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Andre hurt Leg injury forces Agassi to pull out of Atlanta
Posted: Friday April 14, 2000 02:07 AM
DULUTH, Ga. (AP) -- Top-seeded Andre Agassi pulled out of the Galleryfurniture.com Tennis Challenge with a strained hamstring Thursday, but three other seeded Americans survived the wind and cold to advance. Agassi was serving on a double break point at 4-4 in the first set against Jiri Vanek of the Czech Republic when he injured his right leg. Vanek held serve easily to win the set 6-4 before Agassi, who won two Davis Cup matches against the Czech Republic last week, retired. Agassi said he felt stiffness in his leg as early as the third game of the match. "I wasn't sure what it was, and I was reluctant to work my legs," he said. "I slid with my right leg out to try to get the shot, and I felt a sharp pain." Vanek, 21, became the only active Czech player on the ATP Tour to have beaten Agassi, whose last loss to a Czech player was to Petr Korda in 1991. "I spoke with my friends from Davis Cup, and they told me he played unbelievable," Vanek said. "Here, the conditions were perfect for me -- it was raining, everything was slow." Americans Michael Chang, Jeff Tarango and Chris Woodruff advanced to the quarterfinals of the $350,000 tournament. Chang, the No. 4 seed, struggled with his serve but outlasted Julian Alonso of Spain 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in a two-hour, 28-minute match. Alonso used powerful forehands to outlast Chang in the second set and win three points to open the third before Chang rallied. "That first game in the third set was crucial," Chang said. "He got up 40-love fast, and I was able to win it, and that got me off to a good start. It was important in the beginning to fight hard because he had the momentum after the second set." Woodruff, seeded fifth, struggled to defeat Todd Woodbridge of Australia 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, while Tarango, the seventh seed, beat Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (4). "I thought I did a good job today of concentrating and blocking the weather out, and I was hitting my forehand really well," Woodruff said. "I was trying to use it as a weapon, and I hit a lot of forcing shots with it." In Friday's quarterfinal matches, Jason Stoltenberg of Australia will face Nicolas Massu of Chile, Vanek will meet Tarango, eighth-seeded Andrew Ilie of Australia will play defending champion Stefan Koubek of Austria, and Woodruff will face Chang.
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