Agassi fought back from 2-5 down in the fourth set, saving four match points before sweeping to a 7-6, 6-7, 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 win.

American Venus Williams outpowered Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat of France to set up a final with Swiss Patty Schnyder in the women's singles last night.

A double fault on match point left Kucera a beaten man after three hours 41 minutes of brilliant tennis.

Former world No 1 Agassi will meet either Chilean Marcelo Rios or Australian Mark Philippoussis in tomorrow's final.

Williams, who had lost to Tauziat in both their previous encounters, was in a class of her own this time, cracking down five aces and committing few unforced errors on her way to a comfortable 6-4, 6-0 victory.

She will now face Schnyder who saw World No. 1 Martina Hingis pull out with a cramp at 5-5 in the deciding set. Schnyder had dropped the openingset 7-5 but took the second by the same margin.

Rusedski advances

TOULOUSE: Top seed Greg Rusedski eased through to the final of the $ 400,000 ATP tournament here today when he downed title holder Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-4, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.

The 25-year-old Rusedski dominated the match against the fourth-seeded Kiefer, combining his powerful service with even better returns and stunning backhand play, which is normally the weakest area of his game.

Muster in semis

MALLORCA (SPAIN): Thomas Muster celebrated his birthday yesterday by moving into the semifinals of the Mallorca Open, beating Tommy Haas 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Top seeded Carlos Moya also made it to the last four after a tough match against Austrian qualifier, winning 7-5, 6-4.