Coria ends Agassi's run in Rome

Andre Agassi's Rome Masters bid ended when he lost 7-5 7-6 to Argentine ninth seed Guillermo Coria in the semi-finals yesterday.

In the final Coria will play another claycourt specialist, Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal who beat compatriot David Ferrer 4-6 6-4 7-5. The match will be a repeat of last month's Monte Carlo Masters final, which Nadal won in four sets.

Coria's victory ended Agassi's hopes of reclaiming the title he won in 2002.

It was an erratic performance by the 35-year-old American, whose flashes of brilliance were undone by often wayward groundstrokes.

A break down after the seventh game, Agassi produced a pair of winning service returns to level at 5-5. In the next game, however, a series of long forehands gifted Coria the chance to serve out for the set.

The Argentine tightened his grip on the match when Agassi committed another series of unforced errors to drop serve in the opening game of the second set.

He levelled with a volley winner and a serve return that rocketed down the line to go a break up but another shaky service game sent the set into a tiebreak.

Unforced errors

Agassi made four more unforced errors to lose it to love and gift Coria a place in the final.

Twelve months ago Coria was the most dangerous claycourt player in the world as he won titles in Buenos Aires and Monte Carlo on his way to the French Open final.

Now, however, the man to beat is 18-year-old Nadal. Rome will be his sixth final of the year and has won four titles on clay in 2005.