KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) – Andre Agassi opened his bid for a sixth title at Key Biscayne by beating longtime rival Michael Chang 6-4, 6-2 Saturday at the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Showing no signs of the sore shoulder that forced him to skip the tournament at Indian Wells, Calif., this month, Agassi smacked six aces and lost a total of only 16 service points.
When Chang hit an errant forehand on match point, the two Americans removed their caps and shook hands at the net, perhaps for the final time. Chang plans to retire after the U.S. Open.
Chang, who hasn’t won a set against Agassi since 1996, couldn’t muster the firepower to pull off an upset this time.
The only service break of the opening set came in the seventh game, when Chang lost his serve with four backhand errors. Agassi broke twice more in the second set and never lost his serve. Even two brief rain delays couldn’t halt his momentum.
The second-seeded Agassi improved to 15-7 against Chang. He became the favorite to win his third consecutive Key Biscayne title when No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt was upset in his opening match Friday night by Francisco Clavet.
No. 4 Roger Federer, who lost to Agassi in last year’s final, beat Luis Horna 6-2, 7-5.
Agassi won his first two tournaments of 2003, including his eighth career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. But he lost his opening match at the beginning of the month in Scottsdale, Ariz., to Thomas Enqvist and hadn’t played since.
AP-ES-03-22-03 1706EST
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