That familiar Latino beat strikes Paris

If love conquers all, Gustavo Kuerten already has one hand on the French Open crown. The Brazilian’s lasting romance with Paris and the Roland Garros Centre Court crowd enjoyed another twist on Monday when he meandered into the quarterfinals. His 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez thrilled the Parisian crowd and was a triumph of determination over pain, the Brazilian shrugging off a hip injury to progress. ‘‘I have such feelings for this place,’’ he said. ‘‘I always surprise myself here.’’

Kuerten will face eight-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian in the last eight after the 2002 Wimbledon runner-up beat Marat Safin 7-5, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Nalbandian’s victory means there are four Argentines in the quarterfinals of the men’s singles at a Grand Slam event for the first time. Third seed Guillermo Coria, Juan Ignacio Chela and Gaston Gaudio are the three others.

Safin struck a forlorn figure as clouds gathered above Roland Garros. The mighty Russian, suffering from severe blisters on his hands, was powerless to prevent Nalbandian advancing. ‘‘My hands are bleeding. I couldn’t play at the end,’’ he said, holding up his palms as he sloped off court.

Lleyton Hewitt joined Kuerten and Nalbandian in the quarters. His 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 win over Belgium’s Xavier Malisse was testament to his fitness and dogged determination against a gifted but indisciplined opponent. The Australian will face Gaudio next after the Argentine beat Igor Andreev 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. (Reuters)