Agassi rallies for second-round victory

PARIS, May 28 (UPI) -- Andre Agassi pulled off yet another Grand Slam comeback Wednesday, rallying from two sets down to defeat 19-year-old Mario Ancic of Croatia, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, in the second round of the French Open.

It marked the fifth time Agassi had rallied from a two-set deficit to win a match. He also did it here last year in the fourth round against Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu and in the 1999 French Open final against Andrei Medvedev.

"You have to find a way, you have to dig down deep and come up with the goods against guys who are out there competing," said Agassi, who needed 3 1/2 hours to survive.

Top-seeded Serena Williams, meanwhile, cruised into the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian of Switzerland. Williams is seeking her fifth straight Grand Slam title.

The oldest player in the men's draw at 33, Agassi looked his age in the first two sets and appeared ready to continue the disappointing performance of Americans early in this tournament.

Five Americans bowed out in the first round Tuesday, including No. 6 seed Andy Roddick and Michael Chang, who was playing his final match at Roland Garros.

But Agassi, always one of the best-conditioned players on tour, taught his younger and less experienced opponent a lesson, closing out the third set with an overhead lob winner before finding renewed energy in the final two sets.

"He missed a few first serves, I made a few good shots," Agassi said. "That's what I needed. I feel like I have a new life right now."

However, Ancic did not go down quietly, throwing a scare into Agassi in the final set. He erased a 5-2 deficit in the set before Agassi won the final two games to advance.

"I knew he was human before the match, so he can miss," Ancic said. "Everybody can do mistakes. If I had won it, it would have been one of my better matches. It's just I fell down a little bit and he took over and everything changed so fast."

Agassi was not the only American to win a grueling battle Wednesday as up-and-coming 18-year-old Ashley Harkleroad outlasted ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 9-7, in a match that lasted three hours, eight minutes.

"I love being at Roland Garros," said Harkleroad, who posted the biggest win of her brief career. "I always play well here and feel at home here because I played juniors a lot."

Ranked 52nd in the world, the Georgia native reached the third round of a Grand Slam event for the first time.

Harkleroad survived a near collapse in the third set as she dropped five straight games after opening a 5-1 lead. But Hantuchova helped Harkleroad recover by losing eight of the next nine points on unforced errors. She had an astounding 106 in the match.

"I got a little bit erratic but I came through," Harkleroad said. "I just started hitting it a little short and she started teeing off and hitting everything an inch from the baseline. It was really exciting but I was just trying to keep my composure and not think about how I was up 5-1. I was just trying to breathe."

Williams barely has been tested in her first two matches, having lost just nine games. But Williams was not as sharp as she could have been, overcoming 30 unforced errors to extend her French Open winning streak to 30 matches.

"I never really play at 100 percent," she said. "I think for me, I'm more or less used to winning when I'm not doing my best. I just am able to come up with some different way, a different means of pulling out the match."

Serena's sister, Venus, the No. 3 seed, returned to action Tuesday after missing nearly a month with a strained abdominal muscle and dispatched fellow American and lucky loser Samantha Reeves in her first-round match.

In other matches on the men's side, 1998 champion Carlos Moya of Spain defeated Australian Mark Philippoussis, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). Moya also defeated the hard-serving Philippoussis, who rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat Alex Kim on Monday, in straight sets in the second round here last year.

No. 7 seed Guillermo Coria of Argentina advanced with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win over German Nicolas Kiefer, and No. 11 Rainer Schuettler of Germany ousted Frenchman Jean-Rene Lisnard, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.

Brazil's Flavio Saretta, celebrating his 25th birthday, outlasted No. 17 seed and 1996 winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, in just under four hours.

"So far no good results this year," Kafelnikov said. "I have no desire to lose first, second round in tournaments because I've done that for 12 years. Personally, I think I belong on top."

The other former champions still alive are Spain's Albert Costa, who won last year, and Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, who won here in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

The match between American James Blake, the No. 24 seed, and Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic was suspended because of darkness with Ljubicic holding a two sets to one lead. It will be completed on Thursday.

In the women's draw, No. 4 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium moved on with an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory over Jelena Kostanic of Croatia.

"I think technically I am a better player than I was last year," Henin-Hardenne said. "Physically, I am a lot stronger, then it's easier to do what you have to do technically."

Fifth-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo routed Lina Krasnoroutskaya of Russia, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 9 seed Chanda Rubin of the United States reached the third round with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory over Zimbabwe's Cara Black.

The highest-ranked American woman to bow out Tuesday was No. 12 Monica Seles, who lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career.