Kuerten, Norman In French Final

The gangly Brazilian nicknamed "Guga" is back in the French Open final.
Gustavo Kuerten, the 1997 champion, was three games from defeat and down a service break before
he rallied to beat Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in a five-set semifinal today.
Kuerten won 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. His opponent Sunday will be steady Swede Magnus Norman ,
who earned his first berth in a Grand Slam tournament final by beating unseeded Franco Squillari 61, 6-4, 6-3.
In the women's final Saturday, sixth-seeded Mary Pierce will try to become the first Frenchwoman
since Francoise Durr in 1967 to win the title at Roland Garros. Her opponent will be first-time
French Open finalist Conchita Martinez of Spain, seeded fifth.
Pierce was treated for severe cramping following her semifinal victory over Martina Hingis, but she
recovered and won her doubles match today with Hingis.
Kuerten trailed 3-2 in the fourth set when he received a back massage from a trainer and
immediately began to play better. The fifth-seeded Kuerten broke serve for 3-3, then broke again on
the fourth set point to even the match.
The 16th-seeded Ferrero began to look tired and dejected when Kuerten broke again for a 4-2 lead
in the final set. Kuerten slammed a service winner to close out the victory, then raised his arms,
smiled and blew a kiss to the crowd.
"A match like this is about surviving, and I'm so happy to be in the final," Kuerten said. "It was a
great atmosphere. I hope to have the same fun on Sunday."
The match, which took three hours, 38 minutes, was one of the longest of the tournament. Kuerten
was also down a set and a break in the fourth set of the quarterfinals before he rallied past fourthseeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
"Once again it proves that in tennis you shouldn't be too confident," Ferrero said. "Until the last
point, the match isn't done."
Kuerten and Norman have been the hottest players on the men's tour this spring. Last month
Norman beat Kuerten in the final at Rome, and the following week Kuerten beat Norman in the
quarterfinals at Hamburg.
The biggest stars on the men's tour were missing from the semifinals, and the stadium was only onethird full when Norman and Squillar took the court for the first match. The third-seeded Norman
leads this year's ATP Champions Race and has won seven tournaments since April 1999, but he
reached the final without much fanfare.
"Maybe people are a little surprised," said Norman, 24. "But I've had great results this year, so I'm
not surprised."
Now that he has a chance to become the first Swedish champion at Roland Garros since Mats

Wilander in 1988, Norman may attract more attention.

"I will give it a try tonight," he said. "I love Paris, just to walk around. We'll see tonight if they
recognize me."

Norman, who was in the stands to watch Hingis' semifinal loss, didn't deny rumors that they're
dating.
"That's my private life, and you guys have to understand that," he said. "Obviously she's a very good
friend."
Serving well despite gusty winds and coming to the net more than usual, Norman won the first set
against Squillari in 28 minutes and never wavered from there.
"I played a perfect match," Norman said. "I was very aggressive. I even came to the net a few times,
which I normally don't do. You've got to take some risks. That's what I did."
Squillari, the first Argentine in 18 years to reach a Grand Slam tournament men's semifinal, prefers
to play five or six steps behind the baseline. But from there he struggled with his service return, and
Norman faced only one break point.
"Today was not great tennis," Squillari said. "It was not a very good match for him or for me. He won
today because he played the less bad. I had trouble concentrating because there was a lot of wind on
center court."
Pierce barely made it through her 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over the top-seeded Hingis in Thursday's
semifinals. Pierce cramped from dehydration late in the match and admitted she probably couldn't
have played much longer.
Minutes after leaving the court, the cramping became severe and Pierce received intravenous fluids.
But she recovered and teamed today with Hingis to reach the doubles final by beating Alexandra
Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed

 2000 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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