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Another setback Hip injury forces Agassi to retire in Lyon semis
Updated: Saturday November 11, 2000 1:07 PM
LYON, France (AP) -- Andre Agassi injured his right hip Saturday and quit after the first set of his semifinal against Frenchman Arnaud Clement at the $800,000 Lyon Grand Prix. Agassi, seeded second, lost the opening set 6-3 as Clement advanced to Sunday's final -- his first of the season -- against Patrick Rafter. Rafter, the eighth-seeded Australian, defeated Hicham Arazi of Morocco 6-3, 6-4 in the second semifinal. Agassi was playing in only his second tournament since his second-round loss at the U.S. Open, also to Clement. He is completing a disheartening year marked by injuries, poor play and family illness. "It's unfortunate and I hope to have a period where this stuff stops happening to me," he said. "I do hope it stops." Agassi appeared troubled from the outset, favoring his right leg and looking slow. He eventually required courtside treatment from a trainer. "I'd been struggling with my hip for about a week but only with tightness," he said. "But today, Arnaud sent a quick shot up the line that I wasn't expecting and I pushed off and opened up. And suddenly that tightness turned into a sharp pain. "The pain was getting worse every time I pushed off and it was impossible to move," he added. "I was concerned I might really do some damage, which might already be done." Agassi will have tests in the next few days to determine the extent of the injury and whether he can play at the Master Series event in Paris next week. "If I can play next week and pick up where I left off that would be good," Agassi said. With girlfriend and tennis great Steffi Graf watching from the stands, Agassi fell behind 3-0 in the first set. He then needed a three-minute break in which a trainer massaged his right leg. Agassi managed to break back but then lost the next two games. After Clement held serve to wrap up the set, Agassi decided to stop. Last week, Agassi was beaten in the third round in Stuttgart, Germany, his first tournament since the Open. He dropped out of the Sydney Olympics because his mother and sister are fighting breast cancer. "It's been a tough year, and as a tennis player when you don't play you start to lose confidence," Agassi's coach, Brad Gilbert, said. Agassi has won just one title this year, the Australian Open in January. But that Grand Slam victory qualified him for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup, an eight-player event this month in Portugal. Pete Sampras, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin and Magnus Norman are also in the field. "Yeah, it hurts my chances of finishing the year among the top eight," said Agassi, who finished 1999 at No. 1. Agassi's withdrawal forced Rafter and Arazi to make an early start in the second semifinal. In the opening set, Rafter capitalized on a chip-and-charge tactic and went up 5-3 before serving out the set. In the next set, Rafter broke the Moroccan's opening serve. Arazi rallied to tie it 4-4 but Rafter immediately broke again when the Moroccan sent a short volley into the net. Rafter then took the match with two aces and a winning serve.
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