Agassi, Roddick in semifinals at Open

Guillermo Coria of Argentina returns a shot to Andre Agassi during his quarterfinal match at the US Open tennis championships at Flushing Meadows, New York, Friday. Agassi won 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. PHOTO: AFP

Top-seeded Andre Agassi took advantage of two days off during a rainy US Open and reached the semifinals for the ninth time by beating No. 5 Guillermo Coria 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 Friday.

"A lot of things get more difficult as you get older. Opportunities get rarer," said 33-year-old Agassi, whose next opponent is French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. "It wasn't easy on anybody -- the players, the fans, TV. It's been a difficult week."

It's been less difficult, though, for Agassi and No. 4 Andy Roddick, who powered into his third Grand Slam semifinal of 2003 with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 12 Sjeng Schalken. Roddick, whose season-high winning streak reached 17 matches, will play No. 13 David Nalbandian in the semifinals.

In the women's semifinals Friday night, No. 1-ranked Kim Clijsters beat 1998 US Open champion Lindsay Davenport 6-2, 6-3 and No. 2 Justine Henin-Hardenne rallied to defeat No. 6 Jennifer Capriati 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4).

Agassi his fourth-round match Tuesday when Taylor Dent quit after three sets with a leg injury. And Roddick booked his quarterfinal spot Wednesday.

Andre Agassi of celebrates after defeating Guillermo Coria at the US Open. PHOTO: AFP

The six other quarterfinalists played Thursday, setting up the possibility of four matches over the final four days at a major for the first time in the 35-year Open era.

"In a Grand Slam, it's always important to have at least one day to rest," the 21-year-old Coria said. "Agassi was kind of more rested."

Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 Open champion who lost to Ferrero on Friday, said: "It's a huge swing in Andre's favor."

Roddick's when told some thought it wasn't fair that he and Agassi got time off? ``Well, that's too bad for them.''

As fresh as Agassi and Roddick looked Friday under a clear sky with temperatures in the mid-20s, there was wear and tear all around them. ATP trainers were busy, hustling out to attend to participants in all four quarterfinals.

Hewitt nine of the last 11 games against Ferrero after plopping down on the court to have his left hip massaged during a medical timeout. Hewitt also was treated a second time, and Ferrero won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Schalken his right leg massaged, and No. 22 Younes El Aynaoui's left knee was sprayed and taped during his 7-6 (2), 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 loss to Nalbandian.

Coria hampered by a sore left hamstring he picked up earlier in the tournament -- plus an injury completely unrelated to the weather: He sliced his right thumb Friday morning when he reached into his racket bag and unwittingly grabbed a sharp tool used to cut foot calluses.

He wrapped it himself, found that uncomfortable, and took the tape off -- producing specks of red blood on his white shirt until a trainer bandaged it.

Coria other woes. One shot by Agassi midway through a 21-stroke rally looked long, and when the point ended, Coria walked over to the line judge and applauded, as if to say, "Thanks for helping him."

Coria's problem was presented by Agassi, who dictated points much better than during a quarterfinal loss to the Argentine at the French Open in June.

"I wanted to make the match physical and make him step up and hit big shots consistently, and I did," said Agassi, a two-time Open champion and runner-up to Pete Sampras last year.

"It feels like I hadn't played in a week, to be honest. I don't think I started all that great, but then I managed to get into the match and started playing better."

Hoping test his older opponent's fitness -- or perhaps because little else was working -- Coria attempted several drop shots, including on each of the last two points of the first set. Agassi hustled to get both for slick backhands that enabled him to break serve and grab a lead he wouldn't relinquish.

In the second set, Agassi broke for a 5-3 edge with a feathery drop shot that prompted an errant forehand from Coria. Then, in the third, Agassi won 15 straight points on his serve, but a blip came when he allowed Coria to break back to 5-5. Agassi broke right back, helped by Coria's double-fault, long forehand and long backhand, then served out the match. It was a tidy, 2-hour, 5-minute affair, leaving plenty of time for recovery -- if Agassi needs it.

"Certainly, the easier you can make it on yourself, the better off you are," Agassi said. "Back-to-back three days in a row, a three-setter comes in handy."

Roddick the same way, sitting in the comfort of a TV studio for a postmatch interview while El Aynaoui and Nalbandian were only into their sixth game of an encounter which lasted nearly three hours.

"They need to keep themselves out there for a while," Roddick said, laughing.

His match against Schalken, a 2002 semifinalist, was little more than a glorified workout, taking less than 1 1/2 hours. Roddick slammed 15 aces at up to 225kph and held at love in six of 14 service games. At one point, he had seven aces in a row.

Roddick his first US Open semifinal after losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion the past two years. He was beaten in the semifinals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon this season, and someone suggested Friday that's the most discouraging stage at which to exit.

"The worst time to lose," Roddick corrected, "is the first round."