Moya Is Going to See if There Is Room at Top

Carlos Moya is one match from joining an exclusive club with a little more than a dozen members, a group known pretty much on a first-name basis.

Bjorn. Boris. Jimmy. Andre. Pete. Ilie.

The tight circle of 14 could expand to 15 if the fourth-seeded Moya defeats Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil today in the semifinals here at the Newsweek Champions Cup. Moya, ranked fourth, could supplant Pete Sampras, becoming the first Spaniard to attain the No. 1 ranking.

Many have failed to take the final step, so it was understandable Moya initially professed reluctance to talk about No. 1 after defeating 12th-seeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals Friday.

Then, in charming fashion, he talked at length about No. 1. Sampras, who lost in the second round to Felix Mantilla of Spain, has been the top-ranked player since Aug. 24, 1998.

“At the beginning of the week, I thought it was almost impossible to get there,” the 22-year-old Moya said. “Now, I’m just one match away. I’m just trying to be relaxed, even knowing that’s not possible.”

Moya’s proximity to No. 1 was the highlight of an intriguing series of quarterfinal matches. Kuerten upset eighth-seeded Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-4, and qualifier Chris Woodruff continued his marvelous run, defeating seventh-seeded Tim Henman of Great Britain, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5. Henman had match point at 5-4 and double-faulted.

Luckily, the 550th-ranked Woodruff had no idea he faced match point.

“He did? Never knew that,” he said. “That’s amazing. I’m kind of dumbfounded myself.”

Woodruff will play Mark Philippoussis of Australia in the other semifinal. Philippoussis beat Todd Martin, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. Kuerten holds a 4-0 edge against Moya, but all those matches were on clay.

At the beginning of this event, four players had a shot at No. 1, and three of them did not even get out of the second round. The significance of this moment was not lost on Moya.

“This is more than a final for me,” said Moya, the reigning French Open champion. “I thought winning a Grand Slam was the most important thing I could ever [do]. Then I lost the final in Hanover. It was the most disappointing day of my life, and I was second in the world.

“Now I think this is the most important one because there have been only 14 No. 1s in the world. Every year, there are four winners of Grand Slams. That means it’s more difficult to get No. 1.”