Verkerk hits the heights again to end Coria’s challenge (2025)

A NEW day, a spectacularly contrasting emotion. The court upon which Serena Williams was doused in despair became a crucible of joy yesterday for Martin Verkerk, a Dutchman who had never won a grand-slam singles match before Monday of last week yet finds himself on the cusp of an achievement that would have tested Grimm’s powers of imagination.

Verkerk is the first man from the Netherlands to reach the final of the French Open and did so with a performance against Guillermo Coria, of Argentina — conqueror of Andre Agassi — that mixed the powerful, the sublime, the outrageous and truly original. That he happens to be a pleasant man with a warm sense of humour makes the package one of consummate intrigue for the sport.

In the only two grand-slam singles matches that he had played before arriving at Roland Garros, he lost to Mark Philippoussis at the Australian Open and Andy Roddick at the US Open, two big-serving men who served bigger than him on the day. Here, it has been an increasingly exhilarating grind from the first five-set match of his career, against Luis Horna, of Peru, in the second round, through Vince Spadea, Rainer Schüttler and Carlos Moyà, the former champion, in the quarter-finals to yesterday’s bravura display against Argentina’s great hope.

The unseeded Verkerk, 24, won 7-6, 6-4, 7-6, playing two enormous tie-breaks, winning the sudden death 7-0 in the third set. But this was not a victory for brute force over elegance. Though Verkerk possesses a serve that averaged 50kph faster than that of Coria, it was his use of it, his court coverage and broad scope of stroke that brought him to this seminal moment.

Tomorrow, he faces Juan Carlos Ferrero, the No 3 seed from Spain, who reversed last year’s final, defeating Albert Costa, his compatriot, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4. For once, losing the first two sets could not galvanise Costa to a recovery the like of which had distinguished three of his previous victories. Ferrero has dreamt of winning this championship since he was a small boy; Verkerk had never even considered it.

As he stood at match point, Verkerk’s mind was a swirl of emotions. “Things were going through my head about my whole life,” he said. “I saw the ground of tennis, the Challenger events. I was struggling, I wanted to quit tennis because I was mentally not good. I had the talent but not the fight. I thought if I could just make this point, it changes my life.

“I have my family here, my father who was my sponsor for a few years, my coach (Nick Carr, of New Zealand, who once worked for the Lawn Tennis Association), who has put his life into me, who have changed my tennis life around from nobody to somebody who achieved something.”

It was a wonder, then, that Verkerk was able to concentrate. Not least because he had also had six break points at 4-3 in the third set and, had he taken one, would have served for the match. From love-40 in that riveting eighth game, Coria played some of the bravest shots that I have seen, including a couple of fabulous overheads, but could not expect to sustain such brilliance. He did not get a sniff in the tie-break.

Indeed, he was fortunate to have been out there at all, considering his behaviour at the end of the first set. Coria knew that his chance lay in getting a sight of the huge Verkerk serve, but he could never quite dictate terms. When he succumbed in the first tie-break, the 21-year-old also forfeited his cool, throwing his racket towards the back of the court where it brushed the arm of a teenage ball-girl. Had Coria been a fraction wider, or had she not reacted so quickly, the object could have caused her serious physical harm.

Tim Henman was disqualified from Wimbledon in 1995 when he struck a ball-girl with a ball lashed in anger, and Coria should have suffered a similar punishment. He took the sting out of the situation by ripping off his shirt and handing it to the girl, putting his hands together as if in prayer, pleading for forgiveness. Fabrice Chouquet, the assistant referee, and Norbert Peick, the supervisor, asked the girl if she was OK, she nodded, and they spoke to Cedric Mourier, the umpire, and to Coria before taking the decision to do nothing.

Reprieved off the court, he could do little to contain Verkerk’s magic on it. “He is a difficult player because he is so strong and yet feels so calm about it,” Coria said. “He hits it very well, his strikes are accurate, he has a very angled serve and that’s why he is able to take risks.” All the ingredients, one imagines, for a bountiful Wimbledon. He has never played on grass and will warm up for the All England Club by playing next week on clay for Hilverheide, his Dutch club side, in Hilversum.

“Whatever happens on Sunday, I have to play for the club on Tuesday, and twice more on Thursday,” he said. “The weekend is the semi-final and final to be the Dutch champion with our club. I play the tournament in Rosmalen the following week on grass. It’s not the best preparation, but I still have my serve.”

Scores from Roland Garros Tennis

WOMEN: Doubles: Semi-finals: (2) K Clijsters (Bel) and A Sugiyama (Japan) bt (4) C Black (Zim) and E Likhovtseva (Russ) 6-1, 6-4; (1) V Ruano Pascual (Sp) and P Suárez (Arg) bt (9) D Hantuchova (Slovakia) and C Rubin (US) 6-2 7-6.