Sergi Bruguera capitalized on Pete Sampras' errors and serving troubles to oust the No. 1 seed from the French Open in the quarterfinals today.
For Bruguera, the No. 10 seed from Spain, the 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory was a moment of glory - his best-ever showing in a Grand Slam tournament. For Sampras, it was another frustration in his attempt to prove he can be a champion on clay.Another semifinal berth was filled by 12th-seeded Richard Krajicek, who slammed his 17th ace to win his suspended match with No. 13 Karel Novacek 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Krajicek, who best previous Grand Slam was a semifinal loss at the 1992 Australian Open, will play two-time defending champion Jim Courier on Friday for a spot in the finals.
The favorites remain No. 2 seed Courier for the men and top-seeded Steffi Graf for the women. Both qualified for the semifinals on Tuesday without offering any new glimmers of hope for their rivals.
Graf, the top seed, put on a display of shotmaking in her quarterfinal that dazzled Jennifer Capriati.
"She just played too good," the sixth-seeded American said after Graf beat her 6-3, 7-5.
Courier advanced less gracefully over unseeded Goran Prpic, but the anger he vented afterwards at tournament officials may bode ill for his future opponents.