Agassi Has the Look of a Sure Bet

Andre Agassi searched for the best metaphor he could to describe the current state of Andre and started sounding a lot like a Las Vegas gambler straight out of a B-movie.

He let it roll, so to speak, on Sunday after defeating second-seeded Tim Henman of England, 6-4, 6-4, in the 80-minute final of the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA. By winning, Agassi moves to No. 11 in the world when the ATP rankings are released today.

“Every match you start winning it becomes more important that [the momentum] continues. It has a doubled impact,” said the fifth-seeded Agassi, who won $45,000.

“It’s like letting something ride on the blackjack table. Keep letting it ride, it’s getting bigger quicker. That’s the way it feels.”

He wasn’t through.

“If you just get out there and let it ride, let your game keeping coming,” he said. “It’s like every game doubles your confidence, your focus and your intensity. It gets a lot more accomplished.”

If Agassi sounded as if he is at a fever pitch, well, his game certainly is there. It was his fourth tournament victory of the year and second in the last two weeks.

In the latter stages of this event, his ability to stay resolute under pressure was formidable. In the semifinals and final, his serve was broken one time, by Henman in the sixth game of the second set. Here’s how down Agassi got--he broke Henman’s serve in the very next game to go up 4-3.

“I played OK, but I don’t think I played my best tennis,” said Henman, who earned $26,000 for his runner-up finish. “To beat someone like Andre, you’ve got to play to the top of your game. I never strung together a high level of tennis continuously.”

Henman was erratic. He recorded eight aces, but also double-faulted seven times. Twice he double-faulted on break point in the second set, in the fifth and seventh games. He also smacked a couple of relatively routine overheads in the net. The sun was part of the problem. “When it’s bright as it [was], if you take your eye off the ball, off any shot, you’ll miss it,” Henman said.

Lending an uncertain quality to the match was the fact Agassi had not played Henman on the tour before.

“Honestly, it wasn’t quite high-quality tennis,” Agassi said. “I know he didn’t play his best, and I certainly know I didn’t. The first time you play somebody--even though we’ve practiced together--you’re always feeling them out and much of the execution is having a certain familiar feeling.”

This was Agassi’s 11th consecutive victory--including Davis Cup action against Belgium--since losing to Tommy Haas of Germany in the second round at Wimbledon. He has not dropped a set in that span, either.

“It’s been great so far, I’m not in the top 10 and I’ve had a great year,” Agassi said.

The aura is starting to return. Agassi had a long road back, considering how far he slipped, falling all the way to No. 141 in the world in November, 1997.

That Agassi aura in the locker room can be good for a much-needed psychological edge once he gets on the court.

“We’ll see,” he said. “Once they [the other players] start feeling that they have to do something special against me, that’s a good place to be. When they start pressing early in the match, it means I’ve established the strength of my game.”

He seemed to be getting close to that point in the winter. Agassi played well, winning San Jose and Scottsdale, Ariz., and reached the final at Lipton. His showing in Grand Slam events has been less than impressive with the best result coming at the Australian Open when he lost in the fourth round.

To that end, he is stepping up his U.S. Open preparation, accepting a late wild card at this week’s tour event in Toronto. Agassi is seeded eighth and could face top-seeded Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals, if form holds.

After Toronto, Agassi is scheduled to play the next two weeks, which would be a total of five consecutive tournaments. All this, in part, is designed to get his ranking into the top eight for his seeding at the U.S. Open.

“That would be great, to be in the top eight [there],” he said. “That could happen quickly. If I win one of these next tournaments, I’m in position to do some great things this year.”

He was reminded that he won the U.S. Open in 1994 as an unseeded player.

Agassi smiled.

“I’ve done a lot of difficult things in my life I don’t care to do again,” he said.

Even the master of the comeback has his limits.

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Bouncing Back

Andre Agassi’s victories by year (with end-of-year singles ranking):

*--*

Year Victories Ranking 1998 4 (11)* 1997 0 (122) 1996 3 (8) 1995 7 (2) 1994 5 (2) 1993 2 (24) 1992 3 (9) 1991 2 (10) 1990 4 (4) 1989 1 (7) 1988 7 (3) 1987 1 (25)

*--*

*--ranking after Sunday’s victory.