SPANISH MAIN MAN; MOYA BEATS COUNTRYMAN CORRETJA IN STRAIGHT SETS TO CAPTURE FRENCH OPEN.

Byline: Rob Gloster Associated Press 

They made their own line calls and embraced at the end. Carlos Moya and Alex Corretja were just a couple of buddies playing tennis on a windswept Sunday.

And, at times, they performed like weekend hackers. Gusts that whipped the clay across center court turned routine shots into adventures and robbed the match of drama.

Moya, steady but unspectacular, defeated his fellow Spaniard and close friend 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 for the French Open title before a crowd that seemed more interested in doing the wave than in often-tedious tennis.

Moya flopped onto his back after Corretja netted a backhand on match point. Corretja jumped the net for a long hug with Moya, who flung his racket high into the stands as a fan yelled ``Viva Espana!''

``I don't know if we are friends, now,'' Corretja said with a laugh.

Fans reserved their biggest cheers for Pele, who presented the winner's trophy and then joined Moya for an impromptu romp with a soccer ball. They headed it back and forth, and then Moya booted the ball into the crowd.

Moya said he felt no guilt about defeating a good friend.

``For two weeks I'll be a king,'' Moya said of the period before Wimbledon. ``I'm not sad, not at all, even beating him. I just won a Grand Slam, so I cannot describe how happy I am.''

A Spanish sweep of the singles titles already had been ensured when Arantxa Sanchez Vicario defeated Monica Seles for the women's title Saturday. Sanchez Vicario watched Moya's victory from the players' box. It was the second all-Spanish men's final in five years at Roland Garros. Sergi Bruguera defeated Alberto Berasategui for the 1994 title.

Moya, seeded 12th, and Corretja, seeded 14th, reached the final after the men's field was decimated early in the tournament. Top-seeded Pete Sampras lost in the second round and No. 2 Petr Korda was upset in the first. Moya ousted No. 3 Marcelo Rios in the quarterfinals.

``The feelings I'm having right now are unbelievable,'' said Moya, who won $650,000. ``I cannot explain with words. You have to feel it. You have to be there.''

Corretja, who had not faced a seeded player on his run to the final, struggled from the beginning in winds reaching 30 mph. He had repeated mis-hits, including one shot that landed in the stands.

``I couldn't handle the wind,'' Corretja said. ``All my game wasn't working really well. The whole time I was just trying to find the ball. It was honestly tough to play.''

Moya had 45 unforced errors and just 20 winners. Corretja had 39 unforced errors and 18 winners. The players ignored the officials at times. In the first set, Corretja overruled a line call and gave Moya an ace. Moya returned the favor later in the set.

``I think we didn't need the chair umpire or the linesmen. Next time we're just going to play by ourselves,'' Corretja said. ``I just trust him. I never have to check the mark.''

The final was expected to be more competitive, but Moya simply was more versatile. He served better and dominated with his powerful forehand. Corretja, who in the third round played a 5-1/2-hour match over two days that was the longest at a Grand Slam tournament since tennis' open era began in 1968, was drained by the end of the second set.

Moya got a service break to go up 3-1 in the final set, then had two aces to win the next game. As the crowd did the wave before the next game, delaying play, Corretja knelt on the court. In the eighth game of the final set, a fan yelled as Corretja was about to serve. Annoyed, he hit the ball into the upper deck.

Moya, who lost to Sampras in the 1997 Australian Open final, hopped a railing to hug his family in the stands after his victory.

AT A GLANCE

A look at Sunday's play, the 14th and final day of the French Open:

Attendance: 16,610 at Roland Garros Stadium.

Weather: Sunny and clear with wind coming in from the west with gusts up to 31 mph. Afternoon high of 70.

Men's singles champion:: Carlos Moya.

Men's doubles champions: Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis.

Women's singles champion: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

Women's doubles champions: Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna.

Mixed doubles champions: Justin Gimmelstob and Venus Williams.

Quote: ``Honestly, when I just finished and I saw him that happy, I was feeling happy as well because he's my friend.'' Alex Corretja on losing the final point of the match against Moya.

Stat of the day: 2 for 5. Twice in the past five years, Spaniards have won the men and women's titles. Sanchez Vicario won the women's crown in 1994 and 1998. Sergi Bruguera won on the men's side in 1994, and Moya is the 1998 French Open men's champion.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO Carlos Moya celebrates his victory over Alex Corretja on the slow red clay at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

Tom Blerone/Associated Press

BOX: AT A GLANCE (see text)