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Sunday Notebook Norman lets it all out; Successful open for French
Posted: Sunday June 11, 2000 02:57 PM
PARIS (AP) -- When the pressure really hits, even the coolest tennis player can crack. During his two weeks at the French Open, Magnus Norman was quick to say he was boring, noting he was exiled to smaller courts in the early rounds despite being seeded third. But during Sunday's error-riddled final against Gustavo Kuerten, Norman finally let his anger out. After losing the first set and the first game in the second, Norman threw his racket to the ground furiously. Later, he flung it again and broke it. "I was just trying to get into the match somehow," he said. "I just wanted to get fired up." Strong words from a man known for his stoic calm who earlier in the tournament spoke out about the new leniency regarding such demonstrations. "The ATP Tour said, 'We want more personality in tennis.' They thought breaking rackets is good," he said then. "I don't like the rule, because people should behave on the court. If you break a racket, you should be penalized." Sunday's loss is probably penalty enough for a player who had set his heart on winning in Paris. "I'm really disappointed. I really wanted to win the title. That's why I came here," he said.
Tennis teacherMartina Hingis lost to doubles partner Mary Pierce in the French Open semifinals, but she believes she has taught the older player a thing or two about the game. "Mary is a killer. She's got so much power," Hingis, 19, said after she and Pierce won the doubles title Sunday. "She learned a lot from me. She's getting dangerous." Pierce is the first woman to win both the singles and doubles titles at the French Open since Martina Navratilova in 1984. She is the first French woman to do so since 1967. Asked if she thought she could now reach the No. 1 spot occupied by Hingis, Pierce said it would be tough. "When I play well, I can beat anybody. I did it already. Bt to become No. 1, you have to play well all the time. That's the difficulty," she said.
French successThis really was a French Open. Of the four singles titles, France won three with juniors Paul-Henri Mathieu and Virginie Razzano joining Pierce as crowd-pleasing winners. Mathieu, 18, won the boys' title Sunday, beating Spain's Tommy Robredo 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. Razzano, 17, defeated Argentine Maria Emilia Salerni 5-7, 6-4, 8-6 in the girls' final. This is the first time since 1953 that French players have captured both junior titles. Razzano also played as a wild card in the women's tournament, losing to Pierce in the third round. Her victory is the first for a French girl since Amelie Mauresmo in 1996. Mathieu is the first French boy to win the junior title since Fabrice Santoro in 1989, and he nearly didn't compete. He decided to play the tournament only three days before it started, on the advice of his coach, Thierry Champion. Mathieu spent three years at the Bollettieri Academy in Florida and returned home this yea. In the United States he learned to motivate himself, he said, but being without his family was tough. "Sometimes I was a little lonely on Sundays and Saturdays," he said. "I had to motivate myself to go running. It was partly the American mentality that forced me never to give up." Mathieu now plans to dedicate himself to the pro circuit.
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