LOS ANGELES -- Andre Agassi disposed of Jan-Michael Gambill
6-2, 7-5 in the Mercedes-Benz Cup on Friday to set up a semifinal
showdown with top-ranked Gustavo Kuerten.
|  | | Pete Sampras got his victory over Magnus Norman 7-5, 7-6 (4), but didn't look very impressive in doing it. |
A slow moving Pete Sampras didn't look nearly as sharp, needing
five match points before getting by seventh-seeded Magnus Norman
7-5, 7-6 (4).
Kuerten, the top seed, breezed past eighth-seeded Tommy Haas of
Germany 6-3, 6-3 in just less than an hour for his 15th consecutive
match victory.
Agassi, the third seed, and Kuerten will meet Saturday on the
UCLA campus. While Kuerten is No. 1 based on his finish last year,
Agassi leads the Brazilian in the ATP Champions Race, which
determines the top-ranked player at the end of the year.
"I'd rather be playing him here than on clay," said Agassi,
who won the Los Angeles tournament in 1998 and was second in 1999.
Playing his first tournament since a shocking defeat in the fourth
round at Wimbledon, Sampras struggled with his first serve, hitting
just 49 percent. His seven aces were blunted by eight double
faults.
"It's not the way I want to have to hold my service game,
hitting a lot of second serves," he said. "I didn't have the
rhythm. There's definitely room to improve."
Sampras, the fourth seed, saved two break points on his serve in
the first and fifth games of the second set to take a 3-2 lead.
But Norman held serve to tie the set, prompting a frustrated
Sampras to toss his racket at his chair.
Sampras frequently stretched out between points, but didn't
specify what was affecting his movement.
"I had a few tight spots," he said. "It's something I've
dealt with before and I've got to play through it."
Norman broke in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead and had a set
point in the 10th game. The Swede led 40-30 before he mis-hit a
forehand for deuce. Sampras hit a crosscourt forehand on the line
and then Norman sent a forehand long to let Sampras tie the set
5-5.
Norman saved three match points on his serve in the 12th game to
force the tiebreaker. Sampras never trailed in the breaker, but
needed two more match points to close out the 1:49 match.
"It wasn't pretty," Sampras said. "I got a little bit
fortunate to get back in the second set."
Sampras advanced to the other semifinal against Xavier Malisse
of Belgium, who beat 20-year-old Taylor Dent of Newport Beach, Calif., 3-6,
7-5, 6-3.
"I know I have to play a lot better than tonight," Sampras
said. "I feel like I'm hitting the ball pretty well. I feel it's a
matter of time before I find my rhythm."
Agassi closed out his victory over Gambill with an ace up the
middle, one of the six he hit while committing no double faults.
"It was a good day, considering you're coming off a couple of
night matches," Agassi said. "The court was a lot quicker. I
moved well, hit my shots well and stayed in control."
Agassi improved to 7-2 lifetime against Gambill, who also lost
to his idol here in 1998 and '99. He's beaten Gambill in straight
sets each of their last four meetings.
"Nobody can just go out there and trade blows with him," said
Gambill, who retired with a sprained ankle in the final last year against Michael Chang. "Andre knows how to play me very well. He
ran me very well, not necessarily going for big shots."
Against Haas, Kuerten equaled his career-best winning streak he set last year. He could overtake Agassi as the Champions
Race leader with a victory in final Sunday, which would be his
ATP-best sixth singles title of the year.
"Maybe if I play like this every match, I'll be satisfied until
the end of the season," he said.
Kuerten won 25 of 28 points off his first serve against Haas. He
hasn't dropped a set in three matches this week.
"I'm not the favorite so much anymore," Kuerten said.
"Everybody from now on has a 50 percent chance to win. Now it's
easier to find motivation to get going harder because matches are
more important. It was the best day for me this week."
Malisse, best known in the United States for being the former
boyfriend of Jennifer Capriati, upset second-seeded Marat Safin in
the second round.
"I have nothing to lose," Malisse said. "All the other guys
are supposed to win."  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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ALSO SEE
Friday's results
Agassi earns quarterfinal date at Mercedes-Benz
Sampras fends off Chang in Mercedez-Benz Cup
Sampras struggles, but wins first match since Wimbledon defeat
Agassi ready to balance family, tennis
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