Tarango Wins Popularity Contest, But Muster Captures Match

Leave it to Jeff Tarango to liven things up at a Grand Slam tournament.

The man who walked out of Wimbledon two years ago mimicked, mocked and taunted Thomas Muster at the French Open on Wednesday - and even served underhand at one point.

But the gamesmanship didn’t help.

Muster won the second-round match in four sets, drilling a point-blank overhead between Tarango’s legs on one point and refusing to shake his hand at the end.

Though Tarango was the clear instigator, Muster ended up as the villain. He stalked off the court to boos and jeers, while Tarango received a standing ovation and blew kisses to the fans.

“We know the history of Jeff,” the fifth-seeded Muster said after his 7-5, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory. “He’s not an easy guy. Everybody knows that. There’s no excuse for certain behavior on the court.”

Tarango remained defiant.

“Probably his ego is just a little bruised,” he said. “He has such a big ego. If you take a little bit of his limelight, he just doesn’t like it.”

Tarango said he was just trying to do whatever it takes to win against the 1995 French Open champion.

“I didn’t think I could beat him physically,” he said. “It’s a mind game as well as a physical game. I guess he wants all the rules to go in his favor. That’s not the way it is out there.”

The Tarango-Muster fireworks took some of the spotlight from top-seeded Pete Sampras, who routed Spain’s Francisco Clavet 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round and stay on course for the only Grand Slam title to elude him.

Among the women, five-time champion Steffi Graf continued her typical stroll through the early rounds by beating French wild card Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-3.

The only seed eliminated Wednesday was No. 9 Carlos Moya, the Australian Open runner-up who lost in four sets to fellow Spaniard Albert Portas, a qualifier.