- Wimbledon 2000 Preview - Roland Garros 2000 : Do it again Andrei ! - May : Claycourt season goes on - Indian Wells and Miami 2000 - January / February 2000 : bad luck and bad results - Australian Open 2000 : Terminus at the 1st round - Perspectives for 2000 : among hopes and new changes - 1999 : Andrei is finally back ! - 99 Indoor season : Between frustration and hope - US Open 99 : One step away from quarterfinals - US Open 99 preview - Wimbledon 99 preview - Unforgettable Roland Garros '99 - Great tennis player and great person - Fantastic rebirth of Andrei Medvedev - French Open 99 preview - 99 problems (before Roland Garros) - Perspectives for 1999 - Pourquoi j'aime Andrei ? (french article)
> Wimbledon 2000 preview
( added June 29th / 2000 )Here we go !! On the 26th of June the most prestigeous tennis event in the world started in one of the best - known Londoner neighbourhood: Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is the third Grande Slam meeting but first of all it's the most expected tournament of the whole season , which has always presented moments of merveillous tennis to all fans of this sport . In the amazing last year's edition , John McEnroe delighed the British crowd with his shots in the mixed double, beside Steffi Graf, who lost then in the female final against Davenport. Meanwhile in the male draw an astonishing Sampras caught a great win over Agassi in the decisive match , thus equalizing Roy Emerson's record of 12 victories in the Grande Slam competitions. So what should we expect from this year's edition? Will Pistol Pete be able to break this record and make history? From the tournament at the Queen's we had the impression it won't be easy for Sampras to achieve these aims and he 'll have to face a very aggressive and hungry concurrence , most formed by young players such as the Australian Hewitt and Philippoussis . Marc will feel particularly at his ease on the grass of Wimbledon , where his scaring serves are faster than ever, and Lleyton has been showing he's not joking at all and he wants to be one of this season's protagonists , so Pete 'd really better to look out to them . Another Australian , who can trouble his way to the 7th Wimbledon success, can be Patrick Rafter , this year's winner in the Heinecken Trophy in 's- Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. But we don't have to forget at all Andre Agassi , who is seriously intented to go straight to the final again and hunt successfully the title . Other possible aspirant winners at Wimbledon can be Kiefer and Haas , 2 young promises of German tennis. Will they be able to follow Becker's steps ? This target can be reached by only one of them , since they will face each other immediately in one of the most interesting and exciting first round matches .
What about Andrei ? Of course he would rather play another Grande Slam tournament on clay than on grass and at Wimbledon his best performance was just a 4th round in 1994. In 1999 he passed through the first round , by beating Germany's Bernd Karbacher 7/6, 7/6, 6/4 , but he was stopped in the following match , defeated by Nestor with the score 1/6, 5/7, 3/6 . This year he hasn't done anything really impressive on grass up to now. In the 2 weeks who followed the Roland Garros 2000 Andrei began his preparation for Wimbledon and took part only at one tournament on this surface , that is the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. In the first round he defeated with some difficulties German Rainer Schüttler , but in the second round he gave out to Michael Chang in 3 sets, after winning easly the first one 6/2 . In the second set Andrei was even about to win the whole contest , but in the tie break Chang was able to reverse the situation and level the match , won then with the score: 6/2, 6/7 (6), 4/6. Afterwards Andrei flew directly to London to go on his preparation for Wimbledon and there he has often been training with Andre Agassi , as the newspapers write. Medvedev is in action exactly on the 26th of June, the opening day , and his opponont 's name is Jonas Björkman , who already eliminated him in Munich in May at the BMW Open . Björkman always gives several troubles to Andrei on the court and on grass he can also do well, so Andrei has to play at once a very thrilling first round match . If he ever went thru it , he may possibly meet on his ways players such as Lapentti , Dosedel , Kucera ,who can defenetely do better on clay , but his biggest obstacle is Sampras in the 4th round.
Altough Andrei won't feel at his ease in this tournament and doesn't have any big expectations for it , we all wish you to do a good performance as you gave us in Paris !! So , go out and give all yourself on the court , Andrei !
Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.
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Look at some Wimbledon 2000 pictures !
> May 2000 : claycourt season goes on
( added June 1st / 2000 )In May Andrei kept up playing other claycourt tournaments around Europe just before the start of the French Open on the 29th of May. Meanwhile he took part of 4 important ATP events : BMW Open 2000 in Munich , Tennis Masters Series Rome , Tennis Masters Series Hamburg and Internationaler Raiffeisen Grand Prix in St. Pölten.
In Munich Medvedev didn't play well at all and his stay in Germany was actually very short , as he had to pack already after his first round match against Sweden's Björkmann , who won very quickly the first set , without letting a game to our poor Andrei. In spite a convincing reaction in the second set ( 6/2 ) our Ukrainan Bear gave out again to his opponent who catch the victory with a 4/6 in the third.
From Munich Medvedev got straight to Italy for the 4th Masters - Series tournament , which took place from the 8th till the 14th of June at the Foro Italico in Rome. In the first round he immediately had to face a tough player such as young Roger Federer from Switzerland , who is one of the best recent new entries in the ATP tour , together with Australia's Hewitt and the 2 German little stars Kiefer and Haas. Despite Federer 's determination and hunger of success Andrei could get rid of him in 3 sets , actually with some problems: 3/6, 6/3, 7/5. Further in the second round he faced Spain's Vincente he defeated very easily with the score 6/2, 7/5, but then he was unfortunately stopped already in the third round by meeting on his way the Swede Magnus Norman , who would then win the title beating in the final Guga Kuerten , the most loved player and the real hero of the Foro Italico. In his match against Magnus , Andrei fought hard especially in the first set , lost only in the tie-break, then his performance came a bit short of expectations and Norman could bring the contest quickly to an end in the second set for the final 6/7, 1/6.
After leaving Rome Andrei was finally in action in one of his favourite ATP competitions: Hamburg , where he already won 3 times in the past ( in 1994 , 1995 and in 1997 ) . At once he obtained a noteworthy win over claycourt specialist Dominik Hrbaty , roughly eliminated in 2 sets: 6/4, 7/6. In the second round Medvedev faced American J.M. Gambill , another tough player who gave him more troubles than we all thought. Gambill surprised Andrei by winning immediately the first set 1/6, then Medvedev reacted , leveled the match ( 7/5 in the second ) and catch the third set 6/2. Afterwards , like in Rome , his way to the final victory finished again in the round of last 16 , in a great fight against his friend Cedric Pioline of France , who finally won 4/6 , 6/2 , 3/6.
Before using his ticket for his flight to Paris Andrei planned to spend another week on the tour , playing in St Pölten , Austria. Considered one of the possible winners and after defeating Humphries in the first round ( 6/3, 4/6, 7/6 ) and C. Rochus in his second match ( 6/4, 6/4), he was eliminated again a bit too early , this time in the quaters by A.Pavel , who had already got excellent results in Rome and Hamburg, with the score 4/6, 6/2, 2/6.
Forgetting his last performance in Austria , Medvedev flew to the French capitol for the greatest event of the year for him: Roland Garros. In the amazing Paris he's going to defend with all his energies all the points obtained in 1999's edition , fighting against a horrible draw ( he has to face such people as Hrbaty , Rosset , Pioline and eventually Agassi !!) and the best tennis players in the world. But we all know who will do it in the end .... Of course you , Andrei!!!
Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Roland Garros 2000 preview : "Do it again Andrei !"
( added May 14th / 2000 )When Andrei Medvedev left Roland Garros last year, he probably was the happiest man on earth. Having defeated tennis champions like Sampras or Kuerten in rounds before, he played a great final against Andre Agassi. Although he lost to Agassi, everyone knew: "The bear from Kiev" is back. After beeing not very successful over a few years, Andrei showed everyone that he is "still alive" and able to compete with Top 10 players.Situation has changed in 2000. Medvedev is not the under-dog any more and through some nice matches on clay this year, Andrei warned his adversaries.The press will have a special look at him and visitors expect great performances. But Andrei seems to be prepared well: He is mentally and physically fit and the right attitude towards tennis and important events like the French Open has come back. Andrei has to fight for his success, and he can do that; we saw it last year. Although there are other favourites for the title like Agassi, Kuerten, Hewitt or spanish players, Andrei will give his best and try to come as far as possible. Andrei calls the French Open his favourite grand-slam tournament...so who can stop him winning the trophy?
Pia Lude for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Indian Wells and Key Biscayne 2000
( added May 29th / 2000 )March was enterely dedicated to the 2 first Super 9 Masters Series tournaments of the season : Indian Wells and Key Biscayne. Among the 50 best players of the world we could also see our Andrei Medvedev fighting and sweating for the title. He had for sure big expectations for these important competitions, but there he could unluckly collect only few points for his ranking.
In Indian Wells Andrei had to face first of all his bad luck with the draw , which forced him to play immediately a very tough first round against No.3 seeded Pete Sampras. After Andre Agassi was surprisely eliminated by the Maroccan talent Arazi, Pete was considerated the favourite for the final victory, although he had to cope with some back problems that had obliged him to withdraw in Scottsdale the week before. He got injured for the fifth times in 7 months and since the Aussie Open he had played only 2 matches , so we all expected Pete wasn't in a good shape yet and couldn't play at his usual level , but unfortunately for us he shook off any lingering doubts about his health by defeating Andrei in 2 sets with the score 6/4, 6/3. It was a tight match decided by only 2 breaks, one in each set, that was however enough for the third-seed to secure the win. On the Stadium Court 1 crowd were really entertained by the excellent tennis offered by Pete and Andrei , who showed 2 different tennis styles in comparison . As we all know, Andrei is an unpredictable player, who can be invinceble on a good day or be beaten by anyone on a poor day. On the tennis court he's a counterpuncher with a great return and precise passing shots, which enable him to surprise any player in every net approach . So Medvedev 's tennis looks quite effortless and the cleverness of his game consists basically in using the opponent's speed to conclude the point in his favour. By contrast Sampras plays a classic style with a one-handed backhand, powerful groundstrokes and serve and volley. Fast surfaces suit perfectly his tennis and , although he faced Andrei at night and the court was a bit slower, he played very aggressive and precisely. He frequently charged at Medvedev and ran to the net , forcing him to play unsuccessful passing shots. Andrei showed excellent flashing returns which coudn't ,however , stop the trademark aggression of Pete, who won the 73% of his 48 net rushes and entertained his fans also with delicate tough play , which confused Medvedev on several occasions. Not by chance Pete stated in his interview after this match: " I hit the ball well .moved well, my body came up pretty good . It was a good night ( unlucly not for us!!!!) ". So after few days Andrei had to pack and get to Miami for the second Masters Series tournament.
At Key Biscayne Medvedev had luckly an easier first round match, that saw him against Australia's Andrew Ilie. Andrei won after 1 h 18 ' straight in 2 sets: 7/5, 6/2. He served quite well ( he blasted 6 aces ) and made few unforced errors ( only 19 ) in comperison to the 34 of his opponent. Further , in the second round , he had the " fortune " to meet No.17 seeded Greg Rusedski from England , whose service can be scaring even on hardcourt . Thanks to 4 aces, 26 winners and only 13 unforced errors ( in contrast with the 17 of Andrei ) Greg won the first set 6-4 in less more than half an hour and the second set 7/5 after 47 minutes. In this way Medvedev 's American adventure was already over, but at that point Andrei was just getting ready and fit for his favourite part of year: the claycourt season!Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.
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> January / February 2000 : Bad luck and bad results so far.
( added March 3rd / 2000 )We are already at the end of February and up to now we can't make at all a good final statement of Andrei's performances in these first tournaments. After the Axa Tennis Cup in London Andrei has collected only 4 points for the ATP Champions Race and his ranking is still going to fall down from his 138th spot of the last week. So the situation is quite critical at this moment, although we're just at the beginning and there's still a lot of time to forget this bad start.
Actually we should have already seen Andrei play in Doha at the Qatar Mobil Open, in the first week of the season. Last year he unfortunately went out at once in the 1st round , defeated by Rainer Schuettler of Germany, and , of course, in 2000 we all wished Medvedev to go further . Instead , at the last moment he decided to withdraw from the tournament basically because he didn't feel ready for this and preferred to train more in view of the Aussie Open. Before this "meeting", however, he competed in Sydney , the Olympic City, for the ADIDAS International Open , where the "WTA ladies " ,too, played in the same lapse of time , from the 10th to the 16 of January. To say the truth Andrei hadn't any good draw, since he had to face No. 9 seed Todd Martin , who eliminated him in 3 sets : 1/6, 7/6(1) , 3/6. After this loss, Andrei immediately flew to Melbourne , where he was defeated by Lapentti in 5 sets with an exhausting match and he shew another time to fight more against himself than against his opponent. So after a couple of days our Medvedev had to pack and come back to his Kiev , where the Davis Cup match Ukraine-Portugal took place between the 4th and the 6th of February. It was a good occasion to enjoy the atmosphere of his home city and stay with family and closest friends, but Andrei didn't forget his duties and on the first day he presented the second point for his team . He faced the Portugese Motta , defeated 6/1, 6/3, 4/6 ( just to have a little break before the win!!!!), 6/2 , just after the young Andrei Dernovsky won against Joano Cunha Silva in 5 sets : 7/6, 6/4, 3/6, 3/6, 6/4. The final victory was then completed on Saturday in the double match, played always by our Andrei together with his very good friend Rybalko . Without overdoing , Andrei M. & Andrei R. got quickly rid of the couple Motta/ Koato with the score 7/5, 6/4, 6/4 and the final result 4-1 for Ukraine was then commited to Dernovsky and Tereschuk.
After this Ukrainan weekend Andrei came back to the ATP tour and played in 2 tournaments, but unfortunately they were not so successful. In Rotterdam at the ABN AMRO Open he lost to France's Sébastien Grosjean at once in 2 sets 5/7, 3/6 and this loss made him drop to No. 133 spot in the new ATP Champions Race . Then he flew to London for the AXA TENNIS CUP , where , right because of his low ranking, he had to face immediately 2nd seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who is showing excellent tennis in this moment , as we could see in the AusOpen final and in London as well. After beating Andrei 6/3, 6/4 ( such a pity for us! ) he went straight to the final and he had to submit to the fast serves of Marc Rosset. So Andrei's first round was particularly tough , but with his potential he had 50% chances and could have even won . During the whole match we saw Andrei playing his talented tennis several times and in those situations he really gave lots of troubles to his friend Kafel , but then he couldn't focus on the match anymore and he lost once again basically on the mental aspect. At 4-1 in the 2nd set he led over Yevgeny and had a very good opportunity to level the match , but he lost 5 (!!!!!!) games in a row ( what a present for Kafelnikov !) and at 4-5 he unfortunately gave up.
That wasn't the first time he found himself in such circumstances, since he had already the same attitude on the tennis court in the indoor season last year. Do you remember the Grand Slam Cup semifinal against Rusedsky in 3 sets or Basel against Henman? With the new year we hoped he could have overcome this problems during December's pause , but it seemes things aren't going any better up to now and there's the risk again to fall in another crisis. Of course, for an ambitious person and such a talent like him these losses could just depress him and be the cause of stupid worries . He expects much more from himself , and that's obvious for a player like Medvedev, who have at his disposal an astonishing potential of powerful shots and clever strategies. So it 's a real pity he can't go into the court without doubting himself and his skills. We're watching him losing his self-confidence and we have the resposibility to do something not to let him destroy his mind by himself. I mean, he's forgetting what he can really do and that he's still exciting us, when we stick to the TV screen to watch his matches , and everytime it's a pleasure for us to see him play , although he's not winning much now .
I remembered Andrei stated once at the RG 99 that his fans helped him very much to come back and our support was fundamental for his rebirth. SO , as we know Andrei really likes to check out the guestbooks to pick up some positive energy, let's remind him that he can scare whoever on the tour . He's a really sensitive and nice guy , but recently he 's a bit too generous towards his opponents, so it's time to prove there's really good stuff in him and he's able to win whatever. Let's go on cheering him up with our messages !Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Australian Open 2000 : terminus already at the first round.
( added February 29th / 2000 )After a month's pause in December, the ATP tour has started again with a brand new season, which is promising to offer many innovations and , of course, a lot of good tennis immediately at the beginning. Already in the first part of January the strongest tennis players could swallow the Christmas and New Year's festivies at the Qatar Mobil Open in Doha and at the Adidas International Open in Sydney, where they could get ready not to break the first great "rendez-vous" of the year : the Austalian Open 2000 .
In Melbourne our tennis idols faced one another to succed in the first Grand Slam event from the 17th till the 30th of January and for us it was a good occasion to see Andrei Medvedev in action in an important competition this year. Unfortunately the draw didn't surely advantage him , as it happened the previous week in Sydney and in the last part of the 99 season . At the Adidas International Open , in fact, Andrei had to play in the first round against the American Todd Martin , last year's edition winner and always a tough opponent , and unluckly he lost. In the same way Medvedev had to face n.7 seed Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, last year 's semifinalist, in his first match at the Aussie Open and , though he fought till the very last points of the fifth set , after 3 hours and 38 minutes his Australian adventure was already over with the score 6/3, 5/7, 6/7 (2-7), 6/4, 8/6 (!!!!!). It was a real battle, which didn't actuallly began very well for Andrei . At once he lost the first set 6/3 hardly in 27 minutes, but he was able to reply to Lapentti 's start by dominating the following 2 sets 5/7 and 6/7 and leaving to Lapentti only two points in the tie-break. The fourth set was the beginning of the most tragic part ( especially for us ) of the whole match. Andrei seemed , in fact , to come closer and closer to the final victory , since he found himself to lead 4-3 with a break in his favour , but Lapentti broke back and in the 10th game he levelled the match once again . Andrei missed a good chance to conclude this long and enervating battle and was forced to play the fifth set. At this point of the match we saw the 2 players fighting and showing their repertory of shots and skills, but mentally Andrei was already defeated. Several times he openly gave vent to his anger for unforced errors and his missed chances , so he was losing his concentration and self-confidence on the court. In this way he almost presented the win to Lapentti, who wasn't showing his best tennis at all , but he was able to play well in the decisive moments. At 30-all in the 13th game he created with a line backhand pass a matchpoint that Andrei managed to save , but at the the second opportunity to conclude the contest Lapentti broke on Medvedev's serve with a winning dropshot. Point, set and match and Andrei had to pack for his coming back home , in Kiev.
Mostly it was Andrei to determinate the result of this first round that he could have perfectly won only if he had been more mentally present on the court. Lanpetti ,in fact , didn't show a good performance , as it is proved by the greater number of unforced errors ( excatly 55 ) in comperison with Andrei's 48 . Moreover Medvedev served quite well and faster than his opponent with an average of 177 KPH for the the 1st serve speed and with a high number of aces ( total: 25, while Lapentti made just 15). Here are other intersting statistics which apparentely favour our Andrei:
A less nervous and more concentrated Andrei could have gone through that match and proved he can play at the same level of the top 10 players. Against Lapentti we unfortunately saw him lose his self-control , throwing his racket on the ground too many times or getting anger after an error. He couldn't handle the mental aspect of the contest which was lost by him more than won by Lapentti, who then had to retire in the second round against France's Arnaud Clement and was forced to stop his race to the title, then captured by Andre Agassi . He shew to be defenetely the strongest player during the whole tournement, defeating Sampras in the semifinal and Andrei's friend Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who won the edition 99 of the Aussie Open , in the final with the score 3/6, 6/3, 6/2, 6/4 , while he was supported in every match by a very special guest in the audience , Steffi Graf.
The next Grand Slam event is the Roland Garros 2000 in Paris , from May 29 to June 11, on clay, and on this surface we all know Andrei can scare and beat whoever ( even an invinceble Agassi ). So, before this important "appointment " we all wish to you , Andrei , all the best for the coming competitions and we 'll be helping you rebuild your self -confidence and a good shape with our support.
For this moment I just say to all of you : see ya in Paris in May and in Melbourne next year for a luckier edition of the Australian Open!
Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.BACK TO THE TOP
> Perspectives for 2000 : among hopes and new changes.
( added March 1st / 2000 )With a very good memory of 99 season and of his unforgettable Roland Garros Andrei is starting a new tour on the best tennis courts all around the world , trying his best and hoping to enjoy new successes.
He concluded 1999 as No. 31 in the ATP ranking , improving his position at which he ended the previous season ( he was ranked at No. 61 at the end of 1998 ) , although now it 's not appropriate anymore to speak of ranking in these terms. Beginning from this year the tennis players are ranked on the basis of a new system , called ATP Champions Race, which has been replacing the old one , adopted in 1973 and now renamed ATP Entry System. According to this , a player's position in the ranking was stablished by his best 14 results got during the last 52 weeks , so he was obliged to repeat his performances at the distance of one year to mantain , through complicated and odd calculations, his points. The conseguences of this system were sometimes quite unreasonable, as it happened after Wimbledon 99, when Sampras fell to No . 3 , though he won the title.
According the ATP Champions Race , instead, all players begin the season with no point and their ranking is stablished by the sum of the results they get tournament by tournament. So that's why we saw with a lot of surprise that before the Australian Open the new No. 1 was Fabrice Santoro , No. 34 in the ATP Entry System. To avoid , however, absurd draws the old ranking has remained in force side by side with the new one and the seeds and the matches at the Aussie Open 2000 were still fixed on the basis of the ATP Entry System .Personally Medvedev has not got a good opinion about these changes in ATP ranking and at the US Open 99 in the interview after his loss to Kafelnikov he stated " ... it was the worst decision ever made ..." and that "... it's not right ..." . It 's true , in fact, some middle players can be advantaged in the main draw of a competition often because they were constant during the year without , however, doing nothing special, while , for istance,other top players , who couldn't play some tournements because of injuries or something else , have to face a tough and seeded opponent immediately in the first rounds.
Now the No. 1 is logically Andre Agassi , followed by Kafelnikov in the 2nd place . Instead Andrei is quite down in the ranking and he's excatly at No. 138, since he didn't play in Doha and was stopped at the first round in Melbourne. But the season has just begun and there'll be many other opportunities to get lots of important points. In March Medvedev is going to compete in the Super 9 tournament in Indian Wells from the 3rd till the 19th and at Key Biscaine beginning from the 20th. Then after the Davis Cup match Marocco- Ukraine in the first week of April , we're going to see him in Estoril ( April , 10-13) , in the Master series tournaments in Monte Carlo ( April, 17-23), Rome ( May, 8- 14) and Hamburg (May, 15-21) and at last in St Polten ( May, 22-28) before the French Open , where we all hope Andrei will improve his last year 's performance with a beautiful victory . Afterwards Medvedev won't miss other important meetings , like Wimbledon ( June 26- July 9 ) , the US Open (August 28- September 10) and the other Super 9 events: Toronto ( July 31- August 7), Cincinnati ( August, 8- 13), Stuttgart Eurocard ( October 30- Nevember 5 ) and Paris Berci ( November, 13- 19). All competitions which are waiting for him and his tennis!!!!!!!!
Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.BACK TO THE TOP
> 1999 : Andrei is finally back !
( added December 31st / 1999 )If in 1993 Andrei Medvedev appeared in the major scene of tennis circus as one of most promising young stars, 1999 will be remembered as the year of his professional ( and not only ) "resurrection".
After becoming No. 4 in the ATP ranking at the early age of 19 and especially after various physical and psycological problems his career has found again the success and that brightness, which characterized the period 1992- 1995. The crucial moment of this
incredible change is defenetely this year's edition of the Roland Garros , that took place beginning from the 24th of May. In Paris Andrei started very well with a convincing victory over Pescariu of Romania in three very quick sets ( 6/3, 6/1, 6/1 ), but he showed the first real reasults of his renewed energy and self-confidence in the second round, where he beated surprisely n.2 seeded Pete Sampras (!!!) with the score 7/5, 1/6, 6/4, 6/3. Though clay isn't Sampras's favourite surface, it was, in any case, a very important win against a player , who is surely one of the main figures of the last years in tennis , and it doesn't matter if you beat him on clay, mud or water, you feel good even if it happens in backgammon ( Andrei's own words ). Just to say how high Medvedev's humour was after this match that gave him the strengh to face successfully Zimbawe's B. Black in the 3rd round, Arnaud Di Pasquale of France in the turn of the last 16 and the Brazilian duo Kuerten and Meligeni , respectively in the quarters and in the semifinal. During the whole tournament Andrei was probably playing his most inspired tennis of the last 3-4 years thanks to a great physical healthy and a mental peace, which had been lacking him even for too long time. His shots were getting more and more incisive ,more and more precise ,as we could see till 4-4 in the 3rd set of the final against n.13 seeded Andre Agassi. In the first 2 sets Andrei played very aggressively , hitting every ball with such accuracy, and after about 49 minutes he led 6/1, 6/2. It seemed there was no hope for Agassi , who looked quite frustrated and bewildered, but in the 3rd set he managed to react and began playing incredibly well, while Andrei was losing his selfconfidence in particular on his serve. We all know the dramatic ( almost " tragic" for us ) end of that fantastic final and despite his loss Andrei got out of the Centre Court as a winner , not as a loser, because he had finally found himself and his interest in tennis again.In June Andrei left Paris with a wonderful memory of those 2 weeks at the French Open , where he showed his best performance of the season '99, which hadn't , actually, had any good start at all. In the first 4 months a fractured wrist ( a doctor even adviced him to retire because of his wrist injury ) and the partial loss of his eyesight endangered his career and made him drop from No. 62 to No. 100. Before the Roland Garros , in fact, he hadn't gone further than the second round, losing most of times in 3 sets with a great number of unforced errors and double faults. A couple of examples: in the Qatar Open in Doha he lost to Germany's Rainer Schuttler, who would win the tournment , with the score 6/4, 3/6, 2/6;at the Aussie Open under the scorching sun of Melbourne he just reached the second round , giving it up to Wayne Black in 5 sets ( 4/6,4/6, 6/3, 6/4, 2/6 ), and he obtained the same result in Marseille at the beginning of February, at the Super 9 tournment in Key Biscayne and in Estoril . In April Andrei also played in Barcelona and in one of his favourite tournments, that is Monte Carlo ( SUPER 9 ) , and in both competitions his performances were quite disappointing, since he collected only 2 losses against Albert Portas in Spain ( 4/6, 1/6 ) and Ljubicic in Monaco ( 7/5, 0/6, 1/6 ). In the meanwhile his physical conditions were getting better, as he returned 100% eyesight after an operation , and after Monte Carlo Andrei had a long pause, during which he worked hard on his game and he also watched a lot of tennis matches on TV. Right watching all those guys playing, he realized their tennis had nothing so special and he could still beat them, so with the motivation to prove his potentialities he went to France for an astonishing Roland Garros.
The second part of 1999 was undoubtly better and more successful for Medvedev, but there were still a lot of ups and downs , determinated by some injuries and by his bad luck in draws. In contrast with the pretty good performance in Flushing Meadows he went out or withdrew a bit too soon in several tourments, like Halle in Germany, where he lost to Henrick Dreekmann in the first round. It was such a pity that Andrei had to face him , since Dreekmann was professionaly born on the tennis courts in Halle , where he 's usually training still now, and he's a real good player on grass. Besides Medvedev wasn't at the top of his form and felt very tired after the final in Paris , while, in July again, he had even to withdraw from the match against Ruud of Norway in Stuttgart ( outdoor ). Similar situations took place in the indoor season as well, especially in the tournments in Vienna, Munich at the Compaq Grand Slam Cup, in Basel and Stuttgart ( SUPER 9 ). In the first 2 competitions Andrei was unfortunately stopped by Rusedski , in the second round in Austria and in semifinals at the GSC, where he was able , however, to eliminate Krajicek, who is , like Rusedski, one of the strongest and most dangerous players on such fast surface. Their serves go unbelievebly fast and it's extremely hard to locate the direction of the ball ( if you ever can see it before it's too late ). In Stuttgart he was forced to retire by an injury in the first round and in Basel he was eliminated by Henman in the second round after winning the first set ( 7/5, 4/6, 1/ 6 ). Apart from these perormances, let's not forget the excellent final in double with Marat Safin at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow , where they lost only to Gilemstob/ Vacek 2/6, 1/6 and the good results in Davis Cup with the Ukrainan Team, we hope to see soon in the first World Group together with USA, France , Germany , Australia and the other best teams. With the ''reborn'' Andrei they'll surely go so far!!!! All your supporters wish you good luck and all the best for the 2000 season, Andrei!!!!
Monica Vota for MedvedevFanPage.
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> 99'Indoor Season : Between frustration and hope.
( added November 17th / 1999 )This year indoor season was quite contrasted for Andrei. There was some good results and some disappointing losses. He played 9 tournaments (including Davis Cup) right after the US Open "rebirth" when he reached the last 16. After such a good result in flushingmeadows people waited more great results. May be they were expecting a little bit too much. Some injuries soon broke the comeback for some time. Indeed, he lost on the first round 3 times, and 4 times in the second! He seemed to run a little bit out of confidence, missing all his Super Nine appearences.But some good points are also to be considered. During this indoor season he reaches the GrandSlam Cup semifinals defeating Richard Krajicek in two sets (!!). He also was faultless in all his Davis Cup matches. And at last but not least he reaches Moscow's open final round in the doubles draw with Marat Safin. A good performance for a player that never plays doubles events. Marat Safin (Paris Indoors finalist) that Andrei defeated in Basel some weeks before! Moreover the main losses of Andrei were difficult matches against top players. He can't regret too much loosing against champions as Rusedski, Henman or Pioline even if we all now that he can defeat them and that he will soon take a revenge. All these positive points must stay in his mind in order to comeback for sure in 2000. Let's hope that after a good rest he will be back on top. His best level is not so far the results will surely come if he keeps on trying. Happy new year Andrei and all our best whishes for 2000. A bright new year on your way to the top.
Benjamin Garrigues for MedvedevFanPage.
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> US Open'99 : One step away from quarterfinals.
( added October 1st / 1999 )Andrei Medvedev pulled out from The US open just one step away from quarterfinals. But it seems, that he could go through much further. Ukrainian start this Grand Slam tournament very confidently. He beat Martin Rodriguez and Sebastian Lareau pretty easily, in straight sets. His next opponent was young australian star Lleyton Hewitt. Match against him was very difficult for Andrei. However, There was another unforeseen factor -bad general condition of Andrei Medvedev. Few times during the match ukrainian wanted to retire because of it. But he continued to play and fight and won in 5 sets:3-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3. Australian youngster, who won his first tournament in the beginning of this year wanted to beat Andrei and face Y.Kafelnikov. It was very important for australian team to check Hewitt's abilities to beat russian on the eve of Davis cup semifinal. However, ukrainian gave all he had to win this match. It is difficult to overestimate this no ordinary victory of Andrei Medvedev. Even Patrick Rafter was not be able to defeat Lleyton. I can say that if Andrei could beat him with this conditions, obviously, that the main victories waits for him in the future.
The fourth round match against Kafelnikov that Andrei's supporter waits for, was almost nightmare for them. Despite the fact that russian was one of the main challengers for the title, Andrei medvedev was one of few players who can beat him. The first set was pretty tie, but at five-all, ukrainian felt himself very sick and was not be able to play on former level. At first, Yevgeny took first set on tiebreak. By the way, it was first tiebreak that Andrei lost this season. Fierce fight at the end of this set took away all strengths from Andrei. Second and third set was only formality.Probably, the beat choice for Andrei was to retire. But it was point of honor for him to finish this match. Ukrainian looked very tired and upset after this defeat. Wonderful chance for successful performance at USopen was lost. It is interesting that after this match, Kafelnikov said that he will be world number one at the end of the year and that only Sampras could stop him. However, we can say that Andrei's performance at Flushing Meadow was quite successful. This success gave him 120 ranking points and respect of fans and supporters.Apart from, Andrei will be in action every week till the end of the season. So, we have to wish him good luck.
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> US Open'99 preview :
( added August 17th / 1999 )The last this year Grand Slam tournament - US open - will start on monday, 30 of august at New York. The fight for the victory at this major event promises to be extremely persistent because it will be include the fight for the first place in world rankings. Obviously, the main challengers for the title will be: at first, two last years US open champion, australian Pat Rafter, who recommended himself as the american hard court specialist; at second, legendary Pete Sampras and his "eternal opponent" Andre Agassi. As always, we could expect surprises from unpredictable russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Which kind of result we could expect from Andrei Medvedev at US open? According to his performances in previous years, we can wait from him, at list, a repeat of his best result - quarterfinal. Andrei has few quite significant achievements on american hard. He was the winer of New Haven'93 and Long Island'96, reached quarterfinals in Mercedes Super 9 tournaments in Indian Wells (1998) and Key Biscayne (1995, 1997). However, Andrei has no good results on this surface this year. He played only five matches on hard ( 2 wins and 3 defeats) and all of them in the begining of the season. Ukrainian has chosen world series tournament with very strong field in Long Island as his final preparation for the last Grand Slam Event of this year. So, we hope, that it will be enough for the confident performance at US open, wich will also depend from tournament draw, but the rest will be in Andrei's hands. I am sure that he could take part in the battle for the title or, at list he can show his best result here.
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Wimbeldon '99 Preview.
( added June 16th / 1999 )This year Wimbledon will start on next monday, 21 of june. Who can win the title this year? Of course, the main challenger is five time Wimbledon champion, live legend of tennis Pete Sampras. He started this season very poorly, lost his number one ranking, but came back to the top with wonderful win at Stella Artois (The Queen's). Sampras will open this year Wimbledon campaign with match against australian Scott Draper. Who can be a real competitor of Sampras in his fight for the main prize? At first, T.Henman, bitten finalist of the Stella Artois, who was so close to the victory over Sampras. 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek can perform well at Wimbledon. But his current form is so far away from his best and it will may be not enough for the victory. The draw was unfavourable for the two time US open champion Pat Rafter, who can face J.Bjorkman, T.Enqvist and B.Becker in his opening matches. I think that last year runner up croatian Goran Ivanisevic is not in that form he was one year ago. But we can not strike him from the list of challengers for the Wimbledon title, as well as Greg Rusedski or 1992 champion Andre Agassi. Another possible challengers, M.Philippoussis and Y.Kafelnikov are in very poor form at the moment.
What can we expect from Andrei Medvedev at this year Wimbledon? What achievements he has here? Of course, Andrei was quarterfinalist of the 1993 Wimbledon. In 1995 he reached round of last 16, where he lost in epic 5 sets battle to the three time champion, best ever grass court player Boris Becker: 7-6 5-7 7-6 6-7 5-7. Last year Andrei beat russian youngster Marat Safin in the opening round: 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4, but lost in the second to eventual finalist Goran Ivanisevic: 3-6 6-7 6-4 0-6. So, can Andrei show a really good result this time?
We know that he can play on grass pretty well. He reached final in Halle back in 1993. Andrei has a brilliant strong serve; he can play at the net very successfully. In one hand, Andrei has played only one match on grass this season: in Halle, right after French open he lost to H. Dreekman in 3 sets: 1-6 7-5 4-6. But Andrei had some injury problems, he was so tired after final battle against Andre Agassi at Roland Garros. So, we can not be disposed to this result too seriously. And I have to say again, as I said before French Open, that we can not rule out possibility of the title for Andrei Medvedev. There is nothing impossible in that thought. Andrei's self-confidence improved very much. His tennis is better than ever. He just have to keep believing in himself. Of course, the draw is not very favourable for Andrei. He will meet german veteran Bernd Karbacher in the opening round. They faced each other four times in the past. Medvedev won all their previous meetings. All of them were on clay. And it will be their first match on grass. The main problem wait for Andrei in fourth round, where he can meet with defending champion Pete Sampras. Andrei has three wins over Sampras: two of them on clay. One win on hard came in 1998 at Colonial classic. Medvedev won 3-6 6-3 6-2. To defeat Sampras on his favorite surface, at his favourite Grand Slam event will be much harder than it was at Roland Garros. But, no doubt, Andrei can do this! He just should fight and don't hesitate. And of course he should do all his best to reach at list fourth round. Anyway, anything can happen. The main thing is that Andrei is back, he can climb to a new top. Let's hope that it can be Wimbledon, or at list result, better than it was here in last few years. Good luck for you, Andrei!
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Unforgettable Roland Garros'99.
(added June 9th / 1999)This year French Open became a tournament of two players, who came back to the big times almost from nowhere. Of course, Andre Agassi started last year in the middle of the second hundred of ATP tour rankings, but finished it at the top 5. In other hand, Andrei Medvedev, who just started his way to the top. He was going at Roland Garros at number 100 in the world. Both of them are great players and great fighters. Also, Roland Garros was not very successful for the french players. On the eve of the Roland Garros top French player G. Golmard pulled out of the tournament due to the injury, last year semi-finalist C.Pioline lost to another frenchman S.Grosjean, who lost in the 3 round to young austrian S.Koubek. Last frenchman in the singles draw, A.di Pasquale, was knocked out by A.Medvedev in 4 round. It is impossible to forget really good performance on clay by british players, Tim Henman and especially Greg Rusedski, who reached 4 round of the French open.
Roland Garros started pretty usually. Only one seeded player was knocked out at first day of the tournament. But it was not a real surprise. Unform Goran Ivanisevic did not have any chances against a very good clay court player H.Arazi. Surprise started in the second day, when number 11 seed Slovakian K.Kucera lost to returning to his form M.Larsson and number 10 seed M.Phillippoussis lost to another australian J.Stoltenberg, both in straight sets. Upsets were continuing till the end of the tournament. The top seed, current number 1, former French open champion russian Y.Kafelnikov became a victim of the young slovakian D.Hrbaty in three very easy sets. Really, it was not big surprise. Hrbaty did play very well, Kafelnikov did not. So, it was very natural result at that moment. Then former Wimbledon champion number 5 seed R.Krajicek lost to american V.Spadea 1-6 2-6 4-6. A.Agassi was struggling in his second round match against young frenchman A.Clement. Agassi was in 2 points away from the defeating in 4 set, but came back to win in 5 set 6-0. In second round number 2 seed P.Sampras said good-bye to his hopes to win French open as his 12 Grand Slam title. The man, who knocked out former number 1 was Andrei medvedev, the man, who since may of the last year could not move up in the world rankings further than number 61 and could not win 2 successive matches for all this season. It was the match of the day. Pete Sampras looked pretty tired after his opening round battle against J.-A. Marin. In contrary, A.Medvedev seemed to be ready for the fight. He had to win this match to return himself self-confidence on court. And he did it in a wonderful stile, beating 11 times Grand Slam Champion in 4 sets: 7-5 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Pete Sampras was disappointed. A.Medvedev was happy. Also in that day this year Australian open runner-up lost to almost unknown C.Ruud of Norway 6-7 4-6 3-6. The third round was marked by P.Rafter's defeat. One of the Challengers for number 1 in a world lost to brazilian F.Meligeni in 4 sets. The last of the top 4 seed, defending champion C.Moya has gone out in 4 round. He could not fight till the end of his dramatic match against eventual champion A.Agassi. Last year semi-finalist F.Mantilla wasn't able to resist attacks of F.Meligeni. It seemed that M.Rios or G.Kuerten will win the title. But it did not happen. At first, lost to well known D.Hrbaty. Guga was thinking that title will be his. But...He was underrating his opponent in quarterfinal. Two years ago almost unknown G.Kuerten defeated A.Medvedev who was in top 20 in that times in 4 round of the Roland Garros in 5 sets: 5-7 6-1 6-2 1-6 7-5. But it didn't happen this time. A.Medvedev, inspired by his 4 successive wins beat Guga in remarkable stile:7-5 6-4 6-4. Few hours later last year runner up A.Corretja has gone out. He lost to one of the heroes of the French Open F.Meligeni.
Only one seeded player, number 13 Andre Agassi got through to the semi-final, where he beat D.Hrbaty. In other semi-final A.Medvedev in very dramatic match defeated F.Meligeni. As the result of that we had one of the best final ever, an outstanding battle of two great resurgent players: Andre Agassi and Andrei Medvedev. Both of them proved that they are still in business, that they could play terrific tennis. Andre Agassi became only fifth player of all times who won all Grand Slams: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Andrei Medvedev became the first Ukrainian ever and lowest ranked player who reached Grand Slam final. After this tournament A.Agassi reached number 4 in a world and A.Medvedev moved up from number 100 to number 30. We hope and believe that it is only beginning of his way to the top.
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Great tennis player and great person !
( added June 7th / 1999 )This year French Open was absolutely amazing for Andrei Medvedev. He won only 6 matches this season, never was further than 2 round going to this event. But here he reached his first ever Grand Slam final when he lost in five sets to another great tennis player Andre Agassi 6-1 6-2 4-6 3-6 4-6.
It was very dramatic match and fantastic final, one of the best ever! Anrdrei started this match very certainly. He played in his best tennis and took first and second sets very easely and settled down may be too much. In contrary, Agassi realised that his maybe last chance to win French Open was slipping away from his hands. He began to play better and better with every single points. But Andrei still continued to play pretty well and had breakpoint at 4-4 , wonderful opportunity to win in straight sets. But he wasn't be able to take advantage from it and lost 3 set and selfconfidence.
Agassi began to attack and play with great accuracy, almost without unforced errors. He played the best tennis of his life. Andrei was very nervous at that moment. His backhands down the line didn't work. He began to make many unforced errors, lose winning points. Andrei felt himself under pressure, but continued to fight. He has opportunity to move ahead 2-0 in the final set, but could not do this and lost the match.
It was an incredible battle of two great players, the most fantastic Grand Slam final for many years. We have to say thanks for Andrei, because he came back! The main thing is that He is with us again, great player and wonderful person. It is impossible to forget the way he congratulate his opponent after the match. It was very nice from Andrei. He is a real winner of this battle. He schould not forget about it. I believe he will have chances this year to show the whole tennis world that he is a real fighter and he can win Grand Slam events!
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Fantastic rebirth of Andrei Medvedev!
(added June / 1999)Yesterday Andrei Medvedev knocked out the main challenger for the title at Roland Garros Gustavo Kuerten in straight sets: 7-5 6-4 6-4. This victory of the ukrainian player became the main surprise for many tennis fans, but not for ones who always believed in his talent.Andrei repeated his best result at Roland Garros. He was in semifinal of the French open in 1993, when he lost to eventual champion Sergi Bruguera. And now, after six years, he will try to reach his first Grand Slam final. That very important match against Gustavo Kuerten Andrei started a little bit uncertainly. But very soon he began to attack his opponent, understanding that he can beat him. Almost in every Guga's service games Andrei had break points, but couldn't take advantage from them. It could destroy his confidence, but Andrei got through this. He has broken Kuerten in 11 game of the first set, having taken advantage from his 9th breakpoint. Next game was very important for the ukrainian. He saved 3 breakback points to take the openning set. From this moment Andrei played extremely well. Guga didn't undestand what was going on on court. He didn't know what he should do with Andrei's groundstrokes, especially with his backhands down the line, with his absolutely outstanding drop shots. Andrei destroyed Kuerten's rythm and his confidence. It was enough for the confident win. Andrei has shown the whole tennis world that he is back, that he not without a reason was 4th in the world. He is great player, that's for sure. And we have to thank him for the great plessure to see him again in big times and to wish him good luck for his semifinal battle against very ambition brazilian Meligeni.
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> French open 99 preview.
(added May / 1999)This year French open promises to be very interesting and unpredictable. First of all, because of very wide list of the challengers for the major title. There are current number 1 Kafelnikov, last year winner Moya, former frenchopen champion Kuerten, top spanish players,Agassi among them. It is impossible to forget about Pete Sampras ambitions to win this title for the first time in his career and about new generation of South American players. What chances will have Andrei Medvedev in this tournament? Of course, French open is most successful Grand Slam event for him so far. He has 19-7 win-loss record at the Roland Garros. In 1993 Andrei reached semifinal, which he lost to eventual champion Bruguera. He was in the quarterfinal next year. In 1995 he reached round of last 16 where he lost to that year champion Muster in straight sets. But in my opinion, Andrei was closer, than ever to the title in 1997. He was in psychological animation after winning Super 9 tournament in Hamburg and coming back to the top 20. Andrei played very well in his opening matches. He reached 4 round where he was meeting with unknown in that times brazilian Gustavo Kuerten. It was very tough 5 sets match. Andrei had two breakpoints at 5-5 in the deciding set, but couldn't take them and lost it: 5-7. I think, if he defeated Kuerten, he could win the title. Because he could beat his next opponents (Kafelnikov, Dewulf and Bruguera). Can Andrei produce that level of playing this year? Unfortunately, his preparation for the French open was not very good. He played only 4 matches on clay this season. Andrei won his first match on clay, but lost 3 next matches. Then he was forced to miss few very important tournaments because of injury. Physical preparation take an important place for clay court matches, but Andrei had not enough time for good preparation. In this case, psychological factor will be in first place, especially in opening match. The opening match draw will be very important. Andrei should maintain his composure , believe in his talent and abilities to play on the highest level. He should forget about his failures. He should think about his future wins. In that case, he will play naturally in his tennis. There is nothing to lose, no points to defend (Andrei lost in the 1 Round to A.Gaudenzi in 5 sets last year). It is wonderful opportunity to improve his rankings and to build his confidence on court. But it is impossible to rule out the possibility of the title for Andrei Medvedev. Anything could happen these days. Andrei can play- we know it very well. I hope he knows it too. First of all, he should not forget how good player he is. He can beat anyone in any surface.
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> 99 Problems (before Roland Garros) :
(added March-April / 1999)After so successful begining of his career in 1992-1995, now Andrei Medvedev is struggling to return his best level of playing. It has been continuing for the past few years. He has returned in top 20 in 1997 (number 17 in May), but slipped away again. Now he is ranked out of the top 100. What happened with so talented and all- rounder player. Let's try to discuss with which problems faces Andrei in present time. Can he still really come back?
Andrei Medvedev was one of the fastest players of the tour in the begining of his professional career. He wasn't afraid to attack and go foward, but little by little he lost selfconfidence.Obviously, he grew up, became more serious, but lost his cool on court. Now it seems that he is afraid to do attacking deep grand strokes. We can see it in the every single match he plays. Andrei begins his matches very nerviously, very often losing games on his serve and making many unforced errors. While his game is becoming stronger,first set is slipping away from him. Then Andrei begins to attack, reminding all of us how good player he is. And in this time, he forces his opponents hesitate and make mistakes and sweep them up from the court. Just look at the same score lines of the last year matches he lost:
To Carlssen (Split) 3-6 7-6 1-6, to Kuerten (Key Biscayne) 2-6 6-4 6-7, to A.Costa (Hamburg) 3-6 6-1 6-7 (had 2 matchpoints), to Chang (Rome) 2-6 6-4 3-6, to Gaudenzi (Rolland Garros) 6-7 1-6 6-0 6-2 1-6, to Rafter (S-hertogenbosch) 6-7 6-4 6-7 (had matchpoint), to Krajicek (Cincinnati) 3-6 7-6 3-6, to Korda (New Haven) 3-6 6-2 1-6 this year to W.Black (Australian open) 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 2-6. Having taken the second set, Andrei is continuing to attack, reaching breakpoints on his opponent serve, but couldn't taking advantage from them, he's losing his confidence and begining to play passive tennis.
Result of that is loss of game on his own serve and match itself. Here I must remind you another his problem - double faulting. Andrei has very strong and deep second serve, but can't play with accuracy. That's why he makes so many double faults. This is one of the reason why he loses so many games on his serve.
After his failures, Andrei has became very restrained and unconfidential on court. What are the reasons of these problems? First, of course, partial loss of his eyesight. Obviously,that Andrei couldn't appraise distance correctly. Consequentes of that are: making so many unforced errors and double faults; fear of making deep strokes to the baseline and deep second serves; avoiding long baseline ralleys; making uneffective shotsin half court, giving his opponents great opportunity to attack. That's why, Andrei very often plays passive tennis, waiting when his opponent will begin to make errors. It's understood, when you are in doubt about your own abilities, nothing can be made on high level. Second, Andrei has become much slow on court because of his Eastern Europementality, which can not be changed, of course. Third, he continues to underrate his abilities to progress. I hope, it can be changed, and it will depends only from Andrei himself. Having discussed Andrei's present problems, I must tell about his perspectives for the future. Andrei is still quite young, only 24 years old. So, can he come back to his best?
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Perspectives for 1999
(added March-April / 1999)Recently Andrei's eyes have been successfully operated . He returned 100% eyesight. So, will he return his confidence, ability to play powerfull attacking and stable tennis? If he will win fight against himself, it will be all his!
Andrei is very talented player with ability to play in any surfaces, from clay to grass. Andrei has very strong and deep first and second serves, outstanding attacking return. He is very powerfull on the baseline(favourite attacking shot is terrific backhand down the line), dellicate and very successful at the net. There are so many remarcable shots in his arsenal, including an amazing drop shot and attacking lob. He has brilliant abilities to pass his opponent at the net. If Andrei will play in his tennis, he will be able to beat anyone. And, of course, he should try to increase realisation of breakpoints degree, don't stop attacking, when he reaches breakpoints or advantage on whole match. It's very important, that Andrei will have advantage over another player, if he begins to play agressive tennis. Because most of the players don't expect this kind of play from him. Justin Gimelstob already has had time to be burned on his underrating of Andrei's level of play.
First of all, Andrei should believe in himself! And return psychology of the winner to himself. In this case, he will obviously find himself in top 20 (or even maybe in top 10) very shortly. The main point is that Andrei wants to come back! Hopely, he can pass through all his problems in tennis and his life! All depends only on him. I think, first conclusions will be made after this year clay court season will start (especially, after Andrei's favourite tournaments: Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Rolland Garros etc..). Let's hope that he'll be back soon!
Andrei's worldwide fans do believe in him, so why he doesn't? Only Andrei himself can prevent his successful comeback to the top! Obviously, he has an outstanding chance for it!
Let's wish him good luck!
Elena Kaidalova for MedvedevFanPage.
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> Pourquoi j'aime Andrei ?
added June 16th / 1999 (by Aurélie Xech) / French reviewSi vous êtes venu sur cette page, c'est soit que vous êtes fan de lui, soit vous voulez le découvrir Si vous êtes fan, vous aimez son jeu, tout à la fois subtil et puissant et son charisme, l'humour qu'il a dans ses interview et son fair-play sur le court. Andreï a certainement ses défauts, ses 4 années de difficultés le montrent bien (et puis qui n'en a pas !) Il a su en surmonté quelques uns pour notre bonheur à tous. Je vais essayez de vous montrez quelques facettes de ce grand joueur. J'espère qu'en sortant de cette page, vous, qui ne connaissez pas Andreï, aurez tout au moins du respect pour ce joueur. Pour les autres, ceux qui l'aiment et le connaissent, j'espère que vous aurez du plaisir à lire cet article.
Je vais faire ma présentation de l'image que j'ai d'Andreï d'après ses 7 ans de carrière que j'ai suivi depuis le début . Elle ne sera pas forcément juste, mais c'est celle d'une fan. Andreï est né a Kiev, en Ukraine, le 31 Août 1974 (excellent cru !). Je crois que sa maman est prof de tennis et sa soeur est aussi professionnelle. Dans le circuit jeune, il a eut d'excellents résultats, je crois même bien meilleur qu'un champion comme Kafelnikov (ils sont amis). Ils ont fait ensemble les tournois pour le compte de l'URSS, puis se séparent chacun pour leur pays. Andreï a des origines russes et les revendique.
A 17 ans, il fait son premier Roland Garros. Il est passé à la télé (française) 20 secondes avec le commentaire : " retenez ce visage, vous le reverrez souvent c'est un bon ".. Je dirai " bêtement " j'ai retenu le nom et le visage. L'année suivante, quand il y est retourné, je me suis souvenue du commentaire et j'ai cherché à le connaître (tennistiquement parlant) et là il s'est fait véritablement connaître. Ceux qui sont fans aujourd'hui n'ont certainement pas oublié le match qu'il a délivré contre Stefan Edberg. Il a joué son match jusqu'au bout, il s'est battu comme un lion. Dommage pour Stefan (que j'apprécie aussi), mais quel match de toute beauté ! Durant cette semaine, on l'a beaucoup vu sur les courts et dans la salle d'interview. Je me souviens très bien de son humour et de l'intelligence qu'il dégageait. Il était en pleine confiance et pleine ascendance. Il est arrivé numéro 4 mondial et a joué encore bien un an à ce niveau. Je crois que c'est à cette période là qu'il a connu Anke pour la première fois (pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas Anke Huber, il fallait vraiment éviter tous ses matchs retransmis et se boucher les oreilles à chaque fois qu'on parlait de lui ! ! ! cependant je rappelle que Anke est une excellente joueuse allemande).
Après c'est le grand flou Les résultats d'Andreï ont commencé à chuter tout doucement, il est resté longtemps entre la 15ème et la 25ème place, puis ses deux dernières années le classement a commencé à prendre sérieusement une courbe inquiétante. Je ne peux pas en raconter plus personnellement, il a peu à peu disparu des journaux français Les raisons de cette descente ne concernent qu'Andreï, il les a dites : " c'était dû à son manque de motivation et à des blessures ". En début d'année, visiblement, Andreï a repris goût au sport et à la vie et à l'entraînement ! Il est arrivé discrètement à Roland Garros. Pas de chance il est tombé au deuxième tour contre Sampras et on a dû parler de lui ! ! ! La suite, vous la connaissez, Elena l'a parfaitement décrite (voir ses nombreuses chroniques). Voilà pour sa " biographie ", pour situer la route professionnelle de Andreï.
Maintenant, parlons de son jeu et de ce pourquoi on préfère un joueur comme lui plutôt qu'un autre. Si vous avez regardé le match de dimanche contre Agassi, vous avez un début d'élément de réponse : le joueur est fair-play, cool, puissant et battant. C'est peut-être contre Kuerten qu'on a pu voir toute la subtilité de son jeu, la solidité de ses coups. Il est armé d'un service puissant, d'un jeu porté vers l'avant avec un bon coups droit et un revers précis. Il s'ouvre tactiquement le terrain, colle le joueur là où il ne s'y attend pas, puis il tente vers l'avant une montée au filet pour finir le point. Il est à l'aise de fond de court comme à la volée. Ce n'est pas un jeu offensif " bête et méchant ", ni un jeu de fond de court long et ennuyeux, mais un jeu bien à lui, lié à sa grande technique et à sa vision du terrain. C'est un jeu qui lui est propre et qui fait que déjà, il est un champion c'est SON style ! En plus, et ce n'est pas négligeable, il a un contact avec les gens et les journalistes qui est bien rares. Il est ouvert au dialogue, assorti d'un bon humour. En plus, avec la maturité et son intelligence, ses analyses sont toujours bien pesées. Si vous voulez mieux le connaître, regardez le jouer au tennis et tout sera dit.
Aurélie Xech for MedvedevFanPage.
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