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Finishing touches Kuerten meets Corretja seeking third French Open title
Updated: Sunday June 10, 2001 11:37 AM
PARIS (AP) -- When Gustavo Kuerten won his first French Open title in 1997, he tried to open a champagne bottle, but needed help from his coach. "I've never won a title before," he explained bashfully. Four years and many moons later, Kuerten definitely knows how to open a champagne bottle. The two-time winner and defending champion at Roland Garros is now the No. 1 player in the world, thanks to his dominance on clay. The wiry Brazilian is in top form and full of confidence as he enters Sunday's final. His opponent, Alex Corretja, will be making his second attempt to win the French crown, having lost the 1998 final to friend and fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya. His confidence, too, is brimming after an impressive run through the bottom half of the draw. He hasn't dropped a set since the first round. "I'm playing much better than I even imagined when I came here," he said after his straight-set semifinal win over Sebastien Grosjean, the French hometown hero who routed Andre Agassi in the quarters. Kuerten -- more lovingly known as "Guga" -- is seeking a place in a very selective group.
At 24, he's trying to become the sixth man to win three French titles and the first since Mats Wilander earned his third title in 1988. "I really never expected this to happen to me," Kuerten says. "Not even in my best dreams was I able to win three times here." Certainly not in 1997, when he came out of nowhere, ranked No. 66 to be precise, to take the title. At his postmatch news conference then, he was asked what he'd do with his prize money, and many found his answer charming. "Money?" he said. "I think I'll put mine in an account because I don't want to buy anything. I have a good house, and my mom's car that I use a little bit." Moments later, he was being serenaded on a balcony, swaying to a samba band composed of deliriously happy fans. He may not have known how to open a champagne bottle, but he certainly knew how to play clay-court tennis. He's honed that specialty over the years; he's won 43 of his last 46 matches on the surface. After a second-round loss in 1998 and a quarterfinal loss in 1999, Kuerten captured Roland Garros again last year. This year, he was on the brink of a straight-set elimination by an American qualifier, Michael Russell, who held match point in what would have been one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history. But fate smiled on him; he won a 26-stroke rally and went on to take the match. "I was blessed," he said. Corretja, seeded 13th here, has long been known as one of the nicest players on the tour -- his official bio even says he "enjoys meeting children and animals." But the 27-year-old Spaniard has never won a Grand Slam title, and he doesn't want to make the same mistake he made in his last Roland Garros final, against good friend Moya. "At that time it was my first final, against a friend," he said Friday. "I was maybe thinking it was the same, to win or to lose." "But after two days, I realized how bad it was losing." Corretja sees Sunday's match as a chance to show he's still a top player. "It's nice to see that I'm able to be there again," he says. For Kuerten, who has two Grand Slam titles already, it would be one more dream come true. After his near-defeat to Russell, he sketched a heart on the court with his racket, a gesture of gratitude to the fans and an expression of pure joy. If he wins the final, this ebullient player might just go out and paint the streets of Paris.
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