Garros

PARIS -- Ivan Lendl said he supposes his game will come around again. But when?It didn't at the French Open on Friday, where Lendl lost in the second round to Jaime Oncins, a 21-year-old unheralded Brazilian.In Lendl's first appearance on the stadium court at Roland Garros Stadium since his memorable loss to Michael Chang in the 1989 fourth round, he squandered a chance to win in the fifth set and lost, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 8-6. The match had been halted by rain Thursday with the deciding set tied, 5-5.Lendl's slide in the world ratings began on these red clay courts two years ago, when Chang, then 17, rallied from a two-sets-to-none eficit.

Rafael Nadal's phone rang last week. On the other end was Guillermo Vilas, owner of four Grand Slam titles and the man whose 1977 record for consecutive victories on clay Nadal was approaching. "I'm angry. You're showing a lack of respect for your elders," Vilas told the Spanish teen, tongue squarely in cheek. "If I see you, I don't know what I'm going to do to you." Caught off-guard and uncertain whether Vilas was joking, Nadal stammered for a moment before catching on. Turns out, they saw each other yesterday on center court at the French Open in Paris, and Vilas greeted him with a hug. Nadal broke Vilas' mark with his 54th straight win on clay, beating Robin Soderling of Sweden, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, at Roland Garros to begin defense of his first Grand Slam title.

PARIS -- So, what happened to French Open champions Iva Majoli and Gustavo Kuerten after the applause stopped at Roland Garros in June?The dream ending -- two unexpected, popular winners -- would be fine if it were a movie. But once the tour resumed, Majoli and Kuerten almost seemed caught in a Roland Garros freeze frame. Majoli has not won a tournament since. She hasn't been in a final and is clinging to a No. 10 ranking. Kuerten, at least, got to two finals in the summer, losing to Felix Mantilla at Bologna, Italy, and Chris Woodruff at Montreal.

PARIS - If people thought the women's semifinals at last year's French Open were tedious, yesterday's weak offerings made them look downright competitive. Nadia Petrova of Russia won only five games against Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium in the first semifinal, and Elena Likhovtseva of Russia came away with two in the second semifinal against Mary Pierce of France. Henin-Hardenne, about as close to a native as one can get without having been born in France, was boosted by strong crowd support from traveling Belgian fans.

PARIS - On tour, they call Karol Kucera "Little Cat," and down the stretch yesterday at the French Open, Andre Agassi looked as defenseless as a goldfish in a bowl. For Agassi, there will be no repeat of last year's emotional journey at Roland Garros. No theatrical bows and blown kisses to all corners of the court. No hands clutching the head in stunned delight. No communion with the Parisian public. Agassi turned escape into an art form here on his way to the 1999 title, but this year it was Kucera's turn to twist free of the ropes, winning, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round and sending a shock wave through the refurbished center court where Agassi and Steffi Graf became champions last year, before they became an item.

Rafael Nadal's phone rang last week. On the other end was Guillermo Vilas, owner of four Grand Slam titles and the man whose 1977 record for consecutive victories on clay Nadal was approaching. "I'm angry. You're showing a lack of respect for your elders," Vilas told the Spanish teen, tongue squarely in cheek. "If I see you, I don't know what I'm going to do to you." Caught off-guard and uncertain whether Vilas was joking, Nadal stammered for a moment before catching on. Turns out, they saw each other yesterday on center court at the French Open in Paris, and Vilas greeted him with a hug. Nadal broke Vilas' mark with his 54th straight win on clay, beating Robin Soderling of Sweden, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1, at Roland Garros to begin defense of his first Grand Slam title.

PARIS - The familiar drumbeat from the partying Brazilians had begun to echo across the grounds of Roland Garros yesterday when their own Gustavo Kuerten stripped off his shirt on the center court podium and slipped into a "Guga" original. It wasn't a work of art, more like Andy Warhol meets finger painter, but the shirt that Kuerten plucked from his pocket and pulled over his head was priceless. In blue magic marker, he had written "Je [heart-shaped symbol for love] Roland Garros" on the front.

PARIS -- Only a few days after I arrived in Paris to cover the French Open for The Sun, a friend said to me, "Why is it you go to Paris and everyone goes on strike?"I laughed. After all, only the museums and the baggage handlers at the airport had gone on strike.But then, two days ago, the Metro went on strike too, and it was no longer funny.The Metro is the Paris subway. With its workers on strike, the City of Light snarled to a halt. Buses, if you could figure out the routes and transfers, were packed and slow.

PARIS - Martin Verkerk stood on center court at Roland Garros. He had reached match point in his semifinal. One more shot, perhaps, and Verkerk, ranked 46th in the world and playing in his first French Open, would be in the men's singles final. Tears were gathering in his eyes as the final point was played. In his head were thoughts, he would say later, of "my whole life. I saw the bottom, the challengers. I saw two times how I wanted to quit tennis because I was mentally not good. I had the talent but not the fight."

PARIS -- The fourth day of the French Open began a half-hour early yesterday because officials wanted to get a jump on a backlog of matches postponed by rain. Organizers, more optimistic than Paris weather forecasters, had hoped to complete 31 of the 32 men's second-round matches and 21 of the women's second-round matches.That was not counting the doubles play scheduled for Roland Garros Stadium, where, plans aside, it rained again, much to the dismay of French Federation tennis officials who are hoping to finish this Grand Slam tournament in two weeks.

With passion and defensive determination, Navy broke its eight-game losing streak and gave first-year coach Billy Lange his first Patriot League victory last night. Senior forward George O'Garro led the renewed fervor with career highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds and seemed ubiquitous with his floor game as the Midshipmen held off Colgate, 82-71, before 1,324 at Alumni Hall. It was the first win for Navy (5-14, 1-5) since Dec. 21 and ended a five-game skid in the series with the Raiders.

PARIS - Hamburg was no mirage. Roger Federer indeed did win the title there 14 days ago, caving in a succession of some of the best clay-court players in the world. But this is the French Open. This is the big one on dirt, and the Hamburg trophy plus a euro buys a croissant at the corner boulangerie here. All praise to Gustavo Kuerten, the three-time winner at Roland Garros, for playing as clean a match as you'll ever see against the No. 1 player in the world, and on the Philippe Chatrier stadium court, no less.

PARIS - The balls were coming to Justine Henin-Hardenne in her power zone, a little high, a little short and perfectly ready to be whacked around the court, landing wherever there was a line to be hit. Kim Clijsters, seeded second and considered the stronger of the two French Open women's finalists, was unable to find the space or time to wind up and wallop. She was unable to make Henin-Hardenne uncomfortable on this center court at Roland Garros. It took 31 minutes yesterday for Clijsters to win a game and it will take her another day at another time to win a major championship.

PARIS - Martin Verkerk stood on center court at Roland Garros. He had reached match point in his semifinal. One more shot, perhaps, and Verkerk, ranked 46th in the world and playing in his first French Open, would be in the men's singles final. Tears were gathering in his eyes as the final point was played. In his head were thoughts, he would say later, of "my whole life. I saw the bottom, the challengers. I saw two times how I wanted to quit tennis because I was mentally not good. I had the talent but not the fight."

PARIS - They are El Gran Cuatro of the French Open: Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Albert Costa and, at the end of one of the great days for Spanish tennis, 21-year-old Tommy Robredo, who used his speed and irrepressible inside-out forehand to score the greatest victory of his young career. All are into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. When Robredo's tenuous, low-struck volley from a few feet in front of the net blooped down on the baseline tape to end this two-hour and 46-minute classic late yesterday afternoon, Robredo dropped to his knees bearing a broad grin and leaned back so far he was reclining on his heels.

PARIS - Maybe it wasn't the shriek heard round the world, but it couldn't have been missed in any part of the bullring-shaped No. 1 court at Roland Garros. "My ears are still ringing," agent Jill Smoller said jokingly yesterday, a half-hour after Ashley Harkleroad had pulled the first big upset of the women's tournament at the French Open. Harkleroad, an 18-year-old USTA ingenue, whipped No. 9 seed Daniela Hantuchova, 7-6 (2), 4-6, 9-7, in a 3-hour, 8-minute match that was so filled with ups and downs it felt at times like an 80-mile-an-hour ride on a ribbon road.

PARIS -- First he brought a decidedly overwhelmed Michael Chang, the grown-up version of the 17-year-old 1989 French Open champion, to his knees on the clay of Roland Garros; then Thomas Muster, the new and undisputed king of red clay, dropped onto his back and rubbed his eyes in disbelief after finally scaling and prevailing on the surface of his dreams."

PARIS -- Iva Majoli blew through the French Open final like the fresh breeze that followed the morning rain here. The No. 9 seed, she was not expected to win this title. No ninth seed ever had. And against No. 1 Martina Hingis, who had won 37 straight matches, it appeared to be a daunting task.But the resourceful Majoli, 19, came with a game plan that kept Hingis, 16, on the run and won almost easily, 6-4, 6-2, in a quick 1 hour, 19 minutes. Not only did she overcome her Swiss opponent's shots, but her efforts at gamesmanship, too, as she held together during two delays while Hingis took a bathroom break and then a five-minute break to have a trainer come out to massage her legs.

NEW YORK - Among the reasons James Blake has become so popular among American tennis fans is his generous play for the U.S. Davis Cup team. Blake is 6-0 in his Davis Cup career and is fully expected to be on the team later this month when it travels to Paris for the semifinals against defending Davis Cup champion France at Roland Garros, Sept. 20-22. But Blake said he would have no problem sitting out for the right reason. "This time is really exciting for me," Blake said. "I feel like I have a chance of playing singles.

PARIS - The familiar drumbeat from the partying Brazilians had begun to echo across the grounds of Roland Garros yesterday when their own Gustavo Kuerten stripped off his shirt on the center court podium and slipped into a "Guga" original. It wasn't a work of art, more like Andy Warhol meets finger painter, but the shirt that Kuerten plucked from his pocket and pulled over his head was priceless. In blue magic marker, he had written "Je [heart-shaped symbol for love] Roland Garros" on the front.