It Should Be Spanish Open

The Spanish Invincible Armada got resurrected on the red court in France.

Four of the eight tickets to the men`s singles semifinal in French Open went to Spanish players; namely, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo, Carlos Moya and Albert Costa. All of them are accustomed to the clay court. They have played on it since their childhood. The New York Times renamed the Open Spanish Open.

Among them, Robredo, who ranks 31st in the world, commands the media attention most. In the fourth round of the Open held yesterday at Roland Garros in Paris, he sank down the 15th-seeded Gustavo Kuerten, who is one of the most prominent South American players.

He already sank down world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the third round. Then, he moved onto Kueten, who was challenging for his fourth championship of the Open. Robredo confidently said, "I beat Ace (Hewitt) and King (Kuerten). Isn`t it time to sink down Queen (Costa)?" He compared them to the order of poker cards.

As a youngest player, Robreto got up to within top 30 in the 2001 ATP. He will take on ninth-seeded Costa, who is now defending his last year`s championship. If he wins the upcoming match, he is likely to take on Ferrero.

Arnaud Clement of France got defeated by Costa and had to wrap up the hope of hosting France. Not a single French player succeeded in advancing to the semifinal. France last won the title in 1983.

In the women`s doubles, Martina Navratilova (USA) lost the fourth round.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com