It’s Better Late Than Never for Kuerten

It’s smart to keep the dramatic gestures in appropriate order.

After all, three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil didn’t face a match point Wednesday in his close escape against Italian Davide Sanguinetti in the second round. There was no need to draw a heart in the clay as he did last year after surviving match point against qualifier Michael Russell in the fourth round.

In any event, the fans may not have been able to see it because it was so dark when Kuerten finished, about 9:15 local time Wednesday night. Still, the seventh-seeded Kuerten had to do something to acknowledge his 6-7 (0), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sanguinetti in 3 hours 3 minutes.

Kuerten sprinted around Court Suzanne Lenglen, giving high fives to the fans along the sides of the charming show court.

“I think it’s like this every year,” said Kuerten, who trailed 0-2, love-40 in the fourth set. “I have to pass and survive these situations to start growing my game. Still alive. It’s good to survive like this.”

He wasn’t the only French Open champion to deliver in the darkness. Carlos Moya of Spain, the 1998 winner, finished even later than Kuerten, at 9:51, cracking a clean forehand return winner past Mark Philippoussis of Australia on his third match point, winning, 6-2, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (9).

There was no shortage of drama on an overloaded day. One of the favorites, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, twisted his right ankle in practice against countryman Tommy Robredo and had to be carried into the locker room. Ferrero had tests at a local hospital, and is considered questionable for his second-round match today.

Because of two days of stop-and-go rain, the schedule was backed up and officials were forced to use 16 courts for singles matches.

Andy Roddick found himself on the cozy confines of Court 2, packed with young schoolchildren, who, at times, screamed and sang. Mopeds buzzed along the street outside, and a photographer, on the court, snapped pictures with one hand and lit a cigarette with another.

This isn’t to say the typical French setting bothered Roddick in his first-round match. The problem was more with the left hand of his opponent, Wayne Arthurs, who delivered 25 aces and eventually unnerved the 13th-seeded Roddick, winning, 4-6, 7-6 (14), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Arthurs also had 103 unforced errors.

It’s the nature of this sport that veterans start to figure out the younger players in their second year on the tour. Arthurs agreed this is happening with Roddick.

“Yeah, I think so. I actually sat down and watched [Tommy] Haas play Andy in Monte Carlo,” Arthurs said of a one-sided Roddick loss. “Haas was standing a long way back on his serve, looping the ball up to him. A bit of a tactic I used today.”

Arthurs won only five times in 2002 before the French Open, and the outcome continued a disappointing run for Roddick in the Grand Slam tournaments this year. He lost in the second round at the Australian Open, and this is the second time he has lost in the first round of a Slam in five appearances.

“It’s tough because he has about 72 different serves that he can hit, so you’re not really sure which one’s coming,” said Roddick, who had four set points in the second, including three in the tiebreaker.

The serve isn’t the only unpredictable aspect of Arthurs’ game. At times, his backhand is shockingly bad. Other times, he is able to generate sufficient pace off it.

“That’s the tricky thing about him,” Roddick said. “You want to keep the ball on the court from the back, but sometimes it causes you to get a little too complacent out there.”

Roddick’s coach, Frenchman Tarik Benhabiles, said: “He needs a little bit more experience. At the end, he didn’t mix it up. It’s going to take time. He’s got a job to do from A to Z.”

James Blake advanced to the second round when his opponent, Lars Burgsmuller of Germany, retired in the second set because of a right side muscle strain. Also advancing were Vince Spadea and Cecil Mamiit of Los Angeles. Spadea defeated the aging Cedric Pioline of France, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in the first round, his first tour-level win in 15 months, and first Slam victory in almost two years.

Mamiit’s drought was not nearly as long. He defeated hard-serving Max Mirnyi of Belarus, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in three hours. Mirnyi, who has played well on clay of late, had 82 unforced errors and 10 double faults. On his third match point, Mamiit won it by making a sensational diagonal run from the back of the court to get a drop volley.

“I don’t remember how far back I was,” Mamiit said. “I just tried as fast as I could, pumping my arms, trying to get to that ball. It was a die-hard situation. I just utilized my weapon. It just shows I have my legs back, and that’s what got me through the match.”

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Day 3 Highlights

Today’s featured matches: Jennifer Capriati vs. Amy Frazier; David Sanchez, Spain, vs. Andre Agassi; Cristina Torrens Valero, Spain, vs. Mary Pierce, France; James Blake vs. Sebastien Grosjean, France.

Men’s seeded winners: No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 2 Marat Safin, No. 4 Andre Agassi, No. 7 Gustavo Kuerten, No. 10 Sebastien Grosjean, No. 15 Guillermo Canas, No. 17 Carlos Moya, No. 18 Alex Corretja, No. 20 Albert Costa, No. 24 Rainer Schuettler, No. 29 David Nalbandian, No. 30 Sjeng Schalken, No. 31 Gaston Gaudio.

Men’s seeded losers: No. 5 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 9 Thomas Johansson, No. 13 Andy Roddick, No. 16 Younes El Aynaoui, No. 26 Max Mirnyi.

Women’s seeded winners: No. 1 Jennifer Capriati, No. 2 Venus Williams, No. 3 Serena Williams, No. 4 Kim Clijsters, No. 6 Monica Seles, No. 7 Jelena Dokic, No. 9 Silvia Farina Elia, No. 11 Daniela Hantuchova, No. 13 Elena Dementieva, No. 14 Iroda Tulyaganova, No. 17 Tamarine Tanasugarn, No. 18 Tatiana Panova, No. 23 Anne Kremer.

Women’s seeded losers: No. 12 Meghann Shaughnessy, No. 15 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, No. 28 Alexandra Stevenson, No. 29 Iva Majoli.

Stat of the day: 25--aces by Wayne Arthurs to knock No. 13 Andy Roddick out of the tournament.

Quote of the day: “I take every match as the finals of a Grand Slam because no matter who you play, people want to beat you. Who wouldn’t want to go out there and beat a Williams?”--Serena Williams, on her approach to the game.