Serena Will Miss US Open, Agassi-Roddick Roll in Washington

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Top-seeded Andre Agassi and No. 2 Andy Roddick stayed on course for an all-American final at Washington Friday, both advancing to the semis when Agassi outlasted a fired-up James Blake in three sets, and Roddick smothered countryman Mardy Fish in quick order. "I'm not used to that feeling when somebody's hitting it so well and you can't do much," said Agassi, who was forced to come back from a set down against Blake, who beat him last year at Washington. "I got lucky in the second set. I was down a couple of break points, one of which I hit a let cord winner. He wins that point and maybe even picks up his game further and routines me. Beats me three-and-three. I felt like that match was always in balance. He gave me a window when I got out of that game and I converted." Also into the semis were (10)Henman (d. (3)Srichaphan), and (4)Gonzalez (d. (7)Mirnyi).

Fans got their money's worth at LA Friday, with all four quarterfinal matches going three sets. Unseeded Nicolas Kiefer worked his way into the semis with an upset over (8)Spadea after Vince fought off six match points, and the German was joined by seeds (1)Hewitt (d. Carlsen after dropping the first set in the brutal LA heat), (5)Philippoussis (d (4)Kuerten 7-6 in the third), and (7)Ferreira (d. (2)Grosjean). "When he gets pissed at himself, it's good for me -- it means I'm doing something right!" said Carlsen on Hewitt's frequent outbursts during the match. "It's always good to know that he's angry." Yeah, but it's better to win.

Peru's Luis Horna took advantage of a hot day and some incredible ball control, putting (1)Ferrero on the merry-go-round and running the Spaniard ragged in one of his biggest career wins Friday at Sopot. "I didn't give my best tennis in today's match," Ferrero said. "I had a bad day. I tried to give me best. Nothing specific was missing, but I couldn't show the best tennis that I am capable of. Horna just played better. He was taking risks. All players playing a Top 10 player try their best as I used to against Agassi and Sampras. He had so much incentive today." Horna was one of three unseeded players advancing to the semis, joined by Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (d. Blanco who folded in the heat 6-0 in the third), David Ferrer (d. Vinciguerra), and (3)Coria (d. (8)Mutis) who is sitting pretty despite the exhaustion of approaching his third consecutive title in three weeks.

Washington semifinal action today has (10)Henman vs. (2)Roddick (first meeting), and (1)Agassi vs. (4)Gonzalez (first meeting). "It will be a first," said Henman on facing Roddick. "You've just got to try and get as many balls back as possible. A lot of people can't do that. When he gets into a rhythm and he's holding serve comfortably, that gives him a lot of confidence. You look at the semis against (Roger) Federer at Wimbledon. He was the guy who managed to get a lot of balls in play and after holding his serve easily, he's under a bit more pressure. That's something I've got to do as well as hold onto my own serve." The LA semis will feature (1)Hewitt vs. Kiefer (Hewitt leads 2-0), and (5)Philippoussis vs. (7)Ferreira (Wayne leads 5-2). The Crap-pot semis feature Ferrer vs. Ramirez Hidalgo in an all-Spanish "C"-team match-up (Ferrer leads 3-0), and Horna vs. (3)Coria (The Wizard leads 2-0).

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The injury-free Lindsay Davenport put in an impressive performance with a straight-set win over (6)Rubin Friday, setting up a semifinal showdown against Kim Clijsters. "I wasn't sure what to expect with my foot," said the fourth-seeded Davenport. "It's been feeling great this week. The summer looks a lot better for me." In the other quarterfinal match-ups, (2)Clijsters routined Raymond, (3)Henin-Hardenne routed Petrova 6-0, 6-2, and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova became the only unseeded semifinalist with a straight-set win over countrywoman Elena Likhovtseva. The semis in San Diego today are (4)Davenport vs. (2)Clijsters (Davenport leads 6-5, but has lost their two meetings this year), and Kuznetsova vs. (3)Henin-Hardenne (H-H leads 1-0, with a win this year at Wimbledon).

Unseeded Klara "Kouky" Koukalova turned around a 4-6, 0-3 deficit to upset (8)Mandula Friday in Sopot to reach her career-first WTA final. "When I was down a set and 3-love I didn't give myself a chance to win," said the 21-year-old Koukalova after the semifinal. "I changed my tactics slightly but I didn't expect the change to be so big, to win 12 games in a row. I'm obviously very happy to get to another final, and I'm excited at possibly winning my first tour title." Kouky will have her hands full Sunday against (3)Pistolesi, who upset (2)Schnyder in three sets, and is an amazing 6-0 in career finals. "I'm going to drop her like third period Calculus," said Pistolesi, who didn't really say that. The stadium-emptying doubles final will feature qualifiers Ani/Prusova against Perebuynis/Talaja.

TENNIS-X MEN'S BOTTOM 10 RANKINGS
A deadlock at the top remains for the worst on tour through Saturday, with former world Top 10 Thomas Enqvist losing ground after a win this week, but hanging on gamely at No. 5.
Moving out: former No. 2 world-ranked Magnus Norman
Moving in: Argentina's Mariano Puerta
(minimum two matches a month, through Aug. 2, 2003):

1T. Krajan, Zeljko (CRO) 2-14 .125
1T. Waske, Alexander (GER) 2-14 .125
3. Sa, Andre (BRA) 4-18 .182
4. Mamiit, Cecil (USA) 3-13 .188
5. Enqvist, Thomas (SWE) 6-20 .231
6T. Labadze, Irakli (GEO) 5-15 .250
6T. Beck, Karol (SVK) 5-15 .250
8. Mathieu, Paul-Henri (FRA) 5-13 .278
9. Voinea, Adrian (ROM) 8-20 .286
10. Puerta, Mariano (ARG) 4-10 .286

ATP TMS-CANADA TOP 10 -- ACTIVE PLAYERS
Michael Chang, the leader in winning percentage among active players at the TMS-Canada, makes his final career appearance at the 2003 Canadian Open. Look at Bohdan Ulihrach sneaking in at No. 10, get your lawsuit on!

1. Chang, Michael (USA) 25-8 .758
2. Hewitt, Lleyton (AUS) 12-4 .750
3. Philippoussis, Mark (AUS) 14-5 .737
4T. Martin, Todd (USA) 15-7 .682
4T. Rios, Marcelo (CHI) 15-7 .682
6. Agassi, Andre (USA) 23-11 .676
7T. Gambill, Jan-Michael (USA) 10-5 .667
7T. Henman, Tim (GBR) 10-5 .667
9. Corretja, Alex (ESP) 11-6 .647
10T.Kuerten, Gustavo (BRA) 9-5 .643
10T.Ulihrach, Bohdan (CZE) 9-5 .643

2003 HARD COURT WINS LEADERS (thru Friday)
1. Roger Federer 24-6
2. Andy Roddick 22-6
3. Andy Agassi 21-1
4. Rainer Schuettler 18-7
5. Paradorn Srichaphan 20-8

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Serena Williams underwent left knee surgery yesterday to repair a partially torn tendon. The injury will keep Serena off the tour six to eight weeks which means she will miss the US Open and practically hand the No. 1 ranking to Kim Clijsters in the coming weeks. Serena had the operation in Los Angeles under the knife of surgeon Rodney Gabriel, who expects a 100% recovery and a big pay check for his duties. Hope the acting career goes well...Andre Agassi says he will not compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics, saying he would feel guilty if he played given he has not participated in Davis Cup the last few years...Next year Washington will host the only ATP event held during the second week of the Olympics...Anna Kournikova settled out of court with Penthouse over the alleged naked photos of the Russian tennis-bomb; the suit originally demanded damages of over 10 million dollars but no details of the settlement were released by Porn-ikova, said ESPN...Hey Marat, get the surgery on the wrist already, or hang it up...How many players will bail on the Tennis Masters Series-Canada next week, now that the ATP can no longer threaten the top players with no year-end bonus pool? Chance of Guillermo Coria showing? Zero...Andre Agassi is 21-1 on the year on hardcourts, and 41-9 at Washington career...Andy Roddick is 18-1 under new coach Brad Gilbert...Ashley Harkleroad was a guest Friday night on the Craig Kilborn show.