June 4, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 3, 1424

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PARIS, June 3: Andre Agassi’s bid to land a second French Open crown ended in failure on Tuesday when Argentine seventh seed Guillermo Coria beat the 33-year-old 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the men’s semifinals.

Agassi, playing the 999th match of his sparkling career which has brought a complete collection of Grand Slam singles titles - achieved uniquely on three different surfaces - was hoping to stay on course for a fourth final appearance after his 1999 success and losing appearances in 1990 and 1991.

Had he made the trophy match he would have displaced Australian Lleyton Hewitt as world number one for the second time this season.

Instead, his 1000th match will have to wait as it was Coria who moved on after a 2hr 32min blistering display of passion and precision - once he had recovered from losing the opening set having squandered a 4-1 lead.

At the death an exhausted Agassi drove long and Coria slumped over the net, hardly able to drink in a famous win.

“That was really hard. Agassi is my childhood idol,” said the 21-year-old from Rufino, who experienced the agony of a doping suspension two seasons ago for taking a food supplement which later proved to be contaminated.

“It’s a dream to get into the semis at Roland Garros,” added Coria, who had never previously come so far at a Grand Slam event.

Agassi saluted Coria, joking he might take revenge on grass at Wimbledon.

Later Dutch debutant Martin Verkerk pulled off an extraordinary five-set victory over Spanish fourth seed Carlos Moya on Tuesday to book his place in the semifinals.

Verkerk’s 6-3 6-4 5-7 4-6 8-6 win set up a semifinal clash with Argentina’s Guillermo Coria and it was just reward for a performance of grit and resilience that belied the Dutchman’s relative inexperience.

Earlier, world number one Serena Williams, bidding for her fifth successive Grand Slam title, hammered home favourite Amelie Mauresmo 6-1 6-2 to reach the French Open semifinals on Tuesday.

Second seed Kim Clijsters also strode confidently into the last four with a 6-2 6-1 thumping of Spain’s Conchita Martinez.

Justine Henin-Hardenne kept the chances of an all-Belgian final alive when she dismissed American Chanda Rubin 6-3 6-2.

Henin-Hardenne will now play American Williams whose steely concentration and power proved far too much for Mauresmo.

Clijsters’s next opponent, unseeded Nadia Petrova, nervously outlasted compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6-1 4-6 6-3 to become the first Russian semi-finalist in the women’s tournament for Clijsters — a losing finalist here in 2001 — took one step nearer her maiden grand slam crown by dominating former Wimbledon champion Martinez throughout the 69-minute match.

Clijsters had struggled a little against Bulgarian Magadalena Maleeva in the previous round and she said she was taking Petrova very seriously, even though the Russian is ranked a lowly 76th in the world. “She is obviously playing very well. She just beat some tough players.

Petrova is the first Russian woman to reach the last four at Roland Garros since Olga Morozova did so in 1975.

Quarterfinal results:

Women:

Serena Williams (U.S.) bt Amelie Mauresmo (France) 6-1 6-2; Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) bt Chanda Rubin (U.S.) 6-3 6-2; Nadia Petrova (Russia) bt Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 6-1 4-6 6-3; Kim Clijsters (Belgium) bt Conchita Martinez (Spain) 6-2 6-1.

Semifinal line-up for Thursday:

Serena Williams (USA) v Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL); Kim Clijsters (BEL) v Nadia Petrova (RUS)

Men:

Martin Verkerk (Netherlands) bt Carlos Moya (Spain) 6-3 6-4 5-7 4-6 8-6; Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Andre Agassi (U.S.) 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4.—Reuters/AFP