Winning the title wasn’t on Andre Agassi’s list of expectations when the Mercedes-Benz Cup kicked off last Monday. But now the 35-year-old veteran can’t help but acknowledge the reality of that goal. With his 6-4, 6-2 win over Juan Ignacio Chela on Saturday afternoon, Agassi moved within one win of his fourth career championship at the Los Angeles event. And though the top seed’s presence in the finals may have been a foregone conclusion to fans who glanced at the underwhelming draw, Agassi insists he didn’t anticipate going this far. “Being in the finals here surprised me,” Agassi said. “My movement and reaction to the ball surprised me initially. A lot of things feel good, and surprisingly so.” The only thing that may have seemed surprising to fans accustomed to seeing Agassi in the finals was the ease with which he got there. One day after surviving a two-hour marathon against Paradon Srichaphan on Friday, Agassi put away Chela in a little over an hour. After picking up a break at 3-3 in the first set, the eight-time Grand Slam champion cruised easily through the second. “Early on, (Chela) got my attention,” Agassi said. “He was pulling triggers, and I could tell if I didn’t step up my game, he was going to control what was going on out there.” Chela, the 25-year-old from Argentina, had looked to dictate the pace, but as the match wore on, his groundstrokes became more and more erratic. In the second set, Agassi gave up only four points on his serve, a product of both his own serving and his opponent’s inconsistency. “I wasn’t expecting him to be so anxious to be aggressive,” Agassi said. “You can play aggressive, and you can cross the line – I think he was going for a little too much. My serve picked up, and I ran with the momentum.” Should that momentum carry through against Gilles Muller, a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 winner over Dominik Hrbaty in the other semifinal, Agassi will be hoisting the tournament trophy for a record fourth time. It would be his 60th career title, but only the first of the year. For the last eight weeks, Agassi had seldom touched a racket because of a sciatic nerve injury he suffered during the French Open. As early as a week before the tournament he had considered taking a second cortisone injection. Going into his first-round match, he said his primary goal was to return to tournament form, not necessarily to win. But with each and every match, he’s had the chance to reevaluate his expectations. “If there’s ever a tournament where you can say with each match you’ve gotten better, this is one of those,” Agassi said. “I’ve needed to and done so. I hope that trend continues.” So far, his improvement has enabled him to walk off the court in the same manner for four consecutive rounds. Against Chela, he left very little doubt that he still has the energy to walk off victorious on Sunday. “I want to win a match feeling like I’m breaking it open,” Agassi said. “I don’t want to feel like I’m just crossing the line.” He’s raced past that line in each round so far, even if he never expected to make it there to begin with.
HONORED ON COURT: The UCLA men’s tennis team, which captured its first national championship in 21 years in May, was recognized on stadium court before the evening session Saturday. Though most players weren’t around, the four members present played a doubles super tiebreaker. Jason Nguyen and Chris Surapol played against Alberto Francis and assistant coach Jason Sher.