MOSCOW, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Top seeds Martina Hingis and Yevgeny Kafelnikov each try to snap an eight-month title drought this week at the $2.19 million Kremlin Cup tennis event at Moscow's Olympic Stadium.
Hingis and Kafelnikov have not won titles since February. She claimed her third tournament of the year at the Dubai Open on Feb. 25 and he earned his only title of the year at the Marseille Open one week earlier.
Last year, Hingis defeated doubles partner Anna Kournikova in the women's final while Kafelnikov topped David Prinosil to claim his fourth straight Kremlin Cup crown.
Despite her failure to a win a title of late, Hingis has remained No. 1 in the world. She is playing in her first tournament since reaching the semifinals of the U.S. Open last month and has won 11 of her last 14 matches.
Hingis, who turned 21 on Sunday, will face a diluted draw after U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and world No. 3 Lindsay Davenport withdrew last week. The Americans pulled out of the tournament because of security fears following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
