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Nalbandian beats Kuerten at French Open
Gustavo Kuerten's bid for a fourth French Open title ended Wednesday when David Nalbandian won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6) to give Argentina three men's semifinalist.
Kuerten failed to convert four set points in the final set, squandered a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker and sailed a forehand long on match point.
The No. 8-seeded Nalbandian's opponent in the semifinals Friday will be unseeded compatriot Gaston Gaudio, who beat No. 12 Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. No. 3 Guillermo Coria of Argentina will play No. 9 Tim Henman of Britain in the other semifinal.
"It's incredible for Argentina," Nalbandian said. "For us it's not normal. It's the first time, so it's something special."
Spain had three men's semifinalists at Roland Garros two years ago. But Argentina has never before advanced more than two men as far as the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event.
"This is like a history event — an unbelievable week," Gaudio said. "Maybe an Argentinian guy is going to take the final, and it's going to be like a dream."
Gaudio, Nalbandian and Coria all hope to become the first Argentine to win a major men's title since Guillermo Vilas won the 1979 Australian Open.
Paola Suarez of Argentina is in the women's final four and will face Elena Dementieva on Thursday. The other match will be between 2001 champion Jennifer Capriati, who beat Serena Williams on Tuesday, and No. 6-seeded Anastasia Myskina, who upset Venus Williams.
Kuerten has been a favorite in Paris since winning the first of his three Roland Garros titles in 1997, and the Brazilian captivated French Open fans with this year's surprising run to the quarterfinals.
Seeded only 28th and nursing a chronically sore hip, he engaged Nalbandian in grinding rallies for more than three hours. But Kuerten was hampered by his hip, requiring treatment from a trainer several times, and Nalbandian played better on the biggest points.
"He made me run a lot," Kuerten said. "Today I suffered a lot on the court. I had a very tough time."
Kuerten lost his serve three times in the third set, including the final game. Serving at 4-5, 30-all, he hit a forehand barely long. The umpire climbed down from his chair to confirm the call in consultation with a line judge.
On the next point, Kuerten sprinted into the corner to hit a backhand and slipped and fell. Nalbandian hit a forehand into the open court to close out the set, and Kuerten limped to his chair, tossing his racket at it in frustration.
Fans hoping for a Kuerten comeback kept waving Brazilian flags and singing his nickname: Guga. But he missed repeated chances in the final set to even the match against Nalbandian.
"By just a little bit it escaped from my hands," Kuerten said. "He was able to play pretty well in the right time, and that was probably the difference."
Nalbandian erased a set point serving at 3-5, overcame two more in the next game to break Kuerten, then broke again to reach 6-6.
In the tiebreaker, Kuerten played serve-and-volley — a rare tactic for him — and put away a shot at the net for a 6-5 lead. But Nalbandian erased another set point with a forehand winner, and consecutive errors by Kuerten gave Argentina yet another victory at Roland Garros.
The crowd gave Nalbandian a warm ovation, then raised the decibel level when Kuerten took a curtain call. "The fans were fantastic," Nalbandian said. "It's normal that they rooted for Guga because of what he represents to Paris." Playing in the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career, the 25-year-old Gaudio rose to the occasion with a nearly flawless performance. "I thought I was going to be really nervous," Gaudio said. "But, in fact, I was not at all." His biggest stumble came in the second game of the final set, when he slipped and fell chasing a shot and scraped his knee on the clay. Blood still trickled down his shin after the match, but his strokes were unaffected. The baseliner finished with 27 winners and just 19 errors, and he won 20 of 21 points at the net, playing serve-and-volley to close out two games. "He was too good," said Hewitt, who was seeded 12th. "He's very confident at the moment, especially on this surface, and his movements are as good as anyone on this surface." Gaudio won 11 consecutive points early in the second set to take control and needed less than two hours to complete the victory. He improved his career record in major events to 20-20.
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