TENNIS Agassi eliminated from French Open play in four sets

The American lost to Guillermo Coria, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
PARIS (AP) -- Andre Agassi has reached the French Open semifinals only once in the past 11 years, so his loss in the quarterfinals wasn't a shock.
The bigger surprise was that Agassi took the defeat so well.
The winner of eight Grand Slam titles has long been regarded as a sore loser.
He stomped out of Roland Garros without talking to the media after being upset in 2000, and he hit a ball at a lineswoman after losing at Wimbledon the following year.
Took defeat graciously
But Agassi took defeat graciously Tuesday, when No. 7-seeded Guillermo Coria outplayed him 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
"It's disappointing from a standpoint of not being able to win," Agassi said. "But some losses are easier to swallow based on what you feel you did or didn't do. ... He played the bigger points well and executed better. He deserved to win."
The 5-foot-9 Coria won thanks to better groundstrokes, better tactics and superior speed. He took the lead in every set and showed plenty of poise at the finish.
When Agassi sailed a forehand out on match point, Coria briefly fell to his knees, then ran to the net. He put his arm around Agassi, the player he idolized growing up in Argentina, before touching his head to the net cord.
"He's right up there with the best clay-courters," Agassi said. "Today he really was hitting a good variety of shots and executing real well."
In a matchup of two first-time Grand Slam semifinalists Friday, Coria will play unseeded Martin Verkerk. The 6-foot-3 Dutchman hit 27 aces to upset 1998 champion Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 8-6.
"I don't know how it happened," Verkerk said. "I'm not realizing it maybe yet."
Serena advances
The women's semifinalists Thursday will include a Russian, two Belgians and Serena Williams, who's simply out of this world.
With an intimidating glare and strokes to match, Williams notched her 33rd consecutive Grand Slam victory by beating Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 6-2.
"She played an unbelievable match," said Justine Henin-Hardenne, who faces Williams next. The Belgian beat Chanda Rubin 6-3, 6-2 and is projected to overtake Venus Williams for the No. 3 spot in next week's rankings.
Another Belgian, No. 2 Kim Clijsters, also advanced and will next play unseeded Nadia Petrova, the first female Russian semifinalist at the French Open in 28 years.
Clijsters ended Conchita Martinez's 16th French Open, 6-2, 6-1. Petrova won a pivotal 49-shot rally and beat compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Coria, the 1999 French Open juniors champion, hit deep enough to keep Agassi on his heels and mixed in enough drop shots to keep him off balance.
The Argentine took the lead in every set, but Agassi kept up the pressure. He rallied from a break down twice in the final set before Coria closed out the win.
"He's a warrior," Coria said. "I knew I had to make him run."
Coria did plenty of running too but still looked fresh at the finish, even though he was playing for the third day in a row.
"I just forgot my fatigue," Coria said. "I really wanted to win this match."
Oldest entrant
The oldest entrant in the 128-man tournament, Agassi may not have too many chances left at Roland Garros, where he won in 1999 to complete a career Grand Slam. The field is filled with Spaniards and South Americans who thrive on long rallies and long matches, and the list of title contenders seems to grow longer each year.
But that doesn't seem to faze Agassi.
"To suggest that I couldn't overcome that and win it -- that I don't believe," he said. "I always believe I can find a way. So next year I'll try to figure it out again."