INDIAN WELLS, March 12: Andre Agassi, on a mission to climb back to the top, continued his ascent with a quick 6-2, 6-4 victory over Sergi Bruguera.Other Newsweek Champions Cup second-round winners yesterday included No. 2 seed Petr Korda, with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory over Scott Draper; Jim Courier, who knocked off fifth-seeded Jonas Bjorkman 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) and No. 6 Greg Rusedski, who outlasted Vincent Spadea 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In the State Farm Evert Cup half of the tournament at Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, top-ranked Martina Hingis stormed back from a 1-5 deficit in the second set to beat fifth-seeded Conchita Martinez 6-1, 7-5.
That set Hingis up for a semifinal showdown with Venus Williams, who rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Joannette Kruger.
Another former force in world tennis, Steffi Graf, also is making a comeback. Showing no signs of the knee operation she had nine months ago, Graf has breezed through her first three Evert Cup matches, losing just eight games.
Graf, who did notplay yesterday, will face Davenport in one women's semifinal. Williams will face the winner of the Martina Hingis-Conchita Martinez match in the other.
Chang to lose points
INDIAN WELLS: The injury wihdrawal of defending champion Michael Chang from the 2.450-million-dollar Champions Cup could put the American on the slippery slope down ATP tour rankings.
Chang, who has won this Mercedes Super 9 tournament for the past two years, was replaced in the draw by world No 62 Nicolas Lapentti from Ecuador.
Chang, the former world No 2, pulled out after spraining his left knee last week during training. The American's current eighth ranking will fall considereably next week with the 26-year-old unable to defend his winner's computer points from last year.
Chang took 370 winner's points plus bonus points last year. Chang is sure to drop from the top ten to around 12 on Monday, according to ATP tour officials.
Gustafsson advances
COPENHAGEN: Second-seeded Magnus Gustafsson ofSweden has breezed into the third round of the $ 210,000 Copenhagen Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Renzo Furlan of Italy.
The victory yesterday emphasised the Swede's return to form after having missed three months last year for shoulder surgery.
Results: Andrei Pavel (Romania) bt Tuomas Ketola (Finland) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-1; Jan Siemerink (Netherlands) bt Arnaud Clement (France) 6-1, 6-3; Thomas Johansson (Sweden) bt Dennis van Scheppingen (Netherlands) 6-2, 6-2; Olivier Delaitre (France) bt Frederik Fetterlein (Denmark) 7-6 (7-6), 4-6, 6-3; Hicham Arazi (Morocco) bt Radomir Vasek (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-3.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
