Now Mary Pierce flays Wimbledon

8220;Wimbledon is not very player-friendly,8221; she said in an interview with Radio Times magazine. 8220;Transport is difficult. They don8217;t want to pick you up at the airport.

8220;There are a lot of things which make it different to other tournaments, and it is not one I look forward to. 8230; It is the most prestigious and honorable tournament, but not so enjoyable as the others.8221;

Pierce, who was born in Canada and raised in the United States but plays for France, said she did not know whether it was 8220;snobbery8221; or 8220;too many petty rules8221; that made Wimbledon less enjoyable.

8220;But that8217;s what makes Wimbledon,8221; she said. 8220;My favouritetournament is the Australian Open. The people are friendly and happy and there are great facilities.8221;

Pierce, who beat Conchita Martinez in the French Open final, has never made it past the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. She is seeded No 3 for this year8217;s tournament, which starts on Monday.

Wimbledon officials said Pierce was entitled to hero pinion.

8220;The All England Club is concerned to hear any comments such as that,8221; a spokesman said. 8220;The club itself always makes every effort to do everything to help the players enjoy their stay here. Obviously the championships give the opportunity for players to express their concerns. We8217;re very happy to listen to any particular comments she has to make.8221;

The club said Pierce would be impressed with Wimbledon8217;s new player facilities, including lounges, locker rooms and restaurants.

Responding to her criticism about transport, the club noted that every player gets 40-pound reimbursement for taxi fare from Heathrow Airport, a chauffeur-driven car throughout the tournament, and free transportation back to the airport.

During the French Open, Medvedev criticised conditions at Wimbledon and described the All England Club8217;s traditions as 8220;rubbish.8221;

8220;People treat you bad there,8221; the Ukrainian said. 8220;There is practically no motivation to play Wimbledon whatsoever.8221;

But Medvedev softened his stance after having a cup of tea and a chat with new All England Club chairman Tim Phillips.

Phillips listened to his complaints and offered to show him around the new facilities.

8220;His positive response to my criticism makes me more excited about going there than I have been in the past,8221; Medvedev said last week. 8220;Until now, I have always regarded the grass-court season as a month8217;s vacation in the middle of the year. Now I am determined to go there and do myself justice.8221;

Wimbledon said Phillips has no plans to meet Pierce but would be 8220;happy to talk with her8221; if she wants to.