Agassi Dominates, Guga Guts It Out
Andre Agassi is now three matches away from his second
Roland Garros title.
American Andre Agassi gave Brazilian Flavio Saretta a
three-set beating Sunday, setting up a quarterfinal
meeting with either Guillermo Coria or Mariano Zabaleta.
In Sunday's match, Agassi was ruthless from the start,
dropping only three games in the first two sets.
Saretta put up a fight in the third set, but Agassi
eventually subdued the Brazilian 6-2, 6-1, 7-5.
The 33-year-old American is seeking his ninth Grand Slam title,
and second of the year. He won this year's Australian Open,
defeating Rainer Schuettler in the final. He also won trophies
in San Jose, Houston and at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami.
A title win at Roland Garros would bring him his second taste
at ultimate Roland Garros glory.
Carlos Moya returned to court Sunday fresh and fit, after surviving
a five-set, third-round battle against Juan Ignacio Chela on Friday.
He too needed only three sets to defeat Czech Jiri Novak, winning
7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
Moya is considered one of the favorites to win this year's Roland Garros.
A standout on the red dirt this year, he won clay titles in Barcelona
and Buenos Aires, reached the semifinals at the Tennis Masters Monte-Carlo
and the quarterfinals in Acapulco.
Moya now meets Dutchman Martin Verkerk, who fought off No. 11 seed
Rainer Schuettler 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. Although Verkerk may not be widely known,
he's become a rising star on the ATP circuit this season, winning the
title in Milan and reaching the semifinals last week in St. Poelten.
He also got to the quarterfinals at the Tennis Masters Series event in Rome.
Moya and Verkerk have never played before.
In other action, Gustavo Kuerten advanced to the fourth round,
after stopping Argentine Gaston Gaudio 7-6(1). 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in a
match that began Saturday but had to be completed on Sunday afternoon.
Kuerten may not have began the event as one of the favorites, but
is well in contention of winning his fourth Roland Garros trophy.
He meets Tommy Robredo in the fourth round.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Kuerten: "Already, even before this match, I was already with good
signs of confidence and belief in myself. It was a great win,
I think maybe my best match so far on these last months. I had to
play aggressive sometimes, and then change pace, and then be patient,
serve and volley a few times. So I had to really take everything
from my game. You know, many things were working fine."
About meeting Robredo
"I don't have a day any more to prepare and practice for the match.
But I think I have to practice a little bit different tactics, maybe
to surprise him. I'm sure there are going to be a lot of balls coming
and going because he's playing in a great rhythm. Just beat Hewitt in
the last round. I am looking forward to a tough battle, like today."
About the wealth of South American talent
"Everybody is around the Top 10 or into the Top 10, they have some
chance to win a tournament like a Slam, especially these young guys.
Nalbandian played a final already. Coria is coming with a lot of
confidence. Maybe it's coming through this tournament. I think there
are a couple of guys who really have a chance."
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