AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS: Such are the fluctuations in the weather during the summer months here that the old joke is that Melbourne experiences four seasons in any one day. Make that four seasons in any one match after Andy Roddick defeated Younes El Aynaoui 4-6, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, 21-19 in the last of the men's quarter-finals yesterday, a stupendous match which lasted one minute short of five hours.
Winter, spring, summer and autumn appeared to pass by in an contest of extraordinary intensity and quality, with the fifth set breaking all open-era records. Three years ago at Wimbledon Mark Philippoussis defeated Sjeng Schalken 20-18 in the fifth. But that was in the third round whereas on this occasion, which made it all the more remarkable, El Aynaoui and Roddick were straining every sinew and limb to reach their first grand slam semi-final.
The real winner may turn out to be Germany's Rainer Schuttler, who much earlier defeated Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 and plays Roddick tomorrow for a place in Sunday's final. Schuttler, like last year's unlikely winner, Thomas Johansson of Sweden, has seemingly sneaked in from nowhere, but he is super-fit and will surely have watched the fifth set, which itself lasted 2 hour 23 minutes, with a huge smile.
Roddick and El Aynaoui slugged away at each other during the final hour like men in a dream, desperately forcing themselves to keep going while their bodies were screaming at them to stop. The Moroccan, 31, is 11 years older than Roddick, and maintained a wonderfully calm and dignified presence throughout while the histrionic young American raged against line-calls and lambasted the umpire, Pascal Maria of France.
"You know the thing that supports your back, it's called a spine," screamed Roddick. This after Maria, quite rightly, had refused to make an over-rule at the end of the third set when Roddick's forehand drive-volley appeared to clip the line and was called out, thereby giving El Aynaoui a 2-1 sets lead. And the rant continued into the fifth set.
Small wonder, perhaps: Roddick, the youngest player in the top 10, had survived a match point with the score at 4-5 in the fifth set and then failed to serve out at 11-10. He needed to keep complaining to maintain his momentum because El Aynaoui, who in the previous round defeated Lleyton Hewitt, played even better tennis than in that match.
This is not to say Roddick used gamesmanship. It was a contest fought in the best spirit and at the end, at 1 a.m. local time, they clasped each other like long-lost brothers.
"Younes is a class act and I'm extremely humbled by this victory," said Roddick. "It was really special playing in that fifth set, and the crowd were fantastic, keeping us both on our feet."
Those who had doubted Roddick's mental fortitude will have to think again. In his previous match he had come back from two sets and a break of serve down to defeat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in five, but yesterday's victory was something else.
The Americans have been desperately looking for a successor to Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi and for the first time Roddick gave genuine notice he may follow in their steps. At least nobody can now hint that he lacks fight.
Both served brilliantly, Roddick delivering 27 aces and El Aynaoui 25. More extraordinarily, both hit more than 100 winners. The Moroccan always possessed the greater grace and style, but Roddick's full-throttle, raw power rarely wavered, and they conjured numerous rallies of breathtaking variety and rich excitement. Right to the end, when El Aynaoui's tiredness got the better of him, it was impossible to guess who would win.
Had it been El Aynaoui, three of the four semi-finalists, including Agassi and South Africa's Wayne Ferreira, would have been thirtysomething. That has never happened in the open era. But Roddick finally struck a blow for youth, though whether it will be telling depends on him having anything left in the tank after two successive five-set matches.
It would be a terrible anti-climax for him if he lost to Schuttler. But the 26-year-old German, ranked number 36, who freely admits he has none of the charisma or ability of Boris Becker, is exceptionally quick and full of confidence. He benefited greatly from a walkover against Marat Safin, the number three seed, in the fourth round and has seized the moment. Roddick knows it will be tough, but the prize is huge.
In the women's draw, top seed Serena Williams beat fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy to set up a semi-final clash with Belgian Kim Clijsters, who overcame Russia's Anastasia Myskina.
The match is a repeat of last year's season-ending WTA Championships final in Los Angeles.
Clijsters won on that occasion but Williams denies she is out for revenge. "Vengeance belongs to God," she said. "I'm just here to play tennis." Shaughnessy found out just that to her cost as she was swept aside 6-2 6-2 in their quarter-final encounter.
"I think I would be favourite in the semi-final because of my ranking and past record, but Kim is playing really good tennis," added Williams. "I always say that if I am playing my best it's hard to beat me because I am coming into the net, doing everything right."
Serena's victory kept prospects of a fourth consecutive all-Williams Grand Slam final on track with sister Venus also through to the last four where she faces Justine Henin-Hardenne.
Clijsters has never played better or more consistently in her blossoming career and reached the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the highly-rated, but ultimately outclassed, Myskina.
Guardian Service
Andy Roddick of the US throws a shirt into the crowd after defeating Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco at the Australian Open yesterday and (left) El Aynaoui disputes a call by staring at the baseline. Roddick now faces Germany's Rainer Schuttler in tomorrow's semi-final.
MEN'S SINGLES, Quarter-Finals: (31) Rainer Schuettler (Ger) bt (10) David Nalbandian (Arg) 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-0, (9) Andy Roddick (USA) bt (18) Younes El Aynaoui (Mor) 5-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-4 21-19.
WOMEN'S SINGLES, Quarter-Finals: (4) Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt (8) Anastasia Myskina (Rus) 6-2 6-4, (1) Serena Williams (USA) bt (25) Meghann Shaughnessy (USA) 6-2 6-2.
MEN'S DOUBLES, Quarter-Finals: (1) Mark Knowles (Bah) and Daniel Nestor (Can) bt Albert Portas (Spa) and Tommy Robredo (Spa) 6-1 6-3, (16) Gaston Etlis (Arg) and Martin Rodriguez (Arg) bt (9) Leander Paes (Ind) and David Rikl (Cze) 6-3 6-3.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES, Quarter Final: (2) Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spa) and Paola Suarez (Arg) bt (8) Conchita Martinez (Spa) and Nadia Petrova (Rus) 2-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3).
MIXED DOUBLES, Quarter-Finals: (4) Donald Johnson (USA) and Rennae Stubbs (Aus) bt (7) Jared Palmer (USA) and Janet Lee (Tpe) 6-4 6-4, (5) Kevin Ullyett (Zim) and Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) bt Thomas Shimada (Jpn) and Ai Sugiyama (Jpn) 2-6 6-3 7-6 (10-4).
