Agassi Earns 50th

This time, there were no obstacles Andre Agassi couldn’t handle.

The top-seeded Agassi changed his three-year run of bad luck in the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic by beating Juan Balcells, 6-2, 7-6 (2), Sunday for the 50th title of his career at Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It means a lot now,” said the 31-year-old Agassi, who last year became the oldest player to finish in the ATP’s top three since Jimmy Connors in 1984. “Before the match, you’re really thinking about your opponent and what you need to do. But you get done with it and it kind of hits you.”

By winning two-thirds of his 75 finals, Agassi became the eighth player to win 50 championships in the open era, which began in 1968. Among active players, he trails only Pete Sampras, who has 63 titles.

Agassi presented the trophy to his father, Mike.

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A chest cold and Davide Sanguinetti were too much for Andy Roddick to overcome.

Sanguinetti won the second tournament title of his nine-year career and his second in five weeks, beating an ailing Roddick, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in the final at the International Tennis Championships at Delray Beach, Fla.

The defeat was the top-seeded Roddick’s first in five career finals.

Sanguinetti beat Jan-Michael Gambill in the semifinals. The 29-year-old Italian won his first ATP Tour title last month in Milan.

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Top-Notch Titlists

All-time ATP singles winners:

1. Jimmy Connors ...109

2. Ivan Lendl ...94

3. John McEnroe...77

4. Pete Sampras ...63

5. Bjorn Borg...62

5. Guillermo Vilas...62

6. Ilie Nastase ...57

7. Andre Agassi...50

8. Boris Becker...49

9. Rod Laver ...47

10. Thomas Muster... 44