| | Associated Press
Results
PARIS -- The French Open pays the men's champion about
$600,000, which would be pretty good compensation for all the
overtime Yevgeny Kafelnikov has worked.
|  | | Mark Philippoussis couldn't carry the momentum of his first-round win against Pete Sampras. |
Kafelnikov survived his third five-setter of the tournament
Sunday, outlasting Spain's Fernando Vicente 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (4),
8-6. In four matches totaling 12 hours, 53 minutes, the
fourth-seeded Russian has played 19 sets and 196 games.
"I don't feel physically tired at all," Kafelnikov said.
"I've just begun."
His latest victory was the closest call yet: He overcame 112
unforced errors and a 5-2 deficit in the fifth set. By that time,
with occasional light rain falling on a chilly evening, the stands
on Court Suzanne Lenglen were mostly empty.
Kafelnikov's wife, Mascha, could hardly bear to watch,
frequently covering her eyes with her hands as he mounted a
comeback.
"I'm really happy to survive," he said. "In best-of-five
matches in Grand Slams, the experience is on my side. And I feel
I'm physically strong enough to go the distance."
In the quarterfinals Tuesday, he'll face No. 5 Gustavo Kuerten
of Brazil. Kafelnikov, the 1996 champion, lost in the 1997
quarterfinals to eventual-champion Kuerten.
"I still remember '97," Kafelnikov said. "He was nobody at
the time. Right now, I think the odds are in his favor, but I'm
capable of doing anything."
Kuerten won a battle of South Americans in the fourth round,
beating No. 11 Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Two Spaniards also advanced. No. 10 Alex Corretja swept Roger
Federer 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-2, and No. 16 Juan Carlos Ferrero beat Mark
Philippoussis 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Kafelnikov had some help with his fifth-set comeback against
Vicente, who served for the match at 5-3 and was two points from
victory before he hit a pair of forehands long to lose the game.
Then, serving again at 6-6, Vicente dumped an easy overhead into
the bottom of the net. The Spaniard smacked his face with his hand
in dismay, then lost the next two points to give Kafelnikov a 7-6
lead.
Kafelnikov closed out the victory with the help of three big
serves and walked off a winner after 3 hours, 25 minutes of tennis.
The Russian hasn't won a clay-court tournament since his French
title four years ago, and he arrived at Roland Garros with an 8-10
record this year on the surface.
"If he's going to beat me, he's going to have to go through the
hard way," Kafelnikov said of Kuerten. "That I can promise you."
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