Korda Getting His Two Cents In

Petr Korda, at 30 the oldest man left standing in the Australian Open, is not feeling his age.

“It’s fantastic at my age to come back to the top 10,” he said. “It’s like a dream coming true.”

Kucera, a 23-year-old from Slovakia, ousted defending champion Pete Sampras in a quarterfinal Tuesday for his 12th consecutive match victory this year.

In the other semifinal, Chile’s Marcelo Rios, the No. 9 seed, on Friday faces unseeded Nicolas Escude. The 21-year-old Frenchman beat Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2, on Wednesday.

Sampras’ departure was one of many surprises in the men’s draw, assuring a new champion on Sunday. And Korda hopes his time has arrived.

The Czech left-hander is staging a great revival. In 1992 he was ranked No. 5, but injuries dragged him down to No. 41 by the end of 1995. At that time, he said, “Nobody would put a penny on me.” By the end of last year, he was back at No. 13.

He had surgery for a sinus problem in November but still finished 1997 with a 55-24 record.

At the U.S. Open he beat Sampras before turning ill and retiring from his quarterfinal when down two sets to Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman.

On Tuesday, he beat Bjorkman, seeded fourth, coming from two sets down to reach the semifinals. The win eased some of the criticism he received for his U.S. Open pullout.

“Everybody said I didn’t want to fight . . . there was a lot of rumors,” Korda said. “But that’s in the past and I’m just happy. I proved, even to myself, that I’m still capable of playing good tennis.”

Now he is one victory from his second Grand Slam final, having lost to Jim Courier at the 1992 French Open.

Kucera, ranked No. 20 in the world, had never been past the third round in 16 previous Grand Slam tournaments. He is coached by Miloslav Mecir, a two-time Grand Slam finalist known as the Big Cat.

“I didn’t mean to play like him,” Kucera says. “I didn’t want this. . . . But what can I do? I have to be the second cat.”

Kucera’s victory over Sampras was his 14th victory in 15 matches this year, including the Hopman Cup in Perth and in the Sydney warmup tournament.

Rios enters his first Grand Slam semifinal after a 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win over Spain’s Alberto Berasategui on Wednesday.

Rios thinks he has a “pretty good chance” of winning and feels “more comfortable than ever.”

His left leg cramped before the last game against Berasategui, but he says he will be in good shape for Escude.

A year ago, Escude was ranked No. 415. Now he is No. 81 and living up to the potential he showed as a junior.

In beating Kiefer he became the first man since the open era began in 1968 to three times win matches during a Grand Slam event after trailing by two sets.

If he defeats Rios he will be the first Frenchman to reach the Australian Open final since Jean Borotra won in 1928. History, however, is not something Escude is thinking about. Just his next match.

“It is a dream and I would like to stay in the dream,” he said.