Garros

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 - 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 - 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.

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 -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who was told at 16 that he had no promise only to be chided at 20 for not living up to his talent, yesterday became the first Russian to win a Grand Slam title when he defeated Michael Stich in the French Open final, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).The baseline brilliance of Kafelnikov, 22, seeded sixth, proved too much trouble for the 15th-seeded Stich to handle.Stich's 15 aces didn't save him and his feeble rate of success on first serves skewered him on the sun-kissed Center Court of Roland Garros, a stadium Kafelnikov first visited and became enamored of when he was "a 13-year-old nobody" and the non-playing fifth wheel on the junior team of the former Soviet Union.

PARIS -- Perhaps, no one ever told No. 1 Martina Hingis that she should be careful for what she asks.The 18-year-old phenom said boldly Thursday after moving into the French Open finals that, well, "Really, I pretty much actually would prefer to play Steffi."The Steffi in question is Steffi Graf, a five-time champion here who has revitalized her career and reached a Grand Slam final for the first time in nearly three years."Steffi, with her absence of being in the finals for the last two years, I would hope she'll be a little bit nervous," Hingis said.

PARIS -- The red clay at Roland Garros has the same rich look as the suede they're selling in the expensive fashion houses on Rue du Faubourg and Avenue Montaigne.And the clay at the French Open is costly, too.Yesterday, when the last of the men's quarterfinalists were determined, the likes of world No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 2 Pete Sampras, No. 3 Patrick Rafter and No. 4 Carlos Moya were nowhere in sight. The clay, it seems, is very costly this season. Never before in the modern era has Roland Garros been without its top four men's seeds this early.

PARIS -- Gustavo Kuerten had never done any of this before. Never appeared in a Grand Slam final. Never won a final of any kind. Certainly, he had never been asked to address the crowd on Court Central at Roland Garros.The flamboyant 20-year-old from Brazil handled it all with amazing skill, but after bowing in awe to Bjorn Borg, who handed him his trophy, Kuerten finally was stumped when officials gave him a bottle of champagne to celebrate his stunning, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, French Open victory over No. 16 seed and two-time champion Sergi Bruguera.

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 -- Jimmy Connors lashed a backhand return for th break, and as he walked to his chair for the changeover, everyone at Stade Roland Garros stood up and roared.The noise didn't cease as Connors got up, poured water over his head to wash away the sweat and the tears, wrapped his face in a towel and returned to the court to serve out the fourth set against Michael Chang.Connors double-faulted to 15-30, but then ripped a forehand, and you could feel 17,000 hearts riding the ball into the open court.