WASHINGTON, 23 August 2004 — Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller stunned top-seeded Andre Agassi 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final of the Washington Classic on Saturday, depriving the American veteran an opportunity of picking up a sixth victory at this event.
In final, the unseeded Muller was to face second-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who overcame America’s Robby Ginepri 6-3, 6-4 earlier in the day.
Both Muller and Agassi showed glimpses of their top form in their first ever meeting, but the top seed admitted that his tall, left-handed opponent was just too good on the day.
The 6ft-5in Muller took advantage of cracks in his opponent’s play, taking all four of his break opportunities while Agassi could only convert on two out of the 10 he created.
The sets moved quickly with both players mixing up their play with serves of varying speeds, drop shots and winners down the line.
Muller, who came into the tournament as a relative unknown with a world ranking of 124, said he was not intimidated by the thought of stepping onto the court against Agassi.
Hewitt said he would spend the night studying the 21-year-old’s game, while Muller admitted he had an advantage, having had years to observe the Australian’s style of play.
The first semifinal was delayed for more than four hours because of rain, but Hewitt seemed to maintain his composure as his opponent struggled and committed a string of unforced errors. Hewitt capitalized on Ginepri’s slack play and broke serve in the fourth game of the first set which he closed out 6-3, much to the American’s frustration who threw down his racquet. Despite the errors, Hewitt said Ginepri had kept him on his toes.
Ginepri started well in the second set with three aces in the first game, but quickly dissolved into inconsistent play, occasionally landing winners at the baseline but generally throwing his hands up and his racquet down in frustration.
Hewitt broke Ginepri in the ninth game of the set when his opponent hit a forehand into the net and the Australian quickly wrapped up the victory.
Davenport Walks Into Final, Zvonareva Pushed by Frazier
Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport of the United States advanced to the finals of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday when her scheduled semifinal opponent, Marion Bartoli of France, withdrew with a hand injury.
Davenport, the number four ranked player in the world, found out four hours before her match that had been handed a walkover.
Bartoli, seeded fourth at this event, told tournament officials after practicing early on Saturday that she would not be able to play due to a blister on her hand that developed during her quarterfinal win on Friday.
Davenport has won 16 consecutive matches and three straight tournaments and got the bye to the final on the same day that the world’s No. 1 ranked player, Justin Henin-Hardenne of Belgium, won the gold medal at the Olympics in Athens.
She will meet second-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the final, who beat third-seeded Amy Frazier of the United States 3-6, 7-6, 6-1 in an evening match.
Zvonareva, the ninth ranked player in the world, had to overcome a slow start and saved two match points in the second set before she finally saw off the determined American.
