Meligeni, Kuerten Complete South American Paris Party

Who had the coolest entourage at Roland Garros on Monday?

One hint. The proud, excitable parents were oh-so-close to breaking out in a samba when their son reached the quarterfinals for the first time in a Grand Slam event, creating a bit of history.

Fernando Meligeni, 28, joined countryman Gustavo Kuerten in the French Open quarterfinals, the first time two Brazilians have reached the final eight at Roland Garros. The 55th-ranked Meligeni had a hard-fought, fourth-rounder against 14th-seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain, winning, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-1), in three hours seven minutes.

The charismatic Meligeni summed it up.

“We don’t have Armada Espanola,” Meligeni said. “But we have Armada South American now.”

Last year, Spain was the hottest country, with three of the four male semifinalists--Mantilla, Carlos Moya and Alex Corretja. This year, the sixth-seeded Corretja is the lone player from Spain in the final eight, as he defeated youngster Stefan Koubek of Austria, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5, in another fourth-round match.

Of the final eight, four are from South America--Meligeni, Marcelo Rios of Chile, Marcelo Filippini of Uruguay and Kuerten. The eighth-seeded Kuerten has been formidable this spring, and he defeated Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, in the fourth round. In the other match, Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine beat Arnaud Di Pasquale of France, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

In the lower half of the draw, Meligeni plays Corretja, and Kuerten meets Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

“It is a good feeling already,” said Kuerten, the champion here two years ago. “For sure, it is an important day for us. We are still in the tournament. We want more.”

Last year’s finalist, Corretja, said it was “a pity” he was the lone Armada survivor. He nearly didn’t make it, having suffered an allergic reaction to some food, apparently, Sunday.

“Yesterday, I woke up during the night and I was feeling really bad,” he said. “Yesterday I thought I won’t play today.

“Fortunately, I recovered myself. Today I was feeling a little tired, but I was mentally stronger. I think he didn’t play that well, so I was lucky he didn’t play a good match.”

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FRENCH OPEN

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