Agassi Earns Berth In Semis By Bumping Off Old Enemy

Grudge match? Nah.

Andre Agassi denied it, and so did Thomas Muster. Sort of.

When they were done with their 2-12/-hour showdown Wednesday night, and Agassi had punched out a 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory, they scoffed at their simmering feud in a way that suggested they basically can’t stand each other.

“Next time I wish he would look me in the eye when we shake hands,” Agassi said. “I felt like we had a battle out there.”

Agassi, who meets No. 2 Michael Chang in Saturday’s semifinals, said he has plenty of respect for Muster’s game, though he fell short of saying he had any respect for the man.

Muster felt about the same way.

“There’s no war,” Muster said. “It’s just a tennis match and that’s it. Tomorrow the deal is done. But this Agassi fan club is not the nicest of all. It’s not a secret, and I don’t care.”

Though Muster obviously does. By Agassi’s fan club, he means his coach, Brad Gilbert. Muster complained to the umpire about Gilbert and others in Agassi’s box talking loudly throughout the match to distract him.

“It is just not fair that they comment on every shot while I am playing,” Muster said. “They are making noise and comments, behaving like a bunch of idiots. It is nothing new.

“I mean, I have to play, too, but it is not nice every time you have a shot, something comes out there. You go back to the corner, they go ‘Break, break.’ “

Muster’s also been complaining all year about the way Agassi dissed him for reaching the No. 1 spot for a brief time, based almost exclusively on clay court play. Agassi took special relish in Muster’s seeding getting down-graded at Wimbledon, where he went from a No. 2 ranking to a No. 7 seed, and here at the Open, where he went from a No. 2 ranking to a No. 3 seed.

The difference in this match, though, had nothing to do with their grudge or their seeding.

“He was playing inside the court and I was pushed back,” Muster said. “I’m the one usually dominating the play.”

Agassi agreed.

“Thomas likes to dictate play. If I dictate the play, he’s not as comfortable on the defense,” said Agassi, who won the Open two years ago, then lost to Pete Sampras in last year’s final.

Chang beat unseeded Javier Sanchez 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (7-2), 6-3 in a nearly three-hour baseline duel Wednesday and reached the Open semis for the first time since 1992. The 1989 French Open champion at 17, Chang is still seeking his second Grand Slam title.

The top-seeded Sampras plays Alex Corretja today, and No. 4 Goran Ivanisevic goes against two-time champion Stefan Edberg for the other semifinal spots.

Like the rabbit in “Alice in Wonderland,” Martina Hingis knew she had to hurry. So late, so late, for a very important date.

The rabbit’s refrain might well have been Hingis’ lament. She had a mixed doubles semifinal match over on Court 16, and here she was still in the stadium playing singles against Jana Novotna in the quarterfinals.

What to do?

Shorten the points, of course.

Hingis did just that, rushing the net the way another Martina once did and dancing into the semis at age 15.

Next up is that other Martina’s old nemesis, Steffi Graf, a 7-5, 6-3 victor over Judith Wiesner.

Hingis, named after Navratilova and guided toward a tennis career since birth, beat No. 7 Novotna 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 to become the youngest Open semifinalist since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: U.S. OPEN GLANCE Highlights of Wednesday’s play at the $10.893 million U.S. Open tennis championships: Men’s Singles Quarterfinals: No. 2 Michael Chang, No. 6 Andre Agassi advanced. Women’s Singles Quarterfinals: No. 1 Steffi Graf advanced. Upset No. 16 Martina Hingis beat No. 7 Jana Novotna.