Agassi outplays reigning champion

The Las Vegas showman once again took centre stage, this time on Court Central at Roland Garros, orchestrating the demise of the 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya. Andre Agassi milked the standing ovation he received and well he might, the tribute in recognition of his 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 victory over the Spaniard.

For one hour and 15 minutes of yesterday's high quality clash an Agassi victory appeared remote. Trailing by a set and 4-1 in the second, Moya was firmly in control, dictating the pace of the match and controlling the baseline exchanges. He manufactured the better angles and demonstrated great precision in picking off the opportunities.

The number four seed conceded that his dominance was too easily achieved and it spawned a carelessness that seeped through his game. "As long as I played tennis everything was under control, but I allowed my mind to wander. I was playing very well and he couldn't do anything. I didn't take my time, slow it down a little bit.

"I suppose I felt that I had done everything. If it had been closer I would have been more focused and I don't think you would have seen the same result. I have to give him credit too, he's very dangerous if you let him into a game. When he got back in he played very well." Moya's concentration lapse coincided with a change of tactics from his opponent.

Agassi became more assertive, started to take the ball earlier, and looked to hit from inside the court rather than from behind the baseline. He also ventured to the net, forcing his opponent to try and pass him. Of the 41 occasions that he made it to the net, Agassi won 28 of those points.

Suddenly the pattern of the match had shifted, the 29year-old American was the more authoritative, dictating the pace and forcing his opponent to hit short on numerous occasions. Agassi quickly redressed the deficit in the second set before breaking Moya for a third time to take the set 7-5. The quality of the ball-striking and sheer athleticism of the combatants made for superb viewing and offered a compelling argument that the red clay of Paris is the best surface on which to view the men's game.

When Agassi took the third set 7-5, Moya's resistance crumbled and the American was at his effusive best, swaggering from point to point. The end was mercifully swift. A happy Agassi greeted the media with this insight as to his comeback: "I started playing bigger, serving better and executing more aggressively. I decided that if I was going to lose then it was going to be playing hard.

"When I got quality of first serve and quality of first shot I put him in real trouble. Before that he was stretching me around the court and giving me a real beating." He refused to be drawn on his prospects in the tournament, other than to declare that he is happy with the way he was playing.

Another whose prospects appeared grim at one stage was Chilean Marcelo Rios. He trailed Spaniard Alberto Berasategui by two sets before kick-starting his game. Temperamental at the best of times, but also outrageously talented, Rios rattled off the next three sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 producing some exquisite tennis in the process. He now meets Dominik Hrbaty who dismissed Marat Safin in four sets.

Greg Rusedski's French odyssey came to a surprising end when he lost to Uruguayan qualifier Marcelo Filippini in straight sets. The little-known Filippini dealt superbly with the big serving Briton to earn a tilt at Agassi.