Medvedev Still the Talk of Paris

PARIS — The tale of lost--and regained--love disappeared long before the first dust of clay kicked up at the French Open this year.

So, post-Anke Huber, what was Andrei Medvedev going to say now?

Any thoughts or concerns Medvedev may have turned, God forbid, boring disappeared as soon as he sat down in the interview room at Roland Garros on Saturday.

He didn’t even need a question to get going after his 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 third-round victory against Agustin Calleri of Argentina. Medvedev, a French Open finalist last year, looked around the room and it was open mike time.

“I’ll give you a Norman-style press conference,” he said.

No, Medvedev was not talking about golfer Greg Norman.

“Tennis questions only,” he said, imitating third-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden, his opponent in the fourth round. “Playing very good, my forehand is good, backhand is good.”

One of the few decent developments in the aftermath of the serious damage in the men’s draw--the loss of the top two seeded players, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the first four days--is that Medvedev is still talking, still playing in those same nutty plaid shots he wore in ’99.

“Has nothing to do with good luck,” he said of the shorts. “In fact, I have only two of them left, so it’s pretty dangerous. What’s going to happen if I lose one of them in the laundry or something?”

Other than the new girlfriend, he is taking the same path as last year, saying: “I’m a little bit different man, a little bit older.”

Last year, others grabbed the headlines and Medvedev proceeded quietly through the draw until the final few days when he started talking about how his renewed relationship with Huber completed him.

Of course, since he went out in a dramatic five-set final to Agassi last year, Medvedev lost his element of surprise in Paris. Through the hard-court season, he recorded only two victories in 2000 and his best clay-court result was the semifinals at Estoril, Portugal.

But his difficult times have not hurt his quote quotient.

On Agassi’s second-round departure:

“Somehow, the Americans sort of disappoint me,” Medvedev, of the Ukraine, said. “I mean, what do they think? They think they can play one tournament before, come to the French and win it again? They pull out from Rome, from Monte Carlo, from Hamburg. Then they come to Paris hoping to win. I think it’s silly.

“It may work once by accident, but never consistently. It’s strange for me.”

On tournament routines:

“In fact, I’m superstitious about not being superstitious, so I wouldn’t do the same things because it’s silly,” he said. “You become dependent on things that have nothing to do with your tennis. Why should I eat the same food or why would I go to the same restaurant or wear the same shorts?”

On the tour’s ranking system:

“I don’t know why they did it. We’re not [auto racing’s] Formula One,” he said. “You know that Norman is No. 1 because everybody’s talking about it. But actually nobody cares from the players.

“The only one who coped well with this is Yevgeny [Kafelnikov] because he’s fourth in the [Champions] race and fourth in the ranking [entry system]. That’s the only guy. He’s a legend, anyway.”

Speaking of Norman, he was not bothered about Medvedev’s good-natured teasing. He was more distressed about being dispatched to the hinterlands, Court 10.

“It’s strange they put me on Court 10,” he said. “Because I’m the highest seed left and I’m the only guy playing on the outside court today. I don’t know if they like me in France or if the people don’t like me.”

The outside location didn’t appear to bother Norman’s game as he defeated Sargis Sargsian, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. He has not lost a set in three matches.

In other men’s third-round action, only one seeded player was eliminated. Albert Costa of Spain defeated seventh-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, in 3 hours 9 minutes. It was not considered a huge upset, considering Costa’s clay-court abilities. He reached the French Open quarterfinals in 1995 and the fourth round in ’98.

Also losing was the man who eliminated Agassi in the second round, Karol Kucera of Slovakia. Franco Squillari of Argentina beat Kucera, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

French Open at a Glance

* Weather: Sunny with some cloudy spells. Temperature 77 degrees.

* Attendance: 31,204.

* Stat of the Day: 136--Number of games Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov has played to reach the fourth round.

FEATURED MATCHES

MEN

* Fernando Vicente, Spain, vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (4), Russia

* Gustavo Kuerten (5), Brazil, vs. Nicolas Lapentti (11), Ecuador

* Roger Federer, Switzerland, vs. Alex Corretja (10), Spain

WOMEN

* Martina Hingis (1), Switzerland, vs. Ruxandra Dragomir, Romania

* Monica Seles (3) vs. Amelie Mauresmo (13), France

* Anke Huber (11), Germany, vs. Venus Williams (4).

* Conchita Martinez (5), Spain, vs. Ai Sugiyama, Japan

* Asa Carlsson, Sweden, vs. Mary Pierce (6), France