Indoors Or Out, It’s Still Moya With Roof Shut At Aussie Open, Spaniard Rolls Into Semifinals

Goodbye sun, hello air conditioning.

Protected from the searing sun and dry, desert-like winds, Carlos Moya surged into the semifinals of the Australian Open in the first match ever played with the roof closed because of heat.

Moya, conqueror of defending champion Boris Becker in the first round, beat Spanish compatriot Felix Mantilla 7-5, 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-2 today in the mid-70s comfort beneath the retractable roof.

“I’m going to be playing anyway. If it’s snowing, raining, 60 degrees (Celsius), I don’t care,” Moya said.

Indoor play continued with South African Amanda Coetzer, a victor over Steffi Graf, moving into the semis with a 6-4, 6-1 romp past American Kimberly Po.

In Moya’s first journey through Grand Slam tournaments last year, he departed in the first rounds of the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and the second rounds of the French and U.S. opens.

Now, fresh from a run to the final in the tuneup in Sydney, the 20-year-old Moya has emerged as one of the new stars of the game with an aggressive all-court style that could pose a threat on any surface.

Moya ventured to the net 42 times, twice as often as the No. 14 Mantilla, and won two-thirds of those approaches. He also smacked 12 aces, twice as many as Mantilla, in the 2-1/2-hour match.

“I had to play my best tennis,” Moya said. “For the first time, I had to take more risks.”

With the temperature outside soaring past 100 degrees in the shade for the third straight day, and temperatures on the rubberized hard courts likely to top 140 degrees again, referee Peter Bellenger ordered the switch flicked to shut the roof.

“I thought it was better for the players and better for the public to be able to view the game in relative comfort,” Bellenger said.

Some players objected to the roof-closing, he said, because they “trained for these conditions” and felt “it gives them an advantage to have the roof open.”

One of those complaining was Michael Chang’s brother and coach, Carl, who wanted the roof open for the Moya-Mantilla match. Chang, of course, would have liked to see them sweat it out in the broiling heat since he’s seeded to play the winner. Chang, No. 2, was scheduled to play at night against No. 9 Marcelo Rios.

“No matter what decision I make, there will be some that are unhappy and some that will be happy,” Bellenger said. “It changes the conditions; it doesn’t change the rules.”

Some players complained the heat the past couple of days posed a life-threatening danger, Bellenger said his medical staff wasn’t so sure.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: DOCTOR SAYS HEAT COULD KILL PLAYERS Melbourne, Australia A doctor warns that players could die if forced to play in the searing heat of the Australian Open. Dr. Gerald Segal, Victoria state representative for the Australian Medical Association, said Monday that players are being placed in life-threatening situations and could not be expected to recuperate with just one day between matches. “It could be just a matter of time before someone dies out there,” he said. “They could have renal failure, a fit, a heart attack or liver failure - the body just shuts down.” Associated Press