| | Associated Press
Results
PARIS -- 1997 French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten rallied from a break down in the fourth set to beat 1996
champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first men's quarterfinal match Tuesday.
|  | | Gustavo Kuerten outlasted an already worn Yevgeny Kafelnikov. |
A visibly tired Kafelnikov played 24 of a possible 25 sets in
his five matches here and logged more than 15 hours on court,
including three hours Tuesday. He overcame a whopping 112 unforced
errors and a 2-5 deficit in the fifth set to outlast Fernando
Vicente of Spain in the fourth round on Sunday.
Kafelnikov, 26, was in position to close out Kuerten with a 4-2,
40-15 lead in the fourth set, but he lost his serve and dropped
10 of the last 12 games.
"I had the match in hand," Kafelnikov said. "I just gave it
away. Up until 4-2 in the fourth set, Gustavo was nowhere to be
seen. I was in total control of the match."
Kafelnikov, who has not won a claycourt event
since taking both the singles and doubles crown here in 1996,
came into this event having lost 10 of 15 matches on the dirt.
He felt to 2-5 in five-set matches at the French Open, with both
losses coming to Kuerten.
Kuerten, 23, has had an easier time by far, posting
straight-set wins in three of his first four matches, and is
considered one of the favorites to win this tournament, though
he realizes he is fortunate to still be alive.
"I think after this, I could be in Brazil already," he said. "I
think that everyone could see that I was having tough moments
there. He was playing better, ready to win. I can not explain
why things turned around, but it just did."
Kuerten was runner-up at the Tennis Masters Series tournament in
Rome before winning the elite event in Hamburg. Kuerten also
claimed the Chevrolet Cup at Santiago, Chile and all seven of
his career titles have come on clay.
Unseeded Franco Squillari became the first
Argentine to reach the French Open quarterfinals since 1991,
beating Younes El Aynaoui 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in a rain-interrupted match
completed Tuesday.
The third set was 3-3 when rain halted play Monday. Squillari
needed just eight minutes and 17 points to complete the victory.
"It's an immense joy," said Squillari, 23. "I'm playing well
these days. I feel very comfortable on the court."
Squillari will next play unseeded Albert Costa, who became the
third Spaniard to reach the men's quarterfinals when he completed a
rain-delayed victory over No. 9 Lleyton Hewitt, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The last Argentine to make in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros
was Franco Davin nine years ago, and the last to win the tournament
was Guillermo Vilas in 1977.
Squillari, 23, has never previously been beyond the second round
in a Grand Slam tournament. Like Vilas, he's a left-hander.
"I followed what Vilas did," Squillari said. "Of course, I
was too young to watch him when he was playing at the top, so I
specifically watched videos about his game, especially when he
played the Davis Cup in Argentina."
No. 15 El Aynaoui, the first Moroccan to be seeded at a major
tournament, held serve only five times in 13 games. Squillari won
98 points, 59 on unforced errors by El Aynaoui.
Squillari has two career titles, winning the clay-court
tournament at Munich the past two years. | |
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