Hewitt gains top ranking when Agassi loses again in Tennis Masters Cup

<br>SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ Lleyton Hewitt celebrated capturing the year-end No. 1 ranking Thursday night by handing Marat Safin his third straight loss in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup. <br><br>Hewitt

Thursday, November 14th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ Lleyton Hewitt celebrated capturing the year-end No. 1 ranking Thursday night by handing Marat Safin his third straight loss in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

Hewitt clinched the top ranking before he took the court when Andre Agassi, the only player who had a mathematical chance to pass him, double-faulted on match point to hand Juan Carlos Ferrero a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (6) victory. Hewitt then beat Safin 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

``I think Lleyton obviously has had a great year,'' Agassi said. ``He's again proven himself to be the best out there, and that's not easy to do.''

Safin said Hewitt's main strength is ``just dedication and consistency. Nothing else.''

Shortly after his loss, Agassi withdrew from Friday's round-robin match.

``He came to the tournament with a hip injury that he sustained in Paris,'' tournament director Brad Drewett said. ``He aggravated that injury in tonight's match and has been forced to withdraw from the tournament.''

Agassi's second-straight defeat also clinched a semifinal berth for Switzerland's Roger Federer, who ran his record to 2-0 by stopping Jiri Novak 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.

The round-robin portion of the tournament winds up on Friday when Carlos Moya takes on fellow Spaniard Albert Costa, Ferrero plays Novak and Federer meets Thomas Johansson of Sweden, who replaces Agassi.

Friday's key battle is the Moya-Costa match. Moya has already qualified for the semifinals, and if Costa wins in straight sets, he would gain the other spot from the Red Group and keep Hewitt from defending his Masters Cup title.

Safin finally showed off the game that took him to third in the world. But he also showed the inconsistency that has plagued him throughout his career.

After cruising through the second set, when Hewitt served a miserable 28 per cent, the Russian had an early break in the final set. Hewitt refused to wilt, however, and broke back.

In the ninth game, Safin won the first two points before eventually losing his serve. It was the opening Hewitt needed, and the world's No. 1 player took advantage of it, holding his own serve in the next game to close out the victory.

Now Hewitt must wait until the Moya-Costa match to see if he plays in the semifinals or if his year is already over.

``I think I've got better and better every match that I've played this week,'' Hewitt said. ``I knew I had to get a win on the board tonight and I did that and now it's out of my control.''

Agassi had the crowd in his corner, but that wasn't nearly enough. While he battled Ferrero evenly, unlike his disappointing performance against Novak in his first match on Wednesday, mistakes once again buried any chance he might have had to pull out a victory.

``Right now I'm playing with a lot of confidence,'' Ferrero said.

One of three Spaniards in the field, Ferrero lost his serve only twice in the match _ and both came in the second set when Agassi raced out to a 4-0 lead. He almost closed out the match in the 12th game of the final set when Agassi double-faulted to give Ferrero his first match point.

Agassi pulled back to deuce when Ferrero rifled a forehand into the net. Two points later, the two were in a tiebreak.

The American got the first mini-break when Ferrero found the net again with a forehand. But he pulled even on the third point when Agassi's half-volley failed to clear the net.

Another double-fault by Agassi gave Ferrero a 4-3 lead, and he then won his two serves to reach triple match point at 6-3.

Agassi wasn't quite through yet. He won the next three points before Ferrero held for a 7-6 advantage and his fifth match point.

This time, Agassi couldn't get the ball in play and Hewitt was assured of the year-end No. 1 ranking.

``I didn't expect to come out and play a bad match,'' Agassi said. ``It was just a tough match. I expected it to be tough and it was tough, and I'm not sure it's any consolation when you lose it.''

Federer, the first Swiss player to qualify for the season-ending championships since Jakob Hlasek in 1988, dominated in every facet against Novak. The winner kept applying the pressure, coming to the net at every chance and hitting winning volleys.

Even when Novak was in the right place and the right time, luck was against him. He was standing at the net, ready to volley, when Federer's shot hit the top of the net and bounced too high for the Czech to win the point.

Federer took the first three games of the final set, the easily held serve the rest of the way to become the only one in his Gold Group to be undefeated. Others in his group are Ferrero and Agassi.

The Red Group is composed of Hewitt, Safin, Moya and Costa. The top two players in each group advance to Saturday's semifinals.