Greg Rusedski, Agassi in semis

STUTTGART, OCT 30: Greg Rusedski saved four match points and rallied to beat Todd Martin, while top-ranked Andre Agassi crushed Andrei Pa...

STUTTGART, OCT 30: Greg Rusedski saved four match points and rallied to beat Todd Martin, while top-ranked Andre Agassi crushed Andrei Pavel in 54 minutes to reach the semifinals of the Eurocard Open.

Rusedski, seeded No 5, fired 22 aces yesterday in clinching a 4-6, 7-6 12-10, 6-4 victory over Martin, who had won six of their previous seven showdowns. Agassi rolled over Pavel 6-2, 6-1 and later said he was in the shape of his life.

Richard Krajicek, the eighth-seeded Dutchman, eased into the semifinals by beating Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina 6-3, 6-2 while Thomas Enqvist, the 13th-seeded Swede, upset No 6 Chilean Marcelo Rios 6-4, 6-2.

Pierce in semis
LINZ AUSTRIA: Top seed Mary Pierce struggled but beat Romanian Irina Spirlea 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 to book a last berth in an all-French semifinal. Pierce will meet fourth seed Amelie Mauresmo, winner of the opening quarter-final when her Austrian rival Barbara Schwartz pulled out with an arm injury in the third set.

The other semifinal will becontested by fifth seed Sandrine Testud, who beat French compatriot Nathalie Tauziat 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, and unseeded Sarah Pitkowski, a 6-2, 6-0 winner over qualifier Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic.

Sampras to return
PARIS: Pete Sampras will launch his comeback from injury at next week8217;s Paris Open against either Francisco Clavet of Spain or the Czech Republic8217;s Jiri Novak, following yesterday8217;s draw. Out of action for two months because of a strained right hip, Sampras got a tough draw for the 2.55 million event.

McEnroe shines
TOKYO: New US Davis Cup team captain John McEnroe proved he is still a star player at the 150,000 Champions tennis tournament here and said he would continue to play both roles in future.

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McEnroe8217;s performance with Bahrami was one of the most entertaining matches here as he won applause and some laughs from a crowd of 4,700 spectators. McEnroe hit an ace when Bahrami sneezed at one time.

American tennis legend Jimmy Connors withdrew with an injury,three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander and fellow Swede Mikael Pernfors also joined McEnroe in the second round.

Wilander defeated American Mel Purcel 6-3, 6-4, and now takes on current senior number one, Henri Leconte of France, who breezed past Andres Gomez of Ecuador 6-3, 6-1. Pernfors beat American Tim Wilkinson 6-4, 6-4.