INDIAN WELLS, California, 20 March 2004 — Fifth seed Andre Agassi produced a superb display of all round tennis to beat Guillermo Coria 6-4, 7-5 at the Pacific Life Open on Thursday and set up a semifinal with top seed Roger Federer.
World No. 1 Federer eased passed Argentina’s Juan-Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-1 in the first of the men’s quarterfinal matches.
Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne needed to call upon all her reserves to edge past Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5 in the women’s quarterfinals.
Agassi’s willingness to charge to the net earned him the win over 21-year-old Coria, who matched the American groundstroke for groundstroke during most of the contest.
“With someone that quick it’s pretty tough to let him back into points too many times,” said Agassi, who won 18 of 25 net approaches. With fourth seed Coria serving at 5-4 down in the first set, Agassi wowed the a record night crowd of 13,395 when he pulled the Argentine up to net with a perfectly placed drop shot and then lifted a deft topspin lob over his opponent’s head.
Agassi then won the set when he forced Coria into a forehand error. The 2001 champion broke Coria to 6-5 in the second set and won the contest when with a 122mph ace. After a storming start, Henin-Hardenne had to fight off three set points in the second set against Kuznetsova, who handed the world No. 1 her only defeat of the season two weeks ago in Doha.
“I got a little revenge. It made me a little bit nervous because I know how well she’s playing,” Henin-Hardenne said.
“I was nervous a little bit — no, a lot — this morning when I woke up because she’s the only player that beat me this year.” Henin-Hardenne was to face another Russian, fourth seed Anastasia Myskina, in the semifinals. Myskina wore down 31-year-old Conchita Martinez 7-6 (7-2) 2-6, 6-3.
Henin-Hardenne has a 4-2 record against the 22-year-old but the two have split their last two matches, both tight three-setters.
“She’s not afraid,” said Henin-Hardenne. “She hits the ball very hard. You need to be playing your best from the first point to the end.” The other semifinal is between third seed Lindsay Davenport and 19th seed Nathalie Dechy.
Agassi Says Tax Ruling Won’t Stop Him From Playing Wimbledon
Agassi, meanwhile, said a British court decision, forcing him to pay taxes on endorsement earnings, won’t prevent him from playing at Wimbledon or other tournaments. “It’s not going to stop me from going back there,” Agassi said on Thursday.
A London judge denied Agassi’s appeal of a tax demand for the 1998-1999 tax year and ordered him to play about $50,000 on income from endorsement deals with Head Sports and Nike. The London High Court ruled that athletes are liable to pay such tax as long as they are competing in the country.
There is speculation that the decision could discourage highly paid foreign athletes and entertainers. “I suppose it is a bit of a precedent,” said Agassi. “They are probably looking for somebody more like Tiger Woods than me.”
Agassi and others must now pay tax on endorsements in addition to the tax they pay on prize money when they compete at tournaments like Wimbledon.
He doesn’t see the tax ruling as a big stumbling block for athletes working in Great Britain.
Agassi said his tax bill would be offset by his lowered tax liability in the US. “At the end of the day it is nearly a dollar-per-dollar wash on the taxes you pay here,” he said. “You are paying taxes here, you are paying taxes there. I really don’t begrudge them for it. It is no financial cost for me.”
In explaining the decision, the judge said foreign athletes should not be allowed to funnel earnings from British endeavors through overseas companies.
The High Court decision does not apply to team sports because athletes already pay taxes through their clubs. Agassi has earned $28 million in career prize money since turning pro in 1986. That does not include endorsement earnings.
