Andre Agassi outdueled and outran a frustrated Boris Becker 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 today to reach the French Open final for a second straight year.
Agassi, pursuing his first Grand Slam title, chased down many of Becker's best shots, kept him away from the net, and made fewer errors en route to a semifinal victory that climaxed with an ace.Becker berated himself loudly at several points, but the two rivals embraced warmly at the end, each complimenting the other's play.
The defeat wrecked Becker's chance of recapturing the No. 1 ranking from Stefan Edberg and left him still without a clay-court championship in his career despite marked improvement on the surface.
In the final Sunday, Agassi will play the winner of today's other semifinal between ninth-seeded Jim Courier and No. 12 Michael Stich. Courier had given Becker a shot at the No. 1 ranking by beating top-seeded Edberg on Wednesday.
Agassi, seeded fourth, now has won four straight matches against Becker, who was seeded second here.
"Every time we step on the court together, it's a battle, and that creates a lot of respect for each other," Agassi said.
"Boris is starting to play exceptionally well on clay. I think I just get lucky here... It's very easy to play in a place I feel so comfortable."
Agassi lost the final to Andres Gomez last year, but will be favored in this year's championship.
Becker said the game to the match came in the first set, with the score tied 5-5 and Agassi serving. Becker squandered a break point, then lost the game when Agassi aced him on a second serve that barely nicked the line
"Shots like that can decide a match, and it did today," Becker said. "It was a very high standard of tennis in the first set, for each side... We both knew that the winner of that set takes such a mental edge that he would win. That game at 5-all really killed me."
Becker had 15 aces to six for Agassi, but the German was able to make only three successful sorties to the net.
"I kept it deep, I kept him on his heels," Agassi said. "The longer the rallies went, the more it favored me, because that's more my game than his. But I wasn't convinced I had the match under control at any stage. He's improved his game tremendously from the baseline. Any other day it could have been different."
In the women's final on Saturday, defending champion Monica Seles faces 1989 winner Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who in the the semifinals handed Steffi Graf the worst defeat of her pro career, 6-0, 6-2.
Seles' chances may depend on Sanchez, who promised to wear the same good-luck wrist band she wore when she beat Graf for the clay court Grand Slam championship in 1989.
"Normally, Monica would win," Graf said of the final. "But if she (Sanchez) plays as she did today, it will be a good match."
Sanchez has lost all four of her matches with Seles, but past form meant little Thursday - the French Open final two years ago was her only previous victory over Graf in 11 matches.
Seles had an off day today, but not Sanchez. She was scheduled to play semifinal matches in women's doubles and mixed doubles as she sought to become the first player since 1964 to win three French Open titles in one year.
The fifth-seeded Spaniard played well in the singles semifinal, but Graf was her own worst enemy. She committed more than 30 unforced errors, mostly with her usually reliable forehand. On one point, with the entire court open, she slammed an easy smash wide.
Not since she turned pro as a 13-year-old in 1983 has Graf won as few as two games in a complete match. The last time she won only three games was in 1985, and she had not lost a set 6-0 since 1984.
The center court crowd was stunned as Graf, a two-time champion who had not lost a set in the first five rounds, repeatedly sprayed shots beyond the baseline or into the net. She lost the first set in 20 minutes and the match in under an hour, a swift, comprehensive defeat of the type she so often administers to her foes.
"I placed my balls well, I hit them well, I didn't make many mistakes," Sanchez said. "Graf had to run a lot, and she made mistakes."
*****
(Additional information)
Thursday's results
A quick look at what happened Thursday, the 11th day of the French Open.
Results
Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario both won their semifinals and will face each other in the women's final on Saturday.
Second-seed Steffi Graf lost the semifinals to Sanchez. No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini lost to Seles.
Quote Of The Day
"I couldn't get the ball in the court . . . nothing was working. I haven't had that kind of feeling for a long time," Steffi Graf said after losing in the semifinals 6-0, 6-2 to Sanchez, the most lopsided defeat of Graf's pro career.