| | Associated Press
PARIS -- No one has had an easier ride to the semifinals of
the French Open than Magnus Norman.
The cool Swede, seeded No. 3, sailed through the tournament,
dropping only one set in just 10 hours of play to reach the second
Grand Slam tournament semifinal of his career.
Norman, 24, says the thrill of his life would be to
reach Sunday's final, but he first must conquer Franco Squillari of
Argentina, the only unseeded player to make the semis.
And that may be a daunting task. Squillari, 23, ousted Spain's
Albert Costa for his semifinal berth and is playing with new-found
confidence and strength.
"If he continues to play like that, he'll win the tournament,"
Costa said of the left-handed Squillari.
But Norman is determined to make the most of his chances, and
with top-seeded Andre Agassi already out of the running, they've
never been better.
"I've never been in a Grand Slam final. That's motivation
enough," he said. "I've been working so hard for this. I'm going
to work even harder on Friday to be able to get to that final. That
would be the biggest thrill of my life. I'm not going to let it
slip through, no chance."
Norman comes into the semis having won 15 of his last 17
matches. He won five tournaments last year and reached his first
Grand Slam tournament semifinal at the Australian Open. Last month,
he defeated Gustavo Kuerten to win the Italian Open and pass Agassi
in the ATP Tour points race.
A hard worker who prepares his matches with great care -- he
keeps a diary and takes notes on his opponents -- Norman couldn't
even stay away from center court on his day off Thursday. He sat in
the stands watching Mary Pierce beat Martina Hingis in their
women's semifinal duel.
Squillari, who grew up watching videos of Guillermo Vilas, is
the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam tournament semifinal
since Vilas did it at the 1982 U.S. Open.
He plays nearly 6 feet behind the baseline, but still jerks his
opponents from side to side with power and precision, especially
off his forehand.
The other semifinal pits the Brazilian Kuerten, the 1997 French
Open champion and No. 5 seed, against Spanish hopeful Juan Carlos
Ferrero, the No. 16 seed who knocked out Mark Phillipoussis to gain
the quarters.
Ferrero, 20, who shares his first two names with the King of
Spain, is a force to reckon with, and Paris has often been kind to
Spaniards. He posted one of the most brilliant climbs in the
history of the ATP Tour -- skyrocketing from No. 345 to 43 to earn
the tour's Newcomer of the Year award in April.
With all the pressure on Kuerten -- he's won 17 matches at Roland
Garros and lost only three -- fans can expect the Spaniard to bang
the ball with his usual tonnage of topspin and pound two-fisted
backhands pretty much where he wants.
Though clay remains his best surface, the hot Spaniard grew up
in a town without clay courts, refining the aggressive game that
goes with hardcourts.
A heartthrob in Spain, Ferrero is virtually unknown in Paris,
and the French fans are likely to cheer for Kuerten as they have in
the past.
The 23-year-old Brazilian had the crowd hollering his nickname
"Guga, Guga, Guga" as he rallied from a two-set, 2-4 deficit to
defeat Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the quarters.
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