Wed, Mar 15, 2006 page20

• Tenacious Haas bundles out Agassi at Indian Wells

  TENNIS Germany's Tommy Haas roared back from a 5-4 deficit in the first set to beat Agassi 7-5, 6-2, while Justine Henin-Hardenne crushed Aiko Nakamura 6-0, 6-0

  • AFP
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  A baffled Andre Agassi was bundled out of the US$5.27 million Pacific Life Open 7-5, 6-2 on Monday by Germany's Tommy Haas.

  Despite his status as the Masters Series event's eighth seed, Agassi clearly had his work cut out for him against Haas, who has already won titles this year in Delray Beach and Memphis and reached the semi-finals in Doha.

  Two of the 27-year-old German's three defeats this year have come to world number one Roger Federer, including a fourth-round loss in the Australian Open.

  Agassi, in contrast, was playing in just his third tournament of the year after being sidelined by injury late last year.

  Still, it was unlike the 35-year-old veteran to squander two set points on his own serve in the opening set, which he led 5-4 and 40-15 before Haas roared back.

  "I just couldn't get my teeth back in the match," Agassi said. "I started second-guessing my shots. I never found the pace I was looking for. I played too big some points and some points I would try to control a bit more. Then I'd give him too good of a look."

  Despite his lack of tournament play, Agassi acknowledged that he had hoped for more here, where after a first-round bye he needed three sets to beat 63rd-ranked Paul Goldstein.

  "I've had a few tournaments to see improvements," he said. "I definitely expected more."

  Haas booked a meeting with American James Blake, who beat Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-2, 7-5.

  "You know, serving at 40-15 [Agassi] probably should have won the first set," Haas said. "But I didn't let go. He came up with some loose shots. I came up with some good ones."

  Third-seeded Andy Roddick, another American who has been trying to turn around an indifferent early season, maintained his momentum with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spain's Fernando Verdasco.

  Roddick, who powered through a rain-delayed second-round match against Jose Acasuso on Sunday night, was delighted to back up that victory with another solid display.

  "It's good," said Roddick, whose four match defeats this year have come against players outside the top 50. "I feel like I played well two matches in a row here against pretty good players. I haven't done that probably since last fall."

  Fourth-seeded Argentinian David Nalbandian also reached the round of 16, beating French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-1.

  But fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko fell 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4 to unseeded compatriot Marat Safin, a former world number one who is working his way back from a career-threatening knee injury.

  Two time Indian Wells champion Lleyton Hewitt launched his campaign with a 7-6 (7/3), 2-6, 6-4 second-round victory over Germany's Rainer Schuettler.

  "It wasn't the prettiest tennis," said Hewitt, who is seeking his first tournament title since January last year. "Hopefully I can pick up on it."

  Despite his title drought, and a disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open left him nursing a sore ankle, Hewitt has been knocking on the door in recent weeks, reaching finals in San Jose in February and Las Vegas last week.

  On the women's side, top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium crushed Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-0, 6-0. Henin-Hardenne, who won the title in her last appearance at Indian Wells in 2004, needed just 55 minutes to dispatch 66th-ranked Nakamura, who was making her first appearance.

  Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva also reached the round of 16, defying an upset bid by tenacious Indian teenager Sania Mirza.

  Dementieva let early leads slip in all three set before emerging with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the feisty Mirza, who made the most of Dementieva's characteristically inconsistent serve.

  Sixth-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta literally tumbled out of the tournament, spraining her right ankle in the opening game of her third-round match against Emma Laine. After Laine won the game, Pennetta retired, sending the unseeded Finn into the fourth round.
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