Washington, Aug 03: Chile's Fernando Gonzalez stunned world number one Andre Agassi 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7/5) here yesterday, ousting his boyhood idol to reach the final of the 600,000-dollar ATP Washington Classic final. In what he called the greatest triumph of his career, Gonzalez ended the eight-time grand slam champion's bid for his sixth crown here in their first career meeting.
"It's a dream come true," Gonzalez said. "I grew up watching and enjoying how Andre plays. I've been watching him play since 15 years ago. I don't think he knows who I am so that's good for me." Four days past his 23rd birthday, the fourth-seeded clay-court star advanced to his first hardcourt final, a Sunday showdown with Britain's Tim Henman, who saved a match point to beat US second seed Andy Roddick 1-6 6-3 7-6 (7/1).
"Not many hit the ball harder than him," Henman said of Gonzalez. "I know it's going to be tough out there." Gonzalez, whose three ATP titles all came on clay, has a 2-1 career edge on Henman, beating him in 2002 Masters Series events on Rome clay and Cincinnati's hardcourts.
Only 2-4 on hardcourts this year until this week, Gonzalez rallied from a break down in the second set to oust Agassi, who marveled at the difficult shots which the South American swatted for winners. Bureau Report