Agassi and Sampras Match Up in Benefit

Andre Agassi did it all Monday night--played the piano, played the court jester and helped raise about $100,000 for the MusicCares Financial Assistance Fund.

Of course, he had a little help from his friends, and rival Pete Sampras. The Sampras “team” of actors Kelsey Grammer and David Spade defeated Agassi’s “team” of actors Greg Kinnear and Matthew Perry, 21-20, but the score hardly mattered and rules were loosely interpreted in the “A Night at the Net” charity event, which entertained the sellout crowd of 7,000 at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center.

For one final treat, Sampras and Agassi took over and played each other for a few points, with the final point lasting a little longer as they took time to playfully mimic each other.

They grew up together in neighboring East Coast towns trading groundstrokes and stories about one day turning pro. One after another they left for Stanford, and although they’ve practiced together many times, it took a lucky draw to set up their first match.

After Paul Goldstein defeated Alex Kim, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup, he thought about their youth coach, Matz Claesson.

“I’m sure it was bittersweet for him because I know he would want both of us to win,” Goldstein said. “But I think he can be really proud that he’s got two guys from a small community in Maryland playing on a big stage.”

Kim, 22, of Potomac, Md., had to win an eight-player, double-elimination shootout Friday to qualify for the tournament.

“I was the last guy in, they picked my name out of a hat,” said Kim.

When Goldstein, 24, of Rockville, Md., was playing at Stanford he kept telling his coach about Kim.

“I told him this kid was worth the time and effort to spend in recruiting him and was worth bringing in,” Goldstein said.

The kid turned out to win the 2000 NCAA singles title.

In addition to Kim, three other former NCAA singles champions are playing in the tournament--Cecil Mamiit of USC, Bob Bryan of Stanford and Chris Woodruff of Tennessee.

Defending champion Michael Chang, 29, has heard the questions about his age, even though he’s “not 30 yet.” People still ask him about retirement. Chang, who beat Noam Behr of Israel, 6-2, 7-5, said he believes he can get back to where he was five years ago.

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be playing anymore,” he said.