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'We've already won the tournament'
Whatever the men's outcome, French Open belongs to Spain
Posted: Saturday June 06, 1998 03:17 PM
Corretja is 2-1 all-time against Moya () | |
PARIS (AP) -- It's 1994 all over again for Spain. Two Spanish men will play for the French Open title a day after compatriot Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won the women's championship.
This time, buddies Carlos Moya and Alex Corretja are battling to join Sanchez Vicario as a champion. In 1994, Sergi Bruguera beat Alberto Berasategui for the trophy.
Spanish men have won the French Open five times already, but have taken only three other Grand Slam titles. So it isn't too surprising that again, there will be a battle of clay-court specialists.
The two have met three times, not surprisingly, all on clay. Corretja has a 2-1 edge.
But Moya has gone farther in Grand Slams. He reached the 1997 Australian Open final, where he lost to Pete Sampras.
And he beat Corretja at Monte Carlo this year on his way to the title.
Moya, seeded 12th, is 28-12 this year. Corretja, seeded 14th, takes a 27-8 record into the final.
In the 1997 Australian final, Moya was hammered by Sampras, winning just eight games in three sets.
Yet Moya feels he is making a name for himself on all surfaces.
"Maybe one time to play the final of a Grand Slam is a coincidence, but I don't think two times is a coincidence," he said. "If that means I am a good player, I am a good player. I have improved my game, and that's why I'm here right now."
He says he learned from that defeat against Sampras.
"Everything was new for me at that moment," Moya said. "I was 20. Now I am a year older. It's not much, but it's something."
Corretja knows about playing Sampras. He pushed him to a dramatic fifth-set tiebreaker in the 1996 U.S. Open quarterfinals, double-faulting on match point to let a sickened Sampras win.
He had an easier time against another weary player, Cedric Pioline, in the French Open semifinals this year -- winning in straight sets.
Corretja also knows about being tired. Winning four three-set matches in three days because of rainouts in the German Open, he had to retire in the final.
"It's important to be in good shape because we have to play 15 days on clay," Corretja said. "Tough matches. Tough conditions. It's obvious you've got to be in good shape."
But however tired he gets on Sunday, adrenaline should pull him through.
"I've been working my whole life to find a place in the final of a Grand Slam," he said. "Let's see if I can win it.
"I know I am going to play a friend. I think we already won, both of us, and that's the most important thing. No matter who the champion is, I think we've already won the tournament."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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