Andre Agassi scored a crowd-pleasing win on Saturday, dominating Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela en route to a 6-4, 6-2 semifinal win at the $380 000 ATP Mercedes-Benz Cup.
The 35-year-old American, holder of eight grand-slam trophies, broke once in the opening set and began the second as he broke the serve of the South American. He finished with a fifth ace.
Agassi is now a win away from his 60th career title; on Sunday he faces the winner from Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller and second seed Dominik Hrbaty, who saved seven match points in a comeback quarterfinal win.
Agassi, winner of three Los Angeles titles, is playing this week for the first time since recovering from a sciatic-nerve injury in his back that left him limping off in pain after a first-round defeat at Roland Garros last May.
Chela, ranked 47th, comes off a groin injury in Paris and is making his return in Los Angeles.
Agassi improved to 33-6 in Los Angeles. The American, ranked sixth, has reached at least the quarterfinals in all but one of his 10 appearances.
Agassi’s success this week has been a pleasant surprise for one of the most-loved players in the game.
The veteran’s only time on court since his Paris injury was a pair of 20-minute hits with wife Steffi Graf as she prepared for a one-off appearance this summer in World Team Tennis.
Agassi, playing in his first final since Stockholm last autumn, where he lost to Swede Thomas Johansson, will be competing in the 88th final of his career.
His last title came last August, when he beat Lleyton Hewitt at the Cincinnati Masters. — Sapa-AFP