NEW YORK - A rusty Andre Agassi fought off two match points to claim a gritty 4-6 7-6 6-0 second round win over Paraguay's Ramon Delgado at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
Playing his first tournament since November, Agassi got off to a strong start recording the early break to forge a 4-2 lead before the 129th ranked Delgado claimed the next four games to take the opening set.
Serving at 5-4 down in the second set, Agassi staved off two match points with stinging volleys then went on to win the set and level the match in a tiebreak (7-4).
The 35-year-old eight time grand slam winner quickly took control in the third set, allowing Delgado just eight points to advance through to the quarter-finals, where he will meet Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
The Spaniard moved on with a tidy 6-3 6-2 win over American qualifier Todd Widom.
"The match could easily have gone the other way," Agassi said on the ATP website.
"In the second set he was all over me. When he broke right back, I knew I was in a tussle.
"I need to feel the pressure and the competition. I'm excited to be playing here for the first time."
Also advancing to the final eight were defending champion Xavier Malisse of Belgium with a 6-2 7-5 win over American Justin Gimelstob and sixth seeded German Florian Mayer, a 7-5 6-3 winner over Austria's Oliver Marach.
- REUTERS
Tennis: Agassi fights off match points
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