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Former champion Costa ousted by Malisse
Belgium's Xavier Malisse saved two match points before ousting 2002 champion Albert Costa in a French Open third round thriller on Sunday.
Belgium's Xavier Malisse saved two match points before ousting 2002 champion Albert Costa in a French Open third round thriller on Sunday.
Malisse triumphed 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-6 8-6 in a match spanning two days to advance to the fourth round, where he will face Australia's Lleyton Hewitt.
The Belgian fought off two match points late on Saturday evening while trailing 5-4 in the fourth set before bad light stopped play at 5-5. On Sunday, he snatched the first service break to force a fifth set.
Costa grabbed the initiative, however, and served for the match at 5-4. When Malisse broke him to level 5-5, the enraged Spaniard smashed his racket to pieces before tossing what was left of it high over his shoulder.
"Well, these things happen," Costa said. "He played, I think, a great match. Yesterday I had the chance to finish with two match points, but he played a very good backhand down the line, one ace.
"So it's like this. Tennis is like this, and what can I do? When he's inspired, he's very dangerous because he's very talented."
