DECEMBER 2000 SPORT HEADLINES

Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - Web posted at 9:22:46 AM GMT

Agassi, Rafter, Davenport and Capriati advance

MELBOURNE - Local favorite Patrick Rafter rebounded from 1-4 in the third set yesterday and beat Dominik Hrbaty 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-0, advancing to an Australian Open semi-final with Andre Agassi.

Defending champion Agassi used his arsenal of tennis weapons to set back Todd Martin 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

Martin already had knocked out Pete Sampras, preventing a rematch of the supreme showdown of last year's Australian Open, where Agassi came from behind to beat Sampras in five sets in the semi-finals.

Rafter, the first Australian to go this far in his home country's Grand Slam tournament since Mark Woodforde reached the semi-finals in 1996, scored with crafty serving and acrobatic volleying.

But in winning 12 of the last 13 games, he also was helped by a collapse by Hrbaty.

The No 14 seed double-faulted twice when he was broken in the third set's seventh game and once more when he was broken in the 11th.

On the women's side, No 12 Jennifer Capriati rallied from 2-4 in the second set and reached the semi-finals here for the second successive year with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over four-time Australian Open champion Monica Seles.

In a rematch of one of last year's semi-finals, she faces defending champion Lindsay Davenport, who beat No 8 Anna Kournikova 6-4, 6-2.

Kournikova, in a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time since reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1997, had some chances but made too many errors.

Agassi's best demonstration came on match point.

Martin hit a good angle volley.

Agassi chased it down, blasted a shot that Martin could only block back, and then lobbed over him.

Agassi interrupted his match briefly to catch a bug near the baseline and throw it off court.

Martin, trailing 30-40 and 1-2 in the final set, waited out the distraction and then served an ace.

He then held serve and, three games later, broke Agassi for a 4-3 lead.

But Agassi broke right back and went on to win."

"I put on a good front," Agassi said of his mercy toward the bug.

Agassi's Australian Open triumph last year completed a run of four Grand Slam tournaments where he also won the French and US Opens and was runner-up at Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, Capriati's victory made her a Grand Slam tournament semi-finalist for only the second time since 1991, when she was 15."

"It's one of the best matches I've played," said Capriati, now 24.

"It kind of reminded me of the old days."

"She lost the first set after saving seven points in a final game with 22 points and eight deuces, and fell behind in the second.

After a double fault gave Seles a 4-2 lead, Capriati hurled her racket to the court, drawing a warning from the umpire.

Then she won eight consecutive games.

It was only Seles' second loss in 39 matches at Australian Opens.

She won the title in 1991-93 and 1996, and her only other loss was to Martina Hingis in the 1999 semi-finals.

- Nampa-Sapa-AP

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