Kuerten rolls into quarterfinals

ROME, MAY 11. Top seed Gustavo Kuerten rolled into the Italian Open quarterfinals with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over Argentina's Franco Squillari on Friday.

Brazil's Kuerten, the reigning French Open champion, commanded play with a mix of deep groundstrokes and well- disguised drop- shots, disposing of the No. 15 seed in just over an hour on Foro Italico's red clay.

After the third-round match was postponed on Thursday because of rain, Kuerten was forced to recuperate quickly with his quarterfinal slated later.

A two-time champion at Roland Garros, Kuerten will face No. 10 Alex Corretja of Spain, who knocked off No. 7 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 completing a match that had been suspended by rain on Thursday.

Corretja, who won this tournament in 1997, made quick work of his rival on Friday, after carrying over a 7-6 (7-2), 4-3 lead.

The Spaniard converted the last of his 24 winners on match point, surprising Hewitt with serve-and-volley rush. The two rivals had traded barbs in the past after Corretja complained about the 20- year-old Australian's on-court behavior after a match.

No. 8 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain finished off Julien Boutter of France 6-3, 6-2 in their third-round match that had also been suspended.

Ferrero, who had carried over a 5-2 lead after Thursday's rain, was slated to face South Africa's Wayne Ferriera in the quarterfinals.

The poor weather relented in time on Thursday for Jacobo Diaz, the Spanish qualifier, to end the hopes of Italian wildcard Federico Luzzi.

Luzzi struggled with a thigh strain during the match, and Diaz won 6-3, 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal meeting with Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti.

Lapentti beat Spaniard Felix Mantilla 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) in an evening match which lasted two hours, 42 minutes.

Ferreira puts his woes behind

In late matches on Thursday, South African Wayne Ferreira put his recent woes behind him to beat Switzerland's Roger Federer 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 and move into the quarterfinals.

Ferreira, 29, was joined in the last eight by Swede Andreas Vinciguerra who beat 12th seed Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 6-3. He will face Spaniard Ferrero.

Ferreira, a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, suffered a broken finger in the left hand at the Australian Open in January and, despite recovering full fitness, he has struggled to regain his touch.

Before arriving in Rome his last three outings - at the Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo Masters series events - resulted in first round defeats. The awful run saw him slip to 103rd in the ATP Champions Race.

But against Federer, there were signs that his booming forehand was in working order again as he dominated the match from the first point.

Ferreira, who reached the semifinals here in 1995 and 1996, said: ``I did not expect to do so well here - it is nice to win for a change.

``It has been tough dealing with the injury, and in Monte Carlo I was struck down by illness, but I feel satisfied now. I think I have found my form.''

As long as his fitness holds up, Ferreira will be able to compete at the French Open later this month, and extend his record of having played in the last 41 Grand Slam events.

The results (pre-quarterfinals): Gustavo Kuerten bt Franco Squillari 6-1, 6-2; Alex Corretja bt Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (7-2), 6- 4; Juan Carlos Ferrero bt Julien Boutter 6-3, 6-2; Jacobo Diaz bt Federico Luzzi 6-3, 6-1; Nicolas Lapentti bt Felix Mantilla 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4).

Earlier results: Andreas Vinciguerra bt Sebastien Grosjean 6-2, 6- 3; Wayne Ferreira bt Roger Federer 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Alex Corretja of Spain hits a forehand return during his match against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in the Masters Series in Rome on Friday. - Reuters

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