Agassi advances to second round

Andre Agassi’s quest for a sixth SAP Open title got off to a good start.

The second seed, Agassi advanced to the second round of the hardcourt event with a 6-4 6-4 victory over fellow American and former NCAA champion Bobby Reynolds last night.

It was Agassi’s first match since agreeing on Monday to play in a first-round Davis Cup tie against Croatia in March. The Las Vegas native has not played in the Davis Cup since 2000.

“The big difference is the camaraderie on this team because they’ve been playing year-round together,” Agassi said of the US squad, which includes Andy Roddick, Taylor Dent and Mike and Bob Bryan.

“Whereas when I played with (Pete) Sampras and (Michael) Chang, we played together, but yet everybody else had their own schedules, trying to be number one (in the world).”

As the defending champion last year, the 34-year-old Agassi lost in the semi-finals to American Mardy Fish. He also won the title here in 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1998 and reached the final in 1996, 2001 and 2002.

Agassi’s five titles in the SAP Open – formerly known as the Siebel Open - matches John McEnroe for the most wins in the Bay Area in the Open Era (1968).

The NCAA champion at Vanderbilt last year, Reynolds was coming off a solid showing at the Australian Open, where he reached the third round before losing to Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal.

Agassi, who improved to 48-7 at the SAP Open, was making his first appearance since falling to Switzerland’s Roger Federer in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

“I just hope that I play to the level that I’m accustomed to. I never quite played that level in Australia,” Agassi said.

“Just finding my shot selections, hoping to be aggressive at the right time. Just keep my play at a level where I’m clear and decisive on my shots.”

In Tuesday’s final match, third seed Tommy Haas of Germany defeated Frenchman Gregory Carraz 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

In early matches on Tuesday, seventh seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria defeated American Glenn Weiner, 6-2 7-5; Tomas Zib of the Czech Republic got past Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4 6-3; and American James Blake toppled South African Wesley Moodie, 6-3 6-4.

Another American, fourth seed Vincent Spadea, joined Blake in the second round with a 5-7 6-3 6-2 win over Antony Dupuis of France.

Roddick, the defending champion, plays fellow American Paul Goldstein, a qualifier, in his first-round match on Wednesday. Roddick defeated Fish in the final here last year.