TENNIS ROUNDUP : Agassi’s Title Is His First of ’92

Andre Agassi won his first tournament title of the year Sunday, beating Pete Sampras, 7-5, 6-4, in the AT&T; Challenge at Roswell, Ga.

It was Agassi’s first singles title since last July in Washington. It was also the 22-year-old Agassi’s first title on clay in nearly four years.

Agassi, seeded No. 2, needed only 1 hour 13 minutes to put away the top-seeded Sampras. Winning the tournament, held at Horseshoe Bend Country Club, has become an annual tradition for Agassi. He won the last three years when it was an exhibition-level event.

“I just wish the U.S. Open were played here in Atlanta,” said Agassi, who won $33,800. “I saw my level of tennis jump two levels against Pete today; he’s a player I respect.”

Agassi, ranked 16th in the world, should rise to No. 11 with Sunday’s victory. Sampras earned $19,900.

Agassi was once ranked third in the world, but fell to a low of No. 17 two weeks ago when he failed to win more than two matches in seven tournaments.

But Roswell was the ideal setting for Agassi.

“The win reassured me that my game’s right where it needs to be,” Agassi said. “At this stage, I’m just looking ahead, but it’s nice to get the win a few weeks before the French Open.”

Agassi, the French Open runner-up the last two years, said he took the momentum after breaking Sampras in the first set.

“When I broke him to go up 6-5, in my mind I had complete control of the match,” Agassi said.

Sampras said his serving arm was hurting throughout the match.

“I was serving very hard all week and it was really hurting today,” said Sampras. “But I’m not going to make excuses. He played very well and he probably would have won anyway.”

Top-seeded Steffi Graf won her 63rd title by defeating third-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, in the WTA tournament at Hamburg, Germany.

Using a backhand slice, a powerful serve and a new full-court strategy, the 22-year-old Graf got the upper hand early in the match, forcing Sanchez Vicario into repeated errors and moving ahead, 4-0, after 15 minutes.

But Sanchez Vicario, who defeated second-seeded Gabriela Sabatini in the semifinals, soon caught on. She rallied with powerful passing shots, volleys and anticipation of Graf’s moves to force a tiebreaker in the first set.

The victory was Graf’s 12th in 14 matches against Sanchez Vicario. It was also her second title this year after Boca Raton and her sixth in a row at Hamburg.

Graf defeated Anke Huber, Leila Meshki, Magdalena Maleeva and Debbie Graham before the showdown with Sanchez. Graf won $70,600 and has renewed confidence after two losses to Sabatini in the U.S. this year at the Key Biscayne and Amelia Island tournaments.

Unseeded Magnus Larsson upset second-seeded Petr Korda, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, to win an ATP men’s tournament at Munich.

Korda, ranked ninth in the world, had trouble with his serve from the start.

Andrei Cherkasov and Andrei Chesnokov won final singles matches to give the Commonwealth of Independent States a 3-2 victory over Portugal in a semifinal of the Davis Cup European-African series at Oporto, Portugal.

After Portugal took a 2-1 lead by winning the doubles Saturday, Cherkasov tied the match for the former Soviets with a 3-1 victory over Joao Cunha e Silva.