And Now, Along Comes Andrei : French Open: This 18-year-old from Ukraine has exploded onto the scene promoting world peace and advocating nuclear disarmament.

There’s no Andre, so say bonjour to Andrei. Andre Agassi isn’t playing the French Open, but Andrei Medvedev is here and he’s playing it to the limit.

He’s signing autographs, he’s mugging for the cameras, he’s pointing out the beautiful women in the stands, he’s charming the pantalon off everybody.

“I like to talk to the people,” Medvedev said. “I don’t like stupid questions.”

No question about it, there is nothing like the French Open to pop open a few new young tennis superstars, which seems to happen each time they pop the cork on another bottle of champagne in the booth outside Court 1.

So the place that gave us Agassi’s first Grand Slam final and Jim Courier’s first Grand Slam title is offering up another name for consideration.

It’s Medvedev, a 6-foot-4 18-year-old from Ukraine, who likes nothing better than to try to knock a ball through a wall or figure out a way to promote world peace.

Actually, Medvedev tried both Saturday at Roland Garros Stadium, where he dusted off Gabriel Markus, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the third round, then took on an even greater opponent like, well, nuclear war.

“Let’s say destroy all the nuclear weapons in the world,” Medvedev said. “It is impossible because there are still Americans, they construct it and construct it and they build it and build it.”

It’s the same in Ukraine, Medvedev said.

“Yeah, I mean, we have to compete against you guys,” he said. “I wish we can only compete on the tennis court or on the basketball court, not in the nuclear weapons.”

It is becoming fairly apparent on the men’s pro tour that when Medvedev brings his racket on the court, he is swinging a lethal weapon. In the last 17 months, Medvedev has moved his ranking from No. 226 to No. 12, and there haven’t been that many players with answers to the right-hander with the two-fisted backhand.

It’s up to another powerful newcomer to try to figure him out. That would be 6-5 Marc Goellner, the 22-year-old from Bonn who outlasted Mark Woodforde in five tense sets, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, 6-7 (10-8), 7-5.

If nothing else, Goellner has become an expert at playing tiebreakers--six in his three matches. There might have been more, but Goellner served well enough to avoid it.

“The thought was . . . I hope I don’t lose my serve now, then it is going to go on forever, maybe,” Goellner said.

It didn’t, but still couldn’t come close to matching the brevity of Stefan Edberg’s 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 2-hour 19-minute decision over Jonathan Stark, the former Stanford standout who walked on the court with a deep admiration for the traditions of the French Open and left it feeling the same way about Edberg’s tennis.

“I think his game is really pretty,” said Stark, who could not say the same about the weak lob he hit at match point, which Edberg nonchalantly crushed with a backhand volley.

Said Stark: “The dumbest shot in the history of the French Open.”

Edberg was thankful for his good fortune. “I am not sure if he knew what he was doing, but he played it right into my hands, so I was quite pleased to see that.”

Pete Sampras didn’t play any dumb shots, but he still wasn’t too excited about his routine 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Jonas B. Svensson.

“I wasn’t hitting the ball too good,” Sampras said. “I feel OK. I don’t feel great.”

Notes

Jim Pierce, the father of French tennis player Mary Pierce who had his credentials for the French Open confiscated, was made even more unwelcome Saturday. The French Tennis Federation said if Pierce attempts to see the French Open by buying a ticket, officials will seize the ticket and buy it back from Pierce. Also, the Women’s Tennis Council will decide at its next meeting whether to allow Pierce a credential for Wimbledon. . . . Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Gabriela Sabatini and Mary Joe Fernandez won their third-round matches, but unseeded Brenda Schultz upset 12th-seeded Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.