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Agassi happily moves ahead Third seed falters against Meligeni, then cruises to victory
Updated: Saturday June 02, 2001 4:10 PM
PARIS (Reuters) -- Andre Agassi was dancing in the rain as he left Roland Garros Centre Court on Saturday in a driving storm safely through to the fourth round of the French Open after soggy four-set win over Brazilian Fernando Meligeni. Agassi, a broad smile on his face, skipped off the court following a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory, then returned to take his now traditional bows to the applause of the crowd, including girlfriend Steffi Graf, who sat through the final part of the match huddled under her coat seeking protection from the rain. "At the end it just kind of felt like, it was about everything except tennis," said Agassi. "It was like, 'just win, don't worry about how you're swinging, don't worry about anything, just find a way to finish this thing off right now.'" The gritty performance in difficult conditions underlined the third seeded American's determination to add a second French Open title to his collection and remain on course for what would be an historic Grand Slam. The Las Vegas showman did not appear to be particularly enjoying himself early in the contest as he struggled to tame the tricky Meligeni, who flung himself across the court returning shots. "He's a phenomenal competitor, always lays his heart out there," said Agassi, a Grand Slam winner seven times. "He truly enjoys the game as much as anyone I've ever seen." Agassi, who arrived in Paris with just one win on clay this season, looked as comfortable on the Roland Garros Centre Court as he did in 1999 when he lifted the title. The match began in cool, blustery conditions and ended in worse. Agassi showed flashes of his best form but suffered a lapse in concentration after an eight-minute rain delay in the second set, allowing his opponent to square the match. He responded by taking the third set for the loss of just one game and an early break in the fourth put him firmly on the way to victory. Leading 5-3 with darkness and a heavy rain falling on Paris, Agassi admitted that he dug in determined to close out the match not wanting to have to complete it the next morning. "When it comes to winning a tournament like this, luck plays a big part," explained Agassi, who will now meet 16th seed Franco Squillari of Argentina in the last 16. "Even today, to play fourth on a day they expect bad weather is not lucky. "You want to get your match in. "To find yourself playing three days in a row at the wrong time, against the wrong player could be the end of you. "So it was nice just to finish it off and still have time to have a good dinner tonight."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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