AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Noah Advances, Will Meet Lendl in Semifinal Match

The last time Yannick Noah made a Grand Slam semifinal, he went on to win the French Open.

That was in 1983.

It’s taken all this time for the Frechman to come within reach of another Grand Slam title, to deal with the pressure he put on himself and the expectations others have of him.

Noah was in command tonight as he beat Sweden’s Mikael Pernfors 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Pernfors, the Swedish-born former NCAA champion, made the quarters on the default of John McEnroe. Originally, Noah seemed destined for a quarterfinal match against John McEnroe--a player he’s never beaten in four tries. But McEnroe’s disqualification for misconduct in the fourth round left the 12th-seeded Noah in a fine position.

“I believe it was a good break for me,” Noah said. “When John lost, I told him I was kind of happy. On the other side, I was a little sad because of what happened. I think he understood.”

The world’s top-ranked player--Ivan Lendl--stands between Noah and the finals.

That isn’t keeping Noah awake at night.

Lendl leads Noah 10-7 in career meetings, but Noah won their last match two weeks ago in Sydney en route to his first tournament title of the year.

If Noah wins the Australian Open, he feels he is better prepared to handle the pressure the second time around.

“I look forward to winning. The rest is easy,” the 29-year-old Noah said. “When you’re young, you take it for granted. Being out of the big matches for a long time helps me appreciate it.”

Noah is playing with his old passion for the game. His renewed interest is encouraging because last year it looked as if he might be gone for good.

“Five months ago I was thinking about stopping playing,” Noah said. “I didn’t think I could win a match. And now I’m in the semifinals.”

Other matches, C3.