Kuerten Has Enough Left

There was no need to draw a heart on the court. By the time Gustavo Kuerten won the final point, his 191st of the match, he had officially won the hearts of New Yorkers at the U.S. Open Sunday night. The top-seeded Brazilian set the spectators on a wild ride, alarming them for two sets and charming them for the final three.

Max Mirnyi of Belarus was ahead most of the night. Kuerten was in the lead by midnight New York time, and punctuated his determined comeback with an incredible serving display in the final set, defeating Mirnyi, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-2, in the third round.

Kuerten, who earlier needed treatment during the match for his back and arm, lost two points on his serve in the fifth set. He broke Mirnyi only two times--both in the fifth--and clinched it when Mirnyi netted a backhand volley.

An elated Kuerten tossed his racket in the air. Later, he used a chair to climb up and hug his mother Alice and other supporters in the friends’ box. He gestured to the crowd to pump the volume, which was already at a fevered pitch. Brazilian flags waved throughout, and a hearty band of fans in the upper deck made their presence felt, turning Arthur Ashe Stadium into a noisy party.

Perhaps this was Kuerten’s Michael Russell moment. His third French Open title, in June, appeared to be a moment of destiny when he survived a match point against the qualifier Russell in the fourth round. In tribute to the crowd, and Russell, Kuerten drew a heart in the clay court. This was different. Kuerten never faced a match point. Still, his fighting spirit was tested when it took him nine set points to take the third set. He wasn’t playing poorly, it was simply impossible to make any impression on Mirnyi’s serve.

Kuerten lost his own serve once, and hit 33 aces to Mirnyi’s 22. More impressive, Kuerten had only 13 unforced errors, including four in the final two sets. “It was great win, a lot of fight,” Kuerten said. “I really feel I just gave everything I learned all this year in this match to win. At the end, it was a great payback.”

Said Mirnyi: “There’s a reason why he’s No. 1. He’s won many matches of this type over the last couple of years. If he wouldn’t be doing this, he wouldn’t be No. 1.”

The Kuerten-Mirnyi epic was a fitting conclusion to an opening week of turmoil at the Open, putting tennis back in the forefront in time for the final week.

It got started in the right direction hours earlier when 19-year-old Andy Roddick defeated No. 11-seeded Alex Corretja of Spain, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, in the third round. Roddick served 16 aces and used another formidable asset, his head, to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

The third round had been a stumbling block for Roddick in his last two Slams, Wimbledon and the French Open, for various reasons--injury, impatience and inexperience. What moved him forward was his patience. Corretja, a two-time French Open finalist, forces the opposition to hit a lot of balls, and Roddick was able to artfully create the point, rather than blasting an immediate winner or making an unforced error.

Another 19-year-old was as impressive in her own way. Serena Williams, the 1999 women’s champion, is not a typical No. 10 player. While the seeding is accurate, it doesn’t truly reflect her standing, especially after her 7-5, 6-0, fourth-round victory over Wimbledon finalist and No. 6-seeded Justine Henin of Belgium.

Though Williams had her left ankle taped, she had one word to describe her physical condition: “immaculate.” Two other teenagers had breakthrough moments. Eighteen-year-old Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic, who had never won a main-draw match at the U.S. Open, defeated No. 7 Monica Seles, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, in the fourth round. It was the earliest exit for Seles at the Open since 1990. “It was one of those matches that, gosh, I didn’t feel comfortable out there from the first ball hit,” Seles said. “She was playing really steady, didn’t give me any free points, serving really well.”

Bedanova had company in the spotlight. Tommy Robredo, a 19-year-old from Spain, played his first five-set match, defeated countryman No. 5 Juan Carlos Ferrero, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1). Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia also exited, losing to Albert Costa of Spain,6-4, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2).

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At a Glance

* Results: Men, third round: No. 4 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 16 Tommy Haas and No. 18 Andy Roddick advanced to the fourth round with straight-set victories. Unseeded Albert Costa eliminated No. 15 Goran Ivanisevic in straight sets and 19-year-old Tommy Robredo stopped No. 5 Juan Carlos Ferrero in a fifth-set tiebreak.

Women, fourth round: No. 3 Lindsay Davenport and No. 10 Serena Williams advanced to the quarterfinals, as did Daja Bedanova, who beat No. 7 Monica Seles.

* Stat of the day: Ivanisevic has advanced past the third round at the U.S. Open only three times in his 13 appearances.

* Quote of the day: “I will go for one of these four: Sampras, Rafter, Agassi or Safin to win. I don’t know which one, but one of these four is going to win.”--Ivanisevic.

* Today’s featured matches: Sandrine Testud (18) vs. Venus Williams (4); MEN--Andre Agassi (2), vs. Roger Federer (13); Pete Sampras (10), vs. Patrick Rafter (6).