Ferrero and Costa lead Spanish assault

SPANISH grit prevailed at Roland Garros yesterday as defending men’s champion Albert Costa and the player he beat to win last year’s French Open final, Juan Carlos Ferrero, clawed their way through to a semi-final rematch.

Ninth seed Costa displayed his staying power once again as he overcame fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 2-6 3-6 6-4 7-5 6-2 in an enthralling quarter-final. Ferrero, seeded three, ousted Chile's Fernando Gonzalez also in five sets, 6-1 3-6 6-1 5-7 6-4.

The pair will meet in the last four on Friday, guaranteeing Spain a finalist at Roland Garros for the third successive year. In the other semi-final unseeded Dutchman Martin Verkerk takes on Argentine seventh seed Guillermo Coria.

Costa's compelling victory was his fourth five-set win in five matches here and it was the third time the bullish Spaniard had recovered from two sets down to triumph a French Open record.

"Robredo was killing me and hitting the ball so hard, but I still had something to show and changed my game and I changed perfectly," he said. "I am very proud. The truth is this was an incredible match, one of the toughest of my life."

Costa muscled his way past Robredo after the 21-year-old, conqueror of world number one Lleyton Hewitt and three-times champion Gustavo Kurten earlier in the tournament, had audaciously taken a two-set lead with sublime tennis. However, Robredo began to tire in his first grand slam quarter-final and Costa, prowling panther-like at the back of the court, seized the next two sets.

In the decider, the momentum was all with the 27-year-old defending champion as Robredo's mental and physical defences crumbled. Costa toyed with his opponent and claimed victory with ruthless precision, combining vicious baseline winners with delicate drop shots and lobs.

He has spent 18 hours and 31 minutes on court in reaching the semi-finals, playing 227 games. Last year he required only 19 hours and 37 minutes and 250 games to win the event.

Ferrero, who has now reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros four years in succession, had almost as much trouble against hard-hitting Gonzalez. The Chilean had beaten Ferrero in both their previous encounters and was aiming to become only the second man from his country to reach a grand slam semi-final since tennis turned professional in 1968.

Gonzalez, five months younger than 23-year-old Ferrero, reached the US Open quarter-finals last year and he twice responded to losing a set 6-1 by taking the next. But with shadows creeping across the sun-bathed centre court, Ferrero exploited his greater experience in the fifth set.

The Spaniard struggled to control his nerves, though, and Gonzalez bravely saved five match points before Ferrero claimed a sapping victory in three hours 29 minutes, one minute longer than Costa's match.

Ferrero, admitted he will need to keep his composure better if he is to beat Costa this time: "I have to learn that when the difficult times come I have to calm down. Today mentally I was not so good. I have to learn how to cope with these moments."