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 Tuesday, June 6
Squillari reminiscent of Agentine legend
 
 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
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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