ROME, 8 May 2005 — Andre Agassi’s Rome Masters bid ended when he lost 7-5, 7-6 to Argentine ninth seed Guillermo Coria in the semifinals yesterday.
In the final Coria will play another claycourt specialist, Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal who beat compatriot David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. The match will be a repeat of last month’s Monte Carlo Masters final, which Nadal won in four sets.
“It will be very different this time because in Monte Carlo I was playing for the first time in a final after a long time (out),” said Coria, who missed several months of competition late last year due to a shoulder injury.
“This time I think I can win and I’m happy to play against Nadal.”
Coria’s victory ended Agassi’s hopes of reclaiming the title he won in 2002.
It was an erratic performance by the 35-year-old American, whose flashes of brilliance were undone by often wayward groundstrokes.
A break down after the seventh game, Agassi produced a pair of winning service returns to level at 5-5. In the next game, however, a series of long forehands gifted Coria the chance to serve out for the set.
The Argentine tightened his grip on the match when Agassi committed another series of unforced errors to drop serve in the opening game of the second set. He leveled with a volley winner and a serve return that rocketed down the line to go a break up but another shaky service game sent the set into a tiebreak. Agassi made four more unforced errors to lose it to love and gift Coria a place in the final.
“I could have been more aggressive for sure, but you’re always walking a fine line between being aggressive and taking too many risks,” said Agassi.
Henin-Hardenne Breezes Past Schnyder to Reach Final
In Berlin, former world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne was in ominous form as she demolished seventh seed Patty Schnyder 6-0, 6-1 to reach the German Open final yesterday.
Henin-Hardenne outclassed her Swiss opponent to extend her winning streak to 16 matches and will face Russian sixth seed Nadia Petrova in today’s final as she bids to win her third German Open.
An aggressive Petrova clinched a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 victory over Serb Jelena Jankovic in a tense three-hour match.
After failing twice to serve out the match, Petrova was forced into a tiebreak which she conceded to the 20-year-old Jankovic with a double fault and a wide return. She kept lashing winners to take control of the third set, however, and sealed victory with an ace.
Henin-Hardenne, 22, broke Schnyder’s opening service game with forehand winners and made the most of the wet conditions which slowed down play on the red clay.
“I won that match very easily and I am happy about that,” she said.
In a contest lasting 51 minutes, Henin-Hardenne’s serve was barely tested in the opening set. An inconsistent Schnyder failed in her attempt to register on the scoreboard by missing a break point in the fourth game.
Petrova and Jankovic exchanged breaks throughout the second set.
