Ferrero, Agassi cruise; Grosjean, Safin tested
Nyree Epplett
Saturday, June 1, 2002

Leading title contenders Andre Agassi and Juan Carlos Ferrero
cruised easily into the fourth round, while No3 Marat Safin
and No10 Sebastien Grosjean met greater resistance en route
to their victories on Saturday.

Although showing no signs of the ankle sprain he sustained
in practise earlier in the week, Ferrero later admitted that
it had slowed him down during his 6-2 6-3 6-3 win over Argentine
Guillermo Coria.

"My ankle is still not 100 per cent. But today I felt no pain.
I tried to play only with the tape, no injections."

Impenetrable from the ground, the young Spaniard pounded down
30 winners, and bullied his opponent into making 70 unforced errors.

Ferrero now meets No31 seed Gaston Gaudio, who gained his first
ever round of 16 berth at a Grand Slam when his opponent Hicham
Arazi retired with cramps in the fourth set. Gaudio had set up a
commanding lead 6-2 4-6 6-4 3-1.

Grosjean was taken to the limit by the resurgent American Vincent
Spadea 6-2 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 6-4, drawing on a capacity Court Philippe
Chatrier to drive him over the line after three hours, 22 minutes.

His fourth round opponent will be the young Belgian Xavier Malisse,
who ousted Spain's Albert Portas 6-2 6-3 7-6(3). Malisse is carrying
the hopes of his country into the second week, after his much-touted
countrywomen Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters bombed out in the first
and third rounds respectively.

"It will be tough to beat him (Grosjean)," said Malisse. "He's a
Frenchman, will have the crowd with him. He's better ranked than
I am, as well. But I think it will be a good match for me. I have
nothing to lose.

"On paper, everything would have been over for me on Thursday, so
I'm relaxed," said the Belgian, who beat No6 seed Tim Henman two
days ago.

Safin had his mental fragility exposed in his four set victory over
the underrated Argentine David Nalbandian 6-3 6-3 3-6 6-4. The big
Russian spent the first two sets imposing his monstrous first serve
and lethal groundstrokes onto his shell-shocked opponent, but then
self-combusted in the third set when Nalbanian tightened his game,
cut down on his errors and cranked a handful of winners.

"The first two sets was great tennis, I think, then I lost my game,
" said Safin. "I had my match in my hands the fourth set, 3-0. Just
try to make 4-0. But I just missed everything and I was a break down
in the fourth."

The Argentine frustrated the volatile Russian with a brilliant display
of shotmaking late in the third set, wearing the big man down by taking
risks on the big points. Safin's body language told the story, the third
seed hanging his head and waving his arms furiously.

"I start to play his game, and that's why I start to have problems,
and that's why I lost my game," summed up the Russian. "My game is
just to, you know, make the point shorter, try to look for the net.

"In every match, you have this feeling that you are losing your game.
It means you are losing a little bit of concentration.

"You try to hang in there. But it's difficult. The other guy is
feeling this, and he's playing much better because he has more
confidence the way the match is going."

Safin later admitted that he was happy the majority of his
performance today. "Was a great fight. I'm satisfied the way
I fought."

He comes up against one of his friends on the tour, Frenchman
Arnaud Di Pasquale, one of two unheralded French wildcards to
post surprise third round victories on Saturday.

Pasquale and Paul-Henri Mathieu lifted the mood of the Parisian
sports fans whose spirits had been crushed yesterday following a
World Cup loss and Arnaud Clement's harrowing five set defeat
against Alex Corretja after holding four match points.

The 175-ranked Pasquale completed an inspiring career resurgence
by triumphing over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4 6-3 6-3. The
Frenchman is returning from a seven-month layoff following knee
surgery last September, and admits to feeling more committed to
the game than before his break.

"I've won three matches but I must admit I had a playable draw.
The good thing is that I've been able to take advantage of it. I
don't think I've been playing great, just been playing solid.

"If I play Safin, it will be on center court. That will be great.
That's something I want to experience...I'll be very happy to play him.

"It might be a great match."

20-year-old Mathieu - the junior boys winner here in 2000 - upset
No14 seed Jiri Novak in straight sets 6-4 6-4 6-3 on Court Suzanne
Lenglen.

Mathieu will have to turn it on if he is to have a chance in the
next round against 1999 champ Agassi, who bounced the young Spaniard
Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-4 6-2.

Adeptly controlling the center of the court with his quick-fisted
groundstrokes, the 32-year-old Agassi was never in trouble on the
day, backing the quick Robredo up with exploding blasts to all
angles of the court.

"I want to believe I'm a strong contender. I want to believe that
coming here," said the Las Vegan. "It's what's crucial to me to
continue playing this game, is to feel like I have a shot if I
play the best tennis at the right time."