THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: THURSDAY, MAY 8, NO. 26

Is Costa crumbling under pressure?
Agassi rules the world - briefly
Moya, Ferrero, Federer RG front-runners

By Sandra Harwitt and Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

It was a month ago that Albert Costa told tennisreporters.net about his strategy heading towards defense of his Roland Garros trophy. Costa's idea was that if he did really well during the spring clay court season, well enough to rack in a lot of points, he could go back to Paris with very little pressure since he wouldn't have a lot of points to defend from his winning effort in 2002.

Unfortunately, while Costa's blueprint made perfect sense, he hasn't been able to execute the plan. After a lousy start to the year, Costa reached the semis at the NASDAQ- 100, but has had no success since returning to his favored surface of clay. In Monte Carlo, Costa fell in a shocking second-round loss to 16-year-old Rafael Nadal. In Barcelona, he lost in the second round to Agustin Calleri.

He took last week off to get his game and mind together. Costa scored a big 6-7(3) 6-2 6-4 win over Arnaud Clement in Rome on Thursday. Costa – who's only 27th in the ATP Champions Race – must spend time attempting to put his game and head on straight. As a return to Roland Garros looms large in the near future, it's hard not to imagine that Costa is getting nervous at the task that lies ahead. After his loss in Barcelona, he said, "I need to be patient and to take it step by step," but time is running out so he can't be working in baby steps; he needs to be taking long strides.

Agassi rules the world - briefly
Three days shy of his 33rd birthday on April 29, Andre Agassi moved back to the top of the tennis charts. The accomplishment of regaining the world No. 1 ranking – a position he had previously held for a total of 87 weeks but had not enjoyed since Sept. 10, 2000 – makes Agassi the oldest player to be ranked in the slot in tennis history. The previous holder was Jimmy Connors, who was 30 years, 10 months old in June 1983 when he was the best player in the world.

To many people, being 33-years-old doesn't seem that ancient. But in the world of tennis, most players are either watching their careers gently slip away or are already residing in retirement. Look at some of the most accomplished names to play the game in recent times – Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier – all retired by the time they blew out the candles on their 33rd birthday cake. "It's a bit overwhelming to have it all come together at one moment," said Agassi, after defeating Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-4, 6-1 in the US Clay Court Championships, a win that guaranteed he would soar to No. 1.

"It starts to sink in earlier and earlier the older you get, you are sort of more aware of the fewer opportunities, you're surely more-appreciative of the accomplishments. To be No. 1 is a reflection of playing the best tennis over a 52-week period, and it's not easy. It's a result of not just playing well but playing well often. I always want to prove it every time I'm on the court – prove I'm the best every time regardless of what you're ranked."

There's little dispute that Agassi, who won his fourth title of the year in Houston with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over two-time defending champion Andy Roddick, is the best player in the game at the moment. Even though he failed to defend his title in Rome (subsequently losing the No. 1 ranking) when he was shocked by David Ferrer and is in slight danger of losing his ATP Champions race lead to Juan Carlos Ferrero, Agassi won the Australian Open and NASDAQ-100 this season, the only player to bag two major titles to date.

"You have to win so many times to be No. 1," Agassi said after his loss to Ferrer. "You don't get to No. 1 by worrying about such things. You've got to worry about your opponent. You try to be at your best. Sometimes it's not so easy. But it's a long year. The great part for me to get to No. 1 was a little piece of history, to be the oldest to do it. But to be No. 1 for a week without being the oldest doesn't matter for me because it's the whole year. Hopefully this will make the good times even more special."

Against Roddick, "Double A" didn't even bring his "A+" game to the court, but his tenacity went into overdrive as he rebounded from a 6-3, 2-0, 0-40 deficit to unclench the trophy from Roddick's grasp. Agassi, who admits he plays each match with "a sense of urgency," is clearly one of the favorites at the upcoming Roland Garros.

He won the French Open title in '99 so he knows what a win on the red dirt takes – patience, stubbornness, strategy and a little of luck. At 33, there's no question that for Agassi to capture a second Roland Garros title, things will have to fall perfectly into place. Last year, he went to Paris as one of the chief favorites, but rain and cool weather disrupted the schedule, and by the time Agassi came back to the court to finish his quarterfinal match against eventual finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero, his energy was spent. However, if the weather holds leaving players the luxury of playing their best-of-five set matches on an every other day basis, and Agassi is able to keep his game in peak condition, he could be looking at a ninth career Grand Slam trophy.

"Adjustments always need to be made, and certainly losing in Rome makes me have to reconsider a few things," Agassi said. "I'll discuss it with Darren [Cahill] and try to come up with a plan that makes sense for my chances in Paris."

Moya, Ferrero, Federer, RG front-runners
Red hot Ferrero, enigmatic Swiss Roger Federer and '98 Roland Garros champ Carlos Moya are looking like the front-runners for this year's French Open title with Agassi.

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

In recent weeks, Moya reached the final at the NASDAQ-100 Open before moving on to clay where he won the Barcelona title with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 3-0 victory over Marat Safin, who retired from the match with fatigue. Moya – who was upset by smart veteran Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Rome – is close to the form he displayed when he briefly took over the world No. 1 ranking in 1999 before a back injury wreaked havoc on his game. If Moya continues to play tough tennis and keep his mental edge, he could be back in the winner's circle in Paris. The Spaniard is definitely talking like a champion.

"I am at the top level again and it is very difficult to take away the confidence from me at the moment," Moya said. "It has been very difficult to come back and now I am here for good, and hopefully, I will continue to produce good tennis and win more important tournaments. Hopefully, I can do well in order to get closer to the No. 1 spot."

Moya's countryman, Juan Carlos, is also deserving of contender status at the upcoming French Open. He took the trophy home from Monte Carlo over Argentine Guillermo Coria and then won his second trophy in three weeks by taking the Valencia title this weekend. Ferrero was one of the players heavily favored at Roland Garros last year and he almost made it to the finish line. But it was in the final against Costa that Ferrero experienced a major meltdown.

There's no doubt that Ferrero has the technical talent to win on the terre battue. The question is has he developed a steely enough edge to be strong mentally and intimidate opponents out of his way. We'll know the answer to that question shortly since the French Open gets underway in just over two weeks.

"I'm gonna prepare the French Open the same as the last year, but I hope to be there without problems with my body," said Ferrero, who badly twisted his ankle the first week. "I will go there and I will try to play the same level."

Unlike in prior years when he would only set modest goals, Ferrero appears to be brimming with self belief, a sign of future Slam champs.

"I want to be No. 1 in the world and then I want to win Roland Garros," he said. "Of course, I want to win US Open because it's on hard court and I would shut up the other people saying that the Spanish people is not playing good in hard courts."

Federer has three titles this year and recently won Munich on clay. He's playing incredibly well in Rome this week and said that he's finally beginning to harness his talent.

"I'm definitely more mature," he said. "I feel much better on the court now. I feel like I found myself, my inner self, really. Even though I had a dip last summer, in the two Grand Slams and a couple of Masters Series, there were things had happened in my private life which didn't help. But I feel like really since the beginning of last year, I really started to play well and I'm really happy about it. I'm playing consistent. It's true, everybody said I could play well but I'm inconsistent. Now I've proven I can play in consistent. It's a big step for me."

Like Ferrero, Federer believes he can one day surpass Agassi and top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt for the top spot.

"I wish and hope that I can win a Grand Slam or be No. 1," he said. "But this is all still far away, and hopefully one day I can reach it."

He also gives himself a fair shot at Roland Garros, although his all-around game is a little better suited for grass and hard courts. "On clay I feel there's a lot of guys around who are very tough to beat over two weeks, seven matches. It could be more difficult on clay for me to win the French Open [than Wimbledon]. I think my game is better for faster courts, which means not the French Open."