Agassi in semis as Grosjean folds
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A devastating Andre Agassi is first to qualify for the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
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MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN) -- Andre Agassi advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals Tuesday after his French opponent Sebastien Grosjean withdrew through injury.
Agassi's opponent, the ninth-seeded Grosjean, pulled out with a groin strain after losing the first set 6-2 and then trailing 2-0 in the second.
It was the second time on the same day that a French quarterfinalist pulled out, with Amelie Mauresmo suffering the same fate in the women's quarter finals.
A teary Mauresmo withdrew from her match against Colombian Fabiola Zuluaga before even swinging a racket on Center Court.(Full Story)
Crowd favorite and No.4 seed Agassi now meets unseeded Russian Marat Safin who beat world number one Andy Roddick in a thrilling five-set night match later on Tuesday.
Agassi looked in awesome form, storming to a 4-0 lead before Grosjean managed to compose himself and hold his next two games with serve.
But the relentless Agassi not only cruised to take the first set but then immediately broke Grosjean's serve in the second.
Grosjean looked to be struggling to cover the court, especially to defy Agassi's pinpoint accuracy. He called for a trainer's assistance late in the first set and then again at the start of the second set.
Eventually, he called Agassi to the net to concede.
The win for Agassi was a record-breaking 26th consecutive victory at an Australian Open. It was also his fourth against Grosjean in six meetings.
He has not lost a set in the entire tournament.
The Center Court daytime program Tuesday was to feature two women's quarter-finals and one men's quarter-final. It lasted just 2 hours, 11 minutes and little more than three sets because of the Grosjean and Mauresmo withdrawals.
