ROME, May 11 (UPI) -- Ninth seed Andre Agassi moved a step closer to his first claycourt title in three years Saturday with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic in thensemifinals of the $2.33 million Tennis Masters Series -- Rome.
Winless on this surface since capturing the 1999 French Open, Agassi will face seventh-seeded German Tommy Haas on Sunday as he tries to become the first American in eight years to win this tournament.
Agassi needed 90 minutes to dispose of the 14th-seeded Novak, who was playing his fourth semifinal of the season. He broke in the 11th game before serving out the first set, then took control in the second.
"I think I was pressing a bit in the beginning, but then we both settled into the match nicely," Agassi said. "As the match wore on, I was getting many more chances."
Saturday's triumph came exactly 13 years after Agassi was beaten in the final by Italy's Alberto Mancini. Now he has a chance to become the first American to win here since Pete Sampras in 1994.
"It's been a long time," Agassi said. "It feels so great to be back in the finals here. For me to be here 13 years later, it's truly like a dream."
Agassi has yet to drop a set as he tries to make Rome his sixth different Tennis Masters Series title.
Haas prevented the first all-American final in the tournament's 72-year history by sweeping past No. 13 Andy Roddick, 6-1, 7-5, in a battle of hard hitters.
The winner of the TMS event in Stuttgart last year, Haas advanced to his first final of the season. The 24-year-old lost to Russia's Marat Safin in the semifinals of the Australian Open.
Agassi has taken three of five meetings with Haas, including the last two.
