CINCINNATI, 8 August 2004 — Andre Agassi continued his good run at the Master Series to set up a dream semifinal against US Open champion Andy Roddick on Friday.
The 34-year-old 11th seed emerged from a battle of former world No. 1s with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Carlos Moya, saving six set points in the first set.
The crowd favorite saved the set points in an epic tiebreak in which Moya went toe-to-toe with the eight-time Grand Slam winner until Agassi’s varied ground strokes induced the fourth seed to over-hit when trailing 13-12.
“That tiebreak was definitely one for the memories — I don’t remember playing one that deep before,” Agassi said. “To come out two days in a row and start raising the standard is what creates belief. “It’s important to me beat some of the best in the world and get the belief in my game,” added Agassi.
However, Agassi struck the ball with conviction against an opponent who possessed superior mobility and a fiercer forehand but was narrowly outsmarted by the tactical skill and technical variety of one of the game’s all-time greats. The victory created a confrontation of two generations of leading Americans.
Roddick, the 22-year-old defending champion joined Agassi in the semis after a 6-3, 6-3 win over Tommy Haas, the former world No. 2 from Germany. Roddick rarely needed to rely on his record-breaking serve and will be favored to beat Agassi, despite having managed it only once in five attempts.
Earlier, Lleyton Hewitt continued his build up for this month’s US Open by winning another battle of former world number ones with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Marat Safin.
The Australian 10th seed beat the 24-year-old Russian in a contest containing plenty of brilliant counter-hitting and a little controversy to set up a last-four meeting with Spain’s Tommy Robredo.
Safin had the greater weight of shot but was eventually frustrated by Hewitt’s consistency and superior mental toughness.
When a Hewitt drive, which appeared to land a couple of inches out in the second game of the second set, was called in, Safin reacted with anger. He squatted on the court, placed his fingers on the surface to show the distance by which the ball had missed, and walked up to the umpire to remonstrate.
The decision appeared to distract Safin as he lost four successive points to drop the game, which allowed Hewitt to take a firm grip on the match. Robredo followed up his conquests over former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero and Briton Greg Rusedski by easing past Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 6-2, 6-3.
Mauresmo Fights Lone Battle
Against Russians in Montreal
In Toronto, top seeds Amelie Mauresmo and Anastasia Myskina advanced to the semifinals of the $1.3 million Montreal Cup on Friday, as Russian players dominated the last-eight encounters.
France’s Mauresmo, the 2002 champion and second seed, rallied to defeat Croatia’s Karolina Sprem 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, while the third seeded Myskina coasted to a 7-5, 6-1 win over 13th-seeded Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria.
Three of four semifinalists will be Russians after fifth-seeded Jennifer Capriati was upset by one of them, suffering a 6-2, 7-5 loss at the hands of unseeded Elena Likhovtseva.
“She played exceptionally well — the best I’ve seen her play in a while,” Capriati said. “I hadn’t played many matches coming into this tournament. “She played her best.”
It was the third straight upset win for Likhovtseva, who beat eighth-seeded Nadia Petrova in the second round and 11th-seeded Francesca Schiavone in the third. The third Russian to advance was 10th-seeded Vera Zvonareva, who easily defeated 16-year-old Moscow-born Tatiana Golovin of France 6-3, 6-1 in a match halted for 30 minutes by rain.
Mauresmo will meet Zvonareva for a place in today’s final while Likhovtseva will take on Myskina, who thoroughly dominated the second set of her night match.
Mauresmo got a scare from the hard-hitting Sprem, who controlled the first set with her powerful serve.
