Agassi Knows How It Goes

Andre Agassi knew it would be this way.

He predicted a great match. He said it would be colorful. And he felt it was a shame because it was too early in the tournament for him to play Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.

Guess what? It was a hat trick of accurate predictions for Agassi.

The only thing he didn’t do was call a winner. But the No. 2-seeded Agassi took care of that himself eventually, in just under two hours, defeating No. 5 Kuerten, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA on Friday night.

The packed house of 7,115, which included French Open and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, was treated to a riveting contest. Kuerten had 17 aces to Agassi’s 11 and was not broken until the seventh game of the third set. Agassi broke him at 15 with a sharp forehand return winner.

Kuerten was about the only one to misfire on an observation. It turned out he may have seriously underrated himself when he said on Thursday he felt he had little chance to reach the U.S. Open final. This was his first hard-court tournament since the Australian Open and his rustiness hardly showed as his formidable one-handed backhand sent Agassi scrambling, combining power with deft angles.

Agassi showed his typical resolve in what was a rematch of their semifinal here last year, also won by Agassi in three sets. The first set was an indication of the quality of this quarterfinal. Agassi won it in 43 minutes. In the tiebreaker, he fell behind, 1-3, and did not lose another point, taking the set by serving and volleying on his first set point.

“He’s amazing,” Kuerten said of Agassi. “His intensity on the court from the first point until the end--he’s so intense and focused. He has so much energy. He could be home. He could be satisfied. But he is still playing so intensely. He is an inspiration. When I play him, I want to play like him.”

Said Agassi, of the decisive service break: “I hit two forehand returns, which were just what the doctor ordered. I don’t think I would have slept well if I had gotten no breaks, but Guga can be effective with his serve when he hits his rhythm.”

In today’s semifinals, No. 4 Andy Roddick will play Jan-Michael Gambill. Roddick defeated Wimbledon semifinalist Xavier Malisse of Belgium, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinals, and Gambill beat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, 7-5, 7-6 (5). Gambill won his only previous match against Roddick last year in San Jose in straight sets.

There are three Americans in the semifinals for the third consecutive year at this tournament, and it is guaranteed that an American will be in the final for the seventh consecutive year.

Agassi, the defending champion, will face No. 8 Max Mirnyi of Belarus in the night semifinal. Mirnyi defeated left-hander Michael Llodra of France, 6-4, 7-6 (4), to reach his third ATP semifinal of the year.

“I felt like I played pretty well and my movement was a key to the match,” Mirnyi said. “I feel my game is coming along. I would like to win my first title here, but I have a long way to go.”

Llodra kept squandering break-point chances against Mirnyi and finally capitalized late in the second set, breaking to take a 6-5 lead. He was visibly excited, punching his fist in the air. Mirnyi promptly broke him at love in the next game, sending the set to a tiebreaker.

The French player said he might have mentally moved ahead to the third set. On the changeover before he served for the second set, he told his coach to get him some water with electrolytes to prepare for another set.

“In my head, I’m going to play the third set,” he said. “I think the second set was over and I don’t concentrate.”

Roddick appeared to have no such problems of faltering concentration. Instead, he merely got angry with himself against Malisse, twice tossing his racket. For him, a semifinal result in Los Angeles is a considerable improvement over his first-round loss here last year to Marat Safin, but the 19-year-old realizes the expectations are different for him in 2002.

“Last year, they didn’t want to lose to an 18-year-old that they’d never really heard of,” he said of his colleagues on the tour. “This year, they’re trying to beat a top-15 player. It’s a different scenario. Last year, everything I went to was new for me and it was new for everybody else seeing me.

“This year, getting to the semis here, it’s kind of, ‘OK, whatever.’ That’s the difference.”

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Pete Sampras and his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson, are expecting their first child at the end of the year. It is not anticipated that Sampras will miss the Australian Open next year.

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At a Glance

* What: Mercedes-Benz Cup.

* Where: L.A. Tennis Center, UCLA.

* Today’s semifinals: Starting at 1 p.m. on stadium court--Jan-Michael Gambill vs. Andy Roddick; Sebastien Grosjean-Nicolas Kiefer vs. Bob-Mike Bryan. 7:30 p.m.--Max Mirnyi vs. Andre Agassi; Justin Gimelstob-Michael Llodra vs. winner of Prakash-Stephen Amritraj vs. Neville Godwin-Kevin Ullyett.

* Final: Singles, Sunday at 1 p.m. followed by doubles.

* Tickets: (310) 824-1010, ext. 251, or (877) 528-3664.