FRENCH OPEN : Renewed Confidence Helping Pierce Regain Winning Form

For Mary Pierce, last year’s personal problems seem to be in her past, and it is showing at the French Open, where she advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros Stadium with another convincing victory Sunday.

Pierce gave up two games--her most in four matches--in beating Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, 6-1, 6-1, and sees no reason for her rhythm to be disrupted.

“Why?” she asked. “I’m playing very well at the moment.”

The same could not be said of top-ranked Steffi Graf, who looked a bit ragged during the tournament’s first week. But that changed Sunday when she routed Irina Spirlea of Romania, 6-0, 6-1, in 40 minutes. Spirlea, who upset No. 10 Mary Joe Fernandez in the third round, was expected to be another stiff test for Graf.

But it was apparent from the beginning it would not turn out that way.

“Before I went on the court, I wanted to see how she would do,” Spirlea said. “Then after the first and second games, I said, ‘Uh, oh!’ ”

So far, all of Pierce’s opponents have had that feeling. She will play No. 99 Petra Ritter of Austria in the quarterfinals, and could face Graf in a highly anticipated semifinal matchup.

Looking lean and powerful, Pierce, ranked 12th, says she is enjoying her game despite all the controversy that has surrounded her. Pierce had been something of a pariah on the tour because of her father.

Jim Pierce, Mary’s former trainer and coach, was so disruptive during her matches he eventually was banned from tournaments. Then, last year, Pierce filed a restraining order to keep him from bothering her. Although she said they have improved their relationship, Pierce no longer is coached by her father, and he no longer can be heard yelling from the stands at her matches.

Pierce credits her new coach, Nick Bolletieri, with instilling a new confidence in her game.

“Last year was very difficult for me,” she said. “I made a big decision in my life and I don’t regret anything that I did.”

She is not regretting anything she has done on the courts at Roland Garros, where her serves and returns have been crisp. Pierce said she is playing her best tennis, which started last year at the Virginia Slims championships in New York.

Once considered a tier below the tour elite, Pierce believes she is ready to break through.

“It is the first time I have been feeling that way every day,” she said.

But Coetzer is not convinced, despite the defeat. She recalled Pierce’s past inconsistencies.

“The minute someone starts forcing her, we’ll see how well she really is playing,” Coetzer said.

Graf was pressured in the second and third rounds, but, as usual, found a way to victory. But when she met Spirlea, 20, Graf’s game seemed to improve. It took the 5-foot-9, 150-pound Romanian 28 minutes to win a game as she had no answer for Graf’s devastating forehands.

Spirlea let volley after volley bounce past her without attempting a return. Graf seemed to be making a point on Court A as the tournament reached its halfway juncture.

“Obviously, the three matches I’ve had, I didn’t look very well,” she said. “I didn’t play patiently like you have to on clay.”

The day’s only upset came when Julie Halard of France defeated No. 7 Natalia Zvereva of Belarus, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, a day after she eliminated No. 9 Lindsay Davenport.

Although it was close, Zvereva was unable to hit openings to slow down the No. 25 Halard.

“My game is more complete, so I can pressure my opponent better,” Halard said. “My backhand shot down the line is something new.”

Halard’s third consecutive seeded opponent will be difficult, though. Halard will play No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the quarterfinals after the Spaniard routed No. 11 Anke Huber, 6-2, 6-2. Sanchez Vicario has quietly made a strong run.

Shaun Stafford of Gainesville, Fla., the lone U.S. women to reach the fourth round, was defeated by No. 16 Sabine Hack of Germany, 6-4, 6-2.

Tennis Notes

Luke and Murphy Jensen, the defending doubles champions, lost to Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde of Australia, 6-1, 6-2. . . . Olivier Delaitre believes Jim Courier is less confident than in the past three years when he reached the French Open final. “Sometimes he plays his points too quickly,” Delaitre said. Courier agreed. “Sometimes, I am doing that,” he said. “I’m getting older. I feel old.”