GRAF, SANCHEZ VICARIO BACK IN FRENCH FINAL : MISTAKES TAKE OUT NOVOTNA, MARTINEZ IN STRAIGHT SETS.

Byline: Stephen Wilson Associated Press 

It was a stretch to say Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won their semifinal matches at the French Open. It was more a case of Jana Novotna and Conchita Martinez losing them.

Novotna performed another act of self-destruction, and Martinez had another fade-out in a pair of error-filled matches Thursday that failed to live up to expectations on a sweltering day at Roland Garros.

The result: Another Graf-Sanchez Vicario final.

Graf, the defending champion and four-time winner, needed just 67 minutes to complete a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 3 Martinez.

Martinez looked exceptionally sluggish, and made 24 unforced errors. Graf had 23 of her own, but dominated with a forehand that produced 18 winners.

``It was a pretty bad match,'' said Martinez, who lost in the semifinals for the third straight year. ``I didn't play very good today. I don't know why. I couldn't get into the rhythm to get into the match.''

Earlier, No. 4 Sanchez Vicario took advantage of a slew of mistakes by her doubles partner, the 10th-seeded Novotna, to win 6-3, 7-5, in 1 hour, 37 minutes.

Novotna committed 42 unforced errors and eight double faults. Sanchez Vicario, steady as always from the baseline, had 19 unforced errors and only two doubles.

``It's not that Arantxa won the match,'' Novotna said. ``It's that I lost the match.''

Afterward, Graf and Sanchez Vicario saw each other in the locker room.

``We gave each other a high-five and congratulated each other, saying, `Saturday, another one,' '' Graf said.

It will be the 35th meeting between the two. Graf leads the series 26-8.

It also will be their sixth encounter in a Grand Slam final and third at the French. Sanchez Vicario beat Graf for the title in 1989, but Graf won last year.

``Probably not many people were giving me too much credit and thinking I would be able to make the final, but here I am,'' Sanchez Vicario said. ``I'm here and I'm very proud.''

The men's semifinals are set for Friday, with top-seeded Pete Sampras facing No. 6 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and No. 14 Marc Rosset playing No. 15 Michael Stich.

With temperatures in the sun reaching 90 degrees Thursday, players were shielded by umbrellas on changeovers. They used ice packs to cool off.

Novotna seemed to suffer the most.

Leading 3-2 in the first set and up 15-40 on Sanchez Vicario's serve, she proceeded to lose 14 straight points - 11 on unforced errors - and 20 of 22. In the space of a few minutes, Novotna dropped five consecutive games to lose the first set and go down 1-0 in the second.

Not that Sanchez Vicario was playing spectacular tennis. She just kept the ball in play, and Novotna eventually made an error.

``Arantxa doesn't really do anything,'' Novotna said. ``She runs around the court and just brings the ball back, and she's waiting for somebody else's mistake.''

Novotna settled down in the second set, and started pumping her fist after virtually every point she won.

But when Novotna served for the set at 5-4, she failed to convert. After saving three break points, she double-faulted at deuce. On the next point, she ran back to the baseline to retrieve and lob, then shanked a risky overhead to lose serve.

Two games later, Novotna double-faulted twice as Sanchez Vicario broke to end the match.

It wasn't as dramatic a collapse as Novotna's loss to Graf in the 1993 Wimbledon final, when she blew a 4-1 lead in the third set and sobbed on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent. Last year, she lost to Chanda Rubin in the third round of the French after leading 5-0, 40-0, in the third set.

``Yes, I have regrets, of course,'' Novotna said. ``But the bottom line is that life is more important than tennis. Tennis doesn't last forever. I'm trying to make the best out of it.''

The Graf-Martinez match was sloppy, with five straight breaks in the first set. Graf won seven of eight games to take the first set, and led 4-0 in the second.

``I was playing pretty aggressive, especially with the forehand,'' Graf said. ``On the other hand, I did realize that she was making more mistakes and trying for too much and taking too many risks.''

FRENCH OPEN AT A GLANCE Thursday's women's singles semifinals Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Spain, def. Jana Novotna, Czech Republic, 6-3, 7-5.

Steffi Graf, Germany, def. Conchita Martinez, Spain, 6-3, 6-1.

Today's men's singles semifinals Marc Rosset, Switzerland, vs. Michael Stich, Germany.

Pete Sampras, Tampa, Fla., vs. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO Arantxa Sanchez Vicario celebrates a point in se mifinal victory over Jana Novotna.

Associated Press

Box: French Open at a Glance (see text)