ANDRE AGASSI kept up his momentum from last week's Olympic Games gold medal performance, defeating Russian world number four Yevgeny Kafelnikov 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-3 yesterday to seal a place in the semi finals of the $2.2 million ATP Championship at Mason, Ohio. The American survived a roller coaster final set in which there were an extraordinary seven breaks of serve to move into a match with Austrian Thomas Muster.
Despite the close call, Agassi said he was pleased with his progress "I can feel another level in my tennis coming on. It's what I've been looking for. I'm raising my level as the stakes get higher. I've been down this year, I hope that now I'm on the way back up."
Muster, the world number two, branded by Agassi as a clay court specialist, emerged victorious over ninth seed Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (16/14) in a match which featured the longest tie break played this year on the Tour.
Muster, if typecast as a pure clay courter, has proved versatile, winning a Super event last October on indoor carpet in Stuttgart and also reaching the semi finals on grass at Queen's in June. Of 19 tournaments this year, he has competed six weeks on hardcourt and once indoors.
Agassi, on the other hand, will have played a total of just two weeks on clay when 1996 ends.
