French Open Tennis Tournament

Michael Chang was 17, a skinny, wide-eyed boy with the straight-edge haircut and enough guts for 10 men when he made history and started a glorious run of American men's tennis.

For anyone expecting a fairy-tale finish to the 1998 French Open, a refresher course is helpful in understanding Saturday's result. In 1989, Steffi Graf had a chance to win her second consecutive Grand Slam. Five years later, Mary Pierce was on the verge of becoming the first Frenchwoman to win Roland Garros since 1967.

With Monica Seles away on her forced leave of absence, the French Open title was claimed once again by a 23-year-old power-hitting German who proved she still is a big shot on clay. Steffi Graf won her third French Open singles title Saturday at Roland Garros Stadium, where her appearances in the final have grown so commonplace she could list it as a temporary residence. Graf's sixth visit to the French Open final ended with her hoisting the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.

Michael Chang, off to his best professional start, said Wednesday that his game is starting to "feel better." It felt fine Wednesday in the French Open, where Chang advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands. While the fifth-seeded Chang moved along, sixth-seeded Guy Forget of France was swept, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, by Bart Wuyts of Belgium.

Top-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany, repeatedly pounding forehand winners, overwhelmed Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union, 6-0, 6-0, Saturday to win the most lopsided women's singles final in French Open history. Graf lost only 13 points and took only 32 minutes en route to her second consecutive French Open singles title. The previous worst defeat in the French women's championships was in 1926 when Suzanne Lenglen of France defeated Mary K. Brown, 6-1, 6-0. "I was in my best form today.

TODAY'S MEN'S SEMIFINALS (world rankings in parentheses) Roger Federer (2), Switzerland vs. Juan Martin Del Potro (5), Argentina As he plays this onrushing, 20-year-old ball-mauler, Federer knows that if he trips up in these last two matches, the lost opportunity might lurk in his cranium for the duration of his existence, occasionally disrupting sleep, popping up now and then to inject anguish and ruin otherwise good days. There's no pressure or anything. Fernando Gonzalez (12), Chile vs.

It may have been the first time a French Open match was stopped by a banana. And no, Rafael Nadal didn't slip on a peel. The defending French Open champion apparently hadn't fully swallowed a bite of a banana and felt a strange sensation in his throat in the middle of the final game of the third set. He stopped play, pointed to his neck, and a trainer and doctor came to his courtside seat to assess the situation. You could just see the headlines: Platano Stops Clay-Court Streak at 55.

All that's left now is to find the right actor to play the part of rakish left-handed teenager Rafael Nadal of Spain, once he has won the French Open. Antonio Banderas? He could easily assume Nadal's charming manner of using "no?" at the end of almost every sentence. OK, right country, wrong age. Even in Hollywood, 44 does not easily divide into 18. Gael Garcia Bernal? Of course his acting abilities would be tested, and then some.

Serena Williams has pulled out of more tennis tournaments than she has won in 2005. It's now 4-1 after her withdrawal from the French Open shortly before Friday's draw for the second Grand Slam of the year, which starts Monday. The former French Open champion says she has a troublesome left ankle. "I'm very disappointed to be forced to withdraw from this year's Roland Garros due to the re-injury of my left ankle ...