Agassi out of San Jose final
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SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) -- Third seed Mardy Fish has claimed one of the biggest wins of his career when he beat an angry Andre Agassi 5-7 6-4 6-2 for a place in the final of the San Jose Open.
Fish will meet top seed Andy Roddick, who delivered another big serving display to down fellow American Robert Kendrick 7-6 6-2 Saturday.
After winning the first set, Agassi lost control of the game with some wayward serving. The five times champion completely fell apart on the third set and was broken twice as he littered the court with errors.
"It's one of the biggest wins I've had, if not the biggest," Fish said.
Upset with his serving and some questionable line calls, Agassi appeared to mock Fish's fist pumping celebrations in the final game of the second set.
When Fish missed a backhand down the line on the second point of the game, Agassi looked toward the 22-year-old and pumped his fist.
Fish then hit a service winner and ripped a backhand down the line to go ahead 40-15 but when he missed a forehand volley Agassi uttered an obscenity that appeared to be directed at him.
Fish nailed a 125 mph (201 kph) service winner to close out the set.
Agassi denied imitating Fish's fist pumping, but his opponent though it was directed at him.
"It fired me up," said Fish, who blasted 29 aces. "It made me want to beat him even more.
"He thought I was fist pumping at him, which was untrue. I was fist pumping at my coach. The only reason I looked at him was because I thought he was questioning the call, because it was really close call. I've never fist pumped at anyone before. Why would I do that to Andre Agassi?"
Fish not only dominated Agassi in the serving department, but matched the eight-times Grand Slam champion from the baseline.
"Maybe that what he was trying to accomplish by giving me the fist pump, he was trying to intimidate me a little," Fish said.
Agassi said that he was angry for losing control of the contest.
"I was just frustrated with myself and needed to do something to get myself going," Agassi said. "Obviously, it didn't work."
Roddick did not face a break point in his match against wildcard Kendrick.
The 21-year-old mixed 130 mph serves with wicked slices and high bouncing kickers.
"I just wanted to stay solid," said Roddick, who only lost eight points on his serve.
"I felt I need to stay even keel on his serves, make him play a lot of shots and step up to take chances when I had them."
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
