French Open Boasts Stars, Few Favorites Agassi, Muster And Bruguera Head Men’s Field; Sanchez Vicario Leads Women

Andre Agassi has the incentive, Thomas Muster has the momentum and Sergi Bruguera has the knowhow.

The French Open starts today with three main contenders but no overwhelming favorite.

On paper, Muster should be considered the man to beat: he has dominated the clay-court season by winning five tournaments and 28 straight matches.

But several players wonder whether Muster may have peaked too soon and question whether he can keep up the pace for seven best-of-five matches over two weeks.

“You wonder if maybe Thomas has had such a successful season on clay that he might be a little tired going into the French,” Michael Chang, the 1989 champion, said.

“You often see that guys who have great results before Roland Garros lose a bit of force,” tournament director Patrice Clerc said. “I think it will be tough for Muster to go all the way.”

Even Muster, who is seeded fifth, is downplaying the expectations and taking a casual attitude about his chances.

“Nobody’s going to expect me to win,” the Austrian left-hander said. “If it happens, it’s a great day at the office. If not, I have another week off. That’s OK.”

Muster reached the semifinals in 1990 but never has advanced as far as the quarterfinals in eight other appearances. Last year, he outdueled Agassi in five sets in the second round, but let down against Patrick Rafter in his next match.

The top-seeded Agassi has won the last two Grand Slam tournaments, the 1994 U.S. Open and the Australian Open in January, to go with his Wimbledon title in 1992. He took over the No. 1 ranking from Pete Sampras in April and now is on a mission to win the French, the only Grand Slam title to elude him.

Agassi was runner-up at Paris in 1990 and 1991. If he succeeds this year, he will become the first American since Don Budge in 1938 - and the first of any nationality since Rod Laver in 1969 - to win all four Grand Slams in his career.

“Winning the French Open is more important for me than being No. 1,” Agassi said. “Winning all four titles would be amazing. I’m going into the tournament knowing I can win it.”

Agassi has played only one European clay-court tournament this spring, losing to Bruguera in the quarterfinals at Hamburg.

Bruguera, seeded No. 7, has won the French two years in a row and is seeking to become the only man to win it three stright years since Bjorn Borg did it four times from 1978-81.

Bruguera was sidelined for six weeks after tearing ligaments in his left knee in February. He is not yet 100 percent, but he did get to the final of the Italian Open, where he gave Muster a tough battle.

Bruguera has the day off today, while Agassi opens against Germany’s Karsten Braasch and Muster plays French qualifier Gerard Solves. In another featured men’s match, Jim Courier faces fellow American Jeff Tarango.

On the women’s side, top-seeded defending champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario plays Sung-Hee Park, while three-time champion Steffi Graf has a tough first-round test against Ines Gorrochategui.

Based on current form, the women’s favorite is fourth-seeded Conchita Martinez. After going through a slump following her surprise Wimbledon victory last summer, she has won 19 straight matches and four consecutive clay-court titles since hiring coach Carlos Kirmayr.

The woman Sanchez Vicario beat in last year’s final, Mary Pierce, won the Australian Open in January but has had a mediocre clay-court season. She will be the crowd favorite again as she tries to become the first French woman to win since Francoise Durr in 1967.

Graf, as is often the case, is a question mark. She is 18-0 this year but has been out with various ailments, missing the recent German Open with the flu.

“I feel great,” Graf said Saturday. “I practiced hard for the past nine days and I’ve had no problems at all.”