The gambler
Agassi rebounds from Aussie upset, wins Sybase opener
Posted: Tuesday February 09, 1999 04:57 PM
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Andre Agassi entered the Sybase Open ranked No. 7 in the world. AP |
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Andre Agassi sounded like a high-stakes gambler trying to build back his confidence on the $5 tables.
Two weeks after playing listlessly in a fourth-round upset loss at the Australian Open, Agassi started the process of rebounding with a routine 6-2, 6-1 win over Todd Woodbridge in Monday's first round of the Sybase Open.
"It's always a little bit tough," Agassi said. "If you're on the blackjack table and you're playing with some high chips and all of a sudden you lose, you have to work back down to the lower chips. You have to build up the momentum again."
Agassi, seeded second, never faced a break point and lost just nine points on his serve against the 103rd-ranked Woodbridge. Then he watched in glee as the giant overhead scoreboard showed a clip of him winning the tournament in 1993 with a victory over Brad Gilbert, now his coach.
Agassi, who won the Sybase Open last year after entering the tournament unseeded and ranked 71st in the world, has moved back to a No. 7 ranking now. He had little trouble against Woodbridge, to whom Agassi has never lost in six matches.
"Todd's weapons aren't ones that are going to blow you off the court," Agassi said, "so that allows me the freedom to work into the match."
Fourth-seeded Michael Chang needed just 67 minutes to post a 6-3, 6-2 win over Fernando Meligeni, who double faulted on match point.
The biggest surprise on the first day of the $325,000 tournament was a victory by Chris Woodruff, ranked 1,599th in the world after missing nearly all last year. Woodruff, who had knee surgery in January 1998 after hurting himself kicking field goals, defeated Ronald Agenor 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Pete Sampras, returning to tennis after a 10-week break that was the longest since his junior year in high school, is scheduled to take on Galo Blanco of Spain in his first-round match Tuesday night. Sampras is the tournament's top seed.
The days of doubt are over for Paul Goldstein. After a big upset win at the Australian Open, the former Stanford player has the confidence to come back against higher-ranked players.
That's exactly what he did Monday in the first round, rallying for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Carlos Costa of Spain.
Goldstein, who as a qualifier upset eighth-seeded Greg Rusedski to reach the third round of last month's Australian Open, was within two points of trailing by a set and two games against Costa.
But he came back to win the second set, getting the decisive break in a game that lasted through five deuces, and broke Costa twice in the final set for the victory.
"Even though you may be down in the second set, you have the confidence to hit the shots you know you can hit," he said. "I think it's been a gradual development of confidence."
Goldstein, a native of Rockville, Md., who last spring played on his fourth NCAA championship team at Stanford and graduated with a degree in human biology, won a set off Sampras in the second round of last year's U.S. Open.
After good showings in minor tournaments, his confidence was boosted even more as he got his first win over a Top 10 player at the Australian Open.
"Being in the locker room toward the end of the week was a feeling of belonging," said Goldstein, who has improved his ranking to 124th in the world. "There's more a feeling that I belong out there, and having the confidence to hit shots I know I can hit."
Against the 80th-ranked Costa, he survived 14 aces -- including five in the third set. Goldstein said he doesn't try to hit as hard as players such as Sampras, Rusedski or Costa, but tries to keep them off balance with a mixture of shots.
"By necessity, I'm not going to hit every serve that hard," he said. "There aren't going to be many guys who serve slower than me."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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