Federer, Clijsters March Toward No. 1 Ranking; Agassi Upset, Pulls from Cincy

ATP REVIEW/PREVIEW
Top-seeded Andre Agassi won the first set off No. 8 seed Rainer "I'm Going to Houston!" Schuettler before his game fell off the table Friday night, hitting everything long and handing the match to the scrambling German in three sets. "Definitely it's a great feeling," said Schuettler, who hadn't faced Agassi since getting demolished in the January Aussie Open final. "I mean, he was playing very fast in the first set and I had no chance to come back after I was two breaks down. So it was good that I came back in the second set. And, of course, I'm very happy that I, for the first time in my career, beat him." Schuettler will face David Nalbandian (d. F.Lopez) today in the semis, while the other semi features the next generation in Wimbledon winner and No. 3 seed Roger Federer (d. Mirnyi) against No. 6 Andy Roddick (d. Kucera). Club Fed leads the head-to-head with A-Rod 4-0, while Schuettler and Nalbandian are tied 3-3 in their meetings, with Schuettler winning their two contests on hardcourt. With a win over Roddick, Federer will overtake Agassi to become the 21st player in history to rank No. 1 on the 52-week scale. There are also some quality doubles for ticket holders Saturday in Montreal, with semifinal action including (4)Bjorkman/Woodbridge vs. (2)Bryan/Bryan, and (1)Bhupathi/Mirnyi vs. (6)Damm/Suk.

WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
Top-seeded Kim Clijsters appears to be unstoppable in trudging toward the LA title, on Friday rolling over unseeded Russian upstart Svetlana Kuznetsova to advance to the semis against (16)Schiavone (d. (Q)Pratt). "I just want to focus on my next match because I'm not there yet," Clijsters said upon learning she will take over the No. 1 ranking from the injured Serena Williams if she wins the LA title. "Although, I'll give it my best shot if I reach the final." Clijsters would become the first player to attain the No. 1 ranking without winning a grand slam title since the WTA Tour Rankings began in 1975. "You don't know what it feels like if you don't have (the ranking) yet, so it's hard to say whether I would prefer this or a grand slam title," Clijsters said. "I'll take either." Clijsters leads the head-to-head with Schiavone 3-0. In the other semi today, (2)Davenport (d. (8)Coetzer on Friday) will face (4)Sugiyama, who outlasted (6)Maleeva in three sets. Davenport leads the series with Sugiyama 7-1, but lost earlier this year on hardcourt at Scottsdale.

Croatian qualifier Jelena Kostanic easily handled countrywoman Silvija Talaja to reach the semis at Helsinki Friday, joind by another Croatian in (8)Sprem (d. (4)Mandula in a walkover due to a quad strain), with (2)Pistolesi (d. Cervanova), and unseeded Vera Douchevina (d. Czink). Pistolesi is now on an eight-match winning streak after winning the Idea Prokom Open in Sopot, Poland last week. It is the first career semifinal for the 16-year-old (yet another) Russian Douchevina. Saturday's semi line-up will feature (Q)Kostanic vs. Douchevina (first meeting), and the 18-year-old (8)Sprem vs. the 27-year-old (2)Pistolesi (the Croat leads the series 1-0).

FEDERER'S SHOT AT NO. 1 IN ATP ENTRY RANKINGS
If Roger Federer defeats Andy Roddick in Saturday's semifinal match at the TMS-Canada, the Swiss will become the 21st player to rank No. 1 in the ATP Entry Rankings:

(Through Friday's quarterfinal matches)
1. Andre Agassi 4030
2. Roger Federer 3910 (4035 if he reaches final)
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero 3665
4. Guillermo Coria 2840
5. Lleyton Hewitt 2745
6. Andy Roddick 2730 (2855 if he reaches final)
7. Carlos Moya 2640

ESPN U.S. TV TENNIS SCHEDULE
Sat., Aug. 9 TMS-Canada 1-3pm (ESPN)
Sat., Aug. 9 JP Morgan Chase Open 9-10:30pm (ESPN2)
Sun., Aug. 10 TMS-Canada 2-4pm (ESPN)
Sun., Aug. 10 JP Morgan Chase Open 4-5:30pm (ESPN)

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES, AND BARBS
Venus Williams has withdrawn from next week's Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto due to the abdominal tear she aggravated at Wimbledon...Also removing her name from the field was Jennifer Capriati with a shoulder injury...Chanda Rubin and Alexandra Stevenson have also pulled from Toronto with injuries...After Roger Federer's match at the TMS-Canada Friday, the Swiss was presented with a birthday cake in the shape of a tennis racket, and the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" in French...Hey ATP, way to promote Roger Federer becoming No. 1 if he beats Andy Roddick today, letting the media know the day before rather than at the beginning of the week -- do the math. Stop dropping the ball, no wonder tennis is behind women's college softball in popularity in the U.S...Andre Agassi said "No" to Cincinnati and withdrew going to the "I've played enough matches"-card. Agassi was scheduled to play Thomas Enqvist in the first round. The last time Agassi missed Cincy was 1994...According to ESPN's Patrick McEnroe, Jim Courier underwent surgery Thursday following a golf accident in the Bay Area. Courier sustained a separated shoulder and a couple broken bones. The former No. 1 is on USA Network's talent roster for the upcoming US Open...When was the last time both the ATP and the WTA had a new No. 1 ranked player on the same day? Anyone? Answer: How about never...Interesting first round pairings at Cincinnati include: Corretja-Mirnyi; Henman-Coria; Philippoussis-Fish; Gonzalez-Vahaly; Ferrero-Dabydenko. Federer and Roddick both drew qualifiers...Happy birthday to Brad Gilbert, who turns a robust 42 Saturday.