PARIS -- Andy Roddick became the last American to tumble out of the French Open on Thursday when he lost his quarterfinal junior boys match against France's Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Roddick did not comment after his defeat, but with his fledgling pro career taking off, he is sure to be back in the tennis spotlight soon.

As the last American competing in the singles in Paris, the world's top-ranked junior found himself the center of attention. He tried to not let the hype go to his head.

"When you hear people say, 'next great American hope,' it's nice, it's flattering, but it doesn't put the ball in the court," he said Wednesday.

Roddick made his debut on the pro circuit in February, and the matches he has played have taught him a lot.

"I'm going to have to keep at it. I think their fitness is a lot better than mine right now, the way they play five sets of 20-ball rallies. I couldn't do that right now," he said.

Roddick has already had a glimpse of the world of tennis superstars. He was Andre Agassi's practice partner at the Davis Cup quarterfinal against the Czech Republic.

"Agassi is an animal in practice. When you see him practicing, it's like he's playing the finals in the Grand Slam every day," he said.

Roddick has requested wild cards to most of the tournaments before the U.S. Open. But he knows the size of the gap between juniors and pros.

"Juniors, you'll see them hanging out in the locker room twiddling their thumbs. Those guys are no-nonsense, they're all business," he said of the pros.

Fresher feet
Of the four men who step out onto center court Friday in the semifinals, No. 3 Magnus Norman will have the freshest legs.

Norman, who defeated Russian Marat Safin in the quarterfinals, has played 10 hours, 6 minutes so far in the tournament, losing just one set.

It has taken the unseeded Argentine Franco Squillari the longest to get to this stage -- 12 hours, 38 minutes. En route, Squillari has lost four sets.

Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten has been on court 11 hours, 51 minutes and has conceded three sets.

Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, at 20 the youngest semifinalist, has played 10 hours, 32 minutes and has lost three sets.

Don't Forget Guy
For Conchita Martinez, 13 is a lucky number.

The 28-year-old Spaniard has at last made it to the women's final in her 13th visit to Roland Garros.

Martinez, who turned pro in February 1988, dispatched fellow Spaniard and three-time champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 6-1, 6-2 in just 1 hour, 20 minutes.

Martinez has played three semifinals in Paris -- in 1994 against Sanchez-Vicario and the following two years against Steffi Graf.

Sanchez-Vicario admitted she had made many mistakes during the match. "I think she didn't win the match," she said. "I lost the match. Today was her good day and my bad day."

On Saturday, Martinez will play France's Mary Pierce.