Paris, June 05: Chilean number one Fernando Gonzalez had been pestering Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero for some time.
The 22-year-old from Santiago started out by beating the Spaniard in the 1998 junior final here and continued his domination in their subsequent meetings at the US Open and Basel last year.

Yesterday he was threatening to end the third seed's run of making the semi-finals of Roland Garros every year since his debut three years ago. But Ferrero, nicknamed the Mosquito, finally managed to swat the big-hitting Chilean 6-1 3-6 6-1 5-7 6-4 in 3hr 29min.
The 23-year-old Spaniard, desperate to end his quest for a first grand slam crown, fell to his knees at the end of a match which enthralled the Centre Court crowd.
The 19th-seeded Gonzalez's run to the quarter-finals here equalled his best grand slam result of last autumn's US Open last eight.



Since their junior days it has been Ferrero who has advanced forward more rapidly, winning nine titles, to just three for Gonzalez.


Bureau Report