I can play Kafelnikov with my eyes closed’

It was Medvedev who decided in 1993 that food services at the National Tennis Centre was supplying poisoned pasta to the players. His stomach was doing flip-flops again on Saturday during a 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Australian Lleyton Hewitt.

This time, though, he was blaming himself, not the chef at the Open. “It happens when you don’t watch what you eat,” he said. “That was my case. I paid the price, almost.”

Medvedev decided the culprit was an energy bar he gulped down before playing Hewitt.

“Actually, it gave me less energy than it was supposed to,” he said. “Believe me, I will not take it for my next match.” That would be against third-seeded Kafelnikov, who advanced on Saturday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman.

“I can play him with my eyesclosed,” Medvedev said. “He can do the same. We practice every day here. We know where we are hitting the ball.”

Kafelnikov has won their last two meetings after Medvedev won five of the first six. They often spice their matches with friendly wagers. They can be playing for $50,000 in prize money, but the bets for pocket change are more motivating.

“If we put $20 before the match on the side, the match will be more interesting,” Medvedev explained. “I still have his money in the pocket.”

“We have bets every day, every single day. Sometimes I win, sometimes he wins. At the moment, I’ve got his money. The next week, it can turn around.”

Medvedev is looking forward to Monday’s match. He even knows who will win.

“It is who is hitting the ball better and whose hand is not shaking when you are going for the passing shot or the winner,” he said. “The one who is better prepared for that day will win.”

With that in mind, Medvedev probably will pass on most of the all-day, all-night itemsavailable in New York.

“I realise that I love this city,” he said. “You can do anything 24 hours a day. You have a 1-800 number for every need you need. Everything is toll-free, fat-free. It’s the best.”

“I have a feeling you can be walking naked on the street and still nobody will look at you. You can drive a super modern tank, shooting left and right, and people wouldn’t pay attention.”

“You walk out on the street, just down from my apartment, I’m in the middle of everything,” he said. “You get straight into life. If you don’t watch your head, the people will take you with the way they move. They will force you in the direction they’re moving. It’s great.”

“I think 11 pm in Central Park, you will see thousands of people running, jogging. Maybe they don’t like to stay home. I don’t know. Maybe they have problems with their girlfriends or boyfriends, and they like to run. I don’t have this problem. I stay home.”

His girlfriend at the moment is German player Anke Huber, who defeated No 15Amelie Mauresmo of France 6-4, 6-4 yesterday to reach the quarter-finals of the Open.

Would they be getting married soon? Medvedev, who turned 25 last week, seemed astounded at the question.

“Married? No,” he said. “Too young. I win a couple of rounds and you think I should get married. Really, come on. I’ve won couple of rounds before and I never got married, so why should I now?”