Agassi storms into final 16

ANDRE AGASSI drew on his big match temperament to carry him into the last 16 of the Australian Open yesterday as Venus Williams led a clutch of top seeds into the fourth round.

Agassi, one of the toughest competitors on the ATP Tour, withstood a strong challenge from France’s Nicolas Escude to earn a gritty 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in 2hr 48min.

Escude gave the three-time Australian Open champion his fiercest examination so far, forging some 20 break point opportunities - but only managing to convert four.

Agassi, who now faces unseeded Argentinian baseliner Guillermo Coria on Sunday, said he was relieved to have got past Escude, the 29th seed.

“That was a dangerous one for me and it feels great to get through it,” said Agassi. “He plays risky, he plays his shots, but he’s also going to miss a few as well. I played the big points as best I could.

“This was one match that I needed to step up and I did.”

Escude had two game points to take a 4-1 lead in the fourth set but squandered the chances with groundstroke errors at critical times.

Agassi made the decisive breakthrough in the ninth game when Escude, who was 40-0 up, was pulled back to advantage and dropped the game with a backhand into the net.

“All of the opportunities I got in this match I missed,” said Escude. “That’s why I lost.”

In the women’s draw, second seed Venus Williams and former world number one Lindsay Davenport advanced safely after overcoming low-ranked opponents.

Williams beat German world number 69 Anca Barna 6-1, 6-4 and ninth seed Davenport downing Russia’s Tatiana Panova 6-2, 6-1.

Williams will now meet Nicole Pratt tomorrow after the Australian kept up the good showing by the host nation’s women players to knock out Argentinian 23rd seed Paola Suarez 7-5, 6-4.

Williams admitted afterwards that her knack of raising her game had rescued her as she grappled with her serve against Barna, who was left ruing the fact that she could only convert two of 12 break points.

“In the first set I was playing really well, sticking to my game plan,” said Williams.

“I think in the second set she lifted the level of her game. She started getting a lot of balls over the net.

“I kind of started missing. But at 4-1 I decided to miss a lot less than I had and it helped,” Williams said.

“It was a little hot out there. It wouldn’t have been extremely nice to go to a third set but I was willing to do whatever it takes.”

There were no such problems for Davenport, who will meet fifth seed Justin Henin-Hardenne in the last 16 tomorrow. Henin-Hardenne overwhelmed Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-2, 6-0 in her third round match.

Davenport extended her winning record over 24th-seeded Panova to four straight wins in flawless fashion, keeping the stocky Russian on the back foot with a series of weighty forehand winners.

The 26-year-old Californian had laboured through her second round match against Iroda Tulyaganova on Wednesday, being taken to three sets by Uzbekistan’s Asian Games gold medallist.

But she looked a different proposition altogether against Panova, ruthlessly dictating play.

“It was a great match for me to play,” Davenport said. “I played exactly the way I wanted to play, which was attacking a lot of balls and going for my shots. Today they were falling in.”

Tomorrow’s fourth round pits Davenport against Henin-Hardenne for the first time since they met in Zurich last October, when the Belgian accused the American of gamesmanship in faking an injury on her way to defeat.

Davenport said she would not be bearing a grudge against an opponent she has never lost to.

“I laughed about it a little bit because I won the first set, and then I got hurt, so I wasn’t quite sure why she thought I would fake it,” recalled Davenport. “It’s definitely something I’m not known for.”

Eighth-seed Daniela Hantuchova, whose looks have earned her unwanted comparisons with Anna Kournikova, was a comfortable winner 6-4, 6-3 winner over Samantha Stosur of Australia.