Top seed and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil came back from the brink today to reach thequarter-finals of the French Open, saving a match point before beating qualifier Michael Russell of the United States 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-1.
Kuerten, who needed 3hr 25min to get the better of a dogged opponent ranked just 122 in the world, next plays the winner of the match betweenYevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia and Tommy Robredo of Spain for a place in the semis.
But the Brazilian was extremely fortunate to hold on as Russell, who chased down every ball and ran as if his life depended on it in the first threesets, finally slid just off his best form as nerves kicked in and the champion started to find his shots.
Having pocketed the opening two sets to stun the crowd shivering in the cool breeze on the Philippe-Chatrier Centre Court, Russell seemed morethan capable of going for the kill as he broke for a 4-2 lead in the third and held.
But Kuerten almost imperceptibly began to claw his way back and saved a match point with a meaty forehand which wrong-footed his opponent asthe Brazilian got back to 5-4.
That was the turning point and Kuerten stormed through the tie-break, which he won on his third set point having swiftly motored 6-1 clear.
Russell had difficulty stemming the rising tide against him as he conceded the fourth set after spurning his sole break point and Kuerten wrappedthings up in the fifth lasting just 29min, putting away a simple smash on match point.
The American, who got this far having saved a match point in the first round of the qualifiers and having lost first-round matches in all four of hisprevious Grand Slam tournaments, said he was sad he had had to suffer such a cruel exit.
"I'm a bit disappointed. I was so close, just one point away.
"Maybe I could have been a little bit more aggressive. But he took it to me - that's why he's number one.
"I think in the beginning it was pretty windy. I was mixing up the pace and he was getting a little bit frustrated. After he squeaked out that thirdset he got a little bit more confident.
He came up big," said the 23-year-old from Detroit, who said nonetheless he could look back on a tremendous occasion with pride.
"It's unbelievable how a career can turn around on just one point," he said, alluding to his missed match point and the one that he saved in thequalifiers more than a week ago.
-AFP