KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – Top-seeded Gustavo Kuerten made
another early hardcourt exit Monday night, losing to Swede Thomas
Johansson 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the third round of the Ericsson Open.
Four other seeded men among the top 16 were eliminated, leaving
only five surviving to the fourth round. No. 3 Andre Agassi and No.
8 Patrick Rafter are the top-seeded players left in their half of
the draw.
Despite finishing No. 1 last year, Kuerten lost in the opening
round in the Australian Open and U.S. Open, both on hardcourts. He
was upset in the second round in Australia in January and lost in
the third round this month at Indian Wells, also on concrete.
Against Johansson, Kuerten struggled with his serve and was
broken four times, including in the final game. The Brazilian had a
point to reach 5-5 but double faulted, and four points later
Johansson smacked a forehand winner for the victory.
"Maybe if I could get one or two points that I miss, it would
be different score," Kuerten said. "I was a little bit frustrated
in the last minutes, but I have to realize the good work of him."
Despite the defeat, Kuerten will remain No. 1 next week.
Agassi eliminated David Prinosil 6-1, 6-3, and Rafter beat
Francisco Clavet 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
No. 6 Magnus Norman, No. 11 Arnaud Clement, No. 13 Dominik
Hrbaty and No. 16 Mark Philippoussis all lost.
Norman was beaten by Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Ljubicic lost in qualifying and made the tournament only because
Richard Krajicek withdrew.
Clement lost to Carlos Moya 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. Hrbaty was beaten by
Tommy Haas 6-7 (4), 6-0, 6-3. Philippoussis lost to Roger Federer
3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Kuerten's defeat means both of last year's finalists have been
eliminated. Pete Sampras, who beat Kuerten for the Ericsson title
in 2000, lost Sunday to Andy Roddick.
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Monday's results
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