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Advantage, Andre Agassi reaches Eurocard semifinals, Rusedski advances
Posted: Friday October 29, 1999 09:51 PM
STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -- Greg Rusedski saved four match points and rallied to beat Todd Martin, while top-ranked Andre Agassi crushed Andrei Pavel in 54 minutes Friday to reach the semifinals of the Eurocard Open. Rusedski, seeded fifth, fired 22 aces in clinching a 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 6-4 victory over Martin, who had won six of their previous seven showdowns. The last time they met, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open last month, Martin rallied from two sets down to oust Rusedski. "It's a great feeling to come out and win that sort of match after the match at the U.S. Open," Rusedski said. Agassi rolled over Pavel 6-2, 6-1 and later said he was in the shape of his life. Defending champion Richard Krajicek, the eighth-seeded Dutchman, eased into the semifinals by beating Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina 6-3, 6-2, while Sweden's Thomas Enqvist, seeded 13th, upset No. 6 Marcelo Rios of Chile 6-4, 6-2. "It was one of the best matches I played all year," Enqvist said. "I moved well and I was aggressive." Martin, the third-seeded American, appeared headed for another victory over Rusedski when he earned two match points in the second-set tiebreaker. But Rusedski saved them both before wasting a set point of his own. Martin then held another match point, but Rusedski fired two consecutive aces to save it and reach another set point. The fifth-seeded Rusedski saved another match point before clinching the set with a backhand passing shot. "My serve was horrendous in the tiebreaker," Martin said. "I find it very, very disappointing. Especially against somebody like Greg, who doesn't return well and doesn't pass all that well either." Rusedski broke Martin's serve for a 2-0 lead in the third and saved three break points in the eighth game to preserve his advantage. He took the match with a service winner. "I came up with a lucky break in the tiebreaker," he said. Rusedski, a big server whose game is ideally suited to the fast indoor courts, has been hot since the tour went indoors again. He won the lucrative Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Germany, last month and triumphed in Vienna, Austria, two weeks ago. Pavel, a wild card entry from Romania who is ranked 50th in the world, never had a chance against Agassi, who used the full range of his shots to gain a quick victory. "I'm playing some of the best tennis of my career right now," Agassi said. "I'm fitter than before and I'm playing better than ever." Agassi has been having the season of his life. He won two Grand Slam titles, at Roland Garros and at the U.S. Open. His French Open victory made him only the fifth player in history to win all four Grand Slam events. He also reached the Wimbledon final and won two other tournaments, catapulting back to No. 1 in the world after falling as low as No. 141. "I'm enjoying the game," Agassi said. "This year has been inspiring to me in great many ways. "To accomplish what I did this year has meant the world to me and it's hard not to allow that momentum and that inspiration to manifest itself every time you're on court." Steffi Graf, who began dating Agassi after his victory at the U.S. Open last month, again watched the match alongside Agassi's coach Brad Gilbert. Asked if the romance was having any influence on his tennis, Agassi replied: "I'm at a point in my life where tennis has no influence on my private life and vice versa." "I need two more perfect matches to attain my goal here," he said. Agassi's semifinal opponent in the $2.45 million indoor event will be Enqvist. Rusedski will play Krajicek, another big server. "It'll come down to a few points," Krajicek said.
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