PARIS -- Andre Agassi's bid for another French Open title was stopped Thursday by Juan Carlos Ferrero, whose consistent groundstrokes led him to a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 quarterfinal victory.

	Look for Juan Carlos Ferrero, above, to take the title, Andre Agassi said.

"The guy has a big game, he's hard to stop. I'd have to put him as the favorite at this point," Agassi said after Ferrero advanced to his third straight semifinal at Roland Garros.

The key to the match: Agassi's 87 unforced errors to 71 for the hard-hitting Ferrero, who at 22 is 10 years younger.

"I use my legs offensively. I'm not a gazelle out there running down shots one after another," Agassi said.

"Heavy conditions favor the guy who moves better and gets more off his racket. And on this surface, it's in Ferrero's hands."

Ferrero will meet Marat Safin in the semifinals. No. 2-seeded Safin easily beat Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and has now made at least the semifinals of the past three Grand Slam tournaments.

The match was suspended Wednesday by rain and an inspired Agassi came back out to capture the second set and tie the match.

But with the third set tied at 5-5, Agassi squandered three break points in the 11th game. Ferrero then broke to win the set when Agassi hit a backhand wide, double-faulted and sailed a forehand long on the final three points.

Agassi's frustrations began to show in the fourth when he let out a primal scream after one error and mocked one of his own errant shots with a curtsy.

Trailing 5-1, he broke and held before Ferrero served out the victory to make the semifinals for a third straight year.

"I used to watch him on television when he played Sampras," Ferrero said of Agassi. "One day I hoped to play against him. The time finally came."

Ferrero led 6-3, 1-0 when play was finally halted Wednesday after rain delays of 6½ hours.

With rain falling, temperatures dropping and light fading, Agassi motioned the chair umpire, who called the tournament referee.

"I didn't feel that it was good conditions. As far as I could tell, they both agreed," tournament referee Stefan Fransson said.

After play was called Wednesday, Ferrero said he was not consulted.

"No one spoke to me," he said.

But after the win Thursday, he insisted it was not a big issue.

"What I wasn't able to accomplish yesterday, I did today," he said.

Alex Corretja also advanced to the semifinals Thursday, completing a 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-5 victory over a weary Andrei Pavel, who had more important things on his mind.

Corretja, twice a finalist, won three straight games to capture a match that was initially suspended Tuesday night by darkness and held up again by rain on Wednesday.

Pavel drove eight hours through the rain Wednesday to Germany for the birth of his son -- getting there 90 minutes too late -- and then turned around after two hours and came back to Paris.

He arrived at Roland Garros around 5 a.m., and got just three hours sleep, the final two on a couch in the players' lounge.

"I'm not going to forget this day for sure all my life," Pavel said. "I don't feel even a little bit sorry that I lost right now because I was so happy to go back home."

Pavel drank sodas and coffee and ate health bars to stay awake and have some energy.

"I couldn't basically move, but it's no big deal," he said.

Corretja, who lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the French Open final last year, will meet Albert Costa in the semifinals.

In a scheduling logjam on center court, Marat Safin and Sebastien Grosjean also were to play their quarterfinal before the women began their semifinals: Jennifer Capriati vs. Serena Williams, and Venus Williams vs. unseeded Clarisa Fernandez.