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Agassi joins Medvedev in final

Andre Agassi has done it.. The 29-year-old American qualified for his first Grand Slam final in four years, after he beat Slovak Dominik Hrbaty in four sets in the rain-hit men's singles semi-final at the French Open on Saturday. He will meet Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev in Sunday's final.

Should Agassi win, he will become the first man since Australian Rod Laver in1969 to win all four Grand Slam tournaments. Agassi won Wimbledon in 1992, the U.S. Open in 1994 and the Australian Open in 1995. Victory in the final will make him the first player in history to win the four major tournaments in tennis on four different surfaces.

In Laver's time, all Grand Slam tournaments, except the French Open, were played on grass.

Agasssi, who was twice a losing finalist in Paris in 1990 and 1991, won 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, in a match which had been halted by rain on Friday evening as Agassi led two sets to one.

When play resumed on Saturday, the American did not take any chances, quickly breaking his opponent, ranked 30th in the world, to take the match in a total of two hours and 25 minutes.
Agassi said afterwards: "He (Hrbaty) has been playing so well and he forced me to play some of my best tennis this tournament. So it was really nice to take care of business today. If I can keep playing my tennis and keep playing smartly I should be OK."

Play was halted yesterday after Agassi gazed skyward and the heavens obeyed his command in a moment of peril. He had lost six of the last seven games before rain rescued him, preserving a two sets-to-one lead over young Hrbaty, while Medvedev waited to see who would face him in the final.

In a tournament where the 29-year-old Agassi was blessed with the kindest of draws, and where bounces and net cords have gone his way with uncanny regularity, he couldn't have asked for a better time for that downpour.

Agassi made his own fortune in the first two sets, playing his best and most intense tennis so far, to take them both, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). He led the third set 3-2 when Hrbaty began cracking a steady stream of winners. Suddenly, Agassi appeared vulnerable, and Hrbaty, a fearless 21-year-old Slovakian, swept the rest of the set to win it 6-3.

As they prepared to duel for the fourth set, Agassi looked up at the milky sky, squinting through the light, persistent rain. That was his best hope, perhaps the only thing that could break Hrbaty's momentum.

Like a prayer answered, the rain came down harder and harder as Hrbaty took a 2-1 lead on serve in the fourth set. Agassi signalled to the umpire that he'd had enough, and began packing up. Hrbaty looked as if he wanted to go on all evening, play in a mud puddle if he could, but Agassi got his way.

It was the first rain-postponed match of the tournament, and it will resume today before the women's final between No. 1 Martina Hingis and five-time champion Steffi Graf.

Whoever wins the Agassi-Hrbaty match will find an opponent tomorrow who can't believe his own good luck. At No. 100, the lowest-ranked French finalist in the Open era, Medvedev beat Brazil's Fernando Meligeni 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) to reach the first Grand Slam final of his roller-coaster career.

"It's a minor miracle,'' Medvedev said, referring to his serendipitous trip the past two weeks. "On the other hand, it doesn't fall from the sky. You have to work for it. You have to wait for it. When you get an opportunity, you've got to take it.," he said.

Medvedev, a 25-year-old Ukrainian who was ranked No. 4 in 1994 before a fast lifestyle and injuries took their toll, struggled through cramps and dizziness in the last two sets.

All I thought was to fight like a dog, and that's what I did,'' Medvedev said. "If I died on the court, I wouldn't care today, really. If my heart would stop on the court, then I would be proud that I'm dead this way.''

Medvedev's penchant for the melodramatic and the romantic, he waxed poetic once more about his love for the German player Anke Huber, was matched by the drama of his performance.

He didn't have quite the strength or accuracy he exhibited in beating Pete Sampras in the second round and 1997 champion Gustavo Kuerten in the quarter-finals. But Medvedev showed resilience when he was in trouble and a willingness to push his body to the limit.

A trainer visited Medvedev several times on changeovers, feeding him pills that seemed to work.

"Thank god, I'm not doing doping control today,'' Medvedev joked. "The first three were just because I felt dizzy, weak. I think they were just minerals. Then I started cramping. He gave me one pill, but it didn't work.'' Medvedev called the trainer back and asked for another pill.

"That's a double dose,'' said the trainer, Doug Spreen. "Yeah, but I'm a double guy,'' Medvedev responded. "I'm bigger than Fernando. Give me one more.''

That, and some smelling salts for the dizziness, did the trick.

Medvedev blamed his problems, in part, on a restless night. "I started to get nervous right after the match against Guga,'' he said. "I couldn't sleep because I was so excited. There were so many thoughts going through my mind.''

He slept a few hours, then woke and was up the rest of the night, his mind racing ahead to the match and the final that might follow.

"I know what it means to have a chance to be in the final of a Grand Slam,'' he said. "I understand how important this is for me, for my career, for the people around me. I don't want to miss my chance.''

AP