Down to the wire

Agassi keeps heat on Hewitt for No. 1 ranking

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt easily defeated Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-4. Alex Livesey/Getty Images

PARIS (AP) -- Andre Agassi wants to be ranked No.1 in the world at the end of this season -- and the next.

The 32-year-old is trying to overtake Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt for this year's top spot. But even if he succeeds, that won't be enough for Agassi.

"Feeling like I'm out there competing for it (the No.1 spot) keeps my juices flowing through the end of the year," he said Tuesday after beating Gaston Gaudio of Argentina 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters.

"It motivates me to do it next year. It makes me feel like I can do it next year. Playing for the No.1 spot is a clear sign to me that my future is still in my hands, so that's a good feeling."

Top-seeded Hewitt, who is nearly 11 years Agassi's junior, also reached the third round in Paris, easily defeating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-4. The Australian next meets Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who eliminated Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-3, 7-6(8).

Agassi trails Hewitt by just 43 points in the ATP Champions Race, which determines the year-end rankings. The American hasn't won a major this season, but he has taken three of eight Masters Series events, which are second only to majors in importance.

Winning the title in Paris, the ninth and final Masters Series tournament, would give Agassi 100 points.

Hewitt said he wasn't too concerned about retaining his position atop the rankings.

"If somebody had told me at the beginning of the year I was going to take Wimbledon and not finish No.1, I would have taken it," Hewitt said. "I'd take Wimbledon any day of the week."

Agassi and Hewitt are both qualified for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, China, where they can win more points. The six remaining berths will be determined by players' performance in Paris.

Although Agassi badly wants to end the year ranked No.1, on Tuesday he was just focusing on staying in the match.

"It could have been a disaster for me," he said. "Gaston's a tough competitor."

Agassi, a two-time tournament champion, overcame 35 unforced errors to beat the Argentine.

After winning the first set, he wasted two break points in the opening game of the second set. Trailing 6-5 in the set, Agassi appeared to lose his composure when he challenged a call on a shot by Gaudio. Agassi won that game, but won just one point in the tiebreaker.

In the third set, Agassi broke for a 5-3 lead, but lost his next service game. As wife Steffi Graf looked on from the stands, Agassi broke again to seal the victory. He next faces the winner of the second-round match between Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson and Tommy Robredo.

In the first round Tuesday, American James Blake overcame a loss in the first set and beat Chile's Fernando Gonzalez 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4.

 

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