By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer

MASON - One month ago it was unclear if Andre Agassi would even be here at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, his career temporarily derailed by a bad hip at age of 34.

But rarely this year has Agassi looked as strong as he did Friday night in defeating Carlos Moya 7-6 (12), 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Center Court. It is a win that convinced Agassi he might not just be over the sore hip, but he might be ready to beat the ATP Tour's best players on a regular basis again.

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"The last few months have been week-to-week for me," Agassi said. "I didn't know where things would be this summer. . . . I came here sort of looking to get over the hump."

Now Agassi is two wins from his first title in more than 15 months.

Much the way his career appeared last month after a four-match losing streak and his withdrawal from Wimbledon, Agassi looked beaten Friday. He faced three set points in a first-set tiebreaker. But after two service points and a Moya double fault, Agassi was back in the middle of what turned into an epic tiebreaker.

In the end, Agassi saved six set points and won the tiebreaker 14-12. With the score tied 12-12, Moya hit a forehand into the net, which gave Agassi his fourth set point, but the first with a serve. Agassi won on that point when Moya hit a forehand long.

"I don't remember ever playing one that deep," Agassi said of the marathon tiebreaker. "You're focusing on a point at a time. It can take a lot out of you emotionally. It gets pretty nerve-racking."

For Moya, the result was devastating. Down a set, he lost control of the match when Agassi broke his serve to go ahead 5-3. On break point, Agassi returned a Moya overhead smash, and Moya volleyed the ball into the net. Agassi smashed an unreturnable forehand on match point.

"Maybe if I was lucky I could have won the first set," said Moya, the 2002 W&S Masters champion, "because everything would have changed then for sure."

Agassi advanced to today's semifinals, his fourth semifinals appearance of the year but the first since March. It is the first time he has played in the semifinals in Cincinnati since he last won here in 1996.

After losing last week in the Tennis Masters Canada in the second round, Agassi came into Cincinnati trying to find a measure of consistency that would prepare him for the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 30.

Agassi, who won his first-round match here against Mardy Fish in three sets, said he wasn't comfortable until Thursday when he beat Juan Ignacio Chela in the round of 16. Friday's match might have been his best of the year, he said.

"I can only tell you how it feels out there," Agassi said. "I'm much more committed to everything I'm doing right now than I was to start the week."

After breaking Moya's serve early in the first set, Agassi was surprised Moya broke him back to force the tiebreaker.

"I felt like he was doing good to hang in the first set the way I came out hitting the ball," Agassi said.

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com