PARIS -- He arrived for the biggest match of his life fashionably late.

	Brian Baker, runner-up in U.S. Open doubles, hopes to win the junior singles title at this year's French Open.

The clock on Court 1 read 13:01, but Brian Baker didn't seem to be in a hurry. Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had been sitting in his changeover chair for five minutes. Later, with the umpire and Tsonga waiting at net for the coin flip, Baker cooly fiddled with his shoes. Even when he fell into a quick 1-3 hole -- except for a few, self-deprecating editorial comments -- the 18-year-old American never left the comfort and safety of his composure.

On Friday it carried him to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Tsonga and dropped him into the final of the French Open boys tournament. The No. 6 seed, who has won 10 consecutive matches, will play Stanislaus Wawrinka of Switzerland, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Nicolas Almagro of Spain.

This is no minor achievement.

The last American junior to win here was a guy named John McEnroe, back in 1977. The last 18-and-under U.S. boy to reach the finals was Jonathan Palmer, who lost to Fabrice Santoro in 1989.

Ashley Harkleroad, the 18-year-old American who engineered a second-round upset of No. 9 seed Daniela Hantuchova, lost in last year's girls final.

"I'm not going to compare myself to McEnroe," he said after the match. "Americans haven't done that well here, so I know it would be a great accomplishment."

Baker -- the last American singles player still standing in any of the four singles draws -- held court in Interview Room 3 at the Philippe Chatrier press center. There were 10 reporters on hand, including Christopher Clarey of The New York Times and Bud Collins. You know you've arrived when Bud Collins is taking notes.

The scary thing? Clay is probably Baker's worst surface; he spends only two or three weeks a year on the dirt. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Baker beat Tsongas by playing his typical hard-court game, big serves and more than a few volleys. In short, a lot of short power points.

"It's pretty warm here (mid-80s), the balls are getting lighter," Baker said. "I'm not going to sit back and grind with these European dirt-ballers."

Like many 18-year-olds, Baker contemplated college. He has scholarship offers from the University of Florida and Vanderbilt, but says he is "90 percent sure" he's turning pro a week after Sunday's final. He made the decision about a month ago but has yet to settle on an agent. After that happens, he said he will play Wimbledon as a junior, then try a few Challenger events and hope for a wild card at the U.S. Open.

Baker said some advice from Robbie Ginepri, the 20-year-old from Marietta, Ga., helped convince him.

"He said, 'If you're going to turn pro, turn pro now -- you can always go to college later,' " Baker said.

Will he miss all that schoolwork?

"No staying up late, doing homework?" he said, laughing. "I don't think I'm going to miss it that much.

"It's exciting, but at the same time it can be uncertain. The next 10 years ... it should be the most exciting time of my life."

He's right about the uncertainty.

For every former French Open boys champion named McEnroe, Lendl, Wilander or Edberg, there is one named Perez-Roldan, Carretero, Elsner and Diaz. About half of the 10 top-ranked juniors -- Barker is No. 3 , behind Marcos Baghdatis of Cypress and Richard Gasquet of France -- eventually wind up in the world's top 100 professionals. That's a 50-50 shot.

Baker has always been a top age-group player in the United States, but a win in the Orange Bowl in December convinced him he could play with most of the "big boys" there. He said he needs to work on his confidence in tight spots and his fitness.

Clearly, he's given this a lot of thought. Baker might not be going to college, but he is academically sound. He maintained a 4.0 grade-point average at Hillwood High School in Nashville, Tenn. He worked out a deal with the school that he would make up any missed work when tennis took him out of town -- which was often. Baker, whose brother and sister both proceeded him as valedictorians at Hillwood, was also the valedictorian, although he missed his graduation ceremony.

For some reason, drinking Perrier and Evian during changeovers, having ballboys hold umbrellas to block out the sun and visiting the great cities of the world appeals to Baker. Missing his senior prom, he said, didn't bother him all that much.

While Baker was knocking Tsonga off his home court, he could hear the roars of the crowd at Philippe Chatrier as Martin Verkerk and Guillermo Coria battled in the men's singles semifinals. Corria, he was told, was the 1999 boys champion.

Will he one day complete the long journey -- only a couple of hundred yards as the crow flies -- to one of the grandest stages in tennis?

Check back in a few years. The pressure, at this level, is immense.

At the Australian Open, Baker was eliminated in the Round of 16. He said he was feeling the pressure of the moment and the impending decision of whether to turn professional or not.

"I didn't come in with the expectation, 'Yeah, I'm going to win this,'" he said. "I'm not going to put pressure on myself. I'll let you guys do that."

Done.

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.