SPORTS	Vindy Basic

Gaudio falls to nerves: Self-confidence doesn't come easily to 2004 French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, who has insisted since the tournament started that he had no chance to win again. Trailing in a third-set tie-breaker Monday against David Ferrer, Gaudio remained pessimistic. "Don't worry. You'll win today," he told Ferrer's coach, sitting in the stands. For Gaudio, the words proved painfully prophetic. He blew a 4-0 lead in the final set and lost to Ferrer 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4. Why did Gaudio predict defeat to Ferrer's coach? "I could see that I wasn't playing well," Gaudio said. "There was no way I was going to get out of it playing like that." During the tiebreaker, Gaudio became so angry he busted his racket. In the final set he lost the last six games and said he couldn't think clearly. "I got too nervous, I guess. And after that, I couldn't do anything," Gaudio said. Nerves had plagued Gaudio for years. When he was particularly down on himself a couple of years ago, he enlisted the help of a psychologist — making his title last year at Roland Garros all the more impressive. Against Guillermo Coria, Gaudio became the first man in 70 years to win a French Open final after facing match point.

Can-do attitude: Justine Henin-Hardenne approaches each challenge with a mantra: "Impossible is nothing." She picked up the phrase more than a year ago. "That's the story of my life," said Henin-Hardenne, who traces her fighting spirit back to a young age. At the age of 10, Henin-Hardenne attended the 1992 French Open women's final and told her mother that one day she would be back on Roland Garros' center court — and that maybe she would win. She made her dream come true by winning the title in 2003. But her mother wasn't there to see it: She died of cancer when Henin-Hardenne was 12. "A lot of things happened in my life, when I was a little girl and I wanted to become a professional tennis player," Henin-Hardenne said. "I just did everything to become a good tennis player." And so, she convinced herself that nothing was impossible. "My coach helped me, my husband helped me. A lot of people helped me," she said. "But I think I found the solution by myself." Henin-Hardenne overcame two match points in the fourth round Monday to beat U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-5.
Walkover: Guillermo Canas needed some convincing that he had won his fourth-round match without lifting his racket. Canas' opponent, Nicolas Kiefer, pulled out hours before their scheduled match because of a pinched nerve in his neck. With the walkover, Canas advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time. An ATP Tour official gave Canas the news. "I said 'Are you sure?' " Canas recounted. "They said 'yes.' I said 'Are you sure?' I couldn't believe it. They said 'yes.' I asked three or four times."

Associated Press

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.