June 1, 2003	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1424

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PARIS, May 31: Just a handful of days into the $14.2m French Open, American hopes have again been ground into the red dust of Roland Garros.

Of the 13 hopefuls who began the Grand Slam fortnight, only one - the usual suspects, 33-year-old Andre Agassi - remains in the chase.

The much-hyped chorus of Yanks led by Andy Roddick with supporting vocals from the likes of James Blake, Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent are all long gone, dispatched to the grass practice courts of Britain.

Even veteran like Todd Martin, just a few months younger than Agassi, and Vince Spadea, 28, lasted longer than than the young guns.

It’s not a pretty picture - but Agassi the tennis tactician is able to make some sense of a frustrating situation.

“It’s s never been a strength of ours, clay court tennis,” said the exception to the rule, with a 1999 title at Roland Garros which turned his career around and a pair of runner-up finishes in 1990 and 1991. “Growing up on the surface helps a lot.

“When you grow up on hard courts, you learn to play the game differently. You learn to flatten out your shots, you learn to hit through the court. Because you grow up on fast courts, you come forward, you hit the ball low, you hit the ball flat, you chip short, you get in.”

One of the most dedicated grinders in the game added: “It takes a lot of work, takes time. The guys we have are still young. So they have a lot of time, which is the good news.”

Agassi insists: it’s a matter of clay breeding. “These guys grow up here, they see the game differently and they learn to move differently.

“I think you can teach that. But you also need to play on it. You also need the time spent on it. You need sort of the fundamentals that allow you to play those type of shots.”

Spadea is one player how has actually paid his dues in Europe, speeding weeks on the clay and putting up some decent results this season including a out-of-nowhere semifinal in Monte Carlo.

“In general, people (Americans) don’t go out and commit themselves. You have to go to Europe and play more events to be a better clay-courter at a younger age.

“I did that - that’s probably the reason I can play somewhat competently out there. It’s no good to blame it on the fact that we have just a few tournaments on clay in the U.S. You just have to dedicate yourself more to being a clay player.

Martin won the first of eight career titles on clay in Coral Springs, Florida, in 1993 and backed it up with another in the Spanish hotbed of Barcelona five years ago.

A tennis senior statesman, the greying American is not concerned about this year’s lack of breakthroughs in Paris.

“We’ve got a batch of good young players who have run into a speed bump. This will be a big challenge to them. But they and their games are up to it.

“They’re dealing with a dose of reality, it will make them better players in the future.”—dpa