A baffled Andre Agassi was bundled out of the 5.27 million-dollar Pacific Life Open 7-5, 6-2 on Monday by Germany's Tommy Haas. Despite his status as the Masters Series event's eighth seed, Agassi clearly had his work cut out for him against Haas, who has already won titles this year in Delray Beach and Memphis and reached the semi-finals in Doha.
Two of the 27-year-old German's three defeats this year have come to world number one Roger Federer, including a fourth-round loss in the Australian Open. Agassi, in contrast, was playing in just his third tournament of the year after being sidelined by injury late in 2005.
Still, it was unlike the 35-year-old veteran to squander two set points on his own serve in the opening set, which he led 5-4 and 40-15 before Haas roared back. Despite his lack of tournament play, Agassi acknowledged that he had hoped for more here, where after a first-round bye he needed three sets to beat 63rd-ranked Paul Goldstein.
Haas booked a meeting with American James Blake, who beat Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-2, 7-5. Third-seeded Andy Roddick, another American who has been trying to turn around an indifferent early season, maintained his momentum with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spain's Fernando Verdasco.
Roddick, who powered through a rain-delayed second-round match against Jose Acasuso on Sunday night, was delighted to back up that victory with another solid display.
Fourth-seeded Argentinian David Nalbandian also reached the round of 16, beating French qualifier Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-1.
But fifth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko fell 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4 to unseeded compatriot Marat Safin, a former world number one who is working his way back from a career-threatening knee injury.
Two time Indian Wells champion Lleyton Hewitt launched his campaign with a scrambling 7-6 (7/3), 2-6, 6-4 second-round victory over Germany's Rainer Schuettler.
Despite his title drought, and a disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open left him nursing a sore ankle, Hewitt has been knocking on the door in recent weeks, reaching finals in San Jose in February and Las Vegas last week. On the women's side, top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium crushed Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-0, 6-0.
Belgium's Henin-Hardenne, who won the title in her last appearance at Indian Wells in 2004, needed just 55 minutes to dispatch 66th-ranked Nakamura, who was making her first appearance in the California desert. Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva also reached the round of 16, defying an upset bid by tenacious Indian teenager Sania Mirza.
Dementieva let early leads slip in all three set before emerging with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the feisty Mirza, who made the most of Dementieva's characteristically inconsistent serve.
Sixth-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta literally tumbled out of the tournament, spraining her right ankle in the opening game of her third-round match against Emma Laine. After Laine won the game, Pennetta retired, sending the unseeded Finn into the fourth round.
COLLATED RESULTS (x denotes seeded player):
MEN'S SECOND ROUND: Lleyton Hewitt (AUS x9) bt Rainer Schuettler (GER) 7-6 0(7/3), 2-6, 6-4; Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) bt Kristof Vliegen (BEL) 6-1, 6-3; Xavier Malisse (BEL) bt Radek Stepanek (CZE x15) 6-1, 6-1; Mario Ancic (CRO) bt Davide Sanguinetti (ITA) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3); Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) bt Nicolas Kiefer (GER x11) 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-2; Tomas Berdych (CZE) bt Tim Henman (GBR) 6-4, 6-4.
THIRD ROUND: David Nalbandian (ARG x4) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-4, 6-1; Igor Andreev (RUS) bt Robin Soderling (SWE) 3-6, 7-6 (16/14) 6-4; Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; Andy Roddick (USA x3) bt Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-3, 6-4; Tommy Haas (GER) bt Andre Agassi (USA x8) 7-5, 6-2; Marat Safin (RUS) bt Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x5) 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-4; Paradorn Srichiphan (THA) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP x14) 6-2, 6-2.
WOMEN'S THIRD ROUND: Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER x7) bt Anna Smashnova (ISR) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2; Maret Ani (EST) bt Marion Bartoli (FRA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-2; Gisela Dulko (ARG) bt Tatiana Golovin (FRA x12) 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6); Ai Sugiyama (JPN x14) bt Lucie Safarova (CZE) 6-3, 7-5; Li Na (CHN) bt Vania King (USA) 6-3, 6-4; Emma Laine (FIN) bt Flavia Pennetta (ITA x6) 1-0, ret; Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL x1) bt Aiko Nakamura (JPN) 6-0, 6-0; Elena Dementieva (RUS x4) bt Sania Mirza (IND) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) bt Maria Kirilenko (RUS x11) 6-2, 6-3; Ana Ivanovic (SCG x8) bt Shenay Perry (USA) 6-1, 6-3.
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