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Federer beats Agassi 6-4, 6-3 in Florida
The setting, the weather and the crowd favored Andre Agassi. Against Roger Federer, that wasn't enough. As usual, the top-ranked Federer rose to the occasion and beat Agassi 6-4, 6-3 Friday night in the semifinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open. Federer hit 30 winners and escaped his biggest jam of the night with three aces in one game to reach the final. He'll bid for his first Key Biscayne title Sunday against 18-year-old Rafael Nadal, who advanced by beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-4, 6-3.
The evening was warm and humid — conditions Agassi prefers. He was playing in a tournament he has won six times, on the hardcourt surface he likes best. And a capacity stadium crowd chanted his name, rooting for an upset.
None of it fazed Federer.
"I had to come up with the right shots at the right time," he said. "I felt the heat out here with the fans behind him. It was extremely tough."
Federer extended his winning streak to 21 matches and improved to 31-1 this year, the best start on the men's tour since John McEnroe was 39-0 in 1984. He has won 17 consecutive finals going into Sunday.
"He's playing levels above everybody else," Agassi said. "He has proved that for a while now."
Unseeded Kim Clijsters, staging a remarkable comeback from a wrist injury that threatened her career, will try for her second title in two weeks when she plays No. 2-seeded Maria Sharapova in the women's final Saturday.
Agassi, seeded ninth, played Federer on even terms for the first nine games, and the only breakpoint chance of the opening set came on the final point. A 29-shot rally finally pulled Agassi off the court, and he yanked a crosscourt forehand inches wide to lose serve and the set.
It was the first set Agassi had dropped in the tournament.
Federer placed his shots so precisely that on one exchange he landed one shot on one sideline, then hit his next stroke on the other sideline for a winner. As the match slipped away, Agassi quibbled about calls, grimaced, shook his head and waved his hands in dismay.
His best chance for a comeback occurred when he reached break point for the first time at 3-3 in the second set. Two aces helped Federer dig out of a love-40 hole, and he erased two other break points in the 18-point game before holding for a 4-3 lead.
When Federer broke for the second time to lead 5-3, the impassive Swiss pumped his fist. He fell behind love-30 in the next game, but his serve again saved him. After hitting consecutive aces and a service winner, he smacked a forehand on match point that Agassi was unable to handle.
Agassi lost to Federer for the seventh time in a row, his longest losing streak against one opponent in his career.
"There are number of departments of his game that are arguably better than anybody," Agassi said. "It does help to have a number of weapons."
Nadal became the youngest man to reach a final at Key Biscayne, and now he'll try to become the first Spaniard to win the men's title.
"I am not scared for the final," said Nadal, seeded 29th. "I will try to play my best tennis."
The youngster upset Federer in the third round at Key Biscayne last year. "I have a tough opponent waiting for me," Federer said. "He has a great future." Nadal won his 15th match in a row by beating the unseeded Ferrer, an improbable semifinalist who came into the tournament with a career hardcourt record of 11-25. Ferrer started the match slowly. By the fourth game he was throwing his racket in anger — twice — and the score was soon 4-0. His strokes became steadier after that, but he finished with 41 unforced errors and lost serve four times. Nadal has been a fashion standout in the tournament with his surfer-chic outfit: a white bandanna, orange sleeveless shirt and white clamdigger-style pants. The Mallorcan's tennis has been eye-catching, too, and he benefited from the early departures of No. 2-seeded Andy Roddick, No. 3 Marat Safin and No. 5 Carlos Moya in his half of the draw. Nadal bids for his first hardcourt championship after winning consecutive clay titles in Brazil and Acapulco. "I am very surprised," the left-hander said. "The last weeks I won two tournaments, but it's not the same, no? Those were on clay courts. To play in the final is very important for me." Regardless of whether Nadal wins, his showing at Key Biscayne stamps him as a contender in the French Open beginning next month. The other Spaniards to reach the men's final at Key Biscayne were Carlos Moya in 2003 and Sergi Bruguera in 1997. The youngest men's finalist previously was Agassi, who won his first Key Biscayne at age 19 in 1990.
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