Tennis: Agassi keeps his comeback rolling along

ANDRE AGASSI went through to the second round of the Franklin Templeton Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona, by beating the sixth seed, Albert Portas, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, on Monday night.

The former world No 1 finished 1997 ranked 122nd, but having beaten the No 1, Pete Sampras three weeks ago to win his first title in almost two years, Agassi is back in the top 50. He was given a wild card into this tournament, which he won in 1993 and 1994.

"Once I started stepping up the pace with my shots, I was more accurate with my footwork, and he was unable to respond. It felt like I remembered it." said Agassi, who won 12 of the final 15 games of Monday's match. "I need to work on everything... [But] the hardest part is over now. It's just about routine and doing it every day."

Earlier, Carlos Costa, of Spain, had beaten the third seed, Magnus Norman of Sweden, 6-4, 7-6, and Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia knocked out the seventh seed Julian Alonso of Spain 6-2, 6-2. Another seed to fall was the the No 5, Spain's Francisco Clavet, who lost 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 to Jeff Tarango.