Defending champion Andre Agassi raced past fellow American Todd Martin 7-5 6-3 6-4 today to be the first man through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Sixth seed Agassi sealed the quarter-final victory on his second match point when he ended a stirring rally with a running backhand lob.
It was his 13th win in 18 matches with Martin, who upset third seed and former world number one Pete Sampras in the fourth round.
Agassi always had Martin struggling with his fearsome return of serve and big groundstrokes, making Martin work hard for any points.
Martin did manage to break Agassi for a 4-3 lead in the final set but immediately surrendered the advantage and Agassi quickly sped to victory.
He will play either 12th-seeded Australian Pat Rafter or 14th seed Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia in the semi-finals. - Reuters