Novacek Finally Grabs Spotlight : Tennis: Czech’s five-set victory ends Yzaga’s run and puts him in Grand Slam semifinal for the first time at U.S. Open.

Karel Novacek, the quintessential journeyman of tennis, served 27 aces against Jaime Yzaga at the U.S. Open on Thursday to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time after 30 early exits.

Novacek, a 29-year-old from the Czech Republic who logs more miles and plays more tournaments than anyone, relied on his serve to get him out of trouble as he scored a 6-2, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory over the man who upset defending champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round.

After playing so well against Sampras, Yzaga played sloppily and slow in a terribly tedious match, spraying 73 unforced errors and carrying on a nonstop conversation with himself about his mistakes. He changed his shoes near the end of the first set, changed his rackets several times, but couldn’t change the way he was playing.

“The Sampras match took a lot out of me,” Yzaga said. “I was sore yesterday and I was sore today. It was hard.”

Novacek, who hit 78 unforced errors while playing mostly from the baseline, wasn’t much livelier in one of the worst matches of the tournament. There were fans talking on cellular telephones and reading newspapers, and long silences were interrupted on occasion by snores and yawns.

Most of those in the two-thirds full stadium awoke at last to cheer Novacek at the end, perhaps grateful that the match was finally over after nearly 3 1/2 hours.

But none of that really mattered to Novacek, happy to get this far no matter how he did it. In five previous U.S. Opens, he never got past the third round. Despite his height--at 6-foot-3 he towered eight inches over Yzaga--Novacek’s style is best on clay, and hardcourts have rarely been kind to him.

Ranked 56th, Novacek has been a professional since 1984. He has always been a good enough player to threaten the best. He just never came close in the Grand Slams, getting only as far the quarterfinals at the 1987 French Open.

“It was the dream destination to break the quarterfinals of the Grand Slams, and I am endlessly happy that I did it today,” Novacek said.”

“I won 13 tournaments. I have been playing Davis Cup. I have been playing Masters. I have been playing everything basically that exists in tennis, but I never went to play semifinal of Grand Slams.”

Most top players work out their schedules to take breaks during the year. Novacek doesn’t take breaks. If he were a factory worker, he’d be at the plant early every morning, lunch box in hand, and his attendance record would be perfect.

He doesn’t have to apologize for reaching the semis here, regardless of the quality of the match against Yzaga, though he recognizes he’s no longer on the same level with the top players.

“I was once,” he said. “I was playing the Masters with them. I was beating them and I was the top eight player in the world in ’91.”

I was always top 20. I was not winning any Grand Slam tournaments, but I was the one who could scare a couple of them and who could give a good match to a couple of them.”

Elna Renaich and Patrick Galbraith won the mixed doubles final, beating the top-seeded team of Jana Novotna and Todd Woodbridge, 6-2, 6-4.