WIMBLEDON / MEN’S DRAW : Agassi Shines Again, This Time on a Cloudy Day

Andre Agassi beat two opponents Friday, an early-evening shower and then Aaron Krickstein.

Rain began to fall gently during the third set of his match on Centre Court. Leading by two sets and ahead in the third, 6-5, Agassi didn’t want an extended stay.

Of course, Krickstein, who won the 12th game, wasn’t in a hurry. He led Agassi in the tiebreaker, 5-2, and seemed well on his way to another set and perhaps a comeback and upset.

So much for comebacks. Agassi won the next five tiebreaker points and the match, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

“I can’t tell you how much I wanted to make that last (match-winning) backhand,” Agassi said.

Moments after his final shot, the clouds opened. Umpires and officials rushed for cover, fans headed for the exits and ground crew members frantically dragged a tarp over the grass court.

So hurried were the postmatch events that Agassi found himself looking for his seat, which was long gone, and his equipment bag.

He won’t have to look far for his next opponent. It is sixth-seeded American Todd Martin, who defeated Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-7 (7-1), 4-6, 6-3, 11-9, in a match that lasted four hours.

As did the 12th-seeded Agassi, Martin battled the elements. Before the clouds rolled in, the temperature was 92 degrees, sometimes higher on the courts.

“It means you get a good suntan and get to drink lots of water afterward,” Martin said.

It also means he gets to face Agassi, no easy task, what with Agassi’s legendary legion of British fans, who serenaded him Friday.

Even with the higher seeding, Martin didn’t sound like a player who has been picked by some to reach the finals here against defending champion Pete Sampras.

“That’s a bit unfounded, I think,” he said. “If I were to be making the odds, which I think I could, I certainly wouldn’t have put myself at No. 2.”

Agassi is beginning to like his chances. The courts, worn down by a week of action, are slower, more unpredictable and more agreeable to his baseline game.

“I’m glad to be playing him on the second week rather than the first week,” he said.

Men’s Notes

Pete Sampras’ match against Chuck Adams was suspended because of rain with Sampras leading, 6-1, 5-1. Sampras still hasn’t dropped a set through almost three rounds. . . . No. 10 Michael Chang advanced to the fourth round with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-2, victory over Grant Connell of Canada, as did No. 8 Sergi Bruguera, who beat Jean-Philippe Fleurian, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.