Kuerten Avoids a Close Shave

Honesty and charm were his best one-two combination, though his serve certainly should not be overlooked, either, after a straight-set victory at the Mercedes-Benz Cup on Thursday at UCLA.

The straight talk coming from fifth-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil was refreshing when he was asked about the upcoming U.S. Open. What, exactly, would it take to reach the final?

“I don’t see myself as a good chance to get to the final,” Kuerten said. “It’s not a long time to get my power and feeling to win, not knowing how my body will respond. It’ll be the first time [playing] five sets [in months].”

And the impish charm emerged when he was asked about his new short haircut. His life has changed now that his brother’s family recently expanded.

“Because I’m uncle. I have to look like a normal guy,” he said, laughing.

The children aren’t named after him. But why not call one of them Guga?

“They would be upset,” Kuerten said.

If it doesn’t seem like there is much pressure on Kuerten--he rarely shows the stress, anyway--it is because there are few expectations for him for the summer hard-court season. This is his first hard-court tournament since the Australian Open in January, and his 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory against Martin Lee of Britain was only his second match on this surface since then.

Hip surgery in February sidelined him until shortly before the French Open, and the three-time champion made a spirited showing, reaching the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Albert Costa.

Against Lee, Kuerten had 12 aces and did not double fault in the second-round match. Additionally, he managed to keep his composure and focus after a 30-minute delay in the second set. Play was interrupted with Kuerten serving at 2-3, 15-0, when a fan collapsed in the south grandstand and went into convulsions.

Tournament officials said the spectator was a 41-year-old male from Canoga Park, according to his identification. They said he was taken to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center and reported to be stable and alert.

Kuerten and Lee stayed on the court during the delay and had a brief warmup before resuming. The Brazilian player later said the interruption did not bother him.

The victory put Kuerten into tonight’s quarterfinal against the defending champion, No. 2-seeded Andre Agassi.

Agassi had little trouble in his second-round match, defeating 19-year-old Robby Ginepri, 6-3, 6-1, in 54 minutes.

Also advancing were Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, who defeated qualifier Alex Bogomolov Jr., 6-3, 6-3, and Jan-Michael Gambill, who beat Noam Okun of Israel, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

Bogomolov had the biggest victory of his young career Tuesday night, defeating Tommy Haas of Germany in the first round. Kiefer joked that he had to fight back for his country.

Kiefer and Gambill will play the first quarterfinal today. The Agassi-Kuerten quarterfinal, a rematch of last year’s semifinal here, is the featured night match. Agassi leads their series, 6-4, and won the 2001 semifinal, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3, in one of the best matches of the tournament.

“For me, it’s going to be a pleasure again,” Kuerten said. “I haven’t played a semifinal this year. If I play Andre, I’m not sure I can play the same way I did last year. Even though I lost, it was one of my best matches.”

Even under the best circumstances, Agassi is a legitimate test. Ginepri, who reached the semifinals on grass at Newport, R.I., earlier this month, was overmatched against Agassi’s power and accuracy. Agassi won the first set in 33 minutes and raised his level another notch in the second, losing only five points on his serve.

“He got at me right from the go,” Ginepri said. “I didn’t put in as many returns as I wanted to.... He hits the ball so deep and consistent.”

For Agassi, the only disappointment is that the Kuerten match is in the quarterfinals.

“It’s going to be great and we haven’t played in a year now,” Agassi said. “It’s always explosive when we play and we always look to control the point and be the aggressor and we’ve had so many great matches. I expect a real colorful one tomorrow.

“Too bad it’s early in the tournament.”

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Attendance Thursday was 6,427 for the day session, 7,062 for the night session, the most through the first four days of the event.