Agassi advances, Blake falls in U.S. Men's Clay Court tennis
April 25, 2003
HOUSTON (Ticker) - Andre Agassi continued to roll towards the top
of the ATP rankings, but fellow American James Blake wasted an early
advantage Friday in the quarterfinals of the $380,000 U.S. Men's Clay
Court Championships.
The top-seeded Agassi crushed Brazilian qualifier Ricardo Mello, 6-0,
6-1, in just 43 minutes and advanced to his second straight semifinal
at the Westside Tennis Club.
Blake, the third seed, stumbled in the quarterfinals here for the second
straight year, falling to French qualifier Olivier Mutis, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7),
6-1.
Agassi turns 33 on Tuesday but remains in sensational form. The reigning
Australian Open champion raised his 2003 match record to 21-1.
If Agassi reaches the final, he will become the oldest player to become
No. 1 in the 30-year history of the ATP rankings.
"I feel like I am committed to always getting stronger and always getting
better," Agassi said. "In that process, you give yourself the advantage
of being determined and being focused and being strong mentally. As a
result, I have gotten better, which is always my goal."
The winner of 60 ATP titles, Agassi has yet to have his serve broken and
has dropped just five games in his first three matches this week.
The Las Vegas native hopes to improve upon last year's semifinal performance
here, where he lost in straight sets to long-time rival Pete Sampras.
Agassi awaits the winner of Friday night's quarterfinal between compatriot
Mardy Fish and Austria's Jurgen Melzer. Fish will be making his third
quarterfinal appearance of the season.
A year ago, Blake was beaten in the quarterfinals by eventual champion
Andy Roddick, who is the seeded second this week.
The 23-year-old Blake has dropped three straight quarterfinal matches.
Last month, he lost to Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta at Scottsdale and
Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten at Indian Wells.
"I was tentative on the big points," Blake said. "I did not play with
confidence. I was hoping that he would miss, which you can't do. Maybe
in the juniors or in college that works, but not in the professional
game. ... Hopefully, I have these tight match losses out of my system."
Playing his first ATP event on American soil, Mutis registered the biggest
win of his career. Ranked 90th in the world, he recorded eight of the
combined 13 service breaks in the two-hour, 10-minute tussle.
Roddick continues his quest for a third straight Houston title on Friday
evening, when he meets Brazil's Fernando Meligeni in the other quarterfinal.
The winner collects $52,000.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news?slug=houstontennis&prov=st&type=lgns
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