HAMBURG, Germany, 18 May 2003 — Guillermo Coria survived an injury scare and a hotly disputed tiebreak line call to earn a place in the Hamburg Masters final today against fellow Argentine Agustin Calleri.

Twelfth-seeded Coria needed two and a half hours to overcome Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-0 but Calleri wrapped up a 6-4, 6-1 win over eighth seed David Nalbandian, another Argentine, in just 79 minutes.

It was the first time that four players from the same country have contested the semifinals of a Masters Series tournament.

Both Coria and Gaudio showed plenty of touch at the net as well as contesting some fierce baseline rallies but, once he was broken in the second game of the final set, Gaudio virtually conceded the battle and claimed just three points in the last four games. That capitulation was in stark contrast to the first two sets. After winning the first, Coria needed to save a set point at 5-4 in the second and was forced to call on the trainer for several minutes of treatment on a calf injury before resuming at 6-5 down.

In the ensuing tiebreak, Coria called a ball out which appeared to have landed long during a rally and was incensed when the point was awarded to his opponent. That gave Gaudio a 2-0 lead and the dispute seemed to unsettle Coria, who double-faulted on the final point of the tiebreak to take the match into a one-sided, deciding set.

Earlier, Nalbandian, a surprise runner-up at Wimbledon last year, paid the price for failing to convert any of six break points he held in the first set or the two he earned in the second. But it was Calleri’s swiftness around the court against a sometimes sluggish opponent that also played a major part in his victory to take him to his first Masters Series final.

Just one break of serve decided the opening set, when Calleri broke to lead 3-2 with a cross-court forehand winner. Calleri also earned another break point at 5-3, but Nalbandian saved that with a second serve ace. In the second set, Calleri gained an early break for 1-0 when the ball struck the service line tape, causing a frustrated Nalbandian to net a forehand volley.

Calleri then fought off two break points when leading 2-1 and then swept the next four games.

He finished strongly, dropping just one point in the last two games and breaking serve to love to close out the match.

There are only six occasions that four players from the same country have reached the semifinals of any ATP event.

Other than four Americans reaching the semifinals in Memphis earlier this year, the last time was six years ago when four Spaniards reached the semifinals of a tournament in Croatia.

Mauresmo Upsets

Serena in Rome

In Rome, Amelie Mauresmo became only the second player this season to stop Serena Williams, sending the World No. 1 crashing out in the semifinals of the $1.3-million Italian Masters 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 yesterday.

Mauresmo, the fourth seeded Frenchwoman who had lost all six of her previous meetings with the American dating back to 1999 indoors in Paris, put the past behind as she took the upset victory.

She had not even won a set off of Serena since Hanover in 2000.

Mauresmo moved into her third final of the season after Paris indoors, where she lost to Serena, and Warsaw a fortnight ago, where she beat an injured Venus Williams.

The 23-year-old will await an opponent from second seed Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama, doubles partners playing the second semi at the Foro Italico.

The defeat in just over two hours leaves Williams vulnerable on the clay heading into the defense of the first of her four straight Grand Slam titles, the French Open, starting May 26. The loss to Mauresmo came a month after Williams saw a 25-match win streak for 2003 halted.

That first of the season loss came in April in the final on American green clay in Charleston, when Belgian Justine Henin- Hardenne took an upset victory.

Mauresmo came into the semifinal showdown after having spent an hour longer (4:25) on court this week than Serena Williams, who had won all of her matches in straight sets.