AGASSI STILL QUICK BUT GOES OUT IN TWO SETS

Hewitt owns that No. 1 magic over Andre
Gonzalez and Roddick in a dog fight

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM CINCINNATI – If tennis fans out there are still looking for proof that Lleyton Hewitt is the top dog of tennis these days, his quarterfinal match against Andre Agassi at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters would fit the bill.

Yes, Agassi is 32-years-old, but he’s still a top player in the game and certainly one of the fittest, if not the fittest, guys on the tour. But as good as he tried, Andre got tripped up in their Friday evening match, eventually surrendering to Hewitt in a 7-5, 6-3 decision, increasing the Australian’s career advantage over him to 4-2.

Much of the match featured some impressive shot making courtesy of the two best service returners in the game. A majority of the rallies were long, the forehands and backhands were incredibly deep and the crowd was duly impressed. But in the end, Hewitt just had a bit more ammunition to handle his one-time idol.
The key to the match came at 5-5, 40-15 for Agassi in the first set. Holding on to that game was crucial for Agassi, but he watched as Hewitt scored two points with backhand winners to even the game at deuce and then lost control of the proceedings, double faulting and smacking a forehand crosscourt wide to lose serve.

Prior to that 10th game of the first set, the momentum of the match kept swinging between the two players. Agassi jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but Hewitt recouped the service break in the fifth game. Then in the ninth game, Hewitt took advantage of a second break point to go up 5-4 and head out to serve for the set. It was not to be, however, at least not yet, as Agassi broke Hewitt back at 15 courtesy of two backhand errors from 15-30.

Although Agassi, a former champion here, regrouped at the beginning of the second set, he fell away, losing the last four games from 3-2 to end his Cincinnati stay in the quarterfinals.

LLEYTON COURT CONTROVERSY
Controversy seems to follow the pugnacious Australian wherever he goes and this week in Cincinnati has been no exception.

Hewitt started the fight early in the week, during his first press conference, when he said he was being wrongly fined for failing to do a TV interview with ESPN. According to the ATP, the interview was on the list of media/promotional items that the tour put on his STARS program responsibilities for the week and by not meeting the commitment, he is subject to being docked to a minimum of $20,000 or half of his prize money during the week.

At this point in the proceedings, Hewitt could be out quite a bit of cash. A semifinalist earns $108,200 at this Masters Series event and if you do the math, his fine can now be as high as $54,100 and even more if he goes on to the final. The finalist receives a $206,000 paycheck and the winner heads home with $392,000.
Hewitt plans on fighting the fine, although it appears by all accounts that he did not fulfill his obligation to the media/promotional STARS program this week. The decision will lie in the hands of the STARS program Chairmen, a board assembled of former players that decide these matters. At the moment the panel consists of Patrick McEnroe, John Fitzgerald and Guy Forget – three illustrious Davis Cup captains from the United States, Australia and France, respectively.

The ATP, however, is expecting the complexion of that board to change by the U.S. Open when the Hewitt matter would come up. Word has it that Fitzgerald, for one, is realizing that being the Davis Cup captain and being a STARS Chairman might not be compatible and it’s easy to see why. After all, if the panel fines Hewitt now or at a later date, there’s a possibility that Hewitt might not react favorably to a phone call to play Davis Cup in the future and as the captain, Fitzgerald needs to assemble the best Davis Cup team each time his country is in battle.

ANDRE WONDERS ABOUT HEWITT
Speaking of Hewitt’s frequent controversies, Agassi said, “I don’t know Lleyton very well, and I certainly don’t know those around him very well. But, you know, it’s unfortunate. You kind of wish it just would – you can rise above the fray. You need to keep it in good perspective as to what’s best for the game that’s been so good to you.”

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

While Agassi offered the above friendly advice to the world No. 1 from his perspective as a tour superstar, Hewitt was actually exceptionally polite and delightful, as he oftentimes can be, after the match.

He couldn’t say enough about Agassi and his respect for the American superstar, a fellow aggressive baseliner who can battle all day, who he’s so admired from his youth.

“You know, even in the locker room now you still look up to him and have much respect for him,” Hewitt said of Agassi. “I’ve still got a poster in my garage of Andre Agassi on the wall at home. Growing up, he’s got that kind of personality that sort of fitted right into my attitude, I guess, and my style of play.

“Everyone got it confused. I told them when I did my press conference after I beat him in Adelaide (in 1998, as a 16-year-old, Hewitt beat Agassi in the semifinals en route to winning his first career title) the first time that it was in my garage. Everyone kept saying it was in my bedroom. No, it was always in my garage; it hasn’t changed.

“I’ve got a little gym set in there and a speed ball and stuff. It’s sort of where I worked out a little bit when I was younger. That’s why it’s up there. It’s when he had long hair and had the bike shorts underneath his denim shorts and that. That sort of suited my character, I think, a little bit.”

As for the 32-year-old Agassi, Hewitt insists he shows no signs of aging and being a step slower, something that is becoming increasingly more obvious about the soon-to-be 31-year-old Pete Sampras.

“No, not at all,” Hewitt said, when asked about whether Agassi is slowing down. “He’s an incredible athlete. You know, there’s not many people who would be able to do – I don’t know if I’ll be out there running around the way he is. And still have the motivation and everything – he’s ready to go right from the first point every time. You’ve got to be on your game every time you step out on the court against him; otherwise, he’s going to whack you. I don’t see any signs of him fatiguing towards the end of matches at all, at the moment.”

Gonzalez and Roddick in a dog fight
In the semifinal, Hewitt will take on Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Gonzalez kept Andy Roddick – the guy most often billed as the future of American tennis – off-balance and on the run. Unfortunately, during their match, Roddick on occasion tended to be running down one ball and then watched as Gonzalez’s impressive reply went clear across the court where he couldn’t retrieve it if he tried.

Roddick survived a match point on his serve in the 11th game of the second set with an ace, but it turned out to only be a momentary save. After saving five match points in the tiebreaker, Roddick gave up the ghost and went down 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (8-6) to the Chilean.

The match was high drama and the fans were cheering loudly to show their appreciation for the entertainment. And it was clear that both players understood that the match was top quality as they embraced in a hug after the match.

“He was too good tonight,” Roddick admitted. “His game is really good. If he’s confident, he’s hard to beat. Right now, I can say we played a good match. Some of the shots he hit were unreal. It was an absolute pleasure to play out there tonight – I was having a lot of fun out there even though I was losing. That’s what the game should be.”

The other semifinal will be an All-Spanish affair between recent Roland Garros finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero and ’97 French Open champion and former No. 1 Carlos Moya.