Dateline: 06/04/01

I'll get to predictions shortly, but first, one of the more remarkable matches I've seen:

Gustavo Kuerten, the top seed on the men's side, made it into the second week of the 2001 French Open by less than two inches, literally. In Sunday's fourth round match, Michael Russell, an almost unknown qualifier, was up two sets to none and 5-3, with a match point against Kuerten, when Kuerten hit a forehand right on Russell's baseline before winning the point, then eventually the set and the following two sets. The final score was 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-1.

Russell has only won five ATP matches in his whole career, which he has played almost entirely in the Challenger circuit. Watching the speed and tenacity with which Russell retrieved Kuerten's shots and the variety of shots he was able to produce, though, one can only marvel at the depth in tennis that is evidenced by such a high level of play from a player most of us have never heard of. At 23, Russell has been around a while, too.

Russell did have a partner on court most of the time, though: the wind. As I mentioned in my previous set of predictions, Kuerten's groundstrokes do not fare well when the wind is moving the ball out of his long swing path. If Kuerten faces another windy day, it will almost certainly result in his defeat.

Even in calm weather, Kuerten has a tough road ahead. Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals and beyond:

Quarterfinals:

Kuerten (1) vs. Kafelnikov (7): Kuerten in four.

Ferrero (4) vs. Hewitt (6): Ferrero in three.

Grosjean (10) vs. Agassi (3): Agassi in four.

Federer vs. Corretja (13): Corretja in five.

Semifinals:

Kuerten vs. Ferrero: Ferrero in four.

Agassi vs. Corretja: Agassi in four.

Final:

Agassi vs. Ferrero: Ferrero in four.

Page Two: Predictions for the women.