Pete Suffers From Heat Contributing To Defeat At The Hands Of Stich

There will be no Andre Agassi-Pete Sampras final in the the $1.8 million ATP Championship.

Agassi, ranked No. 1 in the world, advanced to the semifinals in a relative breeze Friday, beating unseeded Renzo Furlan of Italy 6-3, 6-4 at Mason, Ohio.

But Pete Sampras, ranked No. 2, broiled on the stadium court twice as long as Agassi, losing to eighth-seeded Michael Stich of Germany 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

Sampras had a debilitating match Thursday, winning in three sets in 90-degree heat. Friday’s match was another two-hour-plus affair, with the temperature reaching 93 degrees.

Stich lost to Sampras in the quarterfinals at Montreal two weeks ago and then won the ATP Tour event last week in Los Angeles.

Stich’s semifinal Saturday will be against fourth-seeded Michael Chang. He defeated No. 11 Jim Courier 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.

Agassi, who won Thursday in one hour, eight minutes, needed just one hour, six minutes in Friday’s heat to beat Furlan. Saturday’s match against 13th-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden will be Agassi’s 11th semifinal in 13 tournaments this year. Enqvist beat No. 6 Goran Ivanisevic 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was pushed to three sets for the second time in less than 24 hours, but recovered to beat Natasha Zvereva 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Acura Classic at Manhattan Beach, Calif. Sanchez Vicario, the No. 1 seed, plays No. 10 Chanda Rubin today. Rubin upset No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0.

Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia beat No. 4 Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to advance to the other semifinal against No. 2 Conchita Martinez, a 6-1, 7-5 winner over fifth-seeded Anke Huber of Germany.