Agassi demolishes Coria, Sampras and Henman out

Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt both cruised into the last 16 of the Cincinnati Masters tournament on Wednesday, but Pete Sampras and Tim Henman are out after an eventful day at the $2.95 million event.

Agassi blasted his way into the third round with a one-sided 6-0 6-2 demolition of Argentina's Guillermo Coria.

Coria, who came through qualifying, froze in the face of an onslaught from the 32-year-old as Agassi needed just 19 minutes to whip through the first set and it took Coria 32 minutes to win a single game.

"Tonight I was really bringing the pace of my shots to him and he's a guy who needs a little bit more time," Agassi said.

"I didn't feel like he was missing, I felt like I was controlling the points. It's tough to play these guys so if you can get a good start it helps."

There was good news too for American veteran Michael Chang, whose 5-7 7-6 6-0 second round win over Fernando Vicente marked the first time he had won consecutive matches since this time last year.

The 1989 French Open champion has fallen on hard times in recent years and needed a wildcard to get into the event.

SAMPRAS LOSES

Earlier, Sampras joined Britain's Henman as second round casualties.

Sampras, the 13-times grand slam champion, lost to big-serving Australian qualifier Wayne Arthurs, while Henman, who beat defending champion Gustavo Kuerten in the first round, lost 7-6 6-2 to Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

Former world number one Sampras, who has not won a title since Wimbledon in 2000, was knocked out by Arthurs 4-6 6-3 7-6.

"He's got one of the best serves I think I've ever played against," said Sampras.

"He puts a lot of pressure on your service games because he serves so big so you don't get many chances to break him. Today was an awkward match."

Sampras started brightly but allowed Arthurs back into the match in the second set.

Even then, Sampras, with the support of his home crowd behind him, still looked the more likely winner until two poor volleys cost him the tiebreaker and the match.

"It's a tough one to lose," said Sampras. "Once it gets to a tiebreaker in the third you can pretty much roll the dice. Unfortunately it didn't go my way today.

"I'm a little disappointed that these two weeks didn't show more," said Sampras, who also lost in the third round of the Canadian Masters last week.

HENMAN OUT

Fourth seed Henman led 4-1 in the first set but was unable to sustain his form as Gonzalez, ranked 39 in the world, produced a string of winners.

The Briton's frustration grew in the second set as he lost his serve twice in a row to trail 0-4.

He fought back to retrieve one break of serve but it proved too little, too late. He lost his serve again when 2-5 down, double faulting on match point down.

"You certainly have to give him an element of credit but I can't begin to think when I last played that badly," said Henman.

"It was horrendous. I'd love to say that I was ill or that I didn't try, but the sad thing is I was trying on every point. I can't hide from how badly I played."

The loss leaves a blemish on Henman's impressive record in Cincinnati after he made the semi-finals last year and the final in 2000.

Henman's Davis Cup team mate Greg Rusedski is also out of the $2.95 million event after losing 6-2 3-6 6-3 to Spain's Tommy Robredo.

"I didn't feel like I played badly but I didn't play great," Rusedski said. "He just played very solid today, very consistent and that was probably the difference."

EASY MATCH

World number one Lleyton Hewitt had another easy match, progressing after just 18 minutes when his opponent David Sanguinetti retired at 5-0 down.

"It's nice to be through but obviously you'd like to get through with a couple of tough, hard-fought victories," said Hewitt.

The Australian had a set point at 5-0, 30-40 on the Sanguinetti serve when the Italian decided an injury to his right foot was too painful to play on.

Sanguinetti's retirement means Hewitt has now gone two rounds without dropping a single game, spending just 59 minutes on court.

In the first round he thrashed Robby Ginepri 6-0 6-0 in only 41 minutes.

Twelfth seed Andy Roddick joined Hewitt in the last sixteen following a comfortable 6-4 6-3 victory over Nicolas Kiefer of Germany.

Roddick made the final of the Canadian Masters last week and broke into the world's top 10 for the first time on Monday.

"I don't think either of us played our best tennis today," said Roddick. "But if you are confident and you don't feel like you are hitting the ball the best, you somehow find ways to get through."

James Blake couldn't join his fellow Americans in the third round despite pushing eighth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero to three sets.

The Spaniard, who reached the final of the French Open earlier this year, beat Blake 6-4 4-6 6-4.