The portents appear good for Andre Agassi as he bids to become only the fifth player in the history of men's tennis to win all four Grand Slam tournaments, but the first to do so on four different surfaces. However, having just conceded the third set 6-3 to his young and tenacious Slovakian opponent Dominic Hrbaty, the storm clouds that shrouded Roland Garros all afternoon finally burst.
Initially a steady trickle, Agassi and Hrbaty completed three games of the fourth set - the Slovakian leads 2-1 with his opponent to serve - before the rain became more incessant and forced both players off court. Within 45 minutes the tournament organisers decreed that there would be no further play, the match continuing today at 12.0.
Agassi, who won the first two sets, will be grateful for the intervention of the weather. Superbly committed, he bristled with intent, recovering from a 4-2 deficit in the opening set to take it 6-4. When he out-lasted Hrbaty in a second set tie-break, the result appeared a foregone conclusion, but to his credit the unseeded Slovakian broke three times in the next set and snatched the momentum.
Suddenly it was Agassi that looked to the skies for divine inspiration or at least intervention. The 21-year-old Hrbaty, who resides in Monaco, displayed tremendous fighting spirit in a high quality encounter, where groundstrokes resembled tracer bullets as they zipped from baseline to baseline. Hrbaty's forehand volley winner in the 14th game of the match was the first time either player came to the net, illustrating the nature of the encounter.
Agassi was first to crack in the opening set, losing his serve in the sixth game to 30. One first serve in explains the setback.
Hrbaty led 40-0 with two service winners and an ace, but from nowhere Agassi returns suddenly found the lines. Not alone did he win the next five points to break back, but the next 16 in succession, taking him to 5-4 and 40-0.
A backhand error simply postponed the inevitable by a point, Agassi clouting a clean forehand winner at 40-15 to take the set.
The American had three break points in the next set, but Hrbaty toughed it out, serving his way out of trouble to take the second set to a tie-break. The Slovakian managed a single service break that gave him a 5-3 lead, but from that point Agassi played near flawless tennis, winning the ninth and 13th points against the serve. A swinging serve and a blistering forehand wrapped up the set.
Hrbaty's recovery set sets up an intriguing finish to this match.
Fernando Meligeni visited both ends of the playing spectrum in his four-set defeat by Andrei Medvedev. Unfortunately for the Brazilian his capacity to implode when leading handsomely in the first and fourth sets cost him a place in the final.
Leading 4-0 and 5-3 in the first set the 28-year-old Meligeni somehow conspired to spurn a gilt-edged opportunity, eventually capitulating 75. It was a remarkable collapse not least because the Brazilian had started superbly, forcing a multitude of errors from his opponent.
"I started very well, got a good feeling for the ball, but then I lost concentration at 4-0," said the player afterwards. "I made some mistakes on serve, lost a little focus. He started to play more aggressively because he had nothing to lose. At 53 and 40-0 I lost my serve again. The first set was very important for sure."
Meligeni was remarkably upbeat, considering the manner of defeat, especially against an opponent who required the trainer three times in the course of the match for first dizziness and then cramps.
Medvedev certainly improved after a sluggish opening but it was grit and determination more so than the quality of his tennis that allowed him to win through 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6). He did apply pressure with some heavy groundstrokes and with liberal use of the drop-shot, but it was his opponent's inconsistency that rescued him time and again.
Men's Singles: semi-finals (prefix number denotes seeding) - A Medvedev (Ukr) bt F Meligeni (Bra) 7-5 3-6 6-4 7-6 (8/6); (13) A Agassi (US) leads D Hrbaty (Svk) 6-4 7-6 (8/6) 3-6 1-2. [SBX]
Play resumes at noon today.
