Moya wins battle of the golden oldies

PARIS, June 4 (Reuters) Carlos Moya rolled back the years to beat fellow 30-something Jonas Bjorkman 7-6 6-2 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals of the French Open for the fourth time in his career today.

The two oldest players left in the draw stepped on court with a combined age of 65 and it was the younger of the pair, the 30-year-old Moya, who came up trumps.

The Spaniard, champion here in 1998, had trailed 5-2 in the opening set but once he overcame that wobble he wore down doubles specialist Bjorkman with a dogged display from the baseline.

Bjorkman, who had his shoulders massaged at the end of the second set, slapped a weary backhand into the net to bow out after two hours 38 minutes.

Moya, the 23rd seed, will next face either defending champion Rafael Nadal or Australian 14th seed Lleyton Hewitt.

REUTERS BJR VC2020