| | Associated Press
PARIS -- Unseeded Franco Squillari became the first
Argentine since 1982 to reach a Grand Slam men's semifinal when he
beat Albert Costa 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 Tuesday at the French Open.
Squillari will next play third-seeded Magnus Norman, who beat
No. 12 Marat Safin in three hours, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. No. 5
Gustavo Kuerten, the 1997 champion, and No. 16 Juan Carlos Ferrero
meet in the other semifinal Friday.
"I think it's wide open," Squillari said. "Although I was
tired, I think I played great tennis today."
|  | | Magnus Norman reacts after beating Marat Safin during their quarterfinal Wednesday. |
The last Argentine to play in the men's semifinals of a Grand
Slam tournament was Guillermo Vilas at the U.S. Open 18 years ago.
Vilas and countryman Jose-Luis Clerc also reached the semifinals at
the French Open that year.
"They were the inspiration for a whole generation of tennis
players," Squillari said.
Squillari, 23, has never previously advanced beyond the second
round at a major tournament. He is ranked 45th and came to Roland
Garros with a record of just 15-13 this year. He has won the Munich
tournament the past two years for the only titles of his career.
But against Costa, Squillari played a masterful clay-court
match, combining patience with the foot speed needed to endure long
rallies. Hardly overpowering, the left-hander used his serve merely
to start the point and played several steps behind the baseline,
waiting for short balls he could attack to win points.
The approach worked, and Squillari beat the unseeded Costa for
the first time in their four meetings.
Squillari broke serve twice in the first set, and on set point
hit a forehand that smacked the net cord and landed softly on
Costa's side. The Spaniard walked off the court shaking his head at
the bad luck.
By the third set Costa was repeatedly dropping and throwing his
racket in frustration. He got back into the match by winning the
set but then began to tire.
In the final set, Squillari broke for a 5-4 lead, then served
out the match. On match point he slammed an inside-out forehand for
a winner, then raised his arms in triumph and looked to the sky
with a grin.
"The feeling is something new I haven't felt before," he said.
"I hope it will go on."
Norman, the leader in this year's ATP champions race, had his
hands full against the hard-hitting Safin. The demonstrative young
Russian repeatedly threw his racket and took a nasty spill in the
final game before finally sailing a forehand wide on match point.
Safin slammed his racket to the ground one more time, breaking
it, then offered Norman a warm handshake at the net.
"I was disappointed in my game," Safin said. "I played one of
the worst matches. Norman played an unbelievable match. He was much
better than me."
Norman, who also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open
in January, moved one win closer to his first Grand Slam title.
"It was a great match, one of the best," he said. "I got a
little bit tight, but I snuck through and I won it."
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