour World Championship for sixth consecutive year...1998-Extended streak of winning at least one title to 11 straight years, longest active streak on Tour, with titles in Boston and Shanghai...Plagued by left knee and right wrist injuries during the year, resulting in first finish outside Top 20 since 1988...1999-His streak of winning at least one ATP title for 11 consecutive years came to an end with his No. 50 ranking...His best results were SF in San Jose (l. to Mamiit), Shanghai (l. to Norman) and TMS Paris (l. to Safin), where he qualified into main draw...Also a QF at TMS Cincinnati (d. Safin, Pioline, No. 8 Corretja)...2000-Won ATP title in Washington (d. Gambill) and joined Agassi as only active players to win a title in three different decades...Also reached final in Auckland (l. to Norman)...Best clay court event of season came in Atlanta, reaching SF (l. to Ilie)...At Roland Garros, lost to eventual champion Kuerten in four sets...At Wimbledon, lost to Popp 8-6 in fifth set in 2nd RD...On Asian circuit, reached QF in Hong Kong (l. to Henman) and SF in Shanghai (l. to Prinosil)...Reached 600 career match wins milestone in February...2001- Finished outside Top 50 for first time since he was a 15-year-old in 1987…Made 14th consecutive Roland Garros appearance and lost to Roddick in five-set 2nd RD match…Best result of season came in Washington where he reached SF…After making his 15th consecutive US Open appearance, lost in 1st RD for first time in his career (l. to Lapentti)…Was forced to retire from a match (937 match streak) for first time in his career in 2nd RD encounter against Andrew Ilie in Hong Kong with back spasms.

 So if its a popularity contest America and Asia vs. Russia, Chang gets in, if it's on tennis merit, I put Kafelnikov in way faster than Chang

Check out a Kafelnikov match against Federer on youtube when Kafelnikov was in his prime and was an experienced and wily veteran and Roger was just a green kid, fresh out of the juniors. Kafelnikov just jerks Roger left and right and Roger is just totally confused and getting POed at himself. Roger must have thought to himself: "Welcome to the big leagues". It is a forgotten match. I found it by accident on youtube while looking at some of Roger's incredible shotmaking videos.

Here is a trivia question about Russian tennis. Let's see who the trivia studs are. Chris Evert won at least two GS doubles titles with a Russian player. Who was the Russian player? Remember we are talking ladies doubles, not mixed doubles so please don't guess Alex Metrevelli.  

Kafelnikov used to wear those banana colored shoes. He must have been paid big bucks to put on those things. The teenis hall of fame should not let itself be like the baseball hall of fame where anyone whoever wore a Yankees uniform gets in. They have .250 hitters in Cooperstown who played for the Yankees.

Working on the trivia question....

The baseball hall of fame is a joke now. Nobody takes it serioiusly. Phil Rizzuto was a .260 hitter and he is in it. Red Ruffing was a half way decent pitcher, that's all and he is in it. I may be wrong but I think Whitey Ford is in it and he was just a good pitcher who played on teams that scored 8 runs a game. But back to tennis: This question is a matter of opinion: Who was better in his prime: Andrei Chesnokov or Yavgeny Kafelnikov. BTW, Chessy was known as the Soviet Don Johnson, for those of us who were around during the heyday of Miami Vice.     

Chesnikov or Kafelnikov? you have got to be kidding.....

Wasn't Chesnikov one of those players who lived in Monaco and spent more time in the Monte Carlo nightclubs than on the tennis court?

I saw him once on an outer court at the US Open lose to Jaime Yzaga. Jaime made him run and exhausted him. That Monte Carlo nightlife may have made the difference in the last set. Jaime was all over the court and Chesnikov was sweating buckets and keeling over.

Hairload

 

I don't get your point about Change v Kafelnikov in terms of HoF.

 

Still, I wanna know if Kafelnikov has been out of the game for 5 years now. If so, he has already been eligible. Like I said 2x already, Kafelnikov will get in, I just don't know if he gets in on first ballot. 

 

And yes, the HoF is a popularity contest to some degree (see Noah, Yannick for a perfect example).  Kafelnikov didn't win too many beauty or Mr Nice Guy pageants in his career.

 

As for the trivia question, have folks so quickly forgotten about Olga Morozova? The mother (or Godmother or Grandmother) of Russian women's tennis! And Olga and Metreveli did reach the Wimbledon mixed final together in 1970.

My point is, if you are comparing careers, Kafelnikov had a better career than Chang, more majors in singles and doubles, # 1 ranking, a true Davis Cup winner.Chang was on a DC team that won, but he didnt play in the finals. Olympics..

Chang won half of his tournaments in Asia when no one was going there..

So, if the hall is a popularity contest, it doesnt mean more to me than that wax museum they have in London and Times Square..

I think the only thing smart the Tennis HOF does is they rarely put 2 all timers in the same year, so maybe Kafelnikov gets in, in the next few years..What the basketball hall did this year was wrong, Jordan should have gone in alone, because in a few months nobody will remember who went in with him and Stockton. Malone and David Robinson deserved to be remembered

Kafelnikov is definitely more credentialed than Chang for HOF. 

There are gonna be tons of Russians coming in and even without a major pro title they need to consider also give Hall consideration to Kournikova for triggering the wave of great Russian donnas. 

Moroseava, can't spell her name but I remember the angry face, black hair, and one grip game.  She was around during the V. Wade era.

Yep, It was indeed Olga Morozova. I believe that she and Chris Evert won the Wimbledon doubles in 1974 and then Chris defeated her in the finals of the ladies singles. They also won the French Open doubles that year. But I am yet to get some answers on the question of who was better in his prime: Chesnokov or Kafelnikov? 

You cannot be serious about Chesnokov and Kafelnikov in the same breath...Ches made one semi in a major, Paris 89 and lost to Chang..Career high rank was 9...He did beat Wilander twice in Paris, once in 86 where I think Wilander was either getting married or just got married, and in 89 when Wilander was starting to lose interest..

I am not sure if there is too much betting on tewnnis matches, however I can say that betting on women's tennis is very difficult. ALl bets are cancelled if a player retires before the end of a match. Last week women were quittting left and right due to "injuries". Notice they always retire due to injury when they are losing, never when ahead. Caroline was injured for sure, Safina was not nor was Azarinka.