Pioline an Exception to Spanish Rule

In the midst of a Spanish tennis festival, a 28-year-old Frenchman wobbled through to the semifinals Wednesday and might be all that stands in the way of a name change at Roland Garros.

The French Open has not become the Spanish Open.

At least not yet.

Cedric Pioline, master of the five-set domain, did it again, defeating Hicham Arazi of Morocco, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-3, in 3 hours 43 minutes. Pioline thrilled the masses here by becoming the first Frenchman to reach the semifinals since 1992.

And Pioline, a 1997 Wimbledon finalist and 1993 U.S. Open finalist, did it with flair--always a bonus point in Paris. The more exhausted Pioline appears, the better he seems to play. Either he was going to collapse on the clay court or win, and Arazi solved that by knocking a forehand long on Pioline’s first match point.

Pioline has played three five-setters and needed intravenous treatment after beating Arazi.

“I don’t know about him, but I was pretty tired at the end,” Pioline said. “Maybe I could have played a few more games. I’ve got to be in shape for [Alex Corretja in the semifinals] because he is a good baseline player who makes his opponent run a lot.”

Arazi didn’t, and his conservative strategy from the baseline backfired in a match that included 149 unforced errors. “Instead of running to the net only to shake his hand at the end, I should have been more at the net before that,” he said.

He also did not help himself against Pioline’s serve, converting only four of 21 break-point opportunities.

“Well, I’m going to jump into the Seine River, commit suicide,” the wisecracking 24-year-old said.

In Friday’s semifinals, Pioline will play the 14th-seeded Corretja. who was steady, committing only 18 unforced errors in a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory over unseeded Filip Dewulf of Belgium in an earlier quarterfinal.

Two Spaniards will meet in the other semifinal: 12th-seeded Carlos Moya and his close friend and practice partner, 15th-seeded Felix Mantilla. It is the first time three Spanish men reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam event. Four players from the same country have reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam event three times, most recently the Americans at the 1995 Australian Open: Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi and Aaron Krickstein.

“I’m surprised we are not four in the semifinals,” Corretja said. “We could have had [Alberto] Berasategui in there easily. Unfortunately, he pulled his muscles and couldn’t be in semifinals.

“It’s really good because it’s not easy to have a country put three guys in the semifinals of a Grand Slam, especially guys who are 22, 23 and 24 years old.”

Corretja hopes people in Spain understand the magnitude of this accomplishment. He was asked how the tennis success will be treated, relative to the Spanish soccer team, of course.

“Football is the king of sport,” he said. “And I understand. I love football more than tennis.”

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As it turned out, Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten won’t be losing all $40,000 of his prize money. Kuerten was defaulted from his quarterfinal doubles match Tuesday for throwing his racket at the chair umpire (it missed).

If it were an Assn. of Tennis Professionals event, he would lose the $40,000. But it is an International Tennis Federation tournament, and Wednesday, the Grand Slam committee assessed a $7,000 fine, $2,000 for the default and $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. The ATP, however, might take away the points he earned for his second-round singles performance, a tour spokesperson said.