Costa in Fanfare for Common Spaniard

For the second major in succession the final fanfare was for the common man. In Melbourne this year Sweden's Thomas Johansson, the 16th seed, won the Australian Open title and yesterday Spain's Albert Costa, seeded 20th, beat his fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

Neither Costa nor Johansson had previously progressed beyond the quarter-finals in any of the grand slam tournaments, and both lifted the winner's trophy with more than a touch of genuine bewilderment. The improbable had become the tangible, but it was still extremely hard to believe for all concerned.

A double fault by Ferrero handed Costa yesterday's match, and summed up a quite wretched performance by the younger of the two Spaniards, although this is to take nothing away from Costa. Here was a joiner who suddenly produced an exquisite piece of furniture. For the first two sets he was almost flawless, reeling off 11 games in succession after rain had brought a premature halt with the score at 1-1 in the first set. "I was feeling unbelievable," said Costa.

Costa has worked hard to bring an extra element of aggression to his game, and initially Ferrero simply could not live with him. He later complained of ankle, thigh and stomach problems, but in truth he appeared gripped with nerves. Time and again he lifted his eyes towards his coach Antonio Martinez, as if beseeching him to somehow lift the veil of lethargy and error that descended on his game at exactly the wrong moment.

But it was not to be. Briefly, in the third set, the genuine Ferrero emerged, and there was freedom and power in his forehands and double-fisted backhands. Costa stuttered, his shots looped rather than fizzed and briefly, it was perfectly possible to believe he had not won a tournament for three years. But the 22-year-old Ferrero, a semi-finalist here for the last two years, could not sustain the recovery, eventually sagging into his chair a weary and dejected man while Costa celebrated in the stands with his girlfriend and their twin daughters.

The couple will be married next Friday, with Alex Corretja whom Costa beat in the semi-finals, the best man. He was watching yesterday, emphasising the camaraderie which exists among the Spanish who have now won this title four times in the last 10 years - Sergi Bruguera in 1993 and 1994, Carlos Moya in 1998, and now Costa, the most unlikely of the three.

This is not because Costa is not a good player. None of the current players, except Gustavo Kuerten, the former champion whom Costa beat in the fourth round, has won more titles on clay, but Costa, who turns 27 this month, appeared not to have either the temperament or the weapons to win a grand slam. At the end of last year he had slipped down to 40th in the world rankings. This morning he will be at a career high of eighth, the highest ranked Spaniard.

For those first two sets, when he could do no wrong, and Ferrero could do nothing right, Costa shuffled across the court between games with his eyes fixed resolutely on the floor. It was as if he felt that he was in a dream, and that any raising of the eyes might bring reality flooding in. There is nothing flamboyant about Costa; no frills, nothing fancy. Yet remarkably, given the usual attritional nature of clay-court play, he was two sets up in 46 minutes. The crowd was stunned as, no doubt, were Costa and Ferrero in their completely different ways.

"When Moya and Corretja reached the final in 1998, the year that I had won in Hamburg, I thought 'why isn't it me in the final?'" He continued to fret until the arrival of his twin daughters last year brought a new perspective. Now life is perfect.

</B> France's Richard Gasquet, confirmed expectations when winning the French Open junior title. The 16-year-old became the youngest player to win a match in a Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo in April, and received a wild card to play in the men's draw at Roland Garros.