Tennis Roundup : Agassi Overcomes Pate’s 16 Aces in Challenge Cup Win

Andre Agassi, ranked No. 4 in the world, rallied to beat unseeded David Pate, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, Thursday in a first-round match of the $190,000 Norstar Hamlet Challenge Cup at Jericho, N.Y.

Agassi, 18, the highest-seeded American in next week’s U.S. Open, overcame 16 aces by Pate. The second-seeded Agassi didn’t start to take control of the match until breaking Pate’s serve in the fifth game of the second set.

Agassi broke Pate again in the fifth game of the third set and served 4 of his 11 aces in holding his last three service games, losing just three points.

In other matches, No. 3 Boris Becker of West Germany beat Jimmy Arias, 6-4, 6-2, and No. 4 Yannick Noah of France overcame unseeded Slobodan Zivojinovic of Yugoslavia, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

Top-seeded Steffi Graf of West Germany easily defeated compatriot Sylvia Hanika, 6-2, 6-1, to reach the semifinals of the $200,000 United Jersey Bank tournament at Mahwah, N.J., Thursday night.

In second-round matches, fifth-seeded Katerina Maleeva of Bulgaria beat past Bettina Fulco of Argentina, 6-0, 6-2, unseeded Nathalie Tauziat of France stopped Julie Halard, also of France, 6-4, 6-1.

Second-seeded Ramesh Krishnan of India advanced to the quarterfinals of the $123,400 NYNEX Open with a 6-2, 6-1 win over 15-year-old Tommy Ho at Rye Brook, N.Y.

In other matches, fourth-seeded Milan Srejber of Czechoslovakia ousted Libor Pimak, also of Czechoslovakia, 6-4, 6-1; Simon Youl of Australia beat Javier Sanchez of Spain, 6-3, 6-3, and Jeremy Bates of Britain struggled past Pete Sampras, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3.