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Notebook Safin suffers 'busy ball boys'Posted: Monday June 03, 2002 5:56 PMUpdated: Monday June 03, 2002 8:30 PM PARIS (AP) - Marat Safin had a lot of trouble getting a ball boy's attention during his fourth-round match at the French Open on Monday. Hoping to get a ball thrown his way for a practice swing after an errant shot in the third set, Safin called out to the ball boy. Then he yelled. Drowned out by the roar of the crowd, Safin waved. When that failed, he started doing jumping jacks. 'The ball boy didn't care about me anymore,' Safin said with a smile after beating France's Arnaud Di Pasquale 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 2-6. 'The ball boys were too busy.'
Both were prodigies at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton, Fla. Other products of the school include Monica Seles, Jim Courier, Tommy Haas and Anna Kournikova. Mathieu spent three years with Bollettieri, and won the French Open junior title in 2000 at the age of 18. He lost to Agassi 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. The player Mathieu beat in that 2000 boys' final, Tommy Robredo, lost to Agassi in the third round.
Missing KuertenJuan Carlos Ferrero isn't satisfied.Sure, he's back in the quarterfinals of the French Open for the third straight year, but something's missing: rival Gustavo Kuerten. 'I'm not happy that Kuerten lost,' the No. 11-seeded Ferrero said after beating Argentina's Gaston Gaudio 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 Monday in the fourth round. Ferrero will play Andre Agassi for a spot in the semifinals. Each of the past two years, Ferrero lost in the French Open semifinals to eventual champion Kuerten. Ferrero, who came to the tournament as one of the favorites, was looking forward to a rematch. Kuerten, though, was eliminated in straight sets Sunday by Albert Costa. If he wins the tournament, Ferrero will become the first man seeded No. 11 to do so.
French BugThere is a name for what's been happening to France's top women players at Roland Garros this year: Paola Suarez.The unseeded Argentine eliminated all three of Frenchwomen who were seeded at the French Open: No. 8 Sandrine Testud in the first round, No. 27 Nathalie Dechy in the third round, and No. 10 Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round. France's last hope for a female champion to call its own is quarterfinalist Mary Pierce, who won the tournament in 2000 and isn't on Suarez's side of the draw. Pierce's ranking has fallen below 100 because of injuries and she needed a wild-card invitation to play in Paris. In Tuesday's round of eight, Suarez faces countrywoman Clarisa Fernandez, while Pierce goes up against No. 3 Serena Williams. |
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