Second straight title for Agassi

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, March 9: Andre Agassi won his second tournament in a row defeating Australian Jason Stoltenberg 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in the A...

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA, March 9: Andre Agassi won his second tournament in a row defeating Australian Jason Stoltenberg 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in the ATP Tour event here. The victory in gives the 27-year-old world no 50 a 16-2 win-loss mark in 1998.

His 16 wins are one better than the 15 of Australian Open champion Petr Korda, Greg Reusedski, Marcelo Rios and Karol Kucera and prove that the Agassi comeback effort is gaining serious momentum.

Agassi added his third Scottsdale crown, a cheque for $45,000 and 150 computer ranking points to the title he took in

San Jose, California, last month over Pete Sampras.

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The victory was Agassi’s 36th career title, putting him fourth on the list of active players.

Stoltenberg was playing in his second final of the year after losing in Adelaide last January in the trophy match. Agassi, continuing the hot pace he has set all week, struck first in the match, breaking the Australian for 2-1 when Stoltenberg netted a forehand.

The Australian came through a game featuring fivedeuces totalling 18 points to hold for 2-3 under sunny conditions with none of the wind which had bothered competitors for the past two days.

Stoltenberg fought to break back in the sixth game, levelling the set at three apiece. Agassi didn’t hesitate to regain his edge with a break for 4-3, and moved out to 5-3 with a love game. Agassi claimed the set on the first of two sets Agassi produced a love game for 5-4 and notched his first ace of the day to bring on a tie-breaker. The American reached three match points and needed only one.

Kournikova battles

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INDIAN WELLS: Russian teenager Anna Kournikova gave her mother a birthday present, fighting back from a first-set deficit to beat Chanda Rubin in the second round of the Evert Tennis Cup.

The 16-year-old 16th seed, saved three match points in the 12th game of the third set, then dominated the tie-breaker to win 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2). In the twho escaped with a 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-3 victory over Venezuelan Maria Alejandra Vento. The fourth seedAmanda Coetzer of South Africa downed American Anne Miller 6-3, 6-3.