OPEN DE MOSELLE Metz, France October 15, 2004 Gasquet, Mathieu, Haehnel and Morrison Advance to Semifinals Richard Gasquet kept his undefeated record against players younger than him by defeating the No. 1 junior the world, Gael Monfils 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and 33 minutes. Monfils started strong and broke Gasquet's serve at 1-1 and was up 3-1. Gaasquet came back and to 3-3 and broke Monfils' serve at 6-5 to close the first set, Gasquet sprinted to the finis line and got to a 5-0 lead. Monfils won his serve to get on the board before finally succumbing to the 2002 no. 1 junior. With the win, Gasquet improves to 12-14 and will look to advance to his first ATP semifinal against American Jeff Morrison. Monfils finishes his ATP debut with a positive 2-1 record and could jump into the top 300 in the INDESIT ATP Entry Rankings after starting the week No. 368. Paul-Henri Mathieu confirmed his full recovery from a wrist injury early in the year by upsetting No. 1 seed Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (2), 6-2 in one hour and 37 minutes. Despite the 10 aces and no break points faced in the first set from Ljubicic, the 22-year-old Frenchman kept his composure by winning the first set and staying on top of his opponent throughout the second set. He is now 10-7 and will try to advance to his first semifinal of the year against qualifier Jerome Haehnel. In the last match of the day, the only quarterfinal without a Frenchman involved, American Jeff Morrison continues his rise in the rankings with a solid win over Spaniard Alex Corretja 7-5, 6-4. With the win, the 101th-ranked American improves to 13-11 and looks to improve his ranking last year (144). WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID: Gasquet: " Today I was able to keep my concentration throughout the match and I am very pleased because this is was a good match. I am very happy to be in a semifinal again [Buenos Aires 2004]. The first set was tight, he started off very well and I tried to break his rhythm by serving and coming to the net. I fought on every ball and it paid, I broke him back and was able to win this first set.” On his next match: "No matter who I play next he will be a tough opponent. I am hopping I can reach my first career final here, this would be great." Mathieu : "This was a great match, I stayed focused until the end. Ivan [Ljubicic] served so well in the first set, it was impossible for me to do anything. Against a player like him you have very few opportunity to break him, and you need to be ready at any time." Monfils: " He was better than me today. I don't regret anything apart from the passing shot I barely missed on abreak point in the first set. Other than that, Richard was better than me today. This was a good tournament for me." SEMIFINAL PREVIEW Paul-Henri Mathieu will face Jerome Haehnel for a spot in the final. The two Frenchmen come from the same region in Alsace but have never faced in any event prior to this semifinal match. Bouncing back from an injury earlier this year, 22 year-old Mathieu will try to advance to his first semifinal of the season. He has reached the quarterfinals in Washington (l. Agassi) and Bucharest (l. to Acasuso). He is currently 9-8 this year and ranks 130th in the INDESIT ATP 2004 RACE. Mathieu had played in only seven ATP events coming into Metz, due to a wrist injury, which forced him out for seven months. He posted an impressive five-set victory over Carlos Moya to give France a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup semifinals played two weeks ago in Alicante, Spain. After winning three matches in the qualifying, Haehnel comes off straight-set wins over No. 3 seed Jose Acasuso and qualifier Marc Gicquel to reach his first ATP quarterfinal. Haehnel has played mainly at the future and challenger level with success by reaching the finals in Germany F2 and France F3 futures as well as Lugano (l. to Calatrava). In one of his only two appearances in tournaments other than futures and challengers, the 24-year-old Frenchman posted a big upset over No. 9 seed Andre Agassi in the first round of Roland Garros. The second semifinal will feature young French sensation Richard Gasquet squaring off against Jeff Morrison for the first time in his career. Gasquet, who entered as a wild card, comes off a solid victory over the 2004 junior champion Gael Monfils I the quartefinals to reach the semifinals of an ATP event for the second time this year. In the clay courts of Buenos Aires, Gasquet posted wins over Verdasco, Calleri and Massu before losing to Coria in the semifinals. Currently 109th in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race, Gasquet is 11-14 in 2004 (only 0-2 in 2003) and will look to improve his 2003 ranking (93rd). Gasquet lost in the first round in this tournament last year. Morrison comes off a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jeff Morrison to reach his second semifinal of the year. He has reached the semifinals in Los Angeles (l. to Kiefer) and the quarterfinals in Newport (l. to Rusedski). Morrison is 12-11 this year and ranks No. 101 in the INDESIT ATP 2004 Race. -- -----------------------------one way in and no way out-------------------- --

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