TENNIS ROUNDUP : Agassi Waffles on Playing in Davis Cup

Andre Agassi, the undefeated star of last year’s winning United States Davis Cup team, is uncertain about playing in next month’s opening-round match in Australia.

“It is not something I’m committed to, one way or another, at this point,” Agassi said in a conference call from his home in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Agassi was 7-0 in Davis Cup matches last year and has a 19-4 Davis Cup record.

“It’s not easy,” he said. “Davis Cup plays a strong part in my heart. . . . I do want to be there playing, but it is a simple cost-and-benefit problem. I have to decide whether it is worth it.”

John McEnroe has said he would not play and, according to Agassi, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras also have not committed to the first-round match, raising the possibility that the United States will have none of its top players on the grass against Australia.

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Defending champion Sampras joined third-seeded Michael Chang and No. 5 MaliVai Washington in second round of the U.S. Indoor championships in Philadelphia.

No. 6 Francisco Clavet of Spain was upset by Mark Woodforde of Australia, who won six games in a row from 0-3 in the second set for a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Sampras, seeded second, beat Simon Youl, a qualifier from Australia, 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3. Chang defeated Emilio Sanchez of Spain, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. Washington beat Todd Woodbridge of Australia, 6-4, 6-4.

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Sixth-seeded Michael Stich, who will be Germany’s top player in the Davis Cup, defeated Andrei Cherkasov, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the second round of the Eurocard Open at Stuttgart, Germany.

Stich will probably face Cherkasov again when Germany, without Boris Becker, meets Russia in the Davis Cup next month.

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Monica Seles needed only 55 minutes to get past Claudia Porwik of Germany, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round of the Paris Women’s Open.

Seles is on track to overtake Chris Evert as the all-time leader in winning percentage and could do it in this tournament.

Evert retired having won 89.96% of her matches, with a record of 1,309-146.

Seles needs to win this tournament to bring her record to 252-28, which would be 90%.

Conchita Martinez of Spain advanced with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Petra Thoren of Finland.

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Zina Garrison Jackson earned her 500th victory by defeating Jenny Byrne, 6-1, 6-3, in first-round action at the IGA Classic at Oklahoma City.

Garrison Jackson is the 12th player to win 500 matches.