LONDON -- He has probably accumulated more air miles than any other player on the men's tour.

	The past three seasons, Yevgeny Kafelnikov is the only player to win more than 60 matches.

He is the Olympic champion, was the first Russian to win a Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1996 and became the 16th player to be world No. 1 in April 1999.

But Yevgeny Kafelnikov is not satisfied with his $22 million in prize money and 26 singles titles. What he wants above all is to lead Russia to victory in the Davis Cup.

Twice, in 1994 and 1995, his dream died at the final hurdle but Kafelnikov has the best chance of his life this week when Russia plays champion France for the title.

"It would really be something, it would make me the happiest person on this planet if only I could achieve my lifelong dream," he said last month. "It would make my tennis career a complete one."

Until recently, Kafelnikov carried the Russian challenge almost single-handedly but the arrival of Marat Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion and now ranked third in the world, has eased his load and made Russia the favorite.

Kafelnikov has one of the most varied games on the circuit, but he has an astonishing ability to play hot and cold, perhaps caused by his unrivaled pursuit of prize money.

Kafelnikov first made his mark in the tennis world as Russia was struggling to overcome the collapse of the Soviet Union and financial security was at the top of his priorities.

Last year, was the seventh year in eight that Kafelnikov had played the most singles and doubles matches (142) on the men's tour. He also was the only player to win more than 60 matches in each of the past three seasons.

His workaholic urge meant that after winning the Australian Open in 1999, he flew out of Melbourne in the early evening for his next tournament in Marseille.

But this constant criss-crossing of the globe caused a worrying number of early-round defeats that led critics to doubt his commitment to lesser tournaments.

His up-and-down form led to a ludicrous situation when he finally reached the No. 1 spot.

Kafelnikov had a stellar start to 1999, losing just two matches in 18, before running out of gas. He failed to win a match for nearly two months but had still earned enough points to topple Pete Sampras from the top spot.

Then in 2000, he added an Olympic gold medal to his resume by beating Thomas Haas of Germany in five sets in the Sydney final. That would have been the highlight of most players' careers, but Kafelnikov, now ranked 27, wants to print his name indelibly in Russian history by guiding his nation to the Davis Cup title.

In Davis Cup play in 1994, Kafelnikov, playing in front of his home fans in Moscow, went down in five sets to Magnus Larsson to give Sweden a 2-0 lead. The next year those same Moscow fans saw Kafelnikov thrashed in three sets by Sampras to give the United States a winning 3-1 lead.

But the French do not possess a player of Sampras' standard and the clay surface at the Bercy stadium in Paris holds no fears for Safin or Kafelnikov.

Former president Boris Yeltsin, a keen tennis player, is due to travel to Paris this weekend to lend his support and if Kafelnikov achieves his goal, the 28-year-old has vowed to hang up his racket for good.

"That would be a really fitting finale for me," he said. "It would sort of complete the circle and allow me to leave the game with my conscience at peace."