FOR THE second time in two weeks yesterday Germany witnessed the unedifying sight of Andre Agassi taking the money and running well, stumbling anyway.

The American had been thrashed at the ATP finals by Pete Sampras without barely lifting a tennis elbow and in the first round of the Grand Slam Cup in Munich he was dispatched by Australia's Mark Woodforde 6-3, 6-4 after another pitiful display.

The only mercy is that Agassi will not now be seen again until well into the New Year, for he has decided against playing in the Australian Open next January. Lucky Australia.

The quicker he marries Brooke Shields, or does whatever else he needs to sort himself out, then the better for everyone, because Agassi has long since stopped pulling the wool over anybody's eyes. He is currently simply not trying and thus bringing both himself and his sport into considerable disrepute.

The Munich crowd were remarkably tolerant but the whistles began in the second set when he dropped his serve and rang out loud and clear at the end.

Tim Henman needs no motivating whatsoever. By the end of today he may well find himself richer by nearly $450,000 which is what he will receive from this idiotically over-priced tournament if he defeats Wimbledon's finalist MaliVai Washington to reach Saturday's semi-finals. The two met on grass in Nottingham just before Wimbledon this year with Henman winning 6-3, 7-5.

For Henman, if he wins, there is the mouth-watering prospect of a match against Boris Becker on Saturday - assuming Becker wins his quarter-final. The German next plays Switzerland's Jakob Hlasek who yesterday defeated Cedric Pioline of France who had just returned from Paris where the French team had celebrated their Davis Cup success if not to excess then jolly seriously.

Also yesterday Goran lvanisevic beat Sweden's Michael Tillstrom, Jim Courier negotiated a safe passage past Marc Rosset, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov beat Alex Corretja in the day's most competitive affair.