Andre Agassi's quarterfinal against world No. 1 Roger Federer at the Australian Open had the lead-up of a boxing title bout, but in the end the former top-ranked American was just another statistic in the Swiss' dominating record run, swept aside 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday in Melbourne.
Federer broke Agassi's serve midway through the first set, and broke right off the bat in both the second and third, throwing down 22 aces and giving the American no chance to establish his ground game.
"A good start always helps, especially against Andre and I think I really served well, he never broke me," said Federer, who complimented Agassi's usually-destructive ground arsenal. "From the baseline it was clear who was the better man, so I had to serve better."
Agassi would not be cornered as to whether this was his last Australian Open, and said the Swiss was simply the better player on the day.
"He does everything well and a lot of things great. He just outplayed me," Agassi said. "I wasn't picking his serve up well. You give a guy like that a lead and he can stretch it pretty quick."
Federer's win sets up a semifinal duel with No. 4 seed Marat Safin in a rematch of last year's final. The Russian rolled Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty 6-2, 6-4, 6-2, and benefited from the roof of Rod Laver Arena being closed due to the 90 degree temperatures.
"Actually, I saw that (Hrbaty) really wanted to play with the heat. I think it's an advantage for him," Safin said. "Really honestly, I prefer to play against him indoors. It's much, much better."
Hrbaty agreed that moving the match indoors helped the Russian's monster serve and ground game.
"I think his game stepped up one or two levels when he found out that we play indoors," Hrbaty said. "He was serving much better. I think you can't serve like this if you play outdoors, just so solid and so hard. And also there is a heat factor which you can get a little tired. But he was playing too well anyway. I don't think I would have beaten him."
In the doubles the No. 2-seeded Bryan brothers defeated fellow Americans James Blake/Mardy "Silver" Fish 6-4, 6-4.
On court Wednesday in Melbourne are (3) Bhupathi/Woodbridge vs. Zimbabwe's (5) Black/Ullyett, (26) Davydenko vs. (2) Roddick (American leads 3-0 in their meetings, never dropping a set), (9) Nalbandian vs. (3) Hewitt (Aussie leads 2-0, with their last meeting in the 2002 Wimbledon final), and French two-time defending champs (6) Llodra/Fabrice "The Original Magician" Santoro vs. (4) Bjorkman/Max "The Beast" Mirnyi.
Sharapova Benefits from Choke, Serena Beats Mauresmo at Australian Open
In stifling 90 degree heat Tuesday in Melbourne, Maria Sharapova outlasted fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a battle of 2004 slam champions to advance into the semifinals.
The current US Open holder Kuznetsova got out to a fast start in the first set, but the heat and nerves contributed to her failing to hold in her last eight service games, ending the match with a double fault.
"It was just terrible," Kuznetsova said. "I was very focused and I play very well first set. And after something happened, so I just stopped. I mean, like my body was there, but my mind wasn't there at all. It was just, I don't know, ball boy playing out there."
Sharapova seemed most affected in the heat, taking time between points and leaning on her racquet for support.
"I was a bit lazy at the beginning of the match. I didn't run for as many balls," Sharapova said. "But the third set, end of the second set, is when I think both of us started feeling the heat and feeling tired and we wanted the points to go a lot quicker."
Sharapova will now face Serena Williams, who rolled past the injury-plagued No. 2 seed Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-2.
Mauresmo made 27 unforced errors against the American, struggling with her serve and an injured groin. Serena has beaten Mauresmo nine of the 10 times they have played.
"I think next time she plays me, she probably feels she has nothing to lose because I have such a good record," Serena said. "In a way it's like I have a bit of an advantage but at the same time she does too."
On tap for Wednesday in Melbourne are (1) Davenport vs. (10) Molik (American leads career head-to-head 3-0, never dropping a set and winning their last encounter 0-and-1), (19) Dechy vs. (12) Schnyder (Swiss leads 2-1), in doubles (6) Kuznetsova/Molik vs. Russians (7) Myskina/Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva, and unseeded Czechs Gabriela "No Relation" Navratilova/Pastikova vs. Americans (15) Davenport/Morariu.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer has now won 24 straight vs. Top 10-ranked players, 18 straight in slams, and 26 straight overall. Add to that he's only dropped one of 25 sets in Grand Slam semifinal/final play...Will Amelie Mauresmo ever win a slam? Short answer: no...With a win today, David Nalbandian will have reached the semifinals or better at all four Grand Slams. Roger Federer has not done that. Lleyton Hewitt has not done that. Andy Roddick has not done that. Of course, neither has Nalbandian, yet...Temperatures in Melbourne soared over 95F Tuesday requiring the roof to be closed following the Serena-Mauresmo match, and future play halted on all outside courts for one hour. Marat Safin applauded that move. Temps are suppose to even higher on Wednesday...Obviously talk is Andre Agassi is done at the Australian Open, but could this have been his last match, period? It's a long flight home and Steffi will have some input once Andre gets home and it's his turn for kid-duty...Nikolay Davydenko has yet to drop a set in Melbourne...Alicia Molik, who will make her Top 10 debut on the WTA Rankings following the Aussie Open, on facing world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport next: "I haven't beaten Lindsay before, like I hadn't beaten Venus today. It's going to be a good match-up. Lindsay plays such a big game. She's a clean hitter of the ball. She's very good at moving the ball around and has a particularly good serve. Again, if I'm on song like I was today, I feel like if I create a few chances, if I create a few opportunities, then, you know, I feel like I can definitely, you know, put myself in a position to win."...David Nalbandian says he will not welcome Lleyton Hewitt's ostentatious displays during their upcoming quarterfinal: "It's not easy when you have one guy behind the net doing (yelling and hand signals) all the time. It's not very good for the sport. If he do it when he won a point it's okay, but not when you do a mistake, an easy mistake -- that's the worst thing. If he makes a winner or wins a very good point, that's fine, but not if (the opponent) makes a double fault or any easy (error)." Will Nalbandian bring the spitball at Hewitt, ala Argentine countryman Juan Ignacio Chela? Or the clotheline during a changeover? Nalbandian is in the Aussie Open quarters for the third straight year...As evident from his match against David Nalbandian, Guillermo "El Fragile" Coria is still not over the groin injury that hampered his play in 2004...Does it offend the sensibilities of any U.S. tennis fans that ESPN comes on live with the Serena match Monday night, but in their graphic presentation and Chris Fowler's intro, pretend that the Sharapova-Kuznetsova match (which has already been played) follows the Serena match? Hey ESPN, fans can follow on the internet and figure out which matches have been played already. Believe it or not, they even post the schedule of play on the Aussie Open website. The fact that you're going to throw on some tape doesn't change the reality of the schedule..SI.com's Jon Wertheim in his weekly column didn't touch on the SI website banishing tennis to the "other sports" conglomerate page. Time to do a Bob Marley and get up, stand up for your rights. What's going on over there? Inquiring minds want to know...According to Australian reports, after the spitting incident, Lleyton Hewitt's coach Roger Rasheed got into a verbal tussle with Juan Ignacio Chela off-court, telling the Argentine "You do that again and I will knock your f***ing block off."...After picking Agassi over Federer, Hrbaty over Safin, and the previous day getting three out of the four women's matches wrong, can TR.net stop it with the "daily picks"? Or at least tell readers to do the opposite -- you're probably costing some punters somewhere who don't know any better some serious cash. Not that we don't enjoy TR.net's coverage but -- no picks...Serena took offense at reporters suggesting the Williams sister's era is over: "I don't appreciate that language, to be honest with you. I'm tired of not saying anything, but that's not fair. We've been practicing really hard. We've had some serious injuries. I mean, I've had surgery. And after surgery, I got to the finals of Wimbledon. I don't know too many people that have done that. Venus had a severe strain in her stomach. I actually had the same injury, but I didn't tear it the way she did. If I'd have torn it, I wouldn't have been here. She played a player yesterday (Alicia Molik) that just played out of her mind. And to top it off, we have a very, very, very, very, very close family. To be in some situations that we've been placed in in the past little over a year, it's not easy to come out and just perform at your best when you realize there are so many things that are so important. So, no, we're not declining. We're here. I don't have to win this tournament to prove anything. I know that I'm out here and I know that I'm one of the best players out here."...Jon Wertheim for SI.com on ESPN's week-one coverage: "There were the usual unforced errors -- Andy Roddick routing Jurgen Melzer on tape delay while Elena Dementieva and Daniela Hantuchova were deep in the third set -- but a generally a strong first week. And is there a more soothing TV presence than Dick Enberg? Ummm, "Oh my!" Soothing like someone reading from the ATP Media Guide while trying to feign a deep knowledge of a sport he covers once or twice a year? If soothing like that, yes.
Federer Pounds Agassi, Safin Next at Australian Open