Agassi romps home in Rome to set up Haas clash
Eleanor Preston
Andre Agassi will take on Germany's Tommy Haas in the Rome Masters final on Sunday after both scored straightforward victories in Saturday's semifinals.
Agassi, seeded ninth, marched into the final with a 7-5 6-4 win over Czech Jiri Novak while Haas put out American Andy Roddick with a 6-1 7-5 victory.
Agassi, seeded ninth, had to battle hard against Novak in the early stages of both sets. It took him 42 minutes to break Novak's serve in the opener.
The Czech proved himself more than able to deal with Agassi's power but a handful of ill-timed errors in the face of almost relentless pressure cost him dear.
"Jiri's a big presence out there. He's a big guy that moves well and hits the ball well off both sides, so he does make you feel early on that you have to do something pretty special," Agassi said.
"As the match wore on I was finding ways to hold serve easier than him and I was getting many more chances."
Agassi will be appearing in his second final in Rome. In his first in 1989, he held but missed a championship point against Alberto Mancini before losing in five sets.
"That was 13 years ago and until now I'd managed to forget that," Agassi joked. "This is certainly a great opportunity for me and I feel great about my game. Everybody's tough and to beat all the people I have this week feels really good."
Haas started his semifinal brilliantly, racing to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Although Roddick settled in the second set, Haas's passing shots and movement left the 19-year-old constantly on the back foot.
"This is probably my best result on clay," said Haas. "I'm really excited to be in the final and I'm playing one of the greatest players ever so I'm really looking forward to it.
"I've been watching almost all his matches this week and he's been playing really good tennis. I'm going to have to play at the top of my game and try to play the big points well."
