The former top-ranked Brazilian won three French Open titles.

“Here, it is my life, my passion and my love,” Kuerten said in French. “It’s great to have my family here, my coach. But more important was the love you gave me.”

The 31-year-old Kuerten has been bothered by a hip injury since 2001. Since having surgery in 2004, he has played in only 19 tournaments and won five matches. This year’s French Open was his first appearance in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2005 U.S. Open—and he said beforehand it would be his last event at any level.

“It’s incredible how fast it all went,” said Kuerten, who won 20 titles during a pro career that began in 1995. In 2000, he became the first South American to finish the year at the top of the ATP rankings.

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic, No. 6 David Nalbandian and No. 7 James Blake advanced to the second round. Blake’s 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory over Rainer Schuettler made him the first American man to win a match at Roland Garros since 2006.

In the women’s draw, two-time Grand Slam runner-up Ana Ivanovic struggled before beating Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 7-5. The first seeded player to lose was No. 15 Nicole Vaidisova. She reached the French Open semifinals in 2006 and the quarterfinals last year, but was upset by Iveta Benesova 7-6 (2), 6-1.

Kuerten saved one match point before sending a weak shot into the net. Then he sat back in his chair and pulled a towel over his head.

Shaking, he emerged with his eyes red and finally shook hands with Mathieu.

Kuerten was then led to the center of the court, where he was given a glass trophy showing a slice of a clay court.

Kuerten—the last No. 1-seeded man to win the title in Paris in 2001— entered what he said would be his last tournament as the lowest-ranked man in the field at No. 1,141. He got his spot in the draw as a wild card.

Kuerten’s final match was played on Court Philippe Chatrier, the main stadium at Roland Garros and the same venue where he won French Open titles in 1997, 2000 and ‘01.

Despite playing a Frenchman on Sunday, Kuerten was cheered on by most in the crowd—complete with several Brazilian flags waving in the stands and group of people with giant gold-colored letters spelling out G-U-G-A, his nickname.

Kuerten showed some of the guile that got him to the top of the tennis world, including a soft, spinning ace while trailing 5-2 in the first set. He followed that with a much harder serve that also went for an ace.

In the second set, Kuerten was broken in the ninth game and trailed 5-4. During the changeover, he sipped water while a trainer massaged his lower back.

With Kuerten down a break in the third set, the fans started chanting, “Guga! Guga!”

And during the final changeover, Kuerten put his racket around Mathieu’s neck as if to choke him, but just smiled as the crowd cheered yet again.

In January, Kuerten announced that this would be his final year. He pulled out of last month’s Barcelona Open because of a muscle injury.

Djokovic survived a rough start to his quest for a second straight Grand Slam title, holding off Denis Gremelmayr 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.

The Australian Open champion was broken in his first two service games on center court and trailed 5-1 in the first set before finding some of his game in the second.

“I wasn’t underestimating my opponent, even though it looked like that in the first set,” said Djokovic, who reached the semifinals at Roland Garros last year. “He played a couple of semifinals in good tournaments, and he played some three sets with Roger Federer, so I knew that he’s a tough player to play against on this surface.”

In the third set, Djokovic started to show his frustration, throwing his racket into the red clay after Gremelmayr hit a forehand winner in the opening game.

Djokovic is trying to become the first man since Jim Courier in 1992 to win the Australian and French Opens in the same year.

“It’s good to hear that the people are talking about more than two (players),” Djokovic said, referring to Federer and three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.

At last year’s French Open, American men went 0-9 in the first round, with Blake losing to Ivo Karlovic.

“We all feel like, you know, last year was an aberration that should never happen again,” Blake said, “and this year we’re definitely looking for better results.”

Blake is 9-6 on clay this year, but he struggled to finally beat Schuettler, who has lost in the first round at Roland Garros in seven of his nine appearances.

The second-ranked Ivanovic, who became the first player representing Serbia to play in a major final at last year’s French Open, had six double-faults on center court and was broken by her Swedish opponent when serving for the first set at 5-1.

“I let my intensity go down for a bit … and she used it and she started playing much better,” Ivanovic said. “But towards the end I’m happy that I found back my game and managed to break her back, and win the second set.”

Ivanovic, who also reached the final at this year’s Australian Open, will face Lucie Safarova in the second round. The Czech player beat Sandra Kloesel of Germany 6-1, 6-1.

Vaidisova reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, but she has now lost six straight matches.

“It’s always hard to play your best friend,” the 19-year-old Vaidisova said.

Nalbandian, a two-time French Open semifinalist, advanced to the second round by beating Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

Later Sunday, eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams was to face Ashley Harkleroad and former champion Carlos Moya was playing.

LIMELETTE, Belgium (AP)—The determination that helped Justine Henin beat bigger, stronger opponents time and again was fading.

“I decided,” the 25-year-old Belgian said, “to stop fooling myself and accept it.”

Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than 100 weeks ranked No. 1.

She announced her decision at a news conference 1 1/2 weeks before the start of the French Open, where she has won the past three titles and four overall.

Put simply, she realized she was burned out, and became the first woman to quit the sport while atop the WTA rankings.

“I always based everything on this motivation—this flame—that was in me. And once I lost that, I lost many, many things,” Henin said.

Surprising as her departure was to the rest of the world, it seemed somehow inevitable to her.
After reaching the final at each Grand Slam tournament in 2006, she won 10 tournaments in 2007, including two majors. But this season, she started to find it an ever bigger chore to pack her luggage to travel to tournaments. Her legs felt heavy when she should have been dancing in the backcourt, ready to turn another one of those sparkling backhands into a winner.

When she was hurt, she no longer minded if an injury lingered. Ever since being discovered as a child prodigy, tennis was everything to Henin. Now, though, tennis was making it clear that her time was up.

“Everything became harder,” Henin said. “I felt, deep inside, something was getting out of my grasp.”

She lost 6-4, 6-0 to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open, then 6-2, 6-0 to Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open in April—the worst loss for a top-ranked player in nine years.

At last week’s German Open, Henin lost 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 to Dinara Safina. Then she pulled out of this week’s Italian Open, citing fatigue.

“At the end of the match in Berlin, (retirement) all of a sudden was there as something evident,” Henin said.

Her announcement came a day after one of the greatest female golfers in history said she’s quitting: Annika Sorenstam, owner of 10 major titles and one of six women to complete a career Grand Slam in her sport, is walking away at the end of the season.

Henin, however, won’t have any sort of farewell tour. She is retiring immediately.

“I had reached my limits, and I feel strong and relieved that I could take this decision,” she said. “There are plenty of things that I can do. There are no regrets. I did everything I had to do in tennis.”

In addition to her four French Open titles, Henin won the Australian Open in 2004, and the U.S. Open in 2003 and 2007. She has been ranked No. 1 since Nov. 13, 2006, except for a seven-week period last year when Sharapova held the top spot, and won nearly $20 million in career prize money.

“She was a great champion,” said Williams, who lost to Henin in a contentious 2003 French Open quarterfinal, “and she gave me a world of trouble.”

The only Grand Slam title to elude Henin is Wimbledon, where she was runner-up in 2001 and 2006.

“Winning Wimbledon would not make me happier than I am,” she said.

Winning again at Roland Garros would make no difference, either, no matter how much that event means to her. Henin dedicated her first victory there to her mother, who died of cancer when Justine was 12. When Henin won there last year, it capped a reunion with her father and siblings, from whom she’d been estranged for several years.

“That was awesome. It was a great feeling, and I am going to keep that feeling forever now,” she said. “I won Roland Garros four times, three times in a row. I don’t have to live that moment again. I know how it was.”

Throughout her career, Henin has had to beat the odds.

With her 5-foot-5 3/4 , 126-pound frame, she had to figure out how to deal with foes who could hit the ball harder. With a superb one-handed backhand, amazing speed and grit, she rose to the top of the sport.

“She always challenged herself to play her best tennis no matter what the circumstances. She was just a real fighter, so I think that was really what made her best,” Venus Williams said.

“Justine Henin will be remembered as one of the all-time great champions in women’s tennis, and a woman who made up for her lack of size with a will to win and fighting spirit that was second to none,” WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott said. “It is rare that an athlete leaves at the very top of her game in this day and age, but Justine has always played by her own rules, in the very best sense of those words.”

Henin was away from the tour for months at a time in 2004 and 2005 because of an energy-sapping blood virus and assorted injuries, including to her knee and back. In early 2007, she divorced from Pierre-Yves Hardenne and dropped his last name.

Throughout last season, Henin said she had finally found a balance in her life between personal self-fulfillment and doggedly pursuing tennis titles.

Now it appears that changed. Perhaps she took note when Kim Clijsters— another Belgian who was ranked No. 1 and won a Grand Slam title—retired at 23 last year. Clijsters has since married and become a mother.

Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, her brown hair in a ponytail, Henin spoke in French for nine minutes before taking questions Wednesday. She never lost her composure and held the microphone firmly.

The news conference was at the Justine N1 academy in a village about 20 miles outside of Brussels. It has a smattering of her beloved clay courts, where she wants to train and coach youngsters.

Family and children may come, but for now, and for once, there is no rush.

MOSCOW (AP)—No Serena. No Venus. No Lindsay. And no spot in the Fed Cup final for the United States.

Defending champion Russia advanced to its fourth Fed Cup final in five years, clinching its semifinal match when Vera Zvonareva rallied to defeat Vania King 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday. The Russians will face five-time champion Spain in the Fed Cup final in September.

Venus Williams was injured, Serena Williams previously said she would pull out and Lindsay Davenport withdrew from a recent tournament because of the flu.

“I was disappointed,” U.S. captain Zina Garrison said of the withdrawals. “But everyone has their schedule. On the other hand, I’m very proud of these young girls. They did what they had to do. They came here and showed that they did have a future.”

Garrison, who led the United States to four Fed Cup semifinals, is stepping down after five years as captain. Mary Joe Fernandez will take over next year.

Russia had an unbeatable 3-0 lead before Ahsha Rolle scored the first point for the Americans, defeating Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-4. King paired with Liezel Huber to beat Vesnina and Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the doubles.

In Beijing, Spain defeated China 4-1 in the other World Group semifinals.

Nuria Llagostera Vives defeated Peng Shuai 6-4, 6-4 to assure the five-time Fed Cup champion its first berth in the final since 2002.

Russia took a 2-0 lead Saturday after Anna Chakvetadze and Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated King and Rolle, respectively. On Sunday, Zvonareva substituted for Kuznetsova, who was originally drawn to play.

The 14th-ranked Zvonareva had three break points in the second game of the first set but King saved each one and forced the Russian to make errors.

The 115th-ranked King broke Zvonareva at love for a 5-4 lead and served out the set.

But Zvonareva evened the match, breaking the American in the sixth game of the second set.

King fought for every point in the decider and had a break point in the second game and one more after Zvonareva broke her at love in the third game.

But the Russian served hard on key points and broke in the seventh game before winning the match on her serve.

“There were just one or two points in the second and the third sets that really could have changed the match around,” said King, who lost 6-4, 7-5 to Chakvetadze on Saturday opener.

“It’s obviously very frustrating for me to be so close two straight days,” King said.

Zvonareva has improved to 4-2 in the Fed Cup after the fourth straight win. King is 3-4.

“She was playing great,” Zvonareva said. “I knew it would be a tough match but it’s so nice to be back on the team and bring it a decisive point.”

Zvonareva last played for Russia in the final against France in 2004. She paired with Anastasia Myskina to win the decisive doubles match, earning Russia its first Fed Cup title.

The United States has won a record 17 Fed Cup titles, the last in 2000.

King had praise for Garrison’s run, despite a lack of titles.

“I think Zina has done a terrific job as Fed Cup captain,” King said, who played all her Fed Cup matches under Garrison. “She really brought all the teams together. We stayed as a family on and off the court.”

Russia has won three titles in the last four years and is unbeaten at home since hosting France in 2003.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP)—Rafael Nadal won his first title of the season, defeating top-ranked Roger Federer yet again on clay to claim his fourth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters.

The second-ranked Spaniard won 7-5, 7-5 Sunday, and improved his clay-court record over Federer to 7-1.

“Winning four times here is unimaginable,” said Nadal, who earned his 24th career title. “Roger played a great match. We always have good finals.”

Nadal has won 98 of his last 99 matches on clay, with a loss to Federer in the 2007 Hamburg final the only blip.

The Swiss star blew commanding leads in each set, breaking Nadal to lead 4-3 in the first and racing to a 4-0 lead in the second.

“Disappointing second set,” Federer said. “After playing the right way against him and then letting him back into the match, it was disappointing. Maybe I didn’t play my best.”
 
Federer committed too many unforced errors, surprisingly on his forehand, and let Nadal back into the match.

“He deserves to win,” Federer said. “I’m pushing Rafa today, having the feeling I can beat him if I play the right way. And I think that’s the feeling I didn’t have after (Monte Carlo) last year.”

Nadal is the only player in the Open era to win four straight titles at Monte Carlo, and the first since Anthony Wilding of New Zealand (1911-14).

Nadal has won 22 consecutive matches at Monte Carlo since losing to Guillermo Coria in the third round in 2003. Federer was the last person to take a set from him in the 2006 final. Nadal missed 2004 with injury.

The three-time French Open champion is 19-1 in clay-court finals, while Federer dropped to 7-8 on his least favorite surface. The 12-time Grand Slam champion has never won the French Open, the only major title missing from his resume.

Still, Nadal thinks Federer remains the best, despite a slower start to the season. Federer picked up his first win of the season last week at the Estoril Open.

“I think he doesn’t get enough credit,” Nadal said. “It is impossible to be at 100 percent all your career, he is still No. 1, the best in the world.”

Relying too much on his forehand, Federer also missed routine volleys at the net, and made 44 unforced errors.

Federer seemed poised to even the match after hitting some near-perfect winners down the line and taking a 4-0 lead in the second set. Nadal struggled to hold his serve in the fifth game, but turned the match around.

Nadal rallied to 4-3, and Federer had four consecutive errors in the eighth game to lose his serve at love.

A weak backhand gave Nadal the match point and he took it at the first opportunity, before sliding on his back and raising both fists in the air.

Federer lost his serve six times during the match.

“The amount of times I got broken today wasn’t what I was hoping for,” Federer said. “But at least I was finally able to break him also on (four) occasions, which is the good part.”

Federer won only 29 percent of his second-serve points, which even alarmed Nadal.

“A little bit strange because that’s not normal, no?,” Nadal said. “He’s a big server.”

Both players looked nervous on serve in the first set, swapping breaks for 1-1.

Federer saved a break point in the sixth game and dominated Nadal at the net in the seventh, breaking him to move ahead 4-3.

Nadal enjoyed some luck to break back to 4-4.

A loose return bounced on the baseline and surprised Federer, who returned it into the net. Then, on breakpoint, Nadal’s powerful forehand clipped the net and sent Federer the wrong way.

In the 12th game, Federer drew Nadal into the net but hesitated before trying a slice backhand that Nadal easily read and flicked back to take the opening set.

Federer started out strongly in the second set with crisp volleys and confusing angles. He broke Nadal at love in the third game, then easily held for 4-0 before Nadal rallied.

NEW YORK (AP)—Past and present stood across the net from each other during a third-set tiebreaker at Madison Square Garden.

On one end, a winded Pete Sampras tried to summon enough energy to give the New York fans another memorable win to talk about it on the subway ride home. On the other side, Roger Federer wore a sly grin like he knew age was about to catch up to the former world No. 1—the man who owns the record of 14 Grand Slams he wants.

Youth is served, indeed.

Current No. 1 Federer emerged with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6) victory Monday night in an exhibition that featured a little bit of everything—some laughter, some stellar shots, uneven play and compelling tennis.

There was even a Tiger Woods sighting.

“It was a great night for tennis,” Sampras said.

There were moments when, if you squinted a bit, you would have sworn that was the Sampras of old, rather than an old Sampras. There were moments when, if you listened to the whip of the racket through the air, you would have been absolutely sure Federer was giving it his all.

And then there were moments when, as you watched Sampras throw his racket to the ground in mock disgust or saw Federer raise an index finger to celebrate four aces in a single game, it didn’t really matter whether this match counted or not.

“I don’t think winning or losing was really the issue tonight,” Federer said. “I think we both tried to do our best and have a fun night, and that’s what it turned out to be.”

For nearly 2 1/2 hours, before an occasionally raucous gathering of 19,690, these two living, breathing greats of their game shared a court, Federer in his ultra-modern all-black getup and Sampras in his old-school all-white outfit.

It was Pistol Pete vs. The Federer Express.

“Good vs. Evil,” as Sampras said with a snicker earlier in the day.

The encounter certainly doesn’t settle the “Who is better?” debate, given that one participant is 26 and the other is 36, nothing more than bragging rights was on the line, and, frankly, who can truly know how hard each was really trying? It did, however, raise tennis’ profile, make both men some money — $1 million for Federer, less for Sampras—and, well, allow people to say they saw Sampras, the best of his generation, face Federer, the best of his.

“It turned out to be this thriller match,” Federer said.

No one can say they saw Ali face Tyson in a boxing ring. Or Hogan face Woods on a golf course.

Woods, who happens to be pals with Federer, decided he had to see it in person. He sat in the front row, part of a delighted crowd that included Donald Trump, Regis Philbin and Anna Wintour. They sat around a hard court set up where the NBA’s Knicks and NHL’s Rangers play.

“This is maybe why so many people came out: You don’t often get the No. 1 in his prime playing against maybe the greatest player of all time,” said Federer, who recently recovered from a bout of mononucleosis that he thinks contributed to losses in his past two tour matches.

It was the fourth Federer-Sampras exhibition; Federer won two of their three matches in Asia late last year. They left open the possibility of another, with Sampras deferring to whatever Federer wanted to do.

The two only played one real match, back at Wimbledon in 2001, when an up-and-coming Federer edged an on-the-way-out Sampras in a five-setter on Centre Court.

That ended Sampras’ 31-match winning streak at the All England Club; he would never add to his seven titles there. Federer would go on to win five in a row at Wimbledon, a streak that he will try to extend this summer.

Sampras never played a professional match after winning his last Grand Slam trophy at the 2002 U.S. Open. Federer’s Slam count is already up to 12, and Sampras acknowledges he fully expects the record to change hands—and that the kid could wind up with 18 or 19 Slams.

“Roger’s got more important things to worry about,” Sampras said, “than playing me.”

On this night, Sampras showed off the serve-and-volley style that carried him to a record six straight years ranked No. 1. And Federer showed off the all-court game that has helped him enjoy a record streak of more than 200 consecutive weeks ranked No. 1.

Both players took things seriously at times. They also took things frivolously at times, such as when Sampras spiked his racket to the court or pleaded with a linesman to change a call.

After one volley winner, Sampras pumped a fist and threw two Woods-like uppercuts, playing to the rollicking golfer and the crowd in a way he rarely did during a professional career marked by equal doses of excellence and stoicism.

The crowd ate all of it up, cheering for Federer and adoring Sampras. “You still got it, Pete!” rang a cry from the stands.

In the end, he didn’t have enough.

“I was happy I took the second set so we could give the crowd more tennis,” Sampras said. “I was a little disappointed I didn’t come up with the win.”