Agassi, Sargsian Put Friendship Aside Today

By DAVID WHARTON

Nov. 30, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

BURBANK — Andre Agassi and Sargis Sargsian are occasional practice partners on the professional tennis tour. They also happen to be friends.

“He’s absolutely a great guy,” Agassi said. “I always want the best for him.”

Always, except for today.

The friends become adversaries at noon when they meet in the final of the HealthSouth USTA Challenger at McCambridge Park. Their matchup is not unexpected.

Sargsian entered the $50,000 tournament as the top-seeded player and No. 58th-ranked player in the world just a few months after winning the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, R.I.

The third-seeded Agassi arrived with a No. 122 ranking that reflected an injury-prone and, at times, uninspired year.

But word around the locker room was that he seems fit and re-energized.

“This is the first time in a long time that he is really moving well,” Sargsian said. “Let’s be honest, if he’s on top of his game, very few players can beat him.”

Agassi may not be in top form yet, but he looked determined in beating second-seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, in a semifinal match on Saturday.

The former No. 1 player cruised early but failed to capitalize on numerous break points in the second set as Nestor powered his way back into the match with a booming serve.

“You could go through a streak of holding serve and, all of a sudden, you lose your serve once and the set could be over,” Agassi said. “So you’ve got to really make sure you play well at the right times in a match like this.”

The turning point came in the third set with Nestor holding a 1-0 lead and two break points. Agassi came up with a few big serves and a huge forehand to hang on.

“I thought I had a good chance there,” Nestor said “He played a couple good points.”

Agassi broke Nestor’s serve the next game and didn’t look back.

“A match like this is great for me,” he said. “If I can find a way to break him twice in the third set, I feel like I’m coming along.”

An hour later, Sargsian was put in a similarly tough spot by fifth-seeded Michael Sinner of Germany before winning 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

He also dominated early but had to win tough points to close out the match.

“I had never played [Sinner] so I didn’t know what to expect,” Sargsian said. “He started going for his shots and was making them. He started hitting his backhand down the line a lot.”

Sargsian fell behind, 4-2, in the tiebreaker but Sinner missed several crucial groundstrokes and could not reach a sharply angled backhand on the final point.

“I couldn’t hit deep in the court,” Sinner said. “If you cannot hit deep, you cannot put pressure on your opponent.”

Agassi has been the crowd favorite this week, while Sargsian, a native of Armenia, has drawn loud support from the Armenian-American community in and around Burbank.

“This is my backyard but Andre is still Andre,” Sargsian said. “I am so interested in who’s going to get more cheers.”

Doubles qualifiers George Bastl and Patrick Gottesleben of USC beat fourth-seeded Bill Behrens and Rikard Bergh, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, in a semifinal match. It was their second victory over a seeded team.

The Trojan teammates had never played doubles together. Being roommates has helped.

“In doubles, it’s really important that you like your partner,” Gottesleben said.

Bastl concurred: “There is good chemistry with us.”