Capriati, Agassi win at French Open

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Posted 1:46PM on Thursday, May 30, 2002

PARIS - Jennifer Capriati won a contest of struggling servers to reach the third round of the French Open, while Andre Agassi advanced when his opponent quit because of a foot blister. Capriati, the defending champion, lost her serve six times, but was able to beat Amy Frazier 6-4, 6-3 Thursday. Fourth-seeded Agassi had a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 lead when David Sanchez of Spain retired in the second-round match. Between the second and third sets, a trainer taped Sanchez's left foot. Late in the third, Sanchez was unable to run down shots from Agassi and after losing the set, he said he could not continue. ``Three sets is three sets. I played three yesterday. It's not the full test,'' Agassi said. ``I felt in a better position than I felt my opponent to be in. I felt like I was getting better as the match was going on.'' Also advancing Thursday were No. 3 Tommy Haas, who beat Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; unseeded American Chanda Rubin, who upset No. 16 Barbara Schett, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5; and 2000 champion Mary Pierce, who eliminated No. 32 Cristina Torrens Valero 6-3, 6-1. No. 11 Juan Carlos Ferrero - a loser to Gustavo Kuerten in the semifinals the last two years - made it to the court for a second-round match against Nicolas Coutelot. His status had been doubtful after spraining his ankle in practice. Other seeded winners Thursday were No. 14 Jiri Novak, who defeated Jens Knippschild, 6-1, 6-2, 7-5; No. 14 Iroda Tulyaganova, who downed Christina Wheeler; and No. 20 Patty Schnyder, who beat Tathiana Garbin 6-3, 6-2. Frazier held serve just once and was broken eight times in her error-filled match against Capriati at center court of Roland Garros. After Capriati held in the opening game of the match, there were 11 straight service breaks. Frazier had a 3-2 lead in the second set before Capriati won the final four games, holding to clinch the match. ``It was making me a little mad that I couldn't hold my serve. We were going back and forth in the first set,'' Capriati said. ``In the second, I held my serve a little bit more.'' Frazier, ranked 61st, finished with 53 unforced errors and Capriati 39, while each player had seven double faults. Kuerten won his second-round match Wednesday and then took a lap around the court, slapping high-fives with fans who had cheered him as he pulled out another emotional victory at the French Open. Marat Safin did not ignore the fans, either. In a fit of anger, he tossed his racket into the seats and got it back after a mild apology. Andy Roddick got a ticket home, courtesy of a powerful left-handed server named Wayne Arthurs. Serena Williams lighted up center court with a fashion statement - a bright green dress with yellow trim, sneakers to match, and knee-high yellow soccer socks. Lleyton Hewitt turned to some cinematic inspiration and avoided an early departure with a major comeback against a determined qualifier. Kuerten, the three-time champion, had hip surgery in February and had to extend himself in a three-hour second-round victory over Davide Sanguinetti. ``It was a match where I just had to find a way,'' he said after rallying for a 6-7 (0), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win that prompted him to jog around the court in celebration. Second-seeded Safin, who had been slowed by a pinched nerve in his back, is known for his outbursts and there were several during his 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over Michael Llodra. When his racket ended up in the stands, he raised his hands to say he was sorry. Roddick, seeded 13th, didn't get past the first round as Arthurs aced him 25 times and came back for a 4-6, 7-6 (14), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win. Arthurs made the round of 16 at the French Open a year ago. Top-seeded Hewitt, the U.S. Open champion, appeared on his way out, as well, against qualifier Andrei Stoliarov, who jumped to a one-set lead and was up 5-0 in the second. Turning to some inspiration from ``Rocky IV,'' and yelling ``Come on Rock,'' Hewitt kicked it up a notch, won 14 of the next 15 games plus a tiebreaker and went on to a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0, 7-5 win. No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 6 Monica Seles and No. 4 Kim Clijsters all reached the third round, but No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Australian Open champ Thomas Johansson did not. Kafelnikov, the 1996 champion at Roland Garros, was eliminated 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) by Mariano Zabaleta. No. 9 Johansson was knocked out by Frenchman Arnaud Clement 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-3. Serena Williams, ablaze in her outfit, breezed into the second round with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Martina Sucha and was also scheduled to play Thursday.