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Big Names Fall In Stuttgart

November 2, 2000 / 6:02 PM EST / CBS/AP

Andre Agassi completed the exodus of the top four seeded players from the Stuttgart Masters Series, losing Thursday to Andrei Pavel in the third round.

Agassi, the No. 4 seed, lost 6-3, 6-4 after dropping his opening service games in each set. The Romanian had never beaten Agassi in their four previous matches.

"I lost my serve early and I never had a chance on his serve," Agassi said. "There wasn't much rhythm in the match and I never got into it. He served incredibly."

The defeat interrupted Agassi's comeback after a two-month break following his second-round defeat at the U.S. Open, where he had been the defending champion.

Agassi finished 1999 as No. 1 in the world and won the Australian Open. But he lost in the second round of the French Open, where he also was defending the title.

He dropped out of the Sydney Olympics to stay with his mother and sister, who are battling breast cancer.

French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten and U.S. Open champion Marat Safin, battling for the No. 1 world ranking, also lost third-round matches.

Greg Rusedski dented Safin's hopes of closing in on top-ranked Kuerten by upsetting the top seed 7-6 (2), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

Kuerten, who was seeded second, lost 7-6 (9), 6-3 to Sebastien Grosjean , who has one ATP title on grass to his credit.

Had he won, Kuerten would have extended his narrow, three-point lead over Safin in the Champions Race, which will produce the new No. 1 for the year at the end of the season. The Brazilian wasted a set point in the tiebreaker.

Safin, a 20-year-old rapidly rising star who won the U.S. Open in September, served for the first set after breaking Rusedski's serve in the seventh game. But he could not hold, allowing Rusedski to get back into the match.

"The key to the match was at 5-4 when he served for that set. If I'd gotten down that first set, it would have been a tough match to come back from," Rusedski said.

Rusedski raced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreaker and converted his second set point. The Briton broke Safin's serve again for a 2-1 lead in the second and never looked behind.

"It was very satisfying to play so well in the tiebreaker, then to get the early break in the second. I thought the second set I served extremely well," said Rusedski, who got his nith ace on his first match point.

Rusedski not only served well, but also outplayed Safin from the baseline, usually not the Briton's strongest asset.

Safin had won both previous matches against Rusedski. The Russian's ouster came one day after he had halted a five-match losing streak against Fabrice Santoro .

"I had everything, serving for the set and suddenly everything changed," Safin said. "I knew I was doing something wrong because it's not possible that he beats me from the baseline but he was beating me from the baseline."

Safin has won a tour-high five titles this year, including the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam.

"I was really upset because I lost a big opportunity to be a bit closer to No. 1," Safin said.

Sjeng Schalken , who lost in the qualifying tournament but got a place in the main draw following the withdrawal of Cedric Pioline, rallied to beat No. 3 Magnus Norman 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Last month, Schalken won the Tokyo tournament and then lost the Shanghai final to Norman, a Swede.

No. 8 seed Lleyton Hewitt prevented an all-British quarterfinal when he beat ninth-seeded Tim Henman 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Hewitt broke serve for a decisive 5-4 lead in the final set, after wasting a series of break points in a marathon seventh game.

Sixth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the Olympic gold medalist, survived three set points and went on to beat Franco Squillari 6-3, 7-5.

Wayne Ferreira also advanced to the last eight when his opponent, 12th-seeded Mark Philippoussis, withdrew because of a neck injury. The Australian became the third player to pull out during the tournament.

Kafelnikov, winner of the 1996 French Open and the 1999 Australian Open and a former No. 1 in the world, staved off three set points to hold serve for 5-5 in the second set.

Squillari, whose two titles this year came at Munich and the outdoor Stuttgart event - committed a double-fault and dropped his serve in the next game.

Kafelnikov, winner of his fourth consecutive Kremlin Cup last week in Moscow, used his first match pont by hitting a forehand winner. He is now close to clinching a place in the season-ending Masters Cup. "I still have some work to do on that," he said. He next plays Schalken.

Michael Chang reached the quarters by beating Younes El Aynaoui 7-5, 6-2 and will next meet Grosjean.