Agassi Victim Shows He’s a Grateful Loser

There’s something about Andre.

Agassi was hugged and congratulated by his opponent, Andrei Medvedev, after he beat him in the French Open final last year. This year, the Andre adulation of ’99 picked right up where Medvedev left off. After losing to Agassi, 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-4, in the first round Wednesday, French wild-card entrant Anthony Dupuis thanked him profusely when they shook hands at the net.

“I told him it was a 10-year period waiting for that particular moment,” said Dupuis, who at 27 is three years younger than Agassi. “What was fabulous is that the public was really behind me as much as behind him.”

Said Agassi, who saved three set points in the tiebreaker: “He just said he had been waiting 10 years to play me. . . . He made me feel old.”

Agassi vs. Dupuis was one of the featured matches on a busy day at the tournament, where the schedule backed up after Tuesday’s play was canceled because of rain. Michael Chang, the champion here in 1989, is the only U.S. male besides Agassi left in the singles draw. Chang beat Thomas Johansson of Sweden, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, in the second round and next plays fifth-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.

Two former champions from Spain lost in the first round--two-time winner and wild-card entrant Sergi Bruguera lost to qualifier Juan Bacells of Spain and Hernan Gumy of Argentina beat 1998 champion Carlos Moya, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3. Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the 1996 champion, and Spain’s Alex Corretja, 1998 runner-up, each needed five sets to win. Kafelnikov beat Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina, 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4, in the second round, and Corretja defeated ’99 semifinalist Fernando Meligeni of Brazil, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

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Former No. 1 Marcelo Rios of Chile, once a favorite to win the French Open, left Paris a first-round loser. Rios didn’t even finish his match against Tommy Haas of Germany, quitting after losing the first two sets, 6-3, 6-2.

He said his legs were sore.

Haas asserted the lack of effort from Rios wasn’t fair to the fans. “I don’t think it’s good at all,” he said. “I don’t think he really cares what other people think at that moment.”

Apparently not. Rios, who has had something of a lock on the French media’s Prix Lemon award for least cooperative player, lost it to Kafelnikov this year.

“I don’t care anymore,” he said.

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Martina Navratilova isn’t limiting her return--remember, it’s not a comeback--to women’s doubles. She started this visit back by playing doubles with Mariaan de Swardt of South Africa in Madrid.

In the French Open’s mixed doubles entries, released Wednesday, Navratilova is playing with Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands. Siemerink, who has been ranked as high as No. 14 in singles, is an experienced doubles player. He has nine career doubles titles, and reached the Australian Open semifinals with Richard Krajicek in 1992 and the 1996 Wimbledon semifinals with Ellis Ferreira.