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Moving on Kuerten, Corretja, Medvedev advance to quarterfinals
Posted: Monday May 31, 1999 12:31 PM
PARIS (AP) -- Playing better than anyone on clay this season, Gustavo Kuerten eased into the French Open quarterfinals with a straight-set victory Monday over Bohdan Ulihrach. Kuerten beat his Czech opponent 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and appears ready to contend for the French title he won in 1997. "I'm feeling more comfortable during points," the Brazilian said. "I love to come back here. Everyone treats me so well." He next faces Andrei Medvedev, the much-improved Ukrainian who toppled Pete Sampras in the second round. Medvedev had two close sets against France's Arnaud Di Pasquale before coasting in the third set, closing out the 7-6 (7-5), 7-6, 6-1 win with a forehand at the net. Brazil enjoyed another victory when Fernando Meligeni beat 14th-seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain. Meligeni came on strong in the fourth-set tiebreaker, racing to a 6-1 lead before winning 6-1, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1). In the quarters, he'll face Alex Corretja, who had no trouble defeating Stefan Koubek of Austria 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. Corretja reached the finals last year, losing to Carlos Moya. On Sunday, two Americans -- one a young rising star, the other a veteran many think past his prime -- came up with surprises. Venus Williams expected to go far in Paris this year. But against qualifier about whom she knew nothing, she lost control, blowing three match points. Andre Agassi, seeded only 13th these days, took on Moya, the defending champion and a clay-court master. Trailing a set down and 1-4 in the second, Agassi seemed finished. But at just the right moment, he found his game, the aggressive one, and sent Moya to an early exit. Sunday was a good day for experience and seasoning. It began with Steffi Graf holding back young Anna Kournikova, and culminated with Agassi's intelligent victory. For Williams, like her younger sister Serena a few days earlier, it was a day for humility. In the previous round, she had exulted: 'I'm ready!' - to win a Grand Slam, that is - and told TV fans she was a good bet for the trophy. But Williams seemed nonchalant during the most important points against Barbara Schwartz of Austria, and afterward seemed nonchalant, too. "You win some, you lose some," she said. "I'll just have to do my best in the next Grand Slam now," said Williams, seeded fifth. "This one is not mine. There's no need to be sad or depressed because it's only a small part of life." Williams' 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 fourth-round exit was her quickest in the last seven Grand Slam tournaments. Agassi, though, seemed to tap into some fierce desire that told him he could turn things around despite trailing badly in the second set. "Today was a huge, huge obstacle in my way," Agassi said after his 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 victory. "I felt good about not just winning, but how I won. I like the way I played." A first-round loser a year ago, Agassi is now trying to become the first American man in 61 years to complete a career Grand Slam. Sampras tries that everyyear in Paris. But for whatever reason, he has psyched himself out on clay. Agassi has done the opposite. Agassi suddenly turned the match around with offspeed shots, unk lobs, lunging retrievals and a go-for-broke offense that Moya couldn't handle. "As long as I played tennis, everything was under control," Moya said. "Then I started thinking about something else." "When I wanted to play well again, I couldn't." In the first set, Moya "was hurting me, stretching me around the court, just giving me a beating," Agassi said. "But once I got the offense, I actually believed I could win. I felt like I was hurting him." When Moya's final forehand landed weakly in the bottom of the net after he chased down a lob, the Spaniard dropped his racket in disgust. Moments later, he gave it to a fan. Agassi was runner-up at Roland Garros in 1990 and 1991 and a semifinalist twice. He lost in the first round last year, skipped the year before that, and went out in the second round in 1996. Almost 30 years old, he takes great satisfaction in "just feeling like I can still do it."
"You can believe it all you want," he said. "But until you do it, it's just a bunch of talk."
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