Agassi’s Victory Caps a Dramatic Day in Paris

The weather changed on almost an hourly basis at Roland Garros and, accordingly, so did the mood. For the French fans, the atmosphere got better by the hour Saturday, even if the conditions got worse.

Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, a touch-shot artist, eliminated second-seeded Marat Safin of Russia, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 0-6, 6-1, driving him to distraction and out of the tournament in an up-and-down match. Safin declined to speak to reporters afterward and was fined $10,000. Next on Center Court was Sandrine Testud, the only remaining Frenchwoman in the draw. The popular, emotive Testud defeated Elena Bovina of Russia, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

And finally, the day ended in high drama.

Andre Agassi, virtually reborn in Paris two years ago when he won the French Open, showed he is ready for the second week. As the rain fell harder and daylight dwindled, Agassi and Fernando Meligeni of Brazil produced a compelling third-round encounter. The third-seeded Agassi won, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, in 2 hours 25 minutes.

Depending on the day, Meligeni, who reached the semifinals in 1999, either looks like the actor Jamie Farr or Al Pacino, gone to seed. He is a great foil, though, and has a feel for drama, rolling into the net at one point when he went flying after a volley.

Meligeni was caked in red clay on his back by the time the match finished shortly before 9 p.m. He gave it everything he had and the appreciative crowd gave him the proper acknowledgment.

By then, the rain was falling so hard that Agassi’s girlfriend, Steffi Graf, hid under a raincoat. After he won, Graf reappeared, casting off the gear, standing and applauding.

For a thrilled Agassi, this was no ordinary third-round victory. He delighted the crowd by hitting a forehand winner around the net post late in the fourth set, and matching the theatrical Meligeni. On the final changeover, the Center Court crowd gave the players a standing ovation and kept right on cheering.

“This is a perfect example of why it’s so great to play here,” Agassi said. “There was nothing that could have happened today that would have made them leave their seats, which is just phenomenal.

“It’s a beautiful thing to appreciate tennis so much that you not only can sit through that kind of weather, you can actually stand cheering as if you’re excited about it through the whole changeover.”

Last year, Agassi was the one who left early, blowing off a mandatory news conference after his second-round loss and receiving a hefty fine. This year, it was Safin.

Even when he won the title two years ago, Agassi wasn’t secure about his chances until he beat Carlos Moya, then the defending champion, in the fourth round. He was asked about the difference between now and 1999.

“This year, I’m not making any plane reservations ahead of time,” he said. “Two years ago, I was going up against Moya in the round of 16 and probably didn’t have too much confidence in my ability to get through that match, let alone the whole tournament.

“Now I’m pretty darn aware of how your game can improve from day to day. I think I’ll make better decisions. I’ll let my shots come out a lot more in the second week.”

His next match is against Franco Squillari of Argentina, in the fourth round. For Agassi, it all started against Squillari. He played him in the first round at the French Open in 1999, and won, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3, and looked remarkably pedestrian.

“I had a brutal match against him the last time we played here,” Agassi said. “He’s almost like Thomas Muster reborn. He has that real Muster kind of feel to him. He’s willing to work hard.”

Agassi was within a few minutes of having the remainder of his match postponed until today. Play was halted because of the weather and darkness in the third-round match between Wayne Arthurs of Australia and wild-card Nicolas Coutelot of France.

Two other Frenchmen advanced, Santoro and Sebastien Grosjean. Grosjean defeated countryman Anthony Dupuis, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, and will play Galo Blanco of Spain in the next round.

“Today the crowd was divided, two French players,” Grosjean said. “But next time I’ll have the crowd with me. It will be easier to play Blanco than it was to play Anthony.”

Santoro, who had reached the fourth round at the French Open only once previously, in 1991, had no such problems with the crowd, receiving unconditional support against the talented yet erratic Safin in their 3-hour, 12-minute match. He has now defeated Safin six of seven times.

“At the end I was feeling very very weak, very tired,” Santoro said. “When you feel 15,000 people behind you, you don’t feel the pain any more.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Featured Matches

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* Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain (4) vs. Thomas Enqvist, Sweden (14)

* Martina Hingis, Switzerland (1) vs. Sandrine Testud, France (17).

* Jennifer Capriati (4) vs. Meghann Shaughnessy (16)

* Nadia Petrova, Russia vs. Serena Williams (6)

* Henrieta Nagyova, Slovakia, vs. Kim Clijsters (12), Belgium

* Justine Henin (14), Belgium, vs. Barbara Schett, Austria