14 - 20 June 2001
Issue No.538
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 14 - 20 June 2001 Issue No.538 |
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Heart of clay
MIXING patience, power and pizazz, Gustavo Kuerten claimed his third French Open title by dismantling Alex Corretja 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, 6-0. The result delighted fans at Roland Garros, who have come to love Kuerten and chanted the bony Brazilian's nickname -- Guga -- throughout the match. In a reprise of his celebration after a harrowing fourth-round win last week, Kuerten used his racket to carve a heart in the red clay. Then he collapsed on his back with arms spread in jubilation, exhaustion and relief.
Kuerten plants a kiss on his trophy
The top-seeded Kuerten, 24, became the sixth man to win three French championships and the first since Mats Wilander earned his third title in 1988. He's the first man to win consecutive French trophies since Sergi Bruguera in 1993-94. But there will be no back-to-back major titles this year for Kuerten, because he'll skip Wimbledon in two weeks.
Kuerten played cautiously at the start of the final, when gusty wind sent clouds of clay into the stands. Conditions were worse during the first-set tiebreaker, when Kuerten missed every first serve and once went to his chair to wipe dirt from his contact lens.
Kuerten held serve, then broke to take the second set, and Corretja began to fold. He increasingly found himself pinned behind the baseline chasing shots into both corners, and when he hit a backhand wide to lose the third set, the Spaniard angrily smacked a ball into the stands.
"I wasn't feeling too well because I knew he was playing better," said Corretja, also the runner-up in 1998.
The final set was a rout, with Kuerten winning 23 of the first 25 points.
Kuerten earned $590,000 and became the first player in 25 years to win the men's title after being down match point in an earlier round. He was one point from a straight-set defeat in the fourth round against American qualifier Michael Russell, and following that escape Kuerten carved a heart in the clay for the first time.
"I never really had in my best dreams winning here three times," he said.
In the women's final, Jennifer Capriati jogged to the corner of the stadium where her family stood cheering, climbed onto a ledge and leaned over the railing to give her brother and father an emotional hug.
Weariness gave way to jubilation when Capriati finally closed out the gruelling, elusive victory Saturday, beating tenacious Belgian teenager Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10.
"I'm just waiting to wake up from this dream," Capriati told the crowd during the trophy ceremony. "It doesn't seem like reality right now."
Nervous and cranky in the unfamiliar role of heavy favourite, Capriati started poorly. Clijsters, who turned 18 on Friday, proved a remarkably poised opponent even as the tense final set unfolded. In terms of games, it was the longest third set of any French Open women's final, and the longest third set in any Grand Slam women's final since the 1948 US Open.
Four times, the 12th-seeded Clijsters was within two points of the championship. Each time, the fourth-seeded Capriati rose to the occasion. "She's playing with so much confidence at the moment, she doesn't feel any pressure," said Clijsters, who settled for the consolation of being the first Belgian to reach a Grand Slam final.
Both players battled fatigue in the latter stages of the 2-hour, 21-minute marathon. "I'd rather have a match like that than an easy one," Capriati said. "I love it."
Capriati's tumultuous past has given her a unique perspective, and during the trophy ceremony she dedicated the victory to Corina Morariu, a fellow American touring pro recently diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.
Compiled from news agencies
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