NOTEBOOK: AGASSI'S INSPIRATION: ARMSTRONG.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

On the way to his seventh consecutive Tour de France title, cyclist Lance Armstrong called Andre Agassi one of the athletes he most respected.

Agassi returned the favor and then some.

``In my opinion, what he's accomplished is arguably the greatest accomplishment in the history of sports,'' Agassi said. ``Physically, to win seven Tour de Frances at any time in your career, let alone in a row, let alone after fighting testicular, lung and brain cancer - he'd be doing great just to have beaten the cancer.''

Agassi said he kept up with how Armstrong was doing in the latest Tour. He thinks Armstrong's professed admiration for him is one of the highest compliments he's received from another athlete.

Armstrong, 33, retired from cycling Sunday after winning the Tour. Agassi, 35, will soon be deciding of whether to join him. If he wins the U.S. Open next month, he, too, could go out on top.

``To watch him persevere and establish himself as the greatest in the history of his sport is a testament of what the human spirit is really capable of and beyond an inspiration to me,'' Agassi said. ``In the people who inspire me, he comes in first, second and third.''

--Mythical match: Dominik Hrbaty, one of the few players with a winning record against top-ranked Roger Federer, gave his opinion of how Federer would match up against former great Pete Sampras.

``(Sampras) has a big serve, but so does (Andy) Roddick,'' Hrbaty said. ``Sampras would have the same trouble with Federer that Roddick does. The only way to beat Roger is to be fast around the baseline and make him move.''

Hrbaty, ranked No. 26 and seeded second at the Mercedes-Benz Cup, is 2-0 against Federer, with the last win coming in 2004. He went 1-2 against Sampras.

No one on the tour seems able to touch Federer this year, leaving imaginary matchups against tennis greats as his only competition.

``For sure, it would be a tight match,'' Hrbaty said. ``Sampras would beat him sometimes, but I think Roger would win most of the time.''