Andre Agassi, two-time defending champion of the Lipton Championships lost his opening match Saturday to Australian Scott Draper, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
The defeat was Agassi's fifth in a row, his worst slump.In other men's play, Adrian Voinea of Romania warmed up to the theme from "Mission: Impossible," then lost to top-ranked Pete Sampras 6-2, 6-0. Second-seeded Thomas Muster and No. 3 Michael Chang also advanced to the third round. Seeds eliminated included No. 6 Thomas Enqvist, No. 13 Felix Mantilla, No. 14 Tim Henman, No. 15 Marc Rosset and No. 16 Alberto Berasategui.
No. 10 Boris Becker, who has been bothered by a wrist injury since last summer, withdrew before his opening match.
On the women's side of the draw, 16-year-old Venus Williams rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the first set to beat Jennifer Capriati 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-2.
Anna Kournikova, at 15 the youngest player in the tournament, beat No. 12 Amanda Coetzer 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Two other women's seeds were eliminated in their opening matches. No. 9 Karina Habsudova lost to Natasha Zvereva 6-4, 6-3, and No. 15 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy was beaten by Tatiana Panova 1-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.
St. Petersburg Open
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Sweden's Thomas Johansson outserved and beat top-seeded Michael Stich 6-3, 6-1 Saturday in the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Open.