With the familiar red clay underfoot, and chants of "Gu-ga!" ringing in his ears, Gustavo Kuerten felt right at home.
Something about the French Open inspires the three-time champion: His preparation doesn't matter, nor does his health, nor does the opponent, apparently.
Showing no signs of a bum hip or recent time off, Kuerten upset No. 1-ranked Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 Saturday to reach the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the sixth straight year.
PHOTO: AFP
"I came here in bad shape, playing bad," said the man known as Guga, who entered the French Open ranked 30th and just 2-4 since February. "But every time I go on the court, it seems something special happens with the love and passion I have for the tournament that brings the best out in me."
It tends to bring out the worst in the top-seeded Federer, who lost to journeymen in the first round in 2002 and 2003. After the latter disappointment, he went 19-1 at Grand Slam tournaments, winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Boasting a tour-high four titles and a 34-3 record this season, the Swiss star never worked his way into the match against Kuerten, though, failing to secure a break point after the second game.
"I don't really care what I did. Now it's over. The tournament is over," Federer said when asked whether he erred in strategy. "What can I do now?"
Book a flight, for one thing. His early exit follows those by defending champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne and marks the first time in French Open history that both top-seeded players lost before the fourth round.
The "ooh-waah" Kuerten seemed to sing as he exhaled while swinging through each ground-stroke sounded similar to the fans' chants of his nickname echoing through the main stadium, where green-gold-and-blue Brazilian flags dotted the stands.
The spectators were in an angrier mood six hours later, when full-throated boos were directed at Marat Safin as he walked off the same court at dusk, toting a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Italian qualifier Potito Starace, who's ranked 202nd.
The match provided the most theater on a day when Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati moved into the women's fourth round.
Safin -- penalized a point for pulling down his shorts during a two-day, five-set, second-round victory over Felix Mantilla -- drew the crowd's ire by repeatedly stopping play to have blisters on his left hand treated by a trainer.
The most notable interruption came while Starace was serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set and right after a spectacular forehand passing shot erased Starace's second match point (Safin saved one against Mantilla). The jeers and whistles were so loud during that delay, Safin climbed up the chair umpire's stand to hear him.
The Russian showed his hands to Starace, who later said Safin probably was hurting but "surely, he did it to make me more nervous."
Safin had eight blisters on his hands; he's right-handed but uses a two-fisted backhand.
"It's really sad for me the people couldn't understand," said the 2000 US Open champion, who had 20 aces and finally won on his sixth match point, when a weary Starace dumped a forehand into the net.
Had the match not ended in that game, it would have been suspended until Sunday. Instead, Safin can heal for a day before facing No. 8 David Nalbandian.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to