Grass of Queen's next step on Coria path

So special is Guillermo Coria to his fellow Argentinians that they have awarded him two nicknames. He is The Magician and, because of his stature, The Little Jockey. In Friday's semi-finals of the French Open, as Tim Henman painfully discovered, Coria proved a magic jockey, cantering to impressive victory.

So special is Guillermo Coria to his fellow Argentinians that they have awarded him two nicknames. He is The Magician and, because of his stature, The Little Jockey. In Friday's semi-finals of the French Open, as Tim Henman painfully discovered, Coria proved a magic jockey, cantering to impressive victory.

Coria has the face of a waif and the game of a god. On clay, his speed and accuracy of shot render him virtually unbeatable, and he is no mean operator, either, on other surfaces. Off court he looks the cheerful 22-year-old that he undoubtedly is; in action, the fact that he comes from Argentina guarantees a steely quality, with a measure of gamesmanship added to the mix.

In the first set against Henman, when the Briton was threatening to blow him out of the tournament, Coria bounced his racket in exasperation so often that he eventually cracked it and received a warning for equipment abuse. He changed his shoes from clay-court to grass-court ones, something which did the easily scuffed terre battue of Roland Garros no good at all and which he may not be allowed to repeat in this afternoon's final against his compatriot Gaston Gaudio.

There were also the regular invitations to the umpire to inspect the marks of balls which had landed close to the lines, something which Henman managed to avoid doing once.

However, as the statistics show, it all adds up to a formidable mix. Since losing to Martin Verkerk in the semis here a year ago, Coria has won 37 of 38 matches on clay. The one defeat was in the final of the German Open last month against the world No 1, Roger Federer, who managed to strike the ball just as hard as Henman, but for rather longer. At the end of 2002, Coria was ranked 57th. By the end of last year, having won five titles, all on clay, he was fifth. Now he is third. In addition to winning on clay at Monte Carlo and Buenos Aires this season, he also reached the hard-court final in Miami and has lost just three of his last 28 matches.

Now he intends to test himself on grass, having been granted a wild card into this week's Stella Artois tournament in London before moving on to Wimbledon, where two previous visits have failed to produce a win. "I hope I will have the same results as on clay," he smiled. "But I know it's going to be difficult." Coria was named after his nation's tennis idol, Guillermo Vilas, who was watching Friday's match. Asked if receiving the trophy this afternoon from Vilas would be the culmination of a dream, Coria produced a businesslike reply: "I just want the trophy. Whoever gives it, I don't care."

Whoever wins it, Argentina will be delighted. A group of supporters danced and cheered outside the windows of the interview room, receiving a grin and a wave, but it was nothing, apparently, to what was going on back home, where traffic had been brought to a halt at the news of the nation's double success in Paris.

"The Argentinian people deserve this because of everything we've been through," said Coria. "We always thought football was the only sport that could make people so pleased. I never imagined people would be on the streets celebrating over tennis." Coria said he hoped young players would be inspired by his example "and that they turn to sport rather than drugs". It is a pertinent thought, considering Diego Maradona's problems and that Coria himself received a seven-month ban in December 2001 after testing positive for nandrolone.