KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — On the final point of the Ericsson Open, Andre Agassi appeared to be in trouble.
He scrambled into the corner, behind the baseline and under pressure from Jan-Michael Gambill, who was hovering at the net. But Agassi had one more marvelous shot in him: a crosscourt forehand that whizzed past Gambill for a winner.
Game, set, match and another title for Agassi. He beat an impressed Gambill 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-0 Sunday.
"Andre is maybe the best thinker the game has ever had," Gambill said. "He knows the angles. He sees shots other guys just don't."
Four weeks shy of his 31st birthday, Agassi is playing the best tennis of his life. He has won the three biggest tournaments so far this year — Key Biscayne, Indian Wells two weeks ago and the Australian Open in January. He's the first man to sweep all three since Pete Sampras in 1994, and he's a runaway leader in this year's ATP champions race.
"This is a great point to be at right now," said Agassi, who heads into the clay-court season hoping to make a run at his second French Open title. "I just hope that I continue to be at my best and make somebody play well to beat me and get a little lucky every now and then."
Seeded third, Agassi became the first four-time men's champion at Key Biscayne. The weather for the final was perfect — 80 degrees and sunny, with a light ocean breeze — and Agassi was almost as good.
After surviving a close first set, he dominated every phase, serving well, keeping Gambill away from the net and controlling the baseline rallies to sweep the final nine games.
The men and women both staged all-American finals for the first time since the inaugural year of the tournament in 1985. Venus Williams overcame eight match points to edge Jennifer Capriati 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) for the women's title Saturday.