Unseeded Gustafsson Upsets Agassi, Will Battle Wilander in Semifinals

Unseeded Magnus Gustafsson tamed No. 4 Andre Agassi 6-2, 7-6 today to reach the semifinals of the Stockholm Open for the second time in three years.

“But this win was better,” beamed Gustafsson, a hard-hitting baseliner from Sweden who is ranked 92nd in the world.

“I made my breakthrough in this tournament, but I’ve faced much better players this time. Agassi is one of the best.”

Gustafsson made the semis of the world’s oldest indoor Grand Prix as a wild card in 1987, then fell to runner-up Jonas Svensson of Sweden.

Mats Wilander, coming off the worst slump of his career, advanced to a Saturday semifinal meeting with Gustafsson after a lopsided 6-3, 6-0 victory over Jan Gunnarsson.

Gunnarsson stunned Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Boris Becker in the third round Thursday, but Wilander neutralized his serve-and-volley game today.

World No. 1 Ivan Lendl was to play Tim Mayotte of the United States, and Stefan Edberg, the third-ranked Swede, faced Jim Courier of the U.S. in tonight’s remaining quarterfinals.

Gustafsson, 22, played aggressive tennis on the big points to key the victory on the Globe Arena’s fast Supreme Court.

Trailing 5-6 and 15-30 in the second set, Gustafsson decided to take the initiative by going to the net.

He won eight straight points, holding his serve to 6-6 after two sharp volleys, and jumped to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker. The final tiebreaker score was 7-4.

“I wanted to play aggressive in the tiebreaker, but I was nervous when I hit the ball,” admitted Gustafsson.

The Swede, who has a forehand as explosive as Agassi’s, came from 0-3 to win the second set.

Agassi, who played a late third-round match Thursday that ended after midnight, looked sluggish for the early afternoon quarterfinal.

The American, who posted two impressive straight set wins in his first two matches in the tournament, also made a poor stroke selection in the tiebreaker.

Twice he tried but failed to disturb Gustafsson’s rhythm by gambling with a drop shot on the fast surface.

“It was strange. I don’t know why he did that,” said Gustafsson.

Agassi said he thinks he played “pretty well, but I simply lost to a better player.”

The Las Vegas native, who won just one Grand Prix singles title this year compared to six in 1988, said he is considering playing Wimbledon for the first time next summer.

He has skipped Wimbledon’s grass the last two years.