Agassi Rolls Malisse in LA DebutPosted on July 25, 2006 Andre Agassi began his farewell US Open Series tour with a trademark victory over in-form Belgian Xavier Malisse at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles Monday night. After winning a tough first-set tie-break, Agassi busted open the match in the second, winning 7-6(10), 6-0.
Agassi, who claimed his 60th and most recent ATP title one year ago in Los Angeles, has announced that he will retire after the US Open. But the 26-year-old proved that he can still match it with the world's best, steamrolling World No. 38 Malisse, who last week reached the Indianapolis semifinals, where he pushed eventual champion James Blake to three sets. Agassi saved three set points in the 22-point first-set tie-break but in the second set the former World No. 1 conceded just three points on serve and allowed Malisse just 12 points in total. Agassi claimed just his seventh match win from his 12th appearance in 2006, but his 867th career win. Third seed Fernando Gonzalez withstood 10 aces from big-serving left-hander Gilles Muller to win 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in a match that featured no breaks of serve. In a good opening day for the seeds, eighth seed Dmitry Tursunov also survived two tie-breaks, defeating Thai No. 2 Danai Udomchoke 7-6(5), 7-6(4). Both players claimed two breaks of serve, with Tursunov earning 14 break points throughout the match. Tursunov, who is just two places below his career-high INDESIT ATP Ranking of No. 31, fired 16 aces. -- ATP |
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