Andre Agassi has some bad news for the men's draw at the Australian Open: he's feeling comfortable and confident.
Agassi breezed to a 6-2, 6-4 victory yesterday over Wimbledon champion Roger Federer to advance to the final of the tuneup tournament at Kooyong. He will meet the winner of Friday's match between top-ranked Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian.
"This is everything I hoped it to be so far," the eight-time Grand Slam titlist said after needing just over an hour to down the second-ranked Federer, who beat him twice while winning the season-ending Masters Cup in Houston. "I feel real good about the way this year's going."
PHOTO: REUTERS
A victory over Federer "just sort of proves to me that the pieces are in place," Agassi said. "You still need to execute, but it gives you the reassurance that you're ready to get the tournament started."
Agassi has followed wins at Kooyong with wins at the Australian Open three of the last four years, missing out only in 2002 when he was sidelined by a wrist injury.
His holiday training regime went even better this time, and the 33-year-old American is eager to get 2004 off to a big start.
"My best tennis has always come after a break," he said. "I feel I can step on court and make someone play well to beat me."
The birth of his second child with wife Steffi Graf didn't distract Agassi too much, and he called his training time "almost therapy."
"It's only a couple of hours a day," he said. "I can do that while the kids are sleeping."
Agassi came out strong yesterday, breaking Federer in the first game and never letting up. Federer showed the rust of the off-season, with sizzling shots that kissed the lines followed by backhands into the bottom of the net or forehands that sailed long on a warm, sunny day.
With another break to go up 5-2, Agassi held to finish off the first set, then broke Federer again to start the second set. He went up 5-2 again before Federer got his only break to pull within 5-3. Agassi held to wrap up the victory.
Federer said he wasn't worried with just days to go before the season's major, particularly with the loss coming to a strong player like Agassi, but also made clear that he isn't happy yet with his game.
"I'm really trying to get the rhythm," he said. "I will be hitting the practice courts."
Meanwhile, Agassi looks to be in midseason form, with each victory raising his confidence levels.
"You never know when you're going to need it," Agassi said, pointing out that even the early rounds at a Grand Slam tournament can be tough.
In other matches, France's Sebastien Grosjean and American Robby Ginepri evened their records at 1-1 in the round-robin format. The 10th-ranked Grosjean defeated Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-4 6-2, while Ginepri beat compatriot Taylor Dent 7-5, 6-1.
Adidas International
Top-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne beat seventh-seeded Chanda Rubin 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 yesterday and advanced to the semifinals at the adidas International.
Henin-Hardenne needed a medical timeout after losing the second set to treat a minor sprain of her left ankle and a blister on her right big toe.
"It's great to have a match like this the week before a Grand Slam -- it was a high level of tennis and had a lot of tension," she said. "I had a few nerves but it's natural in the in the second match of the year and very good to be like that before a Grand Slam."
After she rallied from 0-40 in the fifth game to take a 4-2 lead in the third set, the 21-year-old Belgian had a match point on Rubin's serve in the ninth game but had to serve it out, winning with a forehand down the line.
She'll meet Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals after the American, seeded fourth, closed with an ace to clinch a 6-3, 6-4 win over Russian Elena Dementieva.
Davenport, on the comeback from foot surgery last October, said she'd strained a chest muscle while serving but expected to be fit for the semis.
Third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France had a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Russian Anastasia Myskina to set up a semifinal against unseeded Italian Francesca Schiavone, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi.
Henin-Hardenne said the backhand that she'd relied on as she rose up the rankings had started to fail a little, but she'd improved her serve and forehand to compensate.
"My forehand now is my best shot and I have to use it," she said.
Henin-Hardenne improved her record to 5-2 against Rubin, a 27-year-old American with seven career titles who finished No. 9 in the WTA rankings last season.
Carlos Moya continued his unbeaten start to 2004 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo.
A winner of the Tata Open in Madras last week, the third-seeded Moya said getting on a winning roll was good for his confidence ahead of the Australian Open.
"The most important thing is being confident. Last week it didn't seem like I was playing great tennis, but I was winning," he said. "Since I got here, I'm playing very well and I'm improving with every match."
The other men's quarterfinals were to feature Australians, with former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt against Arnaud Clement of France, Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis playing Dutchman Martin Verkerk and wild card entry Todd Reid facing veteran South African Wayne Ferreira.
Moorilla International
Sixth-seeded Shinobu Asagoe of Japan beat Kristina Brandi of Puerto Rico 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 yesterday to advance to the final of the Moorilla International tennis tournament.
Asagoe will play the winner of yesterday's later semifinal between qualifier Maria Emilia Salerni of Argentina and unseeded American Amy Frazier.
The 27-year-old Asagoe will make her second appearance in a WTA Tour final.
"I'm really happy for two reasons," said Asagoe. "Not only on reaching the final but also because I lost to Kristina last week in Auckland.
"Kristina's ground strokes were very steady again in the first set today, and I couldn't do anything."
Asagoe broke Brandi twice in a row in the second set to take a 5-2 lead, then broke early in the third set to go up 2-1 before saving four break points in the next game.
Canberra Classic
Croatian teenager Karolina Sprem beat fifth-seeded Emilie Loit of France 6-1, 6-4 yesterday in a quarterfinal match at the Canberra Classic women's tennis tournament.
Top-seeded Paola Suarez, who beat countrywoman Arantxa Parra 6-2, 6-2 in another quarterfinal, will meet 19-year-old Sprem in a semifinal today.
Second-seeded Silvia Farina Elia of Italy and Julia Vakulenko of the Ukraine will play in today's other semifinal.
Farina Elia beat eighth-seeded Maria Sanchez Lorenzo of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 while Vakulenko defeated Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-4.
Heineken Open
Second-seeded Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic and third-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil stayed in line to become repeat Heineken Open champions by winning quarterfinal matches yesterday.
Novak, the 1996 champion, started slowly and went down a set before beating unseeded Dutchman Raemon Sluiter 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match stretched over two hours.
Defending champion Kuerten beat fifth-seeded American Vincent Spadea 6-2, 7-6 (4) in a rain-delayed match.
Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty, who won the Auckland event in 2001, led German qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 when rain halted their match.
The match will resume before semifinals Friday. Hrbaty is unbeaten in seven tournament matches in 2004.
The exception to former champions in the semifinals was 17-year-old Spaniard Rafael Nadal, whose rapid rise in world ranking continued when he gained a walkover win over Gregory Carraz of France.
Nadal led 2-1 on serve in the first set when the unseeded Frenchman called a trainer to treat strained thigh and groin muscles.
His injured leg was strapped and Carraz, who was making only his second quarterfinal appearance in ATP matches, returned to the court to serve the fourth game of the set.
He immediately indicated to the chair umpire he could not continue and he quit the match after only 18 minutes.
The withdrawal allowed Nadal, who leaped almost 200 ranking places in 2003, to reach his second tour semifinal.
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