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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Saturday, May 12 |
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| Ferrero reaches first career Masters Series final Associated Press | |||
ROME -- With his clay-court form peaking, defending French
Open champion Gustavo Kuerten rolled into the Italian Open final
with a 70-minute, straight-set win Saturday over Sweden's Andreas
Vinciguerra.
The wiry Brazilian overpowered the big-swinging 20-year-old to
collect a 6-2, 6-4 win and show why he's the clear favorite to
repeat at Roland Garros later this month.
A winner here in 1999, Kuerten will face rising clay-court star
Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has yet to lose a set this week, disposing
of Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-3 in Saturday's other
semifinal.
"I'm happy to play Ferrero. He's been the best player this
week," said Kuerten, who will be playing in his third straight
final at Foro Italico. "I'm sure it's going to be great tennis."
The 24-year-old Brazilian beat Ferrero in a grueling five-set
semifinal at last year's French Open on his way to a second Paris
title.
After a tough three-set match in Rome's first round, the
top-seeded Kuerten has dropped just 16 games in his last four Foro
Italico appearances.
Kuerten -- who won last month in Monte Carlo -- commanded play
against Vinciguerra, notching 42 winners and 13 aces and converting
all but one of his 11 rushes to the net.
Sunday's best-of-five-sets final will be the first in a Masters
Series tournament for the 21-year-old Ferrero, who has already won
three smaller tournaments this year, including an impressive
showing last month on clay in Barcelona, Spain.
Seeded eighth in the $2.95 million tournament, the fleet-footed
Spaniard moved Lapentti around the court with a mix of topspin and
the occasional hard, flat shot.
Lapentti, 24, once ranked eighth in the world, double-faulted on
match point.
Ferrero, who has won his last 10 matches, already has an eye on
Roland Garros.
"Everyone's a bit tired when they get there, but I hope to
arrive there in great form," Ferrero said. "But even if I don't
do well there, but finish well in Rome, it's good, because this is
also an important tournament."
Lapentti said Ferrero, who now holds a 3-1 lead in their
head-to-head matchups, has improved since their last meeting a year
ago.
"He's definitely playing great tennis, and is solid from both
sides," the Ecuadorean said. "There were some very long rallies,
and in the end I couldn't keep up with him."
For Kuerten, who finished last year atop the ATP rankings, his
11th-straight win again offered him a chance to reflect on his
continued success.
"Four or five years ago, I couldn't have imagined all of
this," said Kuerten, who burst on the scene by winning the 1997
French Open. "The results are more than I asked for. It's still a
dream even to play in the finals of this tournament.
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ALSO SEE Saturday's results Kuerten rolls over Corretja to reach semis | |
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