What I need to do now is prove to myself that I can do this job I’ve given myself a time scale. I’m not willing to say how long it is, but I’ll know by the end of it whether I’m up to the task.”One man who is “up” to most things, the 7ft second row Richard Metcalfe, yesterday left Northampton for Edinburgh Reivers in a move that should help him cement his place in the Scotland Test side. Certainly, Ian McGeechan, the national coach, suggested that Metcalfe made the right career move. “The feedback I’m getting from a lot of the players outside Scotland is that they want to come back because they feel something quite exciting is happening,” McGeechan said. “To get a player of Richard’s calibre involved is great news.”. The gangly Brazilian nicknamed “Guga” is back in the French Open final. The gangly Brazilian nicknamed “Guga” is back in the French Open final.
Gustavo Kuerten, the 1997 champion, was three games from defeat and down a service break before he rallied to beat Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in a five-set semifinal Friday.Kuerten won 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.

His opponent Sunday will be steady Swede Magnus Norman, who earned his first berth in a Grand Slam tournament final by beating unseeded Franco Squillari 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.In the women’s final Saturday, sixth-seeded Mary Pierce will try to become the first Frenchwoman since Francoise Durr in 1967 to win the title at Roland Garros. Her opponent will be first-time French Open finalist Conchita Martinez of Spain, seeded fifth.Pierce was treated for severe cramping following her semifinal victory over Martina Hingis, but she recovered and won her doubles match Friday with Hingis.Kuerten trailed 3-2 in the fourth set when he received a back massage from a trainer and immediately began to play better. The fifth-seeded Kuerten broke serve for 3-3, then broke again on the fourth set point to even the match.The 16th-seeded Ferrero began to look tired and dejected when Kuerten broke again for a 4-2 lead in the final set. Kuerten slammed a service winner to close out the victory, then raised his arms, smiled and blew a kiss to the crowd.”A match like this is about surviving, and I’m so happy to be in the final,” Kuerten said “It was a great atmosphere. I hope to have the same fun on Sunday.”The match, which took three hours, 38 minutes, was one of the longest of the tournament.

Kuerten was also down a set and a break in the fourth set of the quarterfinals before he rallied past fourth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov.”Once again it proves that in tennis you shouldn’t be too confident,” Ferrero said. “Until the last point, the match isn’t done.”Kuerten and Norman have been the hottest players on the men’s tour this spring. Last month Norman beat Kuerten in the final at Rome, and the following week Kuerten beat Norman in the quarterfinals at Hamburg.The biggest stars on the men’s tour were missing from the semifinals, and the stadium was only one-third full when Norman and Squillari took the court for the first match. The third-seeded Norman leads this year’s ATP Champions Race and has won seven tournaments since April 1999, but he reached the final without much fanfare.”Maybe people are a little surprised,” said Norman, 24.

“But I’ve had great results this year, so I’m not surprised.”Now that he has a chance to become the first Swedish champion at Roland Garros since Mats Wilander i “I will give it a try tonight,” he said “I love Paris, just to walk around. We’ll see tonight if they recognize me.”Norman, who was in the stands to watch Hingis’ semifinal loss, didn’t deny rumors that they’re dating.”That’s my private life, and you guys have to understand that,” he said. “Obviously she’s a very good friend.”Serving well despite gusty winds and coming to the net more than usual, Norman won the first set against Squillari in 28 minutes and never wavered from there.”I played a perfect match,” Norman said “I was very aggressive. I even came to the net a few times, which I normally don’t do You’ve got to take some risks. That’s what I did.”Squillari, the first Argentine in 18 years to reach a Grand Slam tournament men’s semifinal, prefers to play five or six steps behind the baseline. But from there he struggled with his service return, and Norman faced only one break point.”Today was not great tennis,” Squillari said “It was not a very good match for him or for me He won today because he played the less bad. I had trouble concentrating because there was a lot of wind on center court.”Pierce barely made it through her 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over the top-seeded Hingis in Thursday’s semifinals.

Pierce cramped from dehydration late in the match and admitted she probably couldn’t have played much longer.Minutes after leaving the court, the cramping became severe and Pierce received intravenous fluids. But she recovered and teamed Friday with Hingis to reach the doubles final by beating Alexandra Fusai and Nathalie Tauziat 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.. After the final point, Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce kissed each other on both cheeks, as they have throughout the French Open at the conclusion of their doubles matches. The difference yesterday was that they were on opposite sides of the net, Pierce a winner and finalist, Hingis a loser once more on clay in her quest for the only Grand Slam singles title missing from her collection.