Agassi’s Show Is Not Quite 60 Minutes

Andre Agassi needed only 59 minutes Saturday to beat Germany’s Tommy Haas, 6-2, 6-1, and reach the final of the Franklin Templeton Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Agassi, who won this event in 1993 and 1994, will face Australia’s Jason Stoltenberg for the championship today.

Stoltenberg earlier beat the Netherlands’ Sjeng Schalken, 6-3, 6-3, despite twisting his ankle twice.

Agassi won his rain-suspended quarterfinal match over Jan-Michael Gambill, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), before facing Haas five hours later.

“There’s no question I did everything well tonight,” Agassi said. “I was on his game, I was on his serve and the groundies were coming up in my favor.”

Haas spent much of the match running from side to side to get to Agassi’s strokes, and when he attempted to go to the net, Agassi was ready with winning passing shots.

“You give him the short ball, he will punish you,” Haas said. “I’m not blaming anything on myself tonight, but basically it was a good one-hour training session.”

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Defending champion Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands paid the price for errant serving in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 defeat to compatriot Jan Siemerink in a semifinal of the ABN AMRO indoor tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

In today’s final, the 48th-ranked Siemerink will face No. 34 Dane Thomas Johansson, who beat New Zealander Brett Steven, 6-3, 7-5.