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Tough day Dent shines, but Agassi too much at Ericsson
Updated: Saturday March 24, 2001 11:02 PM
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -- In the first game of his match against Andre Agassi, young Californian Taylor Dent hit a 142-mph serve, the fastest of the year on the ATP Tour -- and lost the point. That's the way it went Saturday night for Dent, who showed plenty of potential but lost to Agassi 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Ericsson Open. Dent, the 19-year-old son of two former touring pros, is ranked 178th and one of the most promising young U.S. players, along with Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish. But he was outclassed by Agassi, the hottest player on the men's tour with titles at the Australian Open in January and Indian Wells last week. The two combined on a series of brilliant rallies, and Agassi won most of them. Midway through the first set Dent held his palms to the sky as if to say, "What do I have to do?" Dent took a 2-0 lead in the second set with a deft drop volley, then pirouetted and skipped across the court in celebration. But he didn't win another game. "Taylor has come a long way," said the third-seeded Agassi, who beat Dent in the first round at Wimbledon last year. "He was hitting the ball very well. I had a lot to fall back on. I was seeing the ball well and moving well. I played a good match." Dent was pleased with his groundstrokes but disappointed with how he served and volleyed -- and a bit frustrated by the way Agassi returned serve. "Those 142s normally seem to work," Dent said. "I don't mind if they come back, but I'd like to see something I can smack. I was picking them off my toes." Another all-American clash between generations is on the schedule Sunday, when Roddick plays fourth-seeded Pete Sampras. "There's no age when you're out there playing," Agassi said. "There's just experience and game." Gustavo Kuerten, seeded and ranked No. 1, won his opening match by beating Hicham Arazi 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Hardcourts aren't easy for Kuerten, but he made the most of the surface by smacking 10 aces and never facing a break point. "I'm pretty confident to come out here and play," Kuerten said. "I know that at least the other guy has to play good to beat me." In women's play, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport, No. 4 Jennifer Capriati and No. 5 Serena Williams won following first-round byes. No. 7 Elena Dementieva was leading 6-2, 2-0 when American Alexandra Stevenson retired because of a strained back. Also advancing on the men's side were No. 6 Magnus Norman, No. 8 Patrick Rafter, No. 10 Alex Corretja, No. 11 Arnaud Clement, No. 13 Dominik Hrbaty and No. 16 Mark Philippoussis, who beat Michael Chang 7-6 (2), 6-4. Former top-five players Goran Ivanisevic and Greg Rusedski were eliminated. Capriati's victory was her first in her home state since becoming a Grand Slam champion when she won the Australian Open in January. "I just got the kinks out in the beginning, and I think by the second set I was playing really well," she said. Capriati has reached the Key Biscayne semifinals only once, in 1992, when she was 16 years old. Last year she upset Serena Williams in the fourth round, then lost to Sandrine Testud. "Not being in the greatest shape, it was the next match that hurt me when I was like fatigued," she said. "I'm in a lot better shape than last year, and just playing a lot better." A potential rematch against Williams looms in the quarterfinals.
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