AGASSI ADVANCES TO SEMIS PROCLAIMS 'EVERYTHING IS IN WORKING ORDER' AFTER WIN.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Andre Agassi chased a shot in the third set of Friday's Mercedes-Benz Cup quarterfinals, slipped and tumbled to the ground.

The crowd gasped. Perhaps the best-known player in tennis, playing this week for the first time in two months because of injury, went down on his already banged-up hip.

Could this be the end?

It's a question that will be asked whenever the 35-year-old Agassi has as much as a hitch in his step.

The answer: Not this time.

Agassi got back up and held on for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand to advance to the semifinals at UCLA. He will face Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina today at 3 p.m.

``I actually didn't hit very hard,'' Agassi said of the fall, though he was sporting a bandage on his right pinkey finger from a cut received during the accident. ``I was just a little embarrassed, which is something I'm getting more and more used to out there.''

Bouncing back was the theme of the day for Agassi. In his first difficult test of the tournament, he blew a break lead in the second set and then double faulted on the final point to give the set to Srichaphan.

However, Agassi broke in the third game of the third set and finished off a 1-hour, 52-minute match with an ace. By comparison, his first-round victory took just 47 minutes.

``It feels good to be in the semis here and have a chance at the title,'' Agassi said. ``But I'm thinking more about the big picture, that you want to keep pushing and keep hitting shots. It does make it nice, though, to be this far along. Hopefully I can get myself in the finals.''

Agassi hasn't won a tournament in nearly a year, last winning Aug. 2, 2004, in Cincinnati.

Nerve damage in his back hindered Agassi during a first-round loss at the French Open in late May and he hadn't played since until this week, missing Wimbledon. The sciatic nerve starts in his back, goes to his hip and then down his right leg.

``Right now it's all about the tennis,'' Agassi said. ``Any adjustments I have to make is only about my game and that's all I'm thinking about. So that's a good sign that everything is in working order.''

Chela, ranked 47th in the world, beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). This is his first semifinal appearance since January.

Second-seeded Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia survived seven match points to beat Ricardo Mello of Brazil 4-6, 7-6 (11-9), 6-2 and join Agassi as the only seeded players in the semifinals.

Mello led Hrbaty 6-1 in the second-set tiebreaker but tightened up, began playing defensively and blew five consecutive match points. He hit the ball into the net on four of the five points.

``All the players know I never give up until the last point,'' Hrbaty said. ``It doesn't happen often (to come back from a big deficit), but this shows it can happen.''

Once Hrbaty won the second set, Mello collapsed.

``I lost concentration a little,'' Mello said. ``I was always thinking about the tiebreaker, and that's why I lost the third set. All of a sudden, I was down 5-1 and it was too late to come back.''

Robby Ginepri's seven-match winning streak came to an end in a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 loss to Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.

Muller advanced to his first semifinal of the year, scheduled for 8 p.m. against Hrbaty, by scoring 13 aces.

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Andre Agassi beat Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan in three sets on Friday to advance to the Mercedes-Benz Cup semis.

(2) Playing in his first tournament in two months, Andre Agassi wants to win the Mercedes-Benz Cup.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer