Tennis: Medvedev relishes Hamburg

Tennis

Medvedev relishes Hamburg

Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine moved to within one match of his third German Open title in four years when he upset the second seed, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, in straight sets in Hamburg yesterday. Medvedev collected his third seeded scalp of the tournament when he brushed past his Russian opponent 6-3 6-1. The world number 38 said he was now playing to the same standard as three years ago when, as a 19-year-old, he rose to number four in the world. "I like it here in Hamburg," he added. In today's final, Medvedev will play the 10th seed, Felix Mantilla of Spain, who yesterday beat the unseeded German Tommy Haas in a match that was twice interrupted by rain. Meanwhile in Rome, France's Mary Pierce overcame her own early inconsistency and battled past Austria's Barbara Paulus in three sets to reach the final of the Italian Open.