Medvedev throws his racquet at elitism

Last year's French Open finalist, Andrei Medvedev, made an extraordinary attack on Wimbledon and the people who run the competition after he was beaten in Paris yesterday by the current world number one, Magnus Norman.

Medvedev said Wimbledon holds "a bullshit attitude" towards players, and he accused the organisers of being elitist and offensive to players other than those in the top group.

"People treat you bad there," he said. "For an outsider there is absolutely no motivation to play Wimbledon. All the history, that's rubbish, excuses that people use. I'm serious. There is much more history at Roland Garros and much more pleasure to fight and play than at Wimbledon.

"Maybe other players see it as the greatest tournament in the world, not me. The surface is bad. It's unfortunate the ATP make the rule that everyone has to play in it. Normally I would take two weeks off and get ready for something more serious."

Medvedev, who accepted that grass was not his favourite surface, said this had little to do with his anger. He added that he was pleased to have survived for so long in Paris, having taken 11 months out of the game since this time last year.

"My masseur had to sneak behind the security guard to give me a stretch in the locker-room," said the 25-year-old Russian, referring to last year's Wimbledon competition.

"That's ridiculous. You go there and you say, `Can I have a badge for my coach and masseur?' They say, `No, you can only have one badge.' They look (and say) `Oh, you were in the final of the French Open. You should get two badges but you can't, I'm sorry.'

"I'm serious. You're laughing, but that's the quote from the woman. `The way you played at the French Open you should get two badges but you can't.' "

Medvedev is unlikely to get many to back him publicly , save from some independent thinkers such as John McEnroe, who famously was not invited to become a member of the club after he had won the first of his three titles in 1981.

Although they relented, McEnroe's on-court behaviour was originally seen unacceptable to the members of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Medvedev, the third seed here, though, is likely to receive some private backing in the locker-room, particularly from the lower ranked players.

His stature in the game and typically candid remarks also raise important issues related to what is called tradition, and whether that tradition is related to elitism and favouritism and what can be done to ensure players are not discriminated against for spurious reasons.

Medvedev has claimed that he has suffered exclusion; the question now is what can be done about it. The point made is not so much that some players are not given passes or court time, but that others appear to get what they want.

"It's a bullshit attitude, in my opinion," continued Medvedev, warming to the question of whether the people who ran the game's most important tournament were elitist.

"Let's have Wimbledon without tennis players. What would happen? Nothing. You would have a snobbish English club with their own rules and their own traditions. They make exceptions for some players and the rest, they treat them like dirt. "They only care about players on Court One, Centre Court, maybe Court Two. That's not right. That's simply unacceptable."

The player qualified himself by saying that Wimbledon is the only tournament that treats players in such a manner, and that it is fundamentally different in attitude to the other Grand Slam events in Melbourne, Paris and New York.

"Wimbledon is the only one. That's the problem. It is not the same here or the Australian Open or the US Open. Here they treat you like gods. Australia, we get everything that we want. US Open also. Wimbledon, they don't maintain the same tradition, but I don't know why."

There were no Wimbledon officials to counter Medvedev's attack, but there were a lot of eyebrows raised in the press room below Court Central. Most of the journalists had grins on their faces, not only because of the player's savvy but because the feeling was that his questions needed a reply.

Calling the grass surface at Wimbledon "bad" is simply inaccurate, but the thought that Medvedev has struck at the heart of that which characterises the tournament gives food for thought.