segunda-feira, maio 31, 2004

 

Especialmente pra Gil, pra Vitória e pro Serginho:

Guga Triumphs as Argentines Advance at French Open



By Ossian Shine

PARIS (Reuters) - If love conquers all, Gustavo Kuerten already has one hand on the French Open crown.

The Brazilian's lasting romance with Paris and the Roland Garros center court crowd enjoyed another twist on Monday when he meandered into the quarter-finals of the claycourt grand slam.

His 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Spain's Feliciano Lopez thrilled the Parisian crowd and was a triumph of determination over pain, the Brazilian shrugging off a hip injury to progress.

"I have such feelings for this place," the former three-times champion said. "I always surprise myself here."

Kuerten will face eighth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian in the last eight after the 2002 Wimbledon runner-up beat Marat Safin 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

Nalbandian's victory means there are four Argentines in the quarter-finals of the men's singles at a grand slam event for the first time. Third seed Guillermo Coria, Juan Ignacio Chela and Gaston Gaudio are the three others.

Safin struck a forlorn figure as clouds gathered above Roland Garros.

The mighty Russian, suffering from severe blisters on his hands, was powerless to prevent Nalbandian advancing.

"My hands are bleeding... I couldn't play at the end," he said, holding up his palms as he sloped off court."

Lleyton Hewitt joined Kuerten and Nalbandian in the quarters.

His 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 win over Belgium's Xavier Malisse was testament to his fitness and dogged determination against a gifted but indisciplined opponent.

"VERY PAINFUL"

The Australian -- a former U.S. Open (news - web sites) and Wimbledon champion -- will face Gaudio next after the Argentine ended Russian Igor Andreev's run 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.

"Yeah, I felt confident out there," Hewitt said.

Bringing that confidence into the latter stages of the tournament, he added: "I've been there and done it before.

"I've been in a few second weeks of grand slams and come through them on a couple occasions."

Champion here in 1997, 2000 and 2001, Kuerten endeared himself to the Paris crowd long ago, and every time he takes to the Roland Garros center court, the stands ring with fans chanting his name.

On Saturday that support helped him to beat world number one Roger Federer in the third round. On Monday it helped him block out the pain of a persistent hip injury.

"After my surgery (in 2002) my hip is not able to work as before," the 27-year-old said.

"It's sometimes very painful and frustrating on court. If I am out there trying hard for one hour I start to get some pain in my leg.

"But when you are playing tournaments like this, in the quarter-finals, with your adrenalin high, you can bear a lot more than in practice or in the early rounds.

"The reality of being in the quarter-finals again is special for me, maybe more special than when I beat Roger."

In 2001, Kuerten entered Roland Garros folklore when he etched a giant love-heart in the center court clay with the edge of his racket.

Hewitt, who reached the last eight in 2001, was simply too consistent throughout his match and eased to victory against the gifted but inconsistent Malisse.

posted by Viviane at 5:53:00 PM