A Farewell Tour of Paris

There is still plenty of tennis to be played at Roland Garros. And, knowing the endurance and baseline capabilities of men’s finalists Carlos Moya and Alex Corretja, that is something of an understatement.

Since the match is starting at 3 p.m. here, let’s hope it finishes before darkness falls in Paris, or at least before the start of the World Cup this week.

But the tournament is nearly over, and it’s never too soon to evaluate the high and lows of the two-week event, the new names and the old names. Will anyone remember Ramon Delgado? That is, other than Pete Sampras, the second-round victim of the Paraguayan. Or what about the staying power of Marat Safin of Russia?

Most impressive performance (men)--Corretja. Whether he wins today’s final, the Spaniard has been the model of fitness.

Does this guy ever get tired? He played a five-hour 31-minute match (though it was spread over two days) and looked ready to work out some more. And word is that Corretja has been pulling a Jim Courier, jogging in the Bois de Boulogne after his matches, with his coach.

It was probably something of an upset when Corretja actually put an ice bag on his neck in the latter stages of his semifinal victory over Cedric Pioline of France.

Most impressive performance (women)--Monica Seles. Even though she lost in the final, Seles is very likely the only female player who could enter a Grand Slam event--let alone come within a set of winning it all--with only several hours of preparation. And rarely does a player improve so dramatically during a two-week tournament.

Most impressive performance (canine)--Arantxa Sanchez Vicario’s dog, the aptly named Roland Garros, a cute little Yorkshire terrier. The dog sat in the VIP box with a credential around its neck and never made noise during the women’s final. It was a lot quieter than plenty of humans at Roland Garros, especially the ones who forgot to turn off their annoying cellular phones during the final.

Best newcomer (men)--Safin. The Russians said he could not speak English when he appeared in Atlanta in April for the first-round Davis Cup match against the United States.

As it turned out, Safin’s English is excellent, tinged with a Spanish accent from his years in Valencia, Spain. And since Atlanta, he has made enormous strides with his game, and only an inspired Pioline prevented him from reaching the quarterfinals.

Best newcomer (women)--Serena Williams. Sure, it seems as though Serena Williams has been around a long time. But the French Open was only her second Grand Slam event, and second clay-court tournament.

Although she came within two points of beating Sanchez Vicario in the fourth round, other players and fans were more impressed with the 16-year-old’s muscular physique. One male player looked at the women’s draw, pointed to her name and said, “That’s the most incredible physical specimen [here]--women and men.”

Biggest disappointment (men)--Marcelo Rios. The Chilean never quite looked right in France, appearing fatigued and looking almost sickly.

Whatever it was, he clearly peaked a week or two early, winning successive events in Rome and Austria. His best tennis was left on the court before the French Open.

Biggest disappointment (women)--Irina Spirlea. The Romanian hasn’t been the same since she deliberately crashed into Venus Williams at the U.S. Open last year.

Spirlea, who reached the round of 16 here last year, lost in the first round to 85th-ranked Sylvia Plischke of Austria. Plischke was so inspired, she lost in the next round, winning seven games.

Best Armada Quote, Part I: One reporter was mistaken and thought Moya hit a second-serve ace in the final game of his quarterfinal victory against Rios.

Moya looked amused.

“I’m telling you, I wouldn’t serve 190-something second serve,” he said. “It was not a second serve. I’m cold, but not that cold. I’m human, yeah?”

Armada Quote II: Maybe Corretja knew something special was going on with the Spanish players after his epic victory over Hernan Gumy of Argentina in the third round.

Someone asked him what it would take for Spain to produce a new champion at Roland Garros.

“Wait five more days,” Corretja said.

GRAF RETURNS?

Things are never certain when it comes to Steffi Graf’s schedule. But tournament organizers at a grass-court event said Graf has requested and accepted a wild-card entry into the DFS Classic in Birmingham, England. She still could change her mind before the draw. The tournament begins Monday.

Graf missed the French Open for the first time in her lengthy career, having been hit with a variety of injuries in trying to come back from knee surgery. Her last appearance in a tournament was at Indian Wells, Calif., in which she defaulted from her semifinal match against Lindsay Davenport because of a strained left hamstring.

Since then, Graf, who will turn 29 on June 14, has been talking about retirement. Perhaps the seven-time Wimbledon champion will take a long look at the play of “veterans” such as Sanchez Vicario and Seles and not act hastily.