Wimbledon: Agassi negotiates Delgado hurdle

Britain's Jamie Delgado could provide no repeat of Barry Cowan's heroics as he went down in straight sets to Andre Agassi in the second round at Wimbledon.

Agassi' class and experience was too much for the Maidenhead-based player, who lost 6-2 6-4 6-3 in one hour 28 minutes of tepid tennis.

The British number four started well, trading powerful ground strokes with the second seed.

He had a break point in the third game but couldn't convert the opportunity as Agassi replied with an ace.

Agassi, however, is the master of raising his game when required and in the sixth game he upped the pace a touch and the extra aggression paid dividends with the Delgado service cracking.

Delgado was playing confidently but Agassi was clearly in the groove and his precision ground strokes allowed him to break Delgado again in the eighth game to take the first set 6-2.

Delgado was playing an impressive match, frequently trading impressive ground strokes with his more illustrious opponent.

He even put two successive aces together in the eighth game as the set went with serve into the crucial stages.

But just when it seemed Delgado might be able to take the set to a tie-break the serve let him down.

In the 10th game Agassi simply stepped into the return and forced the vital errors - one wild volley and a flurry of wayward forehands giving the American the second set 6-4 and control of the match at two sets to love.

By now Delgado must have been looking forward to receiving his £12,250 cheque for losing in the second round and it looked that way in the third set which Agassi dominated after gaining the crucial break effortlessly in the fourth game.

Not that the Briton went down without a fight, saving four match points in a marathon eighth game which went to five deuces before succumbing in the next game.