DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Top-seeded Andre Agassi was upset 6-4,
6-2 by Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Friday in the
quarterfinals of the International Tennis Championships.
The ninth-ranked Agassi, playing in his first tournament of the
year, never found his comfort level in the 74-minute match that
took place under windy conditions and with skies threatening rain.
"It's been a long time and I haven't put together my game,"
Agassi said. "I'm not going to judge it until I get comfortable
out there. I'm second guessing some swings and I'm second guessing
some shots.
"I ran into a guy that hits the ball as clean as he does and
that exaggerates how uncomfortable I'm feeling."
Agassi fell behind 4-1 in the opening set, but was able to fight
back to win three of the next four games. The 112th-ranked
Garcia-Lopez then took control by breaking Agassi to win the set.
The two were tied at 2 in the second set before Garcia-Lopez won
the last four games of the match.
"It's unbelievable," Garcia-Lopez said. "It's history to beat
Agassi. For me, he's the best."
Garcia-Lopez will play defending champion Xavier Malisse of
Belgium in the semifinals. The third-seeded Malisse won 6-7 (4-7),
6-2, 6-3 against sixth-seeded Florian Mayer of Germany.
Third-seeded Tommy Haas moved into the semifinals with a 6-3,
6-2 win over seventh-seeded Gilles Muller earlier Friday.
Haas has only lost two of 11 matches played this year, both to
top-ranked Roger Federer.
"I'm just really happy that I'm winning some of the big
points," Haas said. "You have to believe in yourself and stick to
your things."
Haas will face eighth-seeded Vince Spadea in the semifinals.