EMOTIONAL WIN FOR BRAZILIAN CHAMP

In the wake of the glorious Guga
US 'band of brothers' fizzle
Jennifer's serving woes

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Courtesy of Pacific Life Open

FROM THE PACIFIC LIFE OPEN IN INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. – There were more than few times during jumping jellybean Gustavo Kuerten's
4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over the mentally overmatched James Blake in the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open that it felt like the blue-chaired stadium in the brown desert had been plopped down in the 16th A in Paris, and the egg-white sand that was blowing in the air had turned into red clay.

There was the three-time king of Roland Garros, standing five feet behind the baseline returning serve, taking long swings and flattening balls down the line. There was the buoyant Brazilian, crushing forehands crosscourt, inhaling the energy of the crowd and setting off nuclear blasts with his first serves. There was Guga, mentally crushing the talented Blake, who never knew what hit him.

Blake was the crowd favorite when the match began but by the third set, the hearts of America belonged to the bubbly Kuerten.

"He's won three French Opens and for him to get that fired up in the third set of a quarterfinals of Indian Wells, I didn't understand," Blake said. "He was wired and definitely got excited. I just didn't have it today."

Former No. 1 Kuerten, who has struggled since coming back from hip surgery last May, got his teeth in the match at 1-2 in the second set, fighting off a break point with a 114-mph bullet down the middle. After that, Kuerten soared, breaking Blake to 3-2 when the American missed a backhand volley and then breaking him again to 5-2.

Prancing about the court, Kuerten then rolled over a despondent Blake and for the first time since Roland Garros 02, felt like the white magic man again.

GUGA SPIRIT SURGING
"It was nice to be in this situation again, playing against a great player, fighting back, feeling the energy coming around and showing my emotions again," said Kuerten. "That's how I used to be successful. I'm having the feelings back and its amazing how much energy I have in my body."

You can ask Guga all the technical questions that you want and you can break down his game anyway you like, but the simple fact of the matter is for Kuerten to prosper, he needs to feel like a free spirit on court. He is the River Nile who likes smooth rocks in his rapids. Guga is uncomfortable when his body begins building dams that clog his mind.

"It's the connection of mind, body, energy … winning points," he said. "[Energy] is one of my weapons. I like emotion together with my game. I need to release my mind when I'm playing. This week, my level of tennis, conditioning, everything has gone up. I can play without thinking, without pushing myself too much. That's they way I used to play, I could relax and still maintain powerful concentration."

Guga will play German Rainer Schuettler, who was quite impressive in clocking the slow-moving Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-2 in what was a poor day for the young Americans.

US 'band of brothers' fizzle
Wearing a bandage on his left knee, Roddick posted 28 unforced errors against 14 by his opponent. He could never find his rhythm against the quick Schuettler, who also beat the American in the semis of the '03 Australian Open.

"He came out and played much better than me but I didn't play my best by a long shot," said Roddick, who has also had an ankle injury. "I didn't come here in the best shape by any means. I know I was making a lot of errors but he was running down a lot of balls. I hit some really good shots and he was getting them back."

Schuettler is no flash in the pan and should push Guga. The German is unlikely to mentally melt like Blake did.

No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt had few problems in his 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over American Robby Ginepri. By winning the contest, Hewitt ensured that he would keep his No. 1 ranking through next week. The 21-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion has held the top spot for 69 straight weeks.

"I don't think anyone's unbeatable,' said Hewitt. "I feel like my confidence is high at the moment. But I feel like anyone can be beaten on any given day. But unbeatable, I can leave that to Tiger [Woods]."

He has a more difficult semifinals that it looks at first glance against Vince Spadea, who grinded down Brian Vahaly, winning 6-3, 6-2. Give it up for the 28-year-old Vinny, who has come a long way since 2000 when he set an ATP record by losing 21 matches in a row.

Jennifer's serving woes

Courtesy of Pacific Life Open

We'll preview the Davenport-Clijsters final tomorrow, but if you didn't get to watch Lindsay's 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 twin over Jennifer Capriati, try to get a tape of the match. Both women were launching bombs and for the first time since she came back from knee surgery last July, Lindsay played with confidence when it mattered. 50 winners aren't too shabby, either.
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"I was getting frustrated at my inability to play at the level I thought I could play at," Davenport said. "It's a big win. I thought I had a tough draw when this tournament started, so to get to the final is great."

Capriati has won three Grand Slam crowns, but hasn't won a title since the '02 Australian Open. She said that played well but couldn't find another gear at the end. "She stepped it up at that point more than I did," Capriati said. "She got some good opportunities and took advantage of them. She played some unbelievable tennis."

What really occurred was that Davenport was the more aggressive and gustier player in the third set, coming back from a 3-4 deficit and pouncing on Jennifer's second serve to break her at love to go ahead 5-4 when her opponent committed two unforced errors. Instead of flailing against the wind at crunch time, Lindsay stood strong and served out the contest when she caressed a backhand volley winner, watched Capriati miss a forehand crosscourt and then crunched a service winner.

Jennifer says it wasn't her weak second serve that made the difference in the match but I beg to differ: She only won 34 percent of her second serve points, which is why the big girls are taking her down. She has the most attackable second serve of any of the top players, save for Venus when she gets the yips.