PARIS -- Carlos Moya could barely meet eyes with Fernando Vicente when they shook hands at the net of Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Moya advanced Wednesday to the third round of the French Open, the tournament he prizes above all others, but even 30 minutes later he was still downcast.
"He's my best friend on the Tour, and I know he's having a hard time now because he was injured for a long time," Moya explained. "If it was against any other player, I would be happy, but today I was not happy because I saw that he was struggling a little bit. I tried to support him after the match.
"You know, there's not much that I can do."
Moya has won all 11 of his career matches with Vicente.
There are so many Spanish players populating the rackets these days, collisions of this sort are inevitable. Seven of the 32 players in the bottom half of the men's draw that were in action were Spaniards.
Alex Corretja, the senior member of the Spanish Fleet at 30, pounded No. 13 seed Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. No. 17 seed Tommy Robredo defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in another all-Spanish affair.
On Thursday, defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, the No. 4 seed, and Albert Costa, the 2002 champion here, play along with Feliciano Lopez and Felix Mantilla.
Where clay is concerned, the Spanish rule with an iron grip on the racket.
Add Moya's title in 1998 to those belonging to Ferrero and Costa, and you have three French Open titles in the past six years. This year, there were no fewer than 19 Spanish men in the draw here, equaling France (which had the benefit of seven wild cards). Fourteen of the men ranked in the top 100 call Spain home and there are 16 among the top 100 in the 2004 ATP Champions Race.
Moya is No. 2 behind Roger Federer in the ATP race following tournament victories in Rome and Acapulco, and Moya had more wins on clay (24) than any other player coming into Roland Garros. Ferrero, who has reached at least the semifinals in each of his four previous appearances here, has been dogged by sickness and injury but looked strong in a first-round victory after receiving a cortisone injection. Fernando Verdasco (Valencia), Santiago Ventura (Casablanca) and Robredo (Barcelona) have all won tournaments this year.
So, how did a nation of fewer than 40 million souls and a mere 194,000 square feet become the kings of clay?
"Work and more work and more work and practice and sacrifice and struggling," Corretja said, with feeling. "It is obvious that you play better on clay because you were born on clay and you practice many hours on clay than many other people."
Said Moya: "The most difficult thing is the first guys coming. After you have seven, eight guys on the top one hundred, then it's easier to have younger guys that try to play tennis. I think we have done the most difficult thing -- that is to have guys at the top. Now is easier for them to start playing tennis when they are kids, not only soccer or basketball.
"Now they realize they can play tennis because we are so many doing well."
According to Corretja, the recent explosion can be traced to 1994, when Sergi Bruguera met fellow countryman Alberto Berasategui in the final at Roland Garros. Bruguera won his second consecutive French Open title and the fuse was lit.
"It was a good turning point for me," Corretja said.
Today, Spanish tennis finds itself in another transition. Moya, who will turn 28 later this summer, is still a serious threat in this Grand Slam event and Ferrero, only 24, should be in the mix for years. But there are three young players who have the potential to equal their feats.
Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil has won the French Open three times, most recently in 2001. But on Tuesday, he was nearly bounced from the first round by an 18-year-old from Murcia, Spain. Nicolas Almagro lost the first two sets to Kuerten but won the next two and led 5-4 in the fifth when the former champion summoned the strength to win the last three games. Almagro, who grew up idolizing Pete Sampras, was playing a steady succession of Futures events as recently as February.
"I'm very proud of the match I played," Almagro said. "Coming here to Roland Garros and playing against Kuerten is a dream for any 18-year-old boy who likes tennis. I don't think I'm that far off from him."
While Almagro and Verdasco, who is 20 and has one of the best clay records (14-6) this season, are this year's Spanish revelations, they were preceded last year by Rafael Nadal, who won't turn 18 until next week. Nadal, who is out with a broken foot, reached the third round at Wimbledon, evoking comparisons with Moya.
"Since I'm on Tour, it happened every year," Moya said. "There's a new guy every year, so that's good. I think it's going to keep happening the next years because we are so many on the Tour that we helped each other."
Corretja, still damp from his win over Srichaphan, smiled as he talked about Almagro.
"He beat me in Barcelona, so I know the way he plays," Corretja said. "And we have a few others which are very good, so you might see them soon -- I don't know how soon, but of course they will be there maybe this summer or maybe next year here."
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
