FRENCH OPEN: MEN : Rain Causes More Delays but Saves Lendl

The fourth day of the French Open began half an hour early Thursday because officials wanted to get a jump on a backlog of matches postponed by rain. Organizers, more optimistic than Paris weather forecasters, 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 fervently hoping to finish this Grand Slam tournament in two weeks.

Much, much happier about the late spring downpour that sent thousands of tennis fans scurrying for cover was Ivan Lendl, whose reputation and ranking hung in the balance when play was suspended.

Lendl, a three-time French Open champion, was locked in a five-set duel against No. 72 Jaime Oncins of Brazil.

Lendl was cruising, 6-3, 6-3, when Oncins rallied. The animated 21-year-old from Sao Paulo won the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2, and broke Lendl’s serve in the 10th game of the fifth set to save the match. As rain starting falling from the leaden sky, Lendl signaled to the court official, asking for play to be suspended with the fifth set tied, 5-5.

He could feel the pressing crowd, wildly cheering Oncins’ every winner. The break might have been his best chance to survive in the off-Broadway arena of Court 2.

Lendl, who is trying to regain his station as one of the world’s best players, even complained about the flash of a camera, indicating a bit of nervousness.

Lendl and Oncins will resume play today, as will No. 2 Stefan Edberg of Sweden and Gabriel Markus of Argentina on center court. Edberg, who struggled in a five-set first-round victory, was leading Markus, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5, 3-1, when rain interrupted play.

“You never know what happens on the clay,” said Nick Bollettieri, Andre Agassi’s coach. “You can see Lendl and Edberg fighting for their lives.”

Pete Sampras, seeded third, finished his match in straight sets, but also had difficulty dispatching a little-known opponent. Sampras beat Laurent Prades of France, a wild-card entry ranked 204th, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

“It took me a while to get used to his game,” Sampras said.

Sampras, eliminated in the second round here last year, said he made a concerted effort to improve his clay-court play. He said he wants to become more than a one-dimensional player, and as a result, played two clay-court tournaments to prepare for Roland Garros.

He added that a stricter training program has aided his endurance and improved his attitude. He said when he was ranked 80th, he did not realize what it would take to break into the top 10.

“I kind of have taken for granted . . . (that) I had a lot of talent,” he said.

Although he is working harder, Sampras said he is not yet close, in training, to No. 1-ranked Jim Courier.

“(He’s) probably the hardest-working guy I’ve seen,” Sampras said.

Whatever Courier is doing, everything is going his way these days. He overpowered Thomas Muster of Austria in a match that was expected to be close. Courier, the defending champion, breezed, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, on center court.

The difference, Courier said, was he was able to get some free points on his serve, whereas Muster could not.

Courier is not the only American looking strong. Agassi, seeded 11th, eliminated Gianluca Pozzi of Italy, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1, in 84 minutes. An upbeat Agassi said he is having fun on the court, which could spell trouble for his opponents.

“He was like a ball machine out there,” Agassi said of Pozzi. “I couldn’t have struck the ball much better.”

Tennis Notes

John McEnroe made a quick exit from Roland Garros, losing to Nicklas Kulti of Sweden in the first round Tuesday, but he still made news Thursday when he was fined $7,500 for swearing during his four-hour match on center court. An official statement said the fine was determined after interviews with court supervisors and a review of videotape. McEnroe was fined $10,000 last year for swearing at a lineswomen at Wimbledon.

While Monica Seles was warming up before her second-round match against Karin Kschwendt of Germany, her grunts kept the French fans entertained. When Seles hit the ball and grunted “hon-REE,” the fans joined in in unison. The grunts sound like the French pronunciation of Henri Leconte’s first name. “The crowd started yelling; it was different,” Seles said. “(It) took awhile after that to concentrate.”