U.S. OPEN

September 9, 1993

Andrei Medvedev

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: It was a little difficult to get into the court. But it didn't take a lot of time to do that, the problem was with my game, it was the problem where I play.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I don't remember that he played -- that, you know, with confidence, it was his kind of game, the way he plays now he should have.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I would say that his game is just difficult for me to play. He's the kind of player I don't like to play against, and to beat him for me I have to show always my best, and I was -- my best game and I was far away from my best game.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: It was a bad day, I guess.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: He can play everything; he has good serves, good -- he can play a baseline as well as volley, he can come in and he likes the guys who don't play with lots of spin and I don't play with lots of spin, so it makes his game easier to play and it makes his game more difficult to play against him.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: You know, it was good for me but I'm not satisfied. I'm far away from satisfied. Because even I got in the quarterfinals, I never played a good game. I never played one good match, that's what I feel, and yeah, I mean, I played very good matches, don't get me wrong but I never felt that I played the best tennis and this is what I'm trying to get, I'm trying to enjoy the game and I wasn't enjoying very much, because I didn't feel the shots and being in the quarterfinals, yes, but losing in the quarterfinals, yes, I'm very disappointed.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Who has the best chance? Pete Sampras. And I will say the final will be Sampras/Pioline, but it is a Grand Slam tournament and in the U.S. Open you have so many sensations already and you never know what's going to happen in the next matches. But normally if it develops the way it should, it will be Sampras/Pioline. But again, you never know. Pioline has lots of confidence right now and he's the kind of player that can beat anyone.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I felt that I have a chance to stay in the match. I didn't feel that I could win, but I feel that at least I can keep up, but at 2-1 when I couldn't break him Love-30 and then I lost my serve on 40-15, and that was -- it wasn't the end of the game, but it was a point when I broke myself, you know, I just broke myself back. Today I was fighting with myself, especially the first two sets, and being able to come back in the third, I was starting to get some confidence and then I broke myself back. I never could get back in.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: This is the worst Grand Slam.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Why? Because -- because first of all, it's outside; second of all, it's close to the airport; third of all, you don't have good locker rooms-- not you, but the tournament doesn't have good locker rooms. I mean, it is not comfortable, players' lounge is bad, food is horrible. The thing is that you got to get from the hotel to the tournament, and if you have traffic, today it took us one hour sitting in the car. I don't think -- and then the schedule, they doing the -- I mean, I never reached the semifinals but just to think that the best of five sets on a hardcourt you have to play semifinal on Saturday, and final on Sunday just because of TV, I mean, excuse me, who are the players? We're human beings and we have to leave after that. And being broken at 25 years old with operations on your knees, nobody likes it, and you have lots of good examples. The last one was Forget and Leconte, one guy has bad problems and I don't think he will come back, but maybe, still, and Forget, he doesn't play, why? Because he has operation on the knee, and why? On the knee, because he's playing too much on the hard surface, and playing Saturday, semifinal best of final- and Sunday the final. I mean, it's ridiculous. Just because of the TV. It's worse than you can imagine. First two rounds in three days because of the TV, and then Becker has to play on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. This is something that I don't understand. You know, hopefully I will come back here many more years and I would like it to be changed. You know, I understand. And what happens now with the players' lounge they just cut it because of the sponsors' village-- hospitality village, so the players have to sit back to back and still there is not enough players just for the sponsor to drink champagne? We have to play tennis, they can drink champagne back to back and we have to lay in the players' lounge, we have to relax. We never able to relax.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yeah, sure, I have to defend the points. And it is a Grand Slam. I respect this tournament, because it is a Grand Slam, but as a tournament, let's say, two million dollar tournament, just ATP Tour. If I would have a chance, just one percent out of the one hundred percent not to come here, I would take. I would never come to play the tournament because a Grand Slam-- I like a change, I like to play Grand Slams, but if it's normal tournament, never.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yeah, but you see, I don't think to win the French Open is very easy; I would say it's difficult, and I would say not as much difficult as U.S. Open, but I would say the same level of difficult, but at the French Open, you see the players, they do the best, the best what they could do because nothing bothers them. Nothing. Here, you don't see the players doing the best they can do because of the condition.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I think if you have all-- everything what we need, the level of the tennis would be higher. But right now it's high enough, I guess, but it could be even higher. I mean, it would be more orderly and I understand there's a Grand Slam tournament the organization they trying to be one of the best Grand Slam tournaments and I guess it's the biggest press money in the history that's-- everybody in tennis and not being able to do, to the comfortable things for players, I think it's very big.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: No, I don't think so. It has nothing to do with the nationality. It has something to do with the sponsorship and with the money of the tournament. Because it just -- who can explain to me that semifinal has to be played on Saturday and final on Sunday. How can you explain that? Because of the TV? And why we should get hurt because of the TV? Because we get more money than normally, but we could get the same money playing like a normal Grand Slam. Friday finals and Sunday finals. We don't get this. Why? Why they cannot make the food good? Why not they have so much money. They have these hospitality tents and I guess everyone of them makes a lot of money for the tournament. They can't have good food? I don't believe this. They cannot build a hotel for the players? I don't believe this.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yes. With myself?

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yes.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Because I was in a quarterfinal in center court at the U.S. Open and the people came to watch and I showed a very bad game. I'm disappointed with myself as a player, because I lost and as a sports man, because I didn't show--

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I guess it would be easier to prepare, but, I think my problem is just too much mental. It wasn't the fact that I played on center court. Just that I wasn't ready for this-- I mean, I thought I'm ready.