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 Man on the run Moya crushes Kuerten to advance at German Open
Posted: Friday May 07, 1999 03:14 PM
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- Carlos Moya produced one of his best matches on clay to beat Gustavo Kuerten for the first time on the slow surface Friday and move into the semifinals of the German Open. But the Spaniard will not be able to recapture the No. 1 world ranking he held for two weeks in March even if he wins the $2.45 million tournament. With the ouster of third-seeded Tim Henman by Mariano Zabaleta, there were not enough high-ranked players left in the event for Moya to earn bonus points he needed to become No. 1. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who took over from Pete Sampras as No. 1 this week, will remain in the top spot despite missing this tournament because of a viral infection. Moya, who had never beaten Kuerten on clay in four previous encounters, dominated the showdown between the last French Open champions, winning 6-0, 6-2. "It was one of my best matches on clay, maybe even better than last year when I won in Paris," Moya said. In the semifinals, Moya will play Marcelo Rios, the fourth-seeded Chilean who ousted local favorite Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-4. Zabaleta, who beat Henman 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, will play Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador in the other semifinal. Lapentti, an Australian Open semifinalist, beat Arnaud di Pasquale, a French qualifier, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2. Moya won his first Grand Slam at Roland Garros last year, while Kuerten won the French Open in 1997, coming virtually out of nowhere. "I was a bit nervous and I was very concentrated the whole match," Moya said. "I took the decision to attack every ball, and not let him attack." "From the very start I was hitting hard and deep," Moya said. "If I had picked a tournament to beat him on clay, it wouldn't have been here," Moya said. The red clay of the Rothenbaum club is considered one of the slowest on the circuit. But the weather has been unusually warm and sunny, making the conditions a bit quicker. Moya, seeded second this year, had never advanced past the third round in three previous attempts in the German Open. The Spaniard won the first eight games, before Kuerten broke his serve at love. But it was a brief comeback, although Kuerten again had a couple of break points at 4-2. Moya won on his third match point after 56 minutes when Kuerten netted a backhand. "He never let me get into the match," said Kuerten, who was seeded No. 8. "It's the best he's ever played against me, he was very strong from the beginning. I never controlled the match, I couldn't play the game I like," Kuerten said. "I never had a chance to come back. He made me play very tough shots. I don't feel I played badly, but I just couldn't get into my rhythm," the Brazilian said. Rios stormed back from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to win the next five games against Haas, who was playing in front of his hometown crowd. "I relaxed a bit. But I was playing with a lot of confidence and I was sure I could come back," Rios said. Zabaleta, an Argentine ranked No. 48 in the world, reached his second consecutive semifinal on the tour, after making the last four in Munich last week. He is a clay-court specialist, while Henman's serve-and-volley game is more suited to faster surfaces. The Argentine broke Henman's serve for a decisive 5-4 lead in the third set.
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