French sensation aiming to create even bigger stir

Bills taxes are no longer a concern, at least for the moment. All Nicolas Coutelot has to worry about is fellow Frenchman Arnaud Clement.

They'll in the third round today in the French Open, where Coutelot has become the most captivating story of the first week. He beat Italy's Davide Sanguinetti in the opening round, then outlasted 2002 Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian of Argentina on Thursday, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 6-1.

Not bad for a player ranked 208th who arrived at Roland Garros without a victory at the tour level this year. He's the only qualifier among the 64 men and women still in the tournament.

"I'm not afraid of anyone," said Coutelot, a 26-year-old native of Strasbourg in eastern France. "It would be incredible if I got all the way to the end. If I said I can win the French Open, well, people think I'm mad. If you like, I'm mad."

If Coutelot is wrong and loses his next match, he'll still receive US$40,800 -- more than his annual average in prize money since turning pro in 1995.

"It's hard because there are bills to pay, taxes to pay," he said after his first-round win. "People think we all drive around in Porsches. If you like, I'll take you to the parking lot and show you what I drive around in."

Coutelot's was just the second of his career, and he described the experience as frightening. In the fifth set his stomach hurt, and on an 80-degree afternoon he said he felt cold.

But he played some of his best tennis down the stretch, while Nalbandian faded, smashing his racket several times in frustration. Coutelot complained in vain to the chair umpire that Nalbandian should have received a warning.

"I just ask, `If we can break two, three, four rackets, tell me, because I'm going to enjoy it, too,"' Coutelot said.

When the match ended, the players shook hands at the net and then debated the matter, their conversation growing increasingly animated. It briefly appeared as if a fight might break out.

"It's not against him, and he understood that," Coutelot said. "David is a good friend of mine. He just told me, `Come on, don't ask the chair umpire to give a warning. I'm your friend.'"