Coria prepares to face 'hero' Agassi

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) -- Argentine Guillermo Coria hopes to take a leaf out of Andre Agassi's textbook when he faces the American in the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.

"Ideally, I'd like to play more or less the way Andre Agassi plays," he said when asked what his tactics would be against the eight-time Grand Slam winner.

Coria beat compatriot Mariano Zabaleta 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Monday in a match lasting four hours and 42 minutes and spanning two days -- hardly ideal preparation for a meeting with one of the game's best ever baseliners.

Yet Coria is relishing the task against the 1999 French Open champion despite not having a rest for three days.

"I really want to play him, because he has always been my hero and I faced him on hard courts twice and I couldn't do anything," said Coria.

"Now is my opportunity to play him on clay. So I hope I'll be able to take my revenge," the seventh seed added.

Coria has emerged as one of the leading forces on clay this season, winning in Hamburg and reaching the final in Monte Carlo, performances which even impressed Agassi himself.

But the second-seeded American will have both experience and freshness on his side when he tackles the 21-year-old on centre court.

"He has a number of advantages, particularly since he's had an extra day to rest and his last match was not very long," said Coria.

"But I've won 10 matches in a row. That really gives me a lot of confidence. I don't think I'll ever be in a better position against him.

"So I hope that physically I'll be able to go through it and be concentrated."

The match will be a special moment for Coria, who was only six when Agassi made it to his first Parisian quarterfinal in 1988.

"I used to see him play when I was a kid, with his long hair," said Coria. "I used to like his attitude on court. I used to like his appearance, the way he used to dress. He was different."

Coria may have one secret weapon up his sleeve -- the experience of his coach Alberto Mancini, who beat Agassi on clay in Rome when the American was just 18.

"It's true he beat him in Rome, it was a very tough match and Mancini was playing wonderfully," said Coria, who practiced with Agassi on an outside court before the tournament.

 

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