Tennis: Clinton brings only bad luck for Agassi

PARIS - The omens were not good yesterday for Andre Agassi as he strode back on to centre court at Roland Garros, the scene of his greatest tennis triumph two years ago, to face Sebastien Grosjean for a place in this year's French Open semifinals.

First of all, it was his 13th visit to Roland Garros, where in 1999 he became only the fifth man in history to win all four Grand Glam singles titles, and the first on three different surfaces.

The showman from Las Vegas, bidding to join Australian Rod Laver, Swede Mats Wilander and fellow American Jim Courier in winning the Australian and French Opens back-to-back in the Open era, was fully aware of the occasion and was not going to let superstition bring about his downfall.

Then former US President Bill Clinton turned up.

Agassi said it made no difference, but history will record that when the former leader of the Western world took his seat in the presidential box, the 1999 champion was on fire after storming through the first set 6-1 in 20 minutes.

Less than 50 minutes after that opening salvo he was looking down the barrel of a gun as 10th seed Grosjean, a semifinalist at the Australian Open in January and fourth in the ATP Champions Race, won the second and third sets by the same score and almost as quickly.

A set later, the Frenchman, backed by an ecstatic and partisan crowd, closed the deal when he broke to take a decisive 5-3 lead as Agassi's hopes disappeared in a puff of red clay.

"I was a bit nervous at the beginning," Grosjean said after clinching victory 1-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. "He was hitting great, but then the fans started cheering louder for me and that encouraged me."

Agassi, the No 3 seed, wanted to get away quickly afterwards, stopping only to say he had been well beaten. "Grosjean played real well. I played well, but he played better."

The American had gone into the encounter against Grosjean, a 23-year-old from Marseille with just one career title - gained on grass at Nottingham last year - as the clear favourite, despite a dreadful claycourt warm-up to the event.

Early exits in Rome and Hamburg had not dampened his spirits and having beaten Argentine Franco Squillari with a rampaging fifth-set showing in the previous round, it seemed the Vegas gunslinger still had plenty of ammunition to fire at allcomers.

Indeed, Grosjean managed to take just two points on the Agassi serve in that first set.

But from then on it was all Grosjean, who will now meet Spanish 13th seed and 1998 beaten finalist Alex Corretja, who accounted for unseeded Swiss Roger Federer 7-5, 6-4, 7-5.

A relaxed Clinton, wearing a dark blazer and an orange polo shirt, received a rousing ovation from the crowd when he arrived, slightly delaying the start of the second set as he acknowledged the applause.

Clinton, in Paris to give a speech on the escalating Middle East crisis and for a private meeting with French President Jacques Chirac, left briefly before the start of the fourth set, just as Agassi suddenly began to turn his game around, surging to a 2-0 lead.

But as if on cue, when the former President returned to his seat, Agassi's game again collapsed.

Clinton was seen grimacing and covering his face as the Australian Open champion repeatedly sent shots long or into the net.

"I didn't even know he was there," offered a terse Agassi, who double-faulted just as Clinton settled in for the fourth set.

Top seed Gustavo Kuerten, of Brazil, plays the fourth, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in tomorrow's other semifinal.