Holder Agassi romps to next round
MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) - Champion Andre Agassi dismissed Sweden's Thomas Enqvist 6-0 6-3 6-3 in a stunning display to reach the Australian Open fourth round.
Enqvist, who had won five of their previous nine meetings, was a mere spectator as the American tore through the first set with unplayable returns and thundering groundstrokes.
"I feel like I did everything I was looking to do," fourth seed Agassi told reporters.
"I wasn't letting him back me up and when I got control of the point, I felt like I was keeping control of the point."
Runner-up in Melbourne in 1999, Enqvist finally got on the scoreboard by breaking Agassi's serve at the beginning of the second set.
Agassi quickly levelled the set before breaking twice more to take a two-set advantage in a ruthless performance that made him a serious contender to claim a fifth Melbourne title.
Enqvist's frustration simmered over on the final point of the fourth game of the third set when he squabbled with chair umpire Gerry Armstrong.
The Swede had held two break points but Armstrong over-ruled a line judge and called an Enqvist forehand long to hand Agassi the game and a 3-2 lead.
Agassi broke an unsettled Enqvist's serve in the next game and then closed the match in 89 stylish minutes.
"It's nice to win quickly. I don't think it's a necessity but you do want to save most of your energy for the matches you need them most and you never know when those matches are going to happen," he said.
His fourth-round opponent is Asian number one Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, a straight sets winner over former world number one Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.
